"Who's got such nerve?
To be so blind, daring to capture someone from the Spirit Pagoda!
Just wait. I'll seize his soul right now and make him come apologize!"
"A Titled Douluo from Eastsea City who's skilled at controlling blood!"
That Blood Shadow fellow?
"Calm down first. We can talk this through."
The Ghost Emperor was utterly cruel to ordinary people, and his eyes never held the slightest ripple of emotion.
His expression and attitude depended on the other person's identity—not on how noble they were, but on how useful they were to the Holy Spirit Cult.
He could change his attitude with great flexibility. The Qiangu Clan was one example.
The Holy Spirit Cult had traded with the Qiangu Clan for generations.
After all, Evil Soul Masters needed to upgrade their Soul Spirits too. Otherwise, where would their oddly colored Soul Rings come from?
They got them from the Spirit Ascension Platform.
Evil Soul Masters could enter the Spirit Ascension Platform to absorb spiritual energy and raise the age of their Soul Rings entirely because the Qiangu Clan operated behind the scenes.
They couldn't do without the Qiangu Clan, but the clan had also given them leverage over it. The two sides traded and tugged at each other.
He didn't care about anyone else, but he would still show Qiangu Dongfeng some respect. Besides, they needed Qiangu Dongfeng's help with their current insane plan. Stealing that thing would take some effort.
But showing Qiangu Dongfeng respect didn't mean he had to give in to him on everything.
As he placated Qiangu Dongfeng, his fingers flew across the communication device. He entered a few keywords, and soon his subordinates in charge of intelligence had transmitted all the information on Aolai City to him.
After reading it, he looked enlightened: a genius with Twin Martial Souls, with the potential to become an Evil Soul Master.
No wonder Qiangu Dongfeng was in such a hurry. But the Holy Sect wouldn't let a genius like this slip away either!
As the Ghost Emperor thought this, Qiangu Dongfeng began urging him from the other end. "Hurry up and make that bastard release Lin Tian. That boy's one of mine, and he'll become a pillar of the Spirit Pagoda!"
"That's a small matter. Wait while I ask what happened. You'll have an answer within a day."
"A day is too long!
"Han Tianyi's already preparing to use the Soul Tool Satellite and Super Brain Domain to run simulations. That fool's different from your Holy Spirit Cult. He doesn't have an Anti-Soul Guidance Satellite Device, or even a decent device to interfere with mental fluctuations. And he's in the waters near Eastsea City, far from any urban interference.
"Han Tianyi will find his hiding place within a day, so I'll wait half a day at most!"
Look at you, getting all cocky!
The Ghost Emperor sneered inwardly, but an odd smile appeared on his face. "Don't worry. You'll have my answer within half a day at most."
"Hmph. Fine. I'll give you half a day!"
Qiangu Dongfeng ended the call with a swagger.
As far as he was concerned, the Holy Spirit Cult was just a black glove he held in his hand, a dog raised by the Qiangu Clan. They only got to chew on a few bones when they behaved.
After all, those evil people from the Holy Spirit Cult could enter the Spirit Ascension Platform only because of the Qiangu Clan. He had them completely under his thumb.
He'd have that genius in half a day. Qiangu Dongfeng was in an excellent mood.
As Soul Masters had developed, Twin Martial Souls had become less rare than legend made them out to be.
They used to be rare because they could get an absurdly powerful Soul Ring combination. But now, anyone could.
And because Twin Martial Souls meant splitting one's limited spiritual capacity between two Martial Souls, the Soul Spirit ages they could assign to each were actually inferior to those of other top Soul Masters.
Still, geniuses with Twin Martial Souls had incredible drive. The advantages of having two Martial Souls were beyond anyone else's reach. He had to admit that.
The most important thing was to keep Leng Yaozhu and the others from getting their hands on him.
Meanwhile, at the Holy Spirit Cult's headquarters, the Ghost Emperor finished placating Qiangu Dongfeng and opened his communication device, dialing one of the hidden numbers.
The Holy Spirit Cult had many Titled Douluo, but not so many that he couldn't remember them all. At the very least, he had a way to contact every one of them.
So he immediately called Blood Shadow. Since Blood Shadow was on an island, the signal was slow, but after a little while, the call connected with a series of beeps.
"Hehehe, hello."
A clear, youthful voice came through.
The Ghost Emperor froze for a moment, then immediately rasped, "I'm the Ghost Emperor. Where's Blood Shadow?
"Get him over here to answer me!"
"Ghost Emperor?
"What's that?
"Who are you?
"I'm looking for your master, Blood Fiend."
The Ghost Emperor had already sensed something was amiss. How could Blood Fiend have handed his most private communication device to someone else?
Not even to someone closest to him.
Sure enough, after hearing his words, the other end soon let out an eerie laugh. The voice was young, but wicked, and its grating sound made the Ghost Emperor's ears hurt. "Hahahahaha, you're looking for him?
"Hahahahaha, I ate him. What are you going to do about it?
"He was delicious, so delicious!"
"You... What did you say?"
Shock showed in the Ghost Emperor's eyes, and his hand trembled. "The fellow on the other end is seriously twisted, and he sounds young. What on earth did Blood Fiend raise?
"Who are you?
"What are you to Blood Fiend?
"How did you eat him?"
"I don't know. He captured me and tried to corrupt my Martial Soul, but my Martial Soul ate him instead. It was wonderful, his blood... Hahaha, do you want to come and let me eat you too?"
As he spoke, Lin Tian began laughing maniacally. His laughter echoed through the secret chamber, punctuated now and then by the gurgling sound of someone drinking.
But the Ghost Emperor knew perfectly well that the person on the other end wasn't drinking water. He was drinking blood.
The difference between the sound of drinking water and drinking blood was subtle, but old hands like them could still tell. They'd been at it for so many years, after all.
"You... You're the little kid he kidnapped, the one who'd just awakened his Martial Soul? What exactly is your Martial Soul?
"What did he try to turn it into?
"You don't even have a single Soul Ring. How could you devour a Titled Douluo?"
The Ghost Emperor fired off a string of questions, but the other end didn't answer. All he heard was manic laughter and gulps.
The Ghost Emperor could tell now: the boy had been able to talk to him normally, but after a brief return to lucidity, he'd gone completely mad.
No, he wasn't normal even before that!
But to devour a Titled Douluo right after his Martial Soul was corrupted—that was a talent the world had never seen. He was even several times stronger than the Underworld Emperor. This boy was a monster among monsters. The Holy Sect had to bring him back and raise him properly.
So the Ghost Emperor immediately dialed a number near the top of his list. "Are you there?
"Are you there?
"Are you there?"
"Ghost Emperor, is it urgent?"
The reply came through soon.
Seeing it, the Ghost Emperor spoke urgently. "Leng Yulai, I'm sending you coordinates now. Get to that location immediately.
"Bring medicine to treat the side effects of Soul corruption. Bring the holy medicine. You must get there as fast as possible and save a six-year-old boy who's gone berserk. Remember, maximum speed. You must arrive within an hour!"
"Wow!
"You want me to get from the Far North Lands to Eastsea City in an hour—and to the Eastsea coast, no less? Ghost Emperor, are you trying to get me killed?"