The fusion of spirit and soul power condensed into Chen Ming's fist, creating an unusual ripple. His seemingly insignificant small fist collided with Tai Tan's massive fist, which was almost the sa size as Chen Ming himself. Yet, the result was unexpected—Tai Tan's enormous fist and body were forced back.
Even though Tai Tan's soul power was at its peak, surging like a boiling torrent, it was as weak as tofu before Chen Ming's Toxic Sovereign Poison. The mont Tai Tan's soul power made contact with Chen Ming's combat skill, it instinctively recoiled. At the sa ti, Tai Tan's spirit suffered a blow akin to being struck by a heavy hamr.
A green glow invaded Tai Tan's body, quickly taking root and spreading.
Unlike Hou Yuhao who would leave his will in others' hearts with his Sovereign Descent in Soul Land 2, Chen Ming's Sovereign Poison was far more tyrannical and insidious.
The poison spread through Tai Tan's body, dissolving his soul power as if sunlight were lting ice. It not only permanently sealed off a portion of Tai Tan's soul power potential but also caused his soul power level to gradually decline.
From this day forward, Tai Tan's recovery speed for soul power would steadily decrease. Every ti he activated his Martial Soul, his soul power would further deteriorate. The more he relied on his soul power, the more deeply the poison would spread, eventually rendering him a completely useless wreck.
The poison, like a parasite, devoured Tai Tan's vitality and weakened his once-proud muscles. Tai Tan would gradually weaken, his massive muscles shrinking, until the towering giant beca a skin-and-bones figure confined to a sickbed, fully dependent on others for care.
From his internal organs to his flesh and bones, the extre strength Tai Tan had cultivated at the cost of focusing everything on physical power was ceaselessly eroded by the lethal poison, which used his very life force as fuel. Every inch of his flesh and bone was consud by a pain akin to tens of thousands of insects gnawing away at him.
A strange poison, incomprehensible to ordinary soul masters, infiltrated Tai Tan's spirit. Among the three types of poisons contained within, this one appeared the gentlest but was, in fact, the most domineering.
Unnoticed by Tai Tan, his ntal strength was slowly being worn away. As this erosion deepened, Tai Tan would lose parts of his humanity, experience a sense of detachnt from reality, and find himself unable to attain further ntal breakthroughs.
Moreover, the primary effect of this poison targeted Tai Tan's Martial Soul. It was as if a small hole had been punched into his Martial Soul, causing its essence to endlessly drain away.
Not only would the strength of his Martial Soul weaken, but even the power of his soul rings would diminish.
Chen Ming's Sovereign Poison was not designed to kill outright. However, if given a choice, most soul masters on the continent would prefer a quick death over the tornt of this technique, which left them yearning for death but unable to achieve it.
Additionally, a soul master struck by Sovereign Poison would beco a walking, human-shaped bomb filled with a large concentration of poisons. Within a certain range, Chen Ming could sense and detonate them at will. If Chen Ming activated his Poison Explosion, the resulting blast would be far more devastating than usual.
After taking this hit from Sovereign Poison, Tai Tan was forced out of his Martial Soul True Body state. His soul power reversed violently, blood poured from his seven orifices, and his entire body collapsed to the ground like a boneless heap. Even his once-impressive muscles visibly shrank.
Seeing Chen Ming so effortlessly deal with Tai Tan—who had unleashed his Martial Soul True Body—many of the soul masters and blacksmiths who had previously sided with Tai Tan imdiately knelt, kowtowing repeatedly and begging for the forgiveness of Chen Ming and Lou Gao.
You couldn't bla them for their spinelessness; after all, those who had dared to stand firm were now lying on the ground.
Chen Ming, however, couldn't be bothered to pay attention to the kneeling crowd. He walked straight toward Lou Gao.
Using his soul power, Chen Ming helped Lou Gao and his disciples recover their energy. Then, he glanced at Lou Gao and communicated with him telepathically.
["Elder Lou, I've rendered Tai Tan and the senior soul masters of the Strength Clan powerless. These people were causing trouble in your Blacksmith Association. It's up to you to decide how to handle them now. If any of them remain defiant or try to stir up trouble, just let know."]
["If the Strength Clan insists on being obstinate and continues to look for trouble, then I'll have no choice but to set aside so ti to ensure the complete eradication of the Strength Clan from the Douluo Continent."]
As the Hall Master of the Hall of Souls, Chen Ming was well aware that the organization was currently little more than a makeshift operation. The entire force consisted of just six people: himself, Lou Gao, and Lou Gao's four disciples. They lacked any administrative or judicial personnel.
As Hall Master, Chen Ming could only provide Lou Gao with support in terms of insights, strength, and connections. Everything else had to be handled by Lou Gao himself. If Lou Gao failed to manage things, Chen Ming would step in to clean up the aftermath.
After all, it wasn't feasible for the Hall Master to handle everything personally.
Lou Gao clasped his fists in a salute toward Chen Ming, nodded to show he understood, and watched as Chen Ming ascended to the fifth floor of the Blacksmith Association. There, Chen Ming settled in Lou Gao's forr forging room.
While Chen Ming was busy preparing his materials and studying maps, Ah Yin—who had been silently floating around him like a ghost—finally spoke, her face showing a trace of reluctance.
"I didn't expect Tai Tan to turn out like this. I rember when I visited the Strength Clan in the past, they were so kind and warm."
Without turning his head, Chen Ming continued feeding small pieces of tal to Xiao Yin, who had transford into a bracelet. He replied casually:
"Isn't that perfectly normal? People are multifaceted."
"Tai Tan considers himself Tang Hao's most loyal servant. Seeing Tang Hao, he'd probably kneel without hesitation. In his heart, Tang Hao might be more important than all his relatives and clansn combined. When you were with Tang Hao, you were essentially his mistress in Tai Tan's eyes. How could he possibly show you any disrespect?"
"But if you look at him from an outsider's perspective, Tai Tan is nothing more than an overbearing and unreasonable brute."
"Think about it. If you hadn't been with Tang Hao and the Strength Clan had discovered that you were a 100,000-year soul beast in human form, how do you think Tai Tan would have treated you?"
Ah Yin remained silent, offering no response. Chen Ming, unconcerned with her thoughts, continued feeding Xiao Yin as he spoke.
"He would have been equally enthusiastic about hunting you down."
"Tai Tan was greedy. He believed the rumors and wanted to extort treasures from Lou Gao. But Lou Gao is one of my people, and naturally, I had to protect him. That's why Tai Tan was punished."
"If I hadn't been here, Tai Tan likely would have severely injured Lou Gao and forcibly searched the Blacksmith Association for so-called treasures. But since I was here, Tai Tan ended up being crippled."
"On the continent, this kind of thing is all too common. It's nothing unusual. For the sake of profit, even husbands will betray their wives. Compared to that, Tai Tan turning on Lou Gao is far more reasonable."
"It's fine to be kind, but don't be foolish. Foolish kindness only serves as a tool for evil people, bringing more misfortune and suffering to others."
"Honestly, I expected you to speak up earlier—whether to lant or plead for Tai Tan. I had considered both possibilities. But I didn't expect you to wait until everything was over to say sothing. Looks like you're not as foolish as I thought."
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