"Not... you!"
Tang Ya's eyes widened. She pointed at Jiang Yi, temporarily at a loss for words.
How could there be someone with such low emotional intelligence in this world?
I'm the sect leader, and right in front of me... But then she felt somewhat dejected. What he said was indeed the truth.
Jiang Yi blinked, without the slightest trace of embarrassment on his face. He had merely tested Little Tang's loyalty.
You know, I've always admired Brother Tang San!!!
"I... huh?"
Just as Jiang Yi was about to speak, a spiritual fluctuation suddenly arrived from afar, covering Lin within dozens of miles.
Every living creature swept by that spiritual fluctuation was instantly struck. Tang Ya and the others stood frozen in place.
But in the next instant, that spiritual fluctuation rapidly receded like the tide.
"Tian Meng!!!"
Jiang Yi's heart tightened. Before he could greet the two of them, his figure flashed, turning into a streak of lightning that vanished from the spot.
A few breaths later.
Tang Ya and Bei Bei finally awoke from that muddled state, but Jiang Yi had already disappeared from before them.
"Huh? Why did he run off... He didn't have to act like he'd seen a ghost just because he wasn't joining us, right?"
Tang Ya rubbed her forehead and rolled her eyes resentfully at empty Lin.
She subconsciously assumed that Jiang Yi had used some special method to cause their mental daze just now, so she did not think much of it.
"Xiao Ya, absorb the soul ring first!"
Bei Bei gave the direction Jiang Yi had vanished into a deep look before withdrawing his gaze and pointing at the Mandala Snake beside them.
That guy had not directly killed the Mandala Snake. He had deliberately left it with a last breath. He was quite an interesting fellow.
"Mm!"
Tang Ya nodded and walked forward.
She came before the unconscious Mandala Snake, took out her ancestral little dagger and finished it off. A sinister purple soul ring rose from its corpse.
Tang Ya sat cross-legged and began absorbing the soul ring while Bei Bei stood guard nearby.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Somewhere in Lin, a legendary Wind Baboon fell.
"I did it!"
The young girl released the White Tiger Dagger embedded in the Wind Baboon and collapsed onto the ground, trembling with excitement.
Before her, a ten-year Wind Baboon had forever lost its chance to slay a god. A white soul ring floated above its corpse.
"So this is a soul ring? How amazing... Once I absorb it, I'll be a true Soul Master."
Huo Yutong endured the pain from her injuries and climbed to her feet, limping toward the Wind Baboon.
She looked at the fallen Wind Baboon and the white soul ring, a sincere smile appearing on her face.
A ten-year Soul Beast was at the very bottom among Soul Beasts, but for a little girl like her, it was nearly unbeatable.
"But... it's a pity this attribute doesn't match!"
Huo Yutong suddenly sighed again, her little face showing several traces of conflict.
From the battle just now, she could clearly sense that this Wind Baboon was a wind-attribute Soul Beast and was not particularly compatible with her Martial Soul.
Though she had been born to a maid of Duke White Tiger, her mother had taught her some knowledge about Soul Masters in the past.
Soul rings were necessities for Soul Masters to advance, but not every soul ring was suitable for absorption. Good soul rings could bring enormous benefits to Soul Masters.
But a mere ten-year Wind Baboon had nearly sent her to see her mother. Huo Yutong did not dare guarantee that she would be so lucky next time.
"Ah..."
After struggling for a long time, Huo Yutong ultimately sighed and slowly stepped forward, preparing to absorb the soul ring.
She had no choice. She was merely an illegitimate daughter expelled from Duke's Mansion. Being lucky enough to obtain a soul ring was already heaven's blessing.
She had to survive first before she was qualified to talk about the future. Huo Yutong understood this clearly and did not feel much resentment.
"Mother..."
Huo Yutong bit her lip and reached toward the ten-year soul ring.
However, at that moment, a dignified voice suddenly resounded in her mind.
"With Sun Moon Empire in hand, I pluck the stars; there is no one in this world like me... I never expected that this old man would still retain a wisp of remnant soul."
A stream of gray air shot directly into her brow. In the next moment, a figure radiating a golden halo condensed within her spiritual world.
"Who are you?"
Huo Yutong felt the terrifying figure in her mind, and her heart trembled. Fear surged from the depths of her soul.
It was not merely fear of an unknown existence, but the instinctive terror of a lesser being facing a higher form of life.
"Little girl, there is no need to worry."
Electrolux looked at the two entwined powers within Huo Yutong's soul, a hint of amusement flashing through his eyes.
The powers of light and darkness?
"You and I are fated. This old man merely wishes to borrow this treasured place..."
After saying that, Electrolux's figure gradually faded, turning into a gray seed that sank into the depths of her spiritual world.
"..."
Huo Yutong fell silent. In the next moment, her consciousness was kicked out of her spiritual world and returned to reality.
What was going on?
She felt rather dazed.
An unidentified glowing object had suddenly moved into her head, making her think of stories from storybooks.
"Senior?"
Huo Yutong blinked and cautiously called out in her heart.
But no matter how she called, that voice never appeared again. She could only give up helplessly.
Given the methods the other party had displayed, she had no ability to resist at all. She could only hope that he bore her no ill will.
"I should absorb the soul ring first!"
Huo Yutong shook her head, composed herself, and prepared to continue absorbing the soul ring.
After all, she had nothing.
The barefoot feared no one wearing shoes. If it could help her avenge herself, she would not mind staking her life on it.
She looked once more at the white soul ring before her, but at that very moment, an accident happened yet again.
Rumble!
The ground suddenly trembled, and the earth ahead split apart—literally split apart.
Cracks spread across the ground, gradually forming a deep fissure. Countless golden-white rays of light shone from within it.
"Hehe! Little sister, big sister is here! I finally found someone with a touch of spiritual attribute..."
A somewhat lecherous voice sounded beside Huo Yutong's ear.
"Who?"
Huo Yutong tightened her grip on the White Tiger Dagger. Two lights lit up in her eyes, one golden and one dark. Her mismatched eyes stared fixedly at the fissure.
These were her eye Martial Souls, and also a mutated Martial Soul.
Under her gaze, the fissure continued widening, and a plump round head crawled out from within.
It looked like a silkworm larva, its body wreathed in a faint icy mist. The instant this Ice Silkworm appeared, the surrounding temperature plummeted.
"A... a hundred-year Soul Beast!"
Huo Yutong's heart skipped a beat, and the hope in her heart finally died.
With such a huge body and the power to control ice, it could only be a legendary hundred-year Soul Beast.
Senior... save, save, save me!
Huo Yutong felt despair as she repeatedly called for that figure from earlier in her heart.
Under the pressure of the Soul Beast before her, she could not even take a single step, much less flee.
"What hundred-year Soul Beast? I'm a legendary... divine beast! I punch Di Tian and kick Snow Empress!"
Hearing Huo Yutong's startled cry, the silkworm larva cocked her head in a humanlike manner, her tone full of pride.
"Forget it, there's no explaining it to mortals like you. Just obediently become my human pet! Hehehe!!!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm did not waste any words. Her massive body wriggled as she slowly approached through Huo Yutong's despairing gaze.
She did not dare delay any longer. If Di Tian and the others noticed and captured her again, she would suffer terribly.
"No! Don't come any closer!!!"
Huo Yutong cried out in terror, but before a million-year Soul Beast, her struggle was like a little girl acting cute.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm launched a savage charge, rushing at her like a white wild boar weighing over two hundred pounds.
It's over!
Huo Yutong stared desperately at the expanding white figure. Her delicate body trembled instinctively with fear.
Something that big would break me, wouldn't it...
"I'm sorry, Mother! Yutong can't seek justice for you anymore."
A gentle figure appeared in Huo Yutong's mind, and two streams of tears could not stop flowing from the corners of her eyes.
A wave of extreme cold enveloped Huo Yutong, making her lose consciousness instantly.
But at that moment, the gray seed dormant in her mind trembled slightly, and Tian Meng's spiritual suppression over the area was instantly broken.
"What is that?"
Tian Meng's body froze as she looked at Huo Yutong in uncertainty.
Just now, she had actually sensed a spiritual power on this little girl that even terrified her.
Just as she hesitated over whether to act, a purple sphere suddenly flew out of Lin, heading straight for her forehead.
"Hm?"
Tian Meng glanced at it without concern and casually flicked out a spiritual shock, intending to knock it away.
Just some human brat...
But in the next moment, her eyes widened. The purple sphere actually passed directly through her spiritual shock.
"Something's wrong!"
Tian Meng was startled, but it was too late. The purple sphere had already descended, striking her squarely on the forehead.
Clang!!!
A crisp sound rang out. The purple sphere blossomed with white light and, like a vortex, began pulling at Tian Meng's body.
"No—!!!"
Tian Meng screamed, unleashing her spiritual power with all her might, but no matter how she resisted, she was ultimately swallowed by the white light.
The purple sphere bounced three times on the ground before finally becoming still.
Only then did Jiang Yi slowly emerge from the nearby bushes and pick up the Master Ball from the ground.
Little Tian Meng, captured!!!
Before you continue