"Who?!"
"Which blind fool dares meddle in our affairs? You're asking to die!"
Sensing that terrifying aura approaching without the slightest attempt to conceal itself, the black-robed Soul Emperor at the forefront spun around. Beneath his hood, his eyes blazed with a vicious, blood-red light.
But the only response he got was two words.
Calm, yet imbued with the absolute authority of a divine judgment.
"Silence."
There was no flashy windup, nor any lengthy incantation.
Gu Yuejin cut into the battlefield like a specter, and crimson light suddenly erupted from his left arm.
Fire Dragon King Arm Bone—Fierce Flame Grip!
Blazing dragonfire surged out of thin air, instantly coalescing into a monstrous claw wreathed in Extreme Fire. Carrying a terrifying heat that could burn all things to ash, it came crashing down on the Soul Emperor.
"This fire... Something's wrong with it!!"
The Soul Emperor paled in alarm and hurriedly released a shield of black mist to fend it off.
But before Extreme Fire, the Vengeful Spirit Black Mist that was usually so difficult to deal with was like the last snow melting beneath the blazing sun. It vanished in an instant.
Boom—!
A muffled thud rang out.
The arrogant Evil Soul Master Soul Emperor didn't even have time to scream before the massive claw sent him flying. His chest was charred black as he crashed into the mountainside like a broken kite, his life or death unknown.
At the same time,
Gu Yuejin didn't stop moving. Blue light flowed across his right arm as a chill capable of freezing the soul spread through the air.
Water Dragon King Arm Bone—Thousand Miles of Ice Seal!
Countless sharp icicles coalesced out of thin air, sweeping toward the other two Soul Kings in a deadly rain.
The two Evil Soul Masters initially tried to dodge with their movement techniques.
But they soon discovered, to their despair, that the icicles seemed to have eyes. No matter how they darted and weaved, the spikes always appeared precisely along their Path of Necessity.
It was Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection Share!
Guided by an omniscient perspective, every one of Gu Yuejin's attacks precisely sealed off every possible escape route.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Accompanied by the dull sound of blades piercing flesh,
the two Soul Kings realized in horror that icicles had already pierced the joints of all four of their limbs, pinning them firmly to the ground.
Worse still, the extreme chill that had invaded their bodies instantly suppressed the activity of their Evil Martial Souls. They couldn't even self-destruct.
The battle ended in the blink of an eye.
Gu Yuejin had barely moved. With only the basic abilities granted by the Water Fire Dragon King Soul Bone, he had crushed the three Evil Soul Masters who had left Ye Guyi utterly despairing.
"Done."
Gu Yuejin dusted off his hands, as if he had casually swatted a few flies.
He walked over to the Soul Emperor, who was still twitching in the ruins, raised his foot, and crushed the man's dantian without hesitation.
He had crippled the man's cultivation completely, ensuring he could pose no further threat.
Only after finishing all that did he turn to look at the golden-haired girl leaning against the rock wall, still shaken to her core.
"It's all right now."
Gu Yuejin spoke calmly. His gaze passed over the Light Sword in her hand, and a trace of approval flickered in his eyes.
"You have the Holy Angel Martial Soul?"
"The Holy Attribute counters Evil Martial Souls. No wonder those gutter rats targeted you. To them, you're both a natural enemy and the greatest tonic."
Ye Guyi forced herself to stand straight. The Light Sword still hadn't disappeared from her hand, and the despair in her eyes had turned to deep suspicion and gratitude.
She couldn't gauge the strength of the young man before her, but the domineering ease with which he had killed a Soul Emperor made it clear: if he wanted to harm her, she had no means of resisting.
"Thank you for saving me, senior..."
Ye Guyi took a deep breath, her voice somewhat weak. "Do you... recognize my Martial Soul?"
"I've heard a little about it."
Gu Yuejin nodded slightly. "From the looks of it, you're alone. What about your family? Were there no elders to escort you?"
At the word "family," Ye Guyi's expression darkened at once, and a deep-seated hatred flashed in her eyes.
"My family... has long since fallen into decline."
"These people have been hunting me for months. I've been moving from place to place, hiding. If you hadn't stepped in today, senior, I'm afraid..."
She bit her lip and didn't finish.
Just as I thought.
Gu Yuejin thought to himself. This was much the same as in the Original Work.
His mind raced.
The Holy Angel Martial Soul naturally countered Evil Spirits and had tremendous potential.
And Ye Guyi had held out against a gang of Evil Soul Masters for this long. She was resilient and experienced in actual combat.
She was exactly the "Anti-Evil Specialist" the Reserve Team needed right now, and would also be a great asset in the future fight against the Holy Spirit Cult.
"If you have nowhere to go, why not come with me?"
Gu Yuejin looked Ye Guyi in the eye and extended an invitation.
"I'm a teacher at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, and I happen to be short someone who can fight like you."
"Come with me. I'll offer you protection and resources."
"In return, whenever you run into gutter rats like these, you'll be responsible for cleaning them up."
"How does that sound?"
Ye Guyi froze.
She hadn't expected him to make such an offer.
The Sun Moon Empire? Wasn't that a place overrun with Evil Soul Masters?
But as she looked into Gu Yuejin's clear yet commanding eyes and recalled the ruthless way he had slain the Evil Soul Masters, her guard gradually lowered.
Right now, she was like a duckweed on the water. Without a powerful person to protect her, she would sooner or later die in the next pursuit.
"I..."
Ye Guyi considered it for a moment, then finally put away her Martial Soul and bowed deeply to Gu Yuejin.
"All right. As long as I can become stronger, as long as I can wipe out these Evil Soul Masters, I'm willing to follow you, senior."
"A wise choice."
The corner of Gu Yuejin's mouth lifted slightly. He then turned to look at Huo Yuhao, who was standing not far away in standby mode.
"There's too much blood in the air here. We shouldn't stay long, but there's no time to find another place."
"Yuhao, don't just stand there. Go absorb that Silver Moon Wolf King's Soul Ring."
"Guyi, take your medicine here and recover. While you're at it, keep watch over my Disciple."
"When he's done, we'll head back to Mingdu."
"Yes, Master!"
Huo Yuhao didn't waste a word. He immediately ran over to the unconscious Silver Moon Wolf King and ended its suffering with a swift strike.
Hum—
A deep black Soul Ring slowly rose from the wolf's corpse.
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, sat cross-legged, and began guiding the immense Soul Power into his body.
Nearby, Ye Guyi had just taken a healing pill and was about to close her eyes and recover.
But the moment her peripheral vision caught sight of the Soul Ring around Huo Yuhao, her entire body froze. She even forgot to breathe.
"Black... Black?!"
Her eyes widened as she stared at Huo Yuhao, then at the Soul Ring that symbolized ten thousand years of cultivation.
"He... Isn't he only going after his Third Soul Ring?!"
"A ten-thousand-year Soul Ring as his Third Soul Ring?! Is he trying to get himself killed?!"
According to common knowledge in the Soul Master World, the limit for a Third Soul Ring was around seventeen hundred years.
Even the most gifted geniuses could manage only two thousand years at most.
Going straight for ten thousand years? That was suicide!
But what shocked her even more was this:
Although fine beads of sweat had appeared on Huo Yuhao's forehead, the faint shadow of the Ice Empress appeared behind him, radiating Extreme Cold and firmly suppressing the ten-thousand-year Soul Ring's spiritual turbulence.
The process was painful, but remarkably stable!
"What... What kind of monsters are these?!"
Ye Guyi looked at Gu Yuejin, who was calmly keeping watch, then at Huo Yuhao, who was absorbing a Soul Ring in defiance of all common sense.
She suddenly felt as if she had just boarded some kind of... extraordinary pirate ship.
Before you continue