A beast spirit descended from the sky, spreading a pair of golden wings behind him.
Boss Hu and the others looked on in horror at the man.
Two yellow, two purple, and four black rings—this was an eight-ringed Soul Douluo. Too powerful. A Soul Douluo had actually intervened.
Although this Soul Douluo was dressed in a black robe, Jiang Xiaofeng knew—this must be someone sent by Bibi Dong to secretly protect him.
"Just three mere Soul Elders, and you dare act so brazenly here? Do you have a death wish?"
As soon as the Soul Douluo spoke, the atmosphere instantly exploded with awe. Not just the three from Bu Le's group—even the spectators who had been watching from afar quickly dispersed, fearing they'd be dragged into this.
Bu Le had only been lightly injured by Jiang Xiaofeng's surprise attack, but his two elder brothers, Tianya and E Kao, were in much worse shape. That was the power of a Soul Douluo's attack—Soul Elders were like ants before such strength.
At this moment, the two of them directly passed out.
Bu Le was so frightened he dropped to his knees, begging for mercy.
"Lord Soul Douluo, I didn't recognize your esteemed presence. I offended your master. My brothers' lives are hanging by a thread. Please, spare us three brothers."
Jiang Xiaofeng said calmly, "Spare them? What do you think?"
Bu Le was so scared he wet himself. His pants were soaked, and sweat poured down his face.
He had never imagined that robbing a few Soul Exalts' carriages would end with their lives hanging by a thread!
Just as the Soul Douluo was about to act, Jiang Xiaofeng signaled him to stop.
"Enough. Let them go. Those two have been seriously injured. They'll behave themselves for a while."
"Yes! Now get lost!!!"
Bu Le didn't dare linger. After kowtowing a few times to Jiang Xiaofeng, he picked up his two brothers and fled in a panic.
The Soul Douluo gave Jiang Xiaofeng a glance, then flew away.
Jiang Xiaofeng turned to look at the three Hu brothers sitting on the ground.
"You guys okay?"
Boss Hu replied, "We're fine. If your guardian hadn't stepped in, we'd be dead today."
Jiang Xiaofeng shook his head and said, "Not necessarily. They were just three Soul Elders. I've already broken through to the Soul Exalt level. Average Soul Elders might not be able to defeat me."
Boss Hu congratulated him, "Congratulations, Big Brother, on reaching Soul Exalt! Fortunately, you trained us before—otherwise, we three brothers would've been finished."
Jiang Xiaofeng smiled. He had long known someone was protecting him. After all, he was the Holy Son, and many wanted him dead. But those protectors had stayed hidden, making them nearly impossible to find. Still, to be safe, there had to be someone watching from the shadows—and to think it was a Soul Douluo.
"Take a break. We'll depart soon—heading for Blackhorn City."
Boss Hu smiled bitterly, "Big Brother, you're already a celebrity at the Blackhorn City Battle Arena. They're all waiting for you. Now that you're a Soul Exalt, are you finally going to start winning?"
Jiang Xiaofeng shook his head. "Still going to lose."
Boss Hu was baffled. He had broken through so fast and still wanted to get beat up? What the hell was he thinking?
Seeing Boss Hu's confused expression, Jiang Xiaofeng chuckled. "You don't need to worry about that. Just do your job well. I won't forget your reward."
Boss Hu nodded. "Don't worry, Big Brother. Anything you arrange, us three brothers will get it done."
Jiang Xiaofeng nodded and climbed into the carriage.
By now, the entire town knew that the masked kid had a Soul Douluo protector. Thankfully, the man hadn't made a move before. All those who had been plotting something had now completely behaved. After all, they were at most Soul Kings—facing a Soul Douluo, they only had one option: run.
When Jiang Xiaofeng appeared again at the battle arena, cheers instantly erupted inside.
"The free-points kid is here! Quick, sign up for the one-on-one challenge!"
"What? The legendary points-giver is here? Damn, why didn't you say so sooner? Go sign up! If you get picked, that's a guaranteed win!"
The registration booth was instantly swamped. This always happened every time Jiang Xiaofeng showed up.
One soul master had even earned ten straight wins from Jiang Xiaofeng, upgrading from an Iron Soul Badge to a Bronze Soul Badge, making others green with envy.
"Move aside, move aside! My big brother wants to register for a one-on-one challenge!"
All the soul masters made way for Jiang Xiaofeng.
Behind his mask, Jiang Xiaofeng's smile was ear to ear. These soul masters really thought he was just a walking freebie. But once he broke through again, the fun would be over.
Still, for now, he needed their enthusiasm. The more excited they were, the more thrilled he was.
"Same mask and everything as before?"
Surprisingly, Jiang Xiaofeng shook his head. "I'm already a Soul Exalt now. I need low-tier Soul Elder opponents."
Instantly, a wave of complaints broke out.
"Already broke through? Damn, I haven't even gotten picked once!"
"Exactly! I waited for days just for your return."
"Masked Bro, can you just pick a Soul Exalt opponent once more? Just one time, man. Don't let our waiting go to waste!"
Jiang Xiaofeng shook his head. "Match me based on my rank."
With that, he walked away, leaving a bunch of Soul Exalts sighing in disappointment.
Boss Hu and his brothers followed Jiang Xiaofeng with their heads held high. Ever since they learned that his bodyguard was a Soul Douluo, they knew that their Big Brother's identity couldn't be ordinary—likely from one of the Eight Major Clans, or possibly even the Spirit Hall.
And since they were his men, their status naturally wasn't ordinary either.
The registration lady snapped, "Are you registering or not? If not, don't block the booth."
"Of course we're registering! If that free-points kid can't handle a Soul Elder, he'll definitely switch back to fighting Soul Exalts—then high-tier Exalts like us will shine!"
The others didn't hesitate either and quickly registered.
The area around the one-on-one arena was packed.
"How long do you think the free-points kid can last against a Soul Elder-level opponent?"
"Come on, five minutes max!"
"Bullshit. Back when he was a Grandmaster, he could last over twenty minutes against Soul Exalts. Against Soul Elders, I bet he can take at least ten minutes. That guy's ability to take a beating—I trust it."
"You think he's really cultivating his physical body? But we're soul masters—what's he doing, wrestling soul beasts?"
"Who knows, man. As long as we make money, who cares. Wonder if the house is taking bets today—they lost big last time."
"Haha! Look, he's here! Time to place your bets!"
The soul masters rushed over to the bookie.
The bookie was a middle-aged man with no soul power, but his bodyguards were Soul Kings.
"Place your bets! Place your bets! Small bets for fun, big bets mean ashes to ashes! Today's my last round. If I lose again, I, Old Jin, am retiring from the gambling scene!"
"Boss Jin, what are the rules this time?"
Old Jin announced, "Different from before! He's a Soul Exalt now. So here are the odds:
If the free-points kid wins, it's 100-to-1—same as before.
If he lasts 30 minutes, 10-to-1.
20 minutes, 5-to-1.
10 minutes, 2-to-1.
Less than 5 minutes, 20-to-1. Now start betting!"
Jiang Xiaofeng looked on in disdain, but then turned to Boss Hu and said:
"Here's 300,000 gold soul coins—put it all on 30 minutes!"
(End of Chapter)