"Xiao Hao is quite the little powerhouse now."
Feng Ling sighed with feeling. Though the child hadn't hunted for a Soul Ring, his strength had continued to improve. His protective Self-Created Soul Skill, in particular, combined with his formidable physique, gave him combat strength on par with a Soul King.
Add that Vajra Dharma Body, and he could even hold his own against a Spirit Emperor.
"Still not planning to hunt for a Soul Ring?"
Seeing Yang Hao put away his notebook, Feng Ling asked about his Soul Ring.
"My design is nearly complete. I'm planning to give it a try in the next few days."
Yang Hao was filled with anticipation. After lying low for three years, he could finally begin that experiment. If he succeeded, his Path to Godhood would have begun.
"You're definitely going to fail."
Ma Xiaotao offered him a heartfelt curse. A very heartfelt one.
"Be careful."
Feng Ling reminded him with concern. Although she didn't know what the little fellow was planning, she didn't want him to get hurt.
"I'll be careful."
Yang Hao nodded. Naturally, he wouldn't joke around with his life. Besides, all those experiments would be carried out outside his body, so even if they failed, he wouldn't be harmed.
Of course, success would be best.
"Who is she?"
His gaze turned to the plump woman following Feng Ling. Her features looked somewhat familiar.
"Her name is Evil Moon. Her Martial Soul is Evil Moon. Though she's only a Soul Douluo right now, she has a 100,000-year Soul Ring, and her combat strength rivals that of a Titled Douluo."
Feng Ling introduced her. She was a new subordinate of hers, one with not only strength and potential but also excellent skills at getting things done.
"Her Martial Soul is Evil Moon, and her Eighth Soul Ring is a 100,000-year Soul Ring?"
Yang Hao was surprised, but inwardly, he was puzzled.
Wasn't there someone like her in the Holy Spirit Cult in the original story?
"Does she have any connection to the Sun Moon Imperial Family?"
He thought of the Sun Moon Imperial Family, whose inherited Martial Souls were the sun and the moon.
"Our ancestors should have had some connection."
Evil Moon answered, confirming that there was indeed a connection.
She wasn't lying. Her ancestors' branch of the family had originated from the imperial family of the Sun Moon Empire. They had lost a struggle for the throne and fled to the Heaven Dou Empire.
"Show me your Martial Soul and Soul Skills. I've never seen a Martial Soul like this before."
Yang Hao let his curiosity show. After all, it was a moon Martial Soul.
Evil Moon glanced at Feng Ling. When Feng Ling nodded, she summoned her Martial Soul, Evil Moon.
A blood-red full moon rose into the air, radiating a powerful, evil aura. Her Soul Ring Configuration was two yellow, two purple, three black, and one red.
She then demonstrated her Soul Skills. Yang Hao watched closely, but when he saw the effect of her fifth Soul Skill, a subtle look entered his eyes.
As she used her fifth Soul Skill, Evil Moon's Martial Soul transformed into a crescent moon. A second crescent moon separated from it and descended, circling and slashing like a reaper's scythe.
Next came her sixth Soul Skill. The full moon turned black, taking on the attribute of darkness, with only a ring of blood-red light around its edge, formed from the power of her Martial Soul, Blood Moon.
Then the Martial Soul descended and exploded, blasting a deep crater into the hard ground. A very deep crater.
"My eighth Soul Skill is too powerful. This isn't the right place to use it."
After saying that, Evil Moon put away her Martial Soul.
"I heard that Dragon God Douluo has a great-grandson he dotes on. When the boy was very young, he found him a child bride named Zhang Lexuan, whose Martial Soul is the moon."
"Should I call you Evil Moon, or Zhang Lexuan?"
Yang Hao pointed her out directly, finding it quite amusing. He was nearly certain this woman was Zhang Lexuan. He just didn't understand why she had suddenly come to the Holy Spirit Cult.
Before he could finish speaking, Evil Moon—no, Zhang Lexuan—exploded into action. She summoned her Martial Soul again, this time using her Martial Soul Avatar, then activated her eighth Soul Skill.
She didn't know how this Holy Spirit Cult Holy Son had seen through her, but the situation was dangerous. She had to kill him.
She had learned that the Holy Spirit Cult was manufacturing explosive firearms comparable in power to Soul Tools, and that they could be mass-produced. The source of it all was this Holy Spirit Cult Holy Son. He was also an enemy of their Shrek Academy. He had to be eliminated.
"How dare you!"
Feng Ling barked. The powerful Soul Power of a Super Douluo erupted, suppressing Zhang Lexuan outright. It interrupted both the Soul Skill and Soul Bone Skill she was about to unleash.
The difference in their Soul Power Levels was simply too great. Besides, Feng Ling had grown wary as soon as Yang Hao spoke and had acted at once.
But Zhang Lexuan had been prepared, too. She took out a lotus—a metal lotus. It was the Tang Sect's most powerful mechanical Hidden Weapon, the Buddha Fury Tang Lotus.
She had made ample preparations for this trip and brought plenty of equipment. Tang Sect Hidden Weapons were mechanical devices that could be used without a sound, making them ideal for ambushes and surprise attacks.
And as a mechanical Hidden Weapon, it could be triggered even without Soul Power. The Buddha Fury Tang Lotus was detonated by explosives, not a compressed spring that needed winding up, so it could erupt instantly.
"Boom!"
The lotus exploded with a thunderous blast. Countless blades shot out, forming a storm of metal.
Yang Hao had been prepared, too.
He activated the Cold Jade Heart, forming Ice Armor to defend himself. Just one blade managed to graze his cheek before the armor fully covered him—or rather, he had let it cut him on purpose.
The poison coating the blade quickly ate away at his skin, but the power of Gold of Life held it back and broke it down. Only a small patch of skin was stained and corroded by the poison.
"You've got some nerve!"
Feng Ling was furious. Her immense Soul Pressure forced Zhang Lexuan to her knees. The meridians in her body were blocked, her internal organs were injured, and she spat out a mouthful of blood.
Ignoring her own injuries, Zhang Lexuan stared fixedly at the boy who hadn't succumbed to the poison, regret filling her heart.
"Sister Lexuan!"
Ma Xiaotao was stunned, then panicked.
Was this Sister Lexuan?
How had Sister Lexuan become like this?
And why had she come to the Holy Spirit Cult?
"So there really was something wrong with her."
Killing intent was plain on Feng Ling's face.
Coming to spy on the Holy Spirit Cult was a capital offense in itself. Now she had even attacked Xiao Haozi—an offense beyond all others.
"Teacher, please don't! I'm begging you, don't kill Sister Lexuan!"
Ma Xiaotao hurried forward to plead for her. She absolutely couldn't let Sister Lexuan die.
"Don't worry. I couldn't bear to kill such a beautiful woman."
Feng Ling sneered. If Shrek dared send someone over, they might as well keep her. The Holy Spirit Cult had plenty of ways to handle her.
"How did you recognize me?"
Zhang Lexuan paid no attention to whether she would live or die. Her eyes stayed fixed on the boy.
She was certain she had disguised herself well. Not only had she changed her Martial Soul and altered the effects of her Soul Skills considerably, she had even gained quite a bit of weight. She had also trained her voice to disguise it. Even those closest to her should have had trouble recognizing her.
Xiaotao hadn't recognized her, for example. So how had this boy seen through her?
Chapter 37: The Way of Tea!
"Why should I tell you?"
Yang Hao didn't have the bad habit of explaining himself to his enemies. He turned to Feng Ling instead.
"Can our methods control her completely? I don't want her turning around and screwing us over later."
He could guess what Feng Ling was thinking. He had also seen the Holy Spirit Cult's methods for controlling people, and they weren't flawless. There was a risk they could backfire.
That was what would happen to Ma Xiaotao in the future. Huo Yuhao would awaken her, and she would become a spy, making an enormous contribution to the Holy Spirit Cult's destruction.
Tang Ya would also be restored to normal. Clearly, those methods all had flaws.
If they were going to do this, they had to do it perfectly. He didn't want to get stabbed in the back one day.
"She has a 100,000-year Soul Ring and a 100,000-year Head Soul Bone. It'll be difficult."
Feng Ling frowned, troubled by the problem.
"Kill me. You'll never control me."
Zhang Lexuan was resolute. Before coming here, she had already prepared herself to face death.
"Beautiful sister, when we get the chance, let's capture Dragon God Douluo's great-grandson and reunite the married couple.
"We could even invite Dragon God Douluo over, then pick out a nice plot of land to bury him in. That way, the young couple could pay their respects together."
After thinking it over, Yang Hao offered a kind suggestion.
They were an unmarried young couple, childhood sweethearts who had grown up together. They couldn't be torn apart.
Such a wrathful crime as breaking up a couple was absolutely out of the question.
"You despicable coward!"
Zhang Lexuan lost her composure. The Holy Spirit Cult Holy Son really was despicable.
"Then we can just look for a chance to kill him. Maybe the shock of losing his grandson will overwhelm Dragon God Douluo, who's already in poor condition, and he'll drop dead and go join his grandson.
"The old man's friends and family are all dead. Living is just painful for him. We should help him put an end to that pain."
As Yang Hao spoke, he wore an expression of boundless compassion. He even took out a Golden Light Type Soul Tool, a light cylinder, and shone it around to give the scene a more sacred air.
"Oh, and there's this big-breasted, empty-headed woman who's been harboring ulterior motives and wanting to return to Shrek Academy. Why not let you all reunite?"
His gaze shifted to the anxious Ma Xiaotao. That woman was truly with Cao's camp while her heart was with Han.
"Shameless!"
Zhang Lexuan's chest heaved with rage. She was almost grinding her teeth to dust.
How could anyone be so despicable?
Before you continue