"Old man, are you from the Spirit Hall too? Sent here to catch me?"
Shi Hao's voice dripped with disdain.
Elder Bai's face darkened as he coldly replied, "So you're the brat who caused a scene in our Spirit Hall?"
He was shocked by the boy's audacity, but also intrigued—very few people dared to stand so openly against Spirit Hall.
Shi Hao burst into laughter. "Hah! You dogs of Spirit Hall are a joke. You think you can bully others and no one's allowed to hit back?"
"Give me back my mother!"
His tone turned sharp, and he completely abandoned any form of respect. This old man clearly didn't deserve it.
Father always said to respect elders and care for the young, but this kind of elder wasn't worth respecting.
"Insolent!"
Elder Bai roared, his eyes flashing with anger.
As a long-time elder of the Spirit Hall, he was used to admiration and deference—no one had ever dared to speak to him like this. To be mocked by a child made his blood boil.
"Get out of my way… Don't force me to act. If not for the people around us, I would've already lost control!"
His voice was low and icy, laced with invisible pressure that made the air grow heavier.
But Shi Hao didn't flinch. Instead, he straightened his back and looked Elder Bai square in the eyes.
The tension thickened. The air crackled, and it felt like a battle could erupt at any second.
"You'd best not stand in my way. My father told me to respect elders… but if you try to stop me, I'll beat you down all the same."
Shi Hao's voice turned frosty, his youthful face carrying a spark of anger.
"Hah, what a cocky little brat. I'm telling you—kneel down now and beg for mercy, or I'll beat you so hard even your mother won't recognize you!"
"My mother?" Shi Hao's eyes lit up suddenly. "So you do know her. You know where she is."
"Oh, so that's what you're here for?" Elder Bai chuckled coldly. "Yeah, we took your mother. So what? What can a little brat like you do about it?"
"Spirit Hall is the most powerful force on the continent! Even if we did make a few 'mistakes,' not even the two empires and the three upper sects together would dare provoke us!"
"You old dog… now I'm really pissed off."
Shi Hao's face turned grim. His fists clenched tightly.
"Hah! So what if you're mad? Answer me this—are you stepping down or not?!"
Shi Hao didn't reply. He only stared at the elder, his gaze so cold it made others shiver.
Trying to suppress him, Elder Bai unleashed his soul power. A crushing pressure spread through the air—enough to immobilize even a Soul Sage.
But Shi Hao didn't even blink.
"You… you feel nothing at all?" the elder asked, stunned. "Even Soul Sages struggle under my pressure. You… you're not affected?"
Shi Hao casually spread his hands. "Nah. Feels like someone's scratching my back."
"Scratching your—?!" Elder Bai's face contorted in fury. His eyes blazed like fire.
With a roar, he raised both hands and summoned his martial soul—a gleaming Silver Lance.
Rings of spirit light lit up beneath him—eight of them. The crowd gasped.
"My god… He's an eight-ring Soul Douluo!"
Two yellow, two purple, and four black spirit rings hovered beneath his feet.
"Spirit Hall actually sent a Soul Douluo to deal with a kid? That's beyond overkill!"
"Tch… brat, this is your last chance. Beg for mercy, and I might spare you!"
Elder Bai was seething with rage. He couldn't take being humiliated in front of so many people.
"Enough talk, old man. If you want to fight, let's fight!"
With a thunderous stomp, Elder Bai shattered the ground like a spiderweb. His figure shot forward like lightning, spear blazing with chilling light.
Shi Hao's expression grew serious. He clenched his fist and punched forward. A surge of terrifying soul power gathered in his arm, ready to meet the strike head-on.
Then, something changed.
Bones on his back began to glow brilliantly, like stars being born. Runes emerged one by one, swirling across his spine and radiating ancient energy.
Four black, four red spirit rings burst into light!
The nearest spectators were completely stunned. Their eyes burned from the intensity of the glow, but they could feel the sheer might rolling off Shi Hao in waves.
"Red rings?! Hundred-thousand-year red soul rings?! Four of them?! What the hell?!"
"Even Title Douluos rarely have one hundred-thousand-year soul ring! What monster is this kid?"
"That can't be real… the body would explode under the pressure!"
"And that martial soul… it's not a beast soul, not a weapon soul… it's part of his body?! That's not normal!"
The crowd realized the danger and quickly retreated, clearing out a massive space between the two combatants.
In the distance, Bibi Dong's face went pale. Her eyes widened in disbelief, her voice trembling.
"Four hundred-thousand-year soul rings?! That's… is that even humanly possible?"
As an Titled Douluo herself, she had one red ring. She knew better than anyone how impossible they were to obtain.
_
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