Pufferfish Douluo's Assassination Attempt, Supervisor Ao's Benefits

After the soul fight ended, everyone returned to the lounge and leaned back in their chairs, casually reviewing the team battle they had just fought.

Yu Tianlin did not join the discussion. He turned and left the lounge, heading straight for the front hall of the Soul Fighting Arena. The female receptionist had already prepared his seven Gold Soul badges, neatly arranged on a velvet tray. The badges gleamed beneath the lights. She pushed them toward him and told him that the Gold Soul Coins and discount card were with Supervisor Ao, who would personally deliver them later.

Yu Tianlin picked up the badges and weighed them in his palm one by one. They were much heavier than Silver Soul badges, and the crossed-swords emblem on the front had changed from silver to gold. Holding the badges, he returned to the lounge and placed the seven Gold Soul badges on the table one by one.

Lei Jiu was the first to pounce over. He grabbed his Gold Soul badge and held it up beneath the light, examining it again and again as he muttered, "Gold Soul. It really is Gold Soul. Going from Iron Soul to Gold Soul in just a few months—this is enough for me to brag about for the rest of my life."

Once Yu Tianlin had let them celebrate to their hearts' content, he announced that they would have several extra days off. They could relax however they liked and leave right away.

Lei Jiu dragged Lei Dong toward the exit, saying they were going to eat every delicious thing in Suotuo City. Yu Xiaolou shouted, "Wait for me!" as he followed behind. Yu Tianxin and Yu Tianheng exchanged a glance, each shook their heads with a smile, then got up and followed them out.

Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling pulled Qing Luo along at the very end. Before leaving, Ye Lingling looked back at Yu Tianlin as if she wanted to say something, but Dugu Yan urged her on, and she withdrew her gaze and followed.

The enormous lounge soon fell quiet. Yu Tianlin was the only one left sitting beside the table. Outside the window, the lights of Suotuo City lit up one after another, while the occasional footsteps of staff members passed through the arena corridors.

Late at night, after the corridor had been quiet for who knew how long, hurried footsteps finally sounded outside. Supervisor Ao pushed open the door, his forehead covered in sweat. The moment he entered, he repeatedly apologized, saying that work had delayed him until now and that he was truly sorry.

Yu Tianlin did not say much, merely expressing his understanding. Supervisor Ao took out a heavy money pouch and a gold-trimmed discount card from his robes and respectfully handed them over with both hands. The pouch contained Gold Soul Coins, while the card bore the emblem of the Soto Grand Arena. With it, all purchases at shops under the Great Soul Arena would receive a thirty percent discount. Yu Tianlin accepted the pouch and card, then thanked him.

Supervisor Ao exchanged a few pleasantries, praising the team for their brilliant performance today. From this day onward, the Ji Ni Tai Mei Team would be known throughout all of Suotuo City. Yu Tianlin responded with a few polite remarks, saying that the Soul Fighting Arena had provided an excellent platform. After the two exchanged a round of mutual flattery, Supervisor Ao rose to take his leave.

By the time Yu Tianlin left the Soul Fighting Arena, it was nearly midnight. The streets of Suotuo City were deserted, and the shops along the road had long since closed. Only a few scattered lamps remained lit, casting dim yellow patches of light upon the ground. The night wind poured in from the intersection, carrying the chill of early autumn.

A person slowly emerged from the shadows across the street.

The man was burly, with orange hair and unnaturally dark-yellow skin. He wore a suit of golden armor.

He walked slowly, like an old man taking a stroll through a park, yet every step landed without making the slightest sound. The aura of a level ninety-two Title Douluo locked onto Yu Tianlin without restraint. Pufferfish Douluo, Chi Xue.

Yu Tianlin's steps abruptly halted. His instincts screamed a sharp warning, and the Prison-Suppressing Azure Dragon Martial Soul within him activated on its own. A faint Azure Dragon phantom flickered behind him as every muscle in his body tightened at once.

Pufferfish Douluo stopped ten paces away, his hands clasped behind his back and a faintly amused smile on his face. "Kid, I mean you no harm. I came only to ask you one question. Are you willing to join Spirit Hall?"

Yu Tianlin's mind exploded. Join Spirit Hall? He had worn the Withered Wood Mask throughout his time at the Soul Fighting Arena and had never released his Martial Soul or soul rings in the ring. The only people who knew his background were his Ji Ni Tai Mei Team teammates and his clan.

His teammates could not possibly betray him, and his clan was even less likely to do so. Then he thought of one possibility. During the battle against Shrek, he had released his third soul ring—a black, ten-thousand-year soul ring. Every spectator in the arena had seen it. There might well have been people from Spirit Hall among them, and the information must have spread from their side. A ten-thousand-year third soul ring was simply too shocking to conceal. In his heart, Yu Tianlin cursed those Shrek people over and over again.

Seeing him remain silent, Pufferfish assumed that he was hesitating or refusing. He slowly sighed. "Since you will not answer, then do not blame this old man." Nine soul rings rose from beneath his feet, and the pressure of a Title Douluo descended upon Yu Tianlin like a tidal wave. At the same time, one hand reached out to seize him.

Realizing something was wrong, Yu Tianlin's right leg suddenly lit up with blue-gold radiance. The flight ability of the Blue Silver Emperor Soul Bone activated instantly. His body shot up from the ground, soaring into the sky just before Pufferfish's fingertips could touch his chest, and hovered above the streets of Suotuo City.

Pufferfish's grasping hand froze in midair. He slowly raised his head, and a trace of surprise flashed through his fierce eyes. Staring at Yu Tianlin hovering in the air, his gaze settled on the endlessly flowing blue-gold light around the youth's right leg.

"I didn't expect you to have a soul bone too. Judging by that skill, its quality should be quite high."

Pufferfish withdrew his hand, his tone unhurried. "But what does flying change? Before this old man, you cannot escape."

"Second Soul Skill, Star-Absorbing Poison Sting."

Pufferfish spread his right hand, and countless dark-red poison stings burst from his palm. Every sting was as thin as a cowhair, with tips that glimmered with eerie crimson light. They traced dense arcs through the air, encircling Yu Tianlin from all directions and sealing off every avenue of escape.

Blue-gold light flashed repeatedly from Yu Tianlin's right leg as he rapidly changed direction in midair. The Blue Silver Emperor Soul Bone's flight ability consumed very little Soul Power, relying entirely on the soul bone's own strength. This gave him aerial agility far beyond that of ordinary flying-type soul masters.

He twisted aside to evade the poison stings coming from the front, shifted three feet sideways in the air, then avoided another wave closing in from the left. But there were simply too many poison stings. It was impossible for them to seal every angle completely. Several grazed past his robes, while several more shot straight toward his face.

The Azure Dragon Halberd condensed into form in the air.

Yu Tianlin gripped the halberd in one hand and swept it horizontally through the air. Its blade carved a crescent-shaped slash before him, colliding with the poison stings midair. Dozens of stings were cut in half, their broken tips turning into dark-red powder that drifted away.

Several more poison stings attacked from the right. Yu Tianlin did not have time to block them with his halberd, so he forcefully activated his right leg soul bone and shot another two zhang higher. The stings grazed past the soles of his boots.

Pufferfish stood on the ground and watched the scene overhead. The surprise in his eyes gradually turned serious. A Soul Elder who could endure one round of attacks from him and even counterattack and defend was already beyond the realm of a mere "genius." However, he could also see that this kid had reached his limit.

"This ends here."

The seventh soul ring lit up. The Pufferfish phantom behind him expanded tenfold. Martial Soul Avatar, Pufferfish Poison Body. She Long's body merged with the Pufferfish Martial Soul, and his entire body transformed into a streak of red light that shot into the sky, chasing directly after Yu Tianlin.

Yu Tianlin did not look back. The glow of his right leg soul bone surged to its limit as he flew at full speed toward the outskirts of Suotuo City. The night wind howled past his ears while the streets below rapidly receded.

The lights of Suotuo City were quickly thrown behind him. Ahead, the horizon held only a pitch-black wilderness and the faint outlines of distant mountain ranges.

Pufferfish drew closer and closer.

In the Martial Soul Avatar state, his speed was fully twice that of the Blue Silver Emperor Soul Bone. The distance between them shrank from a hundred paces to fifty, then from fifty to thirty.

Pufferfish reached out again. This time, he showed no restraint. The five fingers of his right hand curled into claws, carving five streaks of scarlet light through the night.

Twenty paces, ten paces—Pufferfish's fingertips nearly touched the robes on Yu Tianlin's back.

At that moment, a green beam tore through the night sky and struck Pufferfish with perfect accuracy.

His charging body was forcibly interrupted by the beam. Dark-green light exploded across his body, and corrosive poison penetrated the defenses of the Pufferfish Poison Body, directly eroding his meridians.

Pufferfish grunted. His Martial Soul Avatar shuddered violently, and he was blasted back fifty paces before barely steadying himself. Clutching his chest, a grave expression appeared on his face. "Poison. Poison at the level of a Title Douluo. Could it be him?"

A dark-green figure tore through the air from the direction of Suotuo City. He was tall and thin, his dark-green robes fluttering in the night wind, nine soul rings slowly rotating around him. Dugu Bo landed before Yu Tianlin. The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Martial Soul coiled behind him, its snake eyes fixed on Pufferfish as cold light flowed through his gaze.

"Chi Xue, instead of properly staying in Spirit Hall as an elder, you came to Suotuo City to bully a child. I would like to ask—has Spirit Hall lost even its sense of shame now?"