Chapter 122: Battle – Tang Ni is Wang Qiu'er!

Realizing he had missed his appointment, Xiao Lin lost all interest in reading. He sprinted straight to the training grounds of the Emperor Battle Team.

Tang San and Xiao Wu, curious about the battle between the two, followed close behind.

By the time Xiao Lin arrived at the training grounds, everyone from the Emperor Battle Team was already waiting.

In addition to the original team members, even Ning Rongrong and Dugu Yan had returned to the team. They were accompanied by their elders. As soon as Xiao Lin stepped through the door, he immediately sensed the presence of powerful individuals.

Turning his head, he saw Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo Chen Xin beside Ning Rongrong, and Dugu Bo beside Dugu Yan.

Xiao Lin could identify them easily because of their distinct characteristics.

Take Dugu Bo, for instance—green hair and green pupils—perfectly matching his heavily poisoned state in the original story.

Sword Douluo exuded a sword aura that made his identity equally unmistakable.

And Ning Fengzhi, though not dressed flamboyantly, gave off an unmistakable air of wealth.

But very soon, Xiao Lin's attention was stolen by Tang Ni.

She grabbed his arm and, using terrifying strength, dragged him straight onto the battle stage with no resistance from him at all.

Tang Ni's strength was monstrous!

Xiao Lin was silently shocked.

"Oh? Interesting."

Outside the arena, Ning Fengzhi, who had initially wanted to chat with Xiao Lin, paused with a smile, temporarily putting aside his inquiry about Xiao Yan.

Ever since Rongrong had declared that Xiao Lin's Qiulong Staff was unrivaled, he had been curious about his combat strength.

Now that he was about to witness a fight between the most talented students on the continent, he was eager to see how far Xiao Lin's genius truly extended.

Dugu Bo and Chen Xin, while sharing Ning Fengzhi's curiosity, had their own thoughts.

Although they had heard of Xiao Lin defeating Yu Tianheng of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, now they saw with their own eyes how helpless he was against Tang Ni's raw strength.

Even though the strength contest wasn't flashy, experts like them easily noticed who had the upper hand.

Meanwhile, Tang San and Xiao Wu watched the duel with great curiosity.

"I wonder who'll win!" Xiao Wu said excitedly next to Tang San.

She naturally hoped Xiao Lin would win, but divine beasts (auspicious beasts) like Tang Ni were known to be stronger at ten thousand years than even regular spirit beasts at a hundred thousand years.

Judging by Tang Ni's spirit quality, it definitely surpassed her own Soft Bone Rabbit.

For a moment, even Xiao Wu couldn't tell who was stronger.

Tang San also furrowed his brow slightly, activating his Purple Demon Eye to observe.

He too noticed that Xiao Lin had lost the initial strength contest, which surprised him. He forged iron every day and still wasn't stronger than Xiao Lin—how had Xiao Lin lost?

Once on the battle stage, Xiao Lin and Tang Ni stood facing each other.

They exchanged courteous greetings before the duel began.

"Xiao Lin. Martial Spirit: Qiulong Staff. Level 39 Spirit Elder. Power-attack Battle Spirit Master."

"Tang Ni. Martial Spirit: Golden Dragon. Level 38 Spirit Elder. Power-attack Battle Spirit Master."

As soon as the two revealed their spirit and level, the crowd was stunned.

"What!? Golden Dragon!?"

"She's already level 38?!"

Gasps of shock rang out among the Emperor Battle Team members. Yu Tianheng furrowed his brow deeply.

He hadn't expected Tang Ni's martial spirit to be the Golden Dragon.

Even Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, and Dugu Bo didn't fully understand the significance of this spirit, so they quietly increased their perception to listen for anything Yu Tianheng might explain.

Now, it was Yu Tianheng's turn to be the narrator.

A complicated expression appeared on his face, then slowly turned to one of recollection.

"The Golden Dragon is one of the most powerful dragon-type martial spirits. It possesses immense physical strength and sheer power. According to my uncle Yu Xiaogang's research, even the Titan Giant Ape can't outmatch the Golden Dragon in terms of strength."

Hearing this, Ning Fengzhi and the others finally grasped just how powerful the Golden Dragon was.

They had heard of the Titan Giant Ape—one of the forest's kings.

In fact, ever since Chrysanthemum Douluo was mysteriously gravely injured a few years ago, Ning Fengzhi had gathered intel suggesting it was the Titan Giant Ape who had defeated him in a single strike, nearly killing him.

Now, with that context, if Tang Ni could eventually become a Title Douluo, wouldn't she essentially be another Clear Sky Douluo?

As for Yu Xiaogang's research, the elders didn't particularly mind—despite his shortcomings, Yu Xiaogang was still knowledgeable about spirit beasts.

Not to mention, his own martial spirit fusion technique was the Golden Holy Dragon.

With a deeper understanding of Tang Ni's martial spirit, both Tang San and Xiao Wu began to worry.

Could Lin-ge end up getting beaten badly by Tang Ni?!

Looking at Tang Ni's cold, icy expression, Xiao Lin felt a headache coming on.

What was going on!?

How could Tang Hao's randomly adopted daughter be a Golden Dragon!?

Xiao Lin knew far more than Yu Tianheng. The Golden Dragon of Absolute Strength was no joke.

Knowing that Tang Ni wasn't someone he could beat easily like Yu Tianheng, Xiao Lin decided to reveal more of his strength.

"Qiulong Staff, appear!"

Different from before, Xiao Lin summoned his staff directly into his hand—fully manifested.

Holding the staff, he took a defensive stance, prompting a slight smile from Tang Ni.

"Now that's more like it!"

She nodded, inwardly pleased. Now she could beat Xiao Lin up properly.

"Martial Spirit Possession!"

With a light shout, Tang Ni initiated her spirit fusion.

As the Golden Dragon spirit merged with her, blinding golden light radiated from her body. Though her dragon scales were concealed by the glow, a closer look revealed her transformation.

The possession didn't just make her glow; it made her body taller, more flexible, and filled with explosive power.

Unlike most male power-attack spirit masters, whose muscles bulged during possession, Tang Ni's power was hidden—yet undeniably there.

Even though Xiao Lin was strong, his aura now seemed comparatively weak.

What shocked Xiao Lin even more was that Tang Ni didn't choose to fight barehanded. Instead, she pulled a golden spear from her storage-type soul tool.

"Golden Dragon Spear. Please, enlighten me."

The moment she said that, Xiao Lin's pupils shrank.

He realized who she was—

Wang Qiu'er!

She was the divine beast in human form!

What was going on!? She had transformed early!?

Xiao Lin's brain momentarily froze, his eyes drifting toward Tang San.

Could this be because of Tang San's changes?

"Hey! What are you staring at? Fight me already!"

As Wang Qiu'er's voice rang in his ears, Xiao Lin's fighting spirit reignited.

"Perfect. Now I can finally go all out!"

A wide grin formed on his lips.

Xiao Lin knew just how terrifying Wang Qiu'er was—a soul master capable of absorbing soul rings far above her level.

And now… she was even stronger than he imagined.