That made no sense?!

"Great Enshrined!"

Ghost Douluo Gui Mei silently appeared beside Hu Liena and bowed to Qian Daoliu, his expression rather grim.

He had botched his protection assignment this time. If not for the help of those two passersby,

he would probably have been left collecting the bodies of Hu Liena and her brother Xie Yue.

Qian Daoliu waved a hand casually in acknowledgment, his solemn gaze fixed squarely on Xie Guhong and the fat powerhouse beside him.

"Young man, are you from Sea God Island?"

Few people remained who could identify him by name at a glance.

Qian Daoliu was, after all, a man of the older generation.

In this era, everyone knew Clear Sky Douluo Tang Hao, but few knew the true Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Chen.

Even within Spirit Hall, few besides the old guard knew of this Great Enshrined's existence.

Even those who did mostly knew him by reputation, rather than recognizing Qian Daoliu's face at first glance as Xie Guhong had.

Qian Daoliu's experience told him that these two fellows were most likely from Sea God Island.

And judging by appearances, they were most likely successors of his old friend Bo Saixi.

"..."

Xie Guhong said nothing.

"Six Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings, and you look to be under twenty... Bo Saixi truly has found herself a fine successor!"

Even Qian Daoliu had to admit that this young man named Xie Guhong was a genius.

"You flatter me, senior. I merely benefited from some friends' help. As for a true genius..."

Xie Guhong answered Qian Daoliu modestly, raising a finger to wipe the corner of his eye.

A few drops of blood slid down his thumb as Xie Guhong praised him sincerely.

"That boy is your disciple, isn't he, senior? Already a Soul Elder at such an age."

"That Hundred-Step Flying Sword was probably a Self-Created Soul Skill derived from his first Soul Skill, wasn't it? Though it still has some shortcomings, its speed truly caught me off guard."

"But that red glow on the boy when he attacked-was that some unusual secret technique?"

His Space-Shifting Hand swept lightly past, and the wound at the corner of his eye vanished instantly, casually shifted out and flung away by Xie Guhong.

"..."

Qian Daoliu was momentarily at a loss for words, because he truly had not known Dugu Feng had such a trick.

He had also been watching in secret, but could only see that when the red glow covered Dugu Feng, his Soul Power and other attributes rose noticeably.

After the battle ended, however, it dissipated on its own after roughly eight seconds, without even leaving any aftereffects or other side effects.

"With Sea God Island attempting to assassinate members of my Spirit Hall like this, I really must ask Bo Saixi what she means by it! Could she be planning to invade the continent?"

The continent and the sea held two entirely different faiths.

For a long time, there had been little contact between the sea and the continent. Even Sea God Island itself was a place Qian Daoliu and Tang Chen had discovered while exploring overseas.

Yet now, Soul Masters from the sea had come to the continent, seemingly targeting Spirit Hall's geniuses. Qian Daoliu could not help reading more into it.

Could it be... that Bo Saixi wants to plunder the continent's faith in the Angel God?

Qian Daoliu was uncertain. Staring at the two before him, he reached a decision.

Capture them alive!

Bring these two before Bo Saixi.

With both witnesses and physical evidence present, let's see what Bo Saixi has to say then.

"Go!"

Suddenly, Xie Guhong shouted to the man beside him.

The fat Soul Master beside him instantly reached out and grabbed Xie Guhong, while his other hand kept swelling, transforming in an instant into a gigantic octopus tentacle that slapped toward Qian Daoliu.

"Hmph!"

Qian Daoliu gave a soft snort at the sight. The Angel Holy Sword left its sheath in his hand, and he immediately slashed.

Splat!

The sacred radiance instantly annihilated the enormous tentacle, but a jet of black ink sprayed out the next moment.

The pitch-black ink gave off a powerful briny stench, instantly spreading across the entire area.

"Angel's Glory!"

With several juniors beside him, Qian Daoliu took no chances and immediately activated Martial Soul Possession. In an instant, blazing holy light burned away every last trace of ink.

"Trying to run? Not so easy!"

Looking at the two figures already reduced to a dark silhouette on the horizon, Qian Daoliu's expression turned cold. Holy light surged skyward, piercing the heavens.

A golden sword aura spanning a hundred meters shot toward the fleeing pair, melting them away in an instant.

"Hm?" Qian Daoliu froze.

I haven't even used my full strength!

That fat powerhouse was a level ninety-six Super Douluo, after all. How could he have died so easily?

"Could it be some life-saving Soul Skill?"

Beside a lake far away from there.

Supporting the fat powerhouse beside him, Xie Guhong warily scanned their surroundings. Only after confirming there was no danger did he relax.

"Uncle Octopus, are you all right?"

"Hah... hah..."

The fat powerhouse had now shrunk to less than half his former size and was panting heavily, clearly having paid a considerable price.

His originally voluminous black robe slowly contracted along with his shrinking figure. Compared with his former corpulent body, he now looked rather pitiful.

"He truly deserves his reputation as an unrivaled powerhouse, invincible in the skies..."

Xie Guhong turned toward where Qian Daoliu and the others were, a hint of amazement entering his voice.

"Within the Alliance, probably only the Alliance Leader could get the better of him."

"If not for your innate talent this time, Uncle Octopus, Spirit Hall would probably have captured us by now."

"Hah... hah..."

"You sacrificed more than half your tentacles in one go? It looks like our mission will have to end here."

"But this is already enough. Even if we left a few tracks, making Qian Daoliu suspicious was an unexpected bonus."

"These fellows... not only did they attack members of my Spirit Hall, they even managed to make me mistake them for people from Sea God Island?"

Qian Daoliu, who could be said to possess a god's-eye view of this matter, easily saw through Xie Guhong and the fat powerhouse's intentions.

After all, Xie Guhong's words had been plain enough. He had all but written "we have a conspiracy" across his face.

"But where did so many geniuses on the continent come from? That brat Dugu Feng aside-he's still a child, after all."

"Where did Xie Guhong and Bi Shuo come from?"

"Such young Soul Emperors-why has the continent's Soul Master World heard nothing of them?"

Xie Guhong came from overseas, so it was understandable that neither Spirit Hall nor the Soul Master World had heard of him.

But something was not quite right with Bi Shuo.

Not only did he resemble Bibi Dong, he also possessed exactly the same Martial Soul.

Anyone could see that this young man had an inseparable connection to Spirit Hall's current Pope!

Moreover, Bi Shuo had made himself very clear: he had stepped in to help Hu Liena because Spirit Hall had helped awaken his Martial Soul, and because he had received Spirit Hall's Soul Master stipend.

But why had there not been even the slightest rumor?

Spirit Hall had opened so many branch halls, and its deacons traveled all over the continent awakening Martial Souls for children who had turned six. There was no reason they would have missed him!

It made absolutely no sense!

Qian Daoliu could not puzzle it out, no matter how hard he thought.