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Chapter 1299: The Third Soul Armament (12)

In Ulan's view, Yang Haoran's third Soul Armament not only lacked the appearance of a defensive Soul Armament, but its languid demeanor also seemed ill-suited for an offensive one. It simply didn't appear to possess much destructive power, and most crucially, she couldn't detect any powerful energy fluctuations emanating from it.

Of course, appearances could be deceiving; it was often difficult to make accurate judgments based solely on external observations, a truth Ulan understood well. Thus, she merely offered what she considered the most accurate assessment based on her experience, refraining from definitively concluding that Yang Haoran's Soul Armament was neither offensive nor defensive.

Furthermore, the current absence of powerful energy fluctuations didn't preclude the possibility of it unleashing such power. It might simply be that its full strength hadn't yet been unleashed. Therefore, one couldn't jump to conclusions based solely on this, but rather had to rely on personal experience to form what one believed to be the most accurate conjecture.

In Ulan's estimation, Yang Haoran's Soul Armament seemed more like a special type of Soul Armament.

"Yang Haoran, is that your third Soul Armament? This ghostly thing looks utterly idiotic. It couldn't possibly be a useless 'chicken rib' Soul Armament, could it?"

As Ulan launched a fierce assault on Yang Haoran, she continued her taunts, her face displaying unconcealed disdain.

"Chicken rib" Soul Armaments were not unheard of; on the contrary, quite a few Underworld Office agents possessed them. Agents with such Soul Armaments typically occupied two extreme positions within the Underworld Office: either they were famous or entirely obscure.

This vast disparity arose because the former managed to discover the correct methods of utilization, fully unleashing the value of their Soul Armaments, thus transforming what others saw as "chicken rib" artifacts into invaluable treasures.

The latter, conversely, failed to put in the necessary effort to research their own Soul Armaments, and thus couldn't find a way to fully exploit their value. Compounded by the idle chatter of others, which they internalized, they became even less likely to invest time in study or breakthrough. Over time, they too became convinced that their Soul Armaments were utterly useless "chicken ribs."

As an Underworld Office agent, one's most potent tool was their Soul Armament. It was inevitable that an agent unable to unleash the power of their Soul Armament would remain obscure within the Underworld Office.

However, Ulan's taunt about Yang Haoran's Ghost Butterfly being a "chicken rib" Soul Armament was entirely deliberate. After all, she couldn't be certain if it truly was one; that could only be known after Yang Haoran fully unleashed its capabilities.

The reason she spoke this way was her desire to provoke Yang Haoran, to infuriate him. Once enraged, Yang Haoran would surely display the full power of this Soul Armament before her, proving it was no "chicken rib. " This, in turn, would provide her with an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of it. Only by discerning the true capabilities of Yang Haoran's third Soul Armament could she then formulate an appropriate counter-strategy.

However, she had ultimately underestimated Yang Haoran. Yang Haoran was not someone who could be easily provoked by a few words. Her so-called provocation was completely ineffective in his eyes, barely registering, and far less impactful than simply calling him "air."

Thus, facing Ulan's verbal taunts, Yang Haoran not only remained unangered but didn't even betray the slightest change in expression. He offered no response to Ulan, instead manipulating Black Lightning to continuously assault her, while Remnant Moon, under his control, parried Ulan's attacks. As for his third Soul Armament, the Ghost Butterfly, it hovered around his body like an unconcerned bystander, dancing gracefully, showing no inclination whatsoever to join the fray.

Although Yang Haoran's third Soul Armament had been summoned, the combat dynamic between them seemed unchanged. It appeared no different than before the Ghost Butterfly had been called forth.

Ulan felt a twinge of doubt. Since Yang Haoran had summoned his third Soul Armament, why wasn't he actively wielding it? Could it truly be, as she had taunted, a useless "chicken rib" Soul Armament?

While this possibility wasn't entirely absent, Ulan considered it unlikely. If Yang Haoran's Soul Armament genuinely was a "chicken rib" artifact, why would he summon it to publicly embarrass himself? Not summoning it would at least preserve some mystery, making her wary and hesitant to act rashly.

To put it bluntly, if Yang Haoran's Soul Armament was indeed a "chicken rib" artifact, then not summoning it now would be far better than summoning it, at least in her opinion. It was precisely this line of thought that led her to believe the likelihood of it being a "chicken rib" was low. The current absence of extraordinary abilities was likely due to Yang Haoran not yet finding the opportune moment to activate it.

Though she believed this internally, Ulan wouldn't utter such thoughts aloud, as it would offer her no advantage. Far from it, she intended to continue provoking Yang Haoran with words, hoping he would activate the Soul Armament prematurely, before finding a suitable opportunity. Doing so would significantly diminish its potential power.

"Yang Haoran, if your Soul Armament can only flit around like a fly, then you've truly disappointed me. You'd best unleash whatever abilities it possesses quickly, otherwise, once I lose interest, you won't even have the chance to use it."

Ulan spoke coldly. Her words, seemingly a taunt against Yang Haoran, were in truth an urging, pressing him to quickly reveal the true power of his third Soul Armament, the Ghost Butterfly.

But Yang Haoran remained unmoved. This sight caused Ulan's expression to immediately sour; Yang Haoran hadn't taken the bait, and her plan to infuriate him had fallen through.

However, she was never one to give up easily. Not only would she not abandon a goal after one or two failures, but she wouldn't even after a thousand. It was precisely this persistence that had allowed her to achieve her current status and strength.

Just as Ulan prepared to utter more vicious words to provoke Yang Haoran, she suddenly noticed a peculiar issue. Previously, the sword qi unleashed by the soft sword in her hand had been evenly matched against Yang Haoran's Soul Armament, Remnant Moon. Both sides were neck and neck, neither gaining any clear advantage, with one attacking and the other defending.

But now, Ulan discovered that the sword qi unleashed by her soft sword Soul Armament was having less of an effect on Remnant Moon. While successfully blocking her sword qi, Remnant Moon was actually beginning to slowly overpower it, showing a distinct momentum to shift from defense to offense.

Had Yang Haoran increased the injection of Spirit Power into Remnant Moon, she wouldn't have found this situation strange at all. The crucial point was that Yang Haoran hadn't done so; not only had the energy fluctuations he released not intensified, but he also hadn't infused more Spirit Power into Remnant Moon.

Furthermore, she hadn't weakened her own strength, and the Spirit Power she injected into her Soul Armament remained stable. In other words, the power of every sword qi she unleashed had not diminished in the slightest; it was exactly the same as before.

Yang Haoran hadn't increased his power, and she hadn't decreased hers, yet the result was that the sword qi unleashed by her Soul Armament was gradually being overwhelmed. This was the source of her bewilderment.

Before Ulan could even fully process what was happening, a new discovery emerged that wasn't merely perplexing but also astonishing.

This discovery was that the Ghost Head Shield, which had been steadfastly fending off Black Lightning above her head, now appeared unstable, looking as if it could no longer contend with Black Lightning.

From the moment Yang Haoran had summoned Black Lightning until now, its assault on Ulan had been ceaseless, black lightning bolts striking down one after another without pause. Previously, Ulan's Ghost Head Shield had consistently blocked the descending black lightning with remarkable stability, showing no hint of failing. But now, facing the continuous onslaught of Black Lightning, the Ghost Head Shield had actually become unstable. How could such a bizarre change not astonish Ulan?

"How can this be? He clearly hasn't increased his own power, nor has he infused more Spirit Power into his two Soul Armaments, so why is the strength of both of them increasing!"