Chapter 14: Xiahou Mang's Ruthless Resolve
The man holding the great blade sprinted forward again.
Suddenly, his body erupted in blood-red light as he gripped the weapon with both hands.
The already massive blade swelled larger—nearly double his own height.
He spun violently, roaring, "You want my soul bone? Then see if you have the life to take it!"
His furious voice shook the entire forest.
In the distance came the cries of beasts and the thundering of hooves—Soul Beasts startled from their rest.
The man leaped high, bringing his glowing blade down in a sweeping arc toward his pursuers.
So that's Xiahou Mang, Dugu Feng thought. The oppressive momentum surrounding him was terrifying—his aura felt stronger than a normal Soul Emperor.
The blade martial spirit—the most direct and brutal type—emanated raw power. Xiahou Mang's technique looked akin to a Martial Soul True Body, his person and weapon fused into one.
No wonder his clan had once been a subsidiary of the Clear Sky Clan. Their fighting styles were cut from the same steel.
Man and blade became one. Dugu Feng saw nothing in his vision but endless slashes of light.
"You escaped six years ago, but now you're a Soul Sage. Unfortunately for you, this time you'll die!"
The booming voice came before three figures appeared—a momentary flash revealing bright white scales reflecting the color of their spirit rings.
All three were broad and muscular. The foremost warrior bore seven rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black—while the two behind him carried six, yellow, yellow, purple, purple, purple, black. Their leading Soul Sage had been the one shouting.
White scales encased their bodies like armor—it was the White Armored Earth Dragon martial spirit. The Saint Dragon Sect!
Radiant white light burst from their bodies, coalescing into an enormous spectral dragon that clashed midair with Xiahou Mang's crimson blade aura.
Boom!
A shockwave rippled outward, toppling dozens of trees in its wake.
Xiahou Mang's body trembled violently as he was forced back several steps, his palms bleeding from the recoil. The three dragon-armored Soul Masters grimaced, their faces twisted as they struggled to suppress the turmoil of their own blood.
The collision had been evenly matched.
Then the ground began to quake violently—like an earthquake tearing through the forest.
From the side, a giant shadow erupted from the darkness. Towering over three meters, the creature looked barely human, but Dugu Feng recognized the martial spirit in an instant—a Huyan clansman wielding the Diamond Mammoth!
The colossal creature charged like a living war chariot—straight toward Xiahou Mang.
"The Elephant Armored Sect working with the Saint Dragon Sect?" Old Snake muttered coldly from the shadows. "Don't tell me the Elephant Armored Sect has already turned to Spirit Hall… or worse, that the entire Five Element Alliance has?"
His tone darkened. Such an alliance would spell serious change across the continent.
Xiahou Mang had just clashed with the Saint Dragon Sect and was still recovering from the force of the exchange when the Diamond Mammoth smashed into him head-on.
He flew back like a rag doll, crashing through a tree and spewing blood.
"Haha! Die!"
The Soul Sage from the Saint Dragon Sect rushed in again without mercy.
Gripping his giant blade, Xiahou Mang's expression turned feral. His soul power was nearly depleted after hours of battle and flight.
Now, faced with two Soul Sages—and the leader's White Armored Earth Dragon, though a sub-dragon spirit, was among the strongest of its kind—he was being pressured on all sides.
And Huyan Lie of the Elephant Armored Sect was a fortress of flesh and muscle, almost impossible to wound.
The clash reignited, shaking the forest once more.
Then, under the moonlight, Xiahou Mang's soul bone revealed itself—an earthen-yellow helmet materialized upon his head.
It wasn't ornate or radiant, but the aura of a soul bone skill was unmistakable.
A defensive cranium bone—precisely the one Huyan Li would later use during the Soul Master Tournament.
Seeing it made Dugu Feng frown slightly.
It wasn't particularly powerful. If it were offered to him, he might not even want it.
He already had the dan pearl; poison resistance wasn't a pressing need.
If he were to absorb a soul bone, nothing less than fifty thousand years would do—preferably a hundred thousand, like the ones Tang San possessed.
This one was only ten thousand at most.
Still, the appearance of the soul bone meant Xiahou Mang was truly at his limit.
They had clashed many times before, and every escape had ended the same—with him hunted down again.
Tonight felt like the end.
Then, a whisper entered his mind—"This way!"
Xiahou Mang's eyes flared with sudden hope. Someone was out there, hidden in the woods.
He immediately began retreating in that direction, exchanging blows while falling back carefully.
The voice, of course, came from Old Snake.
He smiled viciously in the darkness.
The trap had worked—the prey had come right to them.
The air thickened as faint, invisible toxins began to spread. A colorless vapor of Jade Phosphor Violet Poison drifted silently through the air.
This mist was far subtler than Dugu Feng's own first-ring technique—its particles microscopic, undetectable by spiritual sense, and utterly scentless.
Clearly, Old Snake's mastery of the poison had reached extraordinary heights.
Dugu Feng could sense it only because his dan pearl trembled in resonance. He quickly suppressed it—the pearl, eager to absorb such high-grade poison, had begun to stir.
Now, he would witness firsthand the silent lethality of a poison master.
How deadly could a poison-type Soul Sage truly be?
But just as he was waiting for the strike, something unexpected happened.
A sudden roar shattered the silence—"Come out!"
Xiahou Mang bellowed, turning mid-battle and leaping straight toward Dugu Feng's hiding spot.
The man's instincts were terrifyingly sharp.
As he neared Old Snake's position, he had sensed another presence—Dugu Feng's.
Though the boy had concealed himself perfectly, the difference between a one-ring Soul Master and a Soul Sage was a canyon. Once Xiahou Mang knew to look, he found him almost instantly.
He didn't yet know about Old Snake.
He merely assumed the small, suppressed aura belonged to the hidden voice that had guided him.
And who wouldn't covet a soul bone's power? Xiahou Mang refused to trust unseen hands.
As he shouted, he also revealed Dugu Feng's location to the others—Huyan Lie and the Saint Dragon Sect elites.
If they fought each other, he might escape.
To further his plan, he decided to seize the boy immediately. If the hidden master truly existed, holding their ally hostage might sow fear or hesitation.
He sneered. One-ring Soul Master or not, I can crush him in an instant.
Let's see you try to profit from the shadows now.
Then, as he drew close enough to see clearly, he hesitated.
He saw Dugu Feng—a boy, maybe six or seven years old.
A child.
Pity flickered for only an instant before the murderous glint returned. Once caught, he would not survive.
Already, he could imagine the look of terror forming on that young face.
But instead—Dugu Feng smiled.
For a second, Xiahou Mang froze.
Smiling? Has he gone mad from fear?
Of course—a child like him had never seen a Soul Sage before, never witnessed the power of a soul bone.
What a naïve age.
What a pity.
He was about to die.
(END CHAPTER)
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