Soul Hall

Xiao Yan slowly raised his eyes and smiled at Xiao Ke before him, the corner of his lips curling slightly as he said softly, "One move!"

As soon as the words fell, Xiao Yan's body swayed, instantly turning into a blurred black shadow. His right fist clenched, and a piercing gust of force shrieked through the air! Feeling the terrifying force surge up so suddenly, Xiao Ke's pupils contracted sharply, and a flash of horror finally crossed his face!

The Black Fist Shadow swept forth with terrifying force, appearing abruptly before Xue Beng. Wherever the fist passed, the air rippled faintly, while piercing sonic booms rang out like muffled thunder without end. Under Xiao Yan's savage, thunderous attack, even the hard floor continuously cracked, fissures rapidly spreading from beneath his feet under countless shocked gazes. Xiao Yan's attack was as fast as lightning.

Bang! Xiao Ke's entire body flew straight off the arena like a kite with its string cut.

The entire venue fell silent. Xiao Ke's defeat had perfectly confirmed certain facts.

Having defeated his opponent in one move, Xiao Yan shook his head somewhat listlessly. An opponent like this was truly too unchallenging. Not only had he not used any trump cards, he had not even used half of his true strength.

Of course, unlike Xiao Yan's boredom, everyone outside the arena slowly closed their eyes. Since Xiao Yan could so easily defeat a clansman at the five-star Dou Zhe level, then he had truly reached the Dou Shi realm. In that case, the terrifying results Xiao Yan had displayed earlier... were real!

"What a freak! Are we supposed to live at all?"

A moment later, the younger generation of the Xiao Family wailed everywhere.

On the guest platform, Xiao Zhan let out a heavy breath, and the boulder hanging over his heart finally fell away.

Looking at the black-clad youth standing in the arena with his hands behind his back, the scene was somewhat silent. On the high platform, the smile on Xiao Zhan's face slowly widened until he finally could not help bursting into laughter. Hearing Xiao Zhan's triumphant laughter beside them, the three elders exchanged glances and sighed inwardly, but none spoke out to obstruct him again. The potential the youth had displayed filled them with no small sense of defeat. Such speed was enough to terrify anyone. Their descendants would likely never be able to catch up to him.

Standing up in high spirits, Xiao Zhan clapped his hands and announced with a smile, "Nephew Xiao Ke's challenge has failed. I hope you will cultivate diligently in the future!"

In the arena, Xiao Ke's pale face darkened further upon hearing the verdict. He looked complicatedly at the black-clad youth not far away. This person, who had been mocked as trash not long ago, had now once again risen above everyone in the family. It was an almost earth-shaking reversal.

The competition continued, and Xiao Yan received a brief period of rest.

More than ten minutes later.

"Next match: Xiao Yan versus Xiao Ning."

A wave of uproar erupted!

As soon as the words fell, the entire arena once again boiled over.

The clash between the Xiao Family's two great geniuses was something many had anticipated for a long time.

Suddenly, just as the two were preparing to enter the arena, vast amounts of black mist surged forth, filling the sky. The mist swiftly gathered in the air, eventually forming a deep-colored cloud over thirty feet wide.

"What is that?"

As black mist appeared in the sky, the entire arena immediately became restless. Their eyes were filled with astonishment, and the looks they cast toward Xiao Zhan could not help turning hostile.

The black mist naturally paid no heed. Amid the swirling fog, a sinister, strange laugh rang out, echoing through the sky like the cry of crows.

"Xiao Zhan, my hall master invites you to visit Soul Hall and discuss some matters. What does Clan Head Xiao think?"

Hearing this, Xiao Zhan's expression became extremely ugly.

He had long learned from Xiao Chen that the Xiao Family's mortal enemies were Soul Hall and the Soul Clan behind it.

He also knew Soul Hall's characteristics like the back of his hand.

However, what he could not understand was how Soul Hall had noticed the Xiao Family.

"A rat-like creature dares to run wild in the Xiao Family? What nerve."

"How can there be a Dou Zun expert?"

Seeing the smiling old man suddenly appear before Xiao Zhan, his gaze cold and brimming with killing intent, the black mist let out a terrified cry that exploded through the air, causing the atmosphere between heaven and earth to quietly freeze.

"Dou Zun?"

Just two simple words, yet they seemed to possess a strange magic, instantly freezing the air throughout the area. At the same time, the questions many had been about to hurl at Xiao Zhan were completely swallowed back, leaving behind terror no less than that of the black mist.

"Elder Heavenly Fire, thank you."

Seeing Heavenly Fire Venerate appear, Xiao Zhan's iron-blue expression calmed, and he thanked him in a deep voice.

"No matter. In a moment, bring everyone into the Xiao Family. There is a spatial barrier arranged by the young master there, enough to ensure everyone's safety."

Heavenly Fire Venerate did not regard a mere Dou Zong like the black mist as worthy of his attention.

"Hehe, I never expected a fallen Xiao Clan to still produce a Dou Zun. Tsk, tsk. Could it be that the Xiao Clan's abandoned bloodline has revived?"

An indifferent voice slowly resounded through the sky like a thunderclap, startling countless people. As that indifferent voice sounded, boundless black mist surged in from every direction, spiraling through the heavens under innumerable horrified gazes.

The black mist appeared, then gradually faded after a moment, revealing ten figures. None of the ten had weak auras, especially the two unfamiliar old men at the front. One wore black robes, the other white, their strikingly contrasting colors making them easy to identify.

Not a trace of energy leaked from around the two, yet the instant they appeared, the space throughout the area began to ripple violently.

"Soul Hall Dou Zuns?"

Heavenly Fire Venerate's expression also changed slightly at that moment. His gaze locked tightly onto the blue-robed elder. Others might not be able to sense his aura, but he could clearly perceive the other party's strength.

"Greetings, Black White Heavenly Venerates."

The black mist hurriedly said.

"Xiao Zhan, our hall master has invited you. You should make the trip!"

As the words fell, two vast streams of black mist tore through space and shot toward Xiao Zhan.

Seeing the streams of black mist rushing at him, Heavenly Fire Venerate snorted coldly and was about to intervene, but he seemed to sense something and abruptly stopped.

Just as the streams of black mist were about to strike Xiao Zhan.

The energy between heaven and earth suddenly churned violently. A giant invisible spatial hand passed through space, silently sweeping toward the Black White Heavenly Venerates.

Though the spatial hand was soundless, an extremely dangerous feeling still rose in their hearts. Their hand seals changed rapidly, and with a low shout, endless energy between heaven and earth gathered around them.

It formed a black-and-white energy barrier around their bodies.

The giant spatial hand smashed fiercely into the enormous energy barrier. Boundless spatial power spread out in an instant, directly twisting all the space in the area. Such a horrifying display caused countless faces to change drastically.

Bang! Spatial power swept outward, and the seemingly indestructible energy barrier did not even last an instant before exploding with a bang. A torrential rain of energy light poured down from the sky.

At the same time, the heavily injured Black White Heavenly Venerates spat out mouthfuls of blood.

Their expressions were as though they had seen ghosts, filled with incomparable terror.

"Trying to take someone from my Xiao Family? Hehe! Even if your hall master came personally, it would do no good."

A faint laugh rang through heaven and earth. Then, a tall, upright figure appeared in the air.

Afterward, the figure clenched his hand, and the massive spatial hand formed once more, slamming toward the Black White Heavenly Venerates with a single palm.

Their faces instantly turned deathly pale. Even they could sense the extreme danger contained within that terrifying spatial power.

Pfft! The giant spatial hand crashed viciously onto the Black White Heavenly Venerates. Those Heavenly Venerables, whose strength appeared overwhelming in the eyes of others, instantly sprayed blood and plummeted from the sky like meteors, smashing into the ground outside Salt City and carving a deep trench hundreds of feet long. Seeing that the Black White Heavenly Venerates could not withstand even a single exchange, everyone in the arena sucked in a breath of cold air.

At that moment, a pale, skeletal hand suddenly stretched out from the crack, grasped it, and black mist surged forth, forcibly corroding it into nothingness.

"Cough, cough. Just as the hall master expected, the Xiao Family truly has a Dou Saint!" Along with the emergence of that pale, withered hand, an aged voice accompanied by constant coughing slowly came from the spatial crack. Then, an old man in gray-white robes slowly stepped out of the crack.

He appeared before everyone's eyes. The old man was hunched over, holding a skeletal cane. His eyes were deeply sunken, with two faint green flames flickering within them, giving him an eerie and sinister air.

"A mere half-saint is not qualified to act so presumptuously before me."

"Hehe, if your true body were here, this Saint indeed would not dare act presumptuously. But an energy avatar is not qualified to say that."

The old man smiled.

As Soul Hall Second Heavenly Venerate, he naturally knew the current condition of the figure's true body, so he did not fear a mere energy avatar.

"Since you are already here, will you not come out and meet us?"

The figure gave a noncommittal cold laugh, then spoke toward the empty space beside Soul Hall Second Heavenly Venerate.

Rumble!

As his voice fell, a pitch-black arm stretched out from the spatial crack. The arm was extremely withered, like bones wrapped in a thin layer of black skin. Faintly visible upon that dry skin were strange patterns seeped through with black energy...

The instant the arm appeared, even the light in the area seemed to dim considerably. A strange pulling force spread from it, as though it could draw in one's very soul.

The moment it appeared, the arm struck toward the figure.

"A mere one-star Dou Saint dares to be so presumptuous."

Seeing the arm rushing over to assassinate him, the figure said angrily.