Past Events

Hearing Haixiao's words, a flicker of shock and suspicion flashed through the tiger eyes of Wang Xiao in his Martial Soul Avatar state. His pupils then suddenly contracted, and he said in an exceptionally cold voice, "So it really was you who orchestrated the assassination attempt on Prince Zhengxuan ten years ago."

Ten years ago, Xu Zihuang's father had once concealed his identity while traveling through the territories of the Three Great Empires originally belonging to the Douluo Continent. Wang Xiao had accompanied him as his sole guard. Just as they reached the northwestern border of the Heaven Dou Empire and were preparing to return to the Sun Moon Empire, they were suddenly ambushed by two Evil Soul Masters at the Title Douluo level.

At the time, Wang Xiao's Soul Power cultivation had already reached Rank 89, only one step away from becoming a Title Douluo. Xu Zihuang's father was likewise a Soul Douluo whose Cultivation was not far behind his, and with a full set of high-quality Soul Bones bestowed by the old emperor of the Sun Moon Empire, along with his formidable Purple Blazing Sky Dragon Martial Soul, his combat strength even surpassed that of an ordinary Title Douluo.

Though Evil Soul Masters were strange and unpredictable, with their strength, if they had been determined to flee, it would not have been easy for those two Evil Soul Masters who had only just broken through to the Title Douluo rank to keep them there. But they had not been alone at the scene. Xu Zihuang's mother had been with them as well.

Of course, they ultimately escaped from those two Evil Douluo. Otherwise, there would be no Xu Zihuang today.

However, the price Wang Xiao paid to protect Xu Zihuang's parents had been extraordinarily severe. It took him nearly ten full years of recuperation just to stabilize. Moreover, he had been poisoned by one Evil Douluo's Innate Potent Poison. Not only did he constantly endure the excruciating pain of the poison corroding his internal organs and bones, but his Soul Power cultivation could no longer advance.

After returning to the Sun Moon Empire, for certain reasons, Xu Zihuang's father concealed the matter. Then, under the pretext of having Wang Xiao assist with the affairs of his fief, he sent him away from Ming City to recover in the south of the Sun Moon Empire.

Wang Xiao could be certain that no information had leaked. From the time he returned to Ming City until he left, only Xu Zihuang's parents and one Healing System Soul Master—someone who could never possibly reveal the news—knew that he had been gravely injured.

Judging from Haixiao's reaction now, he clearly knew about what had happened back then. Naturally, the only source of that information could have been the other two people who knew: those two Evil Douluo.

The eight Soul Rings around Wang Xiao's body began to pulse rapidly. The Darkness Attribute Domain he had used earlier spread outward once more from his body, and the grim killing intent in his eyes was impossible to conceal.

"It seems you also relied on the power of those Evil Soul Masters during the palace coup three years ago. You colluded with those inhuman Evil Soul Masters to usurp the throne?!"

Haixiao's stiff face shifted several times. His fists unconsciously clenched, then loosened.

Wang Xiao was right. Evil Soul Masters had indeed been involved behind the palace coup three years ago. Otherwise, how could the imperial palace, guarded by the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Corps, have been breached so easily?

He also knew that those Evil Soul Masters had once massacred the people of the Sun Moon Empire. He despised them from the bottom of his heart. But above all else, he had to remain loyal to his lord.

Haixiao suddenly swept his right arm backward, making the armor on his body collide with a crisp metallic clatter, as though he were trying to shake away the last trace of hesitation in his heart.

Blue-violet lightning surged wildly around his body the instant he swung his arm. Behind him, a massive phantom of a strange blue-purple fish emerged.

The phantom fish was entirely blue-purple, broad-bodied and shaped like a bat, with a dark tail lined with spikes. The blue-violet electrical net was spilling from the spike at the end of its tail.

Purple Thunder Bat Ray. This was Haixiao's Martial Soul. Bat rays, also known as Manta Rays, were exceptionally fierce and powerful Soul Beasts of the sea.

Even the schooling Demon Soul Great White Sharks and Evil Spirit Orcas would give way to a mature Manta Ray with ten thousand years of Cultivation. With the strength of the Demon Soul Great White Shark and Evil Spirit Orca races, they were practically immune to poison, yet they alone feared the terrifying venom carried by the spikes on a Manta Ray's tail.

Haixiao's Purple Thunder Bat Ray Martial Soul was an even rarer anomaly among them, possessing Water-Lightning Dual Attributes.

"Imperial affairs are not something a small figure like me can meddle in. As far as I am concerned, as long as the Sun Moon Empire remains under imperial rule, that is enough. Prince Zhengxuan once showed me kindness. Though I knew of the palace coup back then, I did not take part in it. You need not question me like this, Wang Xiao." The hesitation in Haixiao's eyes gradually faded. He raised his head calmly to look at Wang Xiao.

"We merely serve different masters. Though I do not know how you learned where Prince Zhengxuan is being held, since you have led the remnants of the Imperial Dragon Soul Mentor Corps here today, only one of us is destined to leave alive."

"And you do not care about the countless citizens of our Sun Moon Empire slaughtered by Evil Soul Masters?" Wang Xiao sneered, his sharp gaze seeming to pierce through Haixiao's thoughts.

Haixiao could not help frowning deeply. The blue-violet electrical net raging around him became denser, just like his current emotions.

He was not as calm as he appeared.

Wang Xiao's words struck straight at his heart. Born a commoner, he had been exceptionally blessed with powerful talent and a formidable Martial Soul. Precisely because he had been born a commoner, he understood the hardships of ordinary people in the Sun Moon Empire all the better. Sea Soul Beasts that caused havoc, Evil Soul Masters who slaughtered civilians without restraint, and wars with the Heaven Dou Empire and Star Luo that could leave countless people displaced at any moment. The continent appeared peaceful on the surface, but hidden currents churned beneath it.

After graduating from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, his original reason for enlisting directly in the military had been to protect his fellow citizens. Yet the lord he served had secretly colluded with those Evil Soul Masters. He had always felt guilty about it, as if the faith he believed in had collapsed in an instant. But the ideals of loyalty to the sovereign that had been instilled in him for so long made it difficult for him to resist.

When he had voluntarily left Ming City, the center of power in the Sun Moon Empire, and come to this desolate island, was he not also trying to run away?

Wang Xiao gave a derisive laugh. Then he flapped his wings and let out a tiger roar toward the sky, charging at Haixiao with overwhelming ferocity.

Perhaps it was somewhat contemptible of him to seize the initiative by saying things that made Haixiao doubt himself, but if it could reduce the casualties among his subordinates, then he did not care about saving face. Besides, this had always been a fight to the death.

Haixiao came to his senses and instantly cast aside the thoughts in his heart. His abundant Soul Power, mixed with violent blue-violet lightning, surged forward to meet Wang Xiao's imposing charge.

Two yellow, three purple, and three black—also eight Soul Rings, but his Soul Ring ratio was clearly somewhat inferior to Wang Xiao's. The seventh black Soul Ring deepened in color. Enveloped in dense blue-violet lightning, a strange fish over ten meters long solidified out of thin air and appeared above the island. Its back was blue-purple and its belly snow-white, while its mouth and gills formed a bizarre human face.

Facing an opponent as powerful as Wang Xiao, he naturally would not be foolish enough to hold back.

Although the Sun Moon Empire placed greater emphasis on Soul Tools, the higher a Soul Master's rank, the more they actually relied on their own Martial Soul in battle. After all, whether one was a Soul Master or a Soul Engineer, one's Martial Soul was the foundation of everything.

The Martial Soul Avatar appeared immensely imposing, but for Soul Masters of Wang Xiao and Haixiao's level, they could maintain that state for more than half a shichen without using other soul skills. The true deciding methods would be using other soul skills under the Martial Soul Avatar's enhancement, along with powerful Soul Tools that consumed enormous amounts of Soul Power.

The reason both men had tacitly chosen to use their Martial Soul Avatars and fight high above the island was also to avoid accidentally injuring their subordinates or Xu Zihuang, who was still inside the castle.

Another day of going solo...