Chapter 211: The Spirit-Type Gatekeeper, Dark Arbiter
A grand and majestic palace loomed high, piercing the clouds like a towering colossus overlooking the mountains. Its walls, constructed of snow-white marble, exuded an air of mystery and ethereality. The enormous gates, crafted from thick sandalwood, bore intricate ancient carvings on the lintel, emanating an aura of antiquity and solemnity.
Creak—creak—
Xiao Yu stepped forward and pushed open the heavy doors, and a cold, still atmosphere rushed out to meet him.
"So cold!"
Huo Wu, who specialized in fire attributes, shivered involuntarily and muttered under her breath.
Though Qian Renxue also possessed fire attributes, her martial soul, the Six-Winged Angel, was more aligned with holiness and light. Moreover, having broken through to Soul Sage, her resistance to the environment far surpassed Huo Wu's.
"Silence!"
Although Huo Wu had spoken softly, her voice carried clearly in the deathly quiet palace, drawing all attention to her.
At the center of the palace was a long staircase, at the top of which stood a man. His long black hair fell casually over his shoulders, and his sharp features—arched brows, straight nose, and square jaw—formed an undeniably handsome face, a stark contrast to the ferryman at the Acheron River. His deep purple eyes were piercing, as if they could see through one's soul.
This man was the gatekeeper of the first prison, the Dark Arbiter.
In his hand, he held a small gavel resembling a judge's hammer. Upon hearing Huo Wu's voice, his expression darkened, and he struck the gavel against the desk before him.
"In this sacred and solemn courtroom, do you know the crime of disturbing the peace?"
The moment the gavel fell, Xiao Yu felt the world around him warp. Countless images flickered past his eyes like a film reel, each depicting his past misdeeds. From stepping on an ant to ruthlessly killing enemies and spirit beasts on Douluo Star, a crushing sense of guilt weighed down on him.
It was a mental attack!
Xiao Yu immediately realized what was happening and activated his spiritual power. A burst of intense white light shot from the center of his brow, shredding the Dark Arbiter's mental assault in an instant.
The Dark Arbiter staggered back two steps, his eyes gleaming with surprise and greed.
"Impressive, very impressive. Even though you haven't fully awakened, your spiritual power is already this formidable. If I devour your soul, my power will surely reach new heights!"
Whistling sharply, the Dark Arbiter gestured behind him. The windows shattered as a massive shadow burst into the room—a gargantuan ape, resembling a Titan Giant Ape but surrounded by black flames instead of earthen-yellow soul power. It was a demonic beast from the Netherworld: the Flame Demon Ape.
At the center of the Flame Demon Ape's forehead was a striking white symbol, a servitude mark placed by the Dark Arbiter. With this mark, he had full control over the ape's actions, even its life and death.
As a spiritual specialist with weak physical combat capabilities, the Dark Arbiter had sought out numerous beasts to compensate for his shortcomings. Using his formidable spiritual power, he forcefully established servitude contracts with them.
Besides the Flame Demon Ape, two Black Spirit Tigers and four Bloodthirsty Demon Wolves leaped into the palace through the shattered windows.
"Surround the three women! Don't let them near me!"
At the Dark Arbiter's command, the seven beasts charged forward, quickly separating Xiao Yu from Qian Renxue, Huo Wu, and another woman. The beasts then encircled the three women tightly.
For someone like the Dark Arbiter, whose strength lay purely in spiritual combat, allowing an opponent like Xiao Yu to engage him physically would be disastrous—one punch would spell his doom.
The smarter approach would be to drag Xiao Yu into a spiritual battlefield, where the beasts could launch a surprise attack. Although Xiao Yu's physical strength wouldn't lead to an instant demise, it would severely weaken him.
However, this strategy carried risks. The Dark Arbiter desired Xiao Yu's soul in its most intact and powerful form. Only then could he achieve a further breakthrough in his strength.
"The pets are all yours!" Xiao Yu shouted to the three women as he prepared for the battle ahead.
Xiao Yu turned to the three women and smiled. Since the Dark Arbiter wanted a duel, Xiao Yu was more than happy to oblige.
With a flap of his black, four-winged wings, he ascended gracefully into the air, facing the Dark Arbiter from a distance.
The Dark Arbiter looked at Xiao Yu's calm demeanor and sneered. "You seem very confident in your abilities."
"Of course!"
Xiao Yu's tone was laced with disdain as he smirked. "Just like I easily broke through your mental attack earlier, I am fully confident in dealing with you."
"Arrogance!"
The Dark Arbiter roared in fury. A powerful glow began to radiate from his body, and immense spiritual energy spread outward from him like a torrential storm, rushing toward Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu felt the surrounding environment blur and shift rapidly. Soon, they found themselves in an extremely frigid, icy world.
"Die!"
The Dark Arbiter's voice echoed through the frozen wasteland. The ground rumbled as a massive frost serpent over thirty meters long erupted from beneath the ice. It hissed venomously at Xiao Yu, its gaping maw revealing razor-sharp fangs as it lunged at him with lightning speed.
"Such a pathetic trick."
Xiao Yu smirked coldly. With his spiritual power, he could see through the frost serpent's true form—it was merely a construct of the Dark Arbiter's concentrated spiritual energy, a manifestation of his power within the illusion.
Closing his eyes momentarily, Xiao Yu reopened them to reveal dark whirlpools spinning rapidly where his pupils once were.
Spirit Bone Skill: Death Stare—Activate!
The whirlpools reversed, unleashing a black storm that tore through the icy world. The illusion began to crack and shatter under the storm's destructive force. The frost serpent, caught within the tempest, let out a series of agonized screams before being ripped apart in an instant.
"Ahhh!"
The destruction of the frost serpent, imbued with the Dark Arbiter's immense spiritual power, dealt a devastating blow to his mental sea. His scream was filled with agony, piercing and raw.
The beasts that had been encircling Qian Renxue and the other two women suddenly trembled—not out of sympathy for their master's cries, but because the strength of the servitude marks controlling them had weakened.
"Now's the chance!"
Qian Renxue seized the moment of distraction. Wielding the Angelic Holy Sword, she struck decisively, sending the most powerful of the beasts—the Flame Demon Ape—flying with a single slash.
(End of Chapter)
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