Shout, Tremble, Descend, Blue-Eyes White Dragon

"That laugh is truly ugly." Zhu Zhuqing covered the little girl's ears and shielded her eyes, her Hell Spirit Cat fully possessing her body as she stared at the boy before her who carried a glimmer of hope.

"Su Yan, any ideas?" Tang Chi braced his Thunderclap Hammer before him, slowly shuffling backward. "Should we run again?"

Su Yan took a deep breath, dismissed his Martial Soul Possession, and pulled a wooden box from his belt, cradling it in his hands.

This wooden box would barely hold the five of them, even ground to ash, but it was just right for storing the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card.

Before the three of them, Knight A Yao swung his longsword, locked in battle with the writhing tentacles. Though each strike severed a tentacle, the laughter of their opponent never ceased.

A cat toying with a mouse would never use its full strength.

A Yao's cries of anguish rang out endlessly. His armor had long been shattered, his body drenched in blood, and his longsword—his Martial Soul—had snapped into three pieces, leaving only the hilt in his grip.

Zhu Zhuqing could feel the little girl struggling in her arms, her palms already slick with sweat.

Su Yan took out the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card, pinching it between his thumb and forefinger, and raised it high above his head, shouting: "Blue-Eyes White Dragon, I know you can hear me. Please, help us this once!"

From the night he obtained the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, through the journey here, and in every spare moment during training, Su Yan had studied this peculiar card.

When he poured soul power directly into it, he could sense the card activating, but only a faint blue-white glow emerged—no trace of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon itself.

Suyan channeled all his soul power into it, and the blue-white radiance grew stronger.

The two locked in battle were also drawn to this light. A Yao felt a warm surge throughout his body, and his shattered longsword reformed.

The gaunt man's reaction was entirely different.

The light seared his body relentlessly, and his Martial Soul, the Dark Domain, was being eroded bit by bit.

"This brat cannot be allowed to live!" The gaunt man shifted his focus, unleashing all his attacks—along with the skills of his five soul rings—straight at Su Yan.

"Watch out!" A Yao shouted, lunging forward, but his injured leg slowed him down, leaving him helpless as he watched the tentacles close in.

"What condition am I missing?"

Su Yan gritted his teeth, recalling a line Seto Kaiba had spoken when summoning the Blue-Eyes White Dragon: "I will offer the gods as tribute—my pride, my soul, my future will be decided by me! For the sake of my loyal servant, Obelisk the Tormentor... as tribute, appear, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Su Yan understood!

"Tang Chi, put your hand on this and channel your soul power into the card!" Su Yan shouted.

Tang Chi quickly grabbed the other corner of the card. As two streams of soul power surged in, a dragon's roar echoed from the card.

Not enough!

"Zhuqing!"

Zhu Zhuqing understood instantly. With a flash step, she landed between them, pinched the middle of the card, and poured in her soul power.

"Hehehe, too late!" The gaunt man shrieked as all his attacks came crashing down. Hundreds of tentacles, like cannonballs, blasted a deep crater into the ground, kicking up a storm of dust.

"Princess!" A Yao raised an arm to shield his face from the oncoming dust wave, stumbling backward.

The gaunt man admired the swirling dust, a grin spreading uncontrollably across his face. "Art... is tentacles!"

"What a disgusting piece of art!"

From within the dust, a girl's cold voice rang out. Several beams of blue-white holy light pierced through the haze, shooting straight into the sky.

The dim sky blazed bright, and the dust was blown away by the shockwave.

A massive, pure-white dragon radiated blue-white holy light from its entire body, its azure eyes brimming with contempt for all life.

Its body was clad in scales, its four limbs tipped with gleaming claws, and its spread wings blotted out the sun. A single flap felled a patch of forest; a casual flick of its segmented tail carved another deep pit into the earth.

Eight soul rings floated distinctly around its form.

Zhu Zhuqing, holding the princess, sat atop the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's back. She looked down at the gaunt man, now frozen in terror on the ground, and parted her crimson lips: "Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Burst Stream of Destruction!"

The eight soul rings blazed with light. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon reared its head and roared, a torrent of holy light gathering in its gaping maw.

"No, no, don't kill me!" The gaunt man's arrogance vanished entirely as he scrambled backward in panic.

A beam of holy light engulfed his body, reducing him and a stretch of forest to ashes.

The ground was left with a bottomless pit, still carrying the aura of light.

The Blue-Eyes White Dragon turned its gaze to A Yao, who immediately dropped to his knees: "I bow in thanks to the divine being who descended to save the princess and my life."

A flash of blue-white holy light, and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon gazed at the sky before dissolving into brilliant specks that scattered, coalescing on the ground into two human figures.

Zhu Zhuqing landed lightly. Su Yan and Tang Chi slowly rose to their feet, only to collapse again immediately.

A single move, and their soul power was drained to nothing; Zhu Zhuqing's was mostly spent as well.

"Such power... no wonder it's a card with three thousand attack points," Su Yan murmured, carefully stowing the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card away.

"Princess! Are you alright?" A Yao rushed over, dropping to one knee.

"I'm fine." The princess smiled with the relief of a survivor. "Thanks to you all. My name is Xue Ke, princess of the Heaven Dou Empire. Just call me A Ke."

"I'm Su Yan."

"I'm Tang Chi."

"I'm Zhuqing."

A Yao bowed deeply to all three in turn. "Thank you! The princess is safe—I am truly, deeply grateful!"

"It was nothing." Su Yan mustered his last bit of strength to squeeze out a smile.

This "nothing" really was just him holding up his hand, holding the card.

The four of them sat on the ground resting. The only one with soul power and physical strength left, A Yao, took charge of fetching water and cooking.

Su Yan breathed a sigh of relief. For the first time in days, he didn't have to burn himself to roast meat.

After eating and drinking their fill, it was already afternoon.

"Princess, the Empress sees you as a thorn in her side, a dagger in her heart. It's best you don't return to the Heavenly Dou Royal Family." A Yao stood up and said, "With these young friends here, I can go back reassured."

"A Yao, why don't you stay too?" Xue Ke hesitated for a moment, then said.

"No, Princess." A Yao patted his bundle and said, "I'll take these back and tell the Empress that the Princess is dead. That way, there's no need to worry about her sending anyone else to kill you."

Hearing this, Xue Ke stopped trying to persuade him.

A Yao clasped his fists in farewell to the four of them and walked toward the exit of the Soul Hunting Forest.

And so Xue Ke stayed behind.

Su Yan asked, "Princess, we still have training ahead and will be staying in the forest for a while. Do you want to come with us, or should we escort you out first?"

"Just call me A Ke. I'm no longer a princess." As Xue Ke spoke, she directly tore off the emblem representing the Heavenly Dou Royal Family from her body and tossed it into the fire.

After thinking for a moment, she lowered her head and sighed. "I... my legs are crippled, and my wheelchair is gone. I'll hold back your training. It's better if I leave first."

Tang Chi crossed his arms and asked, "Why didn't we just follow Knight Uncle out just now? Doesn't the sheepskin map have no way out?"

"Do you not bring a brain with you?" Zhu Zhuqing suddenly threw out that remark.

Tang Chi looked innocent at that.

Su Yan explained, "If someone from the Heavenly Dou Royal Family is watching the entrance and sees us leaving with Knight Uncle, news that the Princess is still alive will reach them. Need I say more about what would happen?"

"I see." Tang Chi suddenly understood. "If they see us, they'll send people again to kill A Ke."

"And Knight Uncle would also..." Su Yan drew his thumb across his throat, and everyone understood.

"But we don't have a map to get out. Blundering through the woods would be too dangerous," Tang Chi said.

"No rush. Rest first. Tomorrow, a way will naturally present itself."