Indeed, the person appearing before Huo Yuhao at this moment was none other than the Holy Spirit Cult's Sixth Priest, the Scorpion Tiger Douluo, Zhang Peng.
Zhang Peng's uneven eyebrows twitched slightly. His muddy yet sharp eyes swept over Huo Yuhao twice, and although a look of surprise flashed deep within them, it quickly vanished.
He had not traveled the continent for too many years. Let alone this junior before him who was not even twenty years old, even those long-famous veteran powerhouses might not be able to recognize his identity at a glance.
Yet this young man had recognized him at a single glance. How could this not surprise him?
Zhang Peng's gaze fell upon Huo Yuhao's excessively calm face. After a brief silence, he slowly spoke.
"You have quite some nerve, kid, actually daring to come meet me alone."
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao's gaze shifted slightly, catching that well-hidden look of wariness deep in Zhang Peng's eyes.
He understood that the reason this Scorpion Tiger Douluo had not immediately attacked was because he had apprehensions in his heart.
He was worried that there were powerhouses from the Spirit Pagoda secretly accompanying Huo Yuhao. After all, the rumor that the Spirit Pagoda possessed two Limit Douluos had already spread across the continent.
The corner of Huo Yuhao's mouth curved slightly, and he actually took the initiative to say, "Senior, there is no need to worry. No Limit Douluo from our Spirit Pagoda is secretly protecting me on this trip."
The reason he proactively pointed this out was because he knew that even without a Limit Douluo backing him up, he had enough trump cards to deal with the Titled Douluo before him.
And on the other hand, he was also letting Zhang Peng lower his guard.
Only by making the other party feel "no threat" could he fish out the true purpose of his trip.
As expected, Zhang Peng was stunned for a moment. His muddy eyes narrowed as he re-examined Huo Yuhao, as if trying to dissect and study every inch of the young man's expression.
After several breaths, he spoke again, "Do you truly not know fear, or do you have some sort of trump card?"
He still did not make a direct move.
Huo Yuhao smiled. "Naturally, I have trump cards, but indeed, no Senior from the Spirit Pagoda is accompanying me."
He emphasized this once more, then paused before adding, "Senior, why have you come? You might as well speak plainly."
Zhang Peng did not know what Huo Yuhao's so-called "trump card" was, but since the other party had clearly stated that no Limit Douluo was accompanying him, and he indeed did not sense the presence of any other powerhouses, he no longer had too many apprehensions.
He quickly weighed things in his mind and immediately made a decision.
His uneven eyebrows relaxed slightly, and he said directly, "Then this old man won't waste words. I have come this time to ask you to make a trip with me."
He paused, his muddy gaze darkening as if to emphasize his next words.
"We are very interested in the Spirit Pagoda's Spirit Souls."
The sudden rise of the Spirit Pagoda and the unprecedented form of existence of Spirit Souls had indeed disrupted some long-brewing plans within the Holy Spirit Cult.
Others feared the Spirit Pagoda's two Limit Douluos, but the Holy Spirit Cult was not without existences of the same level.
The cultivation of the cult's two Grand Elders had likewise stepped into that level. If they were to act, they might not be unable to contend with the Spirit Pagoda head-on.
It was just that those two were currently in closed-door cultivation and could not directly intervene, so the cult's routine affairs fell onto the shoulders of several Priests and Elders.
As for why Zhang Peng was sent this time, it could only be said to be his bad luck.
These Evil Soul Masters of the Holy Spirit Cult each had their own methods of cultivation, but Zhang Peng just happened to be the "cleanest" among them.
He did not rely on blood sacrifices of the living, nor did he rely on resentful souls to nourish his own soul. All his cultivation required was the blood of Spirit Beasts. Compared to his other colleagues in the cult who would slaughter cities and towns at the drop of a hat, he could almost be considered an anomaly.
But precisely because of this, he was marginalized by many in the Holy Spirit Cult, and "dangerous" tasks like this were always pushed onto him.
He originally did not want to take on this interception job.
But he could not refuse, so he could only brace himself and come.
Thus, he was exceptionally cautious. If he were to confirm that a Limit Douluo was accompanying Huo Yuhao, he would absolutely retreat at the first opportunity.
Hearing Zhang Peng's words, Huo Yuhao inwardly muttered, "As expected."
Just as he had guessed, the Holy Spirit Cult had set its sights on Spirit Souls.
The smile on his face slowly receded, and a serenity unbefitting of his age emerged on that young face.
He looked at Zhang Peng, his gaze calm and his tone unhurried. "What if I don't want to go?"
Zhang Peng did not answer immediately. One by one, spirit rings lit up beneath his feet.
Two yellow, two purple, and five black—a total of nine spirit rings were neatly arranged around his ankles.
With the emergence of the spirit rings, his aura surged violently once more. A dense pressure belonging to a Super Douluo poured out without reservation, causing the surrounding dark clouds to churn endlessly.
"Then..."
At this moment, Zhang Peng's voice became cold and harsh, carrying an unnegotiable certainty.
"...it won't be up to you!"
As the saying goes, once one enters the Holy Spirit Cult, it is as deep as the sea; from then on, conscience is but a stranger.
The Cult Leader had already issued an absolute order. Even if Zhang Peng was unwilling in his heart, he had no choice but to act at this moment.
It was not that he did not harbor resentment toward the Holy Spirit Cult. He had never looked highly upon his colleagues in the cult who sacrificed the living at every turn, nor those madmen who acted without any bottom line.
But he also knew that he had long since passed the point of no return.
He was an Evil Soul Master. This was destined from the very moment of his Spirit Awakening.
Yet he was one of the very few anomalies among Evil Soul Masters. Throughout his cultivation up to this day, he had always restrained the bloodthirsty nature that came with his Spirit, never using human blood as nourishment.
He cultivated by using the blood of Spirit Beasts. He had thought he was "clean" enough, believing that with this restraint, he could find a place for himself in this world.
But he was wrong!
The Shrek Academy's Inspectorate had targeted him. No matter if he had harmed anyone, no matter if he had restrained his nature, an Evil Spirit was still an Evil Spirit. Shrek had its own standards of judgment!
All his explanations and justifications appeared pale and powerless before the words "Evil Soul Master".
As vast as the original Douluo Three Kingdoms were, there was not a single inch of land that could accommodate a "clean Evil Soul Master" like him.
So, he had no choice but to join the Holy Spirit Cult.
This was an irony, and also destiny.
"Since you all say I am an Evil Soul Master, then I might as well do what an Evil Soul Master should do."
This was also what was currently in Zhang Peng's heart!
At this moment, he compressed all the resentment and anger he had accumulated over the years into this single tiger roar.
"Roar!!!"
That tiger roar was even more ferocious than before. Immediately after, Zhang Peng's thin and small figure suddenly expanded and transformed within the clouds.
Black light flowed rapidly across his body, his bones crackled, his muscles swelled and bulged, and fur pierced through his skin. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a giant black tiger over fifteen meters long.
Its body was massive and agile, covered entirely in dark black fur. Every single hair stood erect like steel needles, radiating a chilling, fierce light.
And most eye-catching was its high-arched tail, with a hook flashing with dark light hanging at the tip, gleaming with a cold and dangerous metallic luster.
Huo Yuhao's pupils contracted slightly. He had not expected Zhang Peng to directly unleash his Martial Soul True Body right from the start.
This Scorpion Tiger Spirit, a subspecies of the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger, was not to be underestimated.
The giant black tiger opened its bloody maw, and a hoarsely echoing voice came from its mouth: "Kid, if you obediently don't resist, you can suffer a bit less."
-------------------------------------------------
A/N:
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.