The Soul Hall's Great Celestial Venerable, who broke through to Dou Sheng years ago, undisputedly ranked among the absolute top powerhouses of the entire Continent.
Altogether, there weren't more than fifty Dou Sheng on the whole Continent, and the fall of any one of them was enough to cause tremendous shifts in the Continent's power structure.
Let alone the Dou Sheng of the Soul Hall, the mightiest force on the Continent...
The one who died previously was the Ninth Heavenly Venerate, and now, the death of both a Half-Saint Peak's Second Celestial Venerable and an authentic Great Celestial Venerable, truly crippled the Soul Hall.
The Soul Hall was the blade that the Hun Clan wielded on the Continent, and now, this sharp blade was almost reduced to a mere figurehead.
Above all, henceforth the Continent would understand one thing: that even a colossal force like the Soul Hall was not invincible.
"Hopefully, the Soul Hall will learn to be smarter in the future, otherwise, I'm afraid it won't last till the end before being destroyed by my hand," Xu Ran said with a faint smile. He was likely to become a household name among the major forces in Zhongzhou, much like his current fame in the Jia Ma Empire.
It wasn't difficult to make a name for oneself quickly; one only had to trample the most powerful force on the Continent underfoot, making it hard even for those who did not wish to become famous.
...
At that moment, the Lord of the Soul Hall, Hun Miesheng, violently awoke from his cultivation, and the Vice Hall Master was also shocked beyond measure.
Impossible...
The Soul Hall had lost two more powerhouses. Three out of six Heavenly Venerates were dead, including one Half-Saint Peak and one authentic Dou Sheng.
One could say the Soul Hall suffered the direct loss of two Dou Sheng, for with some more time, the Second Celestial Venerable was bound to break through to Dou Sheng eventually.
To know, originally, the Soul Hall had only two Dou Sheng, the Vice Hall Master and the Great Celestial Venerable...
Now the death of the Great Celestial Venerable and the Second Celestial Venerable had utterly severed the lineage of Dou Sheng in the Soul Hall for the coming decades. At least for the next fifty years, it would be difficult for the Soul Hall to produce another strong expert.
"A Dou Sheng has actually fallen; what on earth happened? They went to the Black Corner Region, and to think that outside of Zhongzhou, someone has the power to kill a Dou Sheng!"
"Damn it! No matter who it is, anyone who kills our people must pay the price!" Hun Miesheng was full of endless hostility and murderous intent. Within such a short time, three Heavenly Venerates had been successively killed. As the strongest force apart from the Gu Clan, and the representative of the Hun Clan in the Continent, they were being challenged so brazenly.
If they continued to suffer losses like these, they might even have to forfeit their rank as the number one force on the Continent!
"Please calm down, my lord. We did not know the true strength of that Xu Ran. Even the Great Celestial Venerable died without their soul escaping; it's likely that Xu Ran's strength is at least of a Three Stars or Four Stars Dou Saint. With that in mind, even if we go after him, we won't have any advantage. I think we should ask the clan for a few more Dou Saint Experts to join us, ensuring an absolutely safe mission," suggested an extremely powerful man standing next to Hun Miesheng. He was a Three Stars Dou Sheng in "Cultivation Level" and stood second only to the Lord of the Soul Hall, Hun Miesheng, in strength.
"Just because of a brat, we should seek help from the clan?" Hun Miesheng was furious. However, in truth, while he was indeed outraged, he also held considerable dread for Xu Ran's mysterious and formidable strength.
Xu Ran had previously been unknown in Zhongzhou, and it was only after he killed the Soul Hall's Ninth Heavenly Venerate that he left a significant impression in the minds of the major forces.
The Great Celestial Venerable died without their soul escaping, completely vanishing from the world.
The lives and deaths of all strong experts in the Soul Hall were accurately recorded; if a soul lamp was extinguished, it meant utter death. If the lamplight dimmed, it signified an injury.
And for the Great Celestial Venerable and Second Celestial Venerable...
Generally, at the level of a Dou Sheng, even if one's strength is considerably superior, it is usually not possible to directly kill the opponent, as Dou Sheng experts all have some means of saving their lives, and as long as they utilize those methods, they can always escape.
However...
This indicated that Xu Ran's strength far exceeded that of the Great Celestial Venerable.
That can only be achieved by a Dou Sheng in the late Three Stars stage or even above Four Stars.
And as for Xu Ran's "Cultivation Level", nobody really knew. In the absence of intel, it seemed somewhat irrational to provoke a mysterious and strong rival.
"After successively killing three of our Soul Hall's Heavenly Venerates, no matter what his "Cultivation Level" is, he must die by our hands. Otherwise, the Soul Hall will become the laughingstock of the Continent. Those old fellows from the Pill Tower and other powers are already looking at us as a joke," Hun Miesheng said, clenching his fists tightly. However, thinking about the current strength of the Soul Hall and the Hun Clan, he felt considerably more at ease.
Now, it was impossible for any expert to challenge the status of the Hun Clan.
...
The Black Corner Region was restored to calm once more.
The sky became clear blue again, the oppressive atmosphere that hung over Maple City had disappeared, and only the remnants of the battle hinted that everything that had happened today was not a dream.
"Two Heavenly Venerates, dead just like that. Wasn't that one supposed to be a Dou Sheng? Why did such a Dou Sheng seem so weak in Xu Ran's hands, like a chicken having its neck grabbed without even putting up a fight before dying?" Han Feng couldn't comprehend.
Dou Shengs, aren't they the most powerful experts on the Continent?
Moreover, he had seen a Dou Sheng expert for the first time in all these years.
And then, the Dou Sheng had died so lightly right before his eyes, everything felt like a dream.
But the events that unfolded before him were too real.
This could only indicate that Xu Ran was very strong.
"Master..." Han Feng lowered his head, his body trembling. He was afraid that Xu Ran would kill him too.
"I took care of those two old fools for you, so let's use the Strange Fire in your possession as my reward, shall we? Do you have any objections?" Xu Ran pointed in the void, and the Sea Heart Flame separated from Han Feng's body.
"It's an honor for my Sea Heart Flame to be desired by you. I'm just your dog, Master, I have no objections to whatever you want," Han Feng said, lowering his stance even further. A lost Strange Fire could potentially be retrieved, but a lost life was gone for good.
The Sea Heart Flame was ranked fifteenth on the Exotic Flame Ranking, a few positions higher than the Green Lotus Core Flame.
The deep blue Sea Heart Flame was stripped from Han Feng's body, arrived in Xu Ran's palm, and quickly merged into Xu Ran's body. Despite ranking higher, the energy contained within the Sea Heart Flame was much lower than that of the Green Lotus Core Flame.
Having been nurtured in Xu Ran's body for so many days, the Green Lotus Core Flame had evolved significantly, differing greatly from the common Green Lotus Core Flame found on the Continent. After being subdued by Xu Ran, the Sea Heart Flame would undergo a similar transformation.
"A Dou Sheng and a Semi-Saint, I'll keep their bodies for the time when I decide to study the Puppetry Technique," Xu Ran suddenly had a stroke of inspiration. Original works mentioned how Xiao Yan had created Heavenly Demon Puppets and Earth Demon Puppets. Creating a few Puppets would provide constant protection for Xun Er and the others.