After fusing with the Evil Emperor's External Soul Bone, Lin Mu didn't linger on the Sun Moon Continent. He crossed the vast ocean at top speed, pushing his flight to the limit.
However, instead of returning to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he headed straight for the Star Dou Great Forest. Now that he had fused with the Evil Emperor External Soul Bone and successfully condensed his third Soul Core, his strength had reached an entirely new dimension. He was eager to spar with Di Tian to test the limits of his new spiritual power.
Previously, Lin Mu was confident he could compete with Di Tian. Now, he was confident he could crush him.
After a day of travel, Lin Mu arrived at the Emerald Swan habitat. Seeing his formidable gold-clad figure reappear, the surrounding guardian soul beasts didn't charge recklessly as they had before. Instead, they maintained a wary distance, watching him with fearful eyes. These ten-thousand-year-old beasts possessed significant intelligence, and the memory of Lin Mu's overwhelming aura from his last visit had left a permanent psychological scar. They knew he was not someone they could handle.
Lin Mu ignored them. As long as they didn't obstruct him, he wouldn't bother with them. At his current Level, dealing with even a 100,000-year-old Soul Beast was effortless; a single skill could wipe out an entire pack of these lesser guardians.
Suddenly, a pure and gentle voice echoed through the clearing.
"Why have you returned?!"
Bi Ji appeared silently in mid-air, looking at Lin Mu with a complex expression. After a month of deep reflection, she had come to begrudgingly agree with his earlier statement: Soul Masters and Soul Beasts were inherently opposed, and true peace was a fantasy.
Lin Mu looked at her calmly. "I'm looking for Di Tian. Where is he?"
Bi Ji's brow furrowed, a flash of displeasure crossing her face. "If you are looking for Di Tian, why have you come to the Emerald Swan clan's territory again?"
"Only by finding you can I find him," Lin Mu declared matter-of-factly.
Bi Ji was instantly enraged, her chest heaving with indignation. This man was utterly despicable! He had killed her clansmen in the past, and now he had the audacity to use her as a mere messenger, it was completely outrageous.
After a moment, she suppressed her anger and spoke coldly, "Every time you appear, you disrupt the lives of my kin. You are not welcome here."
"As a Soul Master, I have already been lenient by not slaughtering these Soul Beasts. And you actually think you can force me to leave?"
Lin Mu's gaze sharpened, and a terrifying aura swept outward like a tidal wave. Under the crushing weight of his pressure, the surrounding soul beasts trembled in primal terror. Even the powerful Bi Ji felt the air grow heavy and cold.
Lin Mu looked up at her. "If you continue to resist, I don't mind annihilating this entire flock."
Bi Ji's expression changed drastically. To her, this man seemed mentally unstable, ready to attack at the slightest provocation. He was trying to coerce her through the lives of her people; he was truly a monster. But knowing he possessed strength that even Di Tian feared, she had no choice but to back down despite her humiliation.
It was better to let Di Tian handle such a ruthless person. She immediately sent a specialized mental signal to the Golden Eyed Black Dragon King.
Not long after, Di Tian arrived. His golden eyes locked onto Lin Mu as he asked indifferently, "What do you want this time?"
"Nothing much. I just want to spar with you."
"You traveled thousands of miles across the sea just for a spar?" Di Tian frowned. To him, Lin Mu seemed far too idle.
But then, he stopped. Something was different. Di Tian noticed a shift in Lin Mu's aura, a chilling, needle-like spiritual fluctuation was emanating from him. Lin Mu's spiritual power had been relatively unrefined before, yet in just over a month, it had surged to a level that defied logic.
Judging by Lin Mu's history of collecting Soul Bones, Di Tian deduced he must have absorbed a mental-type bone. But it had to be at least 500,000 years old to cause such a leap. Yet, aside from the Skydream Ice Silkworm they had already captured, no such beast should exist on this continent.
Lin Mu didn't give him time to think. "Whether you like it or not, I'm definitely going to beat you up today."
Anger flared in Di Tian's heart. He had been lenient only to ensure his Lord's recovery, but Lin Mu was pushing his luck. As the Beast God of the Star Dou Great Forest, Di Tian was confident. With the Dragon God Claw technique, he believed that even if Lin Mu was strong, he could still suppress him.
"Fine. Since you insist, I'll treat this as a warm-up. Follow me."
Di Tian soared into the sky, heading away from the Emerald Swan habitat to avoid collateral damage. Lin Mu followed, a streak of golden light.
Bi Ji watched them go, shaking her head. Both were domineering and stubborn; she expected a long, grueling stalemate.
After flying over a hundred kilometers, they arrived above a desolate mountain peak. Di Tian stood with his hands behind his back, his long black hair whipping in the wind. "I'll let you make the first move," he said, a hint of arrogance in his eyes.
"Are you sure you don't want to revert to your true form?" Lin Mu asked. "I'm afraid you won't last more than a few moves like that."
Di Tian scoffed. While his human form limited his output, it was still more than enough to handle any Limit Douluo.
Seeing he wouldn't listen, Lin Mu didn't argue. He immediately activated the Evil Eye Soul Bone between his brows.
"Light of Destruction!"
A dark blue vertical eye snapped open on Lin Mu's forehead, surrounded by swirling dark-gold runes. Before Di Tian could even register the danger, a dark red beam of pure destructive light erupted. It shattered the very space it passed through, the sheer mental pressure causing the few beasts in the valley below to roar and collapse.
The beam struck Di Tian with unstoppable force. It didn't just send him hurtling backward; it dealt a staggering blow to his spiritual sea. The mental attack was entirely unexpected. Di Tian had prepared for elemental violence, not a spiritual strike of this magnitude.
Lin Mu didn't let up. He pressed his advantage, slamming a fist wreathed in Qilin Fire into Di Tian's chest, followed immediately by a Lightning Spiral Punch to his abdomen.
The sensation of each hit landing was exhilarating for Lin Mu.
Di Tian, however, was reeling. His mind was clouded by the damage from the Light of Destruction, leaving him uncharacteristically passive. Even with his powerful dragon-heritage physique, the sheer inhuman force behind Lin Mu's elemental punches was starting to cause genuine pain.