Qi Lin's gaze lingered briefly on the black-robed Soul Saint before he smiled faintly and said, "I don't particularly like it when people look down on me."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the Soul Saint sneered internally.
Who do you think you are? You don't like being looked down on?
Well, I'll keep looking down on you. What can you do about it?
But the very moment that thought surfaced in his mind, a terrifying pressure abruptly slammed down on him like a divine judgment.
Boom!
A scream tore from his throat as his body crashed violently from mid-air without any resistance, his knees slamming into the ground before Qi Lin.
The sudden turn of events threw the Soul Saint into a panic.
"What… what's going on?"
He scanned the surroundings warily, his expression tight with tension.
They say this brat has a close relationship with the Poison Douluo. Could it be that the Poison Douluo is secretly protecting him?
That thought alone made sweat bead like rain on his forehead.
Qi Lin, on the other hand, revealed a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
A Soul Saint… this weak?
He couldn't even withstand my soul pressure?
Forget it. He's just here to help me warm up anyway—no need to set the bar too high.
Still, Qi Lin thought it best to confirm who had sent this "lucky volunteer." He wasn't one to let others put in work without at least acknowledging them. Maybe he and Na-jie could return the favor afterward.
The most likely suspect was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—but better to be sure.
His gaze sharpened as his spirit power surged. A simple mental suggestion was more than enough—Qi Lin's spiritual strength made such manipulation effortless.
"Who sent you?" he asked bluntly.
"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan," the Soul Saint replied in a daze.
"So it was them!"
Qi Lin's lips curled into a playful smirk. But the Soul Saint, now regaining his senses, stared at him in terror.
"What… what did you do to me?"
"Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan? I don't know what you're talking about! That wasn't me!"
Qi Lin laughed at his desperate attempt to deny it.
Stretching lazily, he chuckled and said, "Alright, lucky guy. Time to say goodbye."
He lifted his hand lightly, and the Soul Saint's body rose into the air, suspended before him.
Boom!
A golden shockwave erupted from Qi Lin's palm, engulfing the Soul Saint in an instant. The wave didn't stop there—it shot forward another ten-plus miles, piercing clean through a small distant mountain.
Qi Lin had unintentionally triggered the hundredfold power boost of the Qilin Wrath Technique.
Delightful.
This must be what it feels like to be blessed by luck itself.
At that same moment, far away in the Tiandou Empire's capital, inside the Crown Prince's manor—
Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo's expressions changed drastically.
Both had sensed an unprecedented surge of soul power—something beyond anything they had ever felt, not even beneath that of the Supreme Pontiff herself.
Only two beings in the world could generate such force: the Chief Worshipper of Spirit Hall—or the long-lost Tang Chen.
Could it be… him?
With no time to waste, the two immediately moved to inform Qian Renxue.
Meanwhile, Qi Lin, unconcerned about the shockwave he'd just unleashed, turned to Gu Yuena.
"Na-jie, let's head straight to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."
"Let's have some fun," he said with a grin. "I hear they're proud and temperamental. I'd like to experience that for myself."
Gu Yuena nodded slightly. She had studied the map of the Douluo Continent and knew the clan's location well.
"Hold on to my waist. I'll take you there," she said calmly.
Qi Lin obeyed without hesitation, wrapping his arms around her soft waist.
"Hold tight. We're going." Her voice remained cool and composed, but the moment she felt his warmth against her, a deep flush spread across her cheeks.
Then she leapt into the sky, and the two vanished into the clouds.
Moments later, Snake Lance Douluo appeared silently where they had departed. He gazed down at the kneeling indentations left in the ground, where cracks radiated like spiderwebs. In the distance, the small mountain was now bored through with a five- to six-meter-wide hole.
Snake Lance Douluo fell silent.
---
Meanwhile, in the southeastern reaches of the Heaven Dou Empire—at the majestic True Dragon Mountains—
Qi Lin and Gu Yuena landed atop the range's tallest peak. A grand palace, stately and commanding, stood on the mountaintop like a king's fortress.
"So this is the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?"
"Quite the sight," Qi Lin commented as he looked down, one hand still resting around Gu Yuena's waist.
After a brief moment of thought, he laughed and added, "With such a magnificent view, wouldn't it be more interesting if we cleaved it in two?"
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had stood for centuries, priding itself as the greatest beast martial soul lineage in the world. Arrogance was etched into their very bones.
They were domineering and saw everything beneath them.
But most importantly—they had provoked Qi Lin.
He figured it was time someone taught them a lesson in humility.
Of course, he hadn't come here to wipe them out. Otherwise, it wouldn't be him standing here—it'd be a meteor summoning spell.
Reluctantly releasing Gu Yuena, Qi Lin snapped his fingers.
In the next instant, radiant silver armor emerged from his feet and climbed up his body, encasing him fully. Even his face was concealed behind a gleaming frost-forged mask.
It was the Silverlight Dragon Scale Armor, reforged from Gu Yuena's dragon scales.
He had recently re-tempered the armor, to the point where even Gu Yuena herself would struggle to destroy it.
To match the armor, he had also crafted a 1.5-meter-long blade—his perfect companion in battle.
Gripping the long blade, Qi Lin stared down at the grand halls of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and slowly raised the weapon before him.
A brilliant golden blade light erupted skyward, tearing through the heavens.
In that moment, the skies trembled, the heavens and earth shifted.
Under the terrifying blade aura, golden light surged in every direction.
The overwhelming pressure blanketed the entire True Dragon Mountains. Every being within shuddered at the soul-deep fear it instilled.
Right now, Qi Lin had already activated all four of his first soul skills.
His soul rings had been raised to the 500,000-year level, granting him a staggering 500% boost to strength, speed, defense, and soul power.
On top of that—the Qilin Wrath Technique had once again triggered its hundredfold battle power.
This strike… even if a god descended from the heavens, Qi Lin was certain it would leave something behind before departing!
Within the vast palace below, Yu Yuanzhen—the clan's strongest—suddenly sensed the danger and soared into the air.
But the moment he saw the blinding blade of light in the sky, he froze.
Beneath that blade aura, he felt no larger than an ant.
"No—!" In his eyes, the figure in gleaming silver armor, radiant like a god, slowly raised his long blade.
The golden blade light descended—seeming as though it would split the world in two.