Pursued by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect

In a remote mountain gully outside the borders of Skywater City, in the northern reaches of the Heaven Dou Empire.

It was the dead of winter, biting and bone-chilling, with gale-force winds whipping up ice shards that whistled through the air.

Three figures wove through the snow-white forest, speeding along. The two on the flanks held blades stained with scarlet blood, adding an abrupt, jarring splash of red to the stark, wintry landscape.

The man in the center wore blue robes, his expression cold and sinister, with blue lightning flickering in his palms.

"Hurry, don't let that brat get away! Skywater City is just ahead; if he reaches it, it won't be easy for us to make a move!"

"Rest assured, Young Master, he won't escape. Even with Innate Full Soul Power, he cannot evade the pursuit of three level 32 Soul Elders!"

"Indeed, he is only a six-year-old boy. Besides, Young Master, look—he is losing more and more blood. I slashed him just a moment ago; his speed will slow down soon enough!"

Ahead of these three figures, a small, stumbling figure fled. In the biting cold of midwinter, he wore only a thin, grey cloth tunic.

Across his chest was a bloody gash, a full 50 centimeters long, inflicted moments ago by one of the tool-spirit Soul Masters behind him. It dripped incessantly, leaving a broken, harrowing trail of blood in the snow.

His name was Li Jiuxuan, a child originally from a remote village outside Four Elements City.

Despite his humble origins, he had awakened a supreme bloodline martial soul this year at the age of six: the Ice Dragon King!

He even possessed Innate Full Soul Power!

Yet, amidst his dreams of attending a Soul Master Academy to study hard, become an outstanding Soul Master, and provide a good life for his parents in the future...

Li Jiuxuan had been unexpectedly targeted by the Blue Lightning Overlord Dragon Clan as they passed through his village.

The clan had secretly discovered that due to the power of his bloodline, the potential of the Ice Dragon King martial soul surpassed even the Blue Lightning Overlord Dragon, hailed as the world's number one beast martial soul. Thus, they intended to take Li Jiuxuan back to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect!

From the start, Li Jiuxuan did not see this as a blessing; those people had no sincere intention of nurturing him!

The condition for entering the sect was a promise never to display his martial soul to outsiders, and a prohibition against marrying without permission.

Furthermore, he was to be registered as a slave, tasked with following the direct-line heir, Yu Tianxin, to study in subservience.

This was blatant oppression!

But at the time, Li Jiuxuan had agreed.

Facing such a massive clan, they could easily target the commoners.

He had no real choice.

However, Li Jiuxuan's parents refused to yield, under no circumstances allowing their son to become a servant.

They believed that even if their son never became a Soul Master and remained a commoner, he would at least be free, safe, and sound!

When Li Jiuxuan's parents resisted with all their might, the Blue Lightning Overlord Dragon Clan chose to resort to immediate, brutal violence!

A flash of a blade ended the lives of his parents, as they sought to forcibly abduct their offspring.

At that moment, the true face of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect was fully exposed; they would not allow any possibility that might shake the status of the world's number one beast martial soul!

In the end, to prevent word from leaking out, the entire small village was slaughtered.

"Run, child! Uncle will hold them off for you!"

"Jiuxuan is a good boy, he will surely have a bright future. We cannot let them bully him!"

"Everyone, charge! Fight them to the death!"

Because of the help and stalling tactics of the uncles and aunts in the village, Li Jiuxuan had gained time to flee.

But he had been slashed during the initial confrontation and could not run very fast.

Even with Innate Full Soul Power and a top-tier beast martial soul, he was helpless against three level 32 Soul Elders!

He was about to be overtaken!

Father, Mother, Village Chief Grandpa, Uncles and Aunts...

Li Jiuxuan endured the agonizing pain, his eyes brimming with tears, filled with endless grief and hatred!

Even back on his original Blue Star, he had never experienced such sincere human warmth or the deep, honest bonds of neighbors.

Having transmigrated here, this body also bore the name Li Jiuxuan, and the entire village had treated him as their own, cherishing him dearly.

But now, everything had vanished into thin air; all the villagers had been slaughtered for protecting him, with not a single one spared.

What a fine Blue Lightning Overlord Dragon Clan!

What a fine Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect!

"Second Soul Skill: Thunder Field Area!"

Following a shout from behind, Li Jiuxuan's body instantly felt a surge of paralysis and piercing pain.

The flesh and blood on his body felt as if they were about to explode!

This was a soul skill used by a young man from a side branch of the Blue Lightning Overlord Dragon Clan!

His name was Yu Qingquan, a level 32 Soul Elder whose soul power was far beyond what a child like Li Jiuxuan, who had only just awakened his martial soul, could withstand!

"Ah--!"

Li Jiuxuan's pupils contracted to pinpricks; his body felt so heavy he could not take a single step.

It was only his primal instinct for survival that allowed him to stumble forward a few paces before his body was lifted into the air, electricity surging through his entire frame until his consciousness began to fray.

In that brief window, the three figures behind him caught up. Yu Qingquan, his palms flickering with blue lightning, grabbed Li Jiuxuan by the neck and slammed him violently into the snow.

With a dull thud, another vibrant plum blossom bloomed—the stain of blood spreading across the white.

"Run, why don't you run? Didn't you run quite fast before?"

Yu Qingquan's face was twisted in a mask of madness, as if some deep-seated, ancestral hatred existed between them.

Bullying the commoners excited him, making his blood boil; watching the powerless struggle in fear made the very pores of his skin pulse with soul power.

The other two soul masters arrived in succession and came to a halt. The three figures stood coldly in the frozen wasteland, their gazes more frigid than the winter itself.

"You... you have no regard for the law, using your power to bully the weak..."

Li Jiuxuan lay sprawled on the ground, unable to rise, dragging his body backward inch by agonizing inch.

His eyes were brimming with tears, yet he showed not a shred of cowardice. Within them lay the agony of his family's brutal murder and the most pure, extreme hatred for the three men before him.

Seeing the wolf-like, venomous glare in Li Jiuxuan's eyes, the veins on Yu Qingquan's temples bulged. He stepped forward and kicked the boy in the chest. "You base-born commoner, even if you awakened an ultimate beast soul, how dare you defy the Lightning Overlord Sect?"

"You had better kill me now, because if I survive, I will surely annihilate your Blue Lightning Overlord Dragon Clan! I will kill your clansmen one by one, leaving not even a chicken or dog alive!" Li Jiuxuan coughed up blood, staring daggers at Yu Qingquan.

For a moment, even the arrogant noble of the Blue Lightning Overlord Dragon Clan was stunned. Facing imminent death, this brat hadn't begged for mercy, but instead spat out a blood-oath of madness!

"..."

The two servant soul masters standing to the side shifted, their expressions changing, but they remained silent.

They could feel the hostility radiating from Li Jiuxuan—a hatred that soared to the heavens, colder than the swirling snow!

It sent a chill down their spines!

And this was clearly just a six-year-old child!

"You mere commoner, do you really think I dare not kill you?"

Yu Qingquan's brow twitched, his expression turning increasingly vicious. He narrowed his eyes at Li Jiuxuan, his palms glowing with surging lightning and immense soul power.

Although the direct-line elders wanted him captured alive for the Blue Lightning Overlord Dragon Clan, they had made it clear: if he proved too troublesome, he was to be executed on the spot to erase all traces!

"Hmph!"

Li Jiuxuan let out a cold, disdainful snort. He simply lay back against the snow, closed his eyes, and felt his body go limp.

It had come to this; it was nothing more than death!

May he be born into a better life in the next.

"Young Master, kill him. This one is ruthless; leaving him alive is a disaster. He cannot be tamed!"

The soul master on the left spoke, though he did not know why he felt such trepidation toward this child.

It left him feeling a sense of dread!

As if this boy, in the future, could truly settle all accounts!

The soul master on the right nodded as well. In all the years he had spent doing the Lightning Overlord Dragon Clan's dirty work, he had never felt as heavy-hearted as he did today.

This child's will was too stubborn; he would never submit!

If left alive, he would be a festering wound!

Hearing this, Yu Qingquan grinned coldly. "Fine, then... die."

He did not finish his sentence!

Lightning surged all around, soul power vibrated, and blue-purple sparks flickered in his pupils.

His soul rings ignited: Yellow, Yellow, Purple.

The freezing wind was torn asunder, the snow on the ground exploded, and the ice sheet cracked inch by inch as his power coalesced!

"Third Soul Skill: Rushing Thunder Fist!"

Accompanied by his overflowing malice, he threw a punch toward Li Jiuxuan's head. Power poured out, and lightning swept across the area.

Yu Qingquan's blood boiled, his face twisted in a grotesque grimace. He was already stronger than the average man, and this near-limit strike was enough to make even a high-level Soul Elder weigh their options!

For a level ten soul master, it was certain death!

"Hum!"

At this critical, hair-trigger moment!

The freezing winds of heaven and earth turned violent, snow filled the sky, and the temperature plummeted once more!

"Third Soul Skill: Repelling Ice Ring!"