Ma Hongjun's Terror, Begging on His Knees!

"Courting death!"

Ma Hongjun flew into a rage.

As one of the Shrek Seven Devils and now a Titled Douluo, he had never suffered such humiliation.

"Seize him for me and beat him to death!"

Ma Hongjun pointed at Tang Xiao and barked an order.

At his words, several imperial soldiers nearby immediately raised their spears and charged viciously at Tang Xiao.

"Kid, keep your eyes open in your next life!"

One soldier sneered as he thrust his spear straight at Tang Xiao's throat.

Tang Xiao stood where he was, not even raising an eyelid.

Just as the spear was still a foot away from him, an invisible force suddenly erupted.

Boom!

A muffled thud rang out.

The soldiers who had charged forward didn't even touch the hem of Tang Xiao's clothes before they were struck by an overwhelming force. They flew dozens of meters through the air and slammed heavily into the ground. After a few feeble struggles, they fell silent.

The steel spears in their hands turned into a rain of dust before they even hit the ground.

At the sight, Ma Hongjun's pupils contracted sharply.

He might have been arrogant, but he wasn't stupid.

The young man before him had dispatched several Soul Elder-level soldiers with ease without even releasing his Martial Soul. He was undoubtedly a formidable expert.

"Some skill. No wonder you dared meddle in my business."

Ma Hongjun sneered, released the girl he had been holding, and walked toward Tang Xiao at an unhurried pace.

With each step, the Phoenix Flame on his body blazed more fiercely, making him look like a massive fireball.

"But putting on airs in front of me? You're still too green!"

"Kid, state your name. I don't kill nameless nobodies!"

Ma Hongjun looked at Tang Xiao, his voice full of arrogance.

Tang Xiao looked at him, a trace of disgust flashing in his eyes.

"You're not worthy of knowing my name."

"Let the girl go, then cripple your own Soul Power. I'll leave you with your corpse intact."

Tang Xiao's voice was utterly calm, as though he were discussing something trivial.

"Hahahaha!"

As if he had just heard the biggest joke in the world, Ma Hongjun burst into wild laughter.

"Cripple my own Soul Power? Leave my corpse intact?"

"Kid, are you still dreaming?"

"I'm Phoenix Douluo Ma Hongjun! My big brother is Sea God Tang San!"

"If you offend me, there'll be nowhere left for you on the Douluo Continent!"

Ma Hongjun shouted, trying to use Tang San's name to intimidate the young man before him.

Yet when Tang Xiao heard the name "Tang San," the corner of his mouth lifted in a mocking smile.

"Tang San?"

"Even if he were standing here in person, he'd have to get on his knees to speak to me."

"Do you think his name can save your life?"

Tang Xiao looked at Ma Hongjun and spoke lightly.

Hearing Tang Xiao's brazen words, Ma Hongjun froze for an instant. Then he reacted as if he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world.

"Hahahaha! Make the Sea God kneel to you?"

"Kid, you must have lost your mind!"

Ma Hongjun's flesh jiggled as he laughed, but the murderous intent in his eyes grew ever stronger.

On the Douluo Continent, who didn't know of Sea God Tang San's reputation?

He was a supreme being who had inherited a divine position, the guardian deity of the Heaven Dou Empire, and an embodiment of divinity in the hearts of countless Soul Masters.

And this young man, who looked barely over twenty, had dared to say something so treasonous as that the Sea God should kneel before him.

"Looks like you really are tired of living."

The flesh on Ma Hongjun's face twitched, and the greed in his eyes gave way to savagery.

Since the other man was bent on courting death, Ma Hongjun was happy to oblige.

"If I don't burn you to ashes today, I don't deserve to be called Phoenix Douluo!"

A piercing cry rang from Ma Hongjun's throat, and the temperature around him began to soar wildly.

Under the scorching heat, fine cracks appeared in the stone paving on both sides of the street, and the air filled with the acrid smell of burning.

The townspeople who had been watching from a distance felt the terrifying heat and let out panicked cries. They scrambled toward the city gates, stumbling and crawling over one another.

The street emptied in an instant. Only the father and daughter, collapsed on the ground, and Tang Xiao, calm as ever, remained.

Just then, the urgent clatter of hoofbeats sounded from the far end of the street.

The commander of Wind Stone City's garrison finally arrived with several hundred elite soldiers.

"Who dares cause trouble in Wind Stone City?"

Clad in heavy armor and holding a spear, the commander charged forward, imposing and formidable.

When he took in the situation, especially the nine dazzling Soul Rings on Ma Hongjun, he rolled straight off his horse.

"Your subordinate pays his respects to Lord Phoenix!"

The commander knelt on the ground, trembling all over, not daring even to raise his head.

The several hundred soldiers behind him also dismounted and dropped to their knees as one, their faces full of reverence.

A Titled Douluo was one of the empire's most powerful experts. He could wipe out their hundred-man force with a mere lift of his finger.

Ma Hongjun cast the commander a sidelong glance and snorted.

"You've come just in time."

"Seize this madman who showed disrespect to the Sea God!"

"If he resists, kill him without mercy!"

Ma Hongjun pointed at Tang Xiao, his voice full of hauteur and command.

At his words, the commander immediately turned to look at Tang Xiao.

Although he couldn't gauge Tang Xiao's cultivation, the man showed no sign of Soul Power. He looked like nothing more than a young noble from an ordinary family.

"You insolent madman! You dare disrespect Lord Sea God? Seize him!"

The commander rose to his feet, waved his spear, and ordered the soldiers behind him to charge at Tang Xiao.

Several hundred elite soldiers shouted in unison, their voices shaking the heavens. The steel spears in their hands glinted coldly in the sunlight.

Tang Xiao stood where he was, watching the soldiers rush toward him. A trace of disappointment flashed in his eyes.

"So this is the Heaven Dou Empire's army—helping a tyrant commit evil."

He sighed, his expression tinged with disgust.

Facing the several hundred charging soldiers, Tang Xiao merely flicked his sleeve.

An invisible force surged outward like a wave, instantly enveloping the entire street.

There were no screams, nor any bloody spectacle.

The dozens of soldiers at the front struck that force and rebounded as though they had hit an invisible wall.

Their steel spears shattered inch by inch in midair, turning into a rain of dust. The soldiers themselves flew dozens of meters back and slammed into the ground. After a few feeble struggles, they passed out.

The soldiers behind them were so frightened that they abruptly halted, terror in their eyes. Not one of them dared to take another step forward.

The commander went deathly pale, his legs giving way as he dropped to his knees once more. His whole body shook violently.

With one mere flick of his sleeve, Tang Xiao had sent dozens of elite soldiers flying. No ordinary man could possess such power.

Ma Hongjun's pupils also contracted slightly, and some of the arrogance finally left his face.

"Some skill. No wonder you dared meddle in my business."

"But you're not the only Titled Douluo on the Douluo Continent!"

Ma Hongjun sneered and shot into the sky.

The Seventh Soul Ring on his body suddenly lit up. Scorching flames converged in the sky, transforming into a vast sea of fire.

"Martial Soul Avatar, Seven-Headed Phoenix!"

With a cry that resounded through the heavens, a gigantic, seven-headed fire phoenix appeared in the sky.

The terrifying Evil Fire dyed half the sky red, and waves of scorching heat swept outward. The surrounding houses immediately began to catch fire.

"Die!"

Ma Hongjun directed his massive form, wreathed in raging flames, into a dive toward Tang Xiao.

"Phoenix Cloud-Piercing Strike!"

A massive pillar of flame shot from one of the phoenix's heads, hurtling straight toward Tang Xiao.

The attack carried extreme explosive force and heat, enough to level a small hill. Even the surrounding space twisted slightly under the heat.

Tang Xiao raised his head and watched the pillar of flame roar toward him, his expression as calm as still water.

He didn't even release his Martial Soul. He merely raised one hand and slowly clenched it toward the pillar of flame.

For a moment, the void seemed to freeze.

The pillar of flame, powerful enough to destroy everything, came to an abrupt halt three feet from Tang Xiao's palm.

Countless golden-blue motes seeped out of the void and settled on the pillar of flame.

The Phoenix Evil Fire, savage just a moment before, met those golden-blue motes and went out as though it had encountered its natural enemy.

In the blink of an eye, the terrifying attack vanished without a trace, leaving not even a wisp of smoke.

"T-That's impossible!"

Ma Hongjun's horrified cry rang from the sky.

He couldn't believe his most powerful single-target Soul Skill had been neutralized so easily.

The man hadn't even touched the hem of Tang Xiao's clothes.

"Your flames are too impure."

Tang Xiao's voice echoed across the heavens and earth, utterly devoid of warmth.

"Evil Fire is still Evil Fire. Even if you purify it with external means, you can't change the baseness in your bones."

Tang Xiao took a step forward and vanished from where he stood.

When he appeared again, he was already before Ma Hongjun's enormous phoenix head.

Ma Hongjun jolted in fright and beat his massive wings, trying to put some distance between them.

But he found that he couldn't move at all. The space around him seemed to have been locked in place.

No matter how he urged the Soul Power in his body, he couldn't break free of the invisible restraint.

"Who are you?"

At last, fear appeared in Ma Hongjun's eyes, and even his voice trembled.

The ability to completely control space was far beyond the reach of an ordinary Titled Douluo.

Even his big brother, Tang San, who had ascended to godhood, couldn't wield such power with such ease before using divine power.

Tang Xiao stood quietly in midair, looking at Ma Hongjun's enormous form, his eyes full of disgust.

"You're not worthy of knowing who I am."

"And Sea God Tang San, whom you keep talking about, is nothing but a thief who stole someone else's power in my eyes."

Tang Xiao spoke without much emotion, but his confidence was unshakable.

"Lies!"

"My third brother is the Sea God, the savior of this world!"

"You dare insult the Sea God? There'll be nowhere left for you on the entire Douluo Continent!"

Ma Hongjun shouted, trying to hide his terror behind his words.

Tang Xiao smiled faintly, but there was no warmth in it. Instead, he looked cold and merciless.

"The savior?"

"To become a god, he sacrificed the Soul Beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest and plunged this land into misery."

"And this is what you call a savior?"

Tang Xiao's words left Ma Hongjun speechless for a moment.

He knew that Tang San had indeed committed plenty of slaughter in the Star Dou Great Forest to revive Xiao Wu and Ah Yin. He had even hunted down many Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.

And the war between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Spirit Hall Empire had indeed left countless people displaced and families shattered.

"So what!"

"Those who achieve great things don't concern themselves with trifles!"

"As long as third brother becomes a god, it'll all be worth it!"

Ma Hongjun gritted his teeth and shouted, brazenly defending himself.

The disgust in Tang Xiao's eyes deepened. He couldn't be bothered to waste any more words on this selfish man.

"Then today, you'll pay the price for what you call 'worth it.'"

Tang Xiao slowly raised his right hand and lightly tapped Ma Hongjun's forehead with his index finger.

A strand of gentle golden-blue light slipped from his fingertip into Ma Hongjun's body.

The light seemed harmless, but the instant it entered Ma Hongjun, it turned into the most terrifying devouring vortex.

"Ah—!"

Ma Hongjun let out a bloodcurdling scream, his enormous phoenix head twisting in agony.

He could feel the Soul Power inside him draining away at a frantic rate, as if an abyss without bottom were greedily sucking it all out.

It wasn't only his Soul Power. Even his life force and the power of his soul were being ruthlessly stripped away by that golden-blue force.

"No! Stop! Stop it!"

Ma Hongjun roared in agony, his massive Martial Soul Avatar shaking violently.

He wanted to fight back, but found he couldn't even move a finger. All he could do was watch helplessly as his strength was drained away bit by bit.

Beneath the golden-blue light, his once-massive Seven-Headed Phoenix form began to shrink rapidly, and the flames burning across its body gradually died out.

In moments, his Martial Soul Avatar collapsed, turning into sparks that scattered through the air and vanished.

Ma Hongjun returned to human form and plummeted from the sky.

Thud!

He slammed into the street, smashing a huge crater into the ground as dust billowed everywhere.

His face was now as pale as paper. His Soul Power had fallen to the Soul Saint level, and it was still dropping at an unstoppable rate.

Worse still, without powerful Soul Power to suppress it, the Phoenix Evil Fire he had once prided himself on began to run wild inside him.

The Evil Fire he had forcibly kept in check with all kinds of rare treasures now raged through his body, burning his meridians and internal organs.

"Help me... Third Brother, help me..."

Ma Hongjun writhed in agony in the crater, clawing frantically at himself and tearing his clothes to shreds.

Large patches of his skin began to char black—the result of his own Evil Fire burning him from the inside out.

The soldiers stationed nearby watched, frozen with terror.

That was Phoenix Douluo, whose name had shaken the continent, and in just a few moments, he had been tortured into a barely recognizable state.

The commander was so terrified he wet himself and slumped to the ground. He couldn't even muster the strength to run, and could only stare helplessly at the horrifying scene.

Tang Xiao drifted slowly down from the sky and stood at the edge of the crater, looking down at Ma Hongjun as he struggled.

His expression remained calm, untouched by pity or compassion.

"When you used your Soul Power to bully helpless commoners, did you ever think this day might come for you?"