"That's how it is, Master. They've checked into the inn. The leader is a Soul Emperor, and there are twenty-six people in the group. We can't rule out the possibility that some Soul Masters are hiding nearby, but none of them should be as strong as a Soul Douluo. You can carry out the mission without worry." Bibi Dong sat at the table, carefully reading the mission report Hals had brought back and the intelligence sent by his informants. Behind her, Hals bowed as he replied.
"Hmm. I'd like to hear your opinion. How do you think I should plan and carry this out?" Bibi Dong lifted a cup of tea to her lips and took a small sip, trying to hide her nerves behind a serious expression.
"My opinion!" Hals froze. His face under the hood stiffened slightly. After a moment's thought, he replied as though it were obvious, "Just kill them all."
Bibi Dong pressed a hand to her forehead. She and this "monster" were clearly from two different worlds.
"Never mind. Get some rest. Tomorrow night, I'll disguise myself, go straight into the inn, and launch an attack. That'll be the end of it."
Bibi Dong's face brimmed with confidence. She clenched her delicate fist. Everything was clear without another word.
Yang Xingwei was a Soul Emperor in the service of the Heaven Dou Empire's royal family. Entrusted by the emperor, he had been assigned to this Soul Bone Escort Mission. Although he acted arrogant in public, it was only a disguise. In truth, he took the mission very seriously.
Of course, he didn't think anyone would be foolish enough to attack a powerful Soul Emperor like him. Besides, a Spirit Saint who served the empire was accompanying them in secret.
After this mission, he would surely receive a handsome reward. Then he'd go home and marry the beautiful young woman from his village...
As he was thinking, he suddenly heard a faint rustling by his ear.
"Who's there?" Yang Xingwei sat up warily and stared at the window.
"I didn't expect that. It seems you've fooled everyone." A pleasant female voice rang out. At some point, a woman in a close-fitting outfit had appeared in the room, her figure on full display.
"A woman?" Yang Xingwei raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth curling in disdain.
"What, you look down on women?" Bibi Dong's eyes widened, a spark of anger flaring in her heart. "Enough talk. Take this!"
As she spoke, Bibi Dong activated Martial Soul Possession. Purple-black armor covered her pretty face, while spiked, thorn-covered armor encased her body. Five perfectly proportioned Soul Rings—yellow, purple, purple, black, and black—floated behind her.
Yang Xingwei was a little shocked, but his gaze soon burned with excitement. A Soul King with such perfect Soul Ring proportions was a seedling-level talent in any faction. If he killed her now...
At the thought, Yang Xingwei's eyes blazed. He roared and released his Martial Soul as well.
"Terror Bear, possess me!"
Yang Xingwei's body visibly grew bulkier, and yellow fur sprouted across his skin. Six Soul Rings—white, yellow, yellow, yellow, purple, and purple—rose into the air, looking rather shabby beside Bibi Dong's.
Glancing at the pathetic arrangement behind him, Yang Xingwei's eyes turned cold. "Damn it. I hate so-called geniuses like you. You just hog all our resources."
"Heh." Bibi Dong curled her lip in disdain without replying. Her Fourth Soul Ring flashed, and a layer of even harder, darker Thorn Armor covered her right leg. She twisted and kicked out, sweeping a powerful leg toward Yang Xingwei's chest.
A flash of disdain crossed Yang Xingwei's eyes. The Terror Bear was one of the strongest among Beast Martial Souls. A mere Soul King thought she could match his strength? He casually raised his arms to block Bibi Dong's attack.
He was still thinking when he saw a figure shoot through the window like a meteor and crash into the ground with a bang.
"Ptooey."
Yang Xingwei's eyes turned gloomy. He spat out the blood in his mouth and wiped the blood from the corner of his lips. With a roar, he activated his first, second, and third Soul Rings in quick succession. His yellow fur turned iron gray, then silver, while his claws took on a metallic sheen.
With another roar, he left a massive crater in the ground and charged straight at Bibi Dong.
Bibi Dong showed no fear. The two traded blows back and forth.
Gradually, Bibi Dong fought with increasing ferocity, while Yang Xingwei, despite being a Soul Emperor, began to falter.
As his body grew sluggish and weak, terror finally filled Yang Xingwei's face. He raised his head and shouted toward the darkness.
"Sir, help me!"
"Reinforcements?" Bibi Dong's expression turned serious as she cautiously scanned her surroundings.
"Hmph." A strange, neither-male-nor-female voice rang out. "Useless. When you get back, go to the elder and accept your punishment."
Yang Xingwei gritted his teeth, but lowered his head and replied respectfully, his reluctance plain in his voice.
"As for you, little girl..." An old man emerged from the darkness, tall and thin, with a pale face and a raised pinky finger. His fiery gaze roamed over Bibi Dong. "You should make a fine little toy. Heh heh heh."
Ten small knives appeared between the old man's fingers. Seven Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, purple, purple, and black—pulsed behind him.
Bibi Dong's expression darkened. Before she could say anything, an angry roar, tinged with wild excitement, rang out from the shadows.
"It's you, you damned old bastard!"
Hals emerged slowly, carrying a lantern. Green mist drifted unsteadily around him, flickering in and out. His eyes, usually aglow with green light, now flashed with an eerie red.
The old man's hairs stood on end. The man before him made him feel a hint of danger. Without showing it, he tightened his grip on his knives, then spoke in his usual strange, sexless voice:
"Oh? And what are you supposed to be?"
Hals's cold, hoarse voice rang out, even stranger than the old man's.
"Ah, you don't recognize me? That's, that's, that's just too much!"
For the first time, Hals pulled off his hood in front of others. His face was bizarre: one half was covered in scars, while the other was nauseatingly pale yet handsome. A flower-shaped brand showed on his neck.
Bibi Dong frowned at the sight of Hals's face. It was simply too bizarre and disgusting.
The old man studied the familiar face and the flower-shaped brand, frowning as he thought. After a long while, he grinned darkly.
"Oh, now I remember. My dear pet son."
"You deserve to die. You deserve to die. You deserve to die..." Hals seemed to have lost his mind. He covered his face with both hands, leaving only two slits between his fingers for his eyes. A tremendous aura surged from behind him.
The old man stopped smiling. His expression grew solemn as he watched Hals descend into madness. His Soul Rings flashed, and the dagger in his hand turned red-hot, its heat distorting the air around it.
Hals's left arm hung limply, but his hand found the lantern at his left hip. He squeezed, and with a crack, crushed it.
The darkness deepened. Unlike the ordinary darkness of night, this unnatural blackness seemed to absorb every source of light, even the faint light in everyone's hearts.
Countless streams of green mist burst from the lantern's shattered remains. They wailed, wept, and shrieked as they darted about.
Hals jerked his head up. His eyes had turned bloodred as he stared at the old man.
"Kill him. Kill him!"
Hals roared.
"Food, food! Eat him! Woohoo!" All kinds of eerie cries came from the spirits as they shoved and trampled over one another, rushing at the old man with boundless hunger in their eyes.
The old man's expression turned grim. His Soul Rings flashed, and countless small knives shot out, tearing through spirit after spirit. But the spirits that were torn apart immediately became a few specks of green light, which the spirits behind them snatched up and swallowed.
The spirits that swallowed the shattered Soul Essence gave off even stronger auras. They kept surging toward the old man, one after another.
The old man's expression became indescribable: a mixture of fury, dread, and murderous intent.
At last, the old man's Seventh Soul Ring flashed. In his place appeared a pale-faced puppet, its limbs and all ten fingers made of small knives. Its Sixth Soul Ring flashed, and the puppet spun frantically, spraying countless knives like a torrential downpour and tearing apart a great many spirits.
But there were simply too many spirits—so many that they stretched beyond the horizon.
The old man's spinning gradually slowed. He was running out of strength.
His expression became one of sheer terror. He searched the area in fear, then his eyes suddenly lit up when he spotted Bibi Dong nearby, staring blankly at Hals's display of power. Delight flashed across his face. He pushed off the ground and tried to rush toward her.
Perhaps Bibi Dong truly held a high place in Hals's heart. Even in his madness, he instinctively protected her.
Seeing the old man rush toward Bibi Dong, Hals reflexively raised a hand. Six perfectly proportioned Soul Rings—yellow, purple, purple, black, black, and black—appeared behind him. His Fourth and Sixth Soul Rings flashed in quick succession. A strange whisper filled the old man's mind, and three translucent tentacles seemed to grow out of thin air, slamming into him.
The old man let out a muffled groan and staggered to a halt. The moment the tentacles struck, he spat out a mouthful of blood, though it was impossible to tell if his face had grown paler.
Hals flicked his hand. A grappling hook seemed to cross through space and appeared behind the old man in the blink of an eye, piercing straight through his body.
"Ahhh!"
The old man's shrill scream did nothing to stir Hals's sympathy. Or rather, Hals had no sympathy to give.
Hals pulled hard with his right hand, hauling himself toward the old man.
When he reached him, Hals pressed his left hand against the old man's skull. His Second Soul Ring flashed, sending a wave through them. Gripping the hook in his right hand, he yanked hard, pulling a deep green soul out of the old man's body.
Hals's Fifth Soul Ring flashed. Death Judgment activated!
To anyone watching, Hals and the old man appeared motionless, as if time had stopped at that instant. In truth, their souls had entered a strange space. The old man's soul was bound to a cross, and the ground around it was stained with patches of black and dark red blood.
Hals stared at the old man's soul. The madness in his own spirit had only grown. With a casual wave, he conjured all kinds of small knives, branding irons, and other instruments of torture before the old man.
Hals raised his index finger to his lips and grinned madly at the old man. "Shh."
At a mere thought, countless small knives stabbed in and out of the old man's soul.
"Ugh."
Bibi Dong was so shocked that she had gone numb. She had thought that after a year together, she would have come to understand Hals a little. But only now did she realize she knew nothing about him. As she stood there dazed, countless wounds suddenly appeared on the old man's body: knife cuts, burn marks, and whip lashes.
In an instant, the old man was covered in blood.
After releasing the Soul Skill, Hals looked at the old man's soul in his hand and licked his lips. He raised a hand, palm facing up. Countless fragments of the lantern drifted over and reassembled into a whole lantern in his grasp.
The Soul-Guiding Lantern blazed with green light, drawing in the spirits that had tried to flee, including the old man's soul in Hals's hand.
With the Soul-Guiding Lantern restored, Hals gradually calmed down. He swayed unsteadily, looked toward Bibi Dong, then reached into his clothes and pulled out a cloth bundle. He handed it to her. Inside were four Soul Bones.
Hals smiled at Bibi Dong's complicated expression, then swayed and collapsed.
His vision blurred. Hals vaguely saw Bibi Dong catch him.
This... felt nice.
His vision finally went completely dark...
Before you continue