Douluo Continent: The Ice King's Resurrection

3. Evil Soul Douluo! Trap!

"Ahhhhh!" The people around the small figure reacted to the stench of blood. Panic surged through them, and they all took off running away, wishing they had a four-legged beast spirit so they could run faster.

The children, surrounded by the city guards, also began to stir.

Even though the children on Douluo Continent are much more precocious than the children in Ling Bingtian's previous life, and they are from Jibing City, how many children at this age have ever seen a person with a foul-smelling blood mist emanating from their body?

Therefore, one person's panic spreads to a group of people. Even children who could initially remain calm are influenced by those around them and begin to panic.

Only a very few children from extremely strict families could force themselves to calm down under such circumstances. After all, this was the central square of Ice City, and generations of tradition had instilled in them the belief that they could not possibly encounter danger in this place.

Fortunately, soldiers from the city's defensive camp were maintaining order around the children. Not knowing where the small, thin figure had come from, they dared not act rashly and quickly split into two groups. One group calmed the children, while the other summoned their martial spirits and spirit rings, warily watching the small, thin figure in the distance.

Soldiers who were close to the children calmed them down, while those who were further away summoned their martial spirits. In an instant, white, yellow, and purple became the brightest colors around the children.

On the other hand, several civilians who were too close to the thin figure didn't even have a chance to scream. They were assimilated into the blood mist the instant it enveloped them, leaving not even a single bone behind!

In the area covered by the blood mist, a series of hissing corrosion sounds could be heard. The hard marble slabs in the central square were also corroded and cracked, which showed how corrosive the blood mist was.

An Ice Warrior who was standing not far in front of the small figure reacted in time. A longsword suddenly appeared in his hand, and three soul rings, two yellow and one purple, rose up and pulsed around the longsword.

Soul Master!

This seemingly unremarkable soldier was actually a Soul Master with the cultivation level of a Soul Venerable.

Years of military service made this soldier not hesitate. After seeing the blood mist released by the thin figure engulf the people of the Ice City who were supposed to be protected by him, the brightest purple soul ring on the longsword in his hand suddenly lit up.

The glowing of the soul ring on the sword made the light reflected on the longsword even sharper, clearly indicating that the purple soul ring had enhanced the sharpness attribute of the soldier's sword spirit. Seeing the hissing blood mist, the soldier dared not be careless. He wrapped his entire body with soul power again before thrusting straight at the thin figure not far away.

"No, Liang Meng, don't be impulsive!" Not far away, a commander wearing ice-blue armor, whose rank was clearly one level higher than that of an ordinary city guard soldier, shouted to the soldier who was stabbing at the thin figure, but it was obviously too late.

"Hehehe, you ants dare to provoke your Grandpa Zhao." A sinister and eerie voice came from the blood mist again. Facing the Ice Warrior who bravely thrust his sword at him, the figure in the blood mist casually struck out with a palm.

As the slender figure moved, a small, palm-shaped patch of blood mist surrounding him shot directly at the Ice Warrior who was thrusting at him.

Before anyone could react, the blood mist swept directly over the body of the Ice Warrior. To everyone's astonishment, an Ice Warrior with the cultivation of a Soul Venerable, whose entire body was enveloped in his own soul power, did not even last two breaths in the blood mist before turning into part of it, just like the civilians before him! Only his hundred-reinforced armor remained, slowly being corroded away in the highly corrosive blood mist, hissing incessantly.

The palm-shaped blood mist didn't stop there; in fact, after absorbing the blood of the Ice Soldiers, it grew slightly larger and continued to spread along a straight line.

"Ah—" The commander of the Arctic Army who had just warned the soldiers roared, his eyes wide with rage. He watched helplessly as his comrades died so miserably in battle, and the anger in his heart surged like a volcano.

Faced with the spreading palm-shaped blood mist, the commander angrily attacked, five soul rings appearing behind him, revealing that his cultivation had already reached the Soul King realm. The commander's muscles suddenly bulged, and crimson hair grew all over his body. From the "King" character on his forehead, it was not difficult to see that his martial soul should be a tiger-type martial soul with fire attributes.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, purple.

The purple-black spirit ring hanging behind the commander, symbolizing his fifth spirit ring, suddenly shone brightly, and a crimson fist shadow was thrown out with the commander's punch. The scorching fist shadow even caused the temperature around him to rise slightly.

The fist and the palm-shaped blood mist collided rapidly, but the outcome made the commander and everyone present feel a chill. The commander's full-force attack had barely been neutralized by the small figure's casual strike!

Recalling the previous Soul Master, a bad premonition began to rise in everyone's hearts.

You must understand, this was a Soul Master! Even though the cultivation environment on Douluo Continent has improved a lot compared to ten thousand years ago, it's not easy to cultivate a Soul Master, let alone die in such a frustrating way.

Most importantly, perhaps because the blood mist had swallowed a Soul Venerable, the thin figure reappeared from the blood mist, his face beaming with obvious pleasure.

As the blood mist dissipated slightly, the group was able to see the true face of the thin figure. It was a child who looked about the same height as the children about to awaken, and also looked very young.

But the twisted yet joyful smile on his face, and the eight spirit rings floating around him, all proved to everyone that this "child" was old and had an extraordinary identity.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black!

The Eight-Ring Evil Soul Douluo with the Optimal Soul Ring Ratio!

"You are Zhao Tong! The culprit of the massacre in Huitong City eighteen years ago, you are still alive!" Among the noble circles, there were also some knowledgeable people. An old man in a purple robe recognized the figure of the "child" in front of him after seeing the iconic blood mist and the thin figure.

Eighteen years ago, a bloody massacre that shocked the entire Heavenly Soul Empire occurred in the southern part of the empire. A border city called Gray Tong City was completely wiped out, leaving no survivors.

Although Gray City is not a large city, such a terrible incident quickly attracted the attention of the imperial authorities and the higher-ups of Shrek Academy.

After an investigation, an old Soul Master from the Heavenly Soul Empire identified the culprit as Zhao Tong, who possessed the Blood Child Martial Soul.

The reason for his massacre was simply to accelerate his own cultivation. He originally intended to kill only one family in Graywood City, but he couldn't control himself. With the cultivation level of a Soul Saint, he began to slaughter people in Graywood City, where the highest cultivation level was only Soul King, ultimately committing the crime of single-handedly killing the entire city.

"Hehehe, as expected of a soldier with the Soul Venerable cultivation level, hailed as the number one army in the north, this is truly satisfying. And some people actually recognize me. You don't really think those lousy Shrek people can kill me, do you? Bah! A bunch of little brats! One day I will slaughter these little brats like the Blood Infant Old Ghost!" Zhao Tong, the thin figure, laughed wildly as he charged towards Ling Bingtian, responding to the purple-robed elder.

"Not good, stop him! This old ghost's martial soul is Blood Child, and his cultivation relies on absorbing the essence and blood of children and soul masters." The purple-robed old man roared, his soul power surging, and seven shining soul rings appeared behind him. The phantom of a snow-white giant bear faintly appeared behind him. The old man was actually a seven-ring soul saint!

Upon learning the identity of the visitor, the nobles present reacted in various ways. Some crawled on their knees and ran away from Zhao Tong, while others, like the old man, mobilized their soul power, revealed their martial souls and soul rings, and prepared to attack Zhao Tong.

"Tch, you think you can contend with me? The only two people in this city who could fight me have already been lured away. Now, I am the most powerful being in this city!" Zhao Tong's twisted smile remained unchanged, but he secretly thought to himself.

Back when those Shrek kids were chasing him, they almost killed him. Fortunately, fate intervened, and the old snake appeared to save him, and together they killed the group of kids who were chasing him.

After that, he began to cultivate with the old snake. Although the quality of his martial soul was weaker than his own, it did not have any bottleneck requirements for breaking through realms. Therefore, he reached the Title Douluo realm by consuming souls before him.

While his Blood Child Martial Soul was indeed powerful, it was not without its limitations.

One major limitation is this damned physique; ever since he awakened his martial soul, his body has stopped growing. While this has provided him with many conveniences, it has also prevented him from experiencing the joys of adulthood.

Another major limitation is that a bottleneck will appear when breaking through to a higher realm, which is to devour a child whose brain development is different from ordinary people, that is, what people often call a genius.

Now, Zhao Tong and Lao She have been running around and carrying out massacres in various empires. They have cultivated their soul power to the peak of level 89, and are only one step away from the Title Douluo realm that soul masters dream of!

For Zhao Tong, this was naturally an extremely important step, the most important step after he awakened his martial soul and killed his genius younger brother.

Some people become evil soul masters after being bewitched or undergoing intense stimulation, but Zhao Tong is clearly not one of them. After awakening his Blood Child Martial Soul, he was already deeply influenced by it.

Zhao Tong was born in a small town on the border between the Star Dou Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire. He was a member of a collateral branch of the Zhao family, the largest soul master family in the area. After awakening his martial soul, he couldn't control his bloodlust and plotted to kill his own younger brother.

Because of his young age, his family elders didn't suspect him. However, after he reached the Soul Venerable realm at the age of 11, they no longer cared whether they knew or not. After all, the strongest person in the family was just an elderly Soul Venerable.

After Zhao Tong became a Soul Master, driven by his inner desire for slaughter and rapid cultivation, he directly annihilated that small border town! After committing such a heinous act, he once again evaded numerous investigations because of his childlike physique. It wasn't until he cultivated to the point of approaching the Soul Saint realm that the unique nature of his Blood Child Martial Soul was revealed to the entire Soul Master world by a Soul Saint who had narrowly escaped from his clutches.

For Zhao Tong, devouring a sufficiently intelligent and talented child is crucial at this stage. This not only means breaking through his bottleneck, but also because each time he devours a sufficiently intelligent and talented child, his soul power will increase significantly.

Crucially, Zhao Tong had already begun to sense the feedback from the Blood Child Martial Soul. If he could devour another sufficiently intelligent and talented child, his physical form might be able to break through the limitations imposed by the Martial Soul, allowing him to no longer walk the continent in the physique of a child.

Recalling the wonderful sensations that the old snake had described for adults, Zhao Tong felt a surge of heat in his heart, and his gaze toward Ling Bingtian, who was not far from him, grew increasingly fiery.

"Come on, make me successful, just like those poor little devils before." Zhao Tong licked his slightly dry lips from excitement and stretched out his sinful hand towards Ling Bingtian.

As for Ling San beside Ling Bingtian, he was naturally ignored, because the soul power fluctuations emanating from him proved that he was just a low-level Soul Douluo.

Let alone an ordinary Soul Douluo, as a peak Evil Soul Douluo, Zhao Tong dares to say that even some Title Douluos with ordinary martial souls would find it difficult to threaten him, thanks to his own bizarre methods.

"Stop him!" the purple-robed elder roared, and the black spirit rings belonging to his sixth and seventh spirit rings on his body suddenly lit up.

"Roar—" As the purple-robed elder's seventh spirit ring shone brightly, his body rapidly expanded. His originally slightly hunched body suddenly straightened up, and his muscles bulged out, looking from a distance like lumps of flesh growing on his body.

Snow-white bear fur grew out strand by strand, and the old man's head quickly transformed into a bear head covered in snow-white bear fur.

Martial Soul True Form! Icefield Snow Bear!

Without the slightest hesitation, the purple-robed elder, transformed into an icefield snow bear, raised his paws in front of his chest. Dense soul power surged from his body, gathering in front of his chest and condensing into an ice-blue bear head.

Icefield Snow Bear's Sixth Soul Skill! Snow Bear Shockwave!

The purple-robed elder was not a leisurely nobleman. He released his martial soul, activated his martial soul true form, and condensed his sixth soul skill in one breath, completing this series of actions in just one breath. He then shot the condensed snow bear shockwave towards Zhao Tong.

The purple-robed elder was fast, but the people around him were no ordinary people either.

The remaining Soul Masters present were either active-duty soldiers of the Extreme Ice Army or retired Soul Master nobles.

After the purple-robed elder unleashed his strongest attack, the Ice Soldiers who had been protecting the children and the nobles standing to the side also summoned their martial souls, lit up their strongest soul rings, and released their strongest attacks.

In an instant, yellow, purple, and black lights shone throughout the central square. As the three colors flashed, attacks of various shapes and colors shot towards the viscous blood mist.

"Tch, do you really think a bunch of ants can shake an elephant?" Zhao Tong felt the attacks coming from all around him. Although he was disdainful, he dared not ignore them.

It wasn't that he was afraid to take the attacks, but the problem was that Ling Bingtian was also within the range of some of them. If something happened to Ling Bingtian, wouldn't Old Snake and he suffer a huge loss?

Therefore, Zhao Tong also diverted some of his attention, mobilized his soul power, and activated several of his soul skills.

The third and sixth spirit rings on Zhao Tong lit up simultaneously.

Blood Child Martial Soul's third soul skill! Blood Child Clone!

Blood Child Martial Soul's Sixth Soul Skill! Devouring Blood Mist!

Eight tiny, blood-red figures flew out from Zhao Tong's body and rushed towards the attacks coming from all directions.

With the keen eyesight of the Soul Masters present, upon closer inspection, the full figures of the eight small figures appeared before everyone's eyes.

Those were actually eight child figures formed entirely from blood.

Each of the blood children was about the same size as the other children present, roughly the size of a 6 or 7-year-old.

But on the faces of these children with blood, there is no trace of the innocence and cuteness that should be present at their age.

Instead, there was visible pain and distortion!

Clearly, these eight blood children were the intelligent children that Zhao Tong killed when he broke through his bottlenecks over the years.

The expression on the face of the leading blood child was particularly distorted, and the aura emanating from his body was the strongest, clearly indicating that he had been nurtured for many years.

These blood children are precisely where Zhao Tong's evil martial soul is so powerful.

Whenever Zhao Tong kills a bright child and breaks through his bottleneck, his martial spirit will capture the soul of that child.

While tormenting these souls, he commands them to fight for him, instilling in them a deep resentment that drives them to kill even more people.

The blood of those they killed would then nourish Zhao Tong and these blood children themselves.

These blood-stained children are also the basis for Zhao Tong's courage to challenge others.

This is because even the weakest of these Blood Children possess the combat power of a typical Soul Saint, while the other Blood Children generally have the combat power of a high-level Soul Saint.

The Blood Child who led the group, transformed from Zhao Tong's younger brother, exuded an aura that was no weaker than Zhao Tong's, meaning he possessed the combat power of a peak Evil Soul Douluo!

At this moment, the eight blood children, their faces contorted with pain and pain, looked at the attacks coming from all directions with fierce glints in their eyes.

They all raised one arm, and a thick cloud of blood mist mixed with black light shot out from their bodies to meet the attacks coming from all directions.

In an instant, attacks from all directions crashed into the thick blood mist mixed with black light.

A shocking scene unfolded before the Soul Masters present: the dense black light and blood mist acted like an insurmountable wall, blocking attacks coming from all directions.

Whether it was an attack launched by a Soul Saint powerhouse like the purple-robed elder who released his Martial Soul True Body, or an attack launched by a Soul Master at the Soul Emperor or Soul King level, all of them were swallowed up by the dense black light and blood mist after being immersed in it.

Moreover, under the control of the eight Blood Children, the layer of black light and blood mist spread towards the Soul Masters and the children who were about to awaken their Martial Souls.

A single Soul Douluo actually blocked the combined attack of dozens of Soul Masters, including the strongest blow from four Soul Saints who had unleashed their Martial Soul True Forms!

"Heh." Zhao Tong sneered. These chickens and dogs dared to fight him? They were really overestimating themselves.

Now, Zhao Tong was only 10 meters away from Ling Bingtian, but he vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

Everything went too smoothly.

Everything was going too smoothly, and it seemed like some important information was being overlooked.

"By the way, these two people in front of me are far too calm."

Unlike the other children who panicked due to the herd mentality, Ling Bingtian's face, which appeared somewhat immature due to her age, showed no signs of tension, and her eyes were filled with calm.

Standing next to Ling Bingtian, Ling San didn't even summon his martial spirit, but looked at him with a calm gaze, as if he were looking at an inanimate object.

Zhao Tong frowned sharply. It was one thing for a child to be scared out of their wits by their own martial spirit, but that Soul Douluo should not be so calm.

"Oh no, this is a trap!" Having traveled the continent for so many years, Zhao Tong relied not only on his unique abilities compared to other Soul Masters, but also on his cautious and prudent way of doing things.

Realizing something was wrong, he planned to retreat first and then test the waters with his soul skill. Even if there was only a slight possibility of danger, Zhao Tong was absolutely unwilling to take the risk.

But reality sometimes doesn't go as planned; what you fear most is what happens.

"Roar—" A dragon's roar suddenly rang out, resounding throughout the heavens and earth.