The beings that crawled out of the shadows subjected him to precise and brutal torture.
Under the twin torments of fear and pain, he finally broke.
"I'll talk!"
"I'll tell you everything!!!"
He spilled everything he knew.
It was much as Wang Zhi had guessed.
His mission was to join the inspection station outside Shrek City, then use his position as an inspector to give Holy Spirit Cult and Qian Gu Dongfeng's subordinates an easy way through, bypassing Shrek City's inspections.
At the same time, they were installing Soul Tools that could mask their presence throughout the city. These Soul Tools could interfere with Yun Ming's perception and prepare the way for their next move.
He didn't know what that move was.
He was only a collateral member of the Qian Gu Family, assigned to carry out missions. He wasn't privy to the core secrets.
Wang Zhi listened, then nodded.
In that case, the man had outlived his usefulness.
He was about to order the man eliminated...
Boom!
A Ghost Fire blasted through the wall and shot straight toward Wang Zhi!
Wang Zhi's gaze sharpened.
Shadow Domain, unfold!
Shadows surged out from beneath his feet, instantly gathering in front of him into a massive Black Giant Mouth that swallowed the Ghost Fire whole.
The flames thrashed inside the mouth for a moment before vanishing without a trace.
Amid the swirling dust, a figure stepped through the hole in the wall.
It was the middle-aged man who had spoken with the young man earlier.
At that moment, two yellow, three purple, and one black Soul Ring revolved around him, radiating a chilling aura.
He held a Skull Scepter in his hand. A Ghost Green Soul Bone was set into its tip, now glimmering with an eerie light.
A Six Rings Soul Emperor.
The middle-aged man looked at Wang Zhi, a cruel glint in his eyes.
"Heh heh heh, little mouse. You're pretty alert."
He cackled.
"But you never should've interfered with my Holy Cult's plans!"
Wang Zhi replied coolly, "Who gave you Evil Soul Masters the nerve to trespass into Shrek City?!"
The middle-aged man laughed even more wildly.
"Heh heh heh!"
"Once you're dead, who'll know an Evil Soul Master ever entered Shrek City?"
Before he finished speaking, he brought his Skull Scepter down hard.
In an instant, a piercing Wailing Specter shriek rang out, and a Spirit Shock filled with resentment surged toward Wang Zhi!
It was the wails of countless Undead Souls, enough to tear apart an ordinary person's Sea of Consciousness in an instant.
But Wang Zhi's figure turned translucent and melted into the Shadow beneath his feet.
The Spirit Shock missed and slammed into the wall behind him, reducing the already-dilapidated structure to dust.
At the same time, Wang Zhi emerged from the Shadow on the other side of the room and watched the middle-aged man coldly.
Soul Skill: Shadow Animation.
The Shadow beneath the middle-aged man suddenly writhed.
A moment later, it rose to its feet and took the form of a figure identical to the middle-aged man.
It held the same Skull Scepter and gave off the same Six Rings Soul Emperor aura, just as chilling and evil.
Without hesitation, the Shadow raised its scepter and sent a Spirit Shock crashing toward the middle-aged man!
"What?!"
Caught off guard, the middle-aged man was struck point-blank by his own Shadow.
He spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backward, crashing hard into the wall.
"Damn it!"
"What kind of Ghost Soul Skill is this?!"
He struggled to his feet, only to find his Shadow lunging at him in a frenzy.
The two immediately clashed.
Spirit Shocks, Wailing Specters, and Ghost Fire rampaged through the cramped space.
Wang Zhi stood a short distance away, watching coldly.
The Ghost Green Soul Bone in his left leg glowed with a dim light, continuously supplying him with Soul Power.
The Activated Shadow wasn't as strong as the original, but it possessed some of his abilities and feared no death.
With his own Shadow holding him down, the middle-aged man couldn't break free.
"Ahhhhhh!"
"You're dead!"
"Don't let me catch you!"
"Or I'll make you regret it!"
The middle-aged man roared as his sixth Soul Ring suddenly lit up.
The black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring radiated a terrifying aura. Countless Undead Souls poured out of his body, instantly tearing his Shadow to pieces.
But at that very moment...
Shadow Domain, full power!
The strength of the Thirty Ghost Shadow Soldiers all surged into Wang Zhi.
His aura climbed wildly—two rings, three, four, five, six...
Seven Rings!
A Black Giant Hand blotted out the sky as it reached out from the Shadow, carrying the force to destroy heaven and earth as it slammed down on the middle-aged man!
"What?!"
The middle-aged man's pupils constricted. He tried to dodge, but it was too late.
Boom!!!
The Black Giant Hand struck, and the entire Abandoned House collapsed in an instant.
The middle-aged man was driven into the ground by the blow, blood spraying from his mouth as who knew how many of his ribs snapped.
"You... You..."
He raised a trembling hand and pointed at Wang Zhi, disbelief filling his eyes.
How could he be so unlucky?!
He'd run into a Seven Ring Soul Sage!
Just as Wang Zhi was about to order the man finished off...
A blinding Ghost Green light suddenly burst from the middle-aged man's body.
"Let's die together!"
Boom!!!
A terrifying explosion swept through the area.
A Six Rings Soul Emperor's self-detonation was powerful enough to level everything within a hundred meters.
Wang Zhi instantly became a Shadow, sank into the ground, and fled as fast as he could.
The shockwave raged, wiping the already-ruined Abandoned House off the map and blasting a crater dozens of meters across into the ground.
The unconscious young man was buried in the flames along with it.
An alarm suddenly rang out in Shrek City.
Its shrill wail echoed through the night sky, and the entire outer city went into lockdown.
Figures rushed in from every direction, converging on the site of the explosion.
A moment later, a figure descended from the sky and landed at the crater's edge.
She looked to be in her sixties or seventies, her face aged, but her presence was powerful.
Cai Yuer, Shrek Outer Court Dean and one of the Sea God Pavilion Elders.
She stood at the crater's edge, gazing down at the wreckage with a deep frown.
A dense, evil aura hung in the air.
It was the unmistakable stench of an Evil Soul Master: pungent, chilling, and nauseating.
"An Evil Soul Master?" she murmured.
Behind her, a group of Shrek Inspection Team members arrived and stood respectfully at her back.
"Dean, what happened?"
Cai Yuer didn't turn around. She simply said, "An Evil Soul Master detonated himself here."
The Inspection Team members exchanged glances.
An Evil Soul Master?
In Shrek City?
How was that possible?!
Cai Yuer crouched and reached into the crater. After sensing the area for a moment, she shook her head.
"The self-detonation was too thorough. Nothing's left."
She stood and surveyed the desolate surroundings, a trace of confusion in her eyes.
Why had an Evil Soul Master appeared here?
And why had he blown himself up?
But no matter how thoroughly she searched...
She could sense only the dense Evil Soul Master Aura. She couldn't find any other traces.
Before you continue