Chapter 332: Deterrence

Soon, the massive Earth Vein Dragon transformed into a Soul Spirit and appeared beside Shi Quan, while in Shi Quan's hand was a strange, earthy-yellow left arm bone.

Of Shi Quan's entire body, the only vacancy remaining was this left arm bone.

When the Skull voluntarily transformed into a Soul Spirit and merged, it had also merged into Shi Quan's head.

"Earth Vein, you go stay in the Hundred Treasure Bag for a while. Once I fuse your soul bone with this Titan Giant Ape soul bone, we will absorb them together then."

"I shall obey your arrangements, Exalted One." Earth Vein replied in a muffled voice, looking entirely honest and submissive.

Shi Quan had been continuously strengthening the Titan Giant Ape left arm bone; its age was now at 600,000 years. By merging it with the 250,000-year Earth Vein Dragon left arm bone, this soul bone's age would approach 800,000 years, which would also save Shi Quan a great deal of effort.

Shi Quan nodded, raised his hand to wipe the air, stored the Earth Vein Dragon's Soul Spirit into the Hundred Treasure Bag, and leaped away.

He did not return directly to the territory of the Reincarnation Mansion, but instead flew straight toward the territory of the Lord Mansion.

The Lord Mansion.

This territory had not originally existed, but in order to confront the Reincarnation Mansion, eight lords had each carved out a piece of their own territory to form this special domain.

It was jointly managed by all the lords and was also the gathering place for the Lord Mansion to discuss important matters.

Inside the Lord Mansion's council hall.

"The influence of the Reincarnation Mansion is growing ever larger. We cannot continue to let the Reincarnation Mansion develop like this; we must take the initiative to strike."

A middle-aged man with a gloomy expression proposed.

"Do not forget that besides the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, there is also a mysterious powerhouse in the Reincarnation Mansion. He is the existence who killed the Panlong Lord with a single strike."

"If we really have to face him, who among you has the confidence to be his opponent?"

"If one cannot, then we shall strike together. No matter how strong he is, he is only one person. If we continue to delay, we might as well just surrender and go to the Reincarnation Mansion to snag a better position."

"What nonsense are you spouting!" A burly middle-aged man roared in anger.

"Enough!" The grim-faced man in the center of the hall slammed his hand down, and the people at the scene immediately fell silent.

"Long Yi, what do you think?" The grim-faced man's expression was uncertain as he turned to look at a long-haired man sitting beside him.

"The Reincarnation Mansion is currently at the height of its momentum. A frontal clash will only result in mutual destruction, but dragging this out is certainly not a solution."

"What do you mean?"

"Let us carry out a decapitation strike." A sharp glint flashed through the eyes of the middle-aged man Long Yi as he said in a low voice, "The Reincarnation Mansion's mysterious powerhouse has only made a move once, but we do not know his specific strength, nor do we know if he paid any special price for that initial strike."

"It is only because that strike was too stunning that it has caused all of us to have an unknown fear of him, but is that really the case? We do not know."

"We cannot let fear blind our eyes. Since the Reincarnation Mansion's original goal was to unify the continent, they will certainly not allow our existence. Rather than waiting passively, let us take the initiative to strike once."

"All lords at the Spirit Douluo level or above will participate in this decapitation strike."

"Decapitation, as the name implies, means to cut off the enemy's head and leader. We will sneak into the Reincarnation Mansion together and launch a surprise attack. The primary target is naturally that mysterious powerhouse. If that fails, we can settle for the next best thing and find a way to wipe out one of their Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, letting them know that our Lord Mansion is not to be bullied."

"Correct!" Long Yi's words immediately gained the support of the majority present.

The reason they joined the Lord Mansion was to maintain their original territories; if they were to just drag this out and die a slow death, that was naturally not the result they wanted to see.

"Then let us put it to a vote." The grim-faced man at the side actually knew that the general trend was set, but he still followed the rules and had everyone raise their hands to vote.

Just at this moment, a massive pillar of ink-colored light descended from the sky, directly enveloping Long Yi.

As one of the two Title Douluo of the Lord Mansion, Long Yi simply vanished from the spot.

Everyone at the scene jumped up in shock, looking at this scene in terror.

A figure stepped out from the void, and an ethereal voice arrived, "A decapitation strike, a very good plan. It just so happens to coincide with my own thoughts."

It was Shi Quan, who had come from the Dragon Blood Forest.

"Who are you?!" Cold sweat broke out on the grim-faced man's forehead as he stared nervously at the Shi Quan who had suddenly appeared beside him.

"Weren't you all just discussing me?" Shi Quan replied with a faint smile, his calm voice seemingly carrying endless pressure.

"You are the mysterious powerhouse of the Reincarnation Mansion?" The grim-faced man subconsciously took a step back.

The people who had just been eager to rise up and launch a sneak attack were now scared out of their wits upon hearing this. They had only heard about the matter of the Panlong Lord, but now Shi Quan had wiped out a Title Douluo right before their eyes.

And not a single one of them had even reacted.

The psychological fear was instantly ignited to the extreme by this strike.

"Within seven days, everyone must surrender and offer me your sincere respect. Otherwise, I do not mind wiping all of you out and casting all your souls into the Hell of the Underworld!"

The calm voice was like ice, causing a bone-chilling cold to rise in everyone's hearts.

"He is the example!" Shi Quan raised his hand and grabbed; the soul of the man named Long Yi was pulled out. With a gentle squeeze of his right hand, Long Yi's soul regained clarity while simultaneously beginning to emit shrill wails.

Although they heard no sound, the people at the scene clearly felt Long Yi's painful screams and the torture Long Yi was experiencing.

Everyone was terrified, their expressions changing in horror.

If the previous voice had made people feel cold in their hearts, these last two words instantly turned the previous chill into a terrifying frost. That powerful pressure caused the faces of everyone present to turn pale instantly, and those with weaker strength had already collapsed to the ground.

This...

Most of those present were in a brief state of mental paralysis, unable to think. After coming to their senses, they realized that the mysterious person before them could not be compared by conventional logic; merely the terrifying pressure he radiated had already elevated his existence to an unprecedented level.

Just how strong the mysterious person before them was, they could not even imagine.

A god?

A bold idea sprouted in the depths of everyone's hearts, but it seemed that only this explanation could make sense. Commanding Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, and their so-called supreme powerhouses being existences that could be wiped out at will in the eyes of this person—other than a god, they could not think of any other adjective to describe the Shi Quan before them.

Combined with the Samsara Faith advocated by the Reincarnation Mansion, and the methods Shi Quan had just displayed!

Other than a god, could a human possess such abilities?

To them, it was undoubtedly impossible!