As soon as he finished speaking, several sounds of rushing air came from behind him. Five black-robed figures appeared around him, forming a tight encirclement. Two more black-clad figures remained hidden in the shadows, seemingly waiting to launch a surprise attack.
"Two Soul Emperors and five Soul Kings. What a grand display. Dai Huabin sent you, didn't he?" Green petals swirled in Xiao Yi's eyes. With his formidable Spiritual Power, the group's disguises were useless; their cultivation levels were laid bare before him.
"No comment." The black-robed leader spoke in a slightly hoarse voice. As he released his Martial Soul, a dagger gleaming with a cold, sharp light appeared in his hand. The others also activated Martial Soul Possession, revealing a variety of Beast Martial Souls. Each had five Soul Rings.
Xiao Yi clicked his tongue inwardly. Good grief. They've sent this kind of lineup to kill a mere Quasi-Soul Ancestor. They really must hate me to the bone.
"Boy, give up resisting. We'll let you die quickly." The leading Soul Emperor gave a cold laugh, dismissing the young man before him. He had only three Soul Rings, after all.
A faint smile still played on Xiao Yi's face. He paid them no mind.
"Finished talking? Then I invite you all to die." As Xiao Yi spoke, the three Soul Rings beneath him lit up in unison, while transparent flames burst to life in his hand.
A piercing scream rang out from the forest nearby. Two Soul Masters, their bodies engulfed in Fallen Heart Flame, came stumbling out, but it wasn't long before they burned to ashes. Three figures—a purple one, a red one, and a blue one—shot forward, charging straight at the five remaining enemies.
The dagger-wielding Soul Emperor's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "You bastard!" His Sixth Soul Ring suddenly blazed, and a blade of light took shape before slashing toward Xiao Yi. Seeing its master in danger, the Purple Lightning Python immediately doubled back, gathering purple lightning in its mouth and firing a bolt at the blade.
"You hold them off for a moment! I'll take down his main body!" the Soul Emperor shouted. Two Soul Kings forced their way out of the Red Fire Python and Nether Cold Ice Python's melee and attacked the Purple Lightning Flood Dragon, while the remaining two struggled to hold their own against the two Soul Beasts.
That was only because the Soul Beasts at Xiao Yi's command had strong bloodlines and formidable strength. Otherwise, fighting these well-trained Soul Kings and Soul Emperors would have been a struggle. It only strengthened Xiao Yi's resolve to hurry the Soul Beasts along in their transformation into dragons.
Watching the Soul Emperor charge straight at him, Xiao Yi's Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils glimmered. The Soul Ring beneath his feet shifted into a strange purple one.
"What!?" The Soul Emperor was shocked, but didn't dare stop. He swung his gleaming dagger at Xiao Yi. Just as it was about to come down, a spear of condensed flames thrust upward and knocked it aside. A tremendous force followed, sending the Soul Emperor flying.
Xiao Yi was encased in armor formed from purple flames, while the flaming spear in his hand slowly dissipated.
"As expected, without breaking through to Soul Ancestor, I still can't use Soul Power Materialization. But this will do." Under the dagger-wielding Soul Emperor's stunned gaze, Xiao Yi pushed off explosively and shot forward at incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from the Soul Emperor's sight.
What speed! The Soul Emperor was terrified. With his cultivation, he could barely make out Xiao Yi's figure.
A fierce gust of force came at him. With no time to dodge, the Soul Emperor's Soul Rings flashed. He swung his dagger, releasing a hazy curtain of Soul Power that formed a shield in front of him.
But the moment the shield touched the purple flames on Xiao Yi's hand, it shattered with a crash. Xiao Yi drove a terrifying mass of flame, carrying tremendous force, straight into the Soul Emperor's body.
The Soul Emperor was sent flying several meters. His dagger gouged a long mark in the ground before he managed to stop himself. Seeing that his companions behind him were about to lose, he grew increasingly anxious.
But before he could act, Xiao Yi attacked again. The Soul Emperor could only raise his dagger and meet the blow in haste. Though he was the one with the higher cultivation, Xiao Yi had him suppressed at every turn.
Every one of Xiao Yi's punches carried Three Thousand Burning Flame. The armor covering him was nothing like an ordinary Soul Skill; it seemed like genuine armor. The dagger left only shallow scratches as it passed over it, unable to hurt Xiao Yi himself.
Even when the dagger's Soul Skill effect cut through the armor, Three Thousand Burning Flame quickly filled the wound, and it healed as good as new.
What kind of monster is this? The Soul Emperor was terrified. He was already thinking of fleeing.
A bloodcurdling scream came from behind. One of the two Soul Kings attacking the Purple Lightning Flood Dragon had left himself open after unleashing a Soul Skill. The dragon seized the opening and bit him clean in half, spraying blood and flesh everywhere.
The Purple Lightning Flood Dragon pressed its advantage, roaring as it savagely tore at the other Soul King.
"Nicely done, Zi Ling." Xiao Yi praised it. The Purple Lightning Flood Dragon clearly fought even harder, speeding up its attacks. The Soul King had already been struggling to defend himself; now he was in even direr straits.
"Bastard! Die!" the Soul Emperor roared. His Soul Rings pulsed wildly as he crossed his arms above his head, then swung down, sending two slashes toward Xiao Yi.
"It's time to end this." Xiao Yi slowly raised his right hand. Two flames gathered and entwined in his palm, then merged into a single, exquisite little fire lotus. Its platform looked like a work of art painstakingly crafted by a master artisan, and transparent flames bloomed above it.
"Go, Buddha Fury Fire Lotus..." Xiao Yi gave a gentle wave of his hand. The lotus streaked forward in a purple ripple, heading straight for the blade of light, which radiated a terrifying aura.
The tiny fire lotus looked insignificant beside the blade of light, but the instant they collided, it incinerated the blade completely. Then, without losing momentum, it shot straight toward the Soul Emperor.
"Explode!" A lotus of fire bloomed in the sky, accompanied by a piercing scream.
The Soul Emperor, struck head-on by the fire lotus, had been charred into a lump of black carbon. The other Soul Kings fared no better, lying on the ground, blackened from head to toe, their life or death uncertain.
As for Xiao Yi's three Soul Beasts, he had already recalled them into the space that came with his Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils before shouting "Explode!"
Xiao Yi panted lightly and glanced at the four Soul Kings lying on the ground, his expression grave. The expenditure had been enormous. If his Soul Power weren't far purer than that of ordinary Soul Masters, even this one incompletely charged fire lotus would have drained him dry.
Only after the explosion did several figures streak over from Shrek's direction. Shrek City wasn't far away, and such a tremendous commotion would naturally catch the attention of the academy's powerful experts.
Yan Shaozhe had been about to summon the Sea God Pavilion Elders for a Sea God Pavilion Meeting. But just after notifying Xuan Zi, he sensed the disturbance here. The two hurried over at top speed. Yan Shaozhe was especially anxious. He knew Xiao Yi had gone Soul Hunting that day, but Xiao Yi had insisted that he didn't need any of the academy's experts to accompany him, and Yan Shaozhe hadn't wanted to force the issue.
Two beams of white light swept down from the sky and transformed into two figures as they landed. Yan Shaozhe hurried to Xiao Yi's side, circled him, and gave him a thorough inspection before finally breathing a sigh of relief.
"Dean Yan, I'm fine. Don't worry." Seeing the familiar figure before him, Xiao Yi let out a long breath. If two more assassins had shown up, he really would've been done for.
"Good, as long as you're all right. What happened here?" Only after confirming Xiao Yi was unharmed did Yan Shaozhe relax. He frowned and looked around.
Xiao Yi, however, was curious about the other figure.
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