Argument

The Holy Light Sword collided with the torrent of flames, erupting in an explosion even fiercer than before.

But this time, the Holy Light Sword lasted less than two seconds before shattering with a mournful cry into specks of light beneath the savage burning and impact of the crimson-gold flames.

The remaining force of the punch slammed viciously into the Holy Light Shield Qian Renxue had hastily raised.

Qian Renxue let out a muffled groan.

Her body was sent sliding back more than ten meters by the tremendous force, her feet plowing two deep furrows through the ground. The Holy Light Shield rippled violently, its glow dimming, while her face beneath the veil turned slightly pale.

With that punch, the victor had already been decided.

"Do you still want to continue?"

With four soul skills enhancing him, Dragon Armor covering his body, and Dragon Shadow at his side, Yan looked like a war god descended upon the world.

Flames of dark gold and crimson intertwined as they burned quietly around him, driving away the surrounding darkness.

He stood amid the scorched, lava-ravaged ground he had created, his calm gaze falling on the somewhat bedraggled Qian Renxue more than ten meters away.

Should I keep fighting?

Qian Renxue was asking herself the same question.

She slowly straightened up, the burning pain in her shoulder and the churning blood within her reminding her of the weight of that strike.

Beneath her veil, the color quickly returned to her pale face, but the shock and frustration in her eyes did not fade.

"There is no need. You won."

Qian Renxue swiftly composed herself, and when she spoke again, her voice had become calm.

She raised a hand, golden light flowing around her fingertips as she gently brushed the scorched mark on her shoulder. A sacred halo flashed, and the burn healed at a visible rate, leaving only a patch of pink skin slightly lighter than the rest.

This was an advanced recovery ability inherent to the Angel Martial Soul.

She slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air tinged with faint golden light. The chaotic Soul Power around her swiftly settled, and the holy light drew back into her body, though it was somewhat dimmer than before.

"Your strength is greater than I imagined."

Qian Renxue only appeared calm at the moment. In truth, her heart had already been thrown into a stormy upheaval.

She had always possessed immense confidence in her talent and strength.

Even though infiltrating Heaven Dou had delayed her cultivation, she had still believed that among the younger generation of Soul Masters, her strength stood in a class of its own.

Yet after today's battle, Yan had taught her a brutal lesson.

She was clearly a Soul Emperor, while Yan was merely a Soul Ancestor.

There was a difference of two major realms between them, yet she had still been the one at a disadvantage in their battle.

Though she still had trump cards she had not revealed, Yan had certainly not used all of his strength either.

Qian Renxue even vaguely felt that if this had been a true battle to the death, with both of them exhausting all their trump cards, the scales of victory would most likely still have tipped toward Yan.

For the first time, this made Qian Renxue feel defeated. She even began to wonder whether infiltrating the Heaven Dou Empire had truly been worth it.

If she had devoted all these years to cultivation instead, what realm might she have reached by now?

But after only a moment, Qian Renxue forcefully dismissed those thoughts.

She had infiltrated for so long, painstakingly killed so many of Xue Ye's sons, and the identity she had assumed, Xue Qinghe, had become the crown prince.

She was only one step away from ascending the throne and becoming the ruler of the Heaven Dou Empire. At a time like this, Qian Renxue could never give up.

Yan did not know what Qian Renxue was thinking. Hearing her words, the roiling flames and Dragon Shadow around him gradually withdrew.

The empowering effects of the Crimson Dragon Tyrant Body began to fade, and the Molten Domain slowly dispersed as well, revealing the scorched, cracked ground beneath it.

"Now that the warm-up is over, can we discuss business?" Yan spoke again.

Qian Renxue did not answer immediately. She walked forward several steps and stopped about five meters away from Yan. "Go on. Why did you come to see me this time?"

"It's about my trial mission."

Yan told Qian Renxue about the trial mission Spirit Hall had assigned him.

"The intelligence provided by the Spirit Temple in Heaven Dou City is outdated and perfunctory. If I rely on them, I probably still won't find even a trace of the Fallen Soul Master squad after four months. So I wanted to ask you for help.

"There is also Sindis, the viscount of Heaven Dou City. I hope you can investigate his background and determine whether he truly has ties to the Fallen Soul Masters.

"If that is confirmed, I will report it to the Spirit Temple, and then I will personally arrest Sindis."

When Qian Renxue heard that Fallen Soul Masters had appeared again along the borders of the Heaven Dou Empire, anger rose in her heart, and she instinctively snorted coldly.

Upon hearing about Viscount Sindis, she became even more furious.

As the inheritor of the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, she was naturally extremely disgusted by Fallen Soul Masters.

Had this not been Yan's trial mission, she would have wanted to act personally.

Only after quite some time did Qian Renxue suppress the anger in her heart.

Once she calmed down and understood the situation, Qian Renxue looked at Yan with a teasing tone. "After listening to all that, it sounds like you want me to help you with everything.

"Is this your trial mission or mine? If I do all of it for you, what exactly will you be doing?"

Yan smiled. "I have my own matters to handle this time as well. Besides, when it comes to gathering intelligence, I have neither the experience nor the manpower. I can only ask the young mistress for help."

"Heh."

Qian Renxue was practically angered into laughter. During battle, he had not treated her as the young mistress, yet when he needed her, he suddenly remembered to call her that.

"Fine, I can do it. But why should I help you?"

As if thinking of something, Qian Renxue looked at Yan. "How about this? Accept my recruitment. Aside from the two elders, every force under my command can be deployed by you. What do you say?"

"Impossible."

To her surprise, after hearing Qian Renxue's words, Yan rejected her outright without the slightest hesitation.

"Again with this!"

Hearing Yan's answer, Qian Renxue nearly went mad. She demanded, "Why? Why won't you accept my recruitment?

"Is it because Bibi Dong discovered your talent? Because of those little benefits Yue Guan gave you?

"Do you know what kind of power stands behind me? If you accept my recruitment, I can give you everything Bibi Dong and Yue Guan can give you, and even more!"

"That is only one aspect of it."

Yan spoke calmly. "I refuse your recruitment not because of resources, nor because of anything else.

"It is because I do not agree with the way you do things.

"You infiltrated the Heaven Dou Empire, played the role of its crown prince, and waited for an opportunity to seize power. If you were the son of a noble, I would admire your courage and submit to your methods.

"But you are the granddaughter of Spirit Hall's Grand Elder. You represent Spirit Hall's future.

"With Spirit Hall's strength, you could have had many more choices, yet you chose the most foolish one.

"You sacrificed your own future to do something highly likely to fail. I cannot acknowledge someone like that."

"Shut up!"

It was as though Yan had stepped on a sore spot. Qian Renxue's emotions, rarely so volatile, flared violently. "You are not me, so how could you know what I have sacrificed for this?

"I have been cautious at every turn, never daring to make a single misstep, and only then did I finally reach this point.

"Success is right before my eyes. An entire empire is about to fall into my hands. What right do you have to call this foolish?

"Do you know why I have done all this? Was it not for Spirit Hall's glory and great cause?

"I want Spirit Hall's glory to endure for all eternity. I want Spirit Hall's great cause to stand forever across the continent.

"And you? What have you done for Spirit Hall? What right do you have to say such things about me?"