A Lesson for All

Nine soul rings rose, and Ghost Leopard Douluo's limbs rapidly transformed into those of a beast.

His seventh soul ring suddenly lit up.

Ghost Leopard True Body!

Black light flickered as Ghost Leopard Douluo transformed into a streak of black light that shot toward the outside of the hall, too fast for the naked eye to follow.

He was smart. He knew he was no match for Sword Douluo, much less Pei An, who had defeated Sword Douluo.

Thus, he had never intended to fight. He only wanted to use the advantage of an Agile Attack Type Title Douluo to escape.

A Title Douluo with a Ghost Leopard martial soul was terrifyingly fast when fleeing at full speed.

Among those present, only experts above the Soul Douluo rank could barely make out a trace of him. Everyone else saw only a flash of black light.

Naturally, Pei An would not let Ghost Leopard Douluo escape and leave behind a future threat.

Holding the Sword of the Living Judgement, he unhurriedly walked toward the entrance.

Everyone was puzzled.

At that speed, by the time Pei An stepped outside, Ghost Leopard Douluo would probably have vanished without a trace, wouldn't he?

Yet the next moment, Ghost Leopard Douluo's voice rang out from outside the hall, leaving them stunned.

"Bastard!"

His voice was filled with fury and despair.

What had happened?

The crowd followed Pei An outside in confusion.

Outside Pope's Palace, a strange Great Array had sealed off the entire hall.

Golden chains of laws rose from every direction, their pale golden radiance filling the spaces between them and covering all of Pope's Palace and the surrounding area.

Ghost Leopard Douluo stood at its edge, his expression grim.

The moment he left the hall, he had seen the scene before him.

He had tried to break through the seal and escape, only to discover that the thing was extraordinarily strange.

There seemed to be an odd power within it that greatly weakened his attacks after they landed.

Of course, given enough time, he could still break through the seal.

But the problem was that he apparently had no time.

"Ghost Leopard Douluo, why did you stop running? Didn't want to?"

Pei An's voice drifted over.

Under Ghost Leopard Douluo's bloodshot gaze, Pei An emerged from the hall with the Sword of the Living Judgement in hand.

This was naturally Pei An's handiwork.

The thing that had sealed off all of Pope's Palace was Pei An's domain:

Domain of the Living Judgement!

Sealing off an area was merely one application of this domain.

"Pei An, are you really going to force us both to destruction?!" Ghost Leopard Douluo's eyes were full of fear.

Pei An sneered disdainfully. "Both to destruction? You?"

"The fish may die, but the net won't break."

Without another word, Pei An's eighth soul ring suddenly lit up.

A faint glow covered the Sword of the Living Judgement. With a slight turn of his wrist, dark crimson Sword Qi swept out in the shape of a crescent moon.

It was the very move Pei An had used against Sword Douluo Chenxin before, his Eighth Soul Skill:

Judgement, Verdict.

Having witnessed that battle, Ghost Leopard Douluo knew very well how powerful Pei An's soul skill was.

He had no intention of taking it head-on and instead tried to evade the slash with his speed.

Yet Ghost Leopard Douluo discovered in horror that some force seemed to have restrained his body, making it difficult for him to move.

As Pei An's hundred-thousand-year Eighth Soul Skill, Judgement, Verdict naturally had more than just tremendous power.

When this soul skill was activated, the Power of Judgment restricted the enemy.

An Extreme Douluo like Qian Daoliu might not be affected too severely.

But Ghost Leopard Douluo was greatly restricted.

The speed he had always been so proud of seemed utterly ridiculous under the restraints of Judgement, Verdict.

With nowhere to evade, he could only fight for his life!

A flash of ruthlessness passed through Ghost Leopard Douluo's eyes.

He threw back his head and let out a long howl as his body rapidly expanded.

His seventh and ninth soul rings lit up at the same time.

A black Ghost Leopard a hundred meters long appeared behind him and charged toward Pei An's crescent-shaped crimson Sword Qi.

Seventh Soul Skill, Ghost Leopard True Body!

Ninth Soul Skill, Ghost Leopard Sky-Slaying Strike!

This combination nearly drained every last bit of Soul Power from Ghost Leopard Douluo's body.

Facing this potentially fatal strike, he did not dare hold anything back.

A deafening boom rang out as violent shockwaves exploded in all directions, shattering the floor tiles and hurling their fragments away under the terrifying force.

Although Ghost Leopard Douluo was weaker than Sword Douluo Chenxin, the two battles were fundamentally different.

Pei An's battle with Sword Douluo Chenxin had merely been a normal spar.

But this battle against Ghost Leopard Douluo was a true fight to the death.

Thus, the outcome of this battle seemed difficult to predict.

Everyone looked toward the center of the battlefield.

The smoke and dust slowly dispersed in the wind, gradually revealing the scene within.

Ghost Leopard Douluo was half-kneeling on the ground, barely supporting himself. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his luxurious elder's robes had been torn to tatters.

He stared fixedly ahead, his gaze tense with anticipation.

Yet in the next instant, despair flooded his eyes.

A tall figure slowly emerged from the dust.

Pei An's snow-white Pope Robe was spotless and completely undamaged.

This time, his face did not even show the slightest hint of pallor. He looked utterly at ease.

"H-how is that possible? You're only a Soul Douluo!"

Ghost Leopard Douluo cried out in disbelief.

He could not accept that his all-out attack had been so pitifully weak before Pei An.

In truth, the power of Ghost Leopard Douluo's attack was no weaker than Sword Douluo Chenxin's God and Demon Two Slashes from their previous battle.

The reason Pei An appeared even more composed than last time was another factor:

His domain.

Pei An had not used his domain during his battle against Sword Douluo Chenxin.

But this time, his Domain of the Living Judgement had already been deployed.

This brought up another effect of the Domain of the Living Judgement:

Life's Protection!

This ability could absorb life energy from heaven and earth to help Pei An rapidly recover Soul Power and replenish his expenditure.

Under Life's Protection, Pei An's already absurd reserves of Soul Power became terrifying beyond belief.

And this was only within Pope's Palace. If he were in a place rich in life energy, such as the Star Dou Great Forest, this ability would be even more terrifying.

The Soul Power consumed by using his Eighth Soul Skill was quickly restored under the effect of Life's Protection.

That was why Pei An showed no pallor this time and still had abundant Soul Power within him.

Naturally, Ghost Leopard Douluo could never have imagined that such a shameless ability existed in this world.

Nor did Pei An have any intention of explaining it to him.

He arrived before the already extremely weakened Ghost Leopard Douluo and slowly raised the Sword of the Living Judgement in his hand.

"P-Pope, I'm a Title Douluo. I can still be useful!" Ghost Leopard Douluo made one last desperate struggle, trying to use his worth to make Pei An stop.

Naturally, Pei An would not stop.

From the moment Ghost Leopard Douluo had intended to use him as a stepping stone, his fate had already been decided.

"Be less reckless in your next life."

The sword rose, then fell. Scarlet blood bloomed in the air like roses, made especially vivid and beautiful by the golden sunlight.

The rest of them felt both fear and sorrow.

A Title Douluo who stood at the peak of the Soul Master World had fallen just like that.

That figure in white beneath the blazing sun was deeply etched into their hearts.

"Let this be a lesson to you all."

Pei An narrowed his eyes slightly, that gentle smile still resting on his face.

Though it was warm springtime, they felt a chill run across their necks.

They nodded repeatedly, terrified that Pei An's Sword of the Living Judgement would fall upon their heads the next moment.