Douluo: Legacy of the Rusted Spear

Four months later, in the deep waters west of the Western Stone Kingdom, Ignaz stood on the ocean's surface, far from any island. Gripping his Blood Thunder War Spear, he watched warily as a Tyrant Thorn Sea Urchin—around ten thousand years old—approached from not far ahead.

He coiled his back legs, gathering power. The soft seawater beneath his feet kicked up waves as he shot forward at incredible speed toward the sea urchin.

The Tyrant Thorn Sea Urchin, which had been forced to serve as a human punching bag for days, had finally reached its breaking point. It immediately rolled its massive body forward, charging at Ignaz with deadly intent.

Ignaz quickly deployed his perfected Sea-Treading Mountain River Steps. This footwork technique remained unaffected by the waves generated during sea spirit beast attacks, allowing him to move at breakneck speed as if running across flat plains.

As Ignaz circled the sea urchin at lightning speed, the creature had already figured out this human's next three-stage attack pattern. It immediately used the water pressure to leap above the surface, spinning wildly. Countless spines spread out in a blanket attack, firing toward Ignaz.

"You really think I'd still use the same old moves?"

Ignaz's laughter grew louder as he sprinted at full speed, then suddenly stopped. He locked onto the sea urchin's optimal attack position.

"Stormy Night—Thousand-Mile Piercing Strike!"

Ignaz continuously swung his Blood Thunder War Spear with both hands. The blood-killing aura within the spear quickly condensed and solidified. The war spear shot out, carrying overwhelming blood-killing energy as it exploded toward the sea urchin.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

Several spines in a direct line were split in half by the spear. Even though the sea urchin's defense had dramatically increased while spinning at high speed, it was useless.

*Whoosh!*

The war spear pierced straight through the sea urchin's hard, spiny shell, penetrating its heart. The spear then dissipated and returned to Ignaz's hand.

The Tyrant Thorn Sea Urchin crashed heavily into the deep sea. The gaping hole in its body still contained some solidified blood crystals that hadn't dissipated, and its internal organs had been completely shredded.

Just then, a Golden Giant Crab that had been lurking in the shadows leaped from the water, trying to take advantage of Ignaz's momentary lack of defense to finish him off.

"Bloody Sea Carnage—Mad Wave Triangle Defense!"

Ignaz immediately swung his Blood Thunder War Spear, spinning it continuously. The solidified blood energy formed a spinning spear that acted like a blood-colored shield, simultaneously protecting his three sides.

The Golden Giant Crab's two massive claws struck the spinning spear shield, and its entire body was forcefully knocked back dozens of meters. As it crashed into the deep sea and realized something was wrong, it quickly swam toward the ocean depths—

Ignaz leaped up, briefly suspended in mid-air as he looked down at the Golden Giant Crab in the water.

"My former training beast wants to kill me and then run away? You really think you can escape?"

"Ocean Wave Phantom—Sky Echo Sea-Covering Kill!"

The war spear stabbed into the deep sea, shooting toward the Golden Giant Crab that had been marked by the blood energy entity from his second self-created spirit skill. Powerful blood-killing aura spread out from the spear tip as its center, creating a target-locked vacuum zone with a 10-meter radius in the ocean.

Within this zone, any creature's movements would slow by half, as if floating in a vacuum without any leverage.

The Golden Giant Crab, which had been frantically swimming toward the deep sea, turned around for a look behind it. Its eight legs stretched out fully as it swam toward the ocean depths in extreme terror.

*Sizzle!*

In an instant, the Golden Giant Crab's back shell—hard as iron—was pierced through. Its entire body became incredibly light, no longer able to feel any pain. Its crab eyes grew dull, its eight legs went limp, and electrical arcs around its body charred it to carbon. Before long, its entire body began floating to the surface!

Ignaz looked at the floating corpses of both the Tyrant Thorn Sea Urchin and Golden Giant Crab ahead of him. He walked over to bundle up the two spirit beasts and store them in his spirit guidance device, saying helplessly:

"Sigh, too bad I killed these two ten-thousand-year spirit beasts beyond recognition. Some of their meat won't be edible now!"

Ignaz carefully examined the Blood Thunder War Spear in his hands. These three self-created spirit skills were based on Chen Jianjun's sword dao insights and created from his own martial spirit's attack methods after consulting with Dali, the old village chief, and other villagers of the Western Stone Kingdom.

Originally, their power wasn't nearly this strong. The first and third self-created spirit skills were mainly straight-line throws with significant drawbacks.

But through his continued development, he could actually mobilize the blood-killing aura that his martial spirit had previously absorbed. Once enemies were contaminated by the solidified killing aura from his war spear, the blood-killing aura would have an additional marking effect, allowing him to unleash the maximum power of his first and third spirit skills.

Before long, Ignaz returned to the village. The two ten-thousand-year spirit beasts hit the ground with heavy thuds.

"Chief Ignaz brought back two more spirit beasts, and this time they're even bigger than last time!"

The village children immediately swarmed toward Ignaz, jumping happily. Several kids even jumped directly onto the two spirit beasts, using their sword martial spirits to start carving them up.

Ignaz looked at the six- and seven-year-old children around him and said gently: "Cut as much as you can carry, but don't be too greedy—know your limits. Everyone understand?"

"Understood!"

All the children replied in unison.

As Ignaz walked toward the stone house he had built, an 11-year-old boy approached him.

"A'man, what else do you want to know about the continent?"

During his half-year in the Western Stone Kingdom, A'man had frequently come to his residence, curiously asking about all the cultural and historical events happening on the eastern continent. He had also indirectly guided Ignaz on some techniques related to self-created spirit skills.

Through their ongoing conversations, Ignaz held A'man in extremely high regard. Although his comprehension was indeed lacking, his hard work and dedication far exceeded his peers. Most importantly, his thinking focused on fusion—the so-called dual development of spirit ring mastery and self-created spirit skills.

A'man furrowed his brow, hesitating for a long time before slowly speaking: "Chief Ignaz, I want to follow you out to see the outside world and become a Spirit Master like Chief Chen and you!"

"Huh?" Ignaz looked at A'man with complete surprise.

"Chief Ignaz, is that not allowed?"

A'man lowered his head and turned away in disappointment. Just as he was about to leave, Ignaz stopped him.

"A'man, your request isn't impossible. If you want to become a Spirit Master, you'll have to leave the village and venture outside to meet more people. Only then can you become stronger faster."

"Uh, I hadn't thought about that. I just wanted to become a Spirit Master and gain spirit rings to help the village chief better protect our village. Going to the outside world seems too dangerous."

A'man scratched his head, speaking with pure innocence.

Looking at A'man, Ignaz felt disappointed. He had thought he could bring along a sword master to roam the continent, but clearly he was overthinking it.

"Alright, during this time, I'll do my best to tell you everything I know about Spirit Masters. If other people in the village ever have the same idea as you, you can teach them how to become Spirit Masters too."

Then Ignaz took out a blue crystal orb and said, "This is a crystal ball that can detect spirit power levels. It can accurately display the spirit power level within your body!"

Ignaz patiently explained the martial spirit awakening process. Years ago, when he was fighting in black market spirit battles, he had already learned about martial spirit awakening and methods for helping others test their spirit power.

"Good, just place your hand on it and focus on channeling that energy in your body into this blue stone!"

A'man confirmed once more, and after seeing Ignaz nod, he extended his right hand and placed it on the blue crystal orb.

Suddenly, brilliant blue light illuminated the entire interior of the stone house.

"This... this is..."