Coming Clean: I'm a Monster

The Soul Binding Net came down over its head.

Like a gigantic spiderweb, it shattered the sunlight into fragments.

Did it work?

That easily?

Han Yuchen tilted his straw-hatted head slightly, sensing that something was off.

Just as the net drew tight, about to lock the Jade Eyed Fox down completely—

"Shriek—!"

A piercing screech rang out.

It was not a fox's cry. It sounded more like nails violently scraping glass, sharp enough to rupture eardrums.

Damn.

So there really was a change.

Before the screech faded, a sudden mutation erupted!

The cave entrance emanating ghostly blue Ghost Fire flared brilliantly!

Buzz—!

A muffled boom sounded.

It was not heard through their ears.

It exploded directly inside everyone's minds!

"Ahhh—!"

Several of the weakest Soul Elders in the Gao Family group instantly clutched their heads and dropped to their knees. Fine beads of blood seeped from their eyes, ears, mouths, and noses.

Even Soul Ancestors like Gao Yan and Meng Li felt as if someone had slammed a sledgehammer into the crowns of their heads. Their vision went dark, and they staggered.

Han Yuchen's mind also sank.

A Spirit Shock?

Interesting.

It lasted only an instant. The Star Atlas deep within his soul trembled softly, and all discomfort vanished without a trace.

Heh, was that it?

Just because he was fine did not mean everyone else was.

The Jade Eyed Fox, which bore the brunt of it, completely snapped!

Its emerald green eyes instantly filled with blood, turning into two burning-red glass beads.

Roar!

With a roar, its body forcibly swelled by a full size. Its muscles bulged, its claws sprang out, and a crazed, berserk aura burst from it.

Riiip!

The Soul Binding Net, so resilient just moments ago, was torn open by its claws!

It had escaped!

"Not good! It's gone berserk!" someone from the Gao Family shouted in terror.

Too late.

A blood-red shadow flashed past.

Splat!

The Soul Elder charging at the front had his throat ripped open, blood spraying like a fire hydrant.

He clutched his neck and collapsed in disbelief, his eyes wide open.

The scene instantly spun out of control.

The hunt had become a slaughter.

The berserk Jade Eyed Fox neither dodged nor retreated. It simply pounced, clawed, and bit in the most primal fashion, trading wounds for lives.

The Gao Family members scrambled in panic, their formation thrown into chaos as screams rose one after another.

Beneath his straw hat, Han Yuchen's lips curved into a cold smile.

Now.

He did not even speak. Through the moisture filling the air, he sent Meng Li a simple thought.

Make your move!

"Brothers, time to work!"

Meng Li grinned savagely and led his men in a fierce charge from the Gao Family group's rear flank!

They had held themselves back for far too long!

"Fucking hell, you dare steal our business!"

Meng Li's broadsword stirred up a bloody wind, cleaving a poor fellow who was desperately fending off the Jade Eyed Fox cleanly in half at the waist.

Clean and decisive.

Like chopping melons and vegetables.

"Bastards! There really was an ambush!"

Gao Yan saw the distant camp, and shock and fury flooded him. Cold sweat instantly drenched his back.

A mad fox ahead, hungry wolves behind.

They were surrounded!

Keep it up.

The worse the chaos, the better.

Like an inconspicuous wisp of blue smoke, Han Yuchen slipped away from the chaotic battlefield.

He helped neither side.

His steps were not fast, but they were exceptionally steady as he walked straight toward the cave glowing with faint blue light.

"Uncle Yan!!"

A shrill cry filled with endless resentment rang out.

It was Gao Feng!

From beginning to end, he had never taken his eyes off the man in the straw hat.

"That straw-hatted man! The cave is his target!"

Those words jolted everyone awake!

Gao Yan's heart shuddered. It was as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him, instantly clearing his mind!

The cave!

What was inside was the real treasure!

Fucking hell, they had been played!

"Stop him!!"

Gao Yan's eyes nearly split apart as he roared. He no longer cared about the Jade Eyed Fox, unleashing all his Soul Power as he charged at Han Yuchen like a madman.

The remaining Gao Family Soul Elders also came to their senses and immediately shifted targets.

"Fourth Soul Skill, Flame Cage!"

"Second Soul Skill, Ghost Vine Entanglement!"

In an instant, scorching walls of flame and foul-smelling vines sealed off Han Yuchen's path from every direction.

Trying to stop me?

Han Yuchen paused, finally coming to a halt.

He slowly raised his head, a flicker of impatience passing through his eyes beneath the straw hat.

"I originally wanted to get along with you as an ordinary person, but all I got in return was distance."

"I won't pretend anymore. I'm coming clean."

He muttered softly, his voice so low that only he could hear it.

The next second.

Buzz—!

A visible ring of air exploded outward from him!

The Flame Cage was instantly blown apart!

The Ghost Vines shattered inch by inch, turning to dust!

Then.

Before everyone's horrified eyes.

[Restraint Activated]

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

The air solidified.

All sound vanished.

Gao Yan's charging body stiffened as if he had been immobilized, his pupils filled with earth-shattering shock.

Meng Li and his men could barely hold onto their weapons, all of them drawing in sharp breaths.

Hiss—

Even the berserk Jade Eyed Fox stopped attacking. For the first time, an emotion called fear appeared in its blood-red eyes.

The entire valley fell deathly silent.

In everyone's minds, there remained only the endless storm brought by those four colors.

Against the backdrop of everyone standing petrified, Han Yuchen moved.

He did not even use any powerful Soul Skill.

He merely raised his right hand.

His Second Soul Skill, that purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring, suddenly lit up.

Blade of Flowing Water.

Swoosh.

A pale blue water blade, thin as a cicada's wing, flashed through the air.

It was so fast it seemed like an illusion.

The two Gao Family Soul Elders blocking the way stiffened, thin lines of blood appearing between their brows.

Then their bodies slid apart and fell.

Instant kill.

Utterly overwhelming.

Han Yuchen passed through the warm mist of blood without slowing in the slightest.

He took one step forward, easily passing Gao Yan.

From beginning to end, he did not spare this so-called Soul Ancestor a single glance.

It was disregard born from a difference in the very level of life.

Just as an elephant would never care what expression the ants beneath its feet wore.

One step.

He entered the dark, deep cave.

The commotion, shock, and terror outside seemed completely cut off by an invisible wall.

Buzz, buzz, buzz—

The moment he entered the cave, the Star Atlas within him began trembling with unprecedented frenzy.

Like a wanderer who had hungered for hundreds of millions of years and had finally caught the scent of home.

Han Yuchen's gaze pierced through the darkness and fell upon the end of the cave.

There, a palm-sized, irregular star-shaped fragment floated silently in midair.

It emitted a faint blue glow, like an imprisoned star.

Vast, pure, ancient soul power rushed toward him.

He had found it.

Starlight Ruse King's Soul Fragment!

Han Yuchen took a deep breath, suppressing the tremor in his heart as he slowly reached toward the fragment.

His fingertips drew closer and closer.

Three inches.

Two inches.

One inch!

Just as he was about to touch the fragment—

Boom!!!

The fragment suddenly blazed with light!

A dazzling blue radiance instantly swallowed the entire cave!

Then the entire valley—no, the ground within a hundred miles—began shaking violently!

Rocks tumbled down as the earth and mountains shook!

"Roar—!!!"

A roar rang out!

It did not come from the cave entrance. It sounded more like it had risen from the deepest depths of the netherworld!

It was filled with endless majesty and towering rage!

As if an ancient colossal beast that had slumbered for ten thousand years had been completely awakened by his intrusion!

Outside the cave.

Everyone caught in the melee, along with the berserk Jade Eyed Fox, was pinned to the ground by an irresistible and terrifying dragon's might beneath that roar. They trembled, unable to move.

Inside the cave.

Han Yuchen's pupils suddenly shrank to pinpoints.

The ground before him was splitting apart!

Crack... crack...

A massive black fissure appeared out of nowhere. From its bottomless darkness seeped a lava-like dark red glow.

A claw...

A gigantic claw covered in vicious, lava-like scales slowly, slowly reached out from the fissure.