Douluo Continent: The Eternal Order of the Azure Sky.

Chapter 316 Necromancy: Huo Yuhao and the Dragon Girl

The site in the western suburbs is not simple; on the contrary, it can be described as quite large.

The open-air area, spanning tens of thousands of square meters, was completely surrounded by the forces of the three major underground factions, with layers of checkpoints blocking the roads and preventing any ordinary pedestrians from getting close.

The soul-guiding lamps hung high above, illuminating the area as bright as day. Groups of three or five, dressed in various colors, stood or sat, their eyes warily scanning their surroundings.

A simple yet fully equipped grandstand had been set up in the center of the venue, but currently only Nangong Wan and Ming Lei Douluo could enjoy it. Kong Tianxu and the others, escorted by Zhongli Wu and Feng Ling who were already waiting there, walked inside.

From afar, he could hear Nangong Wan and Ming Lei Douluo discussing.

"Third brother, don't be unconvinced. The fact that the Holy Emperor came in person tonight means he's paying extraordinary attention to this match! Considering that he entrusted me with such an important task, I can already foresee that I will soon reach the pinnacle of my life."

The voice of the Nether Thunder Douluo was much more cautious.

"Second Brother, are you sure the Holy Emperor came tonight for that kid we've got our eye on? Tang Wu is good, but he's still quite a bit behind the Holy Emperor himself, or even the one in the Judgment Hall, right?"

"Hehe, third brother, you don't understand." Nangong Wan lowered his voice, but his smugness still came through the door.

"Although Tang Wu's talent is only so-so, during the last competition, he didn't release a single spirit ring. He just chanted a few incantations and unleashed several different abilities! The Holy Emperor will definitely be interested in someone like that."

"What kind of reward do you think the Holy Emperor will give me for bringing this Tang Wu, who is suspected to be the Holy Son of my sect, here? Maybe he'll be so happy that he'll purify my Heavenly Centipede Martial Soul. Then, I might be able to skip level 94 and become a Super Douluo!"

Upon hearing this, Kong Tianxu exchanged a glance with Kong Deming, then shook his head with a wry smile.

He gestured to Zhongliwu.

Zhongli Wu stepped forward and pushed open the door.

Ye Yulin, who was sitting on the referee's bench, watched the whole scene through the Sun and Moon Divine Needle hanging high in the sky, and her pupils shrank immediately.

The fact that Kong Deming and the Holy Spirit Church appeared together under such ambiguous circumstances undoubtedly confirmed a long-held suspicion in his mind.

Confucius and the Holy Spirit Cult, the two most powerful forces in the Sun and Moon Empire, have joined forces!

This means that...

With a creak, the door opened, and Zhongli Wu, whose face was not looking too good, walked in first.

"Holy Emperor".

"Holy Emperor".

Upon seeing Kong Tianxu slowly enter behind him, Nangong Wan and Ming Lei Douluo quickly stood up and bowed.

Ming Lei Douluo glanced at Kong Deming, who sat calmly and composedly in the main seat, with a slightly strange look, and then at Zhongli Wu, whose expression was dark and inscrutable. He couldn't help but mutter to himself.

The cult leader isn't with that lame regent brat? Wasn't there supposed to be a big move at the palace tonight? Is Xu Tianran really that confident?

Meanwhile, Nangong Wan, beaming with delight, began to explain the situation of the evening to Kong Tianxu:

"My lords, we, along with the Ordinary Alliance and the Aodu Chamber of Commerce, attach great importance to this competition. We have all sent our strongest lineups. In addition to the three of us, we have also invited some of the most prestigious families in Mingdu, as well as a group of high-rollers who have participated in this final match. Each of our three parties shall not exceed one thousand people, and the rest will be these spectators."

The scene was somewhat noisy at this point, and the host began to warm up the audience and invite the leaders of the three major underground forces to the stage.

"Your Majesty, the person I invited you to see is that young man named Tang Wu... uh, young man."

Nangong Wan pointed somewhat obsequiously at Huo Yuhao below, who seemed to have started arguing with someone from the Aodu Chamber of Commerce from the very beginning.

Seeing that Kong Tianxu was only focused on examining the soul-guiding instrument in his hand, he rubbed his hands together and said:

"Don't let his unappealing appearance fool you; his abilities are truly exceptional. I guarantee that even though we only have two participants this time, the results will satisfy you."

"Let's see first."

Kong Tianxu remained noncommittal, simply giving a faint "hmm" before turning his gaze toward the stage.

Nangong Wan respectfully took his leave and walked step by step down the stairs to the stage.

One person each went on stage from the other two directions.

On the other side of the Aodu Chamber of Commerce was a middle-aged man around forty years old. He wore a purple cloak, had a dignified appearance, and exuded the aura of a superior.

Judging by appearance alone, it's hard to imagine that this is the head of an underground force that controls thieves and assassins; he seems more like a high-ranking official.

From the soul power fluctuations emanating from him, Kong Tianxu could sense that this person's cultivation was at least at the eighth ring or higher. He had deliberately suppressed his aura, but he was still far from being a Title Douluo. However, such cultivation was already considered quite good in the Sun Moon Empire.

Compared to the person from the Aodu Chamber of Commerce, the one who took the stage from the Pingfan Alliance was even more eye-catching.

She was a woman in a long, bright red dress, extremely beautiful from a distance. Her long chestnut hair was styled in a high bun on her head, and she walked with a graceful, swaying gait. Her figure was alluring, yet her face was filled with a holy radiance; she was truly a rare beauty.

Her slender waist, undulating hips and breasts were all incredibly alluring.

When she stepped onto the stage, countless people were left speechless and staring intently.

"Your Majesty, that's An Litong, the president of the Aodu Chamber of Commerce, and the military of the Sun Moon Empire is supporting him. And that old woman over there is Shangguan Wei'er, the leader of the Ordinary Alliance, who controls all the sex industry and most of the catering industry in Mingdu."

Nether Thunder Douluo continued his introduction at a leisurely pace:

"No one knows her true age. Her cultivation level is even higher than that of An Litong, the president of the Aodu Chamber of Commerce. Behind the Ordinary Alliance are the great noble class of Mingdu."

"One hundred and forty-eight years old," Kong Deming stated a more precise number. "Her martial spirit is rather special."

As for the Xishui Alliance, on the surface, they represent the imperial family, which is why they are able to grow stronger in front of the other two.

It was under these circumstances that this competition came about.

On the surface, the three major underground forces joined forces to launch this year's Mingdu Soul Master Elite Competition to make money and profit from gambling funds from a large number of tourists. In reality, however, this competition is also a crucial moment for the three major underground forces to reshuffle their power.

Nangong Wan wants to further control the underground forces, while the Aodu Chamber of Commerce and the Pingfan Alliance seem to be showing signs of joining forces to oppose them.

As for what the biggest benefit of this final match is for these three underground forces, what is it?

Only the true leaders of the three major underground forces knew about it—the control of rare metal smuggling.

At the national level of the Sun Moon Empire, the buying and selling of rare metals is strictly prohibited. This is precisely why the price of rare metals remains high, which can be attributed to the Sun Moon Empire's deliberate control.

In this context, rare metal smuggling became an extremely lucrative way to make money. This money could not be earned openly, and the amount of rare metals used for smuggling could not be large, but it was essential to make a profit.

The royal family, the military, and the nobility—who wouldn't want a piece of this huge pie? That's what they've all done before.

However, this industry has recently become very bleak under Kong Deming's strict crackdown. It was only in the last few days, when Xu Tianran personally intervened to mediate, that things began to improve.

Xu Tianran naturally wanted to see a Sun and Moon Empire where every corner was filled with his glory. However, unfortunately, the social classes represented by the other two families were simply too vast, and even the royal family could not completely annex them.

If the regime were to be completely eradicated in a short period of time, Kong Deming would likely be fine, but with the political situation becoming too turbulent, Xu Tianran's own position would become unstable.

He has not yet ascended the throne, so naturally he dares not offend the military and the nobles too much.

After careful consideration, His Highness the Regent initiated this reshuffling of the underground forces.

Whoever wins this competition will gain exclusive control over the rare metal smuggling business.

Of course, this family also had to hand over all the underground territory they originally controlled and distribute it to the other two parties, in order to make things as fair as possible.

For Xu Tianran, this was a chance to regain control of the underground forces, and smuggling rare metals was something he absolutely had to keep under control.

How to capture them? Naturally, through the Xishui Alliance.

With such a tempting prize right in front of them, none of the three parties were willing to give it up. Before the competition even started, in addition to the generous rewards originally promised, including a level-nine soul tool, the three on stage each extended their own olive branches.

The Aodu Chamber of Commerce's offer of 100 million gold soul coins was impressive but unremarkable; Nangong Wan's description was a bit vague, but Kong Tianxu spotted the level nine fixed-equipment soul tool at a glance.

The most interesting one was undoubtedly Shangguan Weier, who actually demanded an astronomical price for three virgin dragon maidens with ancient bloodlines.

Dragon Girl, a special creature that is half-human and half-beast, is known as one of the three steps to ascension for martial souls, along with the Jiamu Divine Pill and immortal herbs that Kong Tianxu once consumed.

They are all extremely beautiful women, but their bodies are covered in scales. The scales only disappear when they are in heat.

At this time, the Dragon Girl will not only fully display her stunning beauty, but she will also become a magical incubator.

Once a human mates with it, they can absorb the essence of dragon blood from its body, thereby completely changing their own physique and imbuing their own bloodline with a trace of dragon blood essence.

This will inevitably promote the evolution of one's martial soul based on its original foundation. Moreover, it will inevitably be a positive evolution.

However, these dragon maidens are extremely rare, and can only be found in deep mountains and marshes. Moreover, they are all cursed with misfortune, and the first person to capture them will inevitably be tainted by the curse and will almost certainly die.

Therefore, very few people are able to find them and dare to take action against them.

For those whose martial souls are already very powerful, the benefits of the Dragon Girl are not particularly noticeable. For someone with a martial soul of Kong Tianxu's caliber, it's practically useless.

But to the Soul Master, she was priceless.

The Dragon Girl's bloodline power can not only clear away the residual medicinal residue in their bodies, but also enable their martial souls to evolve, paving the way for them to advance to the ninth ring in the future.

Zhongli Wu glanced at Kong Tianxu subtly, but to his disappointment, he found that Kong Tianxu's eyes remained completely unmoved.

This made Zhongli Wu glance at Feng Ling beside him with mixed feelings, and he dismissed a certain idea in his mind.

But when these dragon maidens appeared, Ye Guyi, dressed in a noble pale yellow palace dress, painfully closed her eyes in the Ordinary Alliance area.

The appearance of the Dragon Girl undoubtedly added fuel to the already tense atmosphere. When Ye Yulin and the other two level-nine soul masters and four level-eight soul masters announced the start of the competition, the three male soul masters around thirty years old from the Aodu Chamber of Commerce, as well as Huo Yuhao and his group, had already been exchanging words for quite some time about the fact that the Xishui Alliance had only sent two people to participate.

The two have become so close that they've started greeting each other's families.

Ye Yulin stood with his hands behind his back, his aged face stern.

He gave the order.

The competition has officially begun.

Just then, Huo Yuhao suddenly raised his head.

His eyes had turned purplish-black at some point, and he lightly slapped his right hand towards the Soul Master from the Aodu Chamber of Commerce who had just directly insulted him.

"No!" an elderly man responsible for maintaining order hurriedly shouted.

However, his words came too late.

"boom--"

A large red and white flower, resembling a roadside decoration, suddenly bloomed.

The soul master's head exploded instantly, just like a rotten watermelon.

Blood splattered everywhere.

Not only that, but his entire body was enveloped in layers of purplish-black light. Within this eerie light, his body gradually melted, turning into streaks of strange blood that surged back into Huo Yuhao's body.

Huo Yuhao's pale face, which had been strained from the recent fusion of his Trinity Martial Soul, quickly regained its rosy hue, as if he had taken a powerful tonic.

Necromantic magic, stripping away flesh and blood.

It greatly replenishes soul power and vital energy.

That's a great skill, but unfortunately I can only use it in situations like this.

Huo Yuhao licked his lips with satisfaction, revealing a cruel smile.