I Am the Chosen One

Inside the main hall.

The hideous mask obscured Shui Bing'er's breathtaking face. Her limbs hung limp and weak, a stark contrast to the way she had slaughtered her way through the battlefield yesterday.

As Ning Fengzhi looked at her, he thought of the shadow that could slip underground. He couldn't help but think of the Masked Man who had recently appeared and been placed on the Heaven Dou Empire's wanted list.

The Heaven Dou Empire was willing to pay any price to hunt down the Masked Man.

Skywater Academy had likewise offered a Spirit Bone as a reward for information about the Masked Man.

The two factions had reacted so strongly that everyone was curious about what the Masked Man had done.

"Breaking into the imperial palace and slaughtering people at Skywater Academy—this fellow certainly looks like the sort of vicious character who'd do such things." Sword Douluo gritted his teeth against the pain and looked at the woman in the hall.

"No, the person who was wanted before was Dai Xieyue. Rongrong told me. This... should be a second Masked Man," Ning Fengzhi said, hesitating.

The others were somewhat surprised to hear this.

"Fengzhi, what do you think?" Chen Xin asked.

Ning Fengzhi shook his head. "I can't say for now. It may have something to do with those ancient powers."

Chen Xin nodded. "That's what I think, too."

Although Shendu hadn't explained anything about the masks, they had already come up with a fairly reasonable origin for them: they were from ancient times.

Demons had appeared in ancient times, so it stood to reason that other things might have appeared as well.

Ning Fengzhi looked at the Talisman in his hand. It was plain and mysterious. The Talisman was probably connected to ancient times, too.

"Still, this person seems to be an ordinary human. She only became like this after putting on the mask," Gu Rong said after pondering for a long while.

"In other words, we only need to take off the mask to gain its power. But the consciousness inside it might possess us—the one who calls himself some kind of general," Chen Xin continued.

Ning Fengzhi agreed with this as well.

He wanted to oppose the demons, and to do that, he needed great strength. The power of the mask had piqued his curiosity.

Unfortunately, no matter how powerful the mask was, he couldn't use it right now.

He understood that only power of his own was true power. He wouldn't accept even a gift if he couldn't control it.

If he couldn't control the mask, he absolutely wouldn't put it on.

"Let's take the mask off first," Chen Xin suggested.

Ning Fengzhi shook his head and explained, "We've tried all sorts of methods, but we couldn't remove it. The mask must be connected to this woman."

Sword Douluo walked forward with his sword and sighed. "You're too softhearted, Fengzhi."

As soon as he finished speaking, he slashed the mask away, leaving Gu Rong and the others stunned.

A flash of sword light swept past. The mask clattered to the ground, with a bloody strip of skin still attached.

Sword Douluo picked up the mask and tossed it onto the table. See? Wasn't that easy?

Ning Fengzhi looked at the mask, fell silent for a moment, and sighed deeply. "Uncle Jian..."

The woman, her face stripped of skin, lay on the ground as blood poured out around her.

"Alas, she is still a living being." Ning Fengzhi couldn't quite bear it.

To his surprise, even after her face had been flayed, the woman's heartbeat could still be faintly heard.

"Save her."

Ning Fengzhi's eyes lit up. If she recovered consciousness after being brought back, he could learn the specifics of the mask from her.

"Uncle Jian, we have you to thank for stepping in!" He cupped his hands toward him in gratitude.

Sword Douluo looked over in surprise, too. He hadn't expected his casual slash to actually reveal a way to break the mask's hold.

Several healing Soul Masters gathered around the woman lying on the ground and began treating her. Seeing the bloody flesh on her face, they couldn't help shuddering.

No wonder he was able to become a clan leader. He seemed gentle and refined on the surface, but he was ruthless beneath it.

As they were still marveling inwardly, each of them unconsciously quickened their hands.

If they could obtain the mask's power, perhaps they could resist the demons. And they could build the Black Hand Gang at the same time.

Ning Fengzhi's eyes lit up at the thought. This mask was practically a perfect boost for building the Black Hand Gang. Could it be that he really was the Chosen One, a natural-born Valmont?

His heart raced with excitement.

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's mountaintop, thousands of meters above sea level, nurtured a sea of thunderclouds.

Previously, this had been a wooded area where few people ventured. After the Thunder Demon, Zhong Su, arrived, he had transformed it into a plaza.

The barren forest floor had now been paved with marble. At Zhong Su's command, large numbers of clan members came here to cultivate.

"The power of lightning here is so abundant. I feel like my Soul Power is cultivating much faster," Yu Tianxin said excitedly as he sat cross-legged on the marble. Soul Power surged through his body, and bolts of lightning swirled around him.

Across from him, the young Yu Tianheng was just as excited.

He looked up at the thunderclouds in the sky. The demon's silhouette flickered within them, and for the first time, he was fascinated by the other's power.

Just one field of thunder had increased everyone's cultivation speed by so much. What kind of divine power did it possess?

His blood surging with excitement, he turned and left.

"Tianheng, aren't you going to cultivate anymore?" Yu Tianxin called after him.

"I'm going to get a Soul Ring."

"Why so soon?" Yu Tianxin's heart tightened at the news.

Tianheng was a year younger than him, yet he was already one step ahead in Soul Power.

Damn it, you have to break through to level forty soon! he thought urgently, making his Soul Power circulate faster and faster until it rampaged through his body.

Many others were in the same situation. People sat cross-legged in cultivation all across the plaza, flashes of lightning lighting up the area.

Suddenly, a dazzling beam of light appeared among the crowd.

Rumble—

Everyone's gaze was drawn toward it.

They saw Yu Luomian emerge from the lightning, laughing excitedly. "Hahaha, I finally broke through to level ninety!"

After so many days of training in the field of thunder, he had finally broken through the barrier to becoming a Titled Douluo and reached the rank of Quasi-Titled Douluo. All he needed now was to obtain a Soul Ring.

"Elder Yu Luomian has reached level ninety. Doesn't that mean our clan will have two Titled Douluos now? Wonderful! The power of the Electric Tyrant Dragon Clan has grown even stronger."

"Too bad there's no Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan anymore. There's only Thunder City now."

Their gazes dimmed.

Yu Luomian came before Yu Yuanzhen, excitement written all over his face. "Big brother."

Yu Yuanzhen happily patted him on the shoulder. "Big brother will go hunt a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast for you right away."

The two went to the thunderclouds above and respectfully called for the Old Ancestor.

After a little while, Zhong Su descended, lightning coiling around his body.

My servant, why have you summoned me?

Yu Yuanzhen said respectfully, "Lord Zhong Su, Yu Luomian has reached level ninety and needs a Soul Ring. So I hope you'll allow us to leave the clan for a while, so I can take him to obtain one."

After he finished speaking, they waited nervously for Zhong Su's reply.