Xue Qinghe Poisoned?

Ma Hongjun's knees gave out, and he dropped straight to the ground.

Then...

He spat out a mouthful of blood!

He lowered his head and looked at his chest.

A wound!

A wound that pierced through his chest and back.

It looked fatal, yet it had avoided every vital point.

Wounded, but not crippled!

In pain, but not dead!

The stands fell silent.

Then—

"Are you kidding me?!"

"Again? This again?!"

"It ended before we even saw a soul skill?"

"I saw it! He flashed behind Evil Fire Phoenix!"

"He won just by flashing over there? He only hit him once, and Evil Fire Phoenix went down?"

The voices of the audience surged in from every direction. Most were angry, a few were confused, and a very small number—

The veteran gamblers who had been betting on Jiang Ming for years.

Silently revealed looks of understanding.

They had long since gotten used to it.

Boundless's matches always followed one of two patterns.

Either he won cleanly and decisively, so cleanly that his opponent looked like an idiot.

Or he lost for no apparent reason, so strangely that people thought he had never intended to win.

There was no third possibility.

The host stood stunned for several seconds before coming to his senses. Clearing his throat, he announced, "Blue-side contestant Boundless wins!"

Jiang Ming turned and walked off the arena.

Ma Hongjun remained kneeling in the middle of the arena, his hands braced against the ground.

He still had more than half of his Soul Power left.

His physical condition was nearly intact.

His flames could still burn for a long time.

But he had lost.

From beginning to end, he had only made one move.

And Jiang Ming had made only one move, leaving him with no choice but to kneel on the ground.

"What kind of monster is this guy..."

In a private lounge at the Soul Fighting Arena.

Jiang Ming sat on the sofa.

A staff member pushed open the door and entered, carrying a bulging money pouch.

"Eighteen Gold Soul Coins. Your share for today."

Jiang Ming took it and stuffed it directly into his pocket.

"You have another match tomorrow. Are you taking it?"

the staff member asked.

"I'm preparing to obtain my second Soul Ring. I won't be fighting again until then."

Jiang Ming said.

"Alright!"

The staff member nodded, shut the door behind him, and left.

Jiang Ming sat on the sofa, watching the sunset outside the window.

Although he was only level 19 now,

he was confident he could cultivate to level 20 within one or two months.

And for a soul master, finding a suitable Soul Beast would take a great deal of time.

That time gap would be enough for him to cultivate to level 20.

By the time he left the Soul Fighting Arena, it was nearly dark.

The evening glow had dyed the entire city crimson, carrying an indescribable air of ambiguity.

Jiang Ming walked along the main street for a while, intending to find somewhere to eat.

He planned to set out early the next morning.

But when he reached the entrance of the City Lord's Mansion, he saw a large crowd.

The City Lord's Mansion was the grandest building in Suotuo City.

Two stone lions crouched at its entrance.

A gilded plaque hung above the gate.

Usually, only a few guards stood watch here, with the occasional civilian entering or leaving to handle some business.

But today was different.

Seven or eight carriages were parked in the square outside the City Lord's Mansion, each bearing the emblem of a different family.

People constantly came and went through the main gate, every face carrying the same anxious expression.

At first, Jiang Ming had not intended to join the commotion.

But then he spotted a familiar figure in the crowd.

Flender.

The headmaster of Shrek Academy.

A level seventy-eight Soul Saint.

Another person stood beside Flender.

A fat middle-aged man.

Shao Xin!

A teacher at Shrek Academy.

Also a Soul Saint.

Of the food type.

They stood at the entrance of the City Lord's Mansion, speaking with a man who looked like a steward.

And there were quite a few soul masters nearby as well.

All of them wore moon-white robes and green badges on their chests.

Healing type!

All of them were healing type!

Jiang Ming squeezed a few steps deeper into the crowd and pricked up his ears to listen to the discussions around him.

"I heard the City Lord's guest was poisoned."

"Poisoned? What kind of poison is so powerful that even the City Lord's Mansion's personal physicians can't cure it?"

"Who knows? I heard they've already invited several healing-type soul masters, but none of them could do anything."

"Who's that poor-looking fat middle-aged man?"

"That's Shao Xin, the food-type Soul Saint from Shrek Academy. He can make Sugar Beans that cure all poisons!"

"They even invited a Soul Saint? Just how potent is this poison?"

Jiang Ming stood among the crowd, his eyes shifting slightly.

A healing-type Soul Saint.

In theory, a healing-type soul master of that level could treat the vast majority of injuries and illnesses.

Yet even a healing-type Soul Saint could not neutralize this poison!

Otherwise, Flender would not have brought food-type Shao Xin here.

"Interesting."

Jiang Ming hesitated for a second before stepping through the gates of the City Lord's Mansion.

It was not because he possessed any noble desire to save the world and help others.

He was simply curious.

He wanted to see what a poison that could leave a healing-type Soul Saint helpless looked like.

The inner hall of the City Lord's Mansion was even livelier than the square outside.

When Jiang Ming entered, nearly twenty people were already standing in the spacious hall.

Most of them were soul masters.

The weakest had three Soul Rings, while there were also several Soul Emperors and Soul Saints.

Including the conspicuously tall food-type Soul Saint, Shao Xin.

The atmosphere in the hall was as heavy as ice.

The City Lord's Mansion's steward stood at the entrance to the inner chamber, calling out names one by one.

"Grandmaster Zhang Huaqing, please."

"Grandmaster Li Chongshan, please."

"Grandmaster Wang Yin, please."

The healing-type soul masters whose names had been called each took a deep breath and entered the inner chamber with grave expressions.

Then, in less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, they all came back out.

Their expressions varied, but they had one thing in common—they were all shaking their heads.

It was one thing for the earlier three- and four-ringed soul masters to shake their heads.

But even the six-ringed healing-type Soul Emperor who entered later came out shaking his head, and more vigorously than anyone else.

"He's not sick. He really isn't sick."

"That's impossible. How could he not be sick?"

"I don't know. Stop asking me."

Several healing-type soul masters gathered at the end of the corridor, speaking in low voices.

"Did you take his pulse?"

"I did. Everything was normal."

"I examined his meridians. There wasn't any blockage at all."

"His Soul Power fluctuations were steady too. It's just... how do I put it? I keep feeling that something is strange."

"You think it's strange too? So do I, but I can't say what exactly is strange."

A middle-aged soul master in a blue robe frowned, looking deeply frustrated.

His surname was Zhou. He was a six-ringed healing-type Soul Emperor,

and a fairly well-known figure in Suotuo City.

"Old Wu, tell me honestly. What exactly did you see in there?"

Grandmaster Zhou glanced at the tightly shut door to the inner chamber and lowered his voice as he asked the Soul Emperor beside him.

Grandmaster Wu seemed reluctant to discuss the matter, but he could not withstand the gazes of the people around him fixed upon him.

"I only saw one arm."

"One arm?"

"Yes.

"A curtain was blocking the view, and the patient would only reveal one arm for examination."

"That arm was as white and lustrous as jade. The meridians were clear, and the Soul Power fluctuations truly showed no abnormalities. But—"

Grandmaster Wu's expression turned rather subtle.