Yu Ming maintained his harmless smile until Chen Dao's silhouette disappeared around the corner.
Only then—
—the smile died.
His face sank into something deeper, darker, colder.
The veins on his hand twitched as a suppressed impulse tightened in his chest.
A soft, almost inaudible scoff escaped his throat.
"A sister…?"
His eyes narrowed, faint draconic aura rippling dangerously in his pupils.
A feral hunger flickered in his eyes.
'I've tasted countless normal girls already…'
His thoughts twisted with a warped sense of entitlement.
'At this point, only the named beauties from the book might be able to satisfy me.'
'Ning Rongrong., Zhu Zhuqing, Liu Erlong.....'
A crooked smile crept up his lips.
But the smile faltered.
His expression suddenly clouded.
'But why… why the hell did I contract syphilis again?'
His fist clenched reflexively.
'The girls I choose are virgins.''The ones I defile, I never let them leave.'
There should have been no chance of such a disease.
And yet—
His jaw tightened.
'Three times.'
This was already the third time he had been infected after getting healed.
'It's almost as if God himself is targeting me.'
The thought made his skin crawl—not out of fear, but out of indignation.
Deep within the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Yu Ming's authority had grown terrifying over the years.His god-level variant martial soul gave him a near-unshakable position.The clan elders turned a blind eye to his appetites.Some even provided girls themselves, justifying it as "necessary sacrifices for the rise of a future Titled Douluo."
He knew it, so he exploited it, and reveled in it.
But this one thing—
The disease which seemed to follow him—
It gnawed at his pride, like rust spreading across a flawless blade.
Yu Ming looked up at the brilliant sky.The moonlight shimmered against the scales on his cheeks.
His voice turned vicious.
"It doesn't matter."
"I'll conquer all the beauties on the Douluo Continent."
His voice echoed through the empty clearing.
His twisted eyes, his manic conviction, the unhinged obsession in his aura—
Yet he stood alone, believing himself invincible.
And he was wrong, Terribly wrong.
Because the one watching him from beyond was not a simple God.
The gaze was upon him the way a scientist observes a diseased insect.
----
After leaving Chen Dao and Yu Ming, Lu Ping wandered through Heaven Dou City, as the cool evening breeze brush against his face. The capital was as lively as ever—lanterns hanging from rooftops, vendors shouting over each other, and nobles strolling about in their gaudy attire.
But Lu Ping's expression remained unreadable. He had long learned to mask every trace of emotion.
He could feel the eyes, and footsteps behind himNaturally, as a soul master who before reaching twenty had reached Spirit Emperor level was shocking…Those with ambition and greed would never let such a person walk around uninvestigated.
Lu Ping sighed softly and entered a crowded street. By the time he emerged from the other side of the marketplace, half the people tailing him had vanished, lost in the maze-like alleys. A few minutes later, he slipped into a deserted lane and casually tapped his foot on the ground.
Sometime later, he stepped out of another alley—his clothes completely changed.
The luxurious attire he normally wore was replaced by a plain black robe, its hood casting a shadow over his face. His aura dimmed, his presence shrinking to the point where he seemed like a passing shadow among many.
Only then did he walk steadily toward the towering building at the end of the street—the Spirit Hall branch of Heaven Dou City.
----
Spirit Hall Branch, Heaven Dou City
Inside the office, Bishop Salas was busy with work. His wrinkled face looked even more strained than before— afterall Soul Douluo could not make their youthful as the Titled Douluo.
His secretary stood beside him, reading out the latest report.
"Bishop, regarding the southern barricade… Our final recommendation is to station eight Soul Kings, twenty Soul Ancestors, and—"
Salas waved his hand tiredly."Yes, yes. Humanity can't be careless. Not after… that incident."
The Soul Beast Tide—the catastrophe that erupted nine years ago, collapsing several forts and killing countless soul masters.
And then… it simply stopped as the soul beasts retreated back into the forests
No one actually understood why.
None of them knew the truth—
The Angel Goddess prayed by the Spirit Hall had been walked among mortals.And she had thoroughly beaten all the major soul beast kings and rulers into submission.
Ever since, the soul beasts never dared to gather in large numbers again.
Still, humanity remained cautious.Thus, Spirit Hall, the Empires, and the major clans collaborated to build a permanent soul master regiment around the Star Dou Forest.
And because of this shared threat, even Star Luo and Heaven Dou—normally at each other's throats—reduced their political aggressiveness. A fragile era of peace had emerged.
Salas sighed."Although the beast tide has been silent for years, we can't relax. If they break through the barricade again, the many towns could fall before reinforcements arrive."
As the secretary nodded and continued reporting troop numbers—
Bang!
The doors to the office were pushed open violently.
Salas' brows knitted."Who—"
A figure strode inside, boots tapping sharply on the stone floor.
Lu Ping's face emerged.
The secretary froze. Recognition dawned instantly.
"L-Lord Lu Ping! I did not expect—excuse me!"The secretary stammered, bowed hurriedly, and fled the room, closing the door behind him.
Salas stared at the young man before him.
He leaned back in his chair, watching Lu Ping with narrowed but amused eyes."So," he said with a smile, "how was it? The younger geniuses of the three great clans?"
Lu Ping didn't bother hiding anything."Chen Dao seemed fine," he replied calmly. "Stable, cautious, and carrying a certain sense of responsibility."
His tone changed slightly.
"But that Yu Ming… seemed hypocritical."
Salas raised an eyebrow."Oh? And why is that?"
Lu Ping shrugged lightly, as if the matter amused him more than annoyed him.
"After our spar, they acted friendly—said they wanted to become friends. They said many warm things."His smile sharpened into something colder."But the moment I left, several people started following me."