The Price of a Foul Mouth

Spirit Hall had always been protective of its own, and Su Ming had committed the one unforgivable sin by trying to kill Xiao Chen.

Although Xiao Chen had not yet formally joined Spirit Hall, in Chrysanthemum Douluo's heart, Xiao Chen's importance to Spirit Hall surpassed even that of a Titled Douluo like himself.

Chrysanthemum Douluo, clad in a black robe, landed directly beside Xiao Chen. Two yellow, two purple, and five black—nine Spirit Rings lit up simultaneously, confirming the words of the Soul Emperor from earlier.

"Greetings, Your Excellency!"

The surrounding soul masters bowed in unison. Though they did not know which Titled Douluo had arrived, the proper respect was still due.

Hu Liena and Xie Yue had already come to Xiao Chen's side. Hu Liena asked with concern whether Xiao Chen was injured, and only after confirming he was unharmed did she relax.

"Xiao Chen, what do you think should be done with this man?" Chrysanthemum Douluo asked softly.

Given Chrysanthemum Douluo's temperament, anyone who dared to harm an important figure of Spirit Hall would have died on the spot in the past.

But in front of Xiao Chen, Chrysanthemum Douluo valued Xiao Chen's opinion greatly. He did not want Xiao Chen to form any negative impression of Spirit Hall.

"Kill him," Xiao Chen said flatly. Since this man had harbored murderous intent toward him, he would not show mercy.

Chrysanthemum Douluo felt deeply gratified upon hearing this. He had feared Xiao Chen might be too kind-hearted, but it seemed he had worried for nothing.

When Su Ming first heard Chrysanthemum Douluo asking for Xiao Chen's opinion, he thought he might still have a chance to live.

In his view, Xiao Chen probably did not have a heavy killing intent, because he could tell that Xiao Chen had held back when dealing with the Canghui Academy students earlier.

He was still fantasizing that Xiao Chen might show him the same leniency when he heard the words "kill him."

He immediately tried to beg for mercy, but Chrysanthemum Douluo would not give him the chance to speak further. Powerful Spirit Power instantly crushed Su Ming's heart meridian, and this fifty-third-level Agility Attack Soul King was dead in an instant.

"What about them?" Chrysanthemum Douluo then turned his gaze to the Canghui Academy students.

Chrysanthemum Douluo's eyes slowly swept over the five Canghui Academy students. When they met his gaze, they felt as if they had fallen into an ice cavern, bitterly cold.

They knew their lives hung on Xiao Chen's whim.

Xiao Chen turned and looked at the three injured soul masters, then spoke: "They have already been punished. I doubt they will speak recklessly again."

The three of them instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

The Agility Attack soul master immediately knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly in apology, swearing in terror that he would never again be reckless or speak out of turn.

Xiao Chen lifted his leg and kicked him flying.

The man crashed heavily to the ground but dared not delay for even a moment. Enduring the intense pain all over his body, he scrambled up miserably, bowed his head, and said, "Thank you, Young Master Xiao, for sparing my life!"

Xiao Chen ignored him and turned his gaze to the one with the foulest mouth.

That man had already been so frightened when Chrysanthemum Douluo appeared that his legs had gone weak and he had collapsed to the ground.

Now he buried his head deeply, not daring to lift it even a fraction, his whole body trembling uncontrollably, filled with nothing but terror.

"Xiao Chen, how about I handle this one?" Chrysanthemum Douluo suddenly spoke.

Xiao Chen thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alright."

He trusted that since Chrysanthemum Douluo had spoken, he must have already thought of the best course of action.

Seeing Xiao Chen agree, Chrysanthemum Douluo turned to that man and said, "Boy, by all rights, daring to offend my young lady should have made you a corpse already. But This Seat never bullies the weak. Now I'll give you a chance. If you can defeat that young man, I'll let you leave safely."

As he spoke, Chrysanthemum Douluo pointed at Ma Yan.

He remembered that Chu Ruolan had mentioned earlier that Ma Yan had obtained a four-hundred-year soul bone. Chrysanthemum Douluo had never seen a soul bone of such a low age, so he wanted to take this opportunity to observe it.

The surrounding soul masters all silently praised the Titled Douluo for his benevolence.

Since Ma Yan's Spirit Power was one level lower than his opponent's, everyone naturally assumed that Chrysanthemum Douluo was deliberately going easy.

What they did not know was that Chrysanthemum Douluo had already activated his mental power and sent a voice transmission to Ma Yan: "You're called Ma Yan, aren't you, boy? Don't disappoint This Seat."

Ma Yan naturally understood what Chrysanthemum Douluo meant, and inwardly rejoiced: "I didn't expect this Titled Douluo to remember my name!"

That Strong Attack Battle Soul Master had already been ashen-faced and mired in despair, but upon hearing that defeating Ma Yan would allow him to escape, hope suddenly ignited in his heart, and joy surged up.

He knew in his heart that since a Titled Douluo had spoken, it was absolutely not a joke.

Thus, the two squared off and clashed once more.

Both were Strong Attack soul masters, and their exchange was a brutal fist-to-fist brawl, with the dull thuds of punches and kicks exploding continuously.

Although Ma Yan's cultivation was one level lower than his opponent's, thanks to the physical enhancement and constitution strengthening provided by his soul bone, he not only held his own in direct confrontation but even gained a slight upper hand.

That man had already found Ma Yan troublesome when they fought earlier, and now in this rematch, he finally understood that Ma Yan's strength was not inferior to his own.

But he had no way out. Under the threat of death, he fought with increasing ferocity, and in the heat of battle, he broke through his bottleneck, raising his Spirit Power by one level.

Yet before he could celebrate, he saw a faint white light suddenly glow from Ma Yan's brow.

In an instant, dense, intricate patterns slowly emerged from Ma Yan's forehead, intertwining and spreading, finally outlining the phantom silhouette of a Black Mane Wolf Head Soul Bone.

"Black Mane Devouring Thought!"

Ma Yan let out a soft shout, and a gray beam shot from his brow, instantly piercing into that man's forehead.

"Soul... bone..." the man pointed weakly at Ma Yan, managing only two words before he could no longer hold on. His vision went dark, and he collapsed.

Ma Yan knew well that this soul skill would only stun the man for a short moment, so he immediately activated his second soul skill, 'Black Mane Frenzy,' and charged explosively at him.

The brutal impact instantly sent him flying, rolling dozens of meters across the ground before finally coming to a stop.

The dizziness from the Black Mane Devouring Thought had just faded when that fellow, barely recovered, discovered in terror that his Spirit Power was dissipating. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't condense it.

His pupils shrank, his face instantly turning ashen white. His throat bobbed as he rasped in a trembling voice: "You... you destroyed my dantian..."

With that, he could hold on no longer and collapsed unconscious.

None of the surrounding Spirit Masters cared about him. At this moment, everyone's gaze was fixed on Ma Yan.

"A twenty-second-ranked Great Spirit Master, and he actually possesses a Soul Bone?"

"And a rare Head Soul Bone at that! This is absolutely incredible!"

"The skill attached to that Soul Bone is even a mental attack. Just now, I felt that even with my thirtieth-rank strength, I might not have been able to withstand that Black Mane Devouring Thought!"

"..."

A chorus of hushed exclamations and murmurs intertwined. Everyone who looked at Ma Yan had eyes filled with shock and envy—and, of course, tinged with a hint of greed.

"Not bad. If you ever want to join a faction after graduating from the academy, you can come to Spirit City and find This Seat!" Chrysanthemum Douluo said, looking at Ma Yan.

These words would definitely resolve many troubles for Ma Yan, essentially granting him a pardon from death.