Playing with Human Hearts

When the battle began, Zhang Lingyu did not seize the initiative to attack. Instead, he hesitated. The hands hanging at his sides flickered with golden light one moment, then turned deathly still the next.

In the stands, the Old Heavenly Master naturally knew what he was hesitating over. He thought to himself, Lingyu, if you cannot face yourself or confront the Yin Five Thunders, you may not even have a ten percent chance of winning this battle. So see yourself clearly. Admit it!

Seeing that Zhang Lingyu was still hesitating, Shen Ye smiled. "Since True Person Lingyu is unwilling to violate the rules of hospitality, then I'll attack first. I happened to acquire a few little toys last night."

As he spoke, three souls flew from his sleeves. Their spectral bodies gradually solidified, and their faces slowly emerged.

The others were still waiting for those faces to fully take shape, but Xia He's heart began pounding violently.

That familiar qi left no room for doubt. Those three souls were Gao Ning and the others. They had actually died?

"How could this happen? Last night, I clearly had people keep watch outside and confirmed that he hadn't sought help before having someone lure him over there!"

Just then, the three souls turned their icy, bone-piercing gazes toward her.

Xia He immediately felt as though she had fallen into an ice pit. "Those three souls still have their consciousness. They recognized me!"

She could already foresee what would happen if the Four Maniacs of the Full Nature Sect were exposed at the Grand Heavenly Offering Ritual.

The next moment, Shen Ye's gaze also turned toward her.

"It's over!" Just as Xia He's heart kept sinking, Shen Ye suddenly looked away. He even forcibly corrected the abnormal behavior of the three souls.

"Did he fail to understand what the three of them meant? Impossible. That meaningful look just now clearly meant he recognized me!" Xia He's relief at surviving the disaster gradually faded, replaced by an even more terrifying suspicion.

"Does he know about my relationship with Lingyu? Is he keeping me alive because he wants to use that information to threaten Lingyu... No, that's not right. As long as he revealed it, Lingyu's personality meant he would never deny it, and there would be no need for this battle to continue. So his true target is the Old Heavenly Master?"

As the three souls gradually solidified, quite a few people recognized who they were.

"That's Thunder Smoke Cannon Gao Ning!"

"The other two are Root of Disaster Shen Chong and Gut-Piercing Poison Dou Mei!"

Shen Ye nodded slightly. "I think those were their names. They called themselves the Four Maniacs of the Full Nature Sect and wanted me to join them. I refused, so we fought. Then I killed them all!"

Upon hearing Shen Ye admit it personally, the entire venue erupted!

"They really were the Four Maniacs of the Full Nature Sect! When the four of them joined forces, even the strongest Outlanders might not be able to defeat them!"

"Wonderful! Who knew how many families they drove to ruin? This time, they finally ran into someone they couldn't afford to offend!"

"Lord Shen Ye... ahem, Lord Shen Ye is simply too powerful. If you ask me, there's no need for this battle to continue. No matter how strong True Person Lingyu is, he can't possibly be stronger than the Four Maniacs working together, right?"

"Speaking of which, where is the soul of Bone-Scraping Blade Xia He?"

"True Person Lingyu is the Old Heavenly Master's disciple and possesses a pure character. He surely would not be tempted by feminine charms. Brother Shen Ye must have known that, which is why he did not release Xia He's soul!"

Amid the shocked cheers, Zhang Lingyu's eyes gradually turned crimson.

"Could it be that Xia He did not heed my warning? Did she still find people to deal with him, only to be killed by him in the end?"

Though he understood that Shen Ye had done nothing wrong and that the Four Maniacs were all enemies, understanding and accepting were two different things!

Pretending not to notice the other man's abnormal state, Shen Ye reminded him, "Be careful, True Person Lingyu. Although their abilities retain only part of their former power, they are still not easy to deal with!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the three attacked at once.

Although their abilities had been weakened, their attack speed was actually faster in their soul forms.

In the blink of an eye, Shen Chong appeared before Zhang Lingyu and threw a full-force punch.

"So fast!" Zhang Lingyu raised a hand to block, but suddenly, everything before his eyes turned pink. Shen Chong seemed to transform into Xia He.

Zhang Lingyu instinctively froze for a moment, and Shen Chong sent him flying with one punch.

Once he regained his senses, Zhang Lingyu felt rage surge into his heart. "Damn it! You bastard, how dare you take her form? I'll never forgive you!"

The Twelve Laborious Emotion Array lightly plucked at his heartstrings, while Dou Mei continuously transformed into Xia He and coquettishly whispered in his ear, "Hehe, is this what the person you meant looks like?"

Then her coquettish appearance changed into one covered in blood. "Lingyu, it hurts so much... I'm so cold..."

"Arghhh!" Zhang Lingyu threw back his head and roared. His pupils were filled with bloody light as he charged about like a bull driven mad by a red flag.

Shen Chong seized the opportunity and beat him without restraint.

At this sight, everyone in the stands fell silent.

Many of them had believed Shen Ye might have the upper hand, but they had never expected that he would not even need to take a single step. With only three souls, he had forced Zhang Lingyu into a desperate situation!

He was even toying with him!

Amid the silence, one person's eyes lit up. "With Lingyu's temperament, the weakened Twelve Laborious Emotion Array should not have affected him so easily. He's this angry... is it because of me? Does he think I'm dead? Hmph, what a dishonest bad boy. I thought I truly meant nothing to you!"

After her moment of emotion, Xia He became conflicted again. "Should I warn Lingyu? But what if I anger that man and he exposes my disguised identity?"

Just as her thoughts became a tangled mess, she heard gasps from those around her. Looking up, she saw the crazed Zhang Lingyu pinned to the ground by Shen Chong and being beaten viciously, nearly too weak to fight back.

Seeing this, Xia He could no longer worry about anything else. Pinching her voice, she shouted, "Little cow-nose, pull yourself together! Show the same spirit you had when you beat me!"

Upon hearing that voice, Zhang Lingyu seemed to receive an electric shock. The bloody light in his eyes gradually faded. He kicked Shen Chong away, then sprang to his feet and looked toward the source of the voice.

Their eyes met. If Xia He had not been disguised, it would naturally have been a beautiful scene. The problem was that Xia He had deliberately made herself up as an ugly man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks today.

Seeing Zhang Lingyu exchanging tender looks with an ugly man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks, quite a few of his female admirers immediately broke down.

"Oh my god, so True Person Lingyu likes this sort of thing?"

"I can't accept this!"

"You're all being so fussy. Isn't this even better? He dares to break through the boundaries of convention. I admire True Person Lingyu even more now!"

The Old Heavenly Master's mouth twitched in the stands. For the first time, he wondered whether something had gone wrong with his guidance of Lingyu. However, he soon noticed Xia He's disguise, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. "So that's how it is. This young lady must be Lingyu's beloved, then? But what does that young brother Shen Ye mean? He seems to be deliberately helping Lingyu eliminate his inner demon?"