Nine-Nether Slaughter God's Domain!!

Theory was still just theory. Anyone could talk a big game on paper, couldn't they?

Lin Yuan had only awakened his Martial Soul a few days ago. He hadn't even absorbed a basic Ten-Year Soul Ring yet.

What right did someone without even a First Soul Skill have to put on such a lofty, disdainful front in front of them?

After all, they were children, at an age when vanity ran high. They had no idea how high the sky was or how deep the earth lay.

Anger and resentment continued to fester in their hearts.

Finally, one evening.

The guidance lesson had just ended, and Bibi Dong had left ahead of them to attend to official business.

Hu Liena was about to follow Lin Yuan when Yan and Xie Yue hurried over from the side and blocked her path.

No one else was around. The empty corridor held only the four of them.

Yan folded his arms across his chest, his whole body radiating scorching heat.

He lifted his chin and glared at Lin Yuan. At last, he could no longer hold back his anger and spoke up.

"Lin Yuan, who are you trying to fool with that lofty, otherworldly act of yours every day?"

"You were just lucky enough to awaken a decent Martial Soul, and then you got the favor of His Holiness the Pope."

"If it came down to a real fight, a paper tiger like you would probably look impressive but be useless!"

"..."

Yan sneered repeatedly.

"In a real, no-holds-barred fight, you might not even be a match for me, Yan!"

Xie Yue, who had been standing to one side, stepped forward too.

He clasped his hands behind his back, his expression dark, and chimed in:

"Yan is absolutely right."

"Under the guidance of our elders in Spirit Hall, Yan and I have already hunted Soul Beasts and absorbed our First Soul Rings."

"We're bona fide one-ring Battle Soul Masters!"

Xie Yue stared at Lin Yuan.

"And what about you?"

Hearing their taunts, Hu Liena, standing beside Lin Yuan, flushed with anger.

Only someone like her, who spoke with Lin Yuan every day and had even seen him reveal a trace of Bloodline Power now and then, knew just how unfathomable this black-haired boy really was.

This wasn't some empty talk on paper. It was absolute, overwhelming domination!

"Yan! Xie Yue! What nonsense are you two spouting here?"

Hu Liena stepped forward and stood in front of Lin Yuan, about to raise her voice in his defense.

But a fair, strong hand gently came to rest on her shoulder.

Hu Liena's words were cut short.

Lin Yuan gently moved Hu Liena aside and faced the two self-proclaimed geniuses shouting at him.

There wasn't a trace of anger on his face.

He wasn't annoyed by their provocation or eager to prove himself just because they looked down on him.

He simply regarded them with an utterly indifferent gaze, as if they were two insignificant ants.

Lin Yuan asked coolly:

"Then what do you want?"

His even tone carried a chilling indifference that struck fear into the heart.

Seeing that Lin Yuan had answered, Yan thought he had backed him into a corner.

He sneered and immediately laid out the plan he had already come up with.

"Simple. Let's spar!"

"To show that I, Yan, am not some bully who throws his weight around or picks on the weak."

"Since you don't even have a Soul Ring, I'll fight you with one hand!"

"If you can make me use both hands, you win. How about it?"

Yan wore an expression of confidence and arrogance.

However.

Faced with this deeply insulting proposal.

Lin Yuan merely shook his head, perfectly calm.

Seeing him shake his head, Yan and Xie Yue froze for a moment, then their contempt grew even stronger.

They thought Lin Yuan was afraid and didn't dare accept the challenge.

Yan was just about to speak again.

But Lin Yuan's cool voice rang through the corridor first.

"No need to hold back."

"You two, come at me together."

"..."

As the words fell, the air seemed to freeze for the briefest moment.

Yan and Xie Yue's eyes flew wide, their faces full of shock and disbelief.

They stared at the boy before them, several years younger than either of them, and could only think that he was so insanely arrogant he'd lost his mind!

A beginner who didn't even have a Soul Ring.

Daring to challenge two Battle Soul Masters who had already obtained their First Soul Rings to their faces!

And he wanted to take them both on at once!

This wasn't confidence. It was begging for a beating!

"Good! Very good! Since you're asking for it, don't blame us!"

Yan laughed in fury, dangerous flames flickering in his eyes.

Xie Yue's expression was just as dark. He spat out a single word.

"Come on. To the Martial Arts Arena!"

The group soon arrived at the spacious open-air Martial Arts Arena outside the Pope's Palace.

The setting sun spilled over the hard blue-gray flagstones, stretching several long shadows across them.

Hu Liena stood at the edge of the arena, anxiously wringing her hands together.

She knew Lin Yuan was strong, but Yan and Xie Yue had already obtained Soul Rings, and their strength had undergone a qualitative leap. She couldn't help worrying.

In the center of the Martial Arts Arena.

Yan and Xie Yue stood shoulder to shoulder, their fighting spirit already surging to its peak.

Yan rolled his neck, and it cracked sharply.

He pointed at Lin Yuan, who stood twenty paces away with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Lin Yuan, let's get one thing straight first."

"Fists and feet don't have eyes. If you get knocked flat, don't go crying to the teacher and tattling!"

Xie Yue said nothing, but his muscles were already taut, ready to attack at any moment.

Faced with their taunts, Lin Yuan still said nothing. He stood rooted in place, as still as an old pine.

"Attack!"

At Yan's sharp cry, the Soul Power of the two one-ring Battle Soul Masters erupted without restraint.

Dark red flames burst forth, completely engulfing Yan's body. The heat made the surrounding air ripple and warp.

Two gleaming Moon Blades appeared out of thin air in Xie Yue's hands, their keen edges radiating the sharpness to cut through anything.

Then.

Two bright yellow Hundred-Year Soul Rings rose in spirals from beneath their feet, pushing their auras to an entirely new height.

The pressure of their Hundred-Year Soul Rings surged toward Lin Yuan like a rising tide.

They planned to unleash their strongest attacks at once and crush this arrogant brat who didn't know his place in a single blow.

However.

The instant they took their first step.

A faint ripple, almost impossible to see with the naked eye, suddenly spread across Lin Yuan's body.

The next second.

A sudden change occurred.

Centered on Lin Yuan, an immense area around them darkened without warning.

The light of the setting sun was swallowed up in an instant.

The temperature in the air plummeted to freezing, and a terrifying aura—tragic, bloody, and steeped in endless silence—descended with a thunderous roar.

A Nine-Nether Slaughter God's Domain, colored purplish-black and interwoven with the truths of destruction and slaughter.

Quietly emerged.