Fists Could Ask for Directions Too

The Ghost Mask Soul Emperor looked up at the Cargo Shed.

Bai Jin stood in the rain, his white clothes snapping in the wind, his black blindfold pushed up above his forehead. His Azure Blue eyes shone in the darkness, as if he could see every corner of the Dock.

"Bai Jin of Spirit Hall," the Ghost Mask Soul Emperor rasped. "You shouldn't meddle in this."

"I've been hearing that a lot lately." Bai Jin jumped down from the shed roof. Rain splashed outward when he landed, but not a drop touched him. "Can't you come up with a different opening?"

The Ghost Mask Soul Emperor wasted no words.

His Sixth Soul Ring lit up.

Dense Killing Intent took the shape of a huge ghostly face and lunged from above the ship's cabin. The Rogue Soul Masters on the Dock had only just been rescued. Before they could steady themselves, the murderous pressure drained the color from their faces. Ning Rongrong grunted, and the light of her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda wavered.

Tang San immediately used Blue Silver Grass to shield the people behind him.

He could feel that this Killing Intent did more than frighten people. It disrupted Soul Power and made them instinctively want to retreat. An ordinary Soul Elder might not even have been able to stay on his feet.

But Bai Jin merely raised a hand.

His First Soul Ring lit up.

Limitless unfolded.

The enormous ghostly face reached a point three feet in front of Bai Jin and suddenly slowed. It was clearly still lunging forward, yet an uncrossable distance seemed to stretch between them forever. Its savage fangs hung in midair. Even the rain was kept out, sliding down an invisible curve.

Bai Jin tilted his head. "That's it?"

The Ghost Mask Soul Emperor's eyes darkened. He abruptly vanished, then appeared behind Bai Jin's flank the next instant. His claws tore through the rain, aimed straight at Bai Jin's heart.

His Fifth Soul Ring flashed.

Shrinking Earth.

Bai Jin's figure faded from where he stood and appeared behind the Ghost Mask Soul Emperor. Somehow, a candy wrapper had appeared in his hand. He leisurely popped the candy into his mouth and pressed a hand onto the man's shoulder.

"You need to be faster when you sneak up on someone," he said. "Even Dai Mubai saw that move coming."

Dai Mubai: "..."

The Ghost Mask Soul Emperor flew into a rage. His second and Fourth Soul Rings lit up together, and more than a dozen black shadows surged from beneath his cloak, pouncing at Shrek's members like a pack of vengeful ghosts. Tang San was about to intercept them when Bai Jin curled a finger.

His Second Soul Ring—Azure.

An Azure Blue sphere appeared at his fingertip. The shadows were instantly drawn toward it, all collapsing into a single point. Then black light surged through his Third Soul Ring.

He.

Dark-red repulsive force exploded outward.

It was as though a silent thunderclap had burst across the Dock. The shadows were swept away, and the river's surface was forced into a semicircular depression. The Black Ship rocked violently. The Ghost Mask Soul Masters aboard staggered in every direction, while rain shot back toward the sky for an instant.

Bai Jin still stood where he had been.

He had not even frowned.

Ma Hongjun stared, eyes wide. "Will I ever be that cool?"

Oscar answered honestly. "First, learn not to set your own people on fire."

The Ghost Mask Soul Emperor finally realized something was wrong.

He was a Soul Emperor.

In many places, a Soul Emperor could already go wherever he pleased. Yet the man before him, who was clearly no Titled Douluo, stood like an uncrossable chasm in his path. His Soul Skills could not reach Bai Jin. He could not match his speed or overwhelm him with Killing Intent. Those eyes even seemed to see through every escape route before he took it.

He turned and fled.

Bai Jin raised a hand and made a loose grasping motion.

Azure's pull descended on the Ghost Mask Soul Emperor from behind, dragging him uncontrollably backward. Bai Jin drew no blade and used no greater Soul Skill. He simply clenched his fist, channeled Soul Power along his arm, and drove a clean punch into the man's abdomen.

Bang!

The Ghost Mask Soul Emperor struck the Dock's planks like a falling iron ball. Spiderweb cracks spread through the wood. Rainwater ran into the gaps and quickly mingled with dark red.

Bai Jin crouched beside the crater, smiling gently.

"See? Fists can ask for directions too."

The Ghost Mask Soul Emperor coughed up blood, and a corner of his mask cracked. He reached for the Poison Sac hidden in his sleeve, but Tang San's gaze sharpened. Blue Silver Grass had already wrapped around his wrist.

This time, Tang San was not slow.

He had not even waited for Bai Jin to warn him.

The Blue Silver Grass slipped past the Poison Sac, locking the wrist first, then binding the fingers. Finally, a thin blade of grass pierced a numbing tendon on the Soul Emperor's hand. His fingers seized up. The Poison Sac fell to the ground, and Xiao Wu kicked it away.

Bai Jin looked back at Tang San.

Tang San's chest rose and fell. At that moment, the Soul Power inside him suddenly broke through a barrier. Days of Poison Analysis, controlling the Dock, and enduring the Soul Emperor's Killing Intent seemed to come together in that single wrist lock. His Blue Silver Grass glimmered faintly in the rain, its aura a shade deeper than before.

Level thirty-four.

Xiao Wu broke into a smile. "Little San!"

Tang San himself froze for a moment. Then he quickly steadied his mind and nodded to Bai Jin. "Thank you, Senior."

"What are you thanking me for?" Bai Jin said. "You made that lock yourself."

Those words stirred Tang San more than praise would have.

Bai Jin turned back to the Ghost Mask Soul Emperor. "Now, tell me about the contact at the South Gate."

The Ghost Mask Soul Emperor's pupils contracted sharply.

Bai Jin spread his hands. "Don't pretend. When your people get nervous, your eyes are more honest than your mouths."

After a moment of silence, the Ghost Mask Soul Emperor finally spoke. "Three days from now. Heaven Dou South Gate. Bring Blue Silver Emperor Blood and the Entry Token. The contact will open the way."

At the words "Blue Silver Emperor Blood," Tang San's fingers tightened slightly.

Xiao Wu's expression changed too.

Bai Jin, however, acted as though he had heard no earthshaking secret. He merely pulled off the Ghost Mask Soul Emperor's broken mask and handed it to Lu Heng.

"Keep it," he said. "Ugly as this thing is, it'll serve as evidence."

Lu Heng led his people forward and restrained the remaining Ghost Mask Soul Masters. The rescued captives huddled beneath the Cargo Shed, still shaken. Ning Rongrong sat beside a wooden crate. Her Soul Power had not fully stabilized after her breakthrough, and her face was pale, but she kept her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda raised, steadily bolstering the wounded.

Bai Jin glanced at her. "That's enough. Rest."

Ning Rongrong put on a stubborn front. "I can keep going."

"Keep going and you'll faint."

She immediately put the pagoda away and turned her face aside in a huff.

The rain gradually eased.

The Spirit Hall Enforcement Team seized the Black Ship on the river. Its ledgers, Silver Needles, Blood Sample Records, and Fake Soul Bone Case lay together like a black fish dragged bodily from the water.

Tang San stood at the edge of the Dock, watching the water. For a long time, he said nothing.

Bai Jin walked over to him.

"Scared?"

Tang San shook his head. "Not scared. It just feels like certain things are getting closer and closer to me."

"That's normal." Bai Jin tossed a candy wrapper into his palm, then tucked it away. "That's what growing up is like. Trouble comes looking for you."

Tang San looked at him. "Will you go to the South Gate, Senior?"

"I will."

"What if it really leads to the outskirts of Slaughter City?"

Bai Jin smiled, the dwindling rain reflected in his Azure Blue eyes.

"Then that's all the more reason to go."

He turned toward the others. His voice was not loud, but everyone on the Dock heard him clearly.

"Go back and get some sleep. In three days, we'll visit the South Gate."

Ma Hongjun asked quietly, "Are we still training?"

Bai Jin looked at him.

"Of course."

The hope on the fat boy's face died instantly.

Bai Jin added cheerfully, "A breakthrough is a breakthrough, but you don't get free meals—or a second chance at life—for nothing."

The Dock finally fell quiet after the rain.

And the meeting at Heaven Dou South Gate, three days away, had already driven itself like a nail into everyone's heart.