The Big Explosion

Bang!

A gust of wind howled from behind Yan. He hurriedly dove and ducked, and a blood-red ball of energy slammed into the door ahead, instantly corroding a large hole that smoked green.

Yan braced himself against the ground in an undignified sprawl, but he had no time to care about appearances. He immediately sprang forward on all fours, crashed open the storeroom door, and rolled inside. Rassoul, close behind him, folded his wings and landed swiftly before darting in after him.

"You little bastard, don't even think about running. I'll gnaw you alive today. I'll break your limbs one by one, then suck you dry to the very last drop of blood..."

Rassoul felt little discomfort upon entering the dark storeroom. Though his vision was still impaired, this enclosed, cramped environment was perfect for him to fight in.

He roared, trying to scare Yan out of hiding. When that yielded nothing, he did not panic. Instead, he waved a hand and shut the storeroom door. With the door closed, he refused to believe that little rat had anywhere left to run.

Whoosh~~~

A sudden whistling sound came hurtling toward him, as if the little rat had thrown something at him. Rassoul was consumed by rage. Blood-red energy wrapped around his claws as he slapped forward fiercely. A flash of scarlet light passed through the darkness, and the incoming cloth sack burst apart, spraying white powder all over Rassoul's face.

"Flour. Thank goodness..."

Rassoul panicked when the powder hit his face. The harm that white powder had caused him earlier was still fresh in his mind. If it happened again, his eyes might truly be ruined. Fortunately, it seemed that the little rat did not have much of that white powder left. This time, he had merely thrown a sack of flour.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

One whistle after another followed. Large sacks of flour came flying at Rassoul from every direction. That little bastard kept moving as he threw them, making it impossible for Rassoul, with his damaged vision, to pinpoint his location. It was utterly infuriating.

Bang, bang, bang...

After confirming in his fury that the cloth sacks contained only flour, Rassoul no longer held back. He tore them all apart with his claws to vent his anger while continually darting toward the source of the whistling sounds. He had to catch the little rat who had injured him.

Within the dark storeroom, Yan kept moving as he hurled sack after sack of flour, each weighing forty or fifty pounds, at the pursuing Rassoul. While hindering his pursuit, he was also creating the external conditions he needed.

A six-year-old casually throwing around forty- or fifty-pound sacks of flour sounded fantastical, but it made sense for Yan in this world. He was no ordinary person. Like Rassoul, who was chasing him from behind, he was a Soul Master.

Soul Masters were the noblest and most transcendent group on the Douluo Continent, possessing extraordinary power beyond that of ordinary people.

Everyone on the Douluo Continent possessed a Martial Soul, but not everyone possessed Innate Soul Power. Only those who had Innate Soul Power when their Martial Souls awakened could use it as a catalyst to draw in energy and cultivate, thereby becoming noble Soul Masters.

Yan was a genius. Uncle Lycett, Uncle Bart, and Sister Liya all said so, because among this group of children, he had the best innate talent, the strongest Martial Soul, and the highest awakened Soul Power.

He possessed one of the finest Beast Souls of the age, and his physical abilities far surpassed those of ordinary people. His level-ten Soul Power also granted him speed and strength beyond that of adults, allowing him to casually throw sacks of flour while fleeing and cause trouble for Rassoul behind him.

"Little rat, little rat, you can't escape..."

Rassoul was not slow in the darkness, but there was too much clutter in the storeroom. On top of that, Yan had plenty of experience playing hide-and-seek and kept creating all kinds of obstacles for him.

By now, white flour had filled the entire storeroom, and Rassoul's fury had reached its peak. After being toyed with by Yan once again, he finally used his trump card. His deep-purple fourth soul ring suddenly shone brightly.

Roar~~~

The piercing cry seemed capable of tearing apart one's eardrums. Yan, who was fleeing, instantly stiffened, then noticed a cloud of black mist rapidly spreading behind him.

Rassoul's fourth soul skill could easily restrain even Liya, a three-ring Soul Elder. It was naturally unstoppable against Yan, who was merely level ten. However, because Rassoul's vision was severely impaired and he could not directly lock onto his target, the soul skill's power was somewhat dispersed. That gave Yan an opportunity.

"Damn it, this hurts so much, but I can't stop..."

Sound waves continuously battered his eardrums. Yan's head throbbed painfully, and his movements were badly affected, but he did not dare stop. Seeing the black mist behind him about to reach him, he could no longer afford to weave around and dodge. He could only charge straight toward the storeroom window.

"Little rat, I've got you."

By using the sound-wave feedback from his soul skill, Rassoul had locked onto Yan's route. The little rat, affected by his soul skill, no longer dared to dodge about wildly and could only move in a straight line. Nothing could have pleased him more.

Though his vision was damaged, his movement speed was unaffected. He had repeatedly suffered setbacks earlier only because the little rat had taken advantage of his poor sight to turn at critical moments. But if Yan ran in a straight line, the little bastard would never escape his grasp.

When Yan was only two steps from the window, the black mist behind him was less than a meter away. Yet he knew clearly that he could not keep running.

His speed was definitely inferior to that Evil Soul Master behind him. If he took even one more step forward, the black mist would catch him. He had no idea what that thing was, but he did not dare test it.

"Martial Soul Awakening, Flame Lord, flames..."

At that moment, Yan unleashed all of his Soul Power. He kicked off with both feet and leaped toward the window, then thrust both hands toward the incoming black mist and poured out all his Soul Power. Dark-red flames erupted and spread in an instant. When the scorching fire serpents touched the flour scattered throughout the storeroom, a flash of fire rapidly expanded.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM...

The terrifying explosions echoed across a radius of a thousand meters. People celebrating throughout the town were startled by the sudden commotion and instinctively ran outside, looking toward its source.

A hundred meters above Maplewood Town, a figure soared through the sky. A pair of hawk-like eyes continually scanned the surroundings, occasionally turning toward Maplewood Town with a trace of suspicion in them.

Suddenly, a series of thunderous explosions and a mushroom-shaped cloud of fire rising more than thirty meters filled his vision. Without hesitation, the Soul Master flew toward it.

The inn courtyard near the southern entrance of Maplewood Town was in ruins. A horrifying explosion within the sealed storeroom had directly blown apart the courtyard. Thick smoke billowed after the blast, fire serpents raged everywhere, and sparks drifted down all around, spreading quickly after landing on flammable objects.

The enormous commotion finally jolted the unconscious people awake. Panicked crowds began fleeing wildly, and countless figures rushed out of the inn building.