Li Henian Makes a Move! Ning Yuan in Danger!

According to the Great Soul Arena's ranking rules, Ning Yuan earned the title of Platinum Soul Fighter and received the final reward for the seasonal tournament: an External Soul Bone.

He opened the brocade box handed to him at the prize counter. Inside lay a palm-sized bone, dark gray throughout.

Its surface was covered in fine feather-like patterns. It felt warm and smooth to the touch, faintly emitting a weak glow.

It was an External Soul Bone from a flying Soul Beast.

Ning Yuan did not linger at the prize counter. After giving it a cursory glance, he closed the brocade box and stored it in his Soul Tool.

He knew that now was not the time to study the soul bone closely.

Although he had won the match, he had undoubtedly made a mortal enemy of the person backing Li Ming.

The most important thing now was to leave the Great Soul Arena immediately.

Ning Yuan found Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan at the corner of the contestants' passageway.

The moment they saw him approach, Yan was the first to rush over, his face brimming with excitement.

"Holy shit! Ning Yuan, that was insane! You dropped that kid in one move!"

Hu Liena was grinning from ear to ear as well. "And we made another fortune! Following our little junior brother really does mean there's meat to eat!"

Xie Yue leaned against the wall. He glanced at Ning Yuan and was about to congratulate him when he noticed that something was off about his expression.

Ning Yuan rarely looked this serious.

"Ning Yuan, is something worrying you?"

Xie Yue asked.

Ning Yuan swept his gaze across the three of them and lowered his voice.

"Don't celebrate just yet. I won, advanced to Platinum Soul Fighter, and obtained that External Soul Bone..."

He paused, his gaze darkening.

"But at the same time, I've thoroughly offended the person behind Li Ming. So we're in danger right now."

The smiles vanished from all three of their faces at once.

They too realized the severity of the situation.

Ning Yuan began giving them instructions.

"When we get out, we split up."

"Don't stop, don't take detours. Return directly to Spirit Hall as fast as you can."

"Once we're within Spirit Hall's sphere of influence, no matter how bold he is, he won't dare touch us."

Xie Yue frowned and glanced toward the exit at the end of the corridor before nodding solemnly. "Understood."

Yan also put away his playful grin and clenched his fist. "Alright. We'll do as you say."

Hu Liena looked deeply at Ning Yuan. She did not ask any questions, merely replied seriously, "Okay. Be careful yourself."

"Mm. Split up. Don't look back."

The four said no more. They each turned and quickly left through different passages.

After leaving through the back entrance of the Great Soul Arena, Ning Yuan avoided the main road and deliberately took the narrow alleys.

He wanted to shake off anyone who might be pursuing him.

But before he had gone very far...

The air around him suddenly changed.

The end of the street, which had been lit by lamps, abruptly blurred, as though he were looking at it through a curtain of water.

The walls on either side began to twist, while the stone path beneath his feet seemed to be kneaded by an invisible hand, stretching out into a side road that did not exist.

"Something's wrong!"

Ning Yuan immediately sensed the anomaly.

[Little Ning Yuan, looks like we've run into an illusion!]

Venom's voice sounded in his mind.

The next second, the warped space ahead seemed to be torn open by an invisible hand, and a figure slowly emerged from within.

The man was somewhat plump and wore an expensive silk robe. His face was half-lit and half-shadowed in the night.

It was Li Henian, the person in charge of the Great Soul Arena.

The illusion around them had been released by his martial soul, the Dream Mirage Serpent.

A faint layer of pale purple mist surrounded him. As the mist churned, countless distorted shadows could vaguely be seen writhing within it.

Ning Yuan immediately sensed the powerful Soul Power fluctuations coming from Li Henian.

He had run into an expert!

"Brat!!!"

Li Henian's voice carried the fury he had suppressed all night.

"Do you know how much effort I spent over four whole months paving this path for my nephew?"

He advanced step by step. With every step, the mirage mist around him grew denser.

"I picked the weakest opponents for him, rigged his points behind the scenes, and arranged everything. I was just waiting for the quarterly tournament to end so he could obtain that External Soul Bone and smoothly advance to Purple-Gold Battle Spirit."

"But you!!!"

His voice suddenly rose, filled with teeth-gritting hatred.

"You ruined everything!"

"My nephew died by your hand, and the plan I spent four months building was shattered by a single move from you."

"And now you want to leave?"

He sneered, the curve of his lips as cold as a blade.

"A life for a life—it is only right."

"You killed my nephew, so you will pay with your life!"

"And that External Soul Bone... you will obediently cough it up as well!"

Ning Yuan stood where he was, the symbiote already surging beneath his skin as it gathered strength. His gaze remained fixed on the pale purple mist surrounding Li Henian while his mind raced.

[Hey, hey, hey, this fat guy doesn't look easy to deal with! That mist around him... tsk tsk, Venom doesn't like it!]

[Shut up and focus on the enemy!]

Ning Yuan took a deep breath, and the symbiote abruptly covered his entire body.

Black fluid surged forth, his body rising to over two meters as he transformed into that savage black monster.

He knew perfectly well that the man before him was an eight-ring Soul Douluo. A two-ring Soul Grandmaster like himself stood no chance in a contest of raw strength.

But he could not run.

Since he had been targeted, battle was his only option.

Even if he died, he would tear a chunk of flesh off this old bastard.

Seeing that Ning Yuan not only did not flee but instead assumed a fighting stance, Li Henian's eyes flashed with surprise before turning into a sneer.

"Interesting. A little two-ring brat actually dares to bare his claws at a Soul Douluo."

His body suddenly trembled, and the soul rings beneath his feet lit up—two yellow, three purple, and three black. Eight soul rings lined up in perfect order, radiating astonishing pressure.

"Eight rings! A Soul Douluo!"

Ning Yuan's gaze sharpened at the sight before him.

A Soul Douluo had personally stepped in. He was really being given quite the honor.

Li Henian merely raised a hand casually. A palm condensed from purple mist slammed down from afar, wrapped in the crushing force of Soul Douluo-level Soul Power.

Although his martial soul did not excel in frontal combat, this palm strike was enough to severely injure any soul master below the fourth ring on the spot.

Ning Yuan's pupils contracted. Before a Soul Douluo, his speed was as slow as a snail's.

He could not dodge. He could only take it head-on!

He crossed his arms, and the symbiote condensed into a thick shield before him.

Boom!!!!

A muffled explosion rang out.

The black figure was sent flying by the palm strike, crashing violently into the air behind him. In truth, there was a solid stone wall there, disguised by Li Henian's illusion as a fork in the passage.

Ning Yuan let out a muffled groan as broken stones rained down. It felt as if his internal organs had been struck by a heavy hammer, and a thread of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

But he... had endured it.

He had taken a frontal attack from a Soul Douluo head-on without losing his ability to fight.

Li Henian's brow rose slightly, and for the first time, genuine surprise appeared on his face.

"Hm?"

He glanced down at his own palm, then looked back at Ning Yuan, his gaze gaining a trace of seriousness.

"A two-ring soul master can still stand after taking one of my strikes?"

He narrowed his eyes, a hint of astonishment entering his voice.

"Brat, the strength of your body is almost on par with a four-ring Soul Ancestor."

His gaze swept over the black symbiote covering Ning Yuan's body. After studying it for a moment, his voice suddenly deepened.

"Such talent... is indeed rare."

"Given enough time, you might even surpass me."

Li Henian paused there, and his tone immediately turned cold.

"But you won't have a future."

Ning Yuan had no time to spare him any attention, his gaze fixed intently ahead.

Li Henian moved.

This time, he held nothing back.

Two yellow, three purple, and three black soul rings lit up at once. The mirage mist around him suddenly boiled, transforming into countless twisted mist pythons that came tearing toward Ning Yuan from all directions!

Ning Yuan gritted his teeth. The symbiote across his body surged madly, black blades forming over both arms as he charged straight at the overwhelming tide of mist pythons...

He knew he couldn't beat him.

But even if he died, he had to make this old bastard leave a chunk of flesh behind!

Just then—

A golden light descended from the sky.

It came without a sound, yet it was as swift as lightning.

The twisted mist pythons filling the sky vanished completely the instant they touched the golden light, like morning fog under the blazing sun.

"Li Henian, you've got some nerve."

"You dare lay a hand on someone from Spirit Hall?"