First Mission

The heavy golden palm, carrying the weight of ten thousand tons, collided head-on with the incoming Rasengan.

"Boom!"

With a thunderous crash, scorching winds swept wildly through the surroundings.

Sand and stones flew across the street, reducing visibility to nothing.

A handful of bystanders struggled to keep their footing, while most of the spectators who had come to watch were thrown sprawling. Some youngsters were even blown away by the gale.

When the wind finally died down, the street was a complete mess.

The goods from the stalls lay scattered across the ground, and the shop signs had been blown away to who knew where.

Quite a few people had been injured.

Even so, the spectators sprang up from the ground as though injected with adrenaline and immediately looked toward the center of the battle.

Zhao Wuji lay on the ground.

Tuoba Yan lay on the ground as well.

Blood stained the corners of both their mouths.

A white light enveloped Tuoba Yan, and the wounds on his body healed at a visible rate.

Then Tuoba Yan slapped the ground with his palm, using the recoil to rise straight to his feet.

As if sensing something, Zhao Wuji's seventh soul ring beneath his feet lit up.

"Seventh Soul Skill—Vigorous Vajra Bear Avatar!"

In an instant, Zhao Wuji grew to over five meters tall.

The muscles throughout his body swelled to an exaggerated degree, transforming him into a true giant bear.

Yellowish-brown fur burst forth madly, turning brilliant gold the moment his body fully assumed its bear form.

"Roar!"

A furious roar erupted from Zhao Wuji's mouth. "You little brat, are you trying to fight me to the death?!"

Like a prosecutor questioning a criminal, Tuoba Yan asked, "Are you the Immovable Bright King, Zhao Wuji?"

"So what if I am?"

"Then this will be easy. A few years ago, you were wanted by my Spirit Hall and escaped from the hands of sixteen bishops. Today, I will bring you in."

Zhao Wuji had committed countless evils in the first half of his life. Relying on his formidable cultivation, he had done every wicked deed imaginable.

Spirit Hall had placed a bounty on Zhao Wuji.

Like the protagonist of some story, whenever Spirit Hall sent capable soul masters to carry out the mission, Zhao Wuji always managed to escape.

Moreover, Zhao Wuji's cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds over the past ten years.

About seven years ago, Zhao Wuji had offended one of Spirit Hall's bishops.

The bishop then gathered fifteen friends to hunt Zhao Wuji together.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Wuji escaped from sixteen powerful Soul Emperors and vanished without a trace afterward.

Zhao Wuji had made Spirit Hall lose a great deal of face.

The mission to capture Zhao Wuji had already risen to mid-tier seventh rank. The corresponding reward was exceptionally generous.

If he completed the mission of capturing Zhao Wuji, Tuoba Yan's Merit Points would immediately earn him a Yellow Badge.

Zhao Wuji sneered. "A wet-behind-the-ears brat like you wants to capture me, the Immovable Bright King?"

Tuoba Yan laughed. "There's no need to take you alive. The mission states that dead or alive is acceptable."

Hearing Tuoba Yan's words, Zhao Wuji laughed. "Haha! You want to kill me?"

Tuoba Yan grinned. "There's no harm in trying. What if it works?"

The smile on Zhao Wuji's face gradually vanished. He strode toward Tuoba Yan, each step making the ground tremble.

Having learned his lesson, Zhao Wuji completely put away his contempt.

Just as Zhao Wuji took his first step, Tuoba Yan's second soul ring lit up.

"Ladder Cloud Leap!"

Tuoba Yan suddenly soared from the ground into the sky, causing Zhao Wuji's attack to miss.

Zhao Wuji looked up at the sky, waiting for Tuoba Yan to descend.

Yet things once again exceeded Zhao Wuji's expectations.

Suspended in midair, Tuoba Yan climbed to an even greater height.

As though specifically designed to counter Zhao Wuji's soul skill, Tuoba Yan remained more than a hundred meters away from him.

It was worth noting that the jumping range of Zhao Wuji's fourth soul skill, Location Tracking, was limited to within one hundred meters.

The Vigorous Vajra Bear clenched both fists tightly.

Left with no choice, Zhao Wuji activated his fourth soul skill, locking onto the farthest possible point from Tuoba Yan and instantly closing the distance between them.

When Zhao Wuji wanted to activate his fourth soul skill a second time, he discovered that Tuoba Yan had once again used his second soul skill to pull more than a hundred meters away.

"Huff..."

The Vigorous Vajra Bear panted heavily.

Tuoba Yan's "shameless" fighting style left Zhao Wuji with strength but nowhere to vent it.

The feeling was like throwing a full-force punch into a soft mass of cotton.

The deadly part was that a Beast Martial Soul Avatar could greatly enhance a soul master's attributes, but it had a time limit.

Once activated, the Vigorous Vajra Bear Avatar allowed unrestricted use of all soul skills below the seventh ring, except the Martial Soul Avatar itself, for thirty minutes. Their power increased to one hundred and fifty percent of normal, while defense increased by two hundred percent.

After each use, all of his attributes would be weakened by fifty percent, requiring seven days to recover.

Zhao Wuji grew anxious. He regretted using his Martial Soul Avatar. He had already seen through Tuoba Yan's tactics.

Tuoba Yan was trying to wear down his time. If the Martial Soul Avatar disappeared, his already injured body would only be placed in even greater danger.

"That's... Wuji!"

A surprised voice sounded from within the crowd.

As the voice fell, Flender, with seven soul rings beneath his feet, flew down from the street and landed beside Zhao Wuji.

Flender recognized Tuoba Yan. "It's actually him?!"

Zhao Wuji asked, "Dean, you know him?"

"We've met once. He bought some things from my shop yesterday. Wuji, what's going on?"

"This brat beat Dai Mubai. It's good that you're here. His soul skills counter mine perfectly. Help me restrict his movements, and I'm confident I can end this quickly!"

Flender's martial soul was the Four-Eyed Cat Owl, making him an agility-attack-type soul master.

Zhao Wuji was confident that with Flender's help, he could take down Tuoba Yan within three exchanges.

Just then, a magnetic voice came from the rooftop beside them.

"Hey, Zhao Wuji. You're looking for help to interfere in your fight. Did you ask for my permission?"

Zhao Wuji and Flender turned toward the voice, and their expressions became fascinating.

Nine soul rings descended one after another from above Spirit Eagle Douluo's head.

Possessing nine soul rings meant he was a Title Douluo.

His soul ring configuration of two yellow, two purple, and five black showed that he was also a Title Douluo with a standard soul ring configuration.

"Title Douluo!"

"Title Douluo!"

Zhao Wuji and Flender exchanged glances, their hearts sinking heavily.

They were merely Soul Sages, powerless before a terrifying Title Douluo.

Spirit Eagle Douluo's indifferent gaze fell on Flender. "Owl, Soul Sage—you're Flender, the Four-Eyed Cat Owl of the Golden Triangle. Fine. Out of respect for His Holiness the Pontiff, so long as you do not interfere with Yan's mission, I will refrain from helping him capture Zhao Wuji!"