Underworld Bone and Ming He (Seeking Follow-up!)

The old man in the Ice Valley, namely Underworld Bone Title Douluo Gu Qianye, had just finished discussing matters with his "second brother," Soul Abyss Title Douluo Ming He, when he saw Wang Tieniu beaten into a state of total combat incapacity.

"Hmph! Everyone, activate your Martial Souls!" Gu Qianye snorted, his face turning livid.

Upon hearing Gu Qianye's command, everyone stood up in silence and initiated Martial Soul Possession; in an instant, the entire Ice Valley flickered with the radiance of Soul Rings.

It was unbelievable that the lowest among this group were seven-ring Soul Saints. In total, there were ten Soul Saints, two Soul Douluos, and two Title Douluos—if one counted the incapacitated Wang Tieniu on the ground, that made three Soul Douluos.

This force was formidable no matter where it was placed.

"Brat, state your name!" Gu Qianye asked arrogantly, not even deigning to look Jiang Che in the eye.

Jiang Che ignored Gu Qianye's words, instead wondering why such a godforsaken place would harbor so many high-level Evil Soul Masters.

As Evil Soul Masters, their psyches were long since twisted, and they usually operated alone; to gather so many of them at once, it had to be at the behest of the Holy Spirit Cult.

And since the Holy Spirit Cult wasn't in the habit of wasting time, it meant there was something here they desperately wanted.

Suddenly, Jiang Che turned his head to cast a deep look at Huo Yuhao; he couldn't shake the feeling that this matter was inextricably linked to him.

Huo Yuhao was left somewhat dazed by Jiang Che's gaze, having no idea what the latter was planning.

Opposite them, Ming He saw Jiang Che remaining silent and glancing back at Huo Yuhao, assuming that Jiang Che was intimidated by the sheer number of high-level Soul Masters and was considering fleeing with those behind him.

"Hey you, my big brother is asking you a question! What? Are you afraid of us? Hahaha! Isn't your Shrek Inspectorate supposed to be all about exterminating every last Evil Soul Master?" Fearing that a massive contribution was about to slip through his fingers, Ming He immediately began to provoke Jiang Che.

Ming He's sneer, laced with malevolent soul power, echoed wantonly throughout the Ice Valley, his eyes filled with contempt for Shrek and the greed of someone on the verge of a great achievement.

Jiang Che slowly withdrew his gaze from Huo Yuhao, his silver-blue pupils devoid of even a shred of fear.

"Afraid?"

"Pfft~" Faced with Ming He's mockery, Jiang Che laughed instead of getting angry. His voice was clearly tinged with amusement, yet it revealed an arrogance that looked down upon all living beings. Every word landed clearly in the ears of every Evil Soul Master: "You lot, mere maggots in a gutter—do you really think you are worthy of making me afraid?"

Before the words had even faded, Jiang Che's soul power erupted, and nine Soul Rings rose thunderously from beneath his feet!

Six black! Three red!

Three dazzling, eye-catching red Soul Rings hung silently in the air. The topmost red ring, marked with golden patterns, exuded the terrifying pressure of a 500,000-year-old beast soul ring. A majestic Dragon Might swept across the entire Ice Valley in an instant!

The aura of a level 93 Ultimate Ice Title Douluo poured out without reservation, pressing down like a ten-thousand-foot Ice Peak. The faces of the previously arrogant Evil Soul Masters changed drastically; those below the Soul Douluo level who were caught unprepared trembled uncontrollably, their legs buckling as they nearly collapsed to their knees.

Gu Qianye and Ming He's pupils shrank to pinpricks, a sense of intense unease rising in their hearts. They never imagined that this youth, who appeared to be barely twenty, was not only a Title Douluo but also possessed three soul rings over one hundred thousand years old.

"This won't do. This brat must be eliminated, or he will surely become a grave threat to our Holy Cult in the future!" Gu Qianye said with a grave expression. Originally, they had hoped to capture him alive, but now he only wanted to dispose of Jiang Che as quickly as possible.

"Activate your Avatar of Martial Soul! Attack together! End this quickly! Seventh Soul Skill: Avatar of Martial Soul!"

After saying this, Gu Qianye led the charge. The reason he wanted a swift victory was that Jiang Che's talent was too terrifying, and he feared there might be other Shrek experts lying in ambush nearby.

"Seventh Soul Skill: Avatar of Martial Soul!" Ming He roared, following closely behind as he also unleashed his Avatar of Martial Soul.

Although the rest of the group feared being struck down by Jiang Che as easily as Wang Tieniu had been, seeing both their leaders charging in, they couldn't just stand by and watch.

They exchanged glances with one another, then gritted their teeth and unleashed their own Avatars of Martial Soul to join the fray.

"Ice Empress, protect Huo Yuhao well; leave this to me." A group of Evil Soul Masters was charging over to take his life, yet he remained unhurried, pausing only to instruct the Ice Empress to protect Huo Yuhao.

"Understood." The Ice Empress replied, lifting her hand to whisk Huo Yuhao outside the battlefield before watching the fight between Jiang Che and the Evil Soul Masters with keen interest.

Huo Yuhao was still in a daze; the events of the last few moments had happened so fast he couldn't process them.

He only knew that an eight-ring Soul Douluo had emerged from the Ice Valley, only to be crippled by his senior for some unknown reason, and now the entire opposing force was charging at them.

Looking at them, not one was below the level of a seven-ring Soul Saint, and there were two Title Douluos just like his senior. This scene left Huo Yuhao, who had only just stepped into the world of Soul Masters, in a state of profound shock.

After all, his teacher, Zhou Yi, was only a six-ring Soul Emperor—placed here, she would be nothing more than a roadside pebble.

"Brother Sky Dream, what exactly just happened? Why can't I make sense of any of this?" Huo Yuhao asked the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

"Sigh, little Yuhao, those people opposite are Evil Soul Masters," the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said weakly.

"What is an Evil Soul Master?"

"They are a group of Soul Masters who rely on slaughter, souls, flesh, or the creation of fear and pain to increase their soul power. In the Douluo Continent, they are to be hunted down by all."

"First Soul Skill: Dragon Might!"

As Jiang Che's indifferent voice fell, the phantom of the Ice Dragon King roared from around his body.

The vast, peerless Dragon Might swept through the Ice Valley like a tsunami. A powerful mental attack, laced with the biting chill of Ultimate Ice, slammed fiercely into the charging Evil Soul Masters.

Gu Qianye and Ming He, the two Title Douluos bearing the brunt of the attack, had their expressions shift slightly, but they were largely unaffected.

However, the Soul Saints and Soul Douluos behind them were not so lucky!

Under the absolute suppression of rank, the dozen or so Evil Soul Masters affected by the Dragon Might froze in mid-air. Their soul power turned chaotic, their faces filled with terror and agony, and even their Avatars of Martial Soul began to flicker and dissipate.

Many of the weaker Soul Saints collapsed to their knees on the hard ice, trembling all over, unable to even muster the strength to lift their hands.

"Damn it, a bunch of useless trash," Gu Qianye cursed under his breath.

His Martial Soul was the Soul-Devouring Bone Tiger. Having activated his Avatar of Martial Soul, he transformed into a giant bone tiger roughly fifteen meters tall, devoid of skin or flesh, consisting only of pitch-black bones and the scarlet soul-fire burning in its eye sockets.

"Second Soul Skill: Soul-Devouring Claw Strike!"

His claws, wreathed in grayish-white soul flames, lunged directly at Jiang Che.

Ming He's Martial Soul was the Yellow Springs Snake King. Taking advantage of Gu Qianye's frontal assault, he circled behind Jiang Che, intending to launch a sneak attack.

This was the tacit understanding they had built over many years. Both were orphans who had been scouted and taken away by the Holy Spirit Cult after awakening their Martial Souls. They had cultivated together, braved life and death together, and sworn an oath as brothers of different surnames—they were the kind of men who could entrust their backs to one another.