Maneuvering in Peril

The first enemies they encountered were not the Death Messenger of the Evil Soul Masters, but his subordinates.

"Roar!"

Accompanied by a bestial howl, Dai Yueheng initiated Martial Soul Possession, facing the bandits head-on.

The sight of the corpses within the cave had truly shaken their spirits.

Dai Yueheng took the lead, his sharp tiger claws imbued with immense power as he tore the enemy before him clean in two.

The sheer brutality of it delivered a powerful visual shock.

Seeing this scene, four words surfaced in Ning Que's mind: tearing devils apart!

Seeing Dai Yueheng act in such a manner, Ma Xiaotao, already furious, unleashed her full might.

Her scorching flames slaughtered the enemies with reckless abandon.

Even a Soul King standing before her dared not step forward, forced to retreat again and again.

The others also launched their attacks one after another.

As for Ning Que, he spent the entire time slacking off.

Even though he was equipped with plenty of Soul Tools, he still chose to remain in the center of the formation.

To his left was Ling Luochen, and to his right was Zhao Long.

As a Support System Soul Master, he clearly remembered his survival rules at all times.

"Everyone, attack! Don't let a single one escape; eliminate the root of the trouble!"

Wang Yan arrived with the substitute members, and seeing the Shrek students firmly in control, he immediately issued the order.

His intentions were good; he wanted these substitute disciples to experience combat and hone their skills further.

Hearing Wang Yan's voice, Bei Bei let out a loud shout and charged forward, with Xu Sanshi following closely behind.

Zhu Lu joined them as well.

Wang Dong released her Radiant Goddess Butterfly Martial Soul, preparing to charge forward, but was pulled back by Xiao Xiao at her side.

"Who dares to oppose the Death Messenger? You shall all die and become my Corpse Slaves!"

Just then, a long, furious roar echoed from the depths of the cave.

The bandits who had been fighting the Shrek students heard this sound and scrambled to flee, terrified that they would lose their lives if they were a step too slow.

Any normal person would have sensed something amiss by now.

The problem was, more than half of the Shrek students present truly failed to notice anything wrong.

They subconsciously assumed that these people were simply afraid of them.

"Boom!"

At that moment, a deafening explosion rang out.

"Not good!"

Wang Yan's expression changed instantly, as if he had realized something.

He hurriedly tried to warn them, but it was ultimately a step too late.

Among the Shrek Seven Devils' substitutes, aside from Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Zhu Lu, the others had not rushed forward immediately.

Because of Xiao Xiao, Wang Dong had been half a step slower, and that half-step kept her away from the center of the blast.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The explosions were continuous, echoing incessantly throughout the cave.

Wave after wave of powerful force destroyed everything in the vicinity.

Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng, bearing the brunt of the impact, were naturally the first to be harmed.

However, their strength was formidable, and both possessed beast-type Martial Souls; while they suffered significant injuries immediately, they were not killed instantly.

"Damn it!"

Feeling the destructive power of the explosion and thinking of the harm dealt to her juniors, Ma Xiaotao—already emotionally unstable—was consumed by even greater rage at having committed such a grave error as their captain.

With her Martial Soul possessed, she ignored her own injuries and charged madly toward the depths of the cave.

In contrast, Dai Yueheng had superior defensive capabilities, and his mind remained the clearest.

The moment he realized the anomaly, he understood that they had made a massive mistake.

But within that mistake lay an opportunity.

An opportunity to win over hearts.

"Watch out..."

Without a moment's hesitation, Dai Yueheng rushed toward Zhu Lu behind him, shielding her while pulling Zhao Long to his side to block the majority of the damage for him.

It was not that Dai Yueheng did not want to protect more people during this opportunity.

It was simply that he could not.

The most crucial person was naturally Zhu Lu, and the only one close to her was Zhao Long.

As for the others, he lacked the strength to protect them, nor would he easily choose to win them over or offer protection.

This was because Dai Yueheng knew very well that several people among them were targets Ning Que was trying to recruit.

Although he could gain their favor by protecting them at this moment, in terms of methods of persuasion and what he could personally offer, he was far inferior to the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect.

Therefore, Dai Yueheng chose to win over the individual with the highest cost-effectiveness.

Explosions continued one after another, and Ning Que had long since activated his Invincible Barrier to protect himself.

Beyond the Invincible Barrier, he also possessed a defensive Soul Tool that was infinitely close to Level 9, the kind equipped with trigger-based protection.

Coupled with his knowledge of the plot, he had no need to worry about his own safety.

He was the most composed person among them all, able to observe the actions of the others at the first opportunity.

Yao Haoxuan was blown to death on the spot!

He had no power to resist.

Seeing the entire process of his death, Ning Que was truly speechless.

As a Beast Soul Master, in such an unfamiliar environment, he had actually failed to initiate Martial Soul Possession immediately.

Simply put, his death was not unjust; he was purely brainless.

In contrast, the three who had received his gifts in advance were currently alive and safe.

Gongyang Mo, Chen Zifeng, and Xi Xi.

Although they had survived, their situation was not particularly good.

The reason was simple: because they did not activate their defensive Soul Tools immediately, they were ultimately caught in the aftermath of the Corpse Explosion Technique.

Especially for Gongyang Mo, the defensive Soul Tool Ning Que had gifted him was inherently a second slower to activate.

Although he survived, the explosion of the corpses still reached him, and bone fragments along with corpse poison splattered across his back and thighs in many places.

If these were not resolved and cleaned up in time, it would have a significant impact on his future cultivation.

As for Chen Zifeng and Xi Xi, while they had no external injuries, their internal organs had been affected by the explosions, and they had been invaded by some corpse poison.

Under normal circumstances, the defensive Soul Tools Ning Que gave them would have been enough to keep them safe.

The reason they still suffered such injuries was, naturally, the work of Ning Que himself.

His powerful spiritual force had suppressed their Soul Tools from protecting them immediately, and with a slight manipulation, he ensured they suffered heavy injuries without damaging their foundations, all while experiencing a brush with death.

Otherwise, why would he bother mingling in the crowd and participating in such a bloody and chaotic situation?

As for Ling Luochen, although she also suffered not insignificant injuries, hers appeared to be the lightest of all.

The reason for this was that she disliked Ma Xiaotao and had deliberately kept her distance, and she also had a defensive Soul Tool of her own, which resulted in this outcome.

It appeared that with Ning Que's intervention, apart from Yao Haoxuan, no one had sustained major injuries.

But, was that really the case?

One must remember that Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were the first among the substitutes to charge in and join the battle.