The east gate of Nuoding City was as silent as death.
Only Qin Feng's lazy voice echoed in the wind.
"...Go get your paperwork done first. Otherwise, my surveillance system will identify you as an illegal entrant."
The muscles in Salas's face twitched wildly.
He was a Platinum Bishop of Spirit Hall, the de facto ruler of the Heaven Dou Empire. And now, a kid who didn't even dare show his face was telling him to get a temporary residence permit?
It was the most absurd and ridiculous joke he had ever heard!
"You're asking for death!"
Salas could no longer suppress the raging fury in his chest. He let out a thunderous roar that shook the air!
Beneath his feet, eight Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black—exploded into view!
The light of his eighth Soul Skill was already gathering in his palm!
The terrifying pressure of a Soul Douluo surged toward the city gate like a tangible tsunami!
"I'll say it one more time!"
"Open the gate!"
"Or I'll flatten Nuoding City!"
But what greeted him wasn't the collapse of the city gate, nor the guards begging for mercy.
Instead, the two iron lumps raised the black tubular weapons in their hands at the same time.
The cold, synthesized mechanical voice held not a trace of emotion.
"Warning! Eighth-ring Soul Skill charge detected! Threat level assessed as: Extremely High!"
"Target designated as 'hostile unit.' Authorization granted to use Level Three countermeasure protocol!"
"Commencing elimination!"
Before the words had even faded, the turrets on either side of the city gate lit up from within their barrels with a devastating red glow!
A deathly aura, a hundred times more terrifying than the pressure of Salas's Soul Power, instantly locked onto every part of his body!
Salas's pupils contracted sharply.
He felt as if two primordial beasts from hell had fixed their gaze on him. If he so much as moved, they would tear him to shreds!
"Your Excellency, watch out!"
Xie Yue and Yan were deathly pale. They could sense the turrets' terrifying power even more clearly than Salas could. Those were killing machines built solely for destruction!
Underground, Level Three of the Umbrella Corporation. Central Control Room.
"Holy crap! That old geezer's got some nerve, going straight for his eighth Soul Skill?" Grey Wolf watched the energy readings on the screen spike into the red and rubbed his paws together excitedly. "Boss, let me fire! One shot! I guarantee there won't be a scrap left of him!"
"Killing him would be letting him off too easily."
Qin Feng leaned back in his chair and leisurely lifted a cup of freshly brewed goji berry tea.
"What I want is for Spirit Hall's reputation to be trampled under my feet in front of the entire continent."
He tapped lightly on the control console.
"Brother Wolf, activate the 'Scavenger' protocol."
"Give that noble brain of his a good scrub."
Grey Wolf's lifeless eyes lit up. He let out a strange cry and slapped a green button hard!
"On it! Watch this!"
"Our latest Ultrasonic Directed Incapacitation Weapon has never been tested on a Soul Douluo before! I guarantee he'll throw up everything he ate for dinner last night!"
At the city gate.
Salas was caught in a dilemma.
His Soul Skill was already charged. If he didn't release it, where would that leave his dignity?
But if he did, those two pitch-black barrels would make sure he died on the spot!
Just as the tension reached its peak—
"Hum—"
An infrasound wave, inaudible to the human ear, fired with pinpoint accuracy from a nondescript camouflage module on the city wall, instantly enveloping Salas.
Invisible, colorless, odorless.
Yet more lethal than any poison!
Salas's body jolted violently.
His Soul Power, which had been surging like a river, slammed into an invisible wall and violently reversed course!
"Pfft!"
A mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips without warning!
The eighth Soul Skill that had been about to take shape in his palm burst apart like a pricked balloon and vanished.
"What's going on?!"
Salas was horrified. He tried to forcibly mobilize his Soul Power to suppress the chaos, but found that he couldn't!
His Soul Power was completely out of control!
It was no longer as obedient as his own fingers. Instead, it had turned into thousands upon thousands of bone-gnawing venomous ants, rampaging through his meridians and tearing at them!
His Martial Soul, the "Scepter" that symbolized his authority, flickered erratically under the impact of his turbulent Soul Power, letting out a strained, mournful cry!
"Ugh..."
A powerful wave of nausea surged from his stomach to his throat.
Salas could no longer hold it in. He bent over and vomited all over the ground in front of dozens of elite knights, as well as Xie Yue and Yan.
The foul-smelling mess, mixed with bile and blood, splattered across a large section of his luxurious Platinum Bishop's robe.
The whole scene fell silent.
Every person from Spirit Hall stood frozen, staring dumbly as their mighty, dignified bishop vomited violently at the city gate like a drunkard.
Xie Yue and Yan's jaws nearly hit the ground.
They rubbed their eyes, unable to believe what they were seeing.
There had been no fight, no attack—not even a fluctuation of Soul Power.
His Excellency had just... thrown up?
"Blergh... urgh..."
Salas kept retching, tears and snot streaming down his face. He felt as if that invisible force was about to twist his internal organs to pieces.
Dignity?
Authority?
At that moment, the filth he had vomited up trampled them into dust!
Just then, Qin Feng's demonic voice came again over the loudspeakers on the city wall.
"Oh dear, Bishop Salas, what's wrong?"
"Judging by your complexion, could it be that the long journey has left you feeling unwell?"
His voice was brimming with undisguised mockery.
"Would you like me to send a medical robot to take a look? Oh, right—I almost forgot to remind you."
Qin Feng paused, then delivered the final, most devastating blow.
"In Nuoding City, you have to get an ID card before you can see a doctor, too."
"Pfft—!"
Hearing that, Salas spat out another mouthful of blood in a fit of fury. His body swayed, and he nearly passed out.
This was too much!
They had practically peeled the skin off his face, thrown it on the ground, and stomped on it tens of thousands of times!
"Qin... Feng..."
Salas squeezed the two words through his teeth, his murky old eyes filled with venom and murderous intent.
He swore that if he survived today, he would burn this city and everyone in it to ashes!
"Your Excellency!"
Xie Yue and Yan finally came to their senses. They hurried forward to support Salas as he staggered.
"We... we should retreat first! There's something seriously wrong with this place!" Yan's voice trembled.
The unknown was the most terrifying thing of all.
They would rather face a Titled Douluo than stay in this hellish place where they couldn't even tell where the enemy was.
Retreat?
Salas clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh.
If he slunk away just like this, he—and all of Spirit Hall—would become a laughingstock throughout the entire continent!
But what else could he do if he stayed?
Forcing his way in meant certain death. And standing here was like being publicly humiliated!
He had never imagined that one day he would be driven into such an impossible predicament, with nowhere to advance or retreat!
Just as Salas was torn between pride and reason, humiliation and fury on the verge of consuming him—
A Spirit Hall messenger knight suddenly rode forward in a panic. In his hands was a Spirit Tool communicator flashing with purple light. His voice was urgent.
"Your Excellency!"
"His Holiness the Pope... His Holiness the Pope has sent an emergency order of the highest priority from Spirit City!"
Before you continue