New Skill: Soul Devour

"You..."

Tang Hao looked at Yang Dong, who was only one step away, his expression filled with unwillingness. Before he could finish speaking, he collapsed onto the arena with a smack.

Tang Xiao darted up at once. Only after checking Tang Hao's body and finding that he was merely exhausted did he finally let out a long breath.

He gave Yang Dong a complicated look, then silently left with his younger brother.

He won?

This fellow from the Wind Sword Sect had actually defeated that young genius from the Clear Sky Sect?

At that moment, the people of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan below wore equally complicated expressions.

They had hoped Yang Dong would dampen Tang Hao's arrogance, but now that Yang Dong had truly defeated him, they felt even worse.

"Cough, cough."

Yang Dong paid no attention to the thoughts of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan below. His legs were still trembling. Though he tried desperately to control them, every muscle in his body had stopped obeying him.

Tang Hao had been even stronger than he had imagined. That strength was not merely in his power, but in his spirit as well. If Yang Dong had not successfully unleashed the Fifth Slash at the final moment, Tang Hao would have been the victor.

After standing on the arena for two minutes and barely regaining control of his leg muscles, Yang Dong slowly left the arena.

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan watched Yang Dong disappear from the training grounds. Only after a long silence did voices begin to rise, followed by every person throwing themselves into training with several times more passion than before.

What they had just witnessed had deeply stirred these favored children of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. In a sense, that was a good thing.

The journey from the training grounds to his residence took only twenty minutes, but it took Yang Dong half an hour to return.

After Yang Dong entered the house, a servant brought him breakfast. He gestured for the servant to place it on the table, and after the servant left, Yang Dong sat on the floor and began meditating.

After draining every last trace of Soul Power from his body, cultivation was more effective than usual.

By noon,

Yang Dong's Soul Power had mostly recovered, but the damage to his leg muscles would likely take several days to heal.

That was the price of forcibly using the Fifth Slash. However, Yang Dong did not regret it. Compared to defeating Tang Hao, resting for a few days was entirely acceptable.

"Let's see what that disturbance in my mind was."

With a thought, Yang Dong entered the Bronze Gate deep within his sea of consciousness. During his battle with Tang Hao, he had clearly sensed an abnormality in his mind, but time had been too pressing for him to investigate it.

The Crystal Ball still rested quietly at the very center of the Bronze Gate, but unlike before, its surface now flickered with a bewitching red glow.

Yang Dong noticed the difference as soon as he entered. When he touched the Crystal Ball, that bewitching red light turned into a stream of liquid and flowed along his arm toward his left hand, where the Ghost Hand Martial Soul resided.

The Ghost Hand Martial Soul manifested directly and fused with the red stream.

A figure with its back to him appeared before Yang Dong. What surprised him was that this person's left hand looked almost exactly like his own.

Unlike Yang Dong's, however, the figure's left hand was a vivid crimson, red as blood. A Seal Ring was also present around that arm.

At that moment, the figure standing with its back to Yang Dong moved. It slowly raised that blood-red left arm and gently clenched its hand toward the front.

At the sight of this, two words surfaced in Yang Dong's mind: Soul Devour.

Then, to his astonishment, he became the figure he had just seen. The one using Soul Devour had become himself.

Countless faceless figures swayed around him. Every one of them struggled to squeeze toward Yang Dong's position. The sky was the color of spilled blood, while the earth was blackish purple. Looking closely, one could see that it was the color of congealed blood.

Just how many people had died here?

The question flashed through Yang Dong's mind.

Then, in the next second,

he raised his left arm and instantly grabbed at one of the swaying figures.

Soul Devour!

Yang Dong could clearly feel the blood flowing through the person beneath his hand. Then the blood within that figure burst outward like brilliant fireworks!

This...

Yang Dong was frightened. What he had just witnessed showed him the sheer tyranny of Soul Devour. He wanted to stop, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not break free from this body.

One!

Two!

Three!

Countless people died beneath Soul Devour. Yang Dong's initial discomfort gradually turned into numbness, and later, he began carefully sensing the changes in Soul Devour.

He discovered a secret. Every person who died beneath Soul Devour had a tiny portion of their strength devoured by this body. Did that mean he could also use Soul Devour to devour other people's Soul Power?

If so, then he would have gained a skill that could truly be called a divine technique!

After the final figure died at this body's hands, Yang Yu finally broke free from it.

The four attribute panels appeared before him once more.

One of the panels flickered with a vivid red light, identical to the color that had flashed from the Crystal Ball earlier.

Yang Dong raised his left arm and lightly tapped the red-flashing panel. Just as when he had obtained sword techniques such as Three-Stage Slash, the name of the skill appeared in his mind.

Soul Devour!

Use the Ghost Hand to seize the enemy's head. If the power check exceeds the opponent's, the grab will succeed with a 100% chance. If it does not exceed the opponent's, it has a 20% chance of succeeding. When the skill is activated, gain 1 second of invincibility against opponents of the same level; otherwise, gain 0.5 seconds of invincibility. Each use consumes 20% of Soul Power.

"Impressive!"

Yang Dong's eyes burned. Whether Soul Devour successfully grabbed its target or not, it granted a brief invincibility effect. Though it lasted only about a second, in the hands of an expert, that second could block many enemy skills.

The skill's consumption was high, and in theory, it could not be used many times. But compared to its effect, it was still more than worth it.

Moreover, Yang Dong knew that Soul Devour had other effects, such as the plundering effect he had felt within that figure. If he could also plunder Soul Power...

At that thought, Yang Dong took a deep breath and suppressed the evil thought in his heart.

Douluo Continent was very different from other places. The struggles between imperial powers had already subsided, while Soul Masters were ruled by one hall and seven sects. If he stirred up trouble without cause, he would likely be dealt with as someone everyone condemned.