Douluo: Brains Over Bloodline

On the wall of the cave, a bat-like creature shrieked.

This bat-like creature wasn't large in size, but its strength was considerable. Through his spear, Xu Yuan could feel the immense force of its struggle.

Even after being struck by Xu Yuan's spear aura, the bat-like creature didn't die immediately. Instead, it struggled, pushing Xu Yuan's spear away, leaping into the air, and swiftly charging toward him.

Xu Yuan showed no hint of panic. With a strong grip on his spear, he swept it through the air. Surrounding energy converged, forming a spear aura that knocked the bat-like creature to the ground.

At this moment, Long Yuxue also revealed a look of surprise.

Was this spear intent?

Or spear momentum? (Keep in mind that spear momentum is not mentioned in the official wiki)

Both at the same time? Even under the Abyss environment, could he use spear intent to harness spear momentum and manipulate the surrounding energy?

The ability to simultaneously wield both intent and the grand momentum of heaven and earth truly compensated for the inability to use soul power here.

Especially since Xu Yuan could still utilize his spiritual power here.

Long Yuxue no longer found Xu Yuan's choice of spear problematic.

Compared to soul-guided weapons, although cold weapons had a lower baseline, once Xu Yuan could harness the energy here and unleash spear techniques like spear auras, this spear proved far more useful than any soul-guided weapon.

If used skillfully, its potential ceiling would only be higher.

What a pity.

Long Yuxue shook her head.

This was all theoretical.

Since cold weapons were essentially useless here, the quality of the weapons in the camp wasn't particularly high. Though made from advanced materials, they weren't crafted with the most cutting-edge technology to create the strongest weapons.

This spear wouldn't last long.

Xu Yuan swept the bat-like creature to the ground and thrust again.

Dozens of spear shadows flashed, piercing through with relentless spear auras, completely annihilating it.

After the bat-like creature died, it didn't leave behind a corpse. Instead, it exploded like a mass of energy.

Xu Yuan didn't attempt to corrode this energy with the Sand Demon Worm's fluid.

After all, everything here was simulated. The energy dissipation might resemble what happened when Abyss creatures died, but the technology behind it wasn't complex—it overlapped with the technique used in the Spirit Ascension Platform, where soul beasts turned into spirit energy upon death.

They continued deeper.

Several gusts of wind rushed toward them simultaneously from ahead. Xu Yuan remained calm, his spear moving with blinding speed, leaving only afterimages in its wake.

The myriad spear shadows even illuminated the path ahead, piercing through one bat-like creature after another.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

The bat-like creatures exploded one after another, dissipating into energy.

More bat-like creatures surged out from the passageway, but under Xu Yuan's spear, none of them came close to threatening Long Yuxue.

As she followed Xu Yuan deeper, Long Yuxue's expression grew increasingly strange.

She hadn't expected such an easy situation within the Abyssal passage.

However, she knew this was only the beginning. Deeper within the passage lay even more terrifying threats. These bat-like creatures were merely appetizers.

They pressed onward, traveling about five to six hundred meters before finally seeing light ahead.

At the end of the corridor, after turning left, their field of vision suddenly widened. This was a massive cavern, roughly the size of a football field.

On one side of the enormous cavern, the towering wall was dotted with hundreds of openings of varying sizes, similar to where they had jumped down earlier.

The cavern was about a hundred meters tall. At this moment, over a hundred bat-like creatures were flying around inside. Upon spotting Xu Yuan and Long Yuxue, they let out shrill cries and charged toward them.

Like a black ocean, hundreds of bat-like creatures surged forward.

Xu Yuan furrowed his brow.

He infused his spiritual power into the spear while simultaneously drawing in the surrounding energy.

Under the influence of spear momentum, even Abyssal energy gathered into a powerful spear aura.

The spear aura swept through, knocking down a large swath of bat-like creatures.

Xu Yuan retreated a few steps, grabbing Long Yuxue by the shoulder and pulling her back.

They retreated back into the tunnel they had just exited. Xu Yuan blocked the entrance, continuously thrusting his spear at the incoming bat-like creatures.

Without the advantage of open terrain, only a small opening allowed the creatures to fly in. No matter how many bat-like creatures there were, they now posed no threat.

Xu Yuan's stamina was abundant. Even after thrusting his spear hundreds of times, he showed no signs of fatigue or shortness of breath.

Long Yuxue observed everything from behind Xu Yuan, her expression growing increasingly strange.

This man was incredibly strong.

And his stamina was extraordinary.

While he could utilize spiritual power, spear intent, and spear momentum, all these attacks ultimately relied on physical endurance.

How could someone remain so composed during such intense combat without even gasping for breath?

In her bewilderment, Xu Yuan had already cleared all the bat-like creatures and pulled her out of the tunnel again.

"Which direction should we go deeper into next?"

At Xu Yuan's inquiry, Long Yuxue snapped back to reality.

Her lips twitched slightly.

According to her plan, she had intended to charge into the swarm of bats, letting Xu Yuan follow her as they broke through the creatures' assault and entered one of the opposite tunnels.

But Xu Yuan's reaction had been lightning-fast. He grabbed her shoulder, pulled her back, and quickly eliminated all the bat-like creatures in the cavern.

Unbelievable.

Yet Xu Yuan didn't find it surprising at all.

Although manipulating Abyssal energy was somewhat challenging, using it for attacks turned out to be unexpectedly effective, with astonishing destructive power.

Long Yuxue didn't give directions but instead looked toward a specific direction.

From there, a low growl emerged.

A massive bat-like creature emerged from a medium-sized opening. Its appearance resembled the smaller bat-like creatures, clearly belonging to the same species, but its size was more than double theirs.

It had six claws on its underside, and its wings spread wide as it let out a piercing shriek.

Its scream formed ripple-like waves, rushing toward Xu Yuan and Long Yuxue.

Sonic attack?

Xu Yuan's spiritual power fluctuated. A surge of spiritual energy washed over, drowning out the sonic waves emitted by the large bat-like creature.

After a brief run-up, Xu Yuan thrust his spear with great force.

The large bat-like creature raised four of its six claws, gripping Xu Yuan's spear tightly. It completely ignored the spear aura that left wounds on its body.

With a sharp shriek, it clenched its four claws, bending the spear out of shape.

Xu Yuan's expression shifted slightly.

He quickly retreated, releasing the spear from his grip.

Behind him, Long Yuxue watched curiously, wondering what Xu Yuan would do without his weapon.

To her astonishment, the next moment left her eyes wide.

The large bat-like creature seized Xu Yuan's spear and pressed its advantage, flapping its wings and swiftly flying forward. Its six sharp claws slashed downward ferociously.

However, blood essence erupted from Xu Yuan's body.

A crimson flame of blood essence violently expanded.

Mid-retreat, Xu Yuan suddenly planted his right foot firmly on the ground, halting his backward momentum. Then, with a powerful push-off, he surged forward once more.

His right fist, wrapped in flames of blood essence, shot out with explosive force.

Boom!

The large bat-like creature let out a pained screech as Xu Yuan's fist sent it flying, crashing into the cavern wall.

Xu Yuan leapt into the air, skimming the ground with incredible speed, closing the distance. As its body slammed into the wall, Xu Yuan delivered another devastating punch.

The large bat-like creature exploded into a mass of dissipating energy.

------------------------------------------------------

40+ Chapters Ahead Guaranteed: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow

There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)