Things Have Gotten Troublesome

In the mist, Hu Liena sneered. In the blink of an eye, three of these lackeys had already been wiped out.

Qian Yun took a moment to glance at the battle situation involving Yake Entu. While adjusting his position, he said to Hu Liena, "We need to hurry. The enemy leader seems more troublesome than we anticipated!"

"Understood!" Hu Liena also understood that if the four-ring Evil Spirit Master were to escape or even defeat Yake Entu, then she and the others would be in danger.

On the other side, the battle between Yake Entu and the Evil Spirit Master leader had reached a stalemate. The opponent was clearly more difficult than the intelligence reports suggested; not only had his cultivation broken through to the four-ring level, but his Blood Wolf martial soul was also bizarre. Despite being a beast-type martial soul, it possessed methods typically reserved for control-type soul masters.

Every time his attacks were about to land, they would be absorbed by the viscous substance on the opponent's body. Even when he risked getting close, the opponent would always leave behind a blood shadow and escape safely.

As the battle progressed, the opponent even began to appear nonchalant. Facing Yake Entu, he laughed, "Heh, my friend, you and I have no grievances. Why fight so desperately? Is it for the sake of the Martial Soul Hall behind you?"

Yake Entu sneered, "Hmph, you know someone wants your head. Instead of thinking about how to survive, you still have the guts to linger here?"

He did not launch another rash attack, but instead waited—waiting for the battle behind him involving Qian Yun to conclude.

However, the opponent seemed to see through Yake Entu's intentions. Glancing at his subordinates falling like wheat, the smile on his lips grew wider. He, too, was waiting—waiting for Qian Yun's battle to end.

On Qian Yun's side, as the last Evil Spirit Master fell, Qian Yun felt a sense of relief in his heart while flashing a smile at the waiting Evil Spirit Master leader.

"Xiao Na, do it!" Qian Yun's hand rested on Hu Liena's shoulder once again.

"Mm, leave it to me!" Empowered by the Crown of Qian Yun, Hu Liena released her soul skill once more, and this time, her second soul skill began to glow.

How terrifying was the empowerment of the Crown of Qian Yun? Almost instantly, pale white flames suddenly ignited on the bodies of the already deceased Evil Spirit Masters.

One, two, three... The white flames swept through like a gust of wind, and in the blink of an eye, the room was a sea of fire.

While fire filled the sky on one side, the other side felt their hearts turn cold as iron. The Evil Spirit Master leader looked at those pale white flames and, for the first time in his life, felt what it truly meant to have a chill run down his spine.

Yake Entu looked at his stunned expression and sneered, "What, is your fourth soul skill useless now? Heh, kid, you must rarely face our Enforcement Team, right?"

Hearing this, the eyes beneath his wolf head flickered. Yake Entu was right. His fourth soul skill,

Soul Explosion

, was an incredibly powerful skill—strong enough to instantly kill the gorilla-like man before him.

But the prerequisite was that it required sacrifices to activate, so he had needed to wait for his subordinates to be wiped out before he could use it. He never expected the opponent to have some sort of foresight, burning the corpses in advance! With that, his pride-and-joy fourth soul skill was rendered useless.

At this moment, Qian Yun and Hu Liena were already standing beside Yake Entu. It wasn't that he wanted to expose himself, but their presence had already drawn the opponent's attention. To avoid unknown risks, staying near a powerhouse was undoubtedly safer.

Facing three soul masters, especially with two whose methods were unknown, the Evil Spirit Master leader felt complete despair.

He shook his head, retracted his Blood Wolf martial soul in an instant, and raised his hands. "Fine, I surrender. You didn't come all this way just for me, did you? I guess that hostage you're holding is your target. Spare my life, and I have a way to restore him to his original state."

Qian Yun looked at Yake Entu. If they followed the original objective, they would kill him without hesitation and leave with the hostage, marking the mission a complete success.

However, an accident had occurred with the hostage. According to the intelligence Qian Yun had overheard earlier, the hostage was very likely already infected. Although the hostage's condition didn't affect their primary goal, if there was a possibility of recovery, it was worth a try.

The three exchanged glances. Yake Entu stepped forward, grabbed the opponent's shoulder with his large palm, and then, to the man's terrified gaze, swung his fist and struck him hard in the stomach!

"Pfft." A mouthful of blood sprayed out. At this point, let alone escaping, even summoning his martial soul would be extremely difficult.

After the punch, looking at the Evil Spirit Master curled up on the ground like a shrimp, Yake Entu showed no mercy and found a rope to tie him up securely.

With this, the Evil Spirit Master had no possibility of escape.

Yake Entu dragged him toward the room where the hostage was being held.

Outside, Ge Yan and the others had been waiting for a long time. Seeing their captain finally drag someone out, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Captain, you're finally done. You aren't hurt, are you?" Ge Yan stepped forward and asked.

Yake Entu shook his head. "No, things went quite smoothly on our end. How about you?"

Hearing this, Ge Yan sighed softly and said with a complex expression, "We successfully found the hostage, but the situation is complicated. He..."

"Alright, this guy has already confessed the situation. Let's go take a look." Yake Entu shook his head, thinking: Just as I thought.

"Yes!"

"Wait!" Qian Yun called out to Ge Yan and the others. "No need to rush. Just bring the hostage out. I'm afraid this guy might pull something if we go inside!"

"Huh?" Ge Yan was a bit confused.

Yake Entu immediately slapped his forehead in annoyance. "Oh right, I almost forgot. Ge Yan, go bring him out."

"Oh, okay."

After Ge Yan entered the room, he soon emerged supporting a blond man. His hair was messy, his clothes looked as if they hadn't been changed in a long time, and a foul stench emanated from his entire body.

This was the target of Qian Yun's mission—Yabojin!

Ge Yan frowned as he brought him over, intending to have him sit on the ground. However, the moment Ge Yan let go, Yabojin slumped onto the ground like a pile of boneless mud. There was no human emotion in his eyes; the man was like a walking corpse.

Ge Yan kindly tried to support him, but Yake Entu said, "Ge Yan, leave him be!"

At this moment, in his perception, this Yabojin was emitting the aura of an Evil Spirit Master...

Yake Entu squatted down and said coldly to the Evil Spirit Master, who was tied up like a rice dumpling, "Restore him to his normal state, or you die!"

The Evil Spirit Master nodded his head like a garlic-crushing pestle.

"Restore... to a normal state, heh..." Just then, the previously limp Yabojin seemed to regain a flicker of life.

Yabojin's lifeless eyes stared at the panicked Evil Spirit Master not far away. His heart was filled with grief and indignation, but surprisingly, he felt not the slightest desire to take revenge.

In the previous dozen nights, he had cursed him every single moment, swearing to the gods that he would grind his bones to dust. But now that his enemy was right before him, he had no desire left, because his heart had already died.

He knew he could no longer be restored; he was already an Evil Spirit Master! Forever!!

Yabojin's chilling laughter was filled with mockery and sarcasm.

"What are you laughing at?" Qian Yun frowned.

"Heh, I am already an Evil Spirit Master! Just kill me, heh." Yabojin smiled dejectedly, his calm tone sounding as if he were inviting a guest over, welcoming them to take his life.

"Don't be like this. You are the General's son; he can restore your Martial Soul, you should pull yourself together!" Yake Entu said.

However, these pale words clearly had no effect. Yabojin suddenly became agitated, his golden hair bristling like an enraged lion. "It can't be restored! It's impossible!"

As he spoke, he suddenly activated Martial Soul Possession. His hair began to turn red, the muscles in his arms bulged, and in the blink of an eye, he looked like a male lion, exerting a powerful pressure.

This was his Martial Soul, the War Lion!

But compared to its usual majestic and imposing nature, his Martial Soul was now wreathed in blood-red light, his golden fur coated in a smear of crimson, and his entire being exuded an aura of evil.

"This..." Yake Entu was dumbfounded. Having seen the old General's Martial Soul, he realized just how massive the change in this lion was; it was as if they were two completely different Martial Souls!

"See? It's impossible for me to recover. This is the truth he stated himself: any Spirit Master infected by his Blood Wolf has no possibility of recovery." Yabojin revealed the despairing fact.

The group fell into silence, not expecting things to turn out this way.

"So, come on, kill me." After deactivating his Martial Soul, Yabojin closed his eyes in despair; only he knew how much his heart was struggling and suffering at this moment.

Seeing that the others didn't react, he roared, "Come on! Kill me! Eliminating Evil Spirit Masters is your duty, I cannot let my family be disgraced!"

"I'm sorry, we have no right to take your life. We came here to bring you back." Qian Yun voiced the thoughts of everyone present.

Qian Yun's words were like a heavy blow, completely shattering his remaining dignity. At this moment, the glory of the past drifted away from him like passing smoke.

The muscles all over his body began to bulge, and the blood-red aura within his golden fur surged. In the blink of an eye, he transformed from a haggard man into a male lion poised to strike.

Yake Entu's eyes were grave. "Hey, what are you trying to do?!"

Perhaps due to the change in his Martial Soul, he felt that this War Lion Martial Soul was even more ferocious than usual. Of course, what was most heart-stopping was the lifeless look in his eyes.

Qian Yun watched his appearance, feeling vigilant in his heart. Although Yabojin was not facing him, Qian Yun felt a sense of danger approaching.

He silently reached out and pulled Hu Liena, signaling for her to retreat further away with him.