Ultimate Lightning and Departure

Protected under Yaoyang's arm, Xu Zihuang looked down at the island that had become a crimson purgatory, his expression melancholy.

Yaoyang had actually hinted at this earlier. But he also knew that this was already the best possible outcome. Wang Xiao had brought only a little over forty people. If they continued tangling with the West Sea Soul Engineer Corps, their losses would only keep mounting.

The Imperial Dragon Soul Mentor Corps Soldiers swiftly activated their Flying Soul Tools and flew toward Yaoyang and Xu Zihuang. Aside from Elder Yu and the others who had already met Xu Zihuang, there was also the other group that had previously fought the West Sea Soul Engineer Corps' main force.

There had been twenty-three Soul Emperors in total, but only nineteen remained. Quite a few had suffered injuries to varying degrees, though none were serious.

As for Elder Yu's original group of twenty-one, only thirteen had arrived here unharmed.

"Young Master."

The group gathered protectively around Xu Zihuang. Though their faces were solemn over the deaths of their comrades, as long as they had rescued Xu Zihuang, everything had been worth it.

How could there be no deaths in war?

But at that moment, countless dazzling blue-violet bolts of lightning poured down from the night sky like a waterfall.

Yaoyang, the Spirit Attribute Soul Master with the highest Soul Power cultivation present, reacted instantly and shouted, "Scatter!"

The others instinctively looked up while also heeding Yaoyang's warning and spreading out on their Flying Soul Tools. From those blue-violet lightning pillars over a meter thick, they sensed an extremely dangerous aura.

The source of those blue-violet lightning pillars was Haixiao, who had returned to human form. His dark-blue armor had long since shattered, and a wound deep enough to expose bone ran from his broad chest to his abdomen. His face was pale as gold leaf. With his lungs torn apart, his ragged gasps sounded like a broken bellows.

His eighth black Soul Ring was glowing as a dense mass of lightning gathered over his body.

"Eighth Soul Skill, Purple Thunder Heavenly Prison!"

A streak of blood slid from the corner of Haixiao's mouth, his voice unusually low.

"This should be enough to repay His Highness the First Prince."

Wang Xiao, who had likewise released his Martial Soul Avatar state, saw this and his expression changed drastically.

Though his Cultivation was considerably higher than Haixiao's, he could not possibly block all of Haixiao's Eighth Soul Skill, launched at the cost of all his Soul Power.

His Martial Soul was the Overlord Tiger, an exceptionally unusual existence among all tiger-type Martial Souls. It possessed both darkness and wind attributes. In terms of Martial Soul quality, it was in no way inferior to the White Tiger Martial Soul inherited by the White Tiger Duke's line of the Star Luo Empire. It combined speed and strength, with almost no weaknesses. It was unquestionably a top-tier Beast Martial Soul.

Unfortunately, Defense Power was not its strength. At most, he could do everything in his power to protect Xu Zihuang and the others.

He could not help but regret failing to stop Haixiao's final counterattack.

Haixiao gave a bitter smile and gazed toward the sea east of the island. Beyond that sea lay the country that had raised him.

Scenes from his past flashed through his mind like a lantern carousel. Instead, he felt much more at ease now.

Perhaps he had already made his decision the moment he learned that Xu Tianran had colluded with Evil Soul Masters. Dying here was more of a release for him.

As his consciousness gradually blurred, he forced himself to weaken the power of the blue-violet lightning pillars from his Eighth Soul Skill that covered the area around Xu Zihuang.

Xu Tianran had recognized his talent, but Xu Zihuang's father, Xu Zhengxuan, had also shown him kindness back then. That was one reason why he had treated Xu Zihuang with such courtesy over the years.

Though he knew Wang Xiao's strength was enough to protect Xu Zihuang, he did not want Xu Zihuang to bear too much risk. At the same time, he was fulfilling his duty as Xu Tianran's subordinate.

This was his final conviction. He had wronged no one in his life.

"Everyone, come closer to me!"

Wang Xiao, who had been about to use his Soul Skills with all his strength to protect everyone, suddenly froze upon hearing Xu Zihuang's voice. The Imperial Dragon Soul Mentor Corps Soldiers, who had been frantically operating their Flying Soul Tools, also turned their gazes toward Xu Zihuang.

At this moment, Xu Zihuang's medium-length hair, which had been tied back, fell loose once more. Several strands of bewitching purple hair at his forehead and temples fluttered in the wind. His cold, gleaming violet vertical pupils seemed to carry endless majesty. In his right hand, a mass of black-violet lightning was also gathering, its restless Thunder Attribute elements radiating an infinitely oppressive aura.

Under Xu Zihuang's control, the black-violet lightning in his palm condensed and dispersed into lightning threads roughly as thick as fingers.

To their astonishment, the blue-violet lightning pillars condensed by Haixiao's Eighth Soul Skill strangely dissolved like melting ice and snow upon touching the black-violet lightning threads in Xu Zihuang's palm.

"U-Ultimate Lightning?!" Haixiao's mouth was full of blood as he murmured the words one by one. Seeing the imposing Xu Zihuang, he first froze, then the stiff features of his face broke into the most contented smile of his life.

"Heaven blesses the Sun Moon Empire!"

Lightning was formed from the righteous energy of heaven and earth, granting it an innate restraint over Evil Soul Masters. Ultimate Lightning's suppression of Evil Soul Masters was no less potent than that of the Angel lineage from Ten Thousand Years Ago.

He seemed to see countless Evil Soul Masters perishing beneath a sky full of lightning.

He did not know whether Xu Zihuang's eventual growth would be a good thing for Xu Tianran and his son, who currently held power in the Sun Moon Empire. But it would certainly be the end of those Evil Soul Masters.

With the obsession in his heart gone, Haixiao could no longer keep himself steady. He closed his eyes and plunged straight down, swallowed by the scorching heatwave.

He and his subordinates would rest here forever.

The lightning threads Xu Zihuang had condensed instantly wove themselves into a thunder net around ten meters in diameter before him. Under the protection of that thunder net, this patch of space seemed to become the last pure land. Though everyone was astonished by Xu Zihuang's methods, their formidable combat instincts allowed them to react immediately.

Wang Xiao casually crushed the blue-violet lightning pillars pouring down around him, his breathing becoming somewhat hurried. It was unclear whether this was due to the excessive Soul Power he had expended fighting Haixiao or his turbulent emotions.

"Ultimate Lightning! As expected of the Young Master, inheriting the bloodline of His Highness the Prince and the Princess Consort."

The inheritance of a Martial Soul was directly connected to both parents. Xu Zihuang's Martial Soul was clearly not the sort of mutation that arose from nothing. This was because Wang Xiao could clearly sense that, when Xu Zihuang used his Martial Soul, two evenly matched yet utterly different bloodline powers within him were quietly merging. He could not possibly mistake one of those auras—it was absolutely the power of destruction unique to the Purple Blazing Sky Dragon Martial Soul.

He was one of the few who knew Xu Zihuang's mother's identity.

The black-violet lightning in his palm gradually dimmed. Looking at the night sky that had returned to calm, Xu Zihuang let out a relieved breath before directly losing consciousness and fainting.

Even with Ultimate Lightning's absolute suppression in terms of attributes, this had still been far too much for him, someone who had not even obtained a Soul Ring. Fortunately, Haixiao's Eighth Soul Skill had been constructed entirely from lightning. Otherwise, with his current Cultivation, how could he possibly have blocked Haixiao's Eighth Soul Skill?

Even though he had only maintained a small area, the Soul Power in his body had been completely drained. Fortunately, his body had been nourished by all kinds of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures throughout his childhood, preventing it from collapsing on the spot.

"Young Master!" Everyone looked toward Xu Zihuang with concern, though their eyes now held an additional trace of fervor. The methods Xu Zihuang had displayed just now had simply been too shocking.

A level-ten Soul Master had actually blocked a Soul Douluo's Eighth Soul Skill?

Yaoyang checked Xu Zihuang's condition and reassured everyone, "It's fine. Zihuang merely fainted after exhausting his Soul Power. He'll be fine after resting for a while."

He had already been prepared to intervene, yet Xu Zihuang had unexpectedly held on. Despite the absolute attribute suppression, the pressure Xu Zihuang had endured was entirely real.

Wang Xiao drifted over and exchanged a glance with Yaoyang before heavily sweeping his right hand down.

"Return to the warship first. Leave these waters."