Immediately, Kong Deming's face turned red—almost glowing with heat.
He could not recall the last time someone had spoken to him in such a manner. After all, he was a noble with one-quarter royal blood from the Sun-Moon Empire and had been personally appointed as the Chief Worshiper of the Sun-Moon Empire's Worship Hall by the current emperor.
Moreover, Kong Deming himself was infinitely close to becoming a Rank 10 Soul Engineer. More than half of the Rank 9 Soul Engineers in the Sun-Moon Empire had been taught by him. He was revered as the "Father of Soul Tools."
Even Jing Hongchen treated him with the utmost respect. Yet today, he was being humiliated in this way.
"Zhongli Wu, you insolent brat! How dare you insult me!"
Kong Deming roared in fury.
At over 150 years old, he had every right to call the just-over-100-year-old Zhongli Wu a brat.
Meanwhile, Jiang Jue, upon receiving a message from his master, immediately fled to the distance, running more than 20 kilometers away. For extra safety, he even retreated another 10 kilometers.
Hearing Kong Deming's words, Zhongli Wu sneered. "No wonder you're just a researcher. You can't even insult people properly."
To him, Kong Deming's level of provocation was entirely ineffective.
"My disciple, watch carefully. Today, your master will give you a practical lesson."
"As an evil soul master, always strike first and aim for the vital points!"
As Zhongli Wu's words reached Jiang Jue's ears, his hands were already filled with dense, dark soul power. His figure vanished instantly.
A flash of black light—Zhongli Wu had appeared behind Kong Deming. He struck with both palms, releasing countless blood-red wailing souls that howled toward Kong Deming's back.
"You fight without honor!"
Kong Deming's expression changed drastically. Several layers of milky-white protective barriers instantly lit up around him, followed by a series of sharp explosions.
Kong Deming was sent flying backward, his expression dark.
He had not expected Zhongli Wu to attack without a single word of warning—to ambush him so shamelessly. Bullying an old man of over 150 years—was this not disgraceful?
Although his protective barriers had blocked the attack and he remained uninjured, his dignity had suffered.
"Hmph! Honor? What is that? I don't even have morality, and you expect me to have honor?"
Zhongli Wu sneered, utterly indifferent.
He had never been a righteous figure, announcing his martial soul and rank before battle like some kind of gentleman.
His entire life philosophy was about speed, precision, and lethality.
A single fatal strike was always his goal. As for some so-called "style of a master"—sorry, he had none.
Moreover, since the Holy Spirit Cult wanted to interfere in the Sun-Moon Empire's royal affairs, it was inevitable that Kong Deming would stand in their way. The fact that Kong Deming was here meant that the emperor himself had likely given the order.
Since a fight was inevitable, there was no need for courtesy.
"This time, I'll give you a lesson—to teach you not to be so arrogant and impatient."
Kong Deming's face darkened further, his fury reaching its peak.
Zhongli Wu giving him a lesson? This was complete and utter defiance!
"Insolent brat!"
"Fine! Let's settle this with our strength!"
Kong Deming's voice roared as his martial soul manifested—a silver moon appearing behind him, casting a cold, serene glow across the battlefield.
His title was Silvermoon Douluo. His current soul power was only at Rank 94, meaning he was not yet at the late-stage of a Super Douluo.
However, his true strength did not lie in his martial soul—it lay in his soul tools.
"ROAR!"
A deep, terrifying dragon's roar echoed as Zhongli Wu's nine soul rings emerged, filling the air with an overwhelming presence.
Black, black, black, black, black, black—red, red, red!
Aside from black, his only other soul ring color was red. The black 10,000-year soul rings radiated an inky darkness, while the red 100,000-year soul rings exuded a sinister, eerie glow.
Kong Deming, standing in the distance, narrowed his eyes. A flash of shock flickered in his gaze.
He knew that Zhongli Wu did not possess a twin martial soul, yet he had such an astonishing soul ring configuration. Clearly, this had been achieved through some kind of secret technique.
But that was not all.
Zhongli Wu raised his right hand and tapped the air. A circle of black soul rings flickered, and an enormous staff appeared in his grasp.
The staff was pitch-black. The moment it materialized, a shadowy figure emerged behind Zhongli Wu. The figure was roughly the same size as him.
This was Zhongli Wu's martial soul—the Death God Phantom, a benevolent mutation of Ye Xishui's Blood Soul Phantom.
As soon as the shadowy figure appeared, an intense aura of death spread outward. The sky behind Zhongli Wu turned completely black, speckled with eerie red light.
"ROAR!"
That deep dragon's roar echoed again.
Behind Zhongli Wu, an enormous dragon head materialized. It had no flesh or scales—only a skeletal frame made of pitch-black bones. In its eye sockets, green ghostly flames flickered ominously as it locked its gaze onto Kong Deming.
"BOOM!"
Zhongli Wu's figure exploded forward, shattering the air with a sonic boom.
He was not foolish. Soul Engineers specialized in long-range combat and kiting strategies. Close combat was their greatest weakness, so he would press the attack relentlessly.
"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!"
The silver moon behind Kong Deming flared with intense brilliance, enveloping him in a silver-white radiance. At the same time, a pristine white barrier appeared around him. Strangely, the barrier was connected to his silver moon martial soul, the two resonating together.
The space around Kong Deming rippled violently. In the next instant, his figure seemed to melt into the fabric of space itself, vanishing without a trace—his presence completely concealed.
"So this is the Silvermoon Divine Light Barrier—the future Rank 10 soul tool."
Jiang Jue, watching the battle from afar, narrowed his eyes slightly upon seeing the pristine white barrier around Kong Deming.
At present, the Silvermoon Divine Light Barrier had yet to reach Rank 10, but it was already at the pinnacle of Rank 9.
Later on, Kong Deming would successfully integrate this soul tool with his martial soul, pushing it to Rank 10. Using this breakthrough, he would ascend to Super Douluo status, breaking the Sun-Moon Empire's historical curse of never producing a Super Douluo.
"Hehehe… interesting, very interesting!"
"To think that Elder Kong has reached this level of soul tool mastery—to briefly wield space-manipulating abilities, something only Ultimate Douluo should be capable of."
With Zhongli Wu's keen eyes, he could clearly see that Kong Deming was gradually merging his soul tool with his martial soul.
"So what if I take it for myself?"
Zhongli Wu's first strike had failed, but he was not discouraged. Instead, his eyes gleamed with madness.
"Bone Dragon King, show Elder Kong your might."
Zhongli Wu's eighth soul ring glowed blood-red. Behind him, the enormous skeletal dragon head roared.
Countless wind blades, each several meters long and over a meter wide, shot out in all directions, slicing through the air with shrill howls.
As the deafening explosions rang out, the very air seemed to crack apart. For a moment, it looked as if space itself was shattering.
Since Kong Deming refused to emerge, Zhongli Wu would force him out!
(End of Chapter)