"No! No! I absolutely didn't mean to threaten you, Senior. It really wouldn't do you any good to kill me!"
Yao Lao's eyes narrowed slightly, as if he were genuinely considering whether to let Guang Biao go.
"Senior, please hold your hand!"
Just then, a middle-aged man in uniform flew over and stopped directly in front of Guang Biao.
"Lord Mountain City!"
When Guang Biao saw who it was, delight instantly spread across his face. He crawled to the middle-aged man's feet.
The middle-aged man glanced down at Guang Biao and snorted. "All you ever do is cause trouble!"
Then he kicked Guang Biao away. The man smashed through several trees before finally stopping. A mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips, and he promptly passed out.
The middle-aged man turned back to Yao Lao with a smile and bowed respectfully.
"Senior, I'm Mountain City, commander of the East Sea City Soul Master Legion."
"Oh? Never heard of you!"
Mountain City froze for a moment, but quickly recovered his smile.
"It's only natural that someone as powerful as you wouldn't know a nobody like me, Senior. Still, I hope you'll spare Guang Biao."
Yao Lao sneered. "Then tell me, why should I spare him? Or do you think you could avenge him if I killed him?"
"I wouldn't dare! Your strength is unfathomable, Senior. Even if you insisted on killing Guang Biao, I wouldn't dare seek revenge against you."
"Since you can't stop me, why come over here? Looking to die?"
In an instant, the aura around Yao Lao surged. A terrifying pressure crashed down on Mountain City like a flood.
Mountain City's face changed dramatically. Soul Rings rose one after another from beneath his feet, and a purple-gold shield appeared in his hand.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black.
Nine Soul Rings in all. A Titled Douluo.
Only after all nine rings appeared did Mountain City manage to steady himself.
"Senior! If you want to kill Guang Biao, I certainly can't stop you. But you should consider the Federation—and those children as well."
"If I'm not mistaken, Senior has only temporarily taken control of this child's body through some method. Your true self isn't even in Eastsea City."
"If you kill Guang Biao on a whim, I'll have no choice but to report his death to the Federation. That's part of my duty."
"You may be able to protect these children tonight, Senior, but what happens when you leave this child's body? The Federation will surely come after them."
"This child is only a one-ring Soul Master. His physical constitution may be impressive, but your power is ultimately too great. After tonight, even if you wanted to possess him again, I'm afraid you'd have to wait a while."
"Rather than that, why not spare Guang Biao now? I give you my word, as a Titled Douluo and commander of the East Sea City Soul Master Legion, that no one will cause trouble for these children."
Yao Lao fell silent.
Mountain City was right. After tonight, Yao Lao wouldn't be able to protect Tang Wulin for a long time.
After a long while, Yao Lao spoke.
"You've certainly got a clear head for someone who made it all the way to Titled Douluo. What you've said makes sense."
"You flatter me, Senior!"
Mountain City's eyes lit up. He knew that his words had swayed the senior before him.
"But..." Yao Lao suddenly changed tack. "You'll have to take one punch from me. After that, I'll let him go."
Mountain City swallowed. At this point, he could only agree. Guang Biao couldn't die; losing him would be a tremendous blow to Eastsea City.
Still, he clung to a sliver of hope. Yao Lao hadn't said he would use Bone Spirit Cold Flame. That fire could melt Spirit-Forged Metal, and Mountain City couldn't be sure he could withstand it.
"Then please, Senior. Show me what you've got!"
The seventh Soul Ring beneath Mountain City's feet lit up at once. He didn't dare take any chances and immediately activated his Martial Soul Avatar.
His Eighth Soul Ring lit up as well, and purple-gold crystal armor instantly covered his body.
The Purple Gold Shield in his hand expanded to match, firmly braced before him.
Then a suit of armor appeared over Mountain City, much like a set of armor in its own right. It was his Two-Word Battle Armor.
Finally, a red shield appeared in front of his Purple Gold Shield. It was his Level 9 Defensive Soul Tool.
"You've got quite a few tricks!"
After giving it some thought, Yao Lao had actually already decided to spare Guang Biao. So the real reason he wanted Mountain City to take a punch was to test his current abilities against the high-level fighters of this world.
"Senior, please!"
Mountain City gestured for Yao Lao to make his move.
"Turtle shell."
Yao Lao's eyes sharpened. His figure flashed like lightning as he threw a punch, unleashing Eight Extremities Collapse in an instant.
Ordinarily, a Level 9 Defensive Soul Tool could withstand a full-power strike from an average Titled Douluo.
"Bang!"
Yao Lao's fist was indeed blocked by the Level 9 Defensive Soul Tool. A massive wave of air kicked up a gale.
But the next instant—
"Crack, crack, crack!"
Clear sounds of metal breaking rang out from within the Soul Tool.
The hidden force of Eight Extremities Collapse had taken effect. This supposedly Level 9 Defensive Soul Tool simply couldn't withstand it.
A few seconds later, it lay shattered across the ground.
But Yao Lao's punch hadn't ended. The eight surges of hidden force were still at work, driving straight toward Mountain City's Purple Gold Shield, his Martial Soul Avatar.
"Pfft."
Blood sprayed from Mountain City's mouth. Only then did he truly realize just how terrifying the powerful being before him was, even while possessing nothing more than a child's body.
The next instant, Mountain City dismissed his Martial Soul Avatar. He felt that if he kept resisting, his Martial Soul might shatter.
Besides, Mountain City could tell that the force of Yao Lao's punch had nearly run its course after going through the Level 9 Soul Tool and his Martial Soul Avatar.
With his Martial Soul Avatar gone, Mountain City's Two-Word Battle Armor instinctively activated to protect him. A layer of seven-colored light enveloped him completely. Combined with the Eighth Soul Skill he'd activated earlier, he was confident he could withstand the punch.
Yet half a minute later, Mountain City stood there in a daze, his face deathly pale. Yao Lao smiled, patted him on the shoulder, then crouched to pick up a metal fragment from the ground.
That was... a piece of Battle Armor!
Yao Lao had smashed Mountain City's Two-Word Battle Armor to pieces with a single punch. Its formations were completely destroyed, and even the properties of Spirit-Forged Metal couldn't restore it. He would have to find a blacksmith and a mecha designer to build him a new one.
"That armor of yours is pretty nice. I'm taking a piece home to play with. You don't mind, do you?" Yao Lao said with a smile, holding up a fragment that seemed to be part of a chest plate.
"Not at all, not at all! It's my honor that you like it, Senior!" How could Mountain City dare refuse? That punch had nearly taken his life.
"Good. Then you can take Guang Biao with you," Yao Lao said calmly.
"Thank you, Senior!"
Mountain City bowed deeply to Yao Lao. In the next instant, he appeared beside Guang Biao and quickly helped him up.
At the same time, he took out a Storage Soul Tool and aimed it at Guang Biao's Black-Grade Mecha.
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