"Snap."
The instant the snap of fingers landed.
The roaring furnace stopped sparking, and the falling rubble floated in mid-air.
The Bloodblade Guards, still in a downward chopping stance with a ferocious expression, along with the crimson giant blade in his hand.
They were frozen in mid-air, less than half a meter above Jiangnan's head!
Jiangnan turned his head slightly and looked at the Bloodblade Guards who was suspended in mid-air.
There was no human compassion in those black eyes.
He suddenly pulled his right leg back, using his waist to generate power!
A spinning kick landed squarely on the Bloodblade Guards's cheek!
"Bang!"
With that kick, the ball struck.
Jiangnan withdrew his leg and put his hands back into his pockets.
Time has begun to flow again.
"Boom!!!"
The Bloodblade Guards, who was all menacing and ready to kill just a second ago, was sent flying backward at ten times the speed he had come from!
"Clang! Splat!"
He flew more than twenty meters through the air before crashing headfirst onto the rocky ground.
His bandaged face scraped a trail of blood more than ten meters long on the ground.
It eventually crashed into the base of the furnace and came to an abrupt stop.
"Puff..."
The Bloodblade Guards coughed up a mouthful of blood and trembled as he tried to get up.
He discovered that eight of his ribs were broken and half of his facial bones were shattered.
He lay on the ground, his eyes filled with frustration and exhaustion.
"What... what did I do to deserve this today?!"
The captain let out a heart-wrenching, desperate wail from the depths of his heart.
How come they can't beat one after another?!
First, the human with the three-section staff sliced up his brothers like melons, almost wiping them out!
After finally managing to throw that guy into the furnace, we were inexplicably caught in the power outage and ended up getting beaten up like a punching bag by Phoenix Emperor!
Now, he's dragging himself along, barely clinging to life, yet he wants to serve his country with utmost loyalty, but he didn't even see how the other side made their move.
He was kicked more than 20 meters away, and then his face hit the ground to brake suddenly?!
"Who the hell can I even complain to?!"
Bloodblade Guards rolled his eyes, spat out his last breath, and fainted at the foot of the furnace, filled with endless grievances and heartache.
Only...
It seems some people don't want him to rest like this.
Jiangnan walked up to the Bloodblade Guards and looked down at his bloodied and mangled face.
"Smack!"
A slap landed on the captain's face, jolting him awake from his unconscious state and causing him to open his eyes.
"Cough cough... you..."
The captain winced in pain, about to struggle and resist.
"Shut up!"
Jiangnan coldly interrupted him.
Cows moo, horses neigh, and both cows and horses know how to respond!
How can you hear anything if you've fainted?
Immediately afterwards, Jiangnan gave the other party no chance to react, and extended his right index finger, touching the Bloodblade Guards's brow!
"By the words of God, my Soul Engraving, Eternal Vassal!"
Buzz!!!
Upon hearing the eight-character mantra, the Bloodblade Guards's eyes widened!
His body then convulsed violently.
After a few seconds of struggle, the murderous look in his eyes turned docile.
When he looked at Jiangnan again, his eyes were filled with nothing but the purest loyalty!
Even if Jiangnan asked him to eat shit right now, he would swallow it without hesitation.
Tell me, what exactly is down there?
Jiangnan withdrew his finger and asked calmly.
The Bloodblade Guards, whose will had been completely altered, reported the facts truthfully.
"Replying to Master."
"This is the forbidden area of Soul Return Town [Soul Furnace]."
"The entire operation of Soul Return Town requires a massive amount of [Source]."
"The purpose of this furnace is to burn the souls of the living as firewood in order to extract the source."
"But the energy consumption is too enormous; every hundred years or so, the town faces a crisis of energy depletion."
"To maintain its operation, Phoenix Emperor deliberately releases the restrictions every hundred years."
"Then we'll attract a wave of powerful outsiders, kill them all, and use them as fuel!"
"If there aren't enough outsiders to burn..."
"They'll even kill their own people in the town to fill the furnace."
The captain swallowed a mouthful of bloody saliva and continued to reveal shocking gossip.
"This groom selection competition serves the same purpose."
"In reality, it's a trap designed to lure all sorts of experts here!"
"Because the stronger the soul, the more durable the source energy produced will be."
"And now... our Commander-in-Chief Shen Yingchun should already be leading a large army, slaughtering the families and companions of those contestants at the Shen Residence."
Upon hearing this statement...
Qin Jiudao and Zhao Yan, who had just followed the trail to the back, also happened to overhear everything.
Qin Jiudao's face was full of solemnity.
"Lord Phoenix Emperor... how could you have become so ferocious..."
Thousands of years of faith shattered into pieces at this moment.
This is completely different from the people he knows.
Zhao Yan, standing to the side, felt ice-cold all over!
He turned around, his eyes blazing with fury.
"The Shen Residence... it wasn't meant to be used to entertain us at all..."
"That's bait used for baiting the fish's feeding area!!!"
"Shadow and the others must be in great danger!"
"No! I have to go back and save them!"
Zhao Yan ran back like a madman.
But when he turned around, he froze on the spot.
That is...
Jiangnan's eyes sharpened at all of this.
The life or death of others is none of his concern.
But there are his younger brothers and sisters in the Shen Residence!
Jiangnan hates nothing more than others touching his people and things!
His intense possessiveness led him to develop an uncontrollable protective instinct!
So he asked his last question.
Where are the "[Mortal Fireworks Painting]" and "[Mountains and Rivers Brush]"?
The Bloodblade Guards shook his head blankly. "Master... I don't know."
"This is the top secret of Soul Return Town. Besides Lord Phoenix Emperor, only Commander Shen knows it..."
"Pfft!!!"
He hadn't even finished speaking!
A black spike burst forth from the rock beneath the Bloodblade Guards!
It completely pierced his body from bottom to top!
"Well..."
The Bloodblade Guards died on the spot!
"Who?!"
Zhao Yan, who was about to rush out, and Qin Jiudao, who was on the verge of collapse, were shocked.
He wasn't looking at the Bloodblade Guards, but rather at the entrance to the mine behind him.
Phoenix Emperor, dressed in a red dress, had been standing there for some time now.
Her left hand casually dragged along the oblivious Aeria and Ingrika.
And her right hand is still in the forward-pointing position.
The spike that instantly killed the Bloodblade Guards was clearly her doing.
She glanced coldly at the bloodthirsty Bloodblade Guards had died a gruesome death, as if he had merely crushed an insignificant ant.
Faced with this sudden attempt to silence him and the resulting pressure, Jiangnan's expression remained calm and composed.
He didn't even glance at the Phoenix Emperor, but simply took out the [Human Emperor Lamp].
"Buzz~"
The lamp wick glowed dimly.
Jiangnan activated the Human Emperor Lamp, and a suction force surged forth, drawing the soul of the Bloodblade Guards, who had just left his body, into the lamp.
After doing all this, Jiangnan Nan turned around and hung the Human Emperor Lamp back on his waist.
He gripped the Godslayer Spear in one hand, gazing at the Phoenix Emperor at the cave entrance.
At this moment, the tenderness that had characterized their participation in the selection competition was completely gone from their eyes.
There was only coldness!