Ning Chuan walked down the back mountain with a heart full of excitement and longing for the future, his steps light as he headed in the direction of his home.
He had no idea that the brief yet pure fluctuations of light energy he had just emitted while testing his soul skill were like a pebble thrown into a calm lake—small, yet enough to startle the giant crocodile beneath the deep water.
In Holy Soul Village, inside the most dilapidated blacksmith shop at the end of the village.
The pungent odor of inferior ale permeated the air, and a sloppy, decadent figure collapsed beside the cold stove, snoring like thunder. It was none other than Tang Hao, who had drunk himself into a stupor.
However, at the very moment when Ning Chuan tested his second soul skill, Radiant Impact, and that pure, divine, and faintly majestic light energy flashed and vanished without a trace.
The snoring stopped abruptly!
Tang Hao's previously tightly closed, turbid eyes snapped open!
There was no post-awakening confusion, only the sharpness of a falcon and a vigilance deep into his bones!
A trace of extremely terrifying pressure uncontrollably leaked from his shattered body, causing the dust in the surrounding air to stall for a moment!
"Hmp?!" A short, hoarse low grunt escaped his cracked lips.
That aura... although weak, possessed an extremely high essence!
Pure, warm, yet carrying an unquestionable judgment intent...
This was definitely not ordinary light-attribute Soul Power! Much less could it be something that should appear in Holy Soul Village!
Was it a spy from Spirit Hall? Had they discovered Xiao San's abnormality? Or were they coming for me?
Countless thoughts flashed through Tang Hao's mind in an instant, instantly driving away the remaining drunkenness without a trace!
Ah Yin's figure, the pursuit of Spirit Hall, the pain of severed limbs, the hatred of losing a wife...
The painful memories deeply buried at the bottom of his heart erupted like a volcano, instantly igniting the violence and killing intent that had been dormant in his eyes for many years!
No matter who the intruder was, no matter the purpose, anyone who dared to spy on this place and disturb Xiao San had to die!
Swish!
The figure that had previously been as limp as mud suddenly vanished from the spot, leaving only a distorted afterimage and a slight sonic boom.
The next moment, Tang Hao's tall yet slightly stooped figure had already appeared in the back mountain, within the mountain col where Ning Chuan had just tested his soul skill.
His speed was so fast that he was like Gui Mei!
Standing in the spot where Ning Chuan had previously stood, those eyes, as deep as an abyss, sharply swept across the surroundings. Terrifying spiritual power swept across the entire mountain col like an invisible storm; every inch of land, every leaf, and every speck of dust had nowhere to hide under his perception.
In the air, the light aura that he found extremely disgusting and vigilant still lingered. Although it was rapidly dissipating, its purity and that special judgment intent made him frown deeply.
"Not the aura of the Angel Spirit... Even purer, and more... ancient?" Tang Hao muttered to himself, his voice hoarse and cold, carrying a trace of imperceptible doubt.
As a Titled Douluo with extensive knowledge, he had never perceived similar light power.
His gaze suddenly fixed on the trunk pierced through by Radiant Impact.
He stepped forward, his rough fingers tracing over that smooth, charred hole, feeling the purification power and scorching heat remaining within it.
"The aggressiveness is very strong, the penetration is excellent, and it comes with a purification effect... It's like the soul skill of some powerful light-type Martial Soul, but the energy level... doesn't seem high? About the Soul Elder level?" Tang Hao's frown grew tighter, and the killing intent in his eyes grew stronger, yet also more perplexed.
A Soul Elder possessing such a pure and peculiar light Martial Soul sneaking to the back mountain of Holy Soul Village to test a soul skill? That was simply absurd!
He then noticed the bush that had been healed by Endless Life, perceiving the rich life aura lingering within it.
"There is also life-attribute power? Twin Martial Souls? Or a special compound attribute?" Tang Hao's heart sank.
Matters seemed even more complex than he had imagined.
Finally, his gaze cast toward the ground, where there were the shallow footprints left behind when Ning Chuan departed, as well as... a trace of extremely faint... botanical fragrance covered by the light and life auras?
Tang Hao squatted down, pinched a bit of soil with his fingertips, and brought it to the tip of his nose to sniff. That extremely faint grass fragrance caused a flash of strange light in his eyes.
"A plant Martial Soul? Soul skills with light and life attributes, yet coming from a Soul Master with a plant Martial Soul?" This completely violated the common sense of Martial Souls on the Douluo Continent!
Unless it was an extremely rare mutation, or... the opponent deliberately concealed their true Martial Soul?
"Playing ghosts!" Tang Hao snorted coldly, stood up, and the majestic killing intent no longer had the slightest concealment, permeating the area like substance!
Boom!
The terrifying pressure instantly descended upon the entire mountain col!
The surrounding trees swayed violently without wind, emitting groans that they could barely bear!
The gravel on the ground trembled slightly, and the air became sticky and cold, as if even the light had dimmed somewhat.
The birds, beasts, and insects inhabiting the forest instantly fell silent, trembling, instinctively sensing the arrival of a catastrophic disaster.
When a Titled Douluo grew angry, the heavens and earth lost their color!
"No matter who you are, no matter who is behind you, since you are here, get out here!" Tang Hao's voice echoed in the mountain col like rolling thunder, making people's eardrums ache.
He believed that the opponent was definitely still hiding nearby, using a special method to conceal their aura!
However, the only responses to him were the howling mountain wind and the rustling of the forest leaves.
Tang Hao waited patiently, his spiritual power scanning every inch of space like an inescapable net, over and over again, leaving no trace unexamined.
A quarter of an hour passed... half an hour passed...
Aside from the rapidly dissipating residual aura and those obvious marks, he found nothing!
There was no hidden person, no trace of spatial fluctuations, and no sign of any Soul Tool's existence!
It was as if the person who released the soul skill had appeared out of thin air and vanished into thin air just like that!
"How is this possible?!" Tang Hao's expression turned extremely unsightly.
With his cultivation, unless the opponent was a Peerless Douluo of the same rank and extremely skilled in concealment, it was absolutely impossible for them to completely hide under such careful searching by him!
Could the opponent really have fled thousands of miles away?
Yet the residual aura indicated that the opponent had definitely not left for more than the time it took to burn an incense stick! What movement technique could be this fast?
Or perhaps... the opponent didn't leave through conventional routes at all?
Countless doubts and that sense of being toyed with drove the anger and killing intent in Tang Hao's heart to their peak, yet he had nowhere to vent them!
He abruptly smashed a punch into the nearby pierced tree!
Boom rumble!!!
With a loud crash, the tree that required two people to embrace, along with a large swath of rock behind it, was struck as if by an invisible giant hammer, instantly turning into powder that scattered across the sky!
A giant crater several meters deep appeared on the spot, resembling a meteorite impact!
Tang Hao's chest heaved violently, his bloodshot eyes suffused as he panted heavily and stared fixedly at the empty mountain col.
In the end, he forcibly suppressed the rage and killing intent that were on the verge of spinning out of control.
The opponent's methods were bizarre and their purpose unclear, but they didn't seem to launch a direct attack on the village or Xiao San.
At present, the enemy was in the dark and he was in the light, so it was inadvisable to expose himself excessively.
Yet he would never let the matter rest!
"No matter where you hide, I will drag you out..." Tang Hao's voice was as cold as ten-thousand-year glacial ice, carrying a chilling resolution. "Any factor that threatens Xiao San's safety must be completely eradicated!"
He swept his gaze across the ravaged mountain col one last time, his figure flickering and vanishing like Gui Mei, leaving behind only that land ravaged by terrifying power to silently recount the towering rage of a Titled Douluo just moments before.
Night completely enveloped Holy Soul Village.
Ning Chuan was at home, excitedly planning his future, completely unaware of the heaven-shaking storm that had occurred on the back mountain because of him.
Nor did he know that he had unwittingly stepped onto the edge of a forbidden zone that a father, a former peak powerhouse, absolutely permitted no one to touch.
The threads of fate quietly intertwined.
Crisis had already been planted.
Before you continue