It's a Cheat, Definitely a Cheat!

"Thousand-Layer Water Screen: Binding!"

The water dragon coiled tightly around Qian Renxue, pinning her limbs.

"You think you can hold me?"

Qian Renxue felt her limbs bound, and fierce defiance flooded her mind. A brilliant light suddenly burst from her brow.

The Angel Phantom behind her grew a little more solid. Its features became clear, bearing a faint resemblance to Qian Renxue.

"This is..."

Alarm bells rang in Lin Hao's mind. Martial Souls with divine inheritances were the most treacherous.

You never knew when a god might suddenly descend to fight in their place.

Qian Renxue's aura had been fading, but now she erupted with power. Five Soul Rings blazed as sacred fire engulfed her. Golden flames traced dazzling angel wings, and she broke free of the water dragon and shot into the sky!

Wild waves of energy left the palace Treasury in ruins, but Lin Hao had no time to worry about that. He followed her outside.

He looked up to find three Titled Douluo staring in shock.

Though it was night, Heaven Dou City shone as bright as day. The source of it all was Qian Renxue in the sky.

She hovered high above, the Angel Phantom behind her radiating an unprecedented brilliance like a golden sun.

"What... is that?"

Somewhere in Heaven Dou City, someone voiced the question on everyone's mind. No one answered.

"A Six-Winged Angel? Has the Worship Hall attacked? Why did no one tell me? Guards, gather our forces, quickly..."

"Damn it! That's the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul!"

"Hurry, tell the three education board members to stop hunting the criminals. Have them bring men to protect me!"

Xue Ye recognized the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul. His expression changed in an instant, and he shouted in panic.

"Angel... Judgment!"

Sacred power gathered across the sky. As that voice rang out like a decree from heaven, a golden sword more than ten meters long descended like a thunderbolt.

"Never to Return!"

Lin Hao's pupils contracted sharply at the sight, and he could not help cursing inwardly.

That was a cheat. It had to be!

But even as he cursed, his hands moved fast. He poured all his Soul Power into the Sea God Trident and sent Never to Return hurtling upward at full force.

Boom!

The collision was like two meteors striking each other. The enormous wave of energy utterly destroyed the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.

Porcupinefish Douluo rushed forward and caught the exhausted Qian Renxue, while Snake Lance Douluo watched Sea Horse Douluo warily.

Sea Horse Douluo had no other thought in mind. He hurried to catch Lin Hao.

The two sides exchanged a look.

The air instantly grew tense.

Snake Lance Douluo rubbed the lance in his hand, wondering whether they could keep the two of them there.

Pufferfish and I against Sea Horse—two against one. The advantage is ours!

"Ahem... It seems this old man has come at a bad time."

At the sound of a cough, Dugu Bo appeared atop the city wall, his whole body green. No one knew when he had arrived. Looking at the three Titled Douluo facing off, he suddenly felt out of his depth.

He felt as though he had stumbled into a vast whirlpool.

Dugu Bo's unexpected arrival put all three on guard. With their attention fixed on him, every hair on his body stood on end.

What rotten luck!

"Senior Sea Horse, take that and go!"

Just then, having recovered a little, Lin Hao leaned close and whispered to Sea Horse Douluo.

Sea Horse Douluo glanced over, and his eyes lit up.

There, amid the ruins of the palace Treasury, lay three Soul Bones radiating powerful Soul Power.

Two shattered brocade boxes lay beside them.

They were clearly treasures from the Heaven Dou Empire's collection, damaged and spilled out during Lin Hao and Qian Renxue's battle.

With the situation so tense, Sea Horse Douluo truly had not noticed the Soul Bones in the rubble.

Everyone present was sharp. The slightest movement from Sea Horse Douluo caught the attention of Dugu Bo and the other three.

They followed his gaze, and their eyes lit up.

Soul Bones!

No matter where one went, they were rare, high-grade resources.

They exchanged a knowing glance, then became streaks of light racing toward the three Soul Bones.

"Giant Wave Annihilation Fist!"

"Jade Phosphorous Divine Light!"

"Human-Lance Unity!"

"..."

When Titled Douluo struck, the commotion was even more terrifying than before. All of Heaven Dou City seemed to shake as if in an earthquake.

The people in the palace stared toward the Treasury in horror. The waves of energy erupting there sent chills through them.

"Those are Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo. They joined Spirit Hall years ago and disappeared from sight these past few years. Who would have thought they'd turn up in the palace?" Meng Shenji stood guard beside Xue Ye, watching the disturbance near the Treasury with a grave expression.

"First an heir to the angel, and now Spirit Hall's Titled Douluo elders. What exactly is Spirit Hall trying to do?"

"And there's an unfamiliar Titled Douluo. This old man has never heard of such a powerful expert."

"Jade Phosphorous Douluo is there too. I hope he can uncover something useful."

While the people of the Heaven Dou Empire speculated, the three parties had already divided the spoils. Under cover of night, they swiftly departed through the sky.

Not long after Lin Hao and the others left, a streak of sword light appeared in the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace. Sword energy swept in every direction, dispersing the chaotic Soul Power around it.

Chen Xin frowned as he surveyed the area. Some traces of Soul Power were familiar; others were not.

"Uncle Jian, can you tell what happened?"

Not long after Chen Xin arrived, Ning Fengzhi came under the protection of two flying Soul Saints and called out to him.

"This old man came a step too late. They're already gone."

"To learn more, we'll have to ask the Heaven Dou Imperial Family."

"They're coming now."

Ning Fengzhi nodded. He was about to seek out Xue Ye and ask what had happened when he saw Meng Shenji and several others approaching cautiously.

"Sect Master Ning..."

At the hotel.

Lin Hao finished regulating his breathing. Sea Horse Douluo, who had been standing guard, stepped forward with concern. "Young Master, do you feel unwell anywhere?"

"I'm fine. I'd only exhausted my Soul Power and felt weak for a while. I'm all right now."

Lin Hao shook his head, then saw Sea Horse Douluo take out a black Soul Bone.

"Fortunately, Young Master, I managed to seize this Soul Bone. It's a pity the other three Titled Douluo were there. They took the other two."

"If we hadn't given them a share, we'd have had everyone's blades pointed at us."

Seeing the regret on Sea Horse Douluo's face, Lin Hao shook his head. He did not mind.

He took the Soul Bone and examined it carefully. It was a twenty-thousand-year-old left arm bone from an Earthshaking Giant Ape.

It counted as a superior Soul Bone.

"Senior Sea Horse, absorb it." After examining it, Lin Hao did not put it away. Instead, he handed it straight to Sea Horse Douluo.

He certainly would not absorb this Soul Bone himself, and keeping it would do him no good. Strengthening the only Titled Douluo at his side mattered far more.

Sea Horse Douluo's heart skipped a beat. What kind of life had he lived before this?

Decades guarding Sea God Island could not compare with the few dozen days he had spent following the Young Master.

That made two Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones already.

Only two words remained in Sea Horse Douluo's heart: absolute loyalty!