As the time for the afternoon matches arrived, the eligible Soul Masters were drawn into the mental space by the Dragon-Tiger Ranking, one after another.
Tang Xiao, sect master of the Clear Sky Sect, opened his eyes, brimming with confidence. Based on his previous experiences, he would have roughly thirty seconds to prepare before his opponent appeared in the Dragon-Tiger Ranking's blank space.
The Disciples of the Clear Sky Sect had done him proud. After all, the Clear Sky Hammer's base attack power was extremely high, and with everyone stripped of Soul Power, a match was practically over as long as a Clear Sky Sect Disciple could swing their hammer once.
Aside from a few disappointing Disciples who had been eliminated, practically all of the Clear Sky Sect's Title Douluo Elders and third- and fourth-generation Disciples had advanced.
"Very good. Let the Disciples win a few more rounds. Then, when I face a Clear Sky Sect Disciple, I can simply have them concede."
"I'm not asking for much this time. Eighth or seventh place will do. That way, I can instantly become a Limit Titled Douluo, or even a God-level Douluo."
"When that happens, I'll go to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and settle the score."
[Teleporting to the battle room shortly. First round: 10,000 contestants advance to ???.]
"What does that mean? Ten thousand advance to an unknown number?"
[Countdown: five, four, three, two, one!]
Before Tang Xiao could make sense of it, a ripple had already appeared in the blank mental space within the Dragon-Tiger Ranking.
Here it comes.
Ten thousand advance to an unknown number-what exactly did that mean?
Tang Xiao's vision blurred. When the scene came back into focus, he discovered in astonishment that what looked like a great many Soul Beasts had appeared before him.
There was plant-type ten-year solitary bamboo, an herbivorous Ten-Year Bone-Eroding Charming Bone Rabbit, a Ten-Year Earthshell Lizard with dragon blood, and even a Silver Moon Wolf and a Bluewater Rat.
Tang Xiao was immediately stunned.
"What's going on? Why are there so many Soul Beasts? Are these Soul Beasts contestants too?"
[Match begins.]
Tang Xiao had no time to ponder further and immediately summoned his Clear Sky Hammer.
The instant Tang Xiao revealed his hostility, several Soul Beasts turned their heads toward him, and bolts of lightning, fireballs, and ice spikes immediately shot his way.
Normally, Tang Xiao would not even have bothered acknowledging attacks of this level. Now, however, a single fireball or ice spike could eliminate him outright.
"Damn it! Why do these Soul Beasts still have Soul Power? They can even use Soul Skills!"
Fortunately, Tang Xiao discovered that only the group on the outermost edge that had sensed his killing intent was attacking him. The rest were confronting one another, and some had even begun fighting.
"Luckily, I'm not fighting a hundred of them alone. As long as I don't provoke any more Soul Beasts, I can wait until they've nearly finished fighting among themselves, then come out and settle everything with a single hammer strike. Although I have no Soul Power, I can still summon my Martial Soul. With the Clear Sky Hammer's attack power, whether they're ten-year or hundred-year Soul Beasts, one blow will do."
Thinking this, Tang Xiao dodged while gradually moving toward the outer edge of the Dragon-Tiger Ranking's space.
But as he retreated, he discovered that his back seemed to have pressed against a wall.
Wasn't this consciousness space supposed to stretch infinitely?
Tang Xiao turned his head and abruptly discovered that, at some unknown point, a black border had appeared on the consciousness space's pure white floor, trapping him firmly together with the hundred Soul Beasts.
Most importantly, this border was shrinking rapidly, at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In other words, Tang Xiao had no way to hide and wait until the Soul Beasts finished fighting before jumping out to harvest the fruits. He had to fight these hundred Soul Beasts to the death right now.
"Damn it!"
"A fight to the death it is! The Clear Sky Sect's mighty reputation was forged through slaughter!"
Hammer in hand, Tang Xiao turned to charge back into the group of Soul Beasts. But he paid no attention whatsoever to the ground beneath his feet. A spike had already thrust upward, instantly piercing his left foot and pinning him firmly in place.
"Damn it, move! Hurry up and move!"
His body could not budge. Countless ice spikes and fireballs came hurtling toward him, and Tang Xiao met a bitter end.
Tang Xiao's death did not make this consciousness space disappear.
Within this consciousness space, as the black border gradually shrank, the space between the Soul Beasts had been reduced until they were extremely close together.
With other Soul Beasts encroaching on their territory, the Soul Beasts could no longer restrain their bestial instincts and immediately began fighting and killing one another.
Meanwhile, Ma Hongjun was also staring at these hundred Soul Beasts with quite a headache.
With the Bhagavad Gita, he had no problem fighting one against one, two, or even three. But one against a hundred? Wasn't that asking the impossible?
Fortunately, he had not bared his edge at the outset, so only a few highly aggressive Soul Beasts attacked him. Ma Hongjun dodged them calmly and with ease.
Ma Hongjun instinctively wanted to move farther away from the group of Soul Beasts and wait until they had fought one another before coming out to pluck the peaches. However, he too encountered that constantly shrinking border.
"Damn it! There's less and less room to dodge."
He thought of his Two-Colored Flames.
Although I'm not confident either, I'll have to treat a dead horse as though it were still alive.
Ma Hongjun drew a deep breath, then forced it out.
There was no flame in that breath, nothing at all. It merely looked as though Ma Hongjun had heaved a deep sigh.
But in Ma Hongjun's vision, pale red flames instantly attached themselves to every Soul Beast along with that breath.
Did it work? Did it work?
Ma Hongjun felt uneasy. He had never used this move before either.
The Soul Beasts collectively fell silent for two seconds. Then, as though enraged, every one of them entered a berserk state.
The male Soul Beasts' eyes turned crimson, saliva dripping from their mouths. They looked as though they had taken aphrodisiacs, paying no attention whatsoever to whether their targets were even of the same species as they flung themselves forward and embraced them.
The female Soul Beasts did exactly the same, not caring at all that their target was merely a stalk of ten-year solitary bamboo.
Ma Hongjun watched the scene with some fear. "I'd better not use this move on people. Otherwise, they'll definitely fight me until one of us is dead."
After kicking to death the three Soul Beasts at his feet that had fixed their sights on him and pounced, Ma Hongjun retreated to the very edge.
At least I can wait until the Soul Beasts have finished venting, then take advantage of their weakness to eliminate them all, one by one.
But then howls rang out among the Soul Beasts, as though they were suffering some tremendous agony.
"Isn't this supposed to feel good? Do Soul Beasts find it painful?"
Ma Hongjun looked closely. Although the lower bodies of these Soul Beasts were in some state of primal arousal, their upper bodies were attacking their partners with utter brutality, biting them until blood streamed everywhere, and even biting them to death outright.
Ma Hongjun's hair instantly stood on end.
"What kind of cultivation technique is this technique of mine? Wasn't what I sensed from the red flames rebirth, creation, and power? How did they end up like this? At this point, I'd accept it if someone called me an Evil Soul Master."
But clearly, there was no one who could answer him now.
Inside Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong's heart trembled as she looked at Hu Liena's terrified eyes fixed upon her.
She regarded Hu Liena as her closest, most intimate person. How had she made everything turn out like this?
Bibi Dong wanted to reach out and comfort her, but Hu Liena instantly shrank back into the thick quilt in fright, trembling all over.
Bibi Dong gave a bitter chuckle and could only leave the room for now.
Outside the door, two physicians and a Soul Douluo-level healing Soul Master were waiting outside the hall.
"This child won't suffer any lasting effects, will she?"
The healing Soul Douluo shook his head. "The wound on her neck is too large and may leave some scarring, but it should gradually fade after a while. As for anything else, there aren't any problems."
Bibi Dong nodded and dismissed them. Then she issued an order to the guards inside the hall. "As soon as Ma Hongjun's Dragon-Tiger Ranking match ends, bring him to see me immediately."
It was not that Bibi Dong did not want to drag Ma Hongjun over right now, but the Dragon-Tiger Ranking's contestants were protected by the power of its laws. Even if Bibi Dong went in person, she could do nothing whatsoever against that power.
Before you continue