Fierce Battle

"Boom boom boom boom boom"

A series of explosions rang out, dazzling flames shooting into the sky amidst the group of spirit masters. Many low-level spirit masters were caught completely off guard, suffering heavy casualties.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man's face twisted with shock and fury. He staggered back a few steps to the edge of the battlefield, then shrieked in a shrill voice, "Bastards! Go, kill her, kill her! I don't believe she can pull off an attack like that more than a few times!"

Hearing this, the spirit masters turned to exchange glances, then looked back at Bibi Dong trapped in their encirclement, their eyes blazing with murderous intent.

"Damn it," Bibi Dong muttered under her breath. She leaned forward into a half-crouch, left foot forward, right foot back, left hand raised before her chest, right hand hanging at her waist, her entire body taut.

"Ha!" As she saw the burly assault-type and defense-type spirit masters charging at her from the front and sides, Bibi Dong steadied her mind. Timing it perfectly, just as the enemy in front reached her and stretched out a palm as large as a winnowing fan, reeking of malice, to crush her head, she sidestepped. Her right hand shot up, seized his wrist, and yanked him back. Her fourth soul ring flashed, and a layer of hard armor covered in spikes materialized on her left hand.

Bibi Dong slammed her spiked palm hard against the enemy's cheek, driving his head viciously into the ground.

"Ahhh—" The enemy's shrill scream cut off almost instantly. His head, round as a watermelon, burst apart between the ground and Bibi Dong's palm. A substance like tofu doused in tomato sauce splattered everywhere, even dotting her visor with a few specks.

Bibi Dong's expression remained utterly unmoved as she took in the carnage. She smoothly bent forward and swept her leg out, her long, slender limb clad in thorned armor striking the unprotected feet of a tall, skinny shield-wielding spirit master charging from the side, cleanly snapping both his legs.

The shield-bearing spirit master let out a wail and toppled forward, shield in hand, toward the ground.

Seeing the massive shield about to crash down on her, Bibi Dong rolled nimbly out of the way, pushed herself up on her hands, and casually stomped the shield-bearer's head to pieces.

Standing on the field, her body stained with blood and brain matter, Bibi Dong's face was cold and fierce, giving her the air of a war goddess.

The surrounding spirit masters exchanged uneasy glances, a chill creeping into their hearts.

"What's there to fear? With me here, do you think a little girl can turn the tide?" A deep voice rang out. A white-haired Demon Muscle Man stepped forward, bare-chested, with eight dazzling soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, purple, black, black, black—blazing behind him.

"A Soul Douluo..." Bibi Dong gritted out. "How laughable. To deal with a 'little girl' like me, you bring out so many Soul Kings and Soul Emperors, and even a Soul Douluo."

"Hmph, little girl, don't try to provoke me. At my age, I've seen it all." The muscular old man curled his lip, then turned his head and added, "But I don't want a reputation for bullying the young or stealing juniors' opportunities. So—" He looked at the spirit masters before him. "I'm just here to keep order. I won't make the first move to snatch your bounty. But if you're all useless, heh."

Hearing this, the nameless spirit masters exchanged glances, seeing fierce greed in each other's eyes. Fortune favors the bold—if they could kill Bibi Dong here, they'd rise above the masses in a single stroke.

Soul power flickered. The wind stirred. They moved.

A figure shrouded in a long robe, travel-worn, appeared at the entrance of Spirit Hall's Side Hall.

Hals looked up at the gate, the flames in his eyes flickering unsteadily, his emotions barely contained.

The guards at the door stared at this mysterious figure, whose face was hidden beneath a robe with two flames burning in its depths, and hesitated. "Lord Hals?"

Hals nodded, habitually ignoring the guards' salute, and strode inside. But then he heard a hesitant voice from behind him.

He paused mid-step, tilting his head to glance at the guard. "What is it?"

His hoarse voice, coupled with his fearsome reputation, made the guard's heart pound, but the man ultimately overcame his fear and made his choice.

"Lord Hals, I've heard rumors. Niya from the hall has allied with some elders to plot against the Holy Maiden. This morning, Niya issued an order under the Elder Hall's authority, sending the Holy Maiden out of Spirit Hall to hunt down a traitor. But I saw many spirit masters leave beforehand and haven't returned—even an elder went with them."

Hals immediately grasped the gravity of the situation. He spun around, appearing before the guard in an instant, the Green Flame in his eye sockets blazing with barely contained fury.

"Which way did my master go?!"

The guard was only a three-ring Soul Venerable, utterly unable to withstand the oppressive aura Hals, an eight-ring powerhouse, unintentionally released.

The guard's face twisted in pain, on the verge of tears. "L-Lord Hals, I—I really don't know!"

Suddenly realizing the guard's distress, Hals—still standing at nearly two meters even with a slight hunch—straightened up, took two steps back, and reined in his aura.

His hands clenched beneath his robe, veins bulging on his arms. Hals slowly turned, his hoarse voice rasping, "Your name?"

The guard's face lit up with surprise. He puffed out his chest and straightened his back. "Shi Jisheng, my lord. My name is Shi Jisheng."

Hals nodded. Green mist billowed around him as he slowly faded from sight, vanishing entirely.

Shi Jisheng felt all the strength drain from his body. He slumped against the door, sliding to the ground. He knew this was his gamble—if the Holy Maiden and Lord Hals failed this time, he would be dragged down as a sacrifice. But as the saying went, fortune favors the bold.

Speeding through the green mist, Hals tracked the soul imprint Bibi Dong had left behind, only to stop short at a fork in the road.

"No good. Too many people have passed through here. The soul imprint has been scattered."

He stood still for a moment, thinking, the green flames in his eyes leaping. His soul rings emerged behind him, and his left hand moved to the lantern at his waist. Countless faint green specks of light drifted out from the lantern. The blood-red soul ring behind him pulsed with an ominous glow, and a surge of Frost Force condensed in the air, shaping each speck into the form of a soul beast or a human.

Hals looked at the host of spirits before him, his hoarse voice thick with rage as it emerged from his throat. "Go. Find my master. Protect her. Kill any threat you find—friend or foe!"

"Roar!" A chorus of howls answered. The spirits scattered in every direction, running, flying, leaping—each using their own means to search far and wide.

Bibi Dong leaned against a towering ancient tree outside a village, her body covered in wounds. A long, narrow gash at her waist, deep enough to show bone, still dripped blood. Her face was pale, a trace of despair in her eyes. Could it be that she was going to die here today?

Bibi Dong watched as the few remaining soul masters slowly closed in around her, but in the distance, a Soul Douluo still stood...

Bibi Dong slowly closed her eyes, waiting for death to descend...

"Ahhh—"

Suddenly, a series of wet tearing sounds and screams rang out as claws ripped through flesh. Bibi Dong's eyes flew open in shock as she saw a figure standing with its back to her—an ape formed entirely of translucent, emerald-green ice crystals. Its arms hung at its sides, each tipped with half-meter-long claws that were deeply embedded into the ground.

"Jii—"

A sharp, piercing ape cry tore through the sky.

Hals whipped his head around, flames blazing in his eyes as he stared into the distance where the cry had come from.

"Found you." His hoarse voice carried a surge of fury as he melted into the green mist and sped away.

Off to the side, a Soul Douluo who had been watching finally wore a grave expression. He could sense the strange fluctuations emanating from this peculiar Soul Beast's body—something that forced him to take it seriously.

Bibi Dong stared at the beast's back before her, tears glistening in her eyes. A single crystalline droplet formed at the corner of her eye.

"Hals..."