The Third Soul Armament (Seven)
The aide successfully unleashed his second Ghost Art, but it had no effect whatsoever; instead, Yang Haoran's offensive left him utterly discomfited.
Ulan, from a distance, witnessed this entire scene. She naturally understood why the aide was in such a passive state: on one hand, the aide was inferior to Yang Haoran in both realm and power; on the other, it was because the aide intended to capture Yang Haoran alive, thus daring not to employ highly lethal methods. Being weaker than his opponent while also holding back, he naturally fell into a disadvantageous position.
While she understood this perfectly well, understanding did not equate to an absence of anger; her comprehension certainly did not preclude her fury.
On the contrary, Ulan was already quite enraged. Not only was it because the aide was no match for Yang Haoran, but also because of Yang Haoran's still-unrevealed identity.
Given Yang Haoran's calm demeanor when facing her, and the peak late-stage Earth Soul realm he displayed, it indicated that Yang Haoran was by no means an unknown figure in the Underworld Office. Yet, she had never seen or heard of him. This was clearly abnormal.
The doubt in her heart caused her to observe Yang Haoran even more closely. After careful observation, she discovered that Yang Haoran's current appearance was not his original one, but rather a facade altered by a secret art. A subtle, unique energy fluctuation emanated faintly from Yang Haoran's entire body, including his face—so faint that it would be impossible to detect without careful observation and sensing. Moreover, such a phenomenon wouldn't occur if he hadn't altered his physique and appearance.
Thus, based on this, she confirmed that Yang Haoran's current physique and appearance were fake. While she had confirmed this, Yang Haoran's true face and real identity remained a temporary mystery. This feeling of not knowing her opponent's identity also made her quite uneasy. But her intuition told her that Yang Haoran was definitely a well-known figure in the Underworld Office, and it was even highly possible that he was a Guardian, just like her!
“If you lack the ability to capture him alive, then there’s no need to. Just give it your all; you don’t need any other reservations. ”
Ulan watched as the aide dodged Yang Haoran's attacks with increasing desperation, while Yang Haoran, conversely, stood rooted to the spot with his hands in his pockets, as if nothing were happening. He hadn't even shifted his feet. She knew that continuing like this was not a solution, so she ordered the aide to go all out.
Another reason was Yang Haoran's extreme composure. With such an unhurried attitude, it was difficult for her not to wonder if peak late-stage Earth Soul was Yang Haoran's true realm. This was why she felt that the aide had a very low chance of overcoming Yang Haoran, even if he used his full power.
Since she understood this point in her heart, yet still ordered the aide to attack, it was because she wanted to see how many methods Yang Haoran possessed through the aide's actions. If the aide could even probe whether Yang Haoran had any hidden realms, that would, of course, be even better!
There was another crucial point: once the aide used his full power, Yang Haoran would very likely also deploy his Soul Armament. As long as Yang Haoran used his Soul Armament, she might be able to determine Yang Haoran's identity through it. This was because every Underworld Official's Soul Armament was unique. Even Soul Armaments of the same type and shape would still possess differences in their minute details. Therefore, to discern an Underworld Official's identity, their Soul Armament was the best starting point!
As for why she didn't attack herself, or team up with the aide to deal with Yang Haoran, it was because her status did not permit her to do so. Her personality similarly did not allow her to.
With Ulan's command, the aide was no longer restrained. He no longer unleashed Ghost Arts, because chanting spells and forming hand seals for Ghost Arts took time. In contrast, a Soul Armament could be controlled against an enemy with just a thought, requiring virtually no time at all. Moreover, the power of most Ghost Arts simply couldn't compare to an Underworld Official's Soul Armament. Therefore, at this moment, the aide no longer employed Ghost Arts against Yang Haoran, but decided to control his Soul Armament to confront him!
The brief exchange had already made the aide realize that Yang Haoran was not easy to deal with. So, he held nothing back against Yang Haoran. Because he knew that holding back against Yang Haoran would only lead him into the same passive situation as before. This was not the outcome he desired. Thus, his attack was with full force.
With a shift of his will, two streaks of black light instantly shot out from the two masses of Yin Qi beside him, but their directions were not the same.
One streak of black light hovered above his head. After the black light dispersed, the Soul Armament's true form was revealed. It was a Black Mirror inlaid with several small skulls. Both its frame and mirror surface were an eerie black, and dense Yin Qi billowed from it.
The other streak of black light shot rapidly towards Yang Haoran. Before one could clearly discern what was inside the black light, it was already before Yang Haoran. Just as the black light was about to pierce Yang Haoran's body, at that very moment, Yang Haoran suddenly struck like lightning, his speed far exceeding that of the black light. With a pinch of two fingers, he clamped the front end of the black light between them!
The immense power unleashed by Yang Haoran's two fingers not only firmly clamped the black light, rendering it motionless, but also dispersed the black light, revealing the Soul Armament beneath it.
This was a hiltless curved blade. Its blade was very thin and gleamed with a cold light. While it didn't look overbearing, it was clearly extremely sharp. Yet, at this moment, it was clamped between Yang Haoran's two fingers like a toy without any destructive power, and the position where Yang Haoran's two fingers clamped was precisely the sharpest point of the blade.
After successfully clamping the hiltless curved blade, Yang Haoran didn't even bother to examine the blade closely. With a flick of his arm and a flick of his two fingers, he flung the curved blade away as if it were trash.
It wasn't that Yang Haoran lacked the time to take another look at the curved blade. Judging from his calm expression and casual motion when flinging the curved blade away, he simply had no interest in examining it further.
This scene not only left the aide greatly astonished, but also surprised Ulan considerably. Neither of them had expected Yang Haoran's reaction speed to be so swift, that he could actually clamp the Soul Armament curved blade successfully with just two fingers in such a situation.
Besides this, they were also quite astonished by Yang Haoran's arrogance. In this situation, Yang Haoran didn't choose to dodge, nor did he choose to use his Soul Armament to block the incoming attack. Instead, he merely used two fingers. In their eyes, this was not just arrogance, but boundless arrogance!
The aide, who had merely been somewhat enraged moments before, was now completely infuriated by Yang Haoran's actions. Because in his eyes, Yang Haoran's actions were nothing short of utter disdain towards him. As a strong practitioner of the late-stage Earth Soul realm, he also possessed his own pride. How could he possibly accept such contempt from an enemy?
Although his heart was filled with fury, the aide did not shout like a madman, nor did he utter any harsh threats to Yang Haoran. He merely spoke a few words to Yang Haoran in a low voice.
“Summon your Soul Armament! ”
As these words left his mouth, the Soul Armament curved blade, which Yang Haoran had flung away like trash, was summoned. Under the aide's control, it changed direction and shot rapidly towards Yang Haoran once more. The Yin Qi on its blade, which Yang Haoran had dispersed, also surged anew!
At the same time, the Black Mirror hovering above the aide's head also erupted with a powerful energy fluctuation. And it shot a black beam of light towards Yang Haoran's position!
When this beam of light first shot out from the Black Mirror, it was a single beam, but en route, it transformed into a massive black pillar of light over a hundred meters in diameter. It not only enveloped Yang Haoran, but also encompassed the entire hundred-meter radius around his position!
With this strike, the aide simultaneously activated two Soul Armaments. What he wanted was not just to force Yang Haoran to use his Soul Armament, but also to give Yang Haoran a painful lesson!
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