Douluo Continent: Starting with the Tiger Emperor Template

Upon hearing Xuanzi swear an oath with his martial spirit, Lu Ren frowned slightly.

"That's not enough. You didn't specify a date. When will it be delivered to me after the competition ends?"

"What if you play word games and drag it out for decades, until you're almost dead?"

Xuanzi's face darkened.

The recently subsided pressure of soul power suddenly doubled, crashing down on Lu Ren like a raging sea.

The walls on both sides of the corridor groaned under the strain, plaster crumbled, and the crack in the floor, which had not yet healed, deepened further.

Lu Ren's legs began to tremble violently.

His knees bent, and his bones made a creaking sound, like a bamboo pole bent under a heavy weight, as if it might break at any moment.

He gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, sweat dripping down his cheeks and onto the cracked stone slab, evaporating instantly.

But he did not fall.

"You little brat." Xuanzi's voice was deep, like muffled thunder squeezed from the depths of his chest. "I've tolerated you time and time again because I saw your talent and that you're a promising talent. And yet you've taken advantage of it?"

He took a step forward, and his imposing aura intensified.

"Countless people have tried to make a deal with me by swearing an oath with their martial souls, but I've always looked down on them. And you've chosen me?"

Lu Ren raised his head.

There was no fear, not even pain, in those eyes, only an almost obsessive calm, like the eerie tranquility in the eye of a storm.

"So..." His voice trembled slightly, yet remained clear, "You're planning to play word games? Didn't expect all the Shrek Academy members to be as despicable as you?"

Xuanzi's pupils contracted slightly.

"No wonder," Lu Ren continued, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth, "Back when we were hunting soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest, your students were thinking of using their numbers and strength to forcibly steal my things. It turns out their teachers and elders weren't any good either, so naturally the students they taught weren't any good either."

The moment the words left his mouth, the oppressive aura surged once more.

This time, Xuanzi no longer concealed himself. His aura as a Title Douluo descended like the collapse of the heavens and the earth, compressing the air into a tangible form and emitting a piercing shriek.

The stone slab beneath Lu Ren's feet shattered with a crash, and his knees slammed heavily into the ground. Shards of stone pierced his flesh, and blood trickled down his trouser leg.

He lay on the ground, his hands bracing against the broken stone slabs, his fingertips digging into the cracks, his nails splitting and bloodstains visible.

Xuanzi looked down at him, his cloudy eyes filled with no pity, only cold scrutiny.

"Are you convinced now?"

Lu Ren did not answer.

He propped himself up with his hands, little by little, inch by inch, his arms trembling, his back bent, his bones groaning under the strain.

Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, dripping onto the gravel and blooming into red flowers.

But he still stood up.

His legs were trembling, but his back was ramrod straight. He stood on the shattered ground, amidst the oppressive aura that could crush any Soul Master, like a wild grass that was repeatedly battered by the gale but never broke.

Unyielding and indomitable.

Xuanzi's pupils contracted sharply.

He has lived for so many years and has seen countless geniuses, countless prodigies, and countless young people who have unleashed amazing potential in desperate situations.

But he had never seen a Soul Master, a Soul Master with only four rings, stand up against the pressure of a Title Douluo.

This can no longer be explained by talent.

This is something ingrained in the bones. It's an unyielding stubbornness etched deep in the soul, a resolve that would rather die than break.

Xuanzi fell silent.

The overwhelming pressure slowly receded, the air in the corridor began to flow again, and the rubble stopped trembling.

He stood there, looking at Lu Ren, his gaze as complex as a turbulent pool of water.

"OK."

He finally spoke, his voice lacking its previous sharpness, but containing something indescribable:

"I quite like your temperament."

He paused, as if considering his words.

"Collecting a 100,000-year-old soul bone will take time, but of course, I don't think I'll lose."

He waved his hand, his tone returning to its usual nonchalant casualness.

"One year from now, I will hand over the 100,000-year-old soul bone to you, provided that you can win."

Lu Ren nodded.

Without hesitation, he raised his right hand, palm up, fingers slightly spread.

Soul power flowed through his fingertips, transforming into a wisp of red flame. Within that flame, one could vaguely see the surging patterns of blood, like slender blood vessels pulsating.

"I, Lu Ren, swear on my own martial soul that if I fail to lead the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy to victory over Shrek Academy in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament, I will unconditionally join Shrek Academy, obey any request from Shrek Academy, and never go back on my word."

As soon as he finished speaking, the wisp of light suddenly contracted and disappeared into his palm, leaving a faint blood-red line under his skin before vanishing completely.

"That's fine now."

Lu Renping calmed himself down and said indifferently:

"The contract between us is now in effect; it's a deal."

"That was when—"

Xuanzi's words, which he hadn't finished speaking, got stuck in his throat.

Because an invisible force surged from the void, like countless cold iron chains, and wrapped around his heart.

It was as if... an invisible hand had grasped the very essence of his life.

Xuanzi's expression changed.

He had witnessed countless transactions involving oaths made with martial souls, and had experienced countless contracts using martial souls as collateral.

But this time, it was completely different. That power did not come from the rules of heaven and earth, but from the young man in front of him.

It is formless and intangible, yet like a malignant tumor clinging to the bone, the more one struggles, the tighter it binds.

"What's going on?"

Xuanzi muttered to himself, subconsciously circulating his soul power in an attempt to break free.

The invisible chains that bound him remained unmoved.

"I suppose you don't understand," Lu Ren's voice came from the other end, carrying a hint of weariness and a barely perceptible smile. "Now, the bet between us is established, and from this day forward, a bond is formed between us."

"Restriction?" Xuanzi frowned.

"This is one of the abilities of my Martial Soul." Lu Ren raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. "It's similar to a Martial Soul oath, but more absolute. A Martial Soul oath relies on the Soul Master's origin and the rules of heaven and earth, leaving room for loopholes. But a bondage directly binds the existence of both parties."

He pointed to his brow, then to Xuanzi's chest.

"The oath we made with our martial spirits just now was merely the trigger to activate the binding. Now, by revealing this information to you, I am doing so at the cost of information sharing, to further strengthen this binding."

"The clearer you hear and the more thoroughly you understand, the stronger the binding force becomes."

Xuanzi's pupils contracted slightly.

The force binding his heart indeed intensified.

He could clearly feel that a strange connection had been established between his own life essence and the soul of the boy before him.

This connection is neither master and servant, nor symbiosis, but rather like two iron chains welded together, intertwined, where the prosperity of one does not necessarily bring prosperity to the other, and the loss of one inevitably brings the loss of the other.

"Once you breach the contract..." Lu Ren's voice was as calm as if he were reading an instruction manual, "For example, if you delay delivering the soul bone after the competition, or if I refuse to join Shrek Academy after losing, then the consequences of breaching the contract will erupt instantly, and I myself will be no exception."

"What will be the consequences of this outbreak?" Xuanzi asked through gritted teeth.

The invisible pressure grew increasingly terrifying, like a knife hanging over the soul—invisible and intangible, yet its chill could be clearly felt.

He had never had such an experience in all his years of life.

A level 98 Super Douluo was actually forced to this point by a four-ring Soul Master.