Yun Shan, Give My Brother an Explanation!

The sinister, eerie voice swept in with overwhelming force. The Xiao Family members, who had only just relaxed, instantly went on high alert. Hai Bodong and Ling Ying appeared at the entrance of the hall at once, their expressions grave as they looked toward the Misty Cloud Sect.

"People from the Soul Hall!" Xiao Yan's expression changed. He knew that cold, sinister aura all too well.

Xiao Zhan also looked worried. "Chen'er, this..."

Xiao Chen remained calm, and the icy curve at the corner of his lips had not faded in the slightest. He gently patted Xiao Yan's shoulder to reassure him, then said to Xiao Zhan, "Father, there is no need to worry. He is merely a rat that hides its head and shows its tail. Good. We can settle both old and new debts with him at once."

His voice was not loud, yet it carried a strange calming power. The somewhat panicked Xiao Family members immediately settled down. That was right—they had a Dou Zun guarding them. What was there to fear?

"Brother Yan, protect Father and the clansmen." Xiao Chen gave the instruction, then took a step forward.

That single step seemed to shrink the earth itself. His figure vanished from the Xiao Family hall, and when he reappeared, he was already a thousand meters above Wutan City. He stood with his hands behind his back, his blue robe fluttering in the fierce wind, his gaze sharp as lightning as it shot toward Misty Cloud Mountain.

"You thing that hides its head and shows its tail, how dare you make such noise before me?"

Xiao Chen's voice rang out calmly, yet it was like rolling thunder, instantly scattering the sinister pressure that had blanketed Wutan City. The people in the city had been trembling beneath that frigid aura, but upon hearing this calm yet imposing voice, they immediately felt the pressure ease. One after another, they looked up into the sky. When they saw that proud figure standing in the void, they were all utterly stunned.

"Who is that?"

"What a terrifying aura... That ghostly screaming just now was suppressed the moment he spoke!"

"Is he from Wutan City? Heaven bless Wutan City!"

From the direction of the Misty Cloud Sect, the sinister voice seemed to pause as well, clearly not expecting the other side to be so domineering. The next moment, a figure shrouded in strange black mist, its features impossible to discern, shot into the sky from the depths of Misty Cloud Mountain and hovered in the air opposite Xiao Chen. The black mist churned, giving off cold fluctuations that seemed capable of devouring souls. It was Protector Wu!

"Hehehe, what big words! I would like to see what a newly advanced Dou Zun like you is capable of!" Protector Wu cackled. Two withered, ghostly hands extended from the black mist and formed a strange hand seal.

"Myriad Souls Devour!"

A shrill ghostly howl suddenly erupted. The black mist rolled across the sky, transforming into countless twisted, agonized soul phantoms that lunged at Xiao Chen with bared fangs and claws. Wherever they passed, even light seemed to be swallowed, while the air let out hissing, corroding sounds. This move could easily kill a Dou Huang and severely injure a low-star Dou Zong!

Yet in the face of an attack that would have made any expert in the Jia Ma Empire turn pale, Xiao Chen did not even raise an eyebrow.

He did not even make a defensive or counterattacking move. He simply stood there quietly.

Just as the countless soul phantoms were about to reach him—

"Buzz!"

An invisible, intangible, yet vast Soul Power like a sea of stars erupted outward from Xiao Chen!

The countless soul phantoms rushing toward him melted away the instant they touched that Soul Power, like snow beneath a blazing sun. They did not even have time to scream before dissolving and being purified into the purest specks of soul light, dispersing between heaven and earth.

The sinister black mist shrouding the sky was also sent churning violently by that Soul Power, thinning by more than half!

"What?!" Protector Wu's cackling came to an abrupt stop. The figure within the black mist shuddered violently as he cried out in disbelief, "Heavenly Soul Realm?! You... who exactly are you?!"

He was nearly going mad! The Heavenly Soul Realm! It was a powerful soul realm that even many high-level Dou Zuns might not possess! It was already absurd enough for a Dou Zun to appear in such a remote empire, yet this was a Dou Zun with a Heavenly Soul Realm?!

Xiao Chen still stood with his hands behind his back, as though he had merely brushed away some dust. His gaze pierced through the thinning black mist, seeming to see Protector Wu's terrified essence.

"You are not qualified to know who I am." Xiao Chen's tone was indifferent. "You dared to touch my Xiao Family and harm my father and brother. Today, you will stay here."

Before his words had even faded, Xiao Chen finally moved.

He did not use any flashy Dou Skill. He merely raised his right hand and made a grasping motion toward Protector Wu from afar.

"Space Lock."

In an instant, the space around Protector Wu solidified, becoming like an iron fortress! He felt like an insect trapped in amber. Even moving a single finger became incomparably difficult, while the Power of Space around him pressed in madly, intending to crush him alive!

"No!" Protector Wu let out a terrified shriek and desperately stirred the black mist to struggle. One soul chain after another shot out from the mist, attempting to tear apart the Space Imprisonment.

But before the absolute gap in strength, all of it was futile.

Xiao Chen's expression remained blank as the fingers of his clenched right hand slowly curled inward.

"Crack... crack..."

The grating sound of space fracturing rang out. The black mist around Protector Wu was compressed until it burst apart again and again, while the soul chains shattered inch by inch!

"Aah—!" Protector Wu let out a miserable scream. He could feel his soul body being crushed and torn apart by that terrifying Power of Space!

"Spare me, sir! I am a Soul Hall Protector! If you kill me, the Soul Hall will never let you go!" Protector Wu finally felt the fear of death and begged shrilly.

"The Soul Hall?" The sneer on Xiao Chen's lips deepened. "Sooner or later, I will personally come to your door and settle all accounts with you."

He said no more. His descending right hand suddenly clenched tight!

"Bang!!!"

A muffled explosion rang out, like a water-filled balloon being crushed in an instant.

The black mist around Protector Wu, along with his soul body, was forcibly compressed and pulverized within the completely sealed spatial cage. In the end, it turned into a wisp of green smoke and was utterly annihilated! Not even the slightest trace remained.

A Soul Hall Protector who had stirred countless storms across the Jia Ma Empire and was enough to make Dou Zong experts flee at the mere mention of his name had fallen just like that! And he had been killed so effortlessly!

The entire world fell into dead silence.

On Misty Cloud Mountain, every disciple and elder who witnessed this scene had gone pale and collapsed to the ground, their hearts filled with boundless terror. Their final support had been so utterly powerless before that Blue-robed Youth!

After dealing with Protector Wu, Xiao Chen slowly lowered his gaze, settling it upon Yun Shan, who was still slumped on the plaza of Misty Cloud Mountain's main peak with an ashen face.

His voice rang out once more, clearly spreading through the entire Misty Cloud Sect:

"Yun Shan, the Soul Hall's lackey has been dealt with. Now, it is time for you to give my brother a real explanation."

"Get up here."

Those final three words exploded beside Yun Shan's ears like thunder, making his entire body jolt as he awakened from his boundless terror and despair at having his cultivation crippled.

He raised his head and looked at the godlike figure in the sky, his eyes filled with despair and bitterness.

He knew that he had no room to choose.

With great difficulty, he struggled to his feet, dragging along his ruined body. Step by step, as though walking toward the execution ground, he staggered into the sky toward Xiao Chen.