A month passed.
Ye Que lay inside the Angel Temple, a divine mark shimmering between his brows before slowly fading away.
It was the Angel God's divine mark, a divine mark that had long since shattered.
Now, the temple could only help future generations undergo a Martial Soul Second Awakening. Even if it bestowed a divine mark, it was merely a seed of divinity that would help Ye Que go further.
Qian Renxue stood in the main hall and sighed. "Every mistake was mine. I single-handedly led the Angel Clan to ruin. Their descendants don't even have Innate Level 20 Soul Power."
At that moment, Ye Que slowly opened his eyes, dazzling golden light flashing within them.
The first thing he did after waking was inspect what had changed.
As expected, he had transformed.
After his Two-Winged Angel Martial Soul underwent a Second Awakening, it had successfully evolved into a Six-Winged Angel, and his innately deficient Soul Power had been replenished to Innate Full Soul Power.
Ultimate Light, Ultimate Holiness, Radiant Divine Fire.
The three ultimate attributes had returned.
Ye Que was also surprised to discover that all three of his Soul Rings had turned black, and both his Soul Skills and Soul Power had changed.
He had now broken through to Soul Power Level 40. He needed just one more Soul Ring to advance to the four-ring level, and his first three Soul Skills had all evolved as well.
His Soul Skills were now:
"First Soul Skill, Eye of the Heavenly God."
"Second Soul Skill, Angel Roar."
"Third Soul Skill, Angel Greatsword."
The surprise had come so fast it was like a tornado, leaving Ye Que completely dumbfounded.
He had never imagined that someone like him would one day receive the Angel God's help and regain the ability to ascend to godhood.
Without hesitation, Ye Que bowed deeply before the statue of the First Generation Angel God and called out, "Thank you, Angel God, for helping me undergo a Martial Soul Second Awakening and gain the pure bloodline of a Six-Winged Angel."
"From this day forth, I will make eradicating Evil Soul Masters my duty. I will revive the Angel Clan, let the light of the angels shine across the land once more, and dispel the gloom hanging over the continent."
The First Generation Angel God did not respond—or rather, she could not.
Ye Que slowly rose and grasped the Angel Clan's Divine Sword, feeling power surge through his whole body.
Beside him, Qian Renxue stepped forward and said, "With the power of faith, I helped you fuse six fragments of the Angel Divine Armor inside the temple, undergo a Martial Soul Second Awakening, and elevate all your Soul Rings and Soul Skills."
"From now on, even if you can't defeat an Evil Soul Master, at least you won't die at their hands."
Ye Que clasped his hands in gratitude. "Thank you, ancestor."
He truly hadn't expected Qian Renxue to have another trick up her sleeve.
The Angel Clan really did still have hope.
"Don't thank me. I'm a sinner..."
Qian Renxue shook her head in guilt and continued, "Although I can't let you inherit the Angel God's position, I used the power of faith to plant a seed of divinity within you. In the future, as long as you break through your limits and gain enough power of faith, you can still create a divine position of your own."
"The Angel God's path doesn't end at being a First-Level God. Someday, you might even become a God King through your own efforts."
"My true self has already fallen, and this wisp of my remnant soul is about to dissipate. It will be up to you to restore the Angel Clan's glory."
Ye Que clasped his hands. "I won't let you down."
Qian Renxue smiled, her expression bright with joy.
At last, this wisp of her remnant soul had completed the task her true self had entrusted to her.
Now she could leave in peace.
Then, under Ye Que's gaze, Qian Renxue's remnant soul dissolved into flecks of golden light that scattered into the sky.
Ye Que was transported outside the tomb.
He sighed.
The age of Qian Renxue, the Angel God of her generation, had come to an end.
Now it was his era.
Clutching the Angel God Sword, Ye Que turned away from the old site of Spirit Hall with a resolute gaze. He planned to head to Star Dou Forest to obtain his fourth Soul Ring, then find a safe haven in the Heaven Dou Empire where he could cultivate.
His strength was still far too weak. He needed to keep a low profile and grow.
He couldn't go to any of these places: the Sun Moon Empire, Shrek Academy, or the Star Luo Empire.
He could only take things one step at a time.
Two days later, Ye Que passed through a small city and stopped at a quiet breakfast stall to eat before continuing on his way.
Judging by the time, he would reach Star Dou Forest in another day.
A child without a mother like him had no choice but to hunt for his own Soul Rings.
Ye Que waved and called, "Vendor, one bowl of wontons."
The vendor was a middle-aged man. He nodded deferentially, then brought the water to a boil and cooked the wontons.
Before long, the wontons were served. Ye Que enjoyed them immensely and praised the vendor's cooking.
As he ate, Ye Que remembered to ask, "Vendor, have any Evil Soul Masters shown up around here lately?"
He wanted to find an Evil Soul Master to test his skills against and see how much stronger he had become.
Even without a fourth Soul Ring, he figured he could kill a mid-level Soul Master.
Ye Que wasn't from around here, so he could only ask the vendor.
It was a Heavenly Angel Soul Master's duty to protect the people and eliminate evil.
The vendor glanced around. After hesitating for a while, he asked, "May I ask if you're with the Shrek Supervisory Team, Lord Soul Master? What's your Soul Power Level? I'm not trying to pry; I'm just afraid of being targeted for revenge."
Ye Que furrowed his brow and replied, "I'm not one of those people from the Shrek Supervisory Team who only go through the motions. Just tell me what you know. If they're Evil Soul Masters above the six-ring level, I won't be able to take them on yet."
"Well..."
The vendor hemmed and hawed for a while, then leaned close to Ye Que's ear and whispered, "Lord Soul Master, there really have been Evil Soul Masters committing crimes in our little city over the past six months. Whenever a baby is born, it disappears a few days later. When we find where it was, all that's left is a few scraps of cloth."
"We suspect the babies have most likely been killed and turned into nourishment for the Evil Soul Masters."
"Those damn Evil Soul Masters! They're eating babies—they're absolutely vile!"
Ye Que was shocked.
Had these Evil Soul Masters really sunk so low? They didn't even spare newborn babies. They were worse than beasts.
Ye Que asked, "Haven't the Supervisory Group or the Empire sent anyone?"
"They did..."
The vendor slowly sat beside Ye Que, took a sip of tea, and continued, "But what good did it do? A Soul Master Lord sent by the Empire was killed for no apparent reason. They couldn't even recover his remains."
"After that, the Empire didn't dare send any more Soul Masters. They couldn't afford to lose high-level Soul Masters."
"Later, people from the Shrek Supervisory Team came too, but they found nothing in the end. Those Evil Soul Masters seemed to know they were coming. As soon as the team left, they went right back to committing crimes."
As Ye Que listened, the killing intent in his eyes became almost tangible.
These Evil Soul Masters were truly brazen. They were practically begging to die.
And that so-called Shrek Supervisory Team was in league with the Evil Soul Masters too. Their biggest mole was Xuan Zi; they were all singing from the same songbook.
They claimed to be protecting the continent by eliminating evil, but in reality, they were only after fame.
Ye Que pressed for more details.
From the vendor, he learned that this was the work of a gang. The Evil Soul Masters showed up around two or three in the morning to kidnap babies, and they had informants inside the city.
That was why the vendor had been so careful with his words: he was afraid of retaliation.
But it looked like none of the Evil Soul Masters in this group were above the six-ring level.
That made this his turf.
Eradicating Evil Soul Masters was his duty.
Ye Que reached out and patted the vendor on the shoulder. "Brother, I'll stay at your place for the next few days. If this gang of Evil Soul Masters isn't stronger than I expect, I'll help you get rid of them. If they are, I'll help as much as I can."
Afraid Ye Que would end up like the Soul Master Lords who had come before him, the vendor urged him, "Lord Soul Master, you should leave. The Evil Soul Masters are too powerful. They're not people an ordinary person can deal with."
Before you continue