Xie Ming, Hu Mei, Dugu Xin

Huang Yueyao continued, "To be honest, a few days ago, several great nobles in Golden City who are hostile to my Radiant Sword Lion Family somehow paid the price to hire a Soul Elder team composed entirely of the Number One Tool Martial Soul in the World—the Clear Sky Hammer. For several days in a row, those nobles placed enormous bets on them, and that Soul Elder team won without suspense, causing immeasurable losses to our Golden Great Spirit Arena."

"Perhaps because they had tasted success, after winning today's soul duel, those nobles not only did not withdraw their winnings, but doubled their bets. If this continues, I'm afraid the Great Spirit Arena will have to close its doors."

"So, I would like to ask Mr. Haibodong to join the other six Soul Elders I have invited and face that team composed entirely of Clear Sky Hammer Soul Masters in tomorrow's Team Soul Duel."

Wasn't this the same as the great nobles of Suotuo City hiring the Emperor Team for soul duels in the Original Work?

Lin Hanye understood perfectly, but he did not rush to answer.

Instead, he had her bring him information on the Clear Sky Team, along with the basic profiles of the six teammates assigned to him.

Clear Sky Team—

Captain, Tang Zhan. Martial Soul: Clear Sky Hammer. Level 39 Assault System Battle Soul Elder. Soul Ring Configuration: Two Yellow One Purple.

Vice Captain, Tang Jin. Martial Soul: Clear Sky Hammer. Level 38 Assault System Battle Soul Elder. Soul Ring Configuration: Two Yellow One Purple.

Member, Tang Xiong. Martial Soul: Clear Sky Hammer. Level 37 Assault System Battle Soul Elder. Soul Ring Configuration: Two Yellow One Purple.

Member, Tang Feng. Martial Soul: Clear Sky Hammer. Level 36 Assault System Battle Soul Elder. Soul Ring Configuration: Two Yellow One Purple.

Member, Tang Yun. Martial Soul: Clear Sky Hammer. Level 36 Assault System Battle Soul Elder. Soul Ring Configuration: Two Yellow One Purple.

Member, Tang Shuang. Martial Soul: Clear Sky Hammer. Level 35 Assault System Battle Soul Elder. Soul Ring Configuration: Two Yellow One Purple.

Member, Tang Lang. Martial Soul: Clear Sky Hammer. Level 34 Assault System Battle Soul Elder. Soul Ring Configuration: Two Yellow One Purple.

Golden Team—

Captain, Xie Ming. Martial Soul: Moonblade. Level 38 Agility Attack Battle Soul Elder. Soul Ring Configuration: Two Yellow One Purple.

Vice Captain, Hu Mei. Martial Soul: Demonic Fox. Level 37 Control System Battle Soul Elder. Soul Ring Configuration: Two Yellow One Purple.

Member, Dugu Xin. Martial Soul: Jade Phosphorous Serpent. Level 37 Control System Battle Soul Elder. Soul Ring Configuration: Two Yellow One Purple.

Member, Li Bingyan. Martial Soul: Ice Goose. Level 37 Control System Battle Soul Elder. Soul Ring Configuration: Two Yellow One Purple.

Member, Huang Tianba. Martial Soul: Radiant Sword Lion. Level 38 Assault System Battle Soul Elder. Soul Ring Configuration: Two Yellow One Purple.

Member, Ning Caichen. Martial Soul: Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. Level Thirty-Three Support System Tool Soul Elder. Soul Ring Configuration: Two Yellow One Purple.

"Good lord, truly good lord. To intercept the Clear Sky Team, this woman must have pulled every string she could."

The information on the Clear Sky Team had not concerned Lin Hanye much, but the six members of the Golden Team greatly surprised him.

First were Captain Xie Ming and Vice Captain Hu Mei. Their Martial Souls were the Moonblade and Demonic Fox respectively. At a glance, they were clearly the future Spirit Hall Golden Generation members Xie Yue and Hu Liena's parents.

Then there was Dugu Xin. Anyone could guess he was Dugu Bo's unlucky son, the one poisoned to death by his own Martial Soul.

He did not know Li Bingyan, but her identity was definitely not simple either.

As for Huang Tianba and Ning Caichen, if nothing unexpected happened, they were Huang Yueyao's clansman and that Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect disciple.

"Mr. Haibodong, have you considered it?"

Huang Yueyao had been observing the changes in Lin Hanye's expression all along. Originally, she had wanted to pay a certain price to invite Yu Xiaoqiang, the most outstanding disciple of the current generation of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect, but Lin Hanye seemed far more exceptional than Yu Xiaoqiang.

He seemed like an all-round Soul Master born for battle.

"I'd better pass. Setting aside whether I can beat them, the identities of these people alone are more frightening than the last. I can't afford to offend them."

Lin Hanye shook his head. If it had been any other Soul Elder team, he might have agreed.

But a team where every member wielded the Clear Sky Hammer? Better not.

To defeat them, he would have to go all out.

He did not want to expose his Thousand-Year Second Ring and bring Unnecessary Trouble upon himself.

"That is easy to solve. My Radiant Sword Lion Family possesses a supreme treasure called Thousand Faces. Once worn, it can not only change one's appearance, but also alter the form of one's Martial Soul, the colors of one's Soul Rings, and even one's aura accordingly. Of course, all of that is fake—a Disguise. After using it, one's essence remains unchanged."

At this point, Huang Yueyao added, "If Mr. Haibodong agrees, I am willing to double the reward. In Addition, Mr. Haibodong will gain the friendship of my Radiant Sword Lion Family."

"Fine, I agree."

Although Lin Hanye agreed without hesitation, he felt rather speechless inside. As expected, none of these great families were easy to deal with.

If he refused, she would probably take a completely different attitude.

Still, Thousand Faces did tempt him somewhat. Unfortunately, he could only satisfy his curiosity with it for a while. The other party was destined not to agree to give him such a treasure.

"Pleasure doing business with you. I'll arrange a suite for you and your companions to rest in immediately."

Huang Yueyao did not give Lin Hanye any chance to refuse. She rose and summoned someone to arrange a suite for them.

Inside the suite's living room.

Shao Xin sat on the single sofa to Lin Hanye's left and let out a long breath. "You scared me to death. I thought the people from the Great Spirit Arena had discovered that I placed bets for you and were coming to trouble us."

"There was never any rule saying others couldn't help place bets. It was just a false alarm. On the contrary, we can make another huge profit." Liu Erlong did not think that much of it. Sitting beside Lin Hanye, she asked excitedly, "What was the surprise you mentioned before? What exactly is it? Hurry up and show me."

"Let's wait until we reach Gengxin City."

Lin Hanye was not as optimistic as Liu Erlong.

They were under someone else's roof and had no choice but to bow their heads. Everything could wait until after they left this place.

"How could this be?"

Amid Liu Erlong's aggrieved voice, the three returned to their respective rooms to meditate and cultivate.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, Huang Yueyao personally came to deliver Thousand Faces. After teaching Lin Hanye how to use it, Lin Hanye altered his appearance and followed her to a private room, where he met Xie Ming, Hu Mei, Dugu Xin, Li Bingyan, Huang Tianba, and Ning Caichen.

After a brief conversation, Lin Hanye confirmed the suspicions he had formed when reading their profiles earlier.

As for Li Bingyan, Lin Hanye finally learned her identity as well—Dugu Xin's girlfriend, and Dugu Yan's mother, who would likewise die from Dugu Xin's martial soul poison in the future.

As for how she had been poisoned, those who knew, knew.

On the other hand, after Ning Caichen of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect learned that he was a Lone Soul Master, he intentionally or unintentionally tried to recruit him. Lin Hanye pretended not to understand and simply smiled it off.

"Looks like you've all gotten fairly acquainted. Then I'll leave the upcoming Team Soul Duel to you all."

Seeing that everyone had talked enough, Huang Yueyao arranged a banquet for them.

After the meal, Lin Hanye returned to his suite with the mask and studied it further. Once he confirmed that it really could change the color of his Soul Rings, he altered his appearance again. At dusk, he reunited with Xie Ming and the others to prepare for that night's battle against the Clear Sky Team.