Deathmatch

There were Evil Soul Masters too? How could it be such a coincidence? Whatever. Experts had already stopped them. Even if the sky fell, Spirit Hall would hold it up.

An Chen set down his teacup. Having learned what happened afterward, he returned to his room.

He summoned the system again.

"Raise the pot."

[Big Iron Pot System]

[Name]: An Chen

[Race]: Human

[Wuhun]: Big Iron Pot

[Soul Power]: Level 30

[Soul Rings]: Yellow, Yellow

[Pathway]: The Hanged Man

[Sequence]: Sequence 8 Listener

[Digestion]: 100%

[System Abilities]: Divination ×2, Clown Warning ×2

[System Status]: Concealment disabled

[System Prompt]: The Iron Pot can be used to brew Potions.

[Main Mission] Absorb the Third Soul Ring (Shadow Attribute). Reward One: Hermit Potion Formula and materials. Reward Two: System abilities awarded according to the Soul Ring's age.

"Enable concealment."

An Chen was already close to being unable to endure the Babble at his ears. He wanted to block it out. Last night, he had wanted to see where his limit lay—how long he could last without the system.

[System concealment activation failed!]

How could this happen? Why couldn't it be enabled? ...Forget it. It wasn't a major problem anyway. It was only a little noisy, and his head hurt a little.

After thinking it over, An Chen decided to let it go.

He began reviewing what had happened yesterday.

Yesterday, through the spirit medium ritual, he saw why Mokai wanted to attack him.

Was it because, while praying to someone, that person told him to find me? Then who was that existence? Why was it looking for me? Did I have something it wanted?

The system? It was possible. After all, the origins of this lousy system were unknown. Other than providing Potions without issue, its other functions were rather useless.

Mokai's Wuhun was Sea Rattan, but it looked more like tentacles. Was that because it had mutated?

Sea Rattan? Tentacles?

Wait, that woman who exploded by the sea had kept muttering that she saw a man and tentacles at night. After that, she suffered a mental breakdown and eventually died in the explosion...

Could that man have been Mokai! That explained why he had dragged me into a dream during yesterday's battle.

That woman had also said that she saw him in a dream.

So that was it. Why did Mokai torment her through dreams? Or rather, was he venting his desires? Most of the faces on that Human Tree in the secret chamber had been recognizable as women. Had he used them to satisfy and vent his excessive desires, only for a mutation to occur in the end?

And this Whale Glue—the contamination inside it came from the one he worshipped.

It had originally been meant to flow into the Heaven Dou Empire's royal family and nobility.

If even the royal family and nobles were contaminated, then the Continent of Douluo would be finished.

At that thought, An Chen took a breath. Why was the plot different from what I had read before?

Whatever. My main goal now is to hunt down the Third Soul Ring. Otherwise, with my current strength, I won't be able to handle any danger that comes later.

And that Hermit Potion in the system—I wondered what new ability I would gain this time.

There was also the ability he had "heard" that day. It seemed to have been stolen from some great existence. It was called...

"Ignite Desire?"

An Chen muttered.

It seemed capable of igniting the target's emotions and desires, causing them to lose their reason and judgment. Those with overwhelming desires would die outright, like Mokai.

Interesting.

The urgent matter was to leave this place, find somewhere to purify and refine the Whale Glue, then hunt the Third Soul Ring.

Spirit Hall had already taken notice of this place. He could not remain here any longer.

With that in mind, An Chen began packing the things in his room.

Before long, An Chen stood at the spot where he had paused several days ago.

He glanced at the town, then looked down at his feet. There was a human-shaped imprint there.

Who was unlucky enough to fall here?

An Chen couldn't help laughing, but then irritably shook his head.

That was really cruel.

An Chen stopped thinking about it and turned to leave.

Just then, a thunderous boom came from the sea. An Chen turned around and saw a massive storm forming on the ocean's surface, rapidly spreading and growing.

Even the hillside where he stood began to tremble. Countless currents of air were sucked toward it, whipping up a fierce gale!

What was happening now?

An Chen's expression changed drastically. He turned and ran into an earthen pit to hide and assess the situation.

A middle-aged man in his forties or fifties hovered in the air. A pair of black wings extended from his back, and a bleeding wound marked his left hand. Six Soul Rings circled his body as he looked down below.

Not far beneath him stood an old man who looked neither male nor female. He wore a black robe and had a kind, peaceful face. He stood upright upon the sea, with three Soul Rings circling around him.

Cang Lan was the master of the Spirit Hall Branch in this major coastal town. He was extremely powerful and had only broken through to the Soul Emperor realm this year.

He frowned at the old man below, deeply puzzled. Although the man appeared to be merely a Soul Ancestor, he possessed some strange abilities.

While conducting his routine coastal patrol yesterday, flames had suddenly erupted from Sanchao Post. When he arrived, he found this strange old man standing amid the flames, searching for something.

The moment Cang Lan approached him, he sensed a dangerous aura. Cang Lan warned him, but he ignored him, leaving Cang Lan no choice but to attack and stop him.

Yet he had not expected the other party to be so powerful. The moment he attacked, he used several unusual techniques. Left with no alternative, Cang Lan lured him to the shore, far from populated areas, where he could also strengthen his own power.

After fighting through the night, Cang Lan became more and more alarmed. He should have crushed this Soul Ancestor with overwhelming force.

Yet this Evil Soul Master's Soul Power level was pitifully low, while every one of his abilities carried an eerie aura.

"I can only wait for reinforcements." Cang Lan gritted his teeth, his wings beating behind him as he stared fixedly at the old man.

"Respected Hall Master Cang Lan, I merely came to find someone. I bear no ill will toward you or Spirit Hall." A gentle, aged voice rang out, neither male nor female.

"The credibility of Evil Soul Masters like you is worthless to me!" Cang Lan snorted. "Who knows what you're plotting? There are only defenseless civilians here. I cannot take that risk!"

As his words fell, the sixth Soul Ring around Cang Lan lit up, radiating intense black light.

"Sixth Soul Skill, Eye of the Storm!"

Cang Lan shouted, and the sea winds around him began to spin madly with him at their center. Even the air over the land was dragged into it, forming a massive storm in the blink of an eye.

Within the storm, violent winds howled. Cang Lan stood unmoving inside it, his gaze resolute as he watched the enemy below.

"It's over!"

Cang Lan roared, and the storm instantly grew several times stronger. Even the trees on the beach were uprooted, while reefs and trees were swept into it.

The old man below remained calm and unhurried. She shook her head and sighed. "Useless. Before Mother's power, everything is futile."

As her words fell, just as the storm was about to devour the black-robed elder, her body transformed into a mass of translucent gray mist and drifted toward the storm's center.

By all reason, that fragile-looking mist should have been torn apart by the storm. Yet strangely, the storm had no effect on her at all.

The translucent mist drifted behind Cang Lan at the storm's center and condensed into human form again.

Cang Lan was shocked, but he could not move because of the storm.

The black-robed elder split her mouth into a wide grin, her expression twisting grotesquely.

"Buzzz..."

A howl erupted from the black-robed elder's mouth, shrill enough to make even the storm falter.

But the howl lasted less than two seconds.

The black-robed elder's chest suddenly caved in, and thick black blood gushed from the corners of her mouth and nostrils.

Cang Lan's expression changed. His eyes suddenly rolled upward, and he lost consciousness.

Even the storm began to dissipate with him.