The Thunder Demon, Zhong Su!

Outside the Soul Fighting Arena, in a secluded alley.

Shui Bing'er walked alone, wanting only to get away from here as quickly as possible.

Beads of sweat, as large as beans, rolled down her face. Her fists clenched as she fidgeted with her clothes, as if struggling to endure something.

Suddenly, alarm bells blared in her mind, and she instantly turned completely invisible.

The next second.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A large number of Shadow Ninjas dropped from the sky, crowding the narrow alley.

Dai Xieyue walked ahead, looking around, but saw no one else.

How strange. They'd just been here—how had they suddenly disappeared?

His brows knitted together, and irritation steadily mounted. He said coldly, "Search! He must still be here."

More than a dozen black-clad figures quickly began searching the cramped alley.

Swish—swish—

Diamond-shaped shuriken flew out as if they were free, blanketing the entire alley. Fortunately, Shui Bing'er had already hidden inside a shadow, so she hadn't been discovered yet.

But she could see these people's every move with perfect clarity.

That mask on that man's face looks just like mine!

She stared blankly at the half-red mask on Dai Xieyue's face. It looked strikingly similar to her own blue-green mask, clearly the same kind of thing.

And these black-clad figures reminded her of the strange creatures she had summoned before.

Could that be the mask's power? she wondered.

After a while.

"I wonder if he knows how to take off the mask," Shui Bing'er thought.

Ever since she had put on the mask, her strength had increased considerably, but its influence on her mind never let up. It kept egging her on to wreak havoc and destroy the world.

Worse, she couldn't take it off. All she could do was use the mysterious Talisman in her hand to hide it for the time being.

A few days earlier.

When she had found the mask, she had also picked up a Talisman with a little snake drawn on it.

After experimenting for several days, she had discovered that the Talisman could hide all or part of her body. Hiding a mask was child's play.

Dai Xieyue kept searching, but his fierce demeanor frightened Shui Bing'er.

She decided not to approach him and ask about the mask. Instead, she would remember his face, withdraw for now, and secretly keep an eye on him.

I should leave first!

Shui Bing'er quietly shifted to another shadow, preparing to leave the alley. But the disturbance she caused instantly caught Dai Xieyue's attention.

Dai Xieyue shouted toward the shadows, "Where are you? Show yourself!"

The Shadow Ninjas in the alley all turned to look at Shui Bing'er, their blood-red eyes unnerving.

"Ah!"

The Shadow Ninjas' shuriken flew toward her. A frightened cry rang out, but there was nothing else—the alley remained empty.

Dai Xieyue was surprised, but quickly figured out what was happening.

He had sensed the Shadow Ninjas just now. As for the invisibility, his opponent probably had the Snake Talisman!

"Hahaha! This really fell right into my lap."

Dai Xieyue approached with a sneer. He hadn't expected to find a mask as well as the Talisman this time. Shendu will surely praise me.

"Don't come any closer!" Shui Bing'er took a trembling step backward, gritting her teeth.

"Hand over the Talisman and the mask." Dai Xieyue showed no mercy. He held out his hand coldly toward the empty air.

The Shadow Ninjas closed in around her. Shui Bing'er gritted her teeth and looked around. Knowing there was no way to settle this peacefully, she could only use the mask's power again to protect herself.

She clenched her fists, and four enormous figures appeared beside her.

Four towering, burly Shadow Sumo wrestlers emerged from the ground. Each stood at least five meters tall, their thick arms like the doors of a double-door refrigerator.

Compared with the one-meter-eighty Shadow Ninjas, the difference was like that between an elephant and a puppy.

"Hmph! Still putting up a futile struggle."

Dai Xieyue didn't take her seriously. Seeing the Shadow Ninjas only confirmed his suspicions.

He swept his hand forward, and the Shadow Ninjas charged at her.

"Bang! Bang!" The sounds of metal clashing rang out.

The difference in strength soon became clear. The Shadow Ninjas were beaten in just a few moves. More than a dozen of them couldn't stop the two Shadow Sumo wrestlers, who smashed open a path with their bare hands. Shui Bing'er seized the chance to escape.

"Damn it! You won't get away!"

Dai Xieyue charged after her in fury, only to be grabbed by a Shadow Sumo wrestler and slammed into the ground.

Boom—

The impact blasted a huge crater in the earth. Dai Xieyue lay in it in a sorry state, glaring furiously into the distance.

Damn it, she got away!

Still, he had at least learned quite a bit.

First, her identity. She wouldn't want him to find out who she was, which meant she must be someone important—perhaps even famous.

Second, her age. She was a young woman, he judged from her voice.

Third, she seemed a little stronger than him—but Dai Xieyue wasn't a pushover either.

Hmph! Just you wait. I'll take back both your Talisman and your mask!

Deep in the forbidden grounds of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's ancestral land.

A huge stone stood before Yu Yuanzhen.

The stone was three meters tall and four meters wide. Its surface was covered in patterns like bolts of lightning, making it look exceptionally mysterious.

Yu Yuanzhen placed his hand on the stone. Memories from a distant past flooded into his mind, and he quickly understood the situation.

His ancestor had left him the Patriarch's Nine Trials. Each trial he passed would earn him a corresponding reward.

"Boy, I hope you can pass my trials," his ancestor said in a hoarse voice.

A trial? Bring it on!

Yu Yuanzhen eagerly began the first trial.

The first trial required him to reach Soul Power Level 90. With his strength at Level 95, he cleared it with ease.

As soon as he passed, three pitch-black Spirit Bones appeared out of thin air before his eyes.

Spirit Bones! His face lit up with joy.

He hadn't expected there to be a reward, much less three Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones. One of them had such a high age that it could even serve as a hereditary Spirit Bone! He was so excited that he instantly became convinced of the truth of the tales about his ancestor and the demon.

Spirit Hall, inside a secret chamber in the Pope Palace.

Shendu was quite pleased as he sensed the divine power coming from Yu Yuanzhen. He had made the Thunder Stone, while the three Spirit Bones were ones he had borrowed from Bibi Dong for the time being.

That was right—the same three Spirit Bones from the Soul Master Tournament in the original story.

When he'd borrowed them, he had only managed to get them by promising Bibi Dong he would return three Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones.

"Shendu, you absolutely must return them before the tournament."

Bibi Dong had looked at the Spirit Bones with great reluctance as she handed them over.

Don't worry! I, Shendu, always keep my word.

The ancestral grounds of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

Yu Yuanzhen sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, focusing intently on absorbing the Spirit Bones. After a long while, he slowly finished cultivating. The aura around him had clearly reached Level 96.

"Whew! I finally broke through to Level 96!" He spread his arms and burst into hearty laughter.

He had been stuck at that threshold for who knew how long. Now that he'd finally broken through, how could he not be thrilled?

He eagerly began the second trial, but to his surprise, it required him to awaken the Thunder Demon, Zhong Su!

Good grief, he had to revive a demon outright!

He was at a loss, but fortunately, his ancestor had left instructions.

Three days later.

Every member of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan knelt on the mountaintop, gazing reverently at the sky.

At the clan leader Yu Yuanzhen's insistence, everyone had been forced to accept the news that their ancestor was a demon over the past three days.

According to the ancestor's records, the entire clan had to kneel on the ground and shout to the sky, begging the demon to descend. Only then would the demon come.

At the front of the crowd, Yu Luomian's face was dark with anger. This all seemed utterly absurd.

How could the clan's ancestor possibly be some damn demon? He wanted to crack open his elder brother's skull and see what was inside that made him say such nonsense.

But without the strength to resist, all he could do was kneel and, against his will, welcome their ancestor.

Yu Yuanzhen stood on high and shouted, "Get ready! Everyone, shout together!"

"Please, descend, Demon!" the crowd cried in unison!

Boom—

The earth-shaking cry erupted from the mountaintop, carrying all the way to the foot of the mountain.

The other forces on the continent all heard the noise and couldn't help wondering what was going on with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

Ning Fengzhi furrowed his brows, suddenly feeling uneasy.

Yu Yuanzhen waited eagerly at the front of the crowd, but didn't kneel. His ancestor's records said everyone had to kneel to avoid angering the demon, but he didn't take that to heart.

So what if it was a demon? Wasn't it just a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?

Hadn't the Spirit Hall chased the Sky Demon Hsoi all over the place? With his strength now, wouldn't he be able to handle one just as easily?

After everyone joined their voices to shout those words,

a huge dark cloud slowly formed in the sky. The scene immediately plunged into a gloomy night, accompanied by bursts of thunder and rain.

The clouds churned. Lightning flashed and thunder roared.

The atmosphere had reached its peak.

"Is everything ready? Then let's begin!"

In a secret chamber in Spirit Hall, Shendu opened the gate to Demon Hell.

Thunder Demon Zhong Su! It was your turn to make an appearance.