Preparing to Strike

Morag Canyon lay along the border between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire. It had been uninhabited since ancient times, and the target of Qian Yun and the others' mission was hiding there.

The moment Hu Liena jumped out of the carriage, she said, "They really knew how to pick a place."

Qian Yun looked around. Everywhere he looked, he saw dark green vegetation. It had also rained a few days ago, and white mist now hung throughout the woods. Forget finding anyone—just avoiding getting lost would be a stroke of luck.

Yake Entu stood at the head of the group, exchanging intelligence with the surveillance team that had been stationed there.

A moment later, he turned around, his expression grave. "Team, the target is confirmed! The enemy is on the left side of the canyon, with fifteen people in total. There's one three-ring Evil Spirit Master, seven one-ring Evil Spirit Masters, and two two-ring Evil Spirit Masters. The rest have no Soul Power."

Qian Yun nodded. This was largely consistent with the intelligence they had received earlier.

"Under normal circumstances, they'll be guarding three houses. The Evil Spirit Masters have occupied two of them, while the hostages and other people are in the third."

Yake Entu's gaze swept over everyone's faces. "Since this mission is unusual, we need to eliminate the enemy and rescue the hostages at the same time. So I'm splitting us into three teams. I'll lead one team with Amiga and Boli to eliminate the Evil Spirit Masters. Ge Yan will lead another team to rescue the hostages. The remaining two will provide support and ensure our retreat route is secure. Any objections?"

The team members exchanged glances, then all shook their heads. Qian Yun and Hu Liena were widely considered the strongest on the team, so having them with the captain should let them end the fight quickly.

"Good. If there are no objections, Ge Yan, you'll take point." Yake Entu looked toward a brown-haired young man in the team.

"Yes, sir!" Ge Yan looked slender, but he was anything but careless.

He moved to the front of the team and stopped. The fur on his body began to grow rapidly, and a tail slowly lengthened behind him.

A few breaths later, after completing Martial Soul Possession, Ge Yan waved to the others. "Follow me."

His Martial Soul was the Mountain Bewilder Monkey, renowned for its agility. Though it lacked strong offensive power, it was nimble, and in these dense woods, it could make the most of its strengths.

By contrast, the other Agility-type Spirit Master on the team, who possessed a flying Martial Soul, would be severely hampered here.

This was where the difference between Spirit Hall's enforcement squads and academies came in.

Each squad was generally equipped with a full range of Spirit Master types, but every team had its own particular emphasis. Some had more Power Attack System Spirit Masters, so their style naturally leaned toward direct confrontations.

Others had more control-type Spirit Masters, so they focused on working together. Qian Yun's team had more support-type Spirit Masters, which made their style more adaptable.

The team slowly advanced through the thick fog. Before long, as the mist grew denser, Qian Yun finally activated his Martial Soul.

Why were Qian Yun and Hu Liena, both two-ring Spirit Masters, considered the strongest on the team after the captain? The answer was their almost abnormal ability to control the battlefield.

After Martial Soul Possession, Qian Yun's mental power instantly covered the forest within half a kilometer. Nothing around them escaped his perception.

He looked up and pointed in a direction to Ge Yan, who was in a tree. Ge Yan nodded, and the team quickened their pace.

It wasn't long before they found their target.

Just as the intelligence had said, three wooden huts stood below the hillside. They had originally been rest stops for lumberjacks, but given the situation, they could only be occupied by Evil Spirit Masters.

"Qian Yun, you used some Soul Power just now. Do you want to take a break?" Yake Entu asked.

"No need. I barely used any Soul Power."

"Alright." Yake Entu didn't insist. He turned and lowered his voice to the others. "Follow the operation plan."

"Yes, sir!"

Ge Yan led six team members away, while Yake Entu took Qian Yun and Hu Liena in the other direction. Lina and another support-type Spirit Master stayed behind to provide backup as needed.

Since the Evil Spirit Masters had chosen to set up camp here, there were bound to be hidden sentries and traps. So Qian Yun held nothing back. Relying on his almost godlike field of vision, he soon spotted three hidden sentries nearby.

"Two ahead, one on the left," Qian Yun said.

"What do you plan to do? Should I go take them out?" Yake Entu hadn't used Martial Soul Possession yet. His Martial Soul was too conspicuous, and using it now would easily give them away.

"No need. We'll handle it."

"Boli, get ready," Qian Yun said to Hu Liena.

"Oh, alright." Hu Liena drew the dagger she had used to kill the Demon Fox.

Qian Yun smiled. Yake Entu then watched as a mass of white mist slowly drifted toward them and soon completely concealed the two of them.

Even from this close, Yake Entu couldn't tell that anyone was hidden inside by looking at the mist.

The two clouds of mist blended into the fog around them and began to move slowly.

A moment later,

Three barely audible grunts rang out, signaling that the hidden sentries ahead had been taken out.

Even Yake Entu had never seen a method like this before. It was truly eye-opening.

With the sentries no longer a concern, the three soon crept up to one of the wooden huts. As soon as they approached, they could clearly hear the noisy voices inside.

"Now that's satisfying! If I'd known being an Evil Spirit Master was this great, why did I act like an idiot before?"

"Hahaha, exactly!" another man chimed in. "We're nothing but a bunch of worthless nobodies. We could spend a whole year training without food or drink and still not raise our Soul Power by a single level! But ever since we joined the boss, we've gained a level in less than two months. Now we can have both beauties and money!"

"Heh, you ask me, at this rate of one level every two months, what's the point of training? We'd be better off spending our time keeping the boss happy." The man's shrill voice was full of flattery.

Then another voice spoke up. Unlike the flippant tone of the others, this one sounded much more mature. "Hey, brothers, don't worry. I said it before: once you chose to join us, we became one family. Family should share everything, so there's no need to flatter me. Come, let's drink!"

A clattering racket followed.

"By the way, boss, how long until that guy transforms?" asked a man with a somewhat shrill voice.

"Heh, don't worry. It's only a matter of time before my Blood Wolf Martial Soul turns that guy into an Evil Spirit Master."

"Martial Soul... turning someone?" Qian Yun understood. "Doesn't that mean the hostage has already been..."

The three exchanged glances, all understanding what the others were thinking. Yake Entu and Hu Liena completed Martial Soul Possession.

Qian Yun placed a hand on Hu Liena's shoulder, and the First Soul Ring beneath her feet began to glow.

The atmosphere inside the hut remained lively. The middle-aged man sitting in the seat of honor was chatting merrily with his subordinates, raising his cup again and again in response to their flattery.

"Hey, Third, why are you wearing pink? That's so flashy." One man swayed his heavy head and pointed at another.

"Hey, you're right!"

"What do you know? A real man should wear pink."

The boss in the seat of honor narrowed his eyes. As he watched the color grow deeper, he began to feel inexplicably tense.

"Not good!" Only then did he finally sense the faint fluctuations of Soul Power around him. Something was wrong.

"Boom!" He was just about to use Martial Soul Possession when the wooden wall suddenly exploded. A black, gorilla-like figure with fur standing on end charged out of the crimson mist.

Yake Entu's move was like a signal flare. At the same time, an explosion sounded from the room where the hostages were being held.

After Martial Soul Possession, Yake Entu stood over two meters tall. In the low-ceilinged room, he looked like a giant, and his fiery red eyes locked onto the Evil Spirit Master boss in an instant.

"You're done for, kid!" Yake Entu took two strides and reached the middle-aged man, then swung his enormous fist at his head.

Before the fist even landed, the force of the wind made the man's face sting. But he didn't just sit and wait for death. Just as the fist was about to hit him, the second Spirit Ring at his feet finally flashed.

"Bang!" Wood splinters flew everywhere, and Yake Entu frowned.

The Evil Spirit Master leader had narrowly escaped death. Blood-red energy rolled off him as he wiped his nose with a hand that was almost a claw. Blood from the gust of Yake Entu's punch smeared across his fingers, and his face twisted into a ferocious scowl. One white and three yellow Spirit Rings revolved beneath his feet.

"Kill them!"

Everything had happened too quickly—from Yake Entu smashing through the door to the Evil Spirit Master boss narrowly escaping death. The one-ring Spirit Masters simply hadn't had time to react.

"Charge!"

At their boss's roar, they somehow found the courage to summon their Martial Souls. Eyes bloodshot, they charged at the giant standing before them.

Yake Entu didn't even deign to look at these cannon fodder. His second Spirit Ring flashed, and he grabbed a nearby chair and hurled it at their boss.

At the same time, Qian Yun and Hu Liena, hidden in the pink mist, finally struck.

"Spirit Roar!" A nearly transparent wave of light tore through the air and slammed into two people standing close together.

"Crack!" As the gut-wrenching sound of bones and flesh breaking rang out, the two unlucky one-ring Evil Spirit Masters were taken out.

After all, boosted by the Crown, Spirit Roar was simply too powerful for them.

The gruesome sight of their companions' deaths seemed to bring them back to their senses. The madness in their eyes gradually faded, replaced by fear.

"Run! Ugh... Aah! Fire, I'm on fire! Someone help me... Help me!" One of them tried to flee, but ghastly white flames suddenly began to burn across his body.