Star-Crossed Lovers

"Mm, you have a point."

Feeling as though it had been complimented, the Rakshasa Phantom didn't suspect a thing. It nodded in deep agreement, then turned and used its third Soul Skill, Shadow-Piercing Shift, to vanish into Qian Yuhan's shadow.

This time, it appeared somewhere else entirely: right beneath the Silver Hero Beast.

The Silver Hero Beast had been about to charge forward and finish off the Heaven-Shaking Hou, who had just transformed into a "Woodland Breakdancer."

But just as it raised its claws to strike... an unforeseen change suddenly occurred.

A huge, sinister-looking scythe suddenly shot up from beneath it, where it had been completely unguarded. Its razor-sharp blade plunged straight into the Silver Hero Beast's soft chest and belly, cutting through them like a hot knife through butter.

The Rakshasa Phantom's move had the badly wounded Silver Hero Beast "open its heart" with complete generosity, baring its innermost thoughts to it.

As for... what kind of "opening its heart" and "baring its innermost thoughts" this was, don't ask.

At any rate, the Rakshasa Phantom had managed it.

With one foot pinning the Breakdancer Heaven-Shaking Hou to the ground, Qian Yuhan drove the Angel Holy Sword into the back of its neck, ending its life cleanly and decisively.

As a black Soul Ring rose above the Heaven-Shaking Hou's head, he turned to look at the Silver Hero Beast's Soul Ring, slowly circling the Rakshasa Demon Scythe in the distance. Then he sat cross-legged and began absorbing the fourth Soul Ring for his First Martial Soul.

In a patch of shadow among the trees, Xu Yan had been following Qian Yuhan, waiting for a chance to step in and become the next-generation Angel Investor. Now he watched, his expression complicated, as Qian Yuhan used provocation and opportunism to "feast" on a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

For a moment, he didn't know where to begin with his complaints.

No, seriously, man, I know you're exceptionally talented, but you shouldn't be talented to this extent!

You're only at the four-ring level right now. How dare you absorb a Soul Ring from a beast with over thirty thousand years of cultivation?

Does that even make sense?

With the thought, "No, this is way too incredible. I have to get closer and watch,"

Xu Yan leaped down from the tree and crept toward Qian Yuhan, little by little. It seemed he wanted to witness firsthand a scene he'd never seen in his entire life.

Unfortunately, plans never kept pace with change. Xu Yan had already edged forward quite a distance when the communication Soul Tool on his wrist suddenly flashed a dark red warning light—

It was the one-touch distress signal, indicating that an emergency had struck the princess's side.

Oh no, something had happened!

Realizing that the princess had suddenly run into danger—and that if anything happened to her, he might well lose his head—Xu Yan could no longer spare a thought for watching someone else absorb a Soul Ring.

After quickly confirming the princess's current location, he lit up his Soul Rings, shot into the sky, and flew as fast as he could toward the place where she had sent the distress signal.

Now, let's turn back time by two hours.

In the mixed zone, where Soul Beasts were plentiful and their species, numbers, and quality far surpassed those in the outer zone, Xu Yu and the other three had only just left the previous night's campsite when they ran into a small group of Soul Beasts.

After using their Soul Tools to clear away the Soul Beasts blocking the path, the four continued deeper into the mixed zone. In a dense patch of woodland, they found the Soul Beasts they were looking for: a pair of Flame Leopards that roamed the mixed zone as a family.

Of the two Flame Leopards, the one with lower cultivation had scarlet fur and had barely crossed the thousand-year mark. The other was not only sturdier, but also had distinctly golden-red fur, one of the signs that a Flame Leopard had surpassed ten thousand years of cultivation.

"Well, would you look at that. An old husband and his young wife."

Facing the Ten-Thousand-Year Flame Leopard poised to attack in the distance, Xu Yu gave a quiet snort. Clearly, in his eyes, a mere Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast couldn't cause much trouble.

Xu Yu turned around and asked the princess, whom he had kept closely protected behind him:

"Your Highness, do you think that Soul Beast is worthy of becoming your Soul Ring?"

"Yes." The little princess answered briefly. As she nodded, she didn't forget to ask her maid, who also needed a Soul Ring, "Xiao Yu, I think that Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast would make a good fifth Soul Ring for you. What do you think?"

"Whatever the princess chooses is sure to be excellent," Xiao Yu hurriedly chimed in.

It was clear she was eager to get ahead.

"If you think it's good, then that's all that matters."

With that, the little princess turned to Xu Yu and instructed him, "Great-Aunt, these two star-crossed lovers are unlucky. They just had to run into us today."

"When you strike, make it quick. Let's see if you can send this doomed pair off on the same day, month, and year."

"Yes, Your Highness. Understood." Xu Yu grinned and pulled a Level 8 Soul Tool from his Storage Soul Tool: the Sky Thunder Net, a device designed to control the battlefield. He flicked it toward the area above the Soul Beast couple.

With a sharp crack, the palm-sized blue triangular prism floated above the couple and suddenly unfolded into a blue triangular tower nearly a hundred meters in diameter.

As the blue tower descended, it abruptly turned a deep purple. That dark hue lasted only a few short breaths.

But the moment it landed completely, everyone except Xu Yu clearly felt a terrifying pressure, as though a mountain had come crashing down on them.

Two piercing cries, one after the other, rang out from beneath the purple barrier, mingling with the crackling of thunder.

The golden-red flames unleashed by the couple in their desperate resistance flickered briefly beneath the deep, thunderous light. Then they went out for good.

"That should do it. Your Highness, you can go over and deliver the final blow." Xu Yu closed his eyes and sensed the wretched state of the two Soul Beasts inside the barrier. Then he raised a hand and recalled his Soul Tool.

On the ground, scorched and still burning hot after the purple lightning and scarlet flames had ravaged it, the star-crossed lovers—no, the Soul Beast couple—lay sprawled limply, as if their bodies had gone soft.

Only Xu Yu, who had controlled the Soul Tool and unleashed its power, knew that most of the bones inside the beasts' bodies had been crushed. They had only a few minutes left to live.

The little princess and her maid stepped forward and used their daggers to end the couple's threadlike lives. Then each drew in a Soul Ring and began absorbing it on the spot. Xu Yu, the one with the highest cultivation, stood there expressionlessly, keeping watch over them.

In theory, once the two girls, one big and one small, had finished absorbing their Soul Rings, their mission would be complete. They could leave the Star Dou Great Forest without a worry and wait outside the forest for Xu Yan to send word.