First Kill: High-level Soul Elder

"Hmph, courting death."

Hu Erhan stomped his right foot hard against the ground, and three yellow Soul Rings rose beneath him.

"First Soul Skill, Demon Bear Trample!"

His foot slammed into the earth. The ground shuddered, and chunks of stone burst free.

The fragments had razor-sharp edges and flew at tremendous speed. Anyone struck by them would surely suffer serious injuries.

"Nothing impressive!"

Wu Qi sneered. The Azure Luan wings behind him flapped, whipping up powerful gusts that formed a wall of wind and blocked the flying stones.

"I underestimated you."

Hu Erhan charged forward and threw a heavy punch at Wu Qi.

The attack power of an Aggressive Soul Master was not something an Agile Attack System Soul Master could withstand.

In his eyes, Wu Qi had abandoned his aerial advantage and come down to fight on the ground. He had already stepped onto the Path to Death.

With freedom seemingly within reach, Hu Erhan unconsciously put even more force into his punch.

The Azure Luan wings spread before Wu Qi, taking the blow head-on.

The strength of a High-level Soul Elder was not to be underestimated, and Wu Qi staggered back several steps.

"As expected of a strength-type Soul Master. In that case, I'll try this move."

As the disciple of the Azure Phoenix Douluo, he had long begun learning his master's signature techniques.

The Spiritual Luan Martial Void Technique was a close-combat Soul Skill created by the Azure Phoenix Douluo himself.

He had come here to train and test the power of his Self-Created Soul Skill, so naturally, this was part of his training.

Blades sprang from Wu Qi's fingertips as he reached out with one hand.

Hu Erhan laughed wildly. "Good! You want to fight Old Man in close combat? Who's afraid of who!"

"Second Soul Skill, Demon Bear Roaring Fist."

Power gathered in his right fist, poised to strike.

As a High-level Soul Elder and a strength-type Soul Master, the force behind this punch would be immense.

For Wu Qi, who was only an Early-stage Soul Elder, the best choice now was to use his aerial advantage and evade the attack.

Yet confident in the Spiritual Luan Martial Void Technique, he took the punch head-on.

Hu Erhan had already been blinded by the prospect of freedom. How could he possibly have the mind to consider the hidden intricacies of this?

Just as the fist was about to land, Wu Qi bent backward at high speed, grabbed Hu Erhan's arm with both hands, and beat his wings rapidly to dissipate the force from the punch.

He then wrapped himself around the other man's arm, explosively tensed the muscles in his waist and abdomen, and hurled Hu Erhan to the ground with tremendous force.

Deflecting force was an ability of the Qing Luan Martial Soul. By using it to create a combat technique, Wu Qi could stand against ordinary strength-type Soul Masters in a direct clash.

Moreover, Hu Erhan had taken no defensive measures. It would have been difficult for Wu Qi not to succeed.

On the other side, Qiangu Changkong's Coiling Dragon Staff danced with every strike, beating A Ming until he howled in pain.

A Ming's Martial Soul was also a weapon, but the suppression in techniques left him unable to raise his head at all.

Having repeatedly suffered losses in close combat against Wu Qi, Hu Erhan was furious.

"For an Early-stage Soul Elder to push Old Man this far, you really are a genius of Spirit Hall. Unfortunately, you should never have blocked Old Man's road to freedom."

"Old Man will give you one last chance! Hand over the Gold Badge, and Old Man will spare your life!"

Wu Qi chuckled. "Oh? You seem not to have understood the situation. I already have the upper hand, so why should I admit defeat?"

Hu Erhan's gaze burned. "Very well. You brought this upon yourself."

"Third Soul Skill, Wild Instinct!"

His entire body entered a berserk state, and his attack and defense rose by fifty percent.

In terms of strength, he was now no weaker than a Low-level Soul Ancestor.

"Then let me wake you up!"

Wu Qi leaped into the air. His Qing Luan Wings beat furiously, and the second Soul Ring beneath his feet suddenly lit up.

His second Soul Ring was no ordinary hundred-year Soul Ring. It bore faint traces of purple and had reached a terrifying age of nine hundred years, exceeding the absorption limit for a second Soul Ring.

Thanks to Spirit Hall's resources, his physical strength was no weaker than that of strength-type Soul Masters at the same level. When he absorbed his second Soul Ring, he had clearly still had room to spare!

It could be said that nine hundred years was not his limit. It was the limit that the Azure Phoenix Douluo had allowed him to absorb within safe bounds.

"Second Soul Skill, Lamenting Wind Howl."

The Soul Ring from the Mysterious Sound Parrot granted a Soul Skill corresponding to another ability of the Qing Luan Martial Soul—sound waves.

Sound-wave attacks were also a form of spiritual attack.

In his berserk state, Hu Erhan had temporarily lost his reason. Yet the sound-wave attack restored his sanity, causing the berserk Soul Skill to collapse on its own.

"How is this possible? What Martial Soul do you have?"

Watching the power in his body recede like a tidal wave, Hu Erhan had long lost his earlier arrogance.

As a Soul Elder, the sound-wave attack did not affect him much, but his henchman A Ming was not so fortunate.

His perception and mobility were completely paralyzed, turning him into nothing more than a wooden stake.

Qiangu Changkong used his Second Soul Skill, sending him to his death on the spot.

Hu Erhan fell into panic, but he himself had not been seriously injured and still had the strength to fight.

Crane Cloud Wings appeared behind Wu Qi, overlapping with the wings of his Qing Luan Martial Soul without producing any visible change in appearance.

The Crane Cloud Wings could transform into Wing Blades, strengthening Wu Qi's combat ability.

His wings spread wide, cold glints flashing across them as the feathers at their tips transformed into sharp blades.

"Die!"

His wings spun, stirring up a storm as he shot forward.

Amid his panic, Hu Erhan steadied himself and tried to block the attack.

The twin wings struck with incomparable speed, cutting multiple wounds across his body.

Seeing that he was no match, Hu Erhan began to think of retreating.

He admitted defeat today. Once he gathered more men, it would be the other side's death day!

With his identity as a Trainee exposed, how could Wu Qi possibly let him leave?

"Wing Blade Slash!"

A Self-Created Soul Skill Wu Qi had developed on his own by using the blade-like wings formed through the Crane Cloud Wings.

The Wing Blades flashed out, shattering both man and mount!

Hu Erhan's body was robust. He suffered only grave injuries, and his life was not yet in danger.

Wu Qi immediately severed both his legs, eliminating any chance of escape!

About three minutes later, Hu Erhan's body collapsed limply into the rain, utterly devoid of life.

Qiangu Changkong ran over with excitement written all over his face. "Brother Wu, that was amazing! You killed an enemy above your level, didn't you?"

Then he said sheepishly, "If Grandfather finds out, he'll probably compare me to you again."

Wu Qi was somewhat exhausted.

Killing a High-level Soul Elder in this environment had still been too difficult. If it had been a windy day, it should have been much easier.

"Your Innate Soul Power is as high as level nine, yet you're only a level twenty-eight Soul Grandmaster now. That is indeed a little low."

Qiangu Changkong protested, "I haven't been slacking off. My cultivation speed just won't improve. What can I do?"

What he said made Wu Qi think of something.

The greatest problem on Douluo Continent was that Soul Masters lacked a complete cultivation method.

Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill might have originated from a low-martial world, but across all of Douluo Continent, it was absolutely ahead of every Soul Master.

If not for the Mysterious Heaven Skill, Tang San's talent would likely have been ruined by Yu Xiaogang long ago.

Wu Qi had no way to change the matter of cultivation methods either. Even if he wanted to create one, it would take decades.

After a pause, he urged, "Cultivation cannot be rushed. Don't be too anxious."

"Let's collect the badges first. Before night falls, we need to enter the Inner City."