"I will never join Spirit Hall!"
Lin Mu said resolutely.
Hearing this, Qian Daoliu frowned slightly, his voice gentle yet carrying a hint of threat: "You not only destroyed the Supreme Pontiff's Palace but also severely injured the Pope and several Elders. Do you think I'll just let you leave?"
These words seemed to block Lin Mu's escape route, but in reality, they left room for maneuver.
Lin Mu's eyes flashed. Judging from Qian Daoliu's reaction, he most likely already knew about his relationship with Qian Renxue.
As long as this relationship existed, Qian Daoliu naturally wouldn't truly try to kill him.
But this matter required a reasonable explanation. If Qian Daoliu easily let him leave after such a rampage, it would inevitably affect the prestige of Spirit Hall.
"Senior, you and Tang Chen are known as the Two Peaks of the Soul Master World, hailed as the strongest in the sky. Your speed must be unparalleled."
Lin Mu's lips curled slightly as he proposed, "How about this: if you can catch me, Senior, I'll be at your mercy. Otherwise, this matter will be over. What do you say?"
Hearing this suggestion, Qian Daoliu's eyes lit up instantly.
As a Limit Douluo and the master of the sky, he was confident in his speed; there was no reason he couldn't outrun a Soul Douluo. If he could recruit Lin Mu to Spirit Hall through this bet, perhaps two Gods could emerge from their ranks simultaneously.
Even if he ultimately failed to catch him, he could use the excuse of the bet to let Lin Mu go without losing too much face.
After a moment, Qian Daoliu stepped forward and said, "As a senior, I won't bully you. I'll give you half a minute's head start."
"Are you sure?"
"I always keep my word and will never go back on it!"
Qian Daoliu's expression was calm, his eyes sharp, clearly confident of victory.
Lin Mu smiled without saying a word, refusing to waste any more time. He activated his armor, transformed into a hurricane, and flew into the sky at top speed.
In just a few seconds, Lin Mu streaked across the horizon like a beam of azure light, completely disappearing from everyone's sight.
Seeing this, Qian Daoliu's expression instantly turned serious.
'This speed is even faster than in his fight with Seventh Brother… he is simply too outrageous!'
Even witnessing such terrifying speed, Qian Daoliu still hadn't given up.
In his view, maintaining such extreme velocity must consume a great deal of energy. In a contest of soul power consumption and stamina, Lin Mu was no match for a Limit Douluo.
Half a minute later, Qian Daoliu immediately used his full speed to give chase.
However, Lin Mu had already left the vicinity of Spirit City, leaving only a faint trace of his aura behind.
Somewhere Between Spirit City and Heaven Dou City.
On the other side, Xiong Jun was using the dragon scale's senses to head toward Spirit City.
Since leaving Heaven Dou City, Xiong Jun had flown over a thousand kilometers. He found that the dragon scale's senses were becoming weak and erratic, but fortunately, his general direction was correct.
Xiong Jun knew that speed wasn't his advantage, but he hadn't expected to be left so far behind by a human target.
'This person possesses such unbelievable speed; perhaps only Di Tian could catch up. Even if I chased for ten thousand years, I still wouldn't be able to catch him.'
At this moment, he finally understood the difficulty of this mission.
Had he known this would happen, he would never have accepted the mission, even at the risk of defying Di Tian.
"Human! Don't let me catch you, or I'll tear you to shreds!"
Xiong Jun clenched his fists, his anger almost consuming his reason.
As for Di Tian's instructions about caution, he had already forgotten them; as long as the target appeared before him, he would act without hesitation.
Just then, the dragon scale in his hand suddenly glowed intensely, and the sensation grew stronger rapidly.
This meant the target was approaching him at high speed!
Seeing the target practically delivering himself to his doorstep, Xiong Jun's face lit up with ecstasy.
Not long after, a bluish-green figure flew over from the horizon, it was Lin Mu, returning the way he came.
"Hmm? This aura..."
Lin Mu frowned slightly. This aura approaching him was close to that of a Limit Douluo, yet he had clearly left Qian Daoliu far behind. 'Who else is this strong?'
Before he could think further, a deafening roar suddenly rang out.
"ROAR!!"
With a roar, Xiong Jun could no longer suppress his anger. He transformed back into his true form. A Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear, over fifteen meters tall, appeared on the ground, its dark golden fur rippling without wind.
"Sky-Tearing Claw!"
Its ten-meter-long, thick arm suddenly swung out. The dark golden claws expanded into a thousand-meter-long giant shadow projection, carrying the violent pressure of the Behemoth bloodline as it fiercely slashed toward Lin Mu.
With a tearing sound, space was ripped apart like cloth, and deep cracks spread out across the sky.
Faced with this sudden and terrifying attack, Lin Mu did not hesitate at all. He directly used his eighth soul skill's evasive technique, "Golden Cicada Sheds its Shell," and instantly disappeared from the area.
If he had been hit by this attack, even with the protection of his armor, he would probably have been on the verge of death.
Seeing the energy clone annihilated by the attack, Xiong Jun belatedly realized that he might have just killed his mission target. 'How can I explain this to Di Tian?'
It didn't take long for Xiong Jun to find a reason to convince himself.
'Di Tian was worried about attracting the attention of the God Realm anyway. Since this person died at my hands, he couldn't possibly be a God's successor.'
However, a figure in purple armor suddenly appeared behind him.
"Titan Skybreaker!"
A beam of energy containing boundless gravity and power erupted, slamming directly into Xiong Jun's back.
Due to Xiong Jun's massive size, Lin Mu didn't even need to aim. The instant he dodged the Sky-Tearing Claw, he switched to the Thundercliff Armor and unleashed a charged punch.
Even if Xiong Jun sensed it, it was too late to dodge.
The blow struck Xiong Jun's back squarely. Although it didn't cause serious injury due to the bear's insane defense, it left a wound.
However, the long-lost sensation of pain enraged Xiong Jun.
Not only did his furious attack miss its mark, but he was also injured by his opponent, a truly humiliating defeat!
"Human! How dare you hurt me! DIE!"
Xiong Jun completely lost his mind and continued his attack on Lin Mu.
However, having reverted to its original form, the massive bear was incredibly sluggish compared to Lin Mu in his Hurricane Armor, making it impossible to land a hit.
"So this is the strength of the Bear Lord!"
Lin Mu dodged the Bear Lord's attacks while considering a countermeasure.
'If all went as expected, it was likely that Di Tian had sent the Bear Lord to deal with me. Perhaps I should hand this problem over to Qian Daoliu.'
Having made up his mind, Lin Mu immediately lured the Bear Lord in the direction of Spirit City.
After a while, a figure flew in from the horizon, with three pairs of golden wings on his back, it was the relentlessly pursuing Qian Daoliu.
"How could a hundred-thousand-year soul beast appear here?"
Qian Daoliu suddenly stopped, looking down and seeing the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear chasing Lin Mu. His expression instantly turned serious.
Without time to think, Qian Daoliu decisively attacked, conjuring an Angelic Holy Sword and striking the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear.
Even for Xue'er's sake, he had to ensure Lin Mu's safety.
"Senior, I'll leave this soul beast to you. I'll head back now."
With that, Lin Mu transformed into a hurricane and vanished once more toward Heaven Dou City.
Seeing this, Qian Daoliu frowned, but he was helpless to stop Lin Mu now.
Faced with a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear possessing over 400,000 years of cultivation (though Qian Daoliu would perceive it as a peak hundred-thousand year soul beast), he had no choice but to abandon his pursuit of Lin Mu and instead engage the Bear Lord in battle to protect the surrounding area.