Elephant Armor's Greed, Martial Soul Deprivation

"Oh? In that case, the divine bow bestowed by the god's phantom just now must be a divine artifact, right?" someone in the crowd suddenly said.

With the discerning eyes of those present, they could naturally tell that the bow which had appeared at the end was certainly not a Martial Soul.

But intimidated by Dugu Bo and the god's lingering might, none of them had brought it up. Who was being so brazen?

When Dugu Bo swept his sharp gaze over, the people it fell upon hurriedly distanced themselves from the speaker, lest Dugu Bo hold a grudge against them.

After all, other Titled Douluo might have been embarrassed to bully the weak, but Dugu Bo had no such qualms when it came to protecting his own.

"Oh? Sect Master Huyan, have you set your sights on my Xiaolin's weapon?"

Dugu Bo had noticed the greedy looks from the others. If he didn't chop off Huyan Zhen's dog claws today, trouble would likely come for Xiaolin in wave after wave.

"Of course not. But wouldn't it be somewhat inappropriate to leave such a divine artifact in a child's hands?" Huyan Zhen forced down his fear and said, "Why not hand it over to His Majesty and have the imperial family safeguard such a precious treasure for the time being, so that no petty villains covet it?"

Hearing this, Xue Ye immediately cursed inwardly. This Huyan Zhen really knows how to make trouble for me!

"Your Majesty Dugu, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family has no designs on this young friend's possessions. This is entirely the Elephant Armor Sect's own wishful thinking." Xue Qinghe stepped forward at that moment and cupped his hands.

Xue Ye looked at Xue Qinghe as he stepped forward, a trace of approval in his eyes, then added his agreement.

"That's right. I would not stoop to snatching a junior's belongings."

Although he did covet the divine artifact, he had to look at the circumstances!

Ning Fengzhi looked thoughtfully at Huyan Zhen, some ideas already forming in his mind.

"Grandpa, leave it to me." Sensing the information left in the Sigil of Permission, Gan Lin was instantly filled with a sense of security that slowly grew.

Seeing Gan Lin take out the Blackcliff Warbow again, Dugu Bo was somewhat puzzled and couldn't help speaking up.

"Xiaolin, with Grandpa here, no one can even think of touching your things today. There's no need to be afraid."

"Grandpa, don't worry. I know what I'm doing." Gan Lin nodded. "But as I see it, it isn't His Majesty who wants my divine bow. It's Sect Master Huyan here who has ulterior motives. Or... does Sect Master Huyan want the divine bow in my hand?"

"Junior, don't you dare make vicious accusations! What would I want with a junior's belongings?" A barely perceptible flicker of panic passed through Huyan Zhen's eyes before he spoke with feigned composure.

"Then why don't you try the bow, Sect Master Huyan?" A trace of amusement flashed in Gan Lin's eyes as he tossed the Blackcliff Warbow out.

Watching the Blackcliff Warbow fly toward him, Huyan Zhen's eyes flashed with greed, and he burst out laughing.

"Since you insist so warmly, young nephew, I shall reluctantly give it a try." As he spoke, he reached out to grab the Blackcliff Warbow.

But the next second after he caught it, the Blackcliff Warbow erupted with a brilliant golden light.

When the golden light faded, everyone saw Huyan Zhen sent flying backward, his life or death unknown.

"Just as I thought..." Watching Huyan Zhen fly away, Ning Fengzhi understood.

Gan Lin hadn't struck him as a timid person, so his willingness to yield like that had to be part of a plan.

"Uncle Jian, that golden light just now..."

"If the other party had intended it, I would have died without a doubt." Before Ning Fengzhi could finish, Sword Douluo immediately answered.

Ning Fengzhi sighed.

"It seems we need to change our attitude as well."

Looking around, he saw that everyone wore a different expression, but they were equally shocked.

Beyond words.

Huyan Zhen was a Soul Douluo with a top-tier Martial Soul, one known for its defense. No one present dared claim they could defeat him in an instant.

Yet the golden light had struck Huyan Zhen in the span of a mere instant, leaving his life or death unknown?

Such tremendous might was worthy of a god.

What they couldn't understand was why a god would show such favor to a child.

Though they couldn't fathom the reason, one thing was beyond doubt: Gan Lin was no longer someone these so-called nobles could manipulate at will.

Though with Dugu Bo standing beside him, he hadn't been easy to manipulate in the first place.

Salas, the Spirit Hall bishop, frowned deeply. He had already decided to send word to Pope Bibi Dong as soon as he returned. The situation was no longer one he could influence.

To everyone's surprise, Huyan Zhen stood up again after a short while.

"Brat..."

Huyan Zhen's expression was ugly. He hadn't expected to be made a fool of by a child.

But just as his anger drove him to throw caution aside and teach Gan Lin a lesson, Huyan Zhen's expression suddenly froze.

"H-how is this possible? My Martial Soul!" Huyan Zhen went pale and snapped his gaze toward Gan Lin. "Was this your doing, brat?!"

At Huyan Zhen's shout, everyone present noticed that something was wrong.

Huyan Zhen, who had possessed the cultivation of a Soul Douluo, now had Soul Power fluctuations no different from an ordinary person's, though his physique remained unchanged.

Almost everyone present was an expert, and there were even Titled Douluo among them. His Soul Power certainly couldn't have been too high for them to detect, leaving only one answer.

Huyan Zhen, the Elephant Armor Sect's master, had his cultivation crippled.

Judging by his reaction, something seemed to have happened to his Martial Soul as well.

"Hehe, I don't know." Gan Lin beckoned, and the Blackcliff Warbow flew back into his hand. "It seems this is the price mortals pay for using this weapon~ Oh dear, sorry I didn't tell you beforehand, Sect Master Huyan."

"Oh, wait. Can you really remain sect master when you go back, Sect Master Huyan?" Gan Lin tilted his head. "I'm very curious."

Huyan Zhen looked at Gan Lin and badly wanted to rush over and give him a beating.

But he didn't dare. Never mind Dugu Bo-even against some random imperial guard, he might not win.

"Your Majesty, I still have important matters to attend to at home. I shall take my leave." Huyan Zhen cupped his hands.

"Mm." Xue Ye's response was neither warm nor cold.

After Huyan Zhen had just tried to drive a wedge between the imperial family and Poison Douluo, did he expect Xue Ye to treat him kindly?

How could that be possible!

Not to mention that he wasn't even a Soul Master anymore. If not for his former status, he wouldn't even have been qualified to stand there.

Watching Huyan Zhen leave in disgrace, everyone present put away the little schemes in their hearts.

Gan Lin nodded in satisfaction as well. Although he had wasted a little of the divine power in the Sigil of Permission, the result was good.

Intimidating everyone now was better than having trouble come to him in waves behind the scenes.

He would waste far more divine power then!

Unfortunately, the divine power in the Sigil of Permission the Emperor had given him seemed to have been measured out precisely. He couldn't squander it at will.

The Emperor wasn't a petty person...

Sigh, all I did back then was take his treasured tea leaves to make milk tea.

Surely he hasn't held it against me until now?