Trial Mission

The voice was rough, yet carried a kind of calm. Hearing it, Li Ang's expression turned a little strange.

It was as if someone were calling your soul, saying he was about to die.

"He's waiting down there for you to join him." The thought left Li Ang feeling a little odd.

Still, after a moment's silence, Li Ang stood up.

He checked his storage ring, then headed downstairs without hesitation.

As soon as he reached the ground floor, Li Ang quickly spotted his target.

After all, someone over two meters tall with a huge bald head was hard to miss.

Seeing Li Ang, A Ruheng rubbed his own oversized head.

"Hello, little junior brother. I'm your eldest senior brother, A Ruheng, and the current eldest senior brother of our Body Sect."

A Ruheng spoke with a friendly smile.

At first glance, he was quite pleased with this second disciple of their master.

As a Titled Douluo, he could naturally see that something about Li Ang was unusual.

A terrifyingly immense power was contained within his body, a force that even A Ruheng found astonishing.

In fact, he could tell that his little junior brother had already learned the first three of the Five Styles and reached the stage of "Release."

At this stage, one's strength would increase tremendously.

And that was without even considering the sheer toughness of his little junior brother's body.

"Good kid. Master kept saying your talent was better than mine, but I didn't believe him. Now that we've finally met, I see your talent really is monstrous!"

As he spoke, A Ruheng abruptly raised his hand.

His fair palm landed directly on Li Ang's shoulder.

A force of terrifying magnitude struck, but Li Ang's muscles only rippled faintly.

It was like striking the hardest metal in the world.

The blow left a mark, but the metal itself suffered no significant damage.

Feeling that his strike had used at least thirty percent of his strength, A Ruheng's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Good kid, you really are something. Looks like the future revival of the Body Sect will depend on you. Your talent is even more monstrous than your senior brother's."

A Ruheng's face was alight with excitement.

If anyone else had said this, Li Ang would have suspected they were sarcastically hinting that he had designs on the Body Sect and wanted to become Sect Master.

But coming from A Ruheng, he probably meant exactly what he said.

Looking at his senior brother, Li Ang bowed slightly and clasped his fist.

"I heard Master say you were taking me out for a trial, Senior Brother. Where are you planning to take me, or what kind of trial have you arranged?"

A hint of curiosity showed in Li Ang's eyes as he spoke.

This was essentially a training journey, meant to hone every aspect of Li Ang.

Naturally, the main focus would be his combat skills.

It wouldn't last too long, but it probably wouldn't be too short, either.

This was a test the Body Sect had arranged for its disciple.

Sending A Ruheng was a sign of how much Mu Ye valued Li Ang.

Meeting Li Ang's gaze, A Ruheng rubbed his head, a hint of hesitation in his eyes.

"Back then, Master told me to sneak into a Federation military base and steal something, then defeat their strongest fighter without killing anyone. I was at the Four-Ring level then, and Master told me to beat a Five-Ring Soul King stationed there."

A Ruheng paused.

His gaze swept over his little junior brother's terrifyingly powerful physique.

"This time, Master told me to arrange something for you myself. You seem to be only at the Three-Ring level, but your physical strength is enough to withstand attacks from most Four-Ring and Five-Ring fighters. So I've picked a Six-Ring Soul Emperor as your target."

A Ruheng looked at Li Ang.

Hearing "Six-Ring Soul Emperor," Li Ang's expression barely changed.

He simply held A Ruheng's gaze, waiting for him to continue.

Seeing his little junior brother's impassive expression, A Ruheng's eyes flickered slightly.

He might be honest and simple, but he wasn't stupid.

On the contrary, he was quite clever to have become the Body Sect's eldest senior brother.

So he could tell at a glance that his little junior brother felt no particular apprehension toward a Six-Ring Soul Emperor.

This surprised him, but more than that, it left him puzzled.

After all, a Six-Ring Soul Emperor was usually a central figure in a major city, even one in a relatively remote region.

Most people would feel apprehensive facing someone like that.

But his little junior brother's expression was clearly unusual.

Still, after thinking it over, A Ruheng decided not to ask.

"He's an Evil Soul Master, and he's over in Skysea City. There happens to be a huge auction there soon. It's a very secretive auction, known only to some of the local top fighters, the nearby sects, and old sects like ours that have fallen into decline."

After A Ruheng finished, a hint of longing crossed his face.

At the mention of the auction, Li Ang's eyes shifted. "Are there any small organizations attending, or are they all fairly powerful groups?"

"I don't know how powerful they are, but everyone who can attend this auction comes from a long-standing organization."

"For example, our Body Sect has a history of twenty thousand years. Some sects are weaker, but even they, along with the families, have been around for more than a thousand years. There'll definitely be plenty of good stuff this time."

As he spoke, A Ruheng rubbed his head again.

A trace of embarrassment appeared in his eyes.

"But Master said he doesn't have any money. Uh, he said if there's anything I want, I can borrow money from you to buy it, then pay you back with interest."

Even A Ruheng looked embarrassed as he mentioned the loan.

He felt awkward asking his little junior brother for money.

But when he met Li Ang's gaze, the latter simply nodded calmly.

Money was nothing to him.

If he wanted, he could just ask Leng Yaozhu or Shen Ming for some.

Neither the Spirit Pagoda here nor Leng Yaozhu, the deputy Pagoda Master of the Central Spirit Pagoda, was short on money.

Seeing how generously his little junior brother was willing to spend, A Ruheng's eyes brightened with excitement.

He had plenty of things he wanted this time, such as Whale Rubber.

Truly powerful Whale Rubber could make a huge difference to him.

But the last time Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue had appeared at an auction, he hadn't been able to afford it.

At a secret auction like this, Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue would fetch an exorbitant price.

After all, Whale Rubber was rare, so rare that it was almost impossible to find anymore.

Thinking of coming along with a little junior brother who had money to burn, and imagining himself finally buying Whale Rubber, A Ruheng's face lit up with excitement.

The more he thought about it, the less he hesitated.

He grabbed Li Ang by the shoulder with one hand and carried him soaring into the sky.

"Then let's go, little junior brother. I'll take you to Skysea City first. After that, I won't help you. Master said you have to hunt down this Evil Soul Master by yourself."

A Ruheng's voice drifted from the distance.

"Of course, little junior brother, that's what Master said, but I'll definitely be watching from the sidelines. There's no way these Evil Soul Masters will hurt you, so just relax and fight him!"

A huge mecha shot into the sky, dwindling to a speck as it headed toward Skysea City.