Promotion to Soul Douluo!

Time often slips away unnoticed. Two years had passed since Bibi Dong and Hals's first mission together. After that mission ended, Hals had honestly told Bibi Dong about his past and why he treated her the way he did, and their relationship had grown increasingly close. Hals still habitually put Bibi Dong first, always thinking of her in everything, while Bibi Dong had gradually gotten used to having Hals's help with everything, used to seeking him out to discuss matters whenever something came up.

With nothing to do today, Bibi Dong rare slept in until she naturally woke up. After a simple wash, she called out loudly, "Hals, are you there? Prepare some food for me, I want to eat chicken cutlet!" Having said that, she casually flipped open a book.

The author of this book was a Soul Master who had come to Martial Soul Hall some time ago, named Yu Xiaogang.

Thinking of this Yu Xiaogang, a flicker of interest flashed in Bibi Dong's eyes. This person's martial soul was a rare Mutated Martial Soul, but unfortunately it had mutated in a bad direction. Apparently he had originally been a member of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect.

A hint of regret passed through Bibi Dong's eyes. This person's theories were still very strong; she had benefited greatly from reading his writings. But most of the elders of Martial Soul Hall held a contemptuous attitude toward him.

Bibi Dong felt their reasoning wasn't without merit. Yu Xiaogang's Soul Power was only a mere twentieth level; he would never be able to step into the world of high-level Soul Masters in his lifetime. And some things could only be understood through personal experience.

Thinking about this, Bibi Dong suddenly realized that quite some time had passed and Hals still hadn't brought the food.

Puzzled, she stood up, pushed open the door, and turned to push open the door to Hals's room next door.

It was completely empty inside. Not to mention a person, aside from a bed and a lamp burning with light, there wasn't even any extra furniture.

The bed was a wooden plank bed, without any bedding.

"Has Hals been sleeping on this every day? It must be really uncomfortable, right?" Bibi Dong walked over, sat by the window, and pressed down hard on the bed board with both hands. It was so hard it made her feel uncomfortable.

After sitting for a short while, Bibi Dong got up and walked toward the only lamp in the room.

"Wow." Bibi Dong looked at the lamp before her with curiosity. Inside that "oil lamp," aside from a burning wick, there was no fuel at all. The wick itself was floating in midair.

Just as she was carefully examining the lamp, she suddenly noticed an extremely faint, subtle fragrance permeating the air. She couldn't quite describe what kind of scent it was; if pressed, it was somewhat similar to mint.

Bibi Dong "greedily" breathed in the wonderful fragrance, feeling her mind become completely clear and empty.

"Having something this good and Hals didn't call me to enjoy it, that's really too much." As she sniffed the fragrance and pondered, suddenly, Bibi Dong felt her head go dizzy, her body unsteady, and she collapsed to the ground, two streams of fresh blood winding out from her nostrils.

Bibi Dong quickly backed up a few steps, distancing herself from this eerie lamp.

Bibi Dong felt like crying but had no tears. "What is all this? Why is everything Hals has so bizarre?"

She remembered another time when she had asked Hals to let her see his lantern. Hals had hesitated for an unusually long time before handing it over. The moment she got close, she felt the world spin, as if a tremendous suction force was trying to pull her in. It had scared Hals quite badly, and he had been full of self-blame afterward.

After resting for a moment, Bibi Dong suddenly realized that when her dizziness faded, the fatigue in her body and mind had been swept away, and her thinking was exceptionally sharp.

Bibi Dong's expression turned strange. Connecting it to the nosebleed earlier, she thought, "Could it be that I over-nourished myself?!"

Shaking her head, Bibi Dong quickly got up, left Hals's room, and closed the door.

"Forget it, I'll go find Hals. When I find him, I'll ask him what this thing is."

"What? Hals went to obtain a Soul Ring?" Even though Bibi Dong was extremely surprised, she still maintained a ladylike demeanor in front of others.

"But wasn't he only a Spirit Saint a year ago...?!!!" Bibi Dong realized belatedly, "A Soul Douluo?! What a monster..."

"Y-yes, Lord Hals told us he was in a hurry and had to leave first. If the Holy Maiden was looking for him, he said to let you know." The servant girl Bibi Dong had grabbed at random to question was so nervous her tears were about to fall.

Seeing the girl's awkward expression, Bibi Dong realized that grabbing someone and bombarding them with questions was a bit inappropriate. She quickly let go, her face full of apology, and clasped her hands together, saying, "Sorry about that. I just had something urgent to find him about. It's nothing now, thank you so much."

Bibi Dong thought for a moment and added, "Oh, right, if it's possible, could you prepare some food and send it to my room?"

"N-no problem." The girl relaxed, let out a sigh of relief, and perked up to reply.

"Alright then, I'll head back first. See you later." Smiling and waving, Bibi Dong turned and walked away.

"The Holy Maiden is so gentle." The girl behind her clasped her hands to her chest, stars in her eyes, full of admiration.

The girl didn't notice at all that as Bibi Dong turned away, she was smiling while gritting her teeth and muttering, "Damn Hals, going out without calling me. Just wait until you get back, I'll deal with you then."

"Achoo!"

Hidden in the shadows, silently watching the gathering of Soul Master bandits before him, Hals suddenly sneezed.

"Who!"

The bandits gathered at the party alertly looked toward the corner where the sound came from. A few had already released their Soul Rings.

Seeing that he had been discovered, Hals could only emerge from the shadows, silent.

The bandits looked at this strangely dressed weirdo before them and didn't dare act rashly, only cautiously surrounding him step by step.

Hals sighed. His hoarse voice rang in the ears of the bandits:

"I was originally thinking of saving some effort and letting you die quietly. But it seems that's not necessary now. I'll just ask you to die right now."

Behind Hals, seven dazzling Soul Rings appeared—Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black, Black, Black, Black—slowly pulsing. Then the seventh Soul Ring flashed—Martial Soul True Body!

An immense aura surged into the sky. Hals's figure stretched taller, becoming ethereal and indistinct. The robe on his body ignited with eerie green flames, and many strange patterns appeared, making it look both magnificent and bizarre. The eyeballs in his eye sockets were replaced by two green flames, burning with an endless greed for souls.

"Wonderful power. So this is the only way to absorb truly complete and perfect souls." A hoarse, eerie, overlapping voice drilled into the ears of every bandit present from all directions. Some bandits with weak wills had already gone vacant-eyed, and green figures struggled to crawl out of their bodies, rushing toward Hals's lantern.

Hals smiled eerily. He opened his mouth, deep as a black hole, and a sound like "zhe zhe zhe" came out.

"Come, come, my believers. Come to me, and you will gain eternal life. Come, join me, become my kin!"

Gradually, all the bandits present—even one at the Soul Emperor level—stood motionless, eyes vacant. Tiny green flames ignited on their bodies, then spread like a wildfire, engulfing them entirely. From their bodies, from the flames, souls crawled out, wailing, screaming, and charging furiously at Hals, only to be sucked into the Soul-Guiding Lantern in his hand.

The Soul-Guiding Lantern grew brighter, and the soul fire on the lantern burned more fiercely. In contrast, the flames on the bandits gradually weakened until they went out.

Whenever a person's flames went out, their body turned pale, brittle, and decayed. A gentle breeze blew, and the flesh on their bodies drifted away like dust, leaving behind only a jade-white, translucent skeleton standing in place.

One by one, the flames on everyone present went out. Hals also reverted from his Martial Soul True Body state. He took one last look at the scene before him, then turned and vanished into the shadows, departing.

Dozens or hundreds of bodies stood in the gathering hall. The bonfire still blazed, the wine and food were still warm, gold and silver jewels lay scattered about. But things had changed, and people were gone. A wind blew through the empty hall, leaving behind over a hundred gleaming white skeletons. The wind passed through the bones, and a sobbing sound echoed in the sky, lingering long without end.