The Source of All Evil

The mushroom cloud of fire gradually dissipated. Looking at Feng Piaoling, who hadn't moved a single step from start to finish, Dai Huabin finally realized that he had lost; in fact, had the referee not intervened, he would have been buried in that sea of flames.

Dai Huabin's face turned deathly pale.

Humiliation, regret, unwillingness, and lingering fear flashed through his eyes, eventually curdling into a state of exasperated fury.

As for the other observing students, after their initial gasps, they began to look at one another in bewilderment.

Among them were quite a few well-informed noble scions.

It wasn't as if the Talisman Martial Soul had never appeared on the Douluo Continent before.

However, the vast majority of those users possessed no soul power, and even those who did were, at best, mediocre in terms of power.

Never before had anyone seen one with such absurdly overwhelming destructive capability.

Yet, how could they possibly know that this was the result of Feng Piaoling's relentless tempering (and cheating).

A single Fire Bomb Talisman, even as a seven-hundred-year first soul skill, was only average in power—at most, it could shatter a barrier by hitting the weak point of a White Tiger Protection Barrier.

But after obtaining this soul skill, Feng Piaoling had continuously refined it, allowing him to produce multiple Fire Bomb Talismans simultaneously with the fastest speed, the shortest time, and the least amount of soul power consumption.

The number he could create depended on his total soul power.

Given his current cultivation, manifesting a hundred or so Fire Bomb Talismans at once was no problem at all.

Furthermore, as his cultivation of the Green Lotus Sword Art continued to improve, the power of the Fire Bomb Talismans rose in tandem.

With his Green Lotus Sword Art now at the fourth stage, even if Dai Huabin activated both his White Tiger Protection Barrier and White Tiger Vajra Transformation, a single Fire Bomb Talisman aimed at his defensive weak point by the Heaven-Reaching Demon Eye would be enough to send him tumbling in defeat.

Beyond that, Feng Piaoling had developed a myriad of other techniques based on the Fire Bomb Talisman.

Things like self-multiplying Fire Bomb Talismans, fire-bomb manipulation, and so on...

A moment later, the referee descended onto the competition grounds with Dai Huabin in tow.

The arena, reinforced by numerous Soul Tools, was capable of withstanding any attack below the level of a Soul Emperor.

It hadn't been destroyed, but it was scorched black in patches, with wisps of white smoke rising from the craters left behind.

Dropping Dai Huabin to the ground, the referee glanced at the chaotic arena, a look of heartache flashing in his eyes. "Alright, hand over the Soul Ascension Pill, and you may leave."

Although the arena surface hadn't been shattered, several Soul Tools used to reinforce the platform had been destroyed, causing him no small amount of pain.

These were all money, after all.

"Here."

At this moment, Dai Huabin's heart was filled with humiliation, but upon hearing the referee's words, he dared not renege in front of the teacher and so many other students.

This concerned the reputation of his White Tiger Duke Mansion.

He immediately swiped his storage Soul Tool, tossed out the brocade box containing the Soul Ascension Pill, and then, wishing he had an extra pair of legs to run faster, fled the Soul Fighting Arena in a fit of shame and anger.

He was burning with rage right now and needed someone to vent it on.

Feng Piaoling opened the box, confirmed that it was indeed a genuine Soul Ascension Pill, and didn't stop him, allowing him to leave.

As the match concluded, the crowd of observing students began to disperse, with only a small fraction remaining.

Naturally, this included Xu Sanshi, Bei Bei, Tang Ya, and Jiang Nannan.

As for Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao, they had left to comfort Zhu Lu.

Because of Feng Piaoling's interference, Dai Huabin had taken an interest in Wang Dong'er, who was disguised as a girl, triggering a series of butterfly effects.

Ironically, this had fostered a sisterly bond between Wang Dong'er, Xiao Xiao, and Zhu Lu.

"Time to come back to reality." ×2

Bei Bei and Tang Ya said with amusement to Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan, respectively.

Jiang Nannan snapped out of her daze, exchanged a greeting with Tang Ya, and hurriedly rose to chase after Feng Piaoling, who was already walking out of the Soul Fighting Arena.

"Good heavens, Bei Bei, Tang Ya, is this Feng Piaoling really that terrifying?"

For once, Xu Sanshi didn't chase after Jiang Nannan; ignoring the loss of face or the sting of his defeat, he gasped in shock.

"What else did you expect?" Tang Ya rolled her eyes, feeling a pang of melancholy as she thought of Feng Piaoling's hostility toward the ancestors of the Tang Sect.

It was truly a pity that such an extraordinary genius had slipped through the Tang Sect's fingers.

If only he were willing to join the Tang Sect, he would surely be able to restore it to its former glory.

"Damn it, no wonder this kid was so willing to bet with me. This young master has truly fallen into his trap," Xu Sanshi cursed.

"Actually, you might not necessarily lose. After all, Feng Piaoling's Talisman Martial Soul excels primarily in its wide range of attack. In terms of single-target strikes, those fireballs shouldn't pose a threat to you. By the way, his second soul skill is some kind of tunneling technique that lacks offensive power. As long as you can dodge his third soul skill, you might still have a chance."

A mysterious smile appeared on Bei Bei's face.

Xu Sanshi curled his lip. "How am I supposed to dodge? With so many fire bombs being thrown, even if they can't break my defense immediately, they can trap me. At that point, I'll just be a sitting duck."

Thinking of Feng Piaoling's third soul skill, which originated from a five-thousand-year-old Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, Xu Sanshi couldn't help but shudder.

The kid's first soul skill was already explosively strong.

If he unleashed that third soul skill, wouldn't he be beaten to a pulp?

Bei Bei didn't speak; he simply raised his right hand, his thumb pressing against his index and middle fingers, rubbing them together. The meaning could not have been clearer.

If you want help, you must provide a Mysterious Water Pill.

Thinking that if he lost, he would not only forfeit two Mysterious Water Pills and one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, but also lose all face in front of Jiang Nannan.

Immediately, he gritted his teeth, "Fine, as long as you help me defeat Feng Piaoling, I agree to give you one Mysterious Water Pill."

"Then hand it over." Bei Bei reached out his hand once more.

"Don't pull that, do you take me for a fool?" Xu Sanshi slapped Bei Bei's hand away in a fit of exasperation.

Bei Bei looked at him with an expression that clearly said, 'Aren't you?'. This caused Tang Ya, standing to the side, to stifle a laugh.

On the other side, Feng Piaoling had not gone far from the Soul Fighting Arena when he was caught up by Jiang Nannan, "Benefactor, are you alright?"

Feng Piaoling spread his hands, making a rare joke, "Do I look like someone who is not alright?"

The two shared a smile and walked forward side by side.

As they walked, Jiang Nannan looked at Feng Piaoling's near-perfect profile, saying somewhat infatuatedly: "That is true, with Benefactor's strength, even if one were to look across the entire Outer Courtyard, no one could be found who is your match."

Feng Piaoling shook his head with a smile.

By this time, the sky had completely darkened.

He looked up at the moon, which hung like a silver plate in the endless night sky filled with stars, his brows furrowed and his expression grave.

Being invincible in the Outer Courtyard was not enough.

Even being invincible in Shrek was far from his goal.

His true goal was to pull that high and mighty God King Tang down from his pedestal.

As long as this source of all evil existed, tragedies like his own parents dying at the hands of Evil Soul Masters would continue to play out.

Before that, whether it be Xu Tianran, Shrek, the three Douluo nations, or the Sun Moon Empire.

They were all merely stepping stones on his path forward.