After the brief shock passed, Jiang Che lowered his eyes to the Holy Sword of Light in his hand. Its blade still flowed with a golden sheen, and the six-pointed star in its guard flickered faintly. The "Aurora World-Purifying Wheel" had consumed less than a tenth of his total Soul Power, yet its might had far exceeded his expectations.
Ultimate Light countered sinister forces even more completely than he had imagined.
The Martial Soul Fusion Skill that Gu Qianye and Ming He had poured everything into unleashing had been as fragile as paper before the Holy Sword of Light. It had not even managed to stabilize the core of its domain before holy light had unraveled it at its source.
This was no simple clash of opposing attributes. It was absolute suppression from the top of the food chain, like flame against ice, daylight against shadow—a crushing disparity in their very nature that left no room for luck.
"As expected of Ultimate Light," Jiang Che murmured. The runes glimmered faintly the instant he touched them, sending a warm resonance through him, as though in response to his praise.
Before, with the Ice Dragon King Martial Soul and his Ultimate Ice attribute, he could fight opponents above his level. But when facing the strange, insidious Soul Skills of Evil Soul Masters, he had ultimately been forced to overcome their tricks with sheer strength, trading blows head-on.
But now that he had the Holy Sword of Light, everything was different.
The soul corrosion, vengeful-spirit curses, and poisonous miasma that Evil Soul Masters took such pride in could not even get close under the radiance of Ultimate Light.
The exhilarating feeling of "I haven't even tried, and you're already down" made Jiang Che feel lighter than ever before.
Gu Qianye was still trying to struggle on the ground. He braced himself against the ice and staggered to his feet. The fabric around his knees had been cut open by shards of ice, exposing skin mottled with blue and purple bruises.
Ming He lay sprawled in the icy crater. He struggled to lift his head, his lips moving several times, but all that came out was a hoarse, garbled whisper.
The Soul Saints and Soul Douluo who had been too intimidated by the aftershocks of battle and Dragon Might to interfere now looked ashen.
Some tried to sneak deeper into Ice Valley amid the chaos, while others stared blankly at the Holy Sword of Light in Jiang Che's hand. The silhouette of the golden sword was reflected in their pupils, and even the thought of fleeing had been frightened out of them.
Jiang Che's silver-blue gaze moved away from Gu Qianye and swept over the trembling Evil Soul Masters. There was no pity in his eyes, only indifference.
He suddenly remembered something. In the original story, the Holy Spirit Cult had seemed to begin its true rise around the years Huo Yuhao attended Shrek, eventually becoming a grave threat to the entire continent.
The Holy Spirit Cult's rise in the original story had been tied to the surge in Evil Soul Masters, corruption within the royal families of various kingdoms, and several failed campaigns by the Shrek Inspectorate.
For this many Evil Soul Masters to appear in the Far North, accompanied by two Titled Douluo and a dozen high-ranking Soul Masters, meant the Holy Spirit Cult had deeper reserves than he had expected.
"Forget it. Why dwell on it?" Jiang Che shook his head and stopped fretting over things that didn't matter.
He turned his wrist, and the golden runes on the Holy Sword of Light shone again. This time, it was not a Soul Skill, but merely an infusion of Soul Power.
Holy light spread from the blade like a rising tide, washing through Ice Valley. Wherever it passed, the ice polluted by the Evil Soul Masters hissed. The gray-black stains rapidly faded under the burning radiance, revealing the crystalline surface beneath.
The foul stench in the air was gradually driven away, replaced by a clean, crisp scent.
"You shouldn't have appeared before me." Jiang Che's voice was quiet, yet every Evil Soul Master heard it clearly. He spoke as if stating a fact, not passing sentence.
The Evil Soul Masters slumped on the ground shuddered. One finally came to his senses, sprang from the ice, and bolted frantically toward the mouth of the valley.
Their Martial Soul Avatars had long since vanished. They were now moving at the speed of ordinary Soul Masters, slow as people struggling through a mire before a Titled Douluo.
Jiang Che did not pursue them. He simply raised the Holy Sword of Light and gave it a light swing.
A curved arc of golden sword energy shot from the blade. It made no sound, yet its speed was astonishing.
The air along its path warped faintly, and even the light seemed to be cut apart. The fleeing Evil Soul Masters had no time to scream before the sword energy caught up with them.
Golden holy light pierced through their bodies, burning away and purifying the flesh, meridians, and bones tainted by their cultivation methods. Each of them dissolved into a cloud of tiny golden motes that scattered into the frigid winds of the Far North.
There was no blood, no severed limbs—not even a single wail remained.
The purification of Ultimate Light was absolute. It erased all trace, as if they had never existed.
More than ten Soul Saints and Soul Douluo were reduced to nothing by a single strike from Jiang Che.
Jiang Che stood with his sword lowered. The golden sheen on the Holy Sword of Light slowly faded, and the runes dimmed, restoring it to the appearance of a plain, antique golden sword.
He turned toward Ice Empress and Huo Yuhao. His silver-blue eyes once again held a warm smile, as though the one-sided slaughter moments ago had never happened.
Jiang Che walked over to the two of them. He had already returned the Holy Sword of Light to his body, and his Ice Dragon King Martial Soul had faded as well. He was once more the refined, gentle young man, his silver-blue eyes looking down at the two battered Titled Douluo.
"Why did the Holy Spirit Cult send you to the Far North?"
Gu Qianye struggled to raise his head. A hint of mockery flashed in his murky eyes, and he forced an ugly smile, revealing teeth stained red with blood. "Guess."
Jiang Che did not get angry. He merely watched him calmly.
Gu Qianye spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. It landed on the ice and instantly froze into a dark-red bead. His voice was hoarse and shrill, like an old bellows leaking air. "Kid, I've lived for nearly a hundred years. What haven't I seen? You think you can act like you're interrogating me just because you're from Shrek, and I'll tell you about the Holy Spirit Cult?"
Ming He struggled to turn over in the icy crater, ending up flat on his back. His chest heaved violently as he gasped for breath.
His voice was even weaker than Gu Qianye's, but just as defiant. "My big brother's right. Kill us or chop us up, do as you please. You'll never pry a single word out of us. Dream on."
Jiang Che looked at the two stubborn old men and furrowed his brow slightly.
He had considered probing them with his spiritual power, but the Sea of Consciousness of a Titled Douluo was already as solid as a fortress. If he tried to force his way in, their Sea of Consciousness might destroy itself before he could breach their defenses.
Besides, he was not particularly interested in the Holy Spirit Cult's specific plans.
Before absolute strength, all schemes and tricks were paper tigers. As long as he kept growing, once he broke through to Super Douluo or even Limit Douluo, the skulking Evil Soul Masters of the Holy Spirit Cult would be nothing but food delivered to his door.
"One last time." Jiang Che gathered his thoughts and looked steadily at Gu Qianye with his silver-blue eyes. "What exactly did you come to the Far North to do?"
Gu Qianye closed his eyes, no longer looking at him. His expression was calm and composed, even touched with a hint of relief.
Ming He said nothing either. With the one hand he could still move, he groped weakly until he found Gu Qianye's hand hanging at his side. Their two aged hands clasped tightly together, as if silently saying goodbye.
Jiang Che fell silent for a moment, then sighed softly.
"If you don't want to say, then so be it."
His right hand slowly rose, and a sphere of pure golden holy light gathered in his palm. It was warm and gentle on the eyes, yet contained the source power to purify all things.
Gu Qianye and Ming He felt the aura of light and shuddered involuntarily. It was an Evil Soul Master's instinctive response—the fear of a natural enemy, carved into their bones and fused into their blood. No matter how tough they talked, their bodies could not lie.
"Purification by Ultimate Light won't hurt," Jiang Che said. "Your souls will be completely purified, leaving nothing behind. You won't need to worry about some Evil Soul Master capturing you after death and refining you into vengeful spirits."
Gu Qianye opened his eyes. A complicated expression flickered in his murky gaze. His lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing.
Ming He instead laughed. His smile was twisted and ugly, but carried a rare trace of relief. "Kid, you're... a lot more human than those mongrels in the Holy Spirit Cult."
Jiang Che said nothing more. The holy light in his palm suddenly blazed.
Golden radiance enveloped them both, like the rising sun driving away the gloom of night. There were no screams, no struggles. Gu Qianye and Ming He gradually dissolved in the holy light, completely undone at their source by Ultimate Light, until they vanished from the world.
Two Titled Douluo had disappeared from this world, leaving not the slightest trace behind.
Ice Valley fell silent again. Only the cold wind, carrying fine snow, brushed gently over Jiang Che's robes.
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