Douluo Dalu 3 - Qiang Ming's Journey

As Qiang Ming landed atop the frozen bridge, his massive Three Eyed Golden Lion King Avatar struck like a falling star, sending cracks spiderwebbing across the reinforced ice beneath his paws.

He didn't wait.

The moment impact faded, he activated his third soul skill, Golden Lion Body. Power coursed through his monstrous frame, surging his already titanic strength by another fifty percent.

Next, his Golden Lion Fire Claws ignited.

From claw to shoulder, his limbs became wrapped in Absolute Fire, the golden-purple flames dancing around him with regal lethality. The bridge hissed beneath him as superheated sparks met supercooled air.

Without pause, he unleashed his first ring skill, Golden Lion Mental Thorn.

Invisible thorns of pure mental power exploded from his third eye and shot outward. Dozens of sea beasts convulsed on the spot—some fell silent and dead, while others shrieked in agony, stunned or disoriented beyond recognition.

He became a one-lion-army.

Every swipe of his claws cleaved through sinew and shell. Every roar scattered formations. The beasts nearest him couldn't flee fast enough.

But he wasn't finished.

A pulse of soul power burst from his back—

The Lich's Hands erupted from his spine, scaled to match his Avatar form. The skeletal limbs twisted forward, each wielding a fully manifested Blackstone Abyss Hammer, courtesy of Multiply.

The two massive hammers spun and struck like twin meteors, smashing into soul beasts that dared approach from behind. SoulQuake Blow echoed again and again, reducing weaker targets to pulp and dazing the stronger ones long enough for Qiang Ming's claws to end them.

A wall of carnage followed in his wake.

He carved his way forward, heading to the edges of the battlefield, where soul beasts were pouring in faster than they were dying. The ship's defenders held the center; he hunted the attackers. Curiously, none of the soul beast he killed left any soul rings.

And then—

A sudden flash of dark golden light.

Qiang Ming paused and turned.

It didn't come from the soul beasts. It came from behind him.

His golden eyes locked on a figure now walking toward the edge of the ship—Mu Ye, the Master of the Body Sect, his battle armor expanding outward in dense metallic bursts, layered like unfolding shields.

The golden aura was staggering. Oppressive.

Qiang Ming smirked. So the legendary beast finally joins the fray.

Without a word, Mu Ye leapt from the ship.

A sonic boom cracked through the sky as he shot straight toward the Kraken-like Great Beast, which had begun overwhelming Elder Cai.

Finally, the real battle was beginning.

Qiang Ming turned back to the battlefield.

He narrowed his eyes.

There—cutting through the mass of beasts—swam a monstrous figure, black and colossal.

A Abyssal Demon Whale King he had seen earlier.

A perfect target.

He let out a thunderous roar, activating Golden Lion King's Roar, blasting a shockwave of mental and physical power through the horde. The stunned beasts gave him the opening he needed.

With a flex of his hind legs, Qiang Ming leapt from the ice bridge—and dove.

Beneath the waves, chaos reigned.

Crashing currents. Screaming creatures. Dying beasts.

Qiang Ming, aflame in Absolute Fire, was a golden comet ripping through the sea.

He found the whale. He landed on its back like a divine punishment, claws sinking deep.

It roared, twisting and writhing, tail smashing through coral and other fleeing creatures. But Qiang Ming clung tight. The Lich's Hands swung down again and again, one of the hammers glowing—Destruction Wave—and detonating against the whale's thick hide, spreading that corrosive purple-black energy across its body.

The sea boiled.

The beast screamed.

It dove—deeper—trying to escape into the abyss.

But Qiang Ming didn't budge.

Then, using his internal soul channel, he sent out a mental projection.

'Submit. Fuse with me. You'll survive this. You'll grow stronger than you ever dreamed.'

Silence.

He pressed his claws harder—closer to the heart.

'Last chance.'

A pause—

And then the whale's body began to shine.

It dissolved into particles of glowing light, which streamed into Qiang Ming's Avatar. He guided the fusion with instinct and soul resonance, threading the new Spirit Soul into his Blackstone Abyss Hammer.

As the final stream entered, a voice echoed in his mind.

'I am Xiao Tei.'

'Welcome aboard, Xiao Tei,' Qiang Ming replied, his tone respectful.

'Jin Shi, explain everything to him.'

A few minutes later, Qiang Ming rocketed upward through the water, bursting through the surface in a radiant geyser.

The battlefield was emptying.

Beasts retreated back into the deep.

The ice bridge, now half-melted, remained slick with blood and frozen corpses. Human students regrouped and began filing back to their ships.

Qiang Ming stepped onto the ice. The Avatar melted away, his form shrinking back to his human body. His shorts were still on, somehow—good.

The Lich's Hands faded, and his soul rings dimmed.

All eyes turned to him—but he ignored them.

Without a word, he made his way back to the Shrek ship, leapt over the railing, and landed lightly.

Dozens tried to stop him—ask questions, demand answers—but he ducked past them all with fluid grace, like water around rocks.

His cabin door shut behind him with a quiet click.

Seclusion began.

He had a new Spirit Soul to stabilize.

And Star Luo was on the horizon.