The chilling voice echoed from the darkness, elusive and unpredictable, its source even Xuan Ming could not pinpoint.
This is my first mistake, and it will be my last.
I hope you'll have that kind of luck next time.
As soon as he finished speaking, the faint, dark aura vanished completely, leaving no trace.
Xuan Ming dared not relax in the slightest, and his domain remained fully deployed.
That guy was completely unaffected? Was it Soul Bone Skill that granted immunity to control, or...?
At this moment, the Gui Mei figure guarding nearby, sensing the commotion, also rushed into the forest. His figure flickered in the night and arrived beside Xuan Ming in a few breaths.
The Gui Mei, its eyes hidden beneath its black robes, gleamed with a chilling light as it warily scanned its surroundings. Its voice was low and hoarse as it asked, "What's going on?"
Xuan Ming withdrew his domain, still gripping the Blood Spear. "I almost got tricked by a grandson."
"Where is he?" the Gui Mei asked.
"You couldn't keep him?"
"That guy was like a ghost, even more sinister than you." Xuan Ming was still a little scared; it was the first time he had ever encountered such a sinister person.
"Like a ghost? Describe it," the Gui Mei said.
"He moved using his Shadow, and in an instant he was right in front of me. If I didn't have the dark attribute, I wouldn't have been able to sense him at all," Xuan Ming said.
He also said he hadn't missed a shot in eighty years.
"Eighty years?" The Gui Mei figure's tone changed slightly.
"You know him?" Xuan Ming asked.
"If nothing unexpected happens, you've encountered Shadow, the number one assassin on the continent, and also the executioner of the Seven Great Families," Gui Mei said in a deep voice.
"The number one assassin on the mainland?" Xuan Ming raised an eyebrow.
"That's amazing?"
"Thirty years ago, that guy attacked and killed Titled Douluo," Gui Mei said in Youyou.
" Titled Douluo?!" Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"Did you succeed?" Xuan Ming asked.
"Of course, if he had failed, he would have died long ago," Gui Mei said calmly.
"The power and influence of the Seven Great Families are inextricably linked to this guy's existence."
Nowadays, apart from the Upper Three Sects and the Seven Great Families, more than 70% of the Soul Master forces in the Douluo Continent have come under the command of the Spirit Hall.
The Upper Three Sects are strong because of their long history and powerful strength. The Seven Great Families, on the surface, do not have Titled Douluo, but the Great Soul Arena they founded can be found all over the continent, and no Soul Master dares to cause trouble in it. A large part of the reason is that the Seven Great Families control special assassin organizations.
Those assassins were either strong individuals who had survived the life-or-death arena of the Great Soul Arena, or assassins specially trained by the Seven Great Families.
The power of the Spirit Hall and the Seven Great Sects are obvious, while the deterrent power of the Seven Great Families lies in the shadows.
They lack the ability to directly confront the Seven Great Sects and the Spirit Hall, but the assassination organization they control possesses a deterrent power no less than that of Titled Douluo!
That Shadow was the trump card of the Seven Great Families, an assassin who had once successfully killed Titled Douluo, someone even the Elder Hall was unwilling to provoke.
"We hadn't heard from him for decades; we thought he was long dead." Gui Mei's tone was somewhat heavy.
"Can you sense his cultivation level?"
"I can't sense him. His aura is strange, even stranger than yours," Xuan Ming said.
"His direct offensive power isn't strong. Do you know what his Martial Soul is?"
"I don't know, but based on the information we've gathered, we've speculated that his Martial Soul might be a special kind of Shadow Martial Soul," Gui Mei said.
" Shadow?" Xuan Ming subconsciously looked at Huo Wu.
Huo Wu's Martial Soul is also Shadow, but it's fire-attribute. That guy just now, did he have a dark-attribute Shadow Martial Soul?
"No one has ever seen Shadow's true face, and these assassins are all unidentified. Even the Spirit Hall's investigation of the Seven Great Families couldn't find any information about that guy," Gui Mei said.
"Even this guy has made a move; it seems the Seven Great Families are determined to kill you."
To elevate Xuan Ming to such a level, the Seven Great Families invested heavily, not only for profit but also because they wanted Xuan Ming to grow under the auspices of the Heaven Dou Empire to counter the Spirit Hall.
After all, there is no other special existence like Xuan Ming who stands between the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, and the Great Soul Arena.
But now, Xuan Ming has started fighting with them first. This is not only a huge loss of profits for the Seven Great Families, but also a matter of face.
To have one's face trampled on by a child not even twenty years old is even more humiliating than when Tang Hao killed the Pope the Spirit Hall. Even so, the Spirit Hall forced the Clear Sky Sect into seclusion before finally stopping. If the Seven Great Families allow Xuan Ming to continue living, they will become a laughing stock on the continent.
" Xuan Ming!"
Upon seeing the white light emerge from the forest, Xue Qinghe and his group quickly rushed in. Noticing the restless Blood Spear in Xuan Ming's hand, everyone showed expressions of worry.
"What happened?" Xue Qinghe asked.
Xuan Ming put away the Blood Spear. "It's nothing. A Soul Beast just passed by, but it's already run away."
Xue Qinghe frowned slightly, clearly not believing Xuan Ming's perfunctory explanation. If Gui Mei and demons have appeared, it's highly likely that someone has attacked!
There were no signs of a struggle here. Could it be that the people who came ran away?
Even the abilities of Xuan Ming and the Gui Mei couldn't be retained?
"It's getting late, everyone should get some rest." With that, Xuan Ming looked at Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er, "You two should go back too."
Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er exchanged a glance, their faces still a little pale. "We'll take our leave now."
"What exactly happened?"
Back at the camp, Xue Qinghe rushed into Xuan Ming's tent once again.
Xuan Ming sighed and briefly explained what had just happened.
" Shadow?" Xue Qinghe frowned.
"You can't even control him in your own territory?"
"That guy probably has Soul Bone that grants immunity to control effects, or a special Soul Skill," Xuan Ming said.
"I'm more inclined to believe that what attacked me was his special Soul Skill, something like Zhu Zhuqing's Netherworld Shadow Clone."
His current domain is so powerful that even Titled Douluo couldn't remain completely unaffected!
But that guy didn't react at all, and his aura was extremely strange.
Xue Qinghe's expression was somewhat solemn. "You'll stay with me from now on, and you're not allowed to wander off."
Xuan Ming's eye twitched slightly. "Why?"
"They've even used their strongest assassins; they clearly won't give up easily," Xue Qinghe said.
"My divine attributes are extremely sensitive to these dark attributes; if that guy comes again, I'll be able to detect it."
The Shadow, the strongest assassin of the Seven Great Families, she had heard some legends about before, but someone who could only play dirty tricks in the shadows could not face the glory of the Six-Winged Angel.
"Forget it, if you're with me, I'll have to divide my attention to protect you," Xuan Ming said.
"I'm already on guard. Next time he comes, I'll keep him here."
Xue Qinghe stepped forward, getting close to Xuan Ming and staring intently into his eyes. " Xue Qinghe is the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire. The Seven Great Families dare not lay a hand on him. Besides, I'm not discussing this with you!"
"..."
The assassination under the cover of night went unnoticed. This supposedly impregnable Royal Hunting Ground was unaware that a top assassin had infiltrated its ranks. Of course, even if they knew, it wouldn't have mattered.
The training ground has been specially renovated to serve as the venue for the qualifying rounds. Unlike the preliminary rounds, the qualifying rounds do not have as many spectators. A total of fifteen teams are participating in the qualifying rounds, with one team having a bye each day, and seven matches are played each day.
The rules of the competition are also very simple: each side sends seven players to the stage for one-on-one battles until all seven players on one side are defeated.
Just like during the qualifiers, the Pope specially arranged a seat for Xuan Ming in the VIP section, right next to her. He could sit there if he came, and the seat would be empty if he didn't.
Aren't you planning to play?
Seeing Xuan Ming watching the game from the seat beside her, Bibi Dong couldn't help but ask a question.
The first round of the qualifying tournament is between the Imperial Fighting Team and the Barak Academy Team.
This was actually somewhat of a behind-the-scenes operation. After all, the Barak Royal Family had been very close to the Spirit Hall for years, and now that they finally had such a rare opportunity to put pressure on them, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family naturally wouldn't miss it.
"Team fights require coordination, but individual battles don't," Xuan Ming said.
"They're just not good at teamwork; they shouldn't be unable to beat even this level of qualifying matches."
Gu Yuena and Dugu Yan both possess the ability to defeat seven opponents at once, and if there were no restrictions, it wouldn't be difficult for them to take on seven opponents at once.
Soon, the first match began, with Dugu Yan taking the stage first.
During the qualifiers, because it was a team battle, she easily lost control of her power and poisoned people to death, but now that it's a one-on-one fight, she can control her power better.
She was seething with anger during the qualifiers, and now she wasn't going to hold it in anymore.
Without any suspense, it was almost a complete rout. Dugu Yan used less than half of her Soul Power to poison everyone from the Barak Academy, defeating seven opponents in one go, which was a good start for the promotion tournament.
In the second match, the Exotic Beast Academy Team faced off against a team that Xuan Ming had never heard of.
In this match, Meng Yiran, the captain of the Exotic Beast Team, although not as easily as Dugu Yan, also achieved a seven-kill streak. At the end, she even cast a special glance at Xuan Ming in the VIP seats, with a somewhat complicated expression.
Almost instantly, the atmosphere in the VIP section changed.
Bibi Dong, Ning Fengzhi, Xue Qinghe, Hu Liena, Yue Guan, and several other gazes turned to Xuan Ming. Even Xue Ye's eyes were somewhat unnatural, clearly shocked by Xuan Ming's popularity with women.
" Xuan Ming, this young lady, I've never heard of her before?" Xue Qinghe asked.
Xuan Ming sighed, "We met by chance when we were hunting for Soul Ring in the Star Dou Great Forest."
"You've had quite a few accidents at such a young age," Yue Guan teased.
Xuan Ming glanced at Yue Guan, somewhat speechless.
Are you trying to stir up trouble?
Chapter 274 Tang San's Fortuitous Encounter
With the opening two rounds of a seven-game winning streak, the atmosphere at the scene was brought to a climax. Soon, the third match began, with the Shrek Academy facing off against a team from the Silves Kingdom.
The first member of the Shrek Team to take the stage was Tang San, Control System Soul Master.
"That's Tang San? Wait, I don't remember Tang San looking like this."
"Something's definitely not right. Could Shrek have changed their roster?"
"..."
A lively discussion erupted in the spectator area, with everyone exchanging glances and making their own comments.
After all, they were this year's dark horse team, and they also had some connections with the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, so the Heaven Dou Imperial Family family paid a lot of attention to the Shrek Academy.
In addition, Shrek's unique team uniforms had already been the subject of much discussion during the preliminaries, so Tang San's appearance on the field immediately caused quite a stir.
" Xiao Wu, how come Tang San has become so handsome?" Ning Rongrong asked in confusion.
Tang San's appearance used to be very ordinary, but now, his looks have surpassed even Oscar! His aura has also changed!
"I don't know," Xiao Wu, a little confused as well.
"I haven't seen Xiao San in a long time."
Hearing the discussions on the stage, Tang San remained calm, but a long-lost excitement welled up inside him.
Soon, the first member of the Silves Academy took the stage. He was also a Control System Soul Master, and his opponent's Martial Soul was also a Plant-type Martial Soul, Snake Vine.
Hearing the many girls in the audience discussing Tang San's appearance, the member of the Silves Academy team seemed somewhat annoyed.
" Xiao Bai, I'll tear your face to shreds!"
As he spoke, he unleashed his third Soul Skill, the Snake Vine. The Snake Vine grew rapidly, spreading from the ground and appearing as if a dense swarm of snakes were crawling towards Tang San.
Tang San remained calm, extending his right hand. Thick Blue Silver Grass grew rapidly. He didn't even use his Soul Ring; the thick Blue Silver Grass vines formed a barrier in front of him, easily blocking the opponent's third Soul Skill.
However, what shocked everyone even more was Tang San's extra Fourth Soul Ring.
" Soul Ancestor?"