Five-Ring Soul King

Lin Yang also leaped down from the carriage. Light swirled beneath his feet, and two yellow soul rings abruptly rose.

A Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster?

The young guard's pupils contracted. How old was he?

Although Lin Yang carried himself with maturity and composure, that still could not conceal how young he was.

To have two rings at such a young age, and the optimal combination at that-his talent was truly astonishing.

Still, surprise aside, the young guard had no other thoughts at that moment.

He was a rank thirty-four Soul Elder.

Three rings against two, with an extra thousand-year soul ring. The advantage is mine!

A glint flashed through Lin Yang's eyes, and he lightly pressed his foot against the ground.

Blood-red thorny vines immediately surged forth, writhing toward the young guard like venomous snakes.

Faced with the sudden attack, the young guard did not panic.

He held his bronze shield before him as his first soul ring lit up.

A barrier shimmering with a faint bronze light instantly spread out, enveloping his entire body.

"Hmph!"

Lin Yang snorted coldly. As though alive, the blood-red vines instantly coiled around the barrier.

The slender thorny vines rapidly pulled taut, and a terrifying force slammed onto the barrier.

Crack, crack, crack!

A teeth-grating series of cracks abruptly rang out. Watching the barrier flicker around him, the young guard's expression changed drastically.

Although his first Soul Skill came from only a ten-year soul ring, it suited his Martial Soul extremely well, making it no weaker in use than an ordinary hundred-year soul ring.

Yet now, it could not even withstand a single exchange?

At this moment, the young guard no longer dared underestimate Lin Yang in the slightest. He immediately roared, his second and third soul rings lighting up in rapid succession.

"Second Soul Skill, Tremor!"

"Third Soul Skill, Charge!"

Soul Power poured madly into the bronze shield in his hand like a flood bursting through its gates.

The young guard stamped down hard, blasting a bowl-sized crater into the ground.

His entire body seemed to become a charging bronze war chariot, his shield its leading edge as he fearlessly rammed forward.

Without so much as looking, Lin Yang raised a hand and clenched it around empty air.

"Blood Thorn Strangulation!"

In an instant, the barrier surrounding the young guard shattered.

The thorns coiled around it swiftly wound around his body, wrapping him up like a rice dumpling.

His Soul Skill was interrupted. Sharp thorns easily sliced through his protective Soul Power, pierced his skin, and drank his blood.

The young guard struggled madly, only to discover in despair that these seemingly slender thorns were unimaginably tough. Instead, they tightened further and further.

"Hel-"

He barely managed half a brief, startled cry before the blood-red thorns wrapped around him abruptly constricted.

Squelch!

The horrifying, muffled sounds of bones shattering and flesh being sliced apart erupted together, sounding just like a bursting waterskin.

Warm blood instantly splashed in every direction.

Dead!

A rank thirty-four Soul Elder had been brutally killed on the spot by a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster in just a few breaths.

The entire main road fell deathly silent.

All color drained from the remaining guards' faces, and even their hands gripping their weapons trembled faintly.

Inside the luxurious carriage, that shrill voice also fell silent for a moment before erupting into a bout of teeth-grating laughter.

"Good, good, good! To think my eye really was so discerning. A chance encounter, and I stumbled upon an extraordinary genius. I'm growing fonder and fonder of you."

The laughter stopped abruptly, and the tone darkened, carrying a charity-like pity.

"I'll give you a chance. Submit to me, and you can take that useless wretch's place. Glory, wealth, and riches will be yours without end."

Lin Yang glanced at the young guard whose corpse was no longer whole, his tone mocking.

"I'm guessing you told him the same thing."

"Hehe, you're different from him." The voice broke into shrill, piercing laughter.

"He crawled to me of his own accord. You have my sincere invitation."

"Well, thank you so very much." Not the slightest ripple could be heard in Lin Yang's voice.

"Unfortunately... I have no interest in being someone else's dog."

Silence lingered inside the carriage for several seconds, followed by a soft chuckle that seemed to hold a trace of regret.

"You so-called geniuses always rely on your little scraps of talent, yet forget that beyond the heavens lie higher heavens, and beyond every man stands someone greater."

"It seems I'll have to teach you a lesson, young man."

"When you lack absolute strength, you must learn to bow your head and obey."

Boom-!

No sooner had the words fallen than a terrifying, almost tangible pressure erupted. Like an invisible mountain crashing down overhead, it instantly settled on everyone's shoulders, so heavy it was suffocating.

Thud, thud, thud!

Unable to resist at all, the surrounding guards' knees buckled, and they dropped to the ground one after another, their faces deathly pale and drained of color.

The only person still standing... was Lin Yang.

The immense pressure bore down on his shoulders, making his bones creak, but his back did not bend in the slightest, and his gaze remained as sharp as ever.

"Not bad. You have some ability." A hint of surprise entered the shrill voice.

"Enough of your smoke and mirrors!"

Lin Yang snorted coldly, an icy glint flashing through his eyes.

You're not a Titled Douluo. What are you putting on airs for?

The Flesh Thorns, having drunk their fill of blood and become an even more bewitching scarlet, suddenly erupted beside him like a blood dragon.

They shot toward the luxurious carriage at astonishing speed.

He wanted to see just what sort of thing was hiding inside that carriage, shrouding itself in mystery.

Boom-!

The carriage exploded, sending wood splinters flying everywhere.

Amid the spreading dust and smoke, a figure dressed in a flamboyant pink robe slowly emerged.

Had it been a peerless beauty, such a gorgeous robe would merely have been flowers added to brocade. Unfortunately, the person wearing it was a man.

His face was fair and clean, and his features could be considered regular.

But an effeminate, powdered air hung about his brow. The corners of his narrow eyes tilted upward, and his golden hair was partly loose and partly tied up.

Tsk... one look was enough to scorch the eyes!

Yet beneath his feet, five dazzling soul rings rose simultaneously: two yellow, two purple, and one black.

A Five-Ring Soul King!

And with the optimal soul ring configuration.

Lin Yang's expression grew grave.

Without question, the transsexual before him was the strongest person he had encountered thus far.

Even Dean Su Hong was only a Soul Ancestor.

"My, my, it seems you have quite the fiery temper too, young man. I love real men like you. A handsome talent such as yourself belongs in my bedchamber."

His voice remained shrill, and he made no attempt to conceal the lewd familiarity in his words.

Together with his manner and attire, it made one's scalp crawl.

Lin Yang's stomach churned, and the killing intent in his eyes froze into ice.

Before, he had merely felt aversion. Now, he felt genuine disgust.

With a wave of his hand, a great sheet of blood sprayed from his fingertips like splashed ink. In an instant, it transformed into a vast mass of blood-red thorns that surged toward the man, blotting out the sky and earth.

"What an interesting Martial Soul."

Dai Ziming neither dodged nor evaded, the corners of his mouth lifting.

Accompanied by a faint, elusive tiger's roar, a milky-white sphere the size of a basketball abruptly condensed and shot forth.

"Second Soul Skill, White Tiger Fierce Light Wave."

The instant the Flesh Thorns met the white sphere, they shattered and scattered everywhere. The powerful shock wave swept through the surroundings, leaving a scene of devastation.

Though it was only a hundred-year second Soul Skill, its power was still astonishing in a Soul King's hands.

The horses panicked, making the prison wagon behind them rock violently as well. Screams abruptly rose from beneath the black cloth.

As chance would have it, a corner of the black cloth covering the cage was lifted, revealing a pair of eyes blazing like fire, fixed intently on Lin Yang.

However, Lin Yang clearly had not noticed the commotion by the carriage at that moment. He looked at his opponent, inwardly astonished.

White Tiger Fierce Light Wave-this Soul Skill was practically standard issue for the Star Luo Imperial Family.

In other words, this damned transsexual, neither man nor woman, was actually a member of the Star Luo Imperial Family?

No wonder he had such elite guards.