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Suddenly—
A surge of energy exploded within Yang Fan's body.
His consciousness remained—but his physical form was no longer under his control.
It felt like a clueless, gaming-addicted teen suddenly hijacked by remote access: he could see everything, but the hands on the keyboard were no longer his.
He sensed an overwhelming power coursing through him—a strength unlike anything he'd ever experienced.
In the next instant, a familiar black cloak materialized over his shoulders.
Torrents of Dou Qi erupted from his body, coalescing into a pair of massive, pale-white wings.
With a single flap, he soared to the skies above the Spirit Hall.
Yao Lao—now in full command—stood beneath the Spirit Hall's hundred-meter-tall spire and released his soul perception, scanning the entire structure.
Though his soul state severely weakened his combat power, the soul strength of the Continent's Number-One Alchemist remained peerless.
He didn't know exactly how strong a Title Douluo was—but his soul sense confirmed: no one inside this building surpassed Yang Wudi in sheer power.
Without hesitation, Yao Lao leapt from the rooftop and slipped silently into the Saint Spirit Hall.
…
Salas, elated by his new soul bone, still couldn't shake a deep unease.
No matter when or where he tried to absorb it, something felt off.
On his way back, he'd stayed on high alert—terrified some reckless fool might ambush him for the bone.
Thankfully, nothing happened.
But "long nights breed many dreams"…
After much deliberation, Salas decided to dismiss all personnel from the Saint Spirit Hall and absorb the bone in private.
Just as he prepared to begin, a faint disturbance in the air put him on edge.
"Who's there?!"
The room seemed to freeze. Salas's heartbeat quickened.
Only after confirming complete silence outside did he relax slightly.
The moment he turned around—a black-cloaked figure stood in the room.
Salas gasped, nearly losing his soul to shock.
"Who are you?!"
Hostile intent radiated from the intruder.
To appear so silently meant this figure was no ordinary opponent.
No doubt about it—this mysterious cloaked man had come for the soul bone.
Salas had anticipated attacks outside the auction house… or along the return route…
But never in his wildest nightmares did he imagine someone would dare storm the Spirit Hall itself.
As he spoke, eight standard soul rings flared beneath his feet. A strange, foot-long weapon materialized in his hand.
Upon martial soul activation, the entire room trembled with invisible currents.
This was Salas's martial soul: Wind Blade—a wind-attribute weapon-type soul. Though mismatched with the water-attributed soul bone, he couldn't afford to be picky.
For most soul masters, a chance to obtain a soul bone came once in a lifetime—even mismatched ones were worth absorbing.
Faced with Salas's demand, Yao Lao remained silent.
Instead, torrents of Dou Qi burst forth, instantly flooding the entire room.
Delay invites disaster.
Yao Lao knew prolonging this fight would only hurt him. From the start, he'd intended to hold nothing back.
Dou Qi surged. Heavenly Flame blazed. His hands blurred into incomprehensible seals.
With each hand seal, his Dou Qi intensified exponentially.
"Damn it!"
Salas reacted instantly—dashing forward with lightning speed granted by his wind attribute.
His first four soul rings—yellow and purple—flashed brilliantly. As he hurled his Wind Blade, it split midair into five, slashing toward Yao Lao from different angles.
Flame Splitting Tsunami!
Yao Lao unleashed the Earth-Tier technique again—but this time, the target wasn't a waterfall. It was Salas.
And the power? Transformed entirely.
He raised the Heavy Xuan Ruler high—then cleaved downward with crushing force.
A crescent-shaped energy blade of pale-white Dou Qi erupted, warping space as it flew. Salas's five wind blades vanished instantly, swallowed by the overwhelming tide.
Terrified, Salas activated his True Martial Soul Body and threw up two defensive soul skills—but even that couldn't stop the energy slash.
"It's you?!"
Recognition dawned.
Two months ago, an anomaly appeared over Tian Dou City's outskirts. When Salas arrived with Red Cardinals, the place was empty—but he'd never forgotten that expert's lingering aura.
"Who are you?!"
He couldn't place Yao Lao's identity. No such figure existed in Soul Land's records.
Too bizarre!
This man had no soul rings, used no soul power—yet that energy slash had nearly killed him. Only his Martial Soul True Body had barely saved him.
Yao Lao moved.
With an eerie, unpredictable step, he closed the distance in an instant. Dou Qi surged visibly, condensing rapidly in his right fist.
No flashy moves. No dramatic flourish. Just a simple, ordinary-looking punch.
Instinctively, Salas braced to block it.
At first, nothing seemed amiss—but half a second later, his face contorted in agony. His body felt crushed by an invisible, internal force.
Yang Fan recognized it immediately: Octane Blast!
A Xuan-Tier high-grade technique. At mastery, it concealed eight layers of hidden force—stacking explosively, rivaling even low-grade Earth-Tier techniques in power.
Salas's suffering was clearly the work of those hidden shockwaves.
Master is incredible!
The old Yang Fan wouldn't have grasped this subtlety—but two months in the Great Spirit Arena had taught him much.
Yao Lao had first shattered Salas's defenses with Flame Splitting Tsunami—but the true killing blow was hidden in the unassuming Octane Blast.
Struggling against the internal damage, Salas suddenly remembered the Meridian Protecting Pill he'd bought for 10,000 gold coins. Without hesitation, he pulled it from his soul tool and swallowed it.
The pill slid down his throat—and his expression turned even more horrified.
Damn it!
There was none of that life-saving effect described!
Before Salas could even curse his luck, Yao Lao ended his life with a single Xuan-Tier palm strike: Blowing Fire Palm.
The Meridian Protecting Pill could protect meridians—but every medicine had its limits.
What could a mere Tier-2 pill truly do?
"Someone's coming!"
Their battle had lasted mere seconds—but it had already alerted the hyper-vigilant Spirit Hall.
No time to waste!
Yao Lao swept his palm, suctioning the soul bone into his grasp. With a powerful wingbeat, he shot skyward—vanishing into the clouds before any Spirit Hall soul master reached the scene.
This was the innate advantage of Dou Qi Wings.
In Douluo Continent, unless a soul master awakened a flight-type martial soul, they couldn't fly until reaching Title Douluo.
"The… the Hall Master is dead!"
"The soul bone is gone!"
The arriving Red Cardinal froze in horror. Even without seeing the fight, he knew exactly what had happened.
Someone had stolen the soul bone—and slain Hall Master Salas.
"Quick! Alert the Pope Hall! Inform Her Holiness the Pope immediately!"
The death of a Soul Douluo-level Hall Master in the Saint Spirit Hall?
This was no minor incident.
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