Healing Injuries

"You're courting death!"

This was the eternal pain in his heart.

Zhou Qiubai felt as though his organs were about to be crushed, and breathing became exceedingly difficult.

Yet he clenched his teeth, the sharpness in his eyes undiminished.

He spoke with difficulty. "You think too little of me!"

The moment his words fell, Soul Power abruptly erupted within Zhou Qiubai's body.

It did not burst outward, but contracted inward.

His cultivation method circulated to its limit, gathering all the Soul Power in his body into a single point before it exploded with a bang.

It did not explode outward, but into his own meridians.

"Pfft!"

Zhou Qiubai spat out a mouthful of blood, but using the force of that self-inflicted burst, he forcibly broke free from Tang Hao's Soul Power restraint.

Then his body drifted backward like a ghost, every step landing on a weak point in Tang Hao's Soul Power field, every step narrowly evading pursuit.

"Trying to run?"

A trace of surprise flashed through Tang Hao's eyes before turning into a cold sneer.

He stopped underestimating his opponent. The first Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up, and amid flashing yellow light, he shot forward like a cannonball.

Fast.

So fast it defied reason.

Zhou Qiubai only saw a blur before Tang Hao appeared three zhang in front of him.

Those murky eyes had become bright, sealing off every possible route of escape.

He could not fight head-on.

Zhou Qiubai made his judgment instantly.

His figure flickered, splitting into three afterimages that fled in three different directions.

But Tang Hao did not even look at the afterimages, charging straight at the real body in the middle.

A Title Douluo's senses had long since locked onto the aura of his soul.

Illusions of this level were useless before such an absolute gap in strength.

If Zhou Qiubai had been stronger, they might have worked, but now...

They were completely useless.

"Bang!"

Tang Hao struck out with his palm.

It was not a Soul Skill, merely a palm strike.

Yet wherever its force passed, the air detonated, and the ground was instantly plowed into a deep trench.

As a purely strength-oriented Soul Master, every Soul Ring he possessed was related to strength. Altered by these Soul Rings, even without using Soul Skills, his power surpassed that of ordinary people on Douluo Continent.

Zhou Qiubai's pupils contracted sharply, and the White Clothes Sword flew from its sheath.

He did not dare take it head-on and could only borrow its force.

The blade drew a circle through the air as Empty Valley Orchid was unleashed once more.

But this time, he was not facing Tang San's Sleeve Arrow, but the palm force of a Title Douluo.

Buzzz—

The instant the ring of sword qi collided with the palm force, Zhou Qiubai felt a terrifying force travel through the blade. The web between his thumb and forefinger split open, blood flowing freely, and the White Clothes Sword nearly flew from his hand.

Borrowing the force, he flew backward, spinning seven times in midair before barely dispersing its momentum.

When he landed, another thread of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

The gap was too great.

A level 27 Soul Grandmaster facing a level 95 Title Douluo. This was no longer a chasm that technique could bridge, but the crushing suppression of different levels of life.

Tang Hao did not pursue him. Instead, he stood where he was, watching Zhou Qiubai's bedraggled state.

"It's not too late to change your mind," he said blandly. "It would be a pity for someone with your talent to die."

Zhou Qiubai wiped the blood from his lips and smiled.

"Senior, do you know?" he said slowly. "What I hate most in this life is other people making decisions for me."

As his words fell, the two Soul Rings beneath his feet lit up completely for the first time.

One yellow, one purple.

The instant those two Soul Rings lit up, shock flashed through Tang Hao's eyes.

"A thousand-year second ring?" Tang Hao murmured. "How is that possible..."

Zhou Qiubai gave him no time to think.

Listen to Rain was unleashed at full strength. Every movement within a hundred zhang appeared in his senses with perfect clarity.

The Dustless Soul Skill circulated at the same time. Sword qi swirled around his body, sweeping away dust and poisonous mist, while also dispersing Tang Hao's invisible Soul Power pressure.

Then he moved.

Not to attack, but to flee.

Fighting a Title Douluo now would not be bravery. It would be recklessness.

With the Floating Cloud Nine Palace Steps and his two Soul Skills, he pushed his speed to the limit.

A fierce glint flashed through Tang Hao's eyes.

This youth's talent was even more terrifying than he had imagined.

At level 27, he could already use Soul Skills to such a degree, while the subtlety of that movement technique was even more astonishing.

If a person like this could not be used for his own ends...

Then he had to be strangled in the cradle.

If he ran to Spirit Hall, he would be giving himself another enemy for nothing.

Once killing intent arose, Tang Hao no longer held back.

The second Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up, its yellow light deepening.

His body flickered, and his speed increased by thirty percent, instantly closing the distance to Zhou Qiubai.

The terrifying pressure nearly suffocated Zhou Qiubai.

Yet he gritted his teeth. Listen to Rain caught the trajectory of the palm force striking from behind, and at the critical moment, his body twisted strangely.

"Sshhk!"

The palm force grazed his hem and swept past, severing an ancient tree as thick as an embrace at the waist.

Zhou Qiubai used the momentum to lunge forward. Upon landing, he rolled and swiftly rushed into a denser thicket.

Tang Hao pursued relentlessly.

The two launched into a thrilling chase through the forest.

Zhou Qiubai pushed the Floating Cloud Nine Palace Steps to their limit. He did not dare pause for even a moment, because every pause could mean death.

Tang Hao's pursuit clung to him like a festering disease in the bone.

The strength of a Title Douluo was fully revealed.

Zhou Qiubai had survived until now solely through the intricacy of that movement technique and the foresight granted by his Soul Skills.

But even so, he had already reached his limit.

He narrowly escaped death three times and barely avoided grievous injury seven times.

His left shoulder was grazed by palm force, his right leg struck by the aftershock of Soul Power, and his chest was shaken until his blood and qi churned. His internal injuries were severe.

Blood dyed his white clothes red, and his breathing became ragged.

Yet Zhou Qiubai's eyes remained clear.

He was calculating, observing, searching for a chance at survival.

Listen to Rain delivered all information within a hundred zhang.

Ahead lay an area where poisonous insects gathered.

Zhou Qiubai's heart stirred. He adjusted his direction slightly and charged toward that area.

Tang Hao followed close behind, but as he entered that region, his brow suddenly furrowed.

A faintly fishy-sweet scent permeated the air. The surrounding trees began to thin, dark-red moss appeared across the ground, and colorful poisonous insects crawled over the vines.

The Poison Miasma Land.

Places like this were forbidden zones for low-level Spirit Beasts. Natural poisonous miasma intertwined with complex terrain. Though it was not as formidable as the poison formation Dugu Bo had set outside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, for Tang Hao in his current half-crippled state, every step had to be taken cautiously.

Tang Hao's steps paused, and a trace of unease rose in his heart.

As a Title Douluo, he was not particularly afraid of it, but that was in his prime. Now, for Tang San's growth, he had to be careful with every step.

If his injuries worsened, it would be troublesome.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qiubai had already rushed deep into the thick fog.

"That kid is truly courting death!" Tang Hao snorted coldly. As he thought this, the third Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up at once, instantly wrapping a layer of pale golden protective Soul Power around him and blocking the poisonous miasma's invasion.

There was no time to hesitate. He had to continue the pursuit.

But the moment he stepped into the poisonous miasma zone, the situation began to take a sharp turn for the worse.