Chapter 403: Slaying the Rank Nine Soul Engineer, Exposing Tang San as a Thief (Double Chapter)
In the next moment, Tang Yun's triggered mental defense soul tool activated, forming a golden barrier. However, Huo Yuhao's Soul Shock, despite having lost some of its power from shattering the previous mental defense tool, continued its assault. The attack struck the golden barrier directly, causing spiderweb like cracks to form.
Seeing this, Tang Yun quickly pulled out a new Invincible Barrier, holding it in his hand and preparing to activate it at any moment. He knew that once his mental defense tool was completely destroyed, he needed to react swiftly to fend off further attacks.
However, at this moment, he was genuinely shocked.
"How can this guy's spiritual power be so strong? He's just a Soul Emperor! How could he possibly have spiritual power that rivals that of a Super Douluo specializing in mental abilities? Is there a hidden Super Douluo nearby waiting for an opportunity to strike? This is getting troublesome."
Tang Yun began to feel uneasy.
His mental defense soul tool was a top tier Rank Eight artifact. Even a Titled Douluo specialized in spiritual power would struggle to break through it instantly only a Super Douluo could do so in a single strike.
In general, defensive soul tools were much harder to craft than offensive ones.
Because of this, Rank Nine Soul Engineers who specialized in defensive soul tools were highly valued in the Sun Moon Empire.
For example, Jing Hongchen was not the strongest Soul Engineer in the empire, but because of his Reddust Guardian, a Rank Nine defensive soul tool that could be used by anyone, his status among Rank Nine Soul Engineers was relatively high.
Combined with his close ties to Kong Deming, this allowed him to secure the position of Hall Master of Mingde Hall.
Compared to being an Imperial Worshipper, being the Hall Master of Mingde Hall was a far better position.
Even many of the Empire's Worshippers coveted that seat.
At this moment, Huo Yuhao's Soul Shock had completely shattered Tang Yun's triggered mental defense tool.
However, Tang Yun was prepared.
He immediately activated his Invincible Barrier.
A golden barrier emerged, blocking Huo Yuhao's attack.
For three seconds, he was completely invincible, and during that time, Huo Yuhao's attack was completely neutralized.
As the barrier faded, a shadow of the Evil Eye Tyrant King flickered behind Tang Yun.
His entire body shimmered with a faint silver light, and a terrifying aura erupted from him.
Tang Yun was not just a Rank Nine Soul Engineer.
He was also a Titled Douluo with the Evil Eye Tyrant King as his martial soul.
His title: Evil Eye Douluo.
His spiritual power was exceptionally strong even among mental type Titled Douluo, he was considered one of the strongest.
However, if there was truly a Super Douluo hiding nearby, he couldn't afford to be careless.
After all, the gap between a Titled Douluo and a Super Douluo was massive.
He was only at Rank 92, and against a true Super Douluo, he knew he would be completely outmatched.
That being said, he wasn't without confidence.
He was still a Rank Nine Soul Engineer, after all.
His pride and confidence stemmed from a Rank Nine Soul Tool he had crafted himself: Evil Eye's Blessing.
This silver white necklace enhanced his spiritual abilities, allowing his mental attacks to rival those of a Rank 95 Super Douluo.
The only downside was that it drained an immense amount of soul power and even consumed his own life force.
"Spiritual Storm!"
He immediately activated his ninth soul skill.
An invisible storm exploded outward, sweeping toward Huo Yuhao.
By now, Tang Yun had already realized that Huo Yuhao possessed Ultimate Ice.
And if there truly was a Super Douluo hiding nearby, that person must have come to protect him.
After all, no Super Douluo would randomly appear in the Extreme North for no reason.
With this in mind, Tang Yun decided to force them out.
Huo Yuhao's golden eyes flashed.
"Spiritual Replication."
His fourth soul skill activated.
Instantly, he copied Tang Yun's Spiritual Storm.
His gaze flickered, and an identical Spiritual Storm erupted from him, surging toward Tang Yun.
The two invisible storms collided mid air.
Unlike most attacks, mental abilities didn't cause physical destruction.
There was no ice shattering, no explosions, only distorted light as the two storms clashed.
However, the effects of their battle soon became evident.
The surrounding plants and soul beasts withered and died, their life force rapidly drained by the residual energy.
"What the hell? Did that hidden Super Douluo just copy my soul skill? Or… does he naturally have the same ability as me?!"
Tang Yun's face paled in shock.
He never expected this.
After a brief struggle, Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Storm overwhelmed Tang Yun's.
His attack tore through Tang Yun's technique and rushed toward him at full force.
Tang Yun made a split second decision.
Instead of trying to escape, he charged directly at Huo Yuhao.
"That hidden Super Douluo isn't just Rank 95… He's even stronger!"
"If I try to run, I'll die for sure!"
The only way to survive was to capture Huo Yuhao and use him as a hostage.
In his mind, Huo Yuhao's aura was fake merely a feature of his Humanoid Soul Tool.
Tang Yun activated his precious Rank Seven Invincible Barrier.
This was a soul tool inspired by the Invincible Golden Body, capable of blocking spiritual attacks.
Even the strongest Super Douluo's attack would be nullified for three seconds.
Since this tool was incredibly rare, even he only had two left.
BOOM!
Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Storm crashed into him
but was completely blocked by the Invincible Barrier.
Tang Yun emerged unscathed and instantly closed the distance to Huo Yuhao.
As the three seconds of invincibility expired, a grin spread across Tang Yun's face.
"I can't take on that Super Douluo, but I can definitely handle you, you fake Titled Douluo!"
Just as he reached out to seize Huo Yuhao
A brilliant blue white sword light flashed toward him.
Huo Yuhao followed close behind.
Sovereign's Sword: Absolute Ice Dominance!
Tang Yun sensed the overwhelming power of the icy blue sword light, and his expression changed slightly. The sword light slashed directly toward him, triggering his Rank Eight automatic defensive soul tool. However, under the terrifying assault, cracks rapidly spread across the protective barrier before it completely shattered in an instant.
The next moment, the icy blue sword light landed on his body. In the blink of an eye, his entire figure was enveloped in ice, freezing him completely. As the snowflakes swirled in the sky, they drifted down and covered his body.
Tang Yun immediately realized that the situation was dire. He attempted to activate his Invincible Barrier, but the overwhelming ice energy filling his body significantly slowed down his soul power circulation and made his movements sluggish.
Seizing the opportunity, Huo Yuhao raised his hand and activated Ice Explosion Technique.
"Explode!"
Thanks to the enhanced freezing effect of the Ice God Battle Armor, he was able to condense even more ice elements onto Tang Yun's body and freeze him at an accelerated rate. This, in turn, greatly amplified the power of Ice Explosion Technique.
In the next instant, Tang Yun's body shattered into countless fragments, scattering across the ground in varying sizes. The air should have been filled with the pungent scent of blood, but the fierce howling blizzard completely swept it away.
"Huo Yuhao, you already killed him? That quickly?" Titan Snow Devil King was somewhat in disbelief. "Ever since you put on that humanoid soul tool, your strength has truly increased tremendously. Have external soul tools already advanced to such a level?"
On one hand, he was pleased that Huo Yuhao had eliminated this threat.
On the other hand, he was concerned about the development of soul tool technology. If soul tools had truly reached this stage, then every soul beast habitat on the Douluo Continent was in imminent danger.
He never expected that after equipping a humanoid soul tool, Huo Yuhao could become strong enough to slay a Rank Nine Soul Engineer. This completely shattered his previous understanding of Soul Emperors.
"Killing him wasn't particularly difficult," Huo Yuhao patiently explained. "As for humanoid soul tools in the outside world, none are as powerful as mine. Strictly speaking, this armor represents the peak of current humanoid soul tool technology."
Hearing this, Titan Snow Devil King finally felt at ease. He wasn't particularly wary of Huo Yuhao, primarily because the latter possessed Snow Empress as a soul spirit. Even if he couldn't fully trust Huo Yuhao, he at least had faith in Snow Empress.
Huo Yuhao shifted his gaze forward, and his immense spiritual power spread outward. In no time, he located Tang Yun's fragmented soul and dragged it to his side.
Even Saint Spirit Church disciples could use special methods to search for souls and refine them into vengeful spirits. Huo Yuhao's mastery over spiritual power far surpassed those disciples, so finding Tang Yun's shattered soul was naturally a simple task.
Tang Yun's fragmented soul, possessing intelligence from his lifetime as a spiritual type Titled Douluo, looked at Huo Yuhao with shock.
Based on Huo Yuhao's previous techniques, Tang Yun realized he had made a grave miscalculation this person was the true spiritual type Super Douluo!
The so called Soul Emperor cultivation was merely a disguise, and even the humanoid soul tool was likely just a ruse.
But wait hadn't Titan Snow Devil King just called him Huo Yuhao?
Could this be the same Huo Yuhao from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy?
Impossible!
It must be someone with the same name!
The Huo Yuhao from Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy was still far too young. There was no way he could possess such extraordinary strength!
Especially that absurdly powerful spiritual force it was completely unreasonable for a mere student to possess such capabilities.
Even Sea God Tang San had never reached such a level of spiritual power at Huo Yuhao's current age!
Huo Yuhao transmitted his thoughts into the Spiritual Sea, speaking to Electrolux:
"Teacher, please take action. Copy and scan this person's memories I want to see his connection with Sea God Tang San."
Electrolux's response was simple: "Alright."
Since he was far more proficient in soul related matters than Huo Yuhao, it was much more efficient for him to extract and examine memories.
Soon, Huo Yuhao's eyes turned gray, and a divine yet deathly aura radiated from his body.
At the same time, Tang Yun's fragmented soul became blank and unresponsive.
Moments later, to ensure absolute safety, Huo Yuhao instructed Electrolux to completely destroy Tang Yun's soul, erasing it from existence.
As the gray faded from his eyes, Huo Yuhao silently processed the memories Electrolux had shared with him.
To put it bluntly, Tang Yun was just another soul master brainwashed by Tang San.
His dual cultivation as a Titled Douluo and Rank Nine Soul Engineer was all due to Tang San's direct support.
Tang Yun had accomplished two major tasks for Tang San:
He assisted in orchestrating the Snow Empress incident.
He gathered a massive collection of soul tool blueprints and presented them to Tang San.
The first was self explanatory stirring up conflict and accelerating war.
From Huo Yuhao's perspective, Tang San was likely trying to bring about an age of chaos to more effectively harvest faith energy.
After all, Tang San never did anything without personal gain.
As for the second task, Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment.
"So Tang San is still indulging his kleptomaniac tendencies?"
"Even as a high and mighty God King, he still can't suppress his thieving nature."
Whatever Tang San stole, no matter what it was, eventually became 'his own invention.'
Take Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, for example originally created by the founders of the Tang Sect.
But when Tang San arrived in Douluo Continent, he magically became its sole creator and was worshiped as the legendary founder of Tang Sect's arts.
And then there was his reincarnation in Soul Land V.
Tang San, reborn on Faerie Continent, once again "independently developed" a new version of hidden weapons integrating them with formation arrays.
At that point, wasn't it basically just a type of soul tool?
But as soon as he changed worlds, suddenly he became the "creator" again.
Tang San even had the audacity to justify it, claiming that even though formations and hidden weapons had already been combined to create soul tools, as a God King, he had merely known the concept but didn't know how to manufacture them.
Thus, his "independent derivation" of the concept was valid.
From a logical standpoint, this explanation made no sense at all.
Yes, the Faerie Continent did introduce a new system of bloodline energy, requiring additional integration with formations and hidden weapons.
However, that didn't change the fact that Tang San was still a thief.
As for why Tang San didn't give those stolen soul tool blueprints to Shrek Academy, it was probably because he wanted to hoard them for himself.
After all, Tang San even left the Tang Sect with a watered down version of Mysterious Heaven Skill so withholding information was nothing new for him.
Huo Yuhao continued scanning Tang Yun's memories and soon discovered the blueprint for Evil Eye's Blessing.
He found the soul tool fascinating definitely worth modifying and improving.
Titan Snow Devil King leaned in curiously.
"By the way, Huo Yuhao, why did you suddenly come to the Extreme North?"
"You live in the Sun Moon Empire, and the distance must be enormous, right?"
Huo Yuhao answered straightforwardly:
"Titan Snow Devil King, I came to the Extreme North for one reason I want to persuade you to become my soul spirit."
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Albino1