Li Henian's Death!

A golden beam descended from the sky.

It made no sound, yet it was as swift as thunder.

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

Li Henian's pupils constricted as he abruptly looked up.

At some point, a tall, slender figure had appeared atop the wall above the alley.

A moon-white robe fluttered faintly in the night wind. His face was lean, his hands tucked within his sleeves as he looked down at Li Henian from above.

It was none other than Chrysanthemum Douluo, Yue Guan!!!

The composure on Li Henian's face collapsed in an instant.

Chrysanthemum Douluo, Yue Guan?

He was an elder of Spirit Hall, a Titled Douluo-level existence.

Why was he here?!

Li Henian suddenly turned to look at the black-clad figure he had beaten until he coughed blood. In a flash, he understood everything.

Chrysanthemum Douluo had appeared here—could it be that this kid... was from Spirit Hall?

"I am Li Henian, the person in charge of the Great Soul Arena in Spirit City. I did not know that Your Excellency Chrysanthemum Douluo had come. Please forgive my failure to welcome you properly."

How could Li Henian still have any mind to deal with Ning Yuan now?

All he could think about was calming Yue Guan down and keeping him from making a move.

Besides, Ning Yuan might not necessarily be from Spirit Hall. Yue Guan's presence here could have simply been a coincidence.

He was gambling on that possibility.

"You dared lay hands on someone from my Spirit Hall, Li Henian. You've got some nerve!"

Standing atop the wall, Yue Guan looked down at Li Henian below with an indifferent gaze, as though he were looking at a corpse.

The moment Li Henian heard those words, his scalp went numb.

This was bad. Ning Yuan really was from Spirit Hall, and Yue Guan had appeared because of him.

This time, he had truly kicked an iron plate.

Li Henian's heart instantly sank into an icy abyss.

Before him stood Chrysanthemum Douluo, Yue Guan.

An elder of Spirit Hall, a Titled Douluo-level figure.

Someone who could crush him to death with a flick of a finger.

He never could have imagined that such a powerful figure stood behind this brat in the black mask.

Spirit Hall was famously protective of its own.

And judging by the fact that Yue Guan had personally come to save him, this kid's status within Spirit Hall was certainly not low!

A chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head.

Every thought of vengeance vanished without a trace at that moment.

Only one thought remained in his mind.

"Run!"

Li Henian did not hesitate in the slightest. He turned and fled.

All eight spirit rings lit up at once as the mirage mist spread out at full force, attempting to use illusions to create an escape route and cover his retreat.

"Your Excellency Chrysanthemum Douluo! It's a misunderstanding! This is all a misunderstanding!"

He shouted as he ran, his voice full of terror and pleading. "I didn't know he was your man! If I had known, I wouldn't have dared touch him even if you gave me ten thousand times the courage! Please show mercy..."

Yue Guan did not even raise an eyebrow.

A misunderstanding?

He had tried to ambush and kill him, then called it a misunderstanding after the fight?

What kind of logic was that?

His right arm trembled slightly, and a lustrous golden Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum slowly bloomed in his palm. As its petals unfurled, they carried a warm, gentle glow.

Unlike before, the chrysanthemum did not leave his palm and float into battle as usual. Instead, fine golden roots extended from its base, following the lines of his palm and burrowing directly into his bloodstream.

This was precisely the path Ning Yuan had pointed out to him before: using his own flesh and blood as the soil for the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, allowing it to take root within his body and nourish his flesh through his martial soul.

The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum's power to strengthen his physique was released several times over, and Yue Guan's aura rose to a new level within a few short breaths.

Yue Guan's body trembled slightly.

A pale golden glow seeped out from beneath his skin. Starting from his palm, it spread up his arm and eventually covered half his body.

Yue Guan vanished from where he stood.

The next second, he appeared directly in Li Henian's path of retreat.

Without unleashing any Soul Skill manifestations, without any resplendent martial soul phantoms, all his power was compressed within that body, strengthened by the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum taking root inside it. Then he threw a punch.

The punch was not particularly fast, but from Li Henian's perspective, it seemed to seal off every possible direction of escape.

In his haste, Li Henian only had time to condense a shield before himself, woven from mirage mist and Soul Power.

The fist struck the shield.

The instant it touched the golden fist aura, the shield shattered like papier-mâché, exploding into countless motes of light.

The punch did not slow, driving straight through and landing squarely on Li Henian's chest.

Li Henian's entire body seemed to have been struck head-on by a hundred-thousand-year Titan Giant Ape. His chest visibly caved in, his spine emitted a rapid series of fine cracking sounds, and his body bent like a shrimp as he shot backward like a cannonball, smashing heavily into the brick wall behind him.

The brick wall collapsed with a thunderous crash, dust billowing everywhere.

Li Henian lay half-buried beneath the broken bricks, great mouthfuls of blood pouring from his mouth. The sunken fist print on his chest was a horrifying sight.

With difficulty, he lifted his eyelids and looked toward Yue Guan, who had just withdrawn his fist. His lips moved a few times as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, only an indistinct breath escaped him.

Then the light in his eyes went out completely.

Li Henian, an eight-ringed Soul Douluo, was dead.

The alley fell silent.

Yue Guan lowered his fist, and the golden glow flowing over his body gradually faded.

He turned and looked at Ning Yuan, who was leaning against the wall and gasping for breath.

Though blood stained the corner of the boy's mouth and his breathing was ragged, his eyes remained bright. He had not been frightened by the crushing battle just now.

Ning Yuan used the wall to straighten himself, then cupped his hands toward Yue Guan. "Thank you, Elder Yue Guan, for saving my life."

Yue Guan walked over and looked him over from head to toe. Only after confirming that he had not suffered any serious injuries did he let out a breath, shaking his head with a touch of helplessness.

"You brat... you really know how to stir up trouble."

Ning Yuan smiled awkwardly.

This time, he really had been too overconfident. He had underestimated the severity of the situation and had thus fallen into their trap.

Yue Guan lifted his chin, gesturing toward the alley exit. "Come on. Don't just stand around here. Hurry back to Spirit Hall."

Ning Yuan nodded without saying more and quickly followed Yue Guan.

The two figures, one before the other, vanished into the night.

Behind them, the dim alley returned to silence.

As for Li Henian, Spirit Hall naturally had cleanup crews to deal with the aftermath.

By the time they returned to Spirit Hall, it was already late at night.

Yue Guan took Ning Yuan directly to Bibi Dong.

The hall was brightly lit.

Bibi Dong sat upon her throne, with Ghost Douluo Ghost standing at her side.

She had clearly already received the news, and her beautiful eyes swept over Ning Yuan.

Only after confirming that he was not seriously hurt did she slowly lean back in her chair, her tone giving away neither pleasure nor anger.

"Li Henian is dead?"

"Dead."

Yue Guan stepped forward and bowed as he answered.

"I dealt with him personally. The body has already been handed over to the cleanup crew."

Bibi Dong lightly tapped the armrest twice with her fingertips and fell silent for a moment.

She knew of Li Henian. He was the person in charge of the Great Soul Arena in Spirit City, an eight-ringed Soul Douluo.

He usually handled matters smoothly, yet she had never expected him to be bold enough to secretly switch opponents and rig the match—or even to dare ambush and kill the Holy Son within Spirit City.

"You were injured?"

There was a trace of concern in Bibi Dong's voice.

"Just superficial wounds. Nothing serious." Ning Yuan cupped his hands. "Thank you for your concern, Your Holiness."

Bibi Dong looked at him for several seconds, then suddenly gave a soft laugh, her tone carrying a hint of teasing.

"You really are good at causing trouble. From Qingyuan Village to the Great Soul Arena, everywhere you go, someone wants to kill you."

Ning Yuan awkwardly rubbed his nose and did not dare respond.

"However..." Bibi Dong changed the subject. "The fact that you managed to hold out against an eight-ringed Soul Douluo until my people arrived is enough to prove that you deserve the position of Holy Son."

She rose from her throne, walked down the steps, and stopped before Ning Yuan. Her tone was calm, yet carried an unquestionable force.

"You need not concern yourself with Li Henian's matter any longer."

"I'll have Ghost investigate the network behind him."

"You have only one task now."

"Recover properly. Cultivate properly."

"Now that you've obtained the External Soul Bone, once you absorb it, your strength will rise to another level."

"As for everything else..."

She paused, a trace of chill entering her voice. "In Spirit City, no one can touch Bibi Dong's people."