The Evil Spirit Orca King, which had originally intended to dive into the deep sea to evade the attack, found its movements slowed by Dugu Bo's eighth soul skill, Temporal Solidification.
At its peak, it could have easily broken free from this restraint.
But now, the Evil Spirit Orca King was severely wounded.
A massive, trench-like gash stretched across its thirty-meter-long body.
The intense pain and poisoning prevented it from exerting its full strength.
Even if it tried to defend with a skill, it was already too late.
First, it had been grievously injured by the Sword Douluo's ninth soul skill. Despite its defenses, the damage had still penetrated.
Then came the poisoning.
And finally, it had been forced to endure the ninth soul skill unleashed by the Sword Douluo's mirror image, replicated through Ning Fengzhi's eighth soul skill.
At this point, the Evil Spirit Orca King's body was riddled with wounds. Its attempt to escape into the depths was thwarted by Dugu Bo's immobilization.
Even with strength approaching that of a Rank 96 Title Douluo, it was powerless.
All it could do was watch helplessly as the colossal sword-light descended from the sky.
"AAAAAH !"
The Evil Spirit Orca King let out a bloodcurdling scream.
"SHIIIING !"
Its thirty-meter-long body was cleaved in two.
The vast sea surface trembled as water vapor evaporated instantly.
A chasm stretching thousands of meters formed, seawater rapidly flooding into it.
The bisected Evil Spirit Orca King's body gushed blood incessantly.
Even the seawater dyed green by Dugu Bo's poison was quickly stained crimson.
The Sword Douluo followed up with a minor skill, pulverizing the Evil Spirit Orca King's internal organs.
Only when a blood-red soul ring slowly condensed above the corpse did the Sword Douluo finally relax.
Better safe than sorry. This was a hundred-thousand-year soul beast.
If it had launched a final, desperate counterattack, the consequences could have been dire.
Neither Dugu Bo nor the Sword Douluo forgot the most crucial prize
The Evil Spirit Orca King's hundred-thousand-year whale glue.
Compared to Dugu Bo, the Sword Douluo's Seven Kill Sword, now at Rank 98, was far sharper. With a single stroke, he split open the beast's skull.
Following Dugu Bo's experienced guidance, they extracted the golden-glowing whale glue hidden within the brain, along with a hundred-thousand-year spirit bone.
After collecting the spoils from the king, they began harvesting valuable materials from the other Evil Spirit Orca corpses.
Amidst the poison-filled sea, the Purple Pearl slowly approached.
At the sight of the familiar pirate ship, Dugu Bo and the Sword Douluo finally exhaled in relief.
When the Evil Spirit Orca King attacked, Ning Fengzhi had used the Illusion Wisdom Spirit Bone's mental link to instruct them:
"Ignore us. Focus on killing the king."
Thanks to this warning, the two had been able to charge their ultimate attacks precisely when the king unleashed its assault.
And before the beast could recover they annihilated it.
Though they didn't understand how Ning Fengzhi's group had evaded the Evil Spirit Orca King's devastating energy beam...
The result was all that mattered, wasn't it?
The Sword Douluo and Dugu Bo landed on the pirate ship's deck.
"You've worked hard, Elder Sword, Elder Dugu."
"Fengzhi, what exactly happened earlier? That was dangerously reckless!"
The Sword Douluo's tone carried reproach.
Ning Fengzhi's eighth soul skill came from an 80,000-year Mirror Shadow Beast. Its ability was Mirror Replication.
When combined with the Illusion Wisdom Spirit Bone's skill, it could create a mirror image of any soul master currently being amplified by the Eight Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
This clone would possess all the original's skills, though its rank would match the target's base level without buffs.
In this case, Ning Fengzhi's replication had produced a Sword Douluo clone at 70% of Rank 97 strength roughly equivalent to Rank 95.
The ninth soul skill it unleashed against the Evil Spirit Orca King was thus comparable to a Rank 95 Sword Douluo's full-power strike.
This skill dramatically compensated for Ning Fengzhi's lack of combat ability as a support-type soul master.
However, it also consumed staggering amounts of soul power.
Even Ning Fengzhi wouldn't use it lightly.
Catching his breath, Ning Fengzhi smiled.
"But the result was ideal, wasn't it?"
"If we hadn't drawn the Evil Spirit Orca King's hatred and distracted it, it might have escaped."
After all, this was a hundred-thousand-year sea soul beast. Without the advantage of surprise and psychological warfare, killing it would have been far harder.
"I have my suspicions..."
The Sword Douluo narrowed his eyes.
"Given your personality, you wouldn't have devised such a risky plan. This was Rongrong's idea, wasn't it?"
Ning Fengzhi chuckled but didn't answer, subtly stepping aside.
"..."
Father, you're really throwing me under the carriage here.
Noticing Ning Fengzhi's retreat from the corner of her eye, Ning Rongrong nearly facepalmed.
"Ahem... I had everything under control, Grandpa Sword, Elder Dugu!"
Even Ning Rongrong found it hard to withstand the two Title Douluos' interrogative gazes.
"Was it that line-of-sight trick again? Kyōka Suigetsu 1.0?" The Sword Douluo's eyelid twitched.
"One mistake with that gambit, and you'd all be dead."
"Not 1.0 Kyōka Suigetsu 2.0," Ning Rongrong muttered in protest.
"There's a 2.0 now?" Dugu Bo looked exasperated.
Three years ago, when they'd escaped the Dark Devilgod Tiger, he'd witnessed Ning Rongrong's so-called "self-created soul skill."
He had to admit it was ingeniously clever something even he couldn't replicate.
But 2.0? What fresh madness was this?
"It's a mirage!" Ning Rongrong explained.
"The principle is slightly different from 1.0. Instead of exploiting line-of-sight, it projects a false image at another location like creating a mirror reflection."
"Though explaining it properly would take a while..."
If Kyōka Suigetsu 1.0 relied on light refraction...
Then Kyōka Suigetsu 2.0 utilized both refraction and total internal reflection.
Over the sea, with ample moisture and Dugu Bo's poison mist enhancing light distortion, creating such illusions wasn't particularly difficult.
"So you're saying... the Evil Spirit Orca King only attacked an illusion?"
The Sword Douluo struggled to grasp Ning Rongrong's fantastical reasoning.
He understood what a mirage was but artificially creating one? That defied comprehension.
"Exactly. The king's attack never touched us. We were never in any real danger."
"Fine. I'll take your word for it."
The Sword Douluo massaged his temples. As long as the technique didn't endanger them, the specifics didn't matter.
Even if Ning Rongrong explained further, he probably wouldn't understand anyway.
After quickly debriefing, the group prepared to leave the battleground.
"What a waste... a hundred-thousand-year soul ring."
The Sword Douluo gazed at the floating corpses of the Evil Spirit Orca pack and the countless sea soul beasts lurking beyond the poison's reach.
Even he had to admit Dugu Bo's methods were terrifyingly effective.
Alone, he would've had to fight his way out.
But with Dugu Bo? Simply spreading poison kept the beasts at bay.
The blood-red soul ring hovering above the Evil Spirit Orca King's corpse dissipated as the Purple Pearl sailed away, though the thick mist prevented anyone from noticing.
Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda floated out momentarily... then returned to her hand.