All Parties Gathered, Who Did You Call an Evil Soul Master?

A Titled Douluo's aura erupted directly from Kong Deming.

The many Soul Masters drawn by the Life Force felt the oppressive aura of a Titled Douluo and stopped a hundred meters outside the residence.

As the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou City had only one Titled Douluo-level expert publicly known to reside within it: Dugu Bo.

Yet in secret, there were also Snake Lance and Pufferfish, the two Titled Douluos of Spirit Hall tasked with protecting Qian Renxue.

But those were the only three.

Although Titled Douluos were scarce, there were quite a few Soul Douluos and even some Seven-Ringed Soul Sages.

"This man is incredibly powerful. I never expected him to be a Titled Douluo with a 100,000-Year Spirit Ring!"

"When did such a Titled Douluo come to Heaven Dou City?"

Salas, Spirit Hall's Platinum Bishop, stood in midair. Naturally, he did not dare step within a hundred meters of the residence.

He stared darkly at the blood-red spirit ring beneath Kong Deming, lost in thought.

"Sect Master, this silver barrier is rather mysterious. I can't sense at all what is happening inside the residence."

Bone Douluo and Ning Fengzhi had already been in Heaven Dou City today, and they had only just met Ye Ling and Kong Deming.

Yet before long, they had run into them again.

"Forget it. This Silver Moon Douluo is no weakling."

"Whatever they are doing in that house, we should not offend them."

Ning Fengzhi stopped Bone Douluo from probing further and spoke in a low voice.

"Besides, some suicidal fool will naturally step forward for us."

As he spoke, he glanced toward Spirit Hall.

"Heaven Dou City is truly lively today."

A somewhat low chuckle drifted down from the sky.

Dark green light gathered overhead, then formed into an old man somewhat resembling Du Busi, with dark green hair and beard.

Nine spirit rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black—also gleamed beneath his feet.

"Poison Douluo?"

Ning Fengzhi raised a brow.

Although Dugu Bo was a Chaplain of the Heaven Dou Empire's Royal Family, he was an elusive and mysterious man who rarely showed himself. Ning Fengzhi had not expected to encounter him here today.

"Greetings, Sect Master Ning, Bone Douluo, Poison Douluo."

Three more whistles cut through the air. Each newcomer had eight soul rings beneath their feet; they were three Soul Douluo-level experts as well.

"The Three Education Committee Members rarely leave the Heaven Dou Empire Royal Soul Master Academy. Were you also drawn here by that Life Force?"

Ning Fengzhi returned the greeting and asked curiously.

These three were Meng Shenji, Zhi Lin, and Bai Baoshan, the Three Education Committee Members of the Heaven Dou Empire Royal Soul Master Academy.

"You jest, Sect Master Ning. We three were hardly the only ones drawn by that Life Force."

Meng Shenji smiled, but when his gaze swept over Kong Deming's spirit rings, his pupils could not help shrinking slightly.

By now, nearly every major force in Heaven Dou City had gathered.

Spirit Hall, the Royal Family, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect were all present. Only the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had not sent any capable expert.

Yet the various factions held each other in check, and no one dared cross within a hundred meters of the residence.

"Your Excellency, someone here has forcibly seized the Life Force of the plants within the city."

"We of Spirit Hall have reason to suspect that an Evil Soul Master is hiding within. Please do not stop us and allow us to enter and investigate."

Salas of Spirit Hall was the first to lose patience.

As the continent's strongest Soul Master organization, Spirit Hall had always acted without restraint.

A Titled Douluo with a 100,000-Year Spirit Ring might make them wary, but it was far from enough to frighten them.

Did Tang Hao not also possess a 100,000-Year Spirit Ring?

And did he not also possess the world's number one Weapon Martial Soul? Was he not still hunted by Spirit Hall like a homeless dog?

Besides, forcibly extracting the life force of plants truly did resemble the methods of an Evil Soul Master.

As an organization devoted to exterminating all Evil Soul Masters, Spirit Hall had every reason to use this as an opening.

Kong Deming said nothing. He merely glanced at Salas before looking away again.

A mere Soul Douluo did not even have the qualifications to speak before him.

Salas's face flushed red. As Spirit Hall's Platinum Bishop, when had he ever suffered such blatant disregard?

"Your Excellency, are you ignoring Spirit Hall's authority?"

"Can an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo like you represent Spirit Hall's authority?"

Kong Deming sneered and finally spoke.

"Enough with the nonsense. If you have the guts, step within a hundred meters of this residence."

Salas's complexion had gone from flushed red to utterly grim.

Over the years, he had overseen the Heaven Dou City Spirit Hall Branch. Even Ning Fengzhi of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and Xue Ye of the Heaven Dou Empire had to show him some respect.

Yet today, he had suffered a setback here.

In truth, whether they were Evil Soul Masters or not meant nothing to him as a Platinum Bishop.

What he wanted was the treasure—or perhaps the Soul Master—capable of extracting and gathering this life force.

For any living creature, the most important factor determining its lifespan was life force!

If Spirit Hall also mastered a method of extracting plant life force, would that not greatly extend the lifespans of Soul Masters like them?

"Sect Master Ning, Your Excellency Poison Douluo, and the Three Education Committee Members of the Heaven Dou Empire Royal Soul Master Academy, I suspect that Evil Soul Masters are being harbored here. Please lend me a hand!"

Salas was no fool. With a shift of his gaze, he looked toward the other factions in the distance.

"What the hell do Evil Soul Masters have to do with me? I'm just here to watch the show."

Dugu Bo looked disdainful. Salas's scheme was far too obvious.

He had come because, while cultivating, he had sensed this life force and wanted to use it to suppress the backlash from the snake venom within his body.

Now that he had seen a Titled Douluo with a 100,000-Year Spirit Ring standing guard for the other side, he naturally abandoned that thought.

He had no intention of being used as a weapon by Spirit Hall.

"The three of us old men only teach at the academy. Matters involving Evil Soul Masters should be handled by Spirit Hall."

The Three Education Committee Members exchanged glances, and Meng Shenji was the first to speak.

What a joke. Their opponent was a Titled Douluo with a 100,000-Year Ninth Ring.

What could the three Soul Douluo possibly do? Go there to die?

"And what about Sect Master Ning? As one of the Upper Three Sects, shouldn't the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect cooperate with Spirit Hall in eliminating Evil Soul Masters?"

Salas looked directly at Ning Fengzhi, using his words to pressure him morally.

"Your Excellency Silver Moon, may I ask whether there are any traces of Evil Soul Masters here?"

After pondering for a moment, Ning Fengzhi finally spoke.

Even though the Upper Three Sects stood opposed to Spirit Hall, they were very much aligned when it came to their attitude toward Evil Soul Masters.

Moreover, he was the highest-ranking person present.

Especially after being morally pressured by Salas, he had no choice but to swallow this bitter loss.