"Old man, are you here on Spirit Hall's orders to capture me too?"
Shi Hao spoke with a disdainful expression.
Elder Bai's face darkened as he barked, "You're the child who came to Spirit Hall and caused trouble so arrogantly?"
He was secretly surprised by the other party's rude attitude, but at the same time, he became deeply interested. After all, not many people dared to oppose Spirit Hall so fearlessly.
Shi Hao burst into laughter. "Haha! You Spirit Hall lapdogs are truly ridiculous. Are you the only ones allowed to bully others while no one else is allowed to resist?"
"Give Mother back, now!"
There was a trace of mockery in his voice. This old man's attitude toward him was terrible, so he had no desire to remain polite.
Father had said that he should respect the elderly and care for the young, but an old man like this did not deserve respect at all.
"Insolence!" Elder Bai roared, anger flashing through his eyes.
As an elder of Spirit Hall, he was usually treated with great respect. No one had ever dared to openly challenge his authority like this. To be so scorned by a mere child filled him with rage.
"Get lost... Don't force this old man to attack. If there weren't so many people here, I'd truly have a hard time controlling my temper."
Elder Bai's voice was low and icy, as though it carried endless pressure. His aura gradually spread, and even the surrounding air became heavy.
However, Shi Hao was not frightened by Elder Bai's threat. Instead, he puffed out his chest, straightened his back, and stared at him with unwavering eyes.
The atmosphere grew tense. The two sides stood at swords' points, and a fierce conflict seemed about to erupt.
"You'd better not block my way to Spirit Hall. Father said I should respect the elderly and care for the young, but if you stand in my way, I'll beat you too."
Shi Hao spoke coldly, anger appearing on his small face.
"You little brat, you've got quite the mouth. I'd advise you to surrender quickly, or I'll beat you until even your mother won't recognize you."
"Mother... Old man, do you know my mother? I thought you didn't know her."
Shi Hao's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Oh ho, so you came looking for your mother. I heard you've been saying that Spirit Hall captured her, haven't you?"
Elder Bai suddenly laughed.
"So what if Spirit Hall captured your mother? What can a little brat like you do to us? Spirit Hall is currently the most powerful force on the continent. Even if we make a small mistake, the other two great empires and the three great sects would have to think twice about whether they could afford to provoke Spirit Hall!"
"Old man, I'm really angry now!!"
Shi Hao spoke with a dark expression, his fists clenched tightly.
"Angry? So what if you're angry? I'll ask you one last time: are you backing down or not?"
Shi Hao coldly stared at the arrogantly speaking old man without saying a word, but his gaze was so icy that it made people shudder.
Seeing the child remain silent, the old man released his pressure, hoping to make him feel at least a little fear. Yet this pressure was nothing to Shi Hao.
The old man asked in shock, "Don't you feel anything? Even a Spirit Saint would feel sluggish under my pressure and be unable to move, yet you haven't changed in the slightest?"
Shi Hao spread his hands and looked at him disdainfully. "Nope. It just feels like scratching an itch."
When the old man heard the words "scratching an itch," fury immediately appeared on his face. His eyes widened as he glared at Shi Hao, the fire in his gaze seemingly ready to swallow him whole.
His head of white hair instantly stood on end, each strand as erect as a steel needle, radiating a powerful aura. Then, with a wave of his hands, light surged from his body and formed a silver spear—his Martial Soul, the Silver Spear.
Immediately afterward, dazzling rings of light appeared beneath the old man's feet. These rings represented his level of strength—Spirit Rings.
The surrounding spectators cried out in shock at the sight. "My heavens, this old man is actually an eight-ring Soul Douluo..."
They stared in astonishment at the eight Spirit Rings shining around Elder Bai: two yellow, two purple, and four black.
"Isn't it a little too much for Spirit Hall to send an eight-ring Soul Douluo to deal with a child?" someone could not help complaining. They felt that someone of the old man's strength dealing with a child was simply excessive.
"Little brat, you forced my hand. It's not too late to beg for mercy now!"
Elder Bai grew increasingly irritated by the crowd's chatter. He looked at Shi Hao and spoke coldly.
"Old man, quit talking nonsense. If you want to fight, then fight."
Elder Bai gripped the Silver Spear and stomped with one foot. The ground instantly split apart, cracks spreading outward like a spiderweb. He shot toward Shi Hao like lightning, his spear gleaming with cold light and carrying fierce killing intent.
Shi Hao's expression turned solemn. He swiftly threw a punch to meet the old man's attack. Vast spiritual power gathered around his fist, as though it would tear through the void itself.
At that moment, the bone on Shi Hao's back suddenly became even more brilliant, shining like a dazzling star. At the same time, mysterious inscriptions flickered continuously across the bone, emitting a heart-palpitating aura.
Then, the four black and four red Spirit Rings around Shi Hao also lit up. The nearest spectators were all dumbfounded, staring at the scene before them in disbelief. The light hurt their eyes so badly that they could not look directly at it, yet they could clearly feel that incomparably powerful force in their hearts.
Cries of shock immediately rang out from the crowd. "Th-this... red Spirit Rings! Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Rings! There are even four red Spirit Rings! How is that possible?"
"Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Rings are incredibly rare! Even powerful Titled Douluo might not possess one! Who exactly is this person?"
"Is this fake? How could anyone possess so many Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Rings? And his first four are all Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Rings—wouldn't that make him explode and die?"
The voices rose and fell one after another, and everyone's faces were filled with shock and confusion.
"And that Martial Soul is strange too. It's neither a Tool Martial Soul nor a Beast Martial Soul, yet it actually fused with his body? It must be fake!"
However, the crowd that had witnessed such a huge display also realized how dangerous their surroundings were. A battle between two powerful fighters would inevitably harm bystanders, so they hurriedly retreated to the outskirts, clearing a large area for the two of them.
Bibi Dong, who had been watching the situation closely, underwent a drastic change in expression. Her eyes widened in utter disbelief, and even her voice began to tremble. "Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Rings? How is that possible... Is this truly a power that a human can possess?"
As a Peerless Douluo, Bibi Dong also possessed one Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring, but only one. No one understood the terrifying power and rarity of Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Rings better than she did.
Before you continue