"Who… who are you?" Gui Mei stammered, trying to probe his opponent. "Why did you kill Sea Turtle Douluo? Are you trying to declare war on Spirit Hall? What's your agenda?"
The Eight Spider Wings snapped open, flaring wide as Tang Yin hovered effortlessly in midair. "Me? I'm Shura—they call me the Iron Fist!"
Swoosh—!
Without giving them a moment to react, he exploded forward—arms drawn back before crashing into Yue Guan with bone-crushing force, blasting him straight through a nearby burning building.
BOOM—!
Flames and debris erupted everywhere.
Chrysanthemum Douluo shot out the other side, blood spewing from his mouth as he continued tumbling across multiple buildings before finally coming to a stop, eyes staring blankly at the sky.
Who am I…? Where am I…?
Gui Mei's pupils shrank as his gaze locked onto the masked man. Disbelief flickered across his usually impassive face.
"Just how monstrous is his physique," he muttered hoarsely, "to make Yue Guan cough blood from a single strike?"
Before he even finished his sentence—
"Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!"
Tang Yin vanished.
In the very next instant, he appeared directly beside Gui Mei, fists clenched, poised to strike, prepared to unleash devastation.
Gui Mei's expression changed drastically. Instinct screamed danger. Without the slightest hesitation, his seventh soul ring erupted in blinding brilliance.
"Seventh Soul Skill—Ghost Demon Avatar!"
Ghost Douluo's body turned ghostly before dissolving into nothingness. His presence faded from the physical plane entirely—intangibility perfected. Physical attacks would pass through him as though striking smoke.
A ghost in the world of the living.
Yet Tang Yin merely tilted his head, his gaze fixed unerringly on Gui Mei's unseen form. He even applauded lightly, amusement flickering behind the mask—as if this outcome had been inevitable and had failed to surprise him.
"What a great party trick," Tang Yin drawled. "Mind teaching me? Name your price."
Gui Mei's heart skipped. Can he see me?
He didn't know—couldn't know—that Tang Yin's spiritual realm had already reached the Boundless—Ultimate Realm of the Purple Demon Eye. At that level, vision no longer relied on the physical eyes.
It became the Mind's Eye—perceiving intent, spiritual fluctuations, and existence itself across vast distances. Illusions, concealment, even intangibility were meaningless before it.
Tang Yin couldn't strike the Ghost Douluo with his fists alone, but his telepathy could reach him without issue. Still, he wasn't about to reveal his identity just yet.
For now… let me deal with you, Yue Guan, he thought darkly, surging toward the disoriented Chrysanthemum Douluo, who had only just begun to regain his senses.
Still shaken by the earlier attack, Yue Guan panicked, ignoring his soul power reserves, and activated his ninth soul ring.
"Ninth Soul Skill—Chrysanthemum Ruins!"
A whirlwind of spirit-charged petals erupted into a violent tornado, tearing straight toward the Evil Soul Master.
whiiirrr!
Tang Yin remained calm, stepping forward to punch through the swirling Chrysanthemum shards. While his clothes were shredded by the onslaught, his body remained unscathed, passively absorbing the kinetic energy and soul power.
Seeing this, Yue Guan sneered, his shrill laughter slicing through the chaos. "Foolish brute! You actually face my flowers head-on? Is your skull made of muscle too? Yahaha!"
Gui Mei, however, frowned.
He had a gut feeling there was more to this—an ulterior motive behind the enemy's display. His suspicion was confirmed when he saw the Evil Soul Master remain standing, unshaken.
After the storm, Tang Yin summoned a fresh pair of garments from his soul ring to replace his shredded ones, then lunged at the unsuspecting Chrysanthemum Douluo.
Ghost Douluo was just about to alert his dear friend—but he was a step too late, watching Yue Guan get flung like a kite into the sky.
Thwack!
Tang Yin didn't stop. He shot forward after the airborne Chrysanthemum Douluo, closing the distance in an instant before unleashing a brutal barrage of punches—most of them aimed squarely at Yue Guan's face.
Wham! Wham! Crack!
Even amid the beating, Tang Yin still found time to taunt.
"Hey—you!" he barked, eyes flicking toward the shadows. "Since you'd rather hide and tuck your tail like a coward, your partner here will bear your share as well."
Bam!
Another punch sent the Chrysanthemum spinning helplessly through the air. Flesh rippled, bones rattled, and his once-delicate features quickly swelled into something resembling a pig's head.
This was Tang Yin's revenge for Ah Yin.
He had originally intended for her to deliver the beating, but since the enemies had appeared so soon, he decided to personally send his greetings first.
Ghost Douluo lunged to protect Yue Guan, unleashing a barrage of soul rings:
"Fifth Soul Skill—Ghost Shadow Hand!"
Whoosh—
A massive shadow stretched across the ground, and countless shadowy hands shot out to restrain Tang Yin—but they were utterly ineffective.
"Sixth Soul Skill—Chimimoryo!"
Ghost Douluo summoned several ghostly copies of himself behind the Evil Soul Master before detonating a catastrophic explosion that shattered the earth for miles.
Boom! Crack!
Tang Yin burst out of the explosion and, in one fluid motion, grabbed another mask and set of garments, slipping them on before anyone could react. By the time the smoke cleared, Yue Guan was already wailing in agony.
"Gui Mei! Please—join me! I can't take more of his plowing alone anymore—wuuuu!"
The moment those words left Yue Guan's mouth, Tang Yin felt a chill run straight down his spine. He subconsciously clenched his ass cheeks, shot a look of pure disgust at the Chrysanthemum Douluo, and decisively switched to Energy Conversion.
Vmmmm...
"Disgusting bastard!" Tang Yin roared. "Do you really have to announce your preferences to the entire world—including your enemy?!"
He drew back his fist, soul power surging violently. "Taste grandpa's fistful of medicine! I'll straighten you out right now—HAAA!"
Whammm!
Yue Guan vanished in a streak of blood and petals. As consciousness slipped away mid-flight, even his convictions began to waver.
"Eighth Soul Skill—Demons And Spirits!"
Gui Mei conjured demonic lifeforms that attacked Tang Yin—but they couldn't touch his spirit, the difference in mental power between the two was too huge.
The main reason Tang Yin, despite being a Level 89 Soul Douluo, could crush a Level 95 Yue Guan was thanks to the energy absorbtion and powerful Spirit Body Martial Soul.
While Energy Absorption and Conversion allowed him to contend with opponents, they had their limits. If he were restrained, captured in shackles, or found himself in a situation where he couldn't absorb kinetic energy or soul power, he would be practically useless.
These mutant abilities could counter attacks, but they couldn't fundamentally enhance his offensive strength. True power, instead, came from the Spirit Body itself—specifically, the rank of its Awakening, which determined just how far a Soul Master could push their combat strength beyond its natural limits.
An Iron-ranked Awakening could increase a soul master's offensive strength by at least 30%. It was the most common type of body spirit Awakening that anyone could obtain.
Similarly, a Bronze-ranked Awakening could boost a martial soul's power by roughly 60%, making it noticeably stronger than Iron-level. This rank was considered rare.
Silver-ranked Awakenings typically doubled a martial soul's offensive strength. A Soul King with this Awakening could temporarily rival the offensive power of a Soul Emperor. This rank was extremely rare in the original story.
Finally, the rarest and most dangerous of all was the Gold-ranked Awakening. Marked by a golden light, it could increase a soul master's offensive strength up to three times their normal capacity, though the exact magnitude depended on the martial soul itself.
Tang Yin's Golden-ranked Awakening of the Spirit Body—even before he had acquired any soul rings—was already formidable.
Combined with his terrifying strength and his ability to absorb and convert energy, he could go head-to-head with Level 95 Hyper Douluo and even contain them easily.
Tang Yin's body itself was a supreme weapon—every strike carrying lethal force on par with a Divine Martial Soul.
Aside from being unrivaled in hand-to-hand combat, the Mysterious Heaven Technique's auxiliary arts—refining Tang Yin's perception, movement, and coordination—shaped him into a complete combatant, a true jack of all trades without any weakness.
After an hour of roughing up Yue Guan, Tang Yin finally grew bored and stopped. His gaze shifted to Gui Mei, who was panting heavily, drained from maintaining intangibility while constantly launching attacks.
"I'll let you live… for today," The masked man said, voice dripping with amusement. "Make the most of the time you have left. But mark my words—the Holy Spirit Cult will rule the Douluo Continent soon. Hahaha!"
Swoosh—!
With that, he took to the sky, returning to his rented place with Erlong safely in his arms.
Though the Wishful Hundred Treasure Purse was a secure refuge, could it really be safer than holding Erlong close? Besides, his hands wouldn't feel empty if they had something to play with in the meantime.
---
"Holy Spirit Cult?! What is this—some kind of group of powerful Evil Soul Masters conspiring against Spirit Hall?" Ghost Douluo was deep in thought when he heard a faint groan and finally remembered his good friend.
"Yue Guan… are you alright?" he asked, glancing at the swollen mess before him. He felt a twinge of shame—he had taken his share of the beating as well.
Such a good friend he was.
"Gui Mei, you're a traitor! Don't call me your friend anymore—uwuuu! My beautiful face is ruined…" Yue Guan wailed, hissing in pain.
---
Meanwhile, in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Sect, events were unfolding in stark contrast to the tragic fate that had befallen the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
The Spirit Hall's Soul Saints and Soul Douluo-ranked soldiers had been crushed under the overwhelming resistance of Rongrong and her formidable sisters.
At this moment, Zhuqing faced off against Spirit Kite Douluo, who was struggling to react to her blinding speed. She had been struck ten times in under two seconds—and hadn't even glimpsed her opponent's shadow.
The experience left her seriously consider her life choices. Where did this monstrous group even come from? she thought.
They haven't even broken through to Titled Douluo realm, yet they can take on an elder like me with ease. If they actually advance… would Spirit Hall even have enough priests left to stop them?
She lunged, trying to strike Zhuqing, only for Zhuqing to vanish and reappear beside Xiao Wu, who practically bounced with barely contained excitement.
"Alright, your turn next. Break a leg, Xiao Wu," Zhuqing encouraged before returning to fend off the Spirit Hall's scattered group.
"Hehe, Tang Yin told us to take on a Titled Douluo from Spirit Hall, but you're so weak, I don't think I'll improve at all," Xiao Wu teased, sticking her lips out.
Her words were playful, almost childish—but far from enough to rattle Spirit Kite Douluo's composure. "Stop your useless attempt to stir my emotions. I won't fall so easily."
Bang! Baam!
"There aren't many girls on the continent with strength like yours. So… why don't you tell me how you all became this strong?" Spirit Kite Douluo asked her with faint curiosity.
"Hmph… you're a bad person. Do you really think I'm stupid enough to give you anything just because you praised me? Stop talking—let's fight! Yaaa!" Xiao Wu pounced, launching a barrage of kicks.
"Huuuf…"
Rongrong and Lingling visibly sighed in relief at her answer, secretly grateful she hadn't blurted out anything. They had instructed her to focus solely on fighting, worried that she might let something slip if distracted.
As time passed, Gu Rong and Chen Xin finished off their opponents, but they didn't join the girls' duel against Spirit Kite Douluo.
Even they couldn't help but be in awe of the girls' combat power—strong enough to rival a Titled Douluo-level powerhouse, despite still being at Soul Douluo realm.
"Rongrong's already grown capable. It seems giving her to Tang Yin was the best decision," Gu Rong remarked. "In less than three years, they've become this strong… I wonder how much more they'll improve in another 2 years. Could they already be Titled Douluo by then?"
Chen Xin's eyes shone brightly, and a smile tugged at his lips as he gently shook his head. "Titled Douluo is only the beginning for them. With their potential, they'll reach realms that we can't even imagine."
Ning Fenzhi joined them, envisioning the girls' remarkable future. His thoughts broadened—if he formed an alliance with the Tang Sect, they would undoubtedly be capable of rivaling, and perhaps even surpassing, Spirit Hall in future.
In the end, Spirit Hall's hunt was thwarted by Tang Yin's lover, and the fate of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Sect was irrevocably changed.
She Long—Snake Lance Douluo; Spirit Kite Douluo; Ci Xue—Porcupinefish Douluo; and Devil Bear Douluo—all four elders of Spirit Hall—perished in the failed hunt. Huyan Zhen, the patriarch of the Elephant Armored Clan, also met his end.