On the northern border of the Heaven Dou Empire, in a remote ravine outside Skywater City.
It was the depths of winter, bitterly cold. The gale swept up ice crystals with a howling roar.
Three figures darted through the snow-white woods. The two on either side clutched swords, their blades stained crimson with blood—a jarring splash of red against the pale landscape.
The man in the middle wore a blue robe. His expression was icy, and blue lightning flickered in his palm.
"Quick! Don't let that brat get away. Skywater City is just ahead. If he makes it there, we won't be able to act!"
"Don't worry, young master. He won't escape. Even with Innate Full Soul Power, he can't outrun three Soul Elders at level thirty-two!"
"Exactly. He's only a six-year-old boy. And look, young master—he's losing more and more blood. I slashed him just now. His speed will slow down soon!"
Ahead of the three figures, a small, staggering figure struggled onward. In the bitter cold of winter, he wore nothing but a thin gray cloth shirt.
A bloody gash, a full fifty centimeters long, cut across his front. One of the weapon-wielding Soul Masters behind him had inflicted it moments ago. Blood dripped steadily from the wound, leaving a broken, harrowing trail of red.
His name was Li Jiuxuan. He had been a boy from a remote village outside Four Elements City.
Though born into humble circumstances, at the age of six he had awakened a Martial Soul with an ultimate bloodline: the Ice Dragon King!
And he had Innate Full Soul Power!
He had been looking forward to attending a Soul Master Academy, studying hard, and becoming an outstanding Soul Master. He dreamed that one day, he could give his parents a better life...
Then the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, passing through his village, set its sights on Li Jiuxuan.
They had secretly discovered that, thanks to the strength of his bloodline, the Ice Dragon King Martial Soul had potential that even surpassed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, hailed as the Number One Beast Martial Soul. They wanted Li Jiuxuan to return with them to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect!
At first, Li Jiuxuan hadn't thought it was a good thing. Those people had no intention of truly raising him!
To join the sect, he would have to promise never to reveal his Martial Soul to outsiders and never to marry without permission.
He would also have to enter the sect as a slave and serve the direct-line young master, Yu Tianxin, while devoting himself to his studies.
It was blatant oppression!
But at the time, Li Jiuxuan had agreed.
Against a powerful clan like this, targeting the poor was as easy as lifting a finger.
He had no real choice.
But Li Jiuxuan's parents refused with all their might. They would never let their son become a servant.
They believed that even if their son never became a Soul Master and lived as an ordinary person, he could still be free and at peace!
When Li Jiuxuan's parents had fiercely objected, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had chosen to strike without warning and kill!
A flash of blades ended the lives of his parents. They meant to take their son by force.
At last, the true face of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect had been laid bare. They would not allow even the possibility that anything might challenge the Number One Beast Martial Soul!
In the end, to keep the news from getting out, they slaughtered the entire village.
"Run, child! I'll hold them off!"
"Jiuxuan is a good boy. He'll make something of himself one day. We can't let them bully him!"
"Everyone, charge! Let's fight them!"
Thanks to the village men and women who had helped hold the pursuers back, Li Jiuxuan had time to flee.
But he had been wounded in the initial confrontation and couldn't run very fast.
Even with Innate Full Soul Power and a top-grade Beast Martial Soul, he was no match for three level-thirty-two Soul Elders!
They were about to catch him!
"Dad, Mom, Grandpa Village Chief, uncles, aunties..."
Li Jiuxuan endured the agony, his eyes brimming with tears and filled with boundless grief and hatred!
Even back on his original Blue Star, he had never experienced such sincere human warmth, such deep affection between neighbors.
After his soul crossed over, his new body had also been named Li Jiuxuan. Everyone in the village had treated him as their own, cherishing him in every way.
But now, it had all vanished like smoke. Every villager had been slaughtered for protecting him.
What a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan!
What a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect!
"Second Soul Skill, Thunder Field Area!"
A shout rang out behind him, and Li Jiuxuan's body was instantly seized by numbness and piercing pain.
It felt as if the flesh on his body were about to burst apart!
The Soul Skill had been unleashed by a young man from a collateral branch of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan!
His name was Yu Qingquan. He was level thirty-two, and the Soul Power he wielded was more than a child who had only recently awakened his Martial Soul could withstand!
"Argh—!"
Li Jiuxuan's pupils contracted to pinpricks. His body grew so heavy that he couldn't take another step.
Only his desperate instinct to survive let him stagger forward a few more paces. Then he was lifted into the air, lightning coursing through his entire body until his consciousness nearly shattered!
In that moment, the three men behind him caught up. Yu Qingquan, blue lightning flickering in his palm, grabbed Li Jiuxuan by the neck and slammed him hard into the snow.
With a thump, another bright-red plum blossom bloomed—the blood pooling beneath him.
"Run! Why'd you stop? Weren't you running so fast?"
Yu Qingquan's face twisted with a crazed, ferocious look, as if the two of them had some deep-seated grudge!
Bullying ordinary people thrilled him, sent his blood surging. Watching the helpless and powerless struggle in fear made Soul Power seem to gush from every pore of his body.
The other two Soul Masters arrived one after the other and stopped. The three figures stood coldly in the snow and ice, their eyes even more chilling than the winter around them.
"You... defy the law and use your power to bully others..."
Li Jiuxuan lay sprawled on the ground, struggling to move. Inch by inch, he dragged himself backward.
Tears glimmered in his eyes, but there wasn't a trace of weakness in them. They held the pain of his loved ones' deaths, and the purest, most searing hatred for the three men before him.
Seeing the venomous, wolf-like glare in Li Jiuxuan's eyes, Yu Qingquan's temple throbbed. He stepped forward and kicked him in the chest. "You lowborn commoner! So what if you awakened an ultimate Beast Martial Soul? How dare you defy the Lightning Overlord Sect?"
"You'd better kill me now. If I survive, I'll destroy your Lightning Overlord Sect one day. I'll kill your clansmen one by one and leave none of you alive!" Li Jiuxuan coughed up blood, staring fixedly at Yu Qingquan.
Even the vicious nobles of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan froze for a moment. With death staring him in the face, the boy hadn't begged for mercy. Instead, he'd sworn a bloody oath!
"..."
The two Soul Master servants beside him stood there, their expressions shifting, but neither said a word.
They could feel the hatred radiating from Li Jiuxuan. It soared into the heavens, colder than the snow swirling all around them!
A chill ran down their spines!
He was only six years old!
"You worthless wretch. You really think I wouldn't dare kill you?"
Yu Qingquan's brow twitched. His expression grew more vicious as he narrowed his eyes at Li Jiuxuan, blue lightning blazing in his palm as Soul Power surged.
The clan elders in the direct line wanted to capture him alive and take him to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. But they had also made it clear: if he put up too much resistance, kill him outright and erase all traces!
"Hmph!"
Li Jiuxuan gave a disdainful snort, then lay back in the snow and closed his eyes, his whole body at ease.
It had come to this. Death was the only possibility!
He hoped he'd be born into a better family in his next life.
"Young master, kill him. He's vicious. If we leave him alive, he'll become a threat. We can't tame him!"
The Soul Master on the left spoke. For some reason, the boy filled him with dread.
It sent a chill through him!
It was as if, one day, the boy really would settle every score!
The Soul Master on the right nodded too. In all these years of helping the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan with its many dirty deeds, he had never felt as uneasy as he did today.
The boy was stubborn to the core. He would never submit!
Leaving him alive would be a calamity waiting to happen!
Hearing this, Yu Qingquan smiled coldly. "Fine. Then let's kill—"
He didn't get to finish!
Lightning surged around them, and Soul Power trembled. Blue-violet lightning flashed in his eyes.
His Soul Rings lit up: yellow, yellow, purple.
The gale was torn apart. Snow exploded from the ground, and the ice cracked inch by inch as power gathered!
"Third Soul Skill, Rushing Thunder Fist!"
His body brimming with viciousness, he swung his fist at Li Jiuxuan's head. Power poured from his punch as lightning swept through the air.
Yu Qingquan's blood surged, his face twisted beyond recognition. He was already stronger than most, and this near-maximum-force strike was enough to make even a high-level Soul Elder think twice!
Against a level-ten Soul Master, it meant certain death!
"Buzz!"
At this critical moment!
The gale roared through the heavens. Snow and ice filled the sky, suddenly whipping into a frenzy as the temperature plunged lower and lower!
"Third Soul Skill, Repelling Ice Ring!"
Before you continue