The old man in Ice Valley—Gu Qianye, the Underworld Bone Douluo—had just finished discussing things with his "second brother," the Soul Abyss Douluo Ming He, when he saw Wang Tieniu beaten until he was completely unable to fight.
"Hmph! Everyone, activate your Martial Souls!" Gu Qianye said with an ashen face.
At his words, everyone silently rose to their feet and activated Martial Soul Possession. In an instant, the entire Ice Valley glittered with the light of Soul Rings.
Unbelievably, the lowest rank among them was Seven-Ring Soul Sage. There were ten Soul Sages, two Soul Douluos, and two Titled Douluos. Add Wang Tieniu on the ground, and that made three Soul Douluos.
This force would be formidable no matter where it was.
"Boy, state your name!" Gu Qianye asked arrogantly, not taking Jiang Che seriously at all.
Jiang Che ignored Gu Qianye and instead wondered why there were so many high-ranking Evil Soul Masters in this godforsaken place.
As Evil Soul Masters, their minds had long since become twisted. They usually acted alone, so gathering so many of them at once could only mean the Holy Spirit Cult had ordered it.
And the Holy Spirit Cult wouldn't do this for no reason. There had to be something here they wanted.
Suddenly, Jiang Che turned and gave Huo Yuhao a long, deep look. He had a feeling Huo Yuhao was somehow involved.
Jiang Che's gaze left Huo Yuhao a little dazed. He had no idea what Jiang Che was planning.
Seeing Jiang Che remain silent and even glance back at Huo Yuhao, Ming He assumed Jiang Che had been frightened by the number of high-ranking Soul Masters and was planning to flee with the people behind him.
"Hey, you over there! My big brother asked you a question. What, are you scared of us? Hahaha! Doesn't your Shrek Inspectorate claim it's going to wipe out all the Evil Soul Masters?" Afraid the great merit he had within reach would slip away, Ming He immediately taunted Jiang Che.
Ming He's mocking laughter, laced with sinister Soul Power, rang unchecked through Ice Valley. His eyes brimmed with contempt for Shrek and greed at the prospect of earning a great merit.
Jiang Che slowly withdrew his gaze from Huo Yuhao. Not a trace of fear showed in his silver-blue eyes.
"Scared?"
"Hah." Faced with Ming He's taunt, Jiang Che laughed instead of getting angry. His voice carried a smile, yet radiated the arrogance of one looking down upon all living things. Each word rang clearly in the ears of every Evil Soul Master. "You maggots crawling in the gutter think you're worthy of frightening me?"
Before his words had even faded, Soul Power erupted around Jiang Che, and nine Soul Rings rose with a roar from beneath his feet!
Six black! Three red!
Three dazzling red Soul Rings hovered in the air. The uppermost one, marked with golden patterns, exuded the terrifying pressure of a five-hundred-thousand-year Ferocious Beast Soul Ring. Dragon Might surged forth, sweeping across Ice Valley in an instant!
The unrestrained aura of a level-93 Titled Douluo with Ultimate Ice poured out, crashing down like a towering ice peak. The Evil Soul Masters, who had been swaggering moments ago, changed expressions. Everyone below Soul Douluo rank who hadn't been prepared trembled all over, their legs shaking uncontrollably as they nearly dropped to their knees.
Gu Qianye and Ming He's pupils contracted. A powerful unease rose in their hearts. They had never imagined that the young man before them, who looked barely over twenty, was not only a Titled Douluo, but also possessed three Soul Rings over a hundred thousand years old.
"This won't do. We must eliminate him. Otherwise, he'll become a grave threat to our Holy Cult!" Gu Qianye said gravely. They had originally hoped to capture Jiang Che alive if possible, but now he only wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible.
"Activate your Martial Soul Avatars! Everyone, attack! Finish this quickly! Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul Avatar!"
After saying this, Gu Qianye charged first. He wanted to end the fight quickly because Jiang Che's talent was too terrifying, and he feared there might be Shrek experts lying in ambush nearby.
"Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul Avatar!" Ming He roared, activating his own Martial Soul Avatar and following close behind.
The rest were afraid Jiang Che would knock them down with a casual blow, just as he had Wang Tieniu. But with both leaders charging in, they couldn't just stand back and watch.
They glanced at one another, then reluctantly gritted their teeth and activated their Martial Soul Avatars before joining the attack.
"Ice Empress, protect Huo Yuhao. Leave this to me." A group of Evil Soul Masters rushed toward him, intent on taking his life, but Jiang Che remained calm and first made sure Ice Empress knew to protect Huo Yuhao.
"Understood." Ice Empress replied, then took Huo Yuhao beyond the battlefield and watched Jiang Che's fight with the Evil Soul Masters with interest.
Huo Yuhao was still completely dazed. The events of the past few moments had happened too fast for him to process.
All he knew was that an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo had come out of Ice Valley, then, for some reason, his senior had beaten him so badly he was left crippled. Then everyone on the other side had charged over.
At a glance, not one of them was below Seven-Ring Soul Sage rank. Two were Titled Douluos like his senior. This sight left Huo Yuhao, who had only just entered the Soul Master World, stunned for a long time.
After all, his teacher, Zhou Yi, was only a Six-Ring Soul Emperor. Here, she'd be no better than a stray dog by the roadside.
"Brother Sky Dream, what exactly happened just now? I can't make sense of it," Huo Yuhao asked the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
"Ah, little Yuhao, the people opposite us are Evil Soul Masters," the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said listlessly.
"What are Evil Soul Masters?"
"They're Soul Masters who rely on killing, souls, flesh and blood, or inflicting fear and pain to increase their Soul Power. Everyone on the Douluo Continent wants them dead."
"First Soul Skill, Dragon Might!"
As Jiang Che's cool voice fell, the Ice Dragon King's phantom around him suddenly let out a roar.
A vast, overwhelming Dragon Might swept through Ice Valley like a tsunami. A powerful mental attack, mixed with the bone-chilling cold of Ultimate Ice, slammed into the Evil Soul Masters charging toward him.
Gu Qianye and Ming He, the two Titled Douluos at the forefront, showed some reaction, but were mostly unaffected.
The Soul Sages and Soul Douluos behind them weren't so lucky!
Under the overwhelming level suppression, more than ten Evil Soul Masters caught in the Dragon Might froze in midair. Their Soul Power turned chaotic, their faces twisted with terror and pain, and even their Martial Soul Avatars began to flicker and crumble.
Several of the weaker Soul Sages fell straight to their knees on the ice. Trembling all over, they couldn't even lift a hand.
"Damn it! A bunch of useless showpieces," Gu Qianye cursed under his breath.
His Martial Soul was the Soul-Devouring Bone Tiger. After activating his Martial Soul Avatar, he transformed into a colossal bone tiger, nearly fifteen meters tall. It had no flesh or skin, only black bones and crimson flames of spirit burning in its eye sockets.
"Second Soul Skill, Soul-Devouring Claw Strike!"
Gray-white flames of spirit wound around his claws as he lunged straight at Jiang Che.
Ming He's Martial Soul was the Yellow Springs Snake King. While Gu Qianye attacked head-on, Ming He circled behind Jiang Che, planning a sneak attack.
This was the understanding they had built over many years. Both had been orphans. After awakening their Martial Souls as children, they had been noticed and taken away by members of the Holy Spirit Cult. They had cultivated together, faced life and death together, and sworn brotherhood despite having different surnames. Each was someone the other could trust with his back.
Before you continue