But Yi Chen did not care about any of this, because he had already reached his limit-without drawing on the power of faith, his body could grow no stronger.
Besides, he did not need any power of faith. The power within him already far exceeded what the Abel Family's power of faith could accommodate.
The power of faith within the old man had been exhausted, and he slowly crumbled into dust.
Yi Chen's eyes remained tightly shut. Just then, strange ripples suddenly appeared around him.
The ripples swept across the earth, and then a soft red glow enveloped the surroundings.
Yi Chen opened his mouth, and a wisp of silver light flashed and vanished.
The last trace of faith power within the old man had fully merged with Yi Chen's soul, granting him some of the old man's memories.
Yi Chen's soul power also surged to its limit, surpassing even the old man at his peak.
After comprehending everything, he finally opened his eyes.
The old man's body was withered, without a trace of moisture. The clothes he had worn had already turned to ash in the earlier explosion. Now he lay stark naked on the ground, even the last scraps of fat having completely fallen away, his shriveled body little more than a heap of bones.
"Ah..."
Yi Chen let out a quiet sigh, stepped out of the woods, and headed toward the castle.
The aura of majesty emanating from him grew ever stronger, vibrating through the surrounding space with a peculiar rhythm.
His feet pressed into the hard rock, actually leaving slight depressions, as though he were walking on soft jade.
Just then, Yi Chen abruptly paused and looked to one side.
A handsome young man with a slender, well-proportioned build stood quietly beneath a small tree, leaning against a little pine. He was leafing through a thick illustrated book, seemingly oblivious to Yi Chen's presence.
A glimmer of silver flashed at the corner of Yi Chen's eye. His gaze pierced the illustrated book in the young man's hands, revealing empty pages with nothing but a few sparse lines of writing.
Yi Chen snorted coldly. The silver lightning around him subsided, and his clothes returned to their original state. He walked lightly toward the young man.
The young man suddenly lowered the book, spun around, and fixed his eyes on Yi Chen. A mass of yellow flame appeared around him, enveloping him. His body gradually elongated, shifting for a while, until only his skin was golden yellow.
Yi Chen seemed to have expected this. He said calmly, "You're the one behind the Abel Family?"
The young man chuckled. "I am the head of the Abel Family. My name is Abel Skylar! It is an honor to meet you, esteemed sir."
Yi Chen frowned and asked in a low voice, "You recognize me? You know who I am? Yet you give me a dark, damp feeling. How revolting."
Skylar smiled. "Of course you have never met me. After all, I am nothing more than an insignificant nobody."
He waved the thin, yellowed illustrated book in his hand and said with a smile, "Unfortunately, you will die at my hands today, renowned Tongtian Douluo!"
Yi Chen narrowed his eyes, resting his left hand on the Dragon-Slaying Sword at his waist as he stared coldly at Skylar.
Skylar slowly raised a finger and called softly, "Dark Faith, grant me power..."
Amid a grating screech, a black light suddenly flared in front of Skylar.
Silver light flashed, and Yi Chen vanished.
Skylar stared in astonishment at the dagger that had suddenly appeared in his hand. A drop of blood slid down from the wound.
He murmured, "Indeed, this dagger must be the weapon used by Tongtian Douluo... Aha, you won't escape. Our Abel Family won't let you survive the night!"
He suddenly burst into wild laughter. His entire body became a blazing torch, as though he had caught fire, and his speed increased sharply as he raced down the mountain.
Yi Chen appeared several meters away, silently waiting for Skylar to approach.
He wanted to see for himself just what tricks the Abel Family had devised to deal with him.
After a faint ding, an arrow suddenly shot straight down from the sky with a shrill whistle.
A small, delicate feather, black from end to end, hung from the arrowhead, faintly shimmering with an eerie aura.
Yi Chen's heart gave a violent thump. He reached out with his right hand and caught the arrow, roaring in a low voice, "You bastards!"
He squeezed hard, shattering the arrow. A fist-sized, deep-blue, translucent crystal hovered in his palm.
With a wave of his hand, Yi Chen sent it into his pocket. Then he threw a punch, unleashing a howling wave of silvery-white force that struck a pine tree as thick as the mouth of a bowl.
The pine toppled, crushing two or three clumps of bushes.
Yi Chen cursed furiously, "Damn it, your Abel Family actually dares to launch sneak attacks?"
"And this is a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon crystal! No wonder you wanted to wipe out the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan!"
He was in a terrible mood. In particular, this inexplicable sense that things were slipping beyond his control filled Yi Chen with irritation.
He still had to marry Ah Yin, yet everything seemed to be spiraling out of control!
Skylar's voice drifted over from afar. "Heh heh, we are merely following orders. The day you killed members of our Family, your death became inevitable. That is an iron law."
Skylar's voice brimmed with icy killing intent. "You should not have killed our Family's people. They should not have died. We of the Abel Family will not allow filthy humans like you to defile our great god!"
Yi Chen sneered. "The Abel Family? A god? Don't make me laugh. You will never become gods!"
Skylar roared furiously, "As long as we can create a weapon powerful enough to destroy the continent, we can rule it-and make sure you die without a place to be buried!"
Yi Chen asked mockingly, "Oh, you want to destroy the Douluo Continent?"
Skylar said through gritted teeth, "The life on this continent is too fragile. It has no way to withstand such immense destructive power."
Yi Chen shook his head. "But you don't understand... Forget it. Why am I talking about this with idiots like you?"
Skylar screamed madly, "We of the Abel Family fear neither challenges nor sacrifice. We want only victory... We will become the world's sole rulers!"
Before he finished speaking, Yi Chen had already appeared before him and kicked him in the chest. The kick broke five or six of his ribs and sent him flying.
Yi Chen said coldly, "Your strength is decent. Unfortunately, you get only this one chance... I don't care what your Abel Family is plotting. Tell me their plan right now, or I'll cut you down on the spot."