Scheming

The lake water before them rippled with shimmering light.

That two-thousand-seven-hundred-year-old Radiant Holy Spirit Flower floated upon the water's surface.

Its petals were like pure gold carvings, layered with holy light that wrapped around an impenetrable defensive barrier. As its vines swayed, a force of dispelling rippled outward. Suddenly, it raised a branch, and a sharp, unstoppable beam of light slashed through the air, heading straight for Ye Guyi on the shore.

Ye Guyi did not dodge, instead instinctively activating her defensive Soul Tool shield.

That beam of light was instantly absorbed by the shield.

"Ye Guyi, sit cross-legged and meditate to recover from the energy you just expended." Xu Yanli glanced at Ye Guyi, sensing her fatigue.

The age of this soul beast was quite high, so it was best to face the absorption process in peak condition.

A flash of light emanated from the Sun Moon Soul Seal in the depths of Xu Yanli's eyes. Twelve holy wings, interwoven with gilded gold and silver-white, unfolded behind him. The left sun wheel burned fiercely, while the right moon wheel flowed with clear brilliance. Martial Soul Possession.

"Third Soul Skill, Solar Flame: Holy Judgment!"

As the soft command fell, the true fire of the sun's origin poured down from the sky, condensing into an Angel Holy Sword that spanned the waters. Golden-red waves of holy flame, carrying the power of judgment, shattered the void and slashed directly at the Radiant Holy Spirit Flower!

The soul beast's prideful barrier of holy light was like thin paper before the ultimate true fire of the sun, shattering with a boom. The beam of light it had fired was incinerated into smoke by the true fire.

The Holy Judgment struck the main body of the Holy Spirit Flower with a heavy blow. A triple holy restraint damage burst forth, instantly turning the pure gold petals charred and tattered. The origin power of light poured out wildly, and the flower was slashed down to critical health, drooping limply on the water, gasping its last breath.

When Xu Yanli first obtained this skill, he had always thought it wasn't much—after all, what if the target wasn't actually "guilty"? But after using it, he realized that if he deemed the target guilty, then they were guilty...

However, when facing evil soul masters, this lethality automatically increased by one hundred percent.

Seeing that the flower seemed to be failing, Xu Yanli realized he might have been a bit too heavy-handed.

A pale silver light began to flow from Xu Yanli's fingertips. The lunar-state soft light of his first soul skill, Holy Prayer Sun Moon Light Heal, poured continuously into the dying flower, fearing it might expire. The light of healing, wrapped in life force, stabilized its vitality over and over again.

The Radiant Holy Spirit Flower struggled tremblingly. Its remaining petals tried to release a dispelling skill, but it was pinned down by the holy pressure radiating from Xu Yanli, unable to move, left only to linger on the water's surface.

Ye Guyi also released her martial soul and stepped forward. Her glass-like eyes fell upon the dying soul beast, her tone light and crisp: "Brother Yanli, stop saving it. I have recovered."

She raised her hand, and an Angel Holy Sword slowly condensed in her palm. Without any flashy moves, she simply threw it, precisely piercing the last spark of life within the Radiant Holy Spirit Flower.

The body of the thousand-year soul beast transformed into a pure soul ring of light.

Ye Guyi sat cross-legged by the lake, her martial soul slowly guiding the soul ring to settle upon her. Rich soul power immediately filled her meridians.

Xu Yanli observed the surroundings, and after confirming everything was secure, he deployed a large storage Soul Tool to encircle the three of them.

Huo Yuhao's soul power had also mostly recovered by now. Xu Yanli walked to his side, took a stool out from his storage Soul Tool, and sat down. "Show me your Spiritual Detection Sharing."

"Oh, alright." Huo Yuhao said, feeling exceptionally nervous. Then, his vast spiritual power slowly entered Xu Yanli's mind, and the surroundings were clearly presented within Xu Yanli's consciousness.

This thing is practically an artificial radar, Xu Yanli thought to himself. Though, why does it feel a bit like that artificial intelligence reconnaissance from back in the day...

Xu Yanli instantly cast the song playing "Ah-K-Curi..." out of his mind.

That was a bit creepy.

"A decent soul skill. In the future, you might be able to become a young commander of the Sun Moon Empire. Who knows, you might even be able to clash with that father of yours. Do you have any interest in that?" Xu Yanli said with a smile, his eyes flashing with an obscure light.

"Really? Teacher." Huo Yuhao's eyes were filled with excitement. "Do I really have a chance to kill him and make him repent before my mother's grave?"

Xu Yanli nodded with a smile and patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder. "Of course, but it depends on your performance and your loyalty. Do you understand?"

Afterward, Xu Yanli did not look at Huo Yuhao, but instead waited quietly on the side for Ye Guyi to finish absorbing her soul ring.

About an hour later, a look of pain appeared on Ye Guyi's face.

Xu Yanli stood up slowly, walked behind her, and poured rich Sun Moon power into her meridians.

"Calm your heart and steady your breath. Don't be nervous, I am here." Xu Yanli said very calmly from behind Ye Guyi.

Finally, Ye Guyi's aura slowly calmed down, and the pain on her face gradually faded.

Deep within Huo Yuhao's mind, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was feeling incredibly frustrated, yet a hint of excitement flashed in his eyes: "Yuhao, you must listen well to this master of yours in the future. I sensed the aura of a god in his martial soul. You must get along well with him; if you have a good relationship, he might be able to take you up there directly."

What the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm didn't say was that he regretted his choice. If he had known, he would have sacrificed himself to Xu Yanli instead—though Xu Yanli likely wouldn't have wanted him, as their attributes didn't match.

Seeing Ye Guyi's aura gradually stabilize, Xu Yanli returned to his small stool and sat there, lost in thought.

In truth, he still felt some regret about letting the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm sacrifice itself to Huo Yuhao. The problem was that his Sun Moon Empire had searched for six years and hadn't found a soul master with spiritual attributes.

And the most absurd part was that whenever he heard of a soul master with spiritual attributes and planned to go find them, that soul master would suddenly die of a mysterious cause.

It was as if something was preventing him from replacing Huo Yuhao.

Since that was the case, it was better to control Huo Yuhao. Not only could he make father and son turn against each other and watch a good show, but he might also be able to use this to dismantle the prestige of that Duke of White Tiger in the Star Luo Empire.

Xu Yanli's eyes were dark and unreadable. As for Huo Yuhao's character, he remained half-skeptical, but at the very least, the current Huo Yuhao was worth trusting.

Besides, didn't Huo Yuhao have feelings for Ju Zi back then?

Perhaps he should just give Ju Zi to Huo Yuhao. That way, Ju Zi might even be able to make Huo Yuhao's hatred even more resolute.

As for his brother, he would have him pick another one later. In any case, it was impossible for his brother to refuse him a woman, even if she were one of the other side's more important chess pieces.

Finally, Ye Guyi finished absorbing her soul ring. She stood up, looked back at the two sitting figures, and said excitedly: "Brother Yanli, I'm level 33."

Xu Yanli nodded, then stood up, put away his stool, and gestured to Kong Deming in the sky, signaling that they were ready to return.

Xu Yanli led them toward the direction of Shrek Academy on the map.

Meanwhile, a portion of the group of Level 9 Soul Engineers who had just arrived chose to enter the Xiaoyao Pavilion in Tiantou City, while the others quietly slipped into Shrek City.