On this clearing in Sunset Forest, the pungent stench of blood was spreading wildly through the air.
The top-tier five-thousand-year-old Wind-Breath Dragon lay limp in a pool of blood, dead beyond any doubt.
A cold wind swept past.
"Hss—"
Feng Cang, who had been as motionless as a clay statue, suddenly sucked in a sharp breath.
He instinctively raised a hand to stroke his chin. But when he pressed too hard, he actually tore off a large handful of his grizzled beard!
"Ow!" Feng Cang winced in pain, finally snapping out of his daze.
But he couldn't spare a thought for his beard. His cloudy old eyes were fixed on the eight-year-old boy in the distance, gently stroking Little Griffin.
Feng Cang's heart was pounding at a terrifying speed unlike anything he had ever felt before!
"Eight years old... level thirty..." Feng Cang's lips trembled violently, his muttered words edged with barely concealed fear.
"He hasn't even obtained his third Soul Ring, and he didn't even use Martial Soul Possession. He relied entirely on mental commands to direct his disembodied Martial Soul... and he actually, actually killed a five-thousand-year-old top-grade Sub-Dragon with his bare hands?!"
"This isn't a genius..." Feng Cang swallowed hard, a feverish light flaring in his eyes. "This is a monster! A god who strikes from a higher dimension! This is no being who should exist in the mortal world!"
Ecstasy! A joy beyond words surged through Feng Cang in an instant.
He had bet right!
Two years ago, he had ignored the confusion of everyone at Godwind Academy and even borne the secret mockery of some, giving up his lofty position as dean to shamelessly come to Farack Kingdom and serve as bodyguard to a six-year-old boy's family.
Everyone had thought he'd lost his mind. They'd said he'd thrown away even the dignity of a Soul Douluo.
But now?!
As long as Xue Yao survived, he was destined to become a Titled Douluo, perhaps even the legendary Limit Douluo—and maybe... even a god!
And Feng Cang would be the guardian who had protected this god in his youth!
This contribution, made by serving such a future ruler, would let his family flourish for a thousand years across Douluo Continent!
What a refreshing feeling! What a refreshing feeling!
But the very next second, just as Feng Cang was almost ready to throw his head back and laugh, a shudder ran through his body.
His ecstasy faded, replaced by a bone-chilling fear that shot straight to his skull.
A tree that towered above the forest was bound to be toppled by the wind!
Douluo Continent was a cruel world where the strong preyed on the weak.
What would happen if word got out that an eight-year-old monster could take on a five-thousand-year-old Sub-Dragon alone?
Heaven Dou Empire might try to win him over with the full force of the nation.
But what about Star Luo Empire? They would never allow Heaven Dou Empire to gain an invincible prodigy destined to rule an entire era! And more terrifying still was Spirit Hall!
Those madmen of Spirit Hall, who controlled seventy percent of the Soul Masters on the continent, would send Titled Douluo assassins without a moment's hesitation to snuff Xue Yao out in the cradle, no matter the cost, once they learned the truth about him!
Could Farack Kingdom protect him? Could Feng Cang, an eighty-third-level Soul Douluo, protect him?
Absolutely not!
"This secret... must not leak out. Not a trace!"
Feng Cang's expression changed instantly.
The kindly old man who looked almost comical from being so fat vanished completely in the blink of an eye.
In his place stood an eighty-third-level Battle Soul Douluo who had fought his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood!
BOOM—!!!
A violent, icy blue-green Soul Power filled with overwhelming killing intent burst from Feng Cang and surged into the sky!
The pressure of an eighty-third-level Soul Douluo was no longer restrained. Thick with palpable murderous intent, it crashed down on the Royal Knights and the kingdom's elite guards a mile behind him!
"Thump! Thump! Thump!" Under this terrifying pressure, the fifty elite members of the Heaven Dou Royal Knights and two hundred kingdom guards had no chance to resist. Their knees buckled, and they dropped to the ground in unison!
The scale-armored horses with Soul Beast bloodlines let out a series of miserable whinnies. Foam spilled from their mouths as their legs gave way, and they collapsed, pissing and shitting themselves.
"E-Elder Feng?!" King Xue Lang and Queen Gao Nianzhen were both startled by the sudden killing intent.
Although Gao Nianzhen was a Soul Saint, the Soul Douluo's murderous aura, which Feng Cang had deliberately unleashed, left her struggling to breathe.
Feng Cang paid the royal couple no heed.
He slowly turned around. His eyes had grown bloodshot with eerie streaks of blue and red from his extreme tension and killing intent.
Floating in midair, he glared down at the two hundred and fifty soldiers.
Every soldier trembled, not daring to draw a breath.
They had no idea why this usually amiable pillar of the kingdom had suddenly directed such terrifying killing intent at them.
"Listen."
Feng Cang's voice was hoarse, carrying a bone-chilling coldness.
"The strength Yao'er showed today is Farack Kingdom's highest, most vital, and most untouchable secret!"
"This secret concerns Yao'er's life, the fate of Farack Kingdom, and the lives of every person here!"
Feng Cang's gaze swept over the soldiers like two sharp daggers.
"I don't care whether you're guards of Farack Kingdom or Royal Knights assigned from Heaven Dou Empire. From this moment on, you will keep your mouths shut!"
"If anyone lets a single word slip..." Feng Cang raised his right hand, compressing the violent wind element in his palm until it gave off a shrill, hair-raising whine.
"I, Feng Cang, swear on my Martial Soul! No matter how far you flee or who stands behind you, I will personally slaughter your entire family!"
"Your parents, your wife and children, your brothers and sisters—even the dog in your yard—I'll grind them all to dust and leave not a single bone intact!"
"Do you understand?!"
Feng Cang practically roared the last four words, infusing them with Soul Power.
"Y-Yes, understood!"
"We swear loyalty to Young Master Yao! We won't let a single word slip!"
These elite knights, who usually lived by the sword, were now soaked in cold sweat beneath their heavy armor. Terrified by the threat of extermination from an actual eighty-third-level Soul Douluo, they kowtowed frantically and pledged their loyalty.
But that wasn't enough.
A ruthless glint flashed through Feng Cang's eyes.
When it came to a shocking secret that concerned life and death, verbal threats were pitifully inadequate.
Only by keeping a firm grip on these people's weak points could he ensure nothing went wrong.
Feng Cang shifted his gaze, fixing it on the Royal Knights' captain and the kingdom guard commander kneeling at the front.
"You two, get over here!"
The two commanders scrambled to Feng Cang's feet, their faces deathly pale.
"Hand over the rosters for everyone you brought. Now!"
Feng Cang held out a withered hand, his tone leaving no room for argument.
The two commanders shuddered violently, their eyes filled with utter terror.
The army rosters didn't just record the soldiers' names and cultivation levels. They also listed their hometowns, home addresses, and the names of their parents, wives, and children!
Handing over the rosters was the same as placing the lives of all two hundred and fifty soldiers and their families in this ruthless old man's hands!
"Elder Feng, this... The Royal Knights' roster is an imperial secret. I..." The captain tried to resist by invoking Heaven Dou Empire.
SMACK! Feng Cang's eyes sharpened as he slapped him across the face from a distance.
"I'm not negotiating with you!" Feng Cang said coldly. "If you don't hand them over, I'll kill every one of you right now, then go search your homes myself!"
"We'll hand them over! We'll hand them over!"
The kingdom guard commander was scared out of his wits. He quickly pulled a thick roster from his Storage Soul Tool and held it high in both hands.
The Royal Knights' captain, who had been slapped away, also forced himself to his feet despite his pain and tremblingly handed over the confidential roster of the Heaven Dou Royal Knights.
Feng Cang snatched both rosters and stuffed them straight into his storage ring.
Now he had a firm grip on every person here and the people they cared about.
At the slightest hint of trouble in Farack Kingdom, he would immediately unleash a massacre.
Only after doing all this did Feng Cang slowly rein in his killing intent.
He turned toward Xue Lang and Gao Nianzhen and bowed slightly.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Queen. This concerns Yao'er's safety. I overstepped."
Xue Lang was a sensible man. Instead of taking offense, he looked at Feng Cang with gratitude:
"Elder Feng, what are you saying? If you hadn't acted decisively, this would have endangered all of Farack the moment it got out! You've saved my whole family!"
In the distance, Xue Yao had quietly watched everything that happened behind him.
He watched Feng Cang use iron-fisted brutality to bring the crowd to heel and seize the rosters to control their families. Far from thinking Feng Cang cruel, he curled his lips into a satisfied smile.
"This old man may be a bit of a glutton, but when it counts, he really does have the makings of a decisive, ruthless warlord."
"Good. Looks like I made the right choice back then, too."
At that moment, Xue Yao and Feng Cang were both completely smitten with each other.
Xue Yao turned his gaze away, no longer concerning himself with the trivial matters behind him. He turned and looked fervently at the enormous corpse of the Wind-Breath Dragon.
In that pool of blood, flecks of purple-black light were gathering frantically.
A moment later, a deep purple Soul Ring, so dark it seemed bottomless and faintly radiating the violent might of a dragon, slowly rose from the Wind-Breath Dragon's corpse and floated quietly in midair.
Five thousand years. Wind-Breath Dragon. Third Soul Ring!
Xue Yao drew a deep breath and sat down cross-legged.
"Come on. Let's see what kind of monstrous Soul Skill will be born from a Sub-Dragon's gift fused with a god-level Martial Soul!"
Before you continue