Good News, You Don't Have to Die

The next second!

Yabojin, who had been facing Yake Entu, suddenly turned and lunged at Qian Yun behind him—or, more precisely, at Hu Liena, who was standing beside Qian Yun.

With the boost from his Martial Soul and his tall, muscular frame, he closed in on Hu Liena in less than half a breath, almost as if he had Teleported. His hair flew wildly, and his face was filled with despair and ferocity.

"Damn it!" Yake Entu cursed. He pushed off with his legs and thrust out an arm, which instantly bulged with muscle, while the rest of his body remained unchanged.

This was his trump card: Martial Soul Semi-Possession! With this technique, he could use some of his Martial Soul's power in an emergency without summoning it completely.

But he had clearly underestimated Yabojin's resolve. Even after Yake Entu grabbed his wrist, Yabojin's charge didn't slow. Instead, he strained against the grip, and a sharp crack came from his joint as his wrist twisted into a mangled mess.

Yake Entu was startled by the sound, but there was no time to worry about it. He was already struggling to restrain Yabojin. In his current state of Martial Soul Semi-Possession, his strength and reaction speed couldn't compare to those he would have with full Martial Soul Possession.

It all happened so suddenly that most of those present couldn't react in time. Hu Liena only felt Qian Yun pull her back. In almost an instant, Yabojin was already right in front of her.

The sudden change left her no time to react. Fortunately, Qian Yun's warning had given her and the blond man a little more distance, and that single step was enough for Qian Yun to get in front of her.

There was no time to summon her Martial Soul. Gathering the elements took time. With Qian Yun standing in front of Hu Liena, the only thing he could do now was...

"Block—!"

There was no sound of a physical impact. A flash of golden light passed, and Yabojin was flung away as if he were a trapped beast crashing into an iron gate. The moment his body touched Qian Yun, the force rebounded and sent him tumbling.

"Whoa."

Hu Liena cried out in surprise at the reversal. The blond man, who had been charging so fiercely, had been stopped by Qian Yun as easily as if it were nothing. Qian Yun hadn't even moved.

Looking at Yabojin lying on the ground, Qian Yun stared at his own hand in confusion.

"Is the Dharma Source Barrier really this strong?" The golden light surrounding him finally faded. Qian Yun felt the Dharma Source Note on his chest tremble slightly, then fall still.

"Are you all right?" Hu Liena came over and took Qian Yun's hand. Her little face turned furious as she pointed at Yabojin, who was pinned down by Yake Entu. "Hmph! We risked our lives to save you, and you attack us? What a heartless ingrate! Pah!"

"Heh." Proud as he was, all he could do in response to her scolding was laugh bitterly.

The pain in his body—especially the searing pain in his wrist—was nothing compared to even a fraction of the grief and outrage in his heart.

He hadn't actually meant to hurt anyone. He'd only wanted to provoke Yake Entu into killing him, but he hadn't even managed to do that.

Yake Entu glanced at the two of them and could only shake his head silently. He told Ge Yan to hurry and fetch Lina to treat him.

After a while

Lina summoned her orb and began treating Yabojin. Meanwhile, Qian Yun and Yake Entu dragged the Evil Spirit Master off to one side.

"Captain, what should we do with this guy?" Qian Yun looked at Yake Entu. Judging by their conversation just now, the man had no way to restore Yabojin, which meant he had outlived his usefulness.

"Mm... mm." Sensing that things were going badly, the Evil Spirit Master forgot his pain and began struggling violently.

Yake Entu met his pleading gaze with an impassive look, then kicked him in the waist. "Hold still!"

Then he bent down, untied the strip of cloth around the man's mouth, and said, "I'll ask you one last time. You'd better answer honestly, because this is your last chance."

"All right, sir, I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"

Yake Entu pointed at Yabojin, who was receiving treatment. "Is there really no way to restore him?"

The Evil Spirit Master swallowed, his eyes shifting uneasily. "Uh... probably not?"

Yake Entu promptly hit him again. "What do you mean, 'probably'?"

The Evil Spirit Master hurried to explain. "It's true that my Blood Wolf Martial Soul can alter a Martial Soul, but it doesn't change it at its core. It's more like an added state. In theory, he can recover as long as that state is dispelled."

Qian Yun frowned. "When you say 'in theory,' do you mean you've tried, but failed?"

"Right. To dispel the state, it has to be done before the corruption goes too deep, and even then, you'd need a Soul Douluo. Alternatively, someone with a dark-attribute Martial Soul could help him dispel it, but that person's Martial Soul would have to be exceptionally strong."

He gave a self-mocking laugh. "Hmph, but how easy is that? That's why I said it's only theoretically possible."

Qian Yun nodded. "Good."

The Evil Spirit Master looked confused. "Good? Why is that good?"

But before he could say anything else, Yake Entu stepped in front of him, blocking his view. Qian Yun took the hint and turned away.

He glanced thoughtfully at Yabojin and wondered, I wonder if my Martial Soul will work.

Another half a day passed. After completely eliminating the Evil Spirit Master and rescuing the hostages, they had finally completed their mission.

Everyone in the team was in high spirits on the way back. This mission had been difficult, but the reward was equally generous. The Spirit Hall would surely give them a substantial commendation.

Qian Yun discreetly signaled to Hu Liena, then headed toward the back of the carriage. Seeing this, Hu Liena silently got up and followed him.

A small, separate room had been partitioned off at the very back of the carriage. Yabojin was currently tied hand and foot to a chair.

He was no longer a hostage who needed protecting. Judging by his sudden attempt to attack someone and the change in his Martial Soul, he was now quite dangerous.

After entering the room, Qian Yun went straight over without a word and removed Yabojin's blindfold, then stared at him in silence with an impassive gaze.

Yabojin looked up at him, then quickly lost interest. "Hmph. What do you want?"

He no longer hoped they would take pity on him and grant him a quick death. He only hoped his family would put him to death with a little less humiliation once he returned.

Qian Yun shrugged. "Nothing much. I just want to use you for an experiment."

"An experiment?" Yabojin instinctively wanted to refuse, but he was also a little curious.

After a moment, he spoke again. "If you're thinking of restoring my Martial Soul on your own, I'd advise you to give up. I've stopped hoping for a miracle. Actually..."

Qian Yun sighed. "Stop! I don't care what you think. I'm here just to run an experiment."

Yabojin opened his mouth, then gave a bitter smile. He hadn't thought that one day he'd have his dignity stripped away and be used as a test subject. "Fine. Go ahead and experiment. If it's dangerous, all the better."

Qian Yun summoned his Martial Soul. "Dream on. If you actually die by my hand, I won't have to pay with my life, but it'll still cause trouble. I'll be careful."

He turned and gave Hu Liena a quick instruction. "Boli, if someone comes by later or things look wrong, interrupt the experiment with a hit."

Hu Liena leaned against the door. "All right. Be careful."

"Heh, I know." Qian Yun turned back to Ya—, his easygoing expression gone. "I'm starting."

Without hesitation, Qian Yun placed his hand on top of Yabojin's head. Then his Soul Power surged out.

"Ugh!"

Yabojin clenched his teeth. Qian Yun's Soul Power poured down from the top of his head. It felt as if he were standing beneath a waterfall. The sheer force of the suppression made it hard to believe that the person before him was only a Soul Grandmaster!

Qian Yun drove his Soul Power through Yabojin's body. It took little effort to reach his dantian.

Just as the Evil Spirit Master had said, a thick mass of blood energy filled it, while the Soul Power that had once been normal could only huddle off to one side.

Qian Yun opened his eyes and said to Yabojin, whose face was contorted with pain, "The situation is manageable. I'm going to try refining this mass of blood energy. It'll be very painful, but there's a good chance you'll recover."

Yabojin stared up at Qian Yun's indifferent, golden eyes. Though he had already resolved to die, who would willingly die branded as an Evil Spirit Master if there were a chance to recover?

He gritted his teeth and forced out, "Do it!"

"Good." Qian Yun nodded and focused again on Yabojin's dantian. At the same time, the Star Power carried within his Soul Power began to make contact with the blood energy.

With a hiss, Qian Yun used fire infused with Star Power to scorch the area around Yabojin's dantian.

"Ah!!" Being treated so brutally at such a vital spot made the pain so overwhelming that it was almost worse than death.

Yabojin's cries of pain did nothing to shake Qian Yun's resolve. He continued to carefully scorch the blood energy with flames.

Fortunately, Qian Yun's flames, infused with Star Power, were remarkably effective against this kind of blood energy. It was cleared away almost without any resistance.

By then, Yabojin's willpower was nearly at its limit. But Qian Yun still didn't rush or withdraw his Soul Power. Instead, he severed its connection to himself, ensuring he wouldn't be contaminated by the blood energy.

"Haah! Haah—!"

Yabojin gasped for air, barely able to make out Qian Yun's face through his fading consciousness. He was both shocked and afraid.

Qian Yun's method had been brutal. Not only had he set fire to Yabojin's insides, but he had also burned away three levels of his cultivation along with it. It was like forcibly shrinking a normally grown person by several centimeters.

Even if he recovered someday, this was bound to damage his foundation.