Reborn in Blood (Part 2)

"This is what slaughter truly means!"

Before the words faded, the dazzling blood-red soul ring behind him flickered, and a thick, oil-like black mist seeped from Hals's body, slowly spreading across the entire hall. By the time his voice dissipated, the once stagnant black mist seemed to receive a sudden signal, churning and surging like a living thing. In an instant, everyone present except Hals and Zhu Xiyan felt their bodies go limp, drained of strength.

Clang.

A dull sound rang out as Bald grew too weak to even hold his own martial soul, the Giant Axe. Following the noise, Bald's eyes were filled with shock and disbelief. As a soul master, one's martial soul was akin to a part of their own body—yet he could no longer bear its weight. This was simply unbelievable.

As the black mist churned more violently, Hals felt an endless surge of soul power welling up within him, replenishing his consumption. A smirk curled at the corner of his mouth. "This feeling... it's incredible!!"

Boom!!

Feeling the power coursing through him, Hals abruptly spread his arms into a cross shape. His hood flew back, revealing hair that shimmered with an eerie green glow mixed with strands of white, along with two flickering green flames in his eye sockets. His face—half pale and smooth, half covered in faint scars—was now fully exposed.

That face now bore a wild, manic grin. Hals reveled in the surging power within him and the thrill of slaughter!

His fourth soul ring resonated, a hoarse yet distant sound echoing in overlapping layers, as if hammering heavily against the hearts of every bandit present.

"Perish!!!"

Thin "serpents" formed of blood slowly seeped from the seven orifices of the bandits. Looking around, all the bandits had vacant eyes, and the blood flowing from their orifices carried faint, glowing green specks. Only Bald, a Soul Emperor, fared slightly better, but even he was wracked with pain, trembling, and staring in terror as he endured it all.

He strained with all his might to lift a hand and wipe his mouth and nose, but realized in agony that he could no longer control his own body.

Hals's expression burned with fervor, the soul flames in his eyes leaping violently. He forced a hoarse roar from his throat:

"Death is not the end—it is a new beginning! So..." His fervor did not wane as his second and sixth soul rings flashed simultaneously. Translucent, green-glowing tentacles, as if rooted in the void itself, abruptly appeared in the empty air, stretching their bodies with a menacing aura.

"So, welcome death, and offer your most precious tribute to this great moment!!!"

As his voice rang out, the tentacles lashed down sharply, wrapped in a vicious wind.

Smack, smack, smack, smack, smack...

A crisp series of explosions sounded. Brilliant flowers of red and white bloomed in midair as heads burst and vanished one by one. All that remained were standing corpses—headless corpses!

The fervor on his face gradually subsided into calm. Gazing at the corpses, the soul flames in Hals's eyes still flickered intensely. He raised his left hand slightly, and the Soul-Guiding Lantern slowly rose from his waist, suddenly blazing with light.

The Soul-Guiding Lantern spewed green radiance, which seemed to be guided by some invisible force, rotating slowly before forming a massive, waist-high vortex.

Woo woo woo...

Zhe zhe zhe...

Countless chaotic, piercing sounds erupted. Inside the vortex, the upper halves of struggling, wailing souls appeared, clawing frantically as if trying to escape the prison that held them. But soon, they realized their efforts were futile—not a single soul could break free. So, with hatred, jealousy, and schadenfreude in their eyes, they reached out, grabbed the newly formed, hazy souls of the bandits, and dragged them into the vortex.

In that moment, the basest nature of living beings was laid bare...

After an unknown span of time, when the last soul was pulled into the lantern, the vortex gradually dissipated. The lantern's glow dimmed, and it quietly settled back onto Hals's waist. Everything returned to calm.

A chill spread. The headless corpses stood rigid, frozen in place, motionless...

Turning, Hals looked at Zhu Xiyan, still slumped on the ground. The green light of the soul flames in his eyes flickered, casting her face in alternating light and shadow.

"Do I need to help you up?" His voice was hoarse and stern.

Zhu Xiyan's pretty face flushed. She pushed herself up from the ground with her hands, standing silently with her head lowered, her entire body trembling uncontrollably.

Hals frowned, sensing something amiss. The soul flames in his eyes blazed brighter. Strangely, most—or rather, every soul he had seen so far, whether human or Soul Beast—was green. But now, Zhu Xiyan's soul was visibly shifting toward red in his vision...

"Blood..." Zhu Xiyan's voice was as faint as a mosquito's. If Hals's hearing weren't sharp enough, he wouldn't have caught it.

Hals furrowed his brow. He had heard what she said, but needing blood... that still puzzled him.

Despite his doubts, Hals slowly turned and extended his translucent right hand. His soul rings appeared again, and as the eighth soul ring flickered, a layer of frost formed on his right arm, making the once-clear limb hazy.

He thrust his hand out decisively. A sudden gust of cold wind blew, rustling Hals's robe. The temperature in the hall dropped further. A layer of frost covered the corpses, turning their preserved features white.

Moments later, a hint of red seeped from the snow-white corpses. Patches of red ice crystals quickly replaced the frost. The blood on the floor and walls also froze into icy shards.

Hals flipped his palm upward. The blood-red frost from each corpse rose and floated above his hand, coalescing into a blood sphere two meters in radius.

Seeing this massive blood sphere, Zhu Xiyan could no longer contain her emotions. Her eyes turned bloodshot, as if about to drip blood. Though unsteady on her feet, she stumbled forward like a moth drawn to a flame and leaped into the blood sphere...

In an instant, the sphere's surface gradually hardened, forming a massive Blood Cocoon.

Hals silently set the blood sphere down on a clean patch of floor. The soul flames in his eyes flickered as he stared intently through the Blood Cocoon at Zhu Xiyan's soul, falling into silence...

Crackle. Crackle, crackle.

After an unknown time, a crisp cracking sound jolted Hals from his meditative state. Turning his head, he fixed his gaze on the giant cocoon, now covered in a web of cracks. Watching Zhu Xiyan's soul flame, now fully turned red, he felt a rare twinge of tension.

Crackle.

A piece of black-red shell fell to the ground, but no blood spilled from it—as if Zhu Xiyan had absorbed it all.

The cracks multiplied, and more shell fragments dropped. Finally, Zhu Xiyan's appearance was revealed.

Stunning—that was Hals's first impression. Though her body was that of a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl, she exuded a mature charm.

Now, Zhu Xiyan's once sleek black hair had turned a vivid blood-red. Her short hair, which had only reached her neck, now fell to her waist, a cascade of blood-red waves like a surging river of blood.

Her shoes had vanished, and her clothes had also turned a deep crimson.

Tap.

Her bare, pale jade-like foot touched the ground. The girl slowly opened her eyes, now blood-red pupils staring ahead. Her lips parted slightly, and a gentle yet alluring voice reached Hals's ears.

"Teacher... it's been a while..."