The Moment of Slaughter

Just as the stronghold was filled with celebration and laughter, a murderous air began to stir outside.

A mass of Black Mist stopped above the forest on the mountaintop, then gradually dispersed, revealing two dark figures.

"Where are we?"

Having suddenly emerged from that space, Zhu Xiyan instinctively warily surveyed her surroundings.

Before long, Zhu Xiyan spotted the stronghold in the valley, where cheers rang through the air.

Ignoring Zhu Xiyan, Hals stared intently at the stronghold, his gaze burning. His longing for souls made the Soul Flame in his eyes flicker ever more fiercely.

"Kill the people inside. The more, the better. This is your trial. If you can complete it..." Hals turned to Zhu Xiyan, forcibly suppressing his desire, and spoke calmly. Yet his usually low, hoarse voice now sounded strained.

"If you complete this task, it will prove that you have a little worth. You'll be able to make those who once looked down on you see you in a different light..."

Hals's words made Zhu Xiyan's emotions waver. Her chest rose and fell more noticeably, and her eyes burned as she looked at the stronghold, as if she had already sentenced everyone inside to death.

"No. That's not enough." Zhu Xiyan's voice was hoarse, as if her vocal cords had been torn. It was no longer the crisp voice she usually had.

Zhu Xiyan's eyes were bloodshot, as if flames were shooting from them. "I still have to repay them properly and let them experience my care, too!"

The corners of Hals's mouth lifted beneath his hood, then stretched wider and wider until he was silently grinning.

"Very good. Very good..."

His voice was barely audible. Through Zhu Xiyan's body, the Soul Flame in Hals's eyes clearly saw the blazing fire of her soul—a flame of rage and revenge.

"Phew."

Grinning strangely, Hals waved his hand, his robe billowing as a thick mass of Black Mist burst out and enveloped him. In an instant, he vanished, leaving only a whisper drifting over the mountaintop.

"Go. I'll be waiting for you at the finish line..."

As the sound of her teacher's voice faded beside her ears, Zhu Xiyan drew a deep breath and slowly let it out. In moments, the fervor in her eyes had turned to terrifying calm, and a chill surged from her.

She crouched slightly. Three Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, and purple—appeared behind her and slowly pulsed, yet strangely gave off no dazzling light.

As her Soul Rings appeared, a pair of small, adorable cat ears sprouted from Zhu Xiyan's head.

Her left hand brushed her waist, and a black mask appeared in it as before. She raised it to cover her face, the corners of her mouth curving into a cruel smile beneath it.

Her feet suddenly drove into the ground, and she shot down the mountain like a black shadow.

"The hunt begins..."

Turning into a shadow, Zhu Xiyan soon reached the stronghold's gate. She looked up at the few inattentive guards posted at the watchtower. As she smiled sweetly, her dim First Soul Ring flashed with a faint glow. In the blink of an eye, her already astonishing speed increased further, and she pounced on the guards like a hare.

The guards at the gate were unusually lax today. The whole stronghold was holding a feast, but they had drawn the short straw and been stuck on gate duty, missing out on the celebration.

As one of them grumbled, a guard leaning on his spear suddenly saw a clawed hand emerge from the chest of the companion who had just been complaining beside him. The hand clutched a heart that was still beating.

The guard froze, then instinctively rubbed his eyes. When he opened them again, a graceful figure stood before him.

The figure wore a hood, and the lower half of her face was covered by a black mask. But her eyes, curved into crescents, showed that she was a woman.

The guard finally reacted. He stumbled back in terror, tripping over the spear in his hands and falling to the ground.

He opened his mouth, but before he could cry out, the sound was trapped in his throat.

"En..."

A slender hand tipped with sharp claws pierced his heart, and blood stained the arm holding it.

With a squelch, she pulled her arm free, and the guard crumpled to the ground.

Zhu Xiyan watched the heart in her hand slowly stop beating. Beneath her mask, she extended her pink tongue and gently licked her lips, looking almost alluring.

"Welcome to hell..."

Her voice was languid and low, with a slight huskiness that did nothing to conceal its enticing quality. Killing for the first time seemed to have completely unleashed the beast that had been imprisoned within Zhu Xiyan.

She casually crushed the heart in her hand and looked toward the center of the stronghold. Countless people were waiting for her there.

She chuckled softly, then vanished again like a shadow.

"Oh, well. Looks like there are plenty of new toys waiting for me..."

The Bald leader felt a little drunk. Half-conscious, he proudly surveyed his men below. This was the realm he had carved out, and only a hero like him could attain immortality.

But the Bald man felt a little confused. Was something wrong?

As he tried to make sense of his surroundings, he caught a faint but familiar smell in the air.

He had known that smell for half his life. It was...

The stench of blood!

The Bald man's eyes flew wide open, veins snaking across his smooth, gleaming scalp.

"Crash!"

The Bald man sprang to his feet, his face contorted with rage and the flesh on his cheeks trembling. He kicked the table before him aside, Soul Power surging through his body as a half-man-tall blue-gold Giant Axe appeared in his hand.

He split the table in front of him with a vicious swing. Plates, bowls, food, and wine scattered across the floor. Raising the axe from the wreckage, the Bald man glared around and roared:

"Damn it! What little thief dares cause trouble on my turf?!"

The sudden commotion jolted the handsome young man beside him, who was so unused to drinking that he was nearly passed out. He scrambled away in fright.

Not a single bandit sitting below dared utter a sound. In the blink of an eye, the stronghold had gone from full of laughter to utterly silent.

After a moment, a languid, slightly husky and alluring voice sounded from a corner. Zhu Xiyan's graceful figure was leaning over a bandit, who lay motionless.

The Bald man glared toward the corner where the voice had come from. He saw the bloody heart Zhu Xiyan was playing with, as well as the gaping hole in the chest of the man beside her.

His eyes narrowed. The bandits who knew him well could tell that the little thief before them was in for it.

The Bald man's voice was deep but restrained. He held his axe and walked slowly toward Zhu Xiyan, one step at a time.

"Who gave you the nerve to come here and cause trouble, you little Soul Elder? Hmm?"

He suddenly picked up speed, covering the distance in a few great strides. He swung the Giant Axe with casual ease, and it came down wrapped in a gust of wind.

Alarm bells rang in Zhu Xiyan's mind. She immediately shoved the corpse beneath her away. Her First Soul Ring flashed, and she turned into a shadow, narrowly dodging the mighty blow.

"Splurt!"

The sound of an axe biting into flesh rang out. The bandit's corpse had been split in two from head to toe.

There was no imagined spray of blood soaring three meters into the air. The heart had already been removed, and most of the blood had drained away. Still, plenty of bright red blood and murky white brain matter splattered everywhere.

His attack had missed. The Bald man's face darkened as he casually lifted his Giant Axe from the corpse. He wiped his left hand across his scarred face, removing the substance resembling tofu pudding that had landed beside his mouth.

"Good."

The Bald man's voice was low. A mighty surge of Soul Power burst from his body, and six Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, yellow, yellow, purple, and purple—radiated ferocious power without pause.

"Bitch, you've made me angry."