The scene on the screen was crystal clear:
Blood Fiend's Blood Snake coiled tightly around Lin Tian like a giant python. Thick, pungent blood-fiend energy poured madly into his body as Blood Shadow Douluo contorted his face and urged his Soul Power to its limits, trying to accelerate Lin Tian's corruption.
But just then, a dazzling crimson radiance suddenly burst from Lin Tian. Deep within the light, a hazy crimson vortex quietly took shape.
Before Blood Fiend could react, the vortex erupted with a terrifying suction force, tearing his Blood Snake Martial Soul to pieces!
"Impossible!"
Blood Fiend let out a howl of utter terror on the screen. He threw all his Soul Power into resisting as his nine Soul Rings flashed wildly.
He hurriedly unleashed every Soul Skill at his disposal. An endless sea of blood surged toward the crimson vortex, hoping to block its terrifying pull.
But the crimson vortex's power was beyond imagination. The moment the sea of blood drew near, it was swallowed whole. Even Blood Fiend himself was locked in place by an invisible force, his body flying uncontrollably toward the vortex.
The surveillance footage captured Blood Fiend's struggle in perfect detail:
He flailed his arms wildly, Soul Power pouring out of him like a tide as he desperately grabbed at everything around him, trying to escape the devouring pull. But every resistance was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot—frail and futile.
At last, with a desperate, heart-rending scream, Blood Fiend was swallowed completely by the crimson vortex.
The vortex slowly subsided, and all the crimson light poured into Lin Tian's body, leaving him limp and sprawled on the ground.
The surveillance footage recorded the entire process. Blood Fiend, a Titled Douluo, had gone from overwhelming strength at the start, to helpless struggle, and finally to utter despair. The speed of the reversal and the sheer gulf between his beginning and end were laid bare.
Before the screen, Leng Yulai's pupils abruptly contracted. It was as if all the blood in her body had frozen solid.
She instinctively snatched her hand back. The gentle way she had been supporting Lin Tian turned into an involuntary shove, sending him tumbling heavily into the blood.
Her heart pounded wildly, and a wave of lingering fear surged straight to her head.
Just now, her fingertips had been mere inches from Lin Tian's Martial Soul. He had actually devoured a Titled Douluo's Martial Soul and body with such ease!
If his Martial Soul had suddenly erupted just then, she might have met the exact same fate as Blood Fiend!
On the screen, the Demon Empress's crimson eyes narrowed slightly. Her voice carried a hint of gravity that was difficult to detect:
"This devouring power... is rather interesting."
The Ghost Emperor, meanwhile, looked at Leng Yulai with amusement, his mocking voice ringing out at just the right moment:
"What happened to the Evil Phoenix who feared nothing? You're scared stiff by a mere boy?"
But his gaze remained fixed on Lin Tian's figure on the screen, and his heart was heavy with concern!
What kind of Martial Soul was this?
Why did it possess such terrifying devouring power?
Leng Yulai spoke up:
"Of course I'm afraid. At first, I thought he could only devour Blood Fiend by catching him off guard, or when Blood Fiend was at his weakest and most helpless. But I never imagined he could forcibly devour him while Blood Fiend was struggling with all his might—and do it so easily.
"I'm only a Super Douluo. If he can devour a Titled Douluo so effortlessly, then he might be able to devour me, too. It's only natural that I'm scared."
After speaking, Leng Yulai moved a little farther away from Lin Tian. The entire time, she used a hand formed from Soul Power to handle him, keeping his body steady as she fed him medicine and stabilized his Martial Soul and body.
Still, for all her fear, her curiosity about Lin Tian only grew stronger.
Everyone had seen the footage. This kid's Martial Soul was practically heaven-defying. It had such miraculous power even without a single Soul Ring. Just imagine what it would be like once he gained Soul Rings!
For a Body Martial Soul master, the Body Martial Soul's Second Awakening was the turning point. But for Lin Tian, his second turning point had been the corruption of his Martial Soul—and his corruption had been flawless.
If he underwent a Second Awakening as well, on top of possessing Twin Martial Souls, Leng Yulai hardly dared imagine how terrifying his future achievements would be.
Leng Yulai could see it. How could the more cunning Underworld Emperor and Ghost Emperor, or even the Demon Empress, who had lived for countless ages, fail to see it?
In truth, the Demon Empress had no interest in geniuses with Twin Martial Souls or Body Martial Souls. Human lifespans were simply too short. To her, a nap or a period of secluded cultivation was enough for the entire Holy Spirit Cult to change generations.
The reason she had chosen to walk the world in this lifetime was the existence of the Underworld Emperor, who defied all reason. His talent was rare beyond compare, and she believed she might finally fulfill her long-held wish in this lifetime.
And now, the heavens had delivered Lin Tian right to her. She would need a blood formation to become a god, and Lin Tian had awakened such a heaven-defying Blood Martial Soul. If she made him the formation's core and devoured him, her chances of success would rise dramatically—and she might even bring the day closer.
Thinking of that, the more she looked at Lin Tian, the more she liked him. Even the unpleasant things that had happened before bothered her a little less, though she was still terribly anxious.
Just two days ago, that damn Sea God had done something again. While she was in seclusion, she suddenly felt a summons from the void. Every Sea Soul Beast was bound to be summoned away.
Several members of the Deep Sea Demon Whale clan she had raised in the Holy Spirit Cult's Blood Pool vanished without a trace. Even she had nearly been unable to hold on.
Fortunately, she had endured by relying on her million years of cultivation. But her precious daughter had only a little over two hundred thousand years of cultivation. She immediately used her power to lock onto her precious daughter, Lan Fozi, but to no avail.
In her desperation, she could only sacrifice most of the Blood Pool—the pool she had accumulated over countless ages—to forcibly activate the reversal formation. She made her precious daughter cross the rules of transformation and take human form, just like the Heavenly Snow Woman ten thousand years ago.
But she hadn't even had time to enjoy a tender moment with her daughter before cruelly sending her off to Shrek City.
Six was the perfect age to venture out into the world. The Holy Sect needed a key undercover agent at Shrek, and sending a six-year-old child was the ideal timing. One day, she could strike Shrek where it hurt most.
Alas, the Demon Empress had no idea that this decision would be the biggest mistake of her life.
Did she think Love Continent was joking around?
For the first time, she had sent away the precious daughter she had kept by her side for tens of thousands of years. She was overwhelmed with longing, and then came the anxiety.
Human lives were so fleeting. Her original plan had been to destroy everything Tang San had built and avenge herself against him, then return to the sea with her precious daughter and the remaining members of the Deep Sea Demon Whale clan, living a carefree life. After all, if the continent was destroyed, what did she care what happened to the Sea Soul Beasts?
But now her daughter had been forced to become human. She had to find her daughter an entirely new path forward. She needed not only to become a god at level one hundred herself, but also to help her daughter reach godhood. For that, she needed an endless supply of blood—and Lin Tian had caught her eye.
The Demon Empress stared greedily at Lin Tian:
"Little one, devour, mutate, grow stronger. Gather an endless supply of blood for me. My daughter's future and mine are resting on you."