"Kamui"

Yu Hongzhi stared fixedly at the figure ahead.

He had long since used his First Soul Skill, Spirit Amplification, together with his Second Soul Skill, Deep Dream, to control her.

He had silently drawn her into a dream, weaving her a beautiful fantasy no different from reality.

In the dream, she was walking home, while in reality, she was heading toward the secret chamber Chen Wen had prepared long ago.

As for the means he used to conceal himself, it was his Third Soul Skill, Dream Bubble.

By enveloping his entire body in bubbles, he could not only turn invisible but also greatly block others' perception.

To put it bluntly, if he used this set of Soul Skills against a same-level assault-type Soul Emperor in a Soul Fighting Competition, his only possible outcome would be defeat.

But outside the arena, relying on the unpredictability of spiritual-type Soul Skills and the advantage of a large battlefield, he could easily toy to death those Soul Masters who only knew how to charge headlong.

Yu Hongzhi had been exceedingly cautious about this mission.

To deal with a mere Soul Elder, he had activated all three of his Soul Skills, spending Spiritual Power and Soul Power as though they were free.

Maintaining such a wide range of spiritual perception along the way was an immense drain on him as well.

The prerequisite for activating his Second Soul Skill, Deep Dream, was that the enemy had to remain within his spiritual perception range. Once they left that range, the Soul Skill would fail.

Yu Hongzhi guided Jiang Nannan into the carefully arranged trap.

"Soon. We're almost there."

"The Mysterious Turtle Divine Pill will be mine soon."

After decades of obsession, he had finally glimpsed a ray of dawn in the darkness.

An irrepressible ecstasy surged from within him.

He had already planned it out. Once he obtained the Mysterious Turtle Divine Pill and broke through to Rank 70, he would immediately leave Xuanfeng City and head for the Dou Ling Empire.

There were fewer powerful experts there, making it easier to rise through the ranks, and it was far enough from Shrek Academy.

If things were ever exposed someday, he would be able to flee in time.

In the Heaven Dou Empire or the Star Luo Empire, he would not even have a chance to run.

The Heaven Dou Empire was Shrek Academy's home turf, while the Star Luo Empire had countless powerful experts and Official Roads crisscrossing the land.

Even if he wanted to defect to the Sun Moon Empire, there would be nowhere to go. There was no way to heaven and no door into the earth.

Just as Yu Hongzhi had begun fantasizing about his future life,

Huo Yuhao had already crept up behind him.

"Hey, friend."

"Following a little girl all the way here—isn't that a little low?"

The sudden voice made Yu Hongzhi's tailbone go cold. An abrupt chill spread all the way to his brain.

"When did he get behind me?!"

"I knew this mission wouldn't be so simple!"

Yu Hongzhi immediately retreated at high speed. He no longer cared about Jiang Nannan, who was still walking ahead in the distance, and looked up to see Huo Yuhao standing atop a rooftop ridge.

"Who are you?!"

"Wearing a mask too. What a sneaky coward."

Huo Yuhao chuckled. "Interesting. You've wrapped yourself up so thoroughly."

"Yet you call me a sneaky coward."

"Friend, you're being a little hypocritical."

Through the holes in his mask, Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Eye stared intently at the incongruous transparent silhouette ahead.

Honestly, if it had not been a full moon tonight, with bright and clear moonlight, he would never have spotted him.

As long as Yu Hongzhi hid in the darkness, with his ability to block perception, no one would be able to find him.

Yu Hongzhi looked as steady as an old dog, but inwardly, he was panicking like mad.

He could not help it. The masked man stood on the roof ridge with effortless composure, his presence fully unleashed. That was a stance unique to the truly powerful.

Just from his appearance alone, Yu Hongzhi already felt that the other man was overwhelmingly strong.

But Yu Hongzhi had spent decades struggling through the Soul Master world.

He had never lacked the courage to charge at the strong.

Or rather, anyone without the courage to challenge the strong could never break through Rank 60. Timid and cowardly people would only ever stop at Soul King.

Yu Hongzhi knew he had to strike first. Facing someone who might be stronger than him and still holding back would be nothing but courting death!

He dispelled his Third Soul Skill, Dream Bubble, revealing himself, then directly lit up the Fifth Soul Ring on his body. A mysterious and profound black glow flared to life.

He opened with his Fifth Soul Skill, Dream Clone. Three slightly paler Yu Hongzhis appeared at his sides.

Huo Yuhao's expression turned serious, because the auras of those three clones were no different from the original.

"What a peculiar Soul Skill. One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones?"

Yu Hongzhi did not care about Huo Yuhao's confusion and charged directly at him.

Huo Yuhao began to retreat, only to discover that he suddenly could not move.

Looking down, he saw a pitch-black Chain binding his shadow.

Only then did he notice that one of the opponent's clones was crouching in the distance, using a black Chain to connect their shadows.

"He can still use Soul Skills? No, his Soul Ring didn't light up. It's a Soul Bone skill!"

With the speed of a Soul Emperor, the three Yu Hongzhis had already arrived beside Huo Yuhao.

The three formed a killing formation, each locking onto a different vital point.

His head, heart, and spine were all targeted by killing intent.

Seeing that Huo Yuhao still had not reacted, Yu Hongzhi was overjoyed.

"Got him!"

Then the three men viciously thrust their palms forward, intending to kill him in a single blow.

But the bloody scene Yu Hongzhi had expected did not appear.

He watched in shock as the three palms passed into the other man's body as though entering air.

There was not even the slightest ripple, as if they were not in the same space at all.

"Kamui."

Immediately afterward, Huo Yuhao's hand reached back toward Yu Hongzhi's original body.

That hand moved neither quickly nor slowly, but every sense in Yu Hongzhi's body screamed a warning. His hairs stood on end, and his Spiritual Power churned wildly.

Gritting his teeth, he used his Sixth Soul Skill, Clone Swap. Amid a black glow, the Yu Hongzhi clone controlling Huo Yuhao in the distance switched places with his original body.

Huo Yuhao's hand landed on the clone.

Then half of that clone's body began to twist under an invisible force, letting out an ear-piercing scream.

"Oh? The clones can feel pain too."

The remaining clones immediately retreated. The clone in Huo Yuhao's grasp turned into bubbles and vanished, while Yu Hongzhi in the distance suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Looks like a clone's death causes backlash for you."

Yu Hongzhi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. An eerie silence settled over the scene.

"Clones capable of using Soul Skills, a swapping ability, invisibility, suspected Spiritual Power amplification, Shadow Bind."

"You still haven't revealed your Fourth Soul Skill."

"Is that your trump card?"

Huo Yuhao's gaze shifted slightly as he analyzed the opponent's Soul Skill combination.

Yu Hongzhi's limbs had gone cold. He understood now—the other party possessed some sort of spatial ability, allowing him to remain intangible for extended periods and twist space.

Especially since the other man had not even revealed his Soul Rings, it meant it was either a Soul Bone skill or a Martial Soul trait.

This time, he had truly run into a tough opponent.

The eerie calm was quickly broken, because Jiang Nannan walked out of Yu Hongzhi's spiritual perception range and broke free from the Dream.

As the wielder of the Soul Skill, he naturally knew that this mission had failed.

His life would probably not be spared either.

At that thought, fighting spirit reignited in Yu Hongzhi's eyes instead.

Just as that Soul Master with the Blazing Ox Martial Soul had said, "A Soul Master is either bleeding or on the way to bleed."

This profession had always been a symbol of Violence. To die in battle, to die while challenging the strong, was forever the highest honor for a Soul Master.