True and False News

Tie Li still decided to secretly follow behind Niu Dahuang and find out what was going on.

Niu Dahuang was an ordinary person and did not know the value of a Soul Bone. Boss Cheng, however, was a genuine Soul Master. How could he not know the value of a Soul Bone? And how could he let someone like Niu Dahuang steal it?

Niu Dahuang was still caught up in his excitement, fantasizing about becoming the boss in the future. By then, he too would be someone of status and importance.

It was not until he saw the residence where Boss Cheng lived that he reined in his thoughts.

As usual, he secretly slipped in through the side entrance of the residence.

A somewhat plump noblewoman sat before a mirror applying makeup, with boxes of expensive rouge and cosmetics laid out before her.

Just as she was concentrating on her makeup, she felt a familiar touch on her abdomen.

"Why are you here in broad daylight? Since when did you become so bold?" A flush of shyness crossed the woman's face.

"Didn't you ask me last time to find an outsider Soul Master to deal with Boss Cheng?"

"You really found one? How strong is he? Can he deal with him?" the woman asked delightedly.

But before the two could get started, they saw a figure outside the door—a figure that made them tremble in fear.

The figure looked thin and scrawny, with dark, dry skin. Only his eyes revealed a ruthless gleam.

"As expected, an adulterous couple."

"Boss... I came to see you. I accidentally went into the wrong room, I..." Niu Dahuang tried to explain, but Boss Cheng cut him off.

"Did you think I knew nothing about what was going on?"

"If you knew, then why..." The woman could not understand. If he knew about her filthy affair with his subordinate, why had he not stopped it? Why had he allowed it to continue for so long?

"Because of your brother. Did you think the Soul Bone was real? It was all fake, something I used to fool you. I thought you would only tell your brother, but I didn't expect you to tell even him."

"Then what are you..." Suddenly, the woman understood. This had all been Boss Cheng's scheme. Once she figured out one part of it, everything else became clear.

"After he learned that I had a Soul Bone, he immediately gathered his men and planned to assassinate me by surprise. But he didn't know that I had already set a trap and was waiting for him;

I'll send you to meet him now. Perhaps he has only just set out. When you get there, let your brother explain it to you properly!"

Two white Soul Rings rose beneath Boss Cheng. A layer of gray fur appeared over his body, and his sharp front teeth grew all the way down to his lower jaw.

"Crunch."

The sharp teeth bit through the necks of the adulterous pair. Such a bloody scene naturally fell into Tie Li's eyes.

Tie Li had not expected the news about the Soul Bone to be fake, merely something Boss Cheng used to set a trap... No, there was a flaw in his words. Why did he have to use a Soul Bone?

There were many treasures that could make that group of underground rats reckless with greed. Why had he chosen the most precious kind of all—a Soul Bone?

For Soul Masters living at the bottom of society, treasures worth a fortune would make them swarm after them. But news of an ultimate treasure, something they might never encounter in their entire lives, would instead make them suspicious.

Tie Li felt that something was very wrong.

Bang!

Tie Li shattered the roof tiles beneath his feet and landed before Boss Cheng.

"Oh? I thought you would leave immediately after learning that the Soul Bone news was fake. We both know the truth and pretend not to know each other. Isn't that better?"

"Where is the Soul Bone?" Tie Li asked directly.

"Haha, you actually believed it? Even if I ran into the street and shouted that I had a Soul Bone, people would probably think I was insane. Yet you believed it. Hahaha, how ridiculous."

"I only believed it fifty percent before. Now I believe it eighty percent."

"Oh?"

Boss Cheng stopped laughing, and a chill appeared in his eyes.

"Someone like you trusts no one. You definitely wouldn't choose to hide something as important as a Soul Bone in that place. If I'm right, the Soul Bone is on you, isn't it?"

The moment Tie Li finished speaking, Boss Cheng's First Soul Ring lit up. White radiance enveloped him, and his speed exploded in an instant.

Sizzle!

Lightning bloomed from Tie Li's right hand. Within the lightning was a Forging Hammer, its surface rippling like scales. Tempered by the lightning, it resembled a Thunder Python writhing along the hammer's body.

A yellow Soul Ring floated above and below the hammer, appearing especially dazzling.

First Soul Skill, Thunder Hammer!

The Forging Hammer was covered in a layer of Thunder Armor, wrapping every inch of it and extending down the handle, crawling over Tie Li's right hand gripping it and reaching all the way to his forearm.

Not only was the Forging Hammer covered in Thunder Armor, but Tie Li's forearm had gained a layer of Thunder Armor as well.

Boss Cheng's burst of speed was extremely fast, but Tie Li's eyes captured it clearly.

The Thunder Hammer tore through the air with a howling sound. This strike would be immensely powerful and carry heavy lightning damage.

Boss Cheng sensed the danger. His Second Soul Ring lit up, and his small forelimbs suddenly swelled as his enhanced rat claws tried to pierce Tie Li's body first.

Bang!

Without the slightest resistance, the Thunder Hammer smashed Boss Cheng's head apart in a single blow. The bursting lightning ravaged his body, instantly scorching it black.

Before Boss Cheng died, his pupils were filled with disbelief. His rat claws had been blocked by a hard layer of something.

Tie Li had always worn an iron inner vest. If his opponent had possessed a Hundred-Year Soul Skill, Tie Li naturally would not have dared risk taking the attack head-on. But his opponent only had Ten-Year Soul Skills—he was merely a Soul Grandmaster with two Ten-Year Soul Rings.

This iron inner vest was not forged from ordinary iron either. Tie Niu had added Iron Essence while forging it.

Tie Li glanced at his right arm covered in Thunder Armor and tried switching the Thunder Hammer to his left hand.

Sure enough, the Thunder Armor on his right arm quickly receded, while a layer of Thunder Armor spread over the left arm holding the Thunder Hammer.

Boss Cheng's Soul Power Level might have been higher than his, but his physical strength was definitely inferior to Tie Li's. Especially during this period, with the Thousand-Year Thunder Python Inner Core aiding his cultivation, every increase in Soul Power brought physical enhancements far beyond what he had gained before.

At his current Soul Power Level of seventeen, his physical strength was no weaker than that of a level-twenty Soul Grandmaster from the assault type.

Retracting his Martial Soul, Tie Li walked over to Boss Cheng's corpse and began searching it.

"Nothing?"

Then Tie Li noticed the ring on Boss Cheng's right index finger and removed it.

"So it really is a storage-type Soul Tool." Tie Li was delighted. He had not expected even a Boss Cheng to acquire a storage Soul Tool.

As long as he attached his Spiritual Power to the Storage Ring, he could inspect the items within its storage space.

Although it only had one cubic meter of storage space, it was more than enough for him at the moment.

"This should be it, right?"

Tie Li saw an iron box, from which a faint wave of Soul Power emanated.