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"As expected of a star Spirit Master from the Great Spirit Arena, you truly exceeded my expectations."
The chilling voice echoed from the darkness, elusive, making it impossible for Xuan Ming to pinpoint its source.
"This is my first failure, and it will be my last."
"I hope you'll have such luck next time as well."
As the voice faded, the flickering dark aura completely dissipated, leaving no trace.
However, Xuan Ming dared not relax in the slightest, his Domain still fully deployed.
That guy was completely unaffected? Was it a Spirit Bone ability that granted immunity to control, or… At this moment, Gui Mei, who was guarding nearby and had noticed the commotion, also rushed into the forest. His figure flickered in the night, and within a few breaths, he arrived beside Xuan Ming.
Gui Mei's eyes, hidden beneath his black robe, gleamed with a cold light as he vigilantly scanned his surroundings, asking in a low, hoarse voice, "What happened?"
Xuan Ming retracted his Domain, still gripping the Blood Spear, "I almost got ambushed by a scoundrel."
"Where is he?" Gui Mei asked.
"You couldn't keep him?"
"That guy was like a ghost, even more insidious than you," Xuan Ming said, still feeling a lingering fear. It was his first time encountering such a cunning individual.
"Like a ghost? Describe him," Gui Mei said.
"He moved through shadows, rushing right in front of me in an instant. If I didn't have a dark attribute, I wouldn't have sensed him at all," Xuan Ming said.
"He also said he hadn't failed in eighty years."
"Eighty years?" Gui Mei's tone shifted slightly.
"You know him?" Xuan Ming asked.
"If I'm not mistaken, you encountered Shadow, the Douluo Continent's number one assassin, and also the executioner of the Seven Great Families," Gui Mei said in a deep voice.
"The Douluo Continent's number one assassin?" Xuan Ming raised an eyebrow.
"That powerful?"
"Thirty years ago, that guy once assassinated a Titled Douluo," Gui Mei said faintly.
"A Titled Douluo?!" Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er couldn't help but exclaim.
"Did he succeed?" Xuan Ming asked.
"Of course. If he had failed, he would have died long ago," Gui Mei said calmly.
"The deterrent power of the Seven Great Families is inextricably linked to this guy's existence."
Currently, more than seventy percent of the Spirit Master forces on the Douluo Continent, apart from the Upper Three Sects and the Seven Great Families, have already fallen under the banner of Spirit Hall.
The Upper Three Sects are due to their long-standing heritage and powerful strength, while the Seven Great Families, on the surface, do not have Titled Douluo. However, the Great Spirit Arena they established is spread across the continent, and no Spirit Master dares to cause trouble within it. A large part of this is due to the special assassin organizations controlled by the Seven Great Families.
These assassins are either strong individuals who survived the life-and-death gladiatorial arena of the Great Spirit Arena or assassins specifically trained by the Seven Great Families.
The power of Spirit Hall and the Seven Great Sects is overt, while the deterrent power of the Seven Great Families lies in the shadows.
They do not have the ability to directly confront the Seven Great Sects and Spirit Hall, but the assassination organizations they control possess a deterrent power no less than that of a Titled Douluo!
And that Shadow is the trump card of the Seven Great Families, an assassin who once successfully assassinated a Titled Douluo. Even the Elder Palace is unwilling to provoke him.
"No news for decades, we thought that guy had died long ago," Gui Mei's tone was somewhat heavy.
"Can you sense his cultivation?"
"I can't. His aura is very strange, even stranger than yours," Xuan Ming said.
"His frontal attack power isn't strong. Do you know what his Spirit is?"
"I don't know, but based on the information we've investigated, we speculate that his Spirit might be a special Spirit like Shadow," Gui Mei said.
"Shadow?" Xuan Ming subconsciously looked at Huo Wu.
Huo Wu's Spirit is also Shadow, but it's fire-attributed. Was that guy's a dark-attributed Shadow Spirit?
"No one has ever seen Shadow's true face, and these assassins have no identity. Even Spirit Hall's investigations into the Seven Great Families couldn't find any information about that guy," Gui Mei said.
"Even this guy has been mobilized. It seems the Seven Great Families are determined to kill you."
To elevate Xuan Ming to such a height, the Seven Great Families invested too much, not just for profit, but also because they wanted Xuan Ming to grow up in the Tiandou Empire's faction to counter Spirit Hall.
After all, a special existence like Xuan Ming, who stands between the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, the Tiandou Imperial Family, and the Great Spirit Arena, cannot be found a second time.
But now, Xuan Ming is fighting them instead. This is not only a huge loss of profit for the Seven Great Families but also a matter of face.
Having their face trampled on by a kid under twenty is even more humiliating than when the Supreme Pontiff of Spirit Hall was killed by Tang Hao back then. Even so, Spirit Hall forced the Clear Sky Sect to seal itself off from the world before finally relenting. If the Seven Great Families allow Xuan Ming to continue living, they will become a laughingstock on the continent in the future.
"Xuan Ming!"
After seeing the white light illuminate from the forest, Xue Qinghe and his group quickly rushed in. Noticing the restless Blood Spear in Xuan Ming's hand, everyone showed worried expressions.
"What happened?" Xue Qinghe asked.
Xuan Ming put away the Blood Spear, "Nothing, a Spirit Beast just passed by and has already run off."
Xue Qinghe frowned slightly, clearly not believing Xuan Ming's perfunctory explanation. Gui Mei had appeared, so it was probably an attack!
But there were no signs of a fight here. Did the attacker escape?
Could they not even be stopped by Xuan Ming and Gui Mei's abilities?
"It's getting late, everyone should rest early." Saying this, Xuan Ming looked at Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er, "You two should go back too."
Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er exchanged glances, their faces still a little pale, "We'll take our leave first."
… "What exactly happened?"
Back at the camp, Xue Qinghe once again rushed into Xuan Ming's tent.
Xuan Ming sighed and briefly explained what had just happened.
"Shadow?" Xue Qinghe frowned tightly.
"Even your Domain couldn't control him?"
"That guy probably has a Spirit Bone that grants immunity to control, or a special Spirit Ability," Xuan Ming said.
"I'm more inclined to believe that what attacked me was his special Spirit Ability, something similar to Zhuqing's Nether Shadow Clone."
His current Domain, even a Titled Douluo, couldn't be completely unaffected!
But that guy showed no reaction at all at the time, and his aura was extremely strange.
Xue Qinghe's expression was somewhat solemn, "You'll stay with me from now on. No running off."
Xuan Ming's eye twitched slightly, "Why?"
"Even their strongest assassin has been deployed, so the other side clearly won't give up easily," Xue Qinghe said.
"My sacred attribute is extremely sensitive to these dark attributes. If that guy comes again, I can sense him."
The strongest assassin of the Seven Great Families, Shadow, she had heard some legends about him before. However, such a person, who can only play dirty tricks in the shadows, cannot directly face the radiance of the Seraphim.
"Forget it. If you're with me, I'll have to be distracted protecting you," Xuan Ming said.
"I'm already prepared. If he comes again next time, I'll keep him."
Xue Qinghe took a step forward, leaning close to Xuan Ming's eyes, staring intently at him, "Xue Qinghe is the Crown Prince of the Tiandou Empire. The Seven Great Families wouldn't dare lay a hand on him. And, I'm not discussing this with you!"
"…"
… The assassination under the dark night did not spread, and this royal hunting ground, touted as an impenetrable fortress, did not know that a top assassin had infiltrated it. Of course, even if they knew, it would be useless.
The grand training ground, it had been specially renovated to serve as the venue for the promotion rounds. Unlike the preliminaries, the promotion rounds did not have as many spectators. A total of fifteen teams participated in the promotion rounds, with one team receiving a bye each day, and seven matches taking place daily.
The rules of the competition were also very simple: both sides sent seven team members onto the stage for one-on-one duels until all seven members of one side were defeated.
In the VIP section, just like during the preliminaries, the Supreme Pontiff had specially arranged a seat for Xuan Ming right next to her. If he came, he would sit there; if he didn't, it would remain empty.
"Aren't you planning to participate?"
Seeing Xuan Ming appear in the seat beside her, watching the match, Bibi Dong couldn't help but ask.
The first round of the promotion matches was the Royal Fighting Team against the Barak Academy team.
This was actually a bit of a backroom deal. After all, the Balak Royal Family had been very close to Spirit Hall these years, and now that there was finally such an opportunity to strike, the Tiandou Imperial Family naturally wouldn't miss it.
"Team battles require cooperation, but individual battles don't," Xuan Ming said.
"They're just not good at cooperating; they won't be so bad that they can't even win this promotion round."
Gu Yuena and Dugu Yan, both of them possessed the strength to take on seven opponents. In fact, if there were no restrictions, taking on seven wouldn't be difficult.
Soon, the first match began, with Dugu Yan making the first appearance.
During the preliminaries, due to it being a team battle, she easily struggled to control her strength and could easily poison people to death. But now it was a one-on-one, and she could control her strength better.
She had been holding in a lot of anger during the preliminaries, but now she wasn't holding back anymore.
Without any suspense, it was almost a crushing victory. Dugu Yan used less than half of her spirit power to poison everyone from Barak Academy, taking on seven opponents and getting the promotion rounds off to a good start.
The second match was the Exotic Beast Academy team against a team Xuan Ming had never heard of.
In this match, Meng Yi Ran, the captain of the Exotic Beast team, although not as relaxed as Dugu Yan, also completed a one-on-seven. At the end, her gaze specifically fell on Xuan Ming in the VIP section, carrying a hint of complexity.
Almost instantly, the atmosphere in the VIP section changed.
Bibi Dong, Ning Fengzhi, Xue Qinghe, Hu Liena, Yue Guan, several gazes all turned towards Xuan Ming. Even Emperor Xue Ye's eyes were a little unnatural, clearly he was somewhat shocked by Xuan Ming's popularity with women.
"Xuan Ming, this young lady, why haven't I heard of her?" Xue Qinghe asked.
Xuan Ming sighed, "I met her by chance while hunting for spirit rings in the Star Dou Great Forest."
"Such a young age, and you have so many 'accidents'," Yue Guan teased.
Xuan Ming gave Yue Guan a speechless look.
You're fanning the flames, aren't you?