Killing

The secluded forest path wound forward in twists and turns.

Huo Yuhao emerged from the dense woods beside it and followed the path ahead.

This path was well hidden, yet it happened to lie along the route the steward and his guards had to take after leaving the woodshed.

He kept his head lowered, carrying several fresh fish strung together with vines.

His hurried steps made him look thoroughly timid and cowed.

Having just berated Huo Yun'er, the steward spotted Huo Yuhao from afar as he walked down the road.

Especially when he saw the fish in Huo Yuhao's hand, a pleased glint flashed through his triangular eyes.

"This maid's bastard actually got fish again! Looks like the brothers will get an extra meal tonight."

The steward grinned, his voice carrying a hint of mockery and smugness.

He was used to throwing his weight around, and handling matters like this was second nature to him.

Before Huo Yuhao could approach, the steward strode forward to meet him.

The guards following behind showed no surprise, each wearing a grin as though watching a show.

To them, this was merely another ordinary act of bullying.

Huo Yuhao was nothing but a lowly maid's bastard. What kind of trouble could he possibly stir up?

Huo Yuhao had turned ten this year, but boys naturally developed later. On top of that, he had spent years without enough food or warm clothing, leaving him especially thin and small.

Compared to the fat steward, he was more than a head shorter.

The steward stopped in front of Huo Yuhao, looking down at him as he completely blocked the way ahead.

Huo Yuhao seemed startled, and his body trembled slightly.

Seeing this, the steward felt even more pleased with himself.

"You little maid's bastard!" the steward barked sternly. "Instead of working properly all day, you have the nerve to go catch fish? You've really grown bold!"

As he cursed, he reached out to snatch the fish from Huo Yuhao's hand.

The movement was crude and overbearing, just as it had been countless times before.

The steward grabbed the vine holding the fish and gave it a hard tug, intending to wrench them away.

But this time, the vine did not budge.

Huo Yuhao gripped it tightly, with no intention of letting go.

The steward froze. Before he could fly into another rage, a cold flash streaked before his eyes.

It was so fast that he could scarcely react.

Then a thin red line appeared across the steward's throat.

Bright red beads of blood slowly seeped from the wound, growing larger and more numerous.

A stabbing pain came from his throat. He instinctively clutched his neck, and blood immediately stained the gaps between his fingers.

The steward's eyes widened. His mouth opened as though he wanted to say something, but only a hoarse, leaking gurgle came out.

No matter how hard he tried, he could not understand how this maid's bastard, who had always endured everything without resistance, had suddenly become so ruthless.

Wasn't he afraid of the Duchess's punishment?

These thoughts flashed through the steward's mind, but he would never have another chance to think.

His body went limp and collapsed.

Everything had happened in an instant.

Huo Yuhao slit the steward's throat with one stroke, yet he did not even blink.

He did not even look at the fallen steward. Instead, before the guards could react, he suddenly charged forward.

He viciously hurled the fish in his hand at the guards' faces.

After all, he could hardly go home afterward still carrying several fish.

The guards were still immersed in their shock and had never expected Huo Yuhao to attack again.

One of them failed to dodge in time and was struck squarely in the face by a fish.

He screamed and staggered backward, clutching his face.

Huo Yuhao immediately pressed forward and kicked him in the chest.

A crisp crack of breaking bones rang out.

The guard let out a muffled groan, spewed a mouthful of blood, and flew backward.

He crashed heavily onto the ground, clutching his chest and howling in agony.

The remaining three guards were all shaken.

They could not believe that Huo Yuhao, who was usually bullied by everyone, possessed such skill.

They were all sturdy, powerful guards.

In terms of build, Huo Yuhao's thigh was probably not even as thick as their arms.

Yet this frail child had broken that guard's ribs with a single kick!

Wasn't that maid's bastard's martial soul a useless Spirit Eye?

How could he possess such immense strength?

Had they looked carefully at that moment, they would have seen that Huo Yuhao's blue eyes had silently turned golden.

His pupils had also narrowed into thin slits, like dragon eyes.

Their companion's scream finally dragged the remaining three guards back to reality.

In their panic, they activated their martial souls, and Soul Rings appeared beneath their feet.

Two of them each had two white Soul Rings beneath their feet.

As their martial souls were released, their bodies abruptly grew taller, while dense black and brown fur sprouted across their skin. They were clearly beast-type martial souls.

The third had one white and one yellow Soul Ring beneath his feet.

With a flash, a spear appeared in his hand. Its shaft was black and dull, but its tip gleamed with a chilling light.

After their Martial Soul Possession, the three seemed to gain a little courage, and savage expressions appeared on their faces.

The Duchess had long wanted an excuse to eliminate Huo Yun'er and her son completely.

Now that this maid's bastard dared to resist, wasn't this exactly what she wanted?

As long as they subdued this maid's bastard and reported it to the Duchess, they would surely receive generous rewards.

At that thought, the smiles on their faces became increasingly savage.

Yet before reaching the rank of Soul Elder, a Soul Master's physical abilities were not much stronger than those of an ordinary person.

Furthermore, the White Tiger Dagger in Huo Yuhao's hand was a fifth-grade Soul Tool, incomparably sharp.

Not to mention that the Golden Dragon King Divine Core in his mind was continuously supplying him with immense Bloodline Power.

The guard wielding the spear launched the first attack.

With a low roar, the Soul Rings on his body glimmered faintly, and he hurled his spear like lightning straight at Huo Yuhao.

Clearly, he intended to nail Huo Yuhao to the spot in a single strike.

Golden light flickered in Huo Yuhao's eyes. In an instant, the spear's entire trajectory came into view.

He shifted slightly to one side and stretched out his left hand, firmly grasping the spear's shaft.

The spear's rotation quickly came to a stop in his hand.

He gave it a light weigh, seemingly finding it somewhat too light.

With a flick of his arm, the spear flew back along its original path at an even greater speed.

So fast that the guard with the black-furred beast martial soul had no time to react.

With a squelch, the spear pierced through his chest.

Blood splattered, staining the ground red.

The spear-wielding guard had never expected such a turn of events.

Before he could even form another spear, Huo Yuhao had already pounced on the guard with the brown-furred beast martial soul.

The brown-furred guard could not dodge in time. Huo Yuhao slammed into him, throwing him backward.

A cold glint flashed, and the White Tiger Dagger pierced his chest as easily as cutting tofu.

Huo Yuhao lightly twisted and pulled his wrist, and blood came gushing out.

"Aah!"

The brown-furred beast martial soul guard let out a miserable scream.

Huo Yuhao pinned him beneath his body. Hearing the scream, he frowned slightly, then slammed a fist into the guard's face.

With a crack, his nose broke.

The guard's head drooped limply, and he moved no more.

Seeing this bloody scene, the last spear-wielding guard turned deathly pale, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

He had been frightened out of his wits and had even forgotten to run.

He opened his mouth, wanting to beg for mercy, but could not make a sound.

A white flash streaked past, and the sharp White Tiger Dagger embedded itself directly in his forehead.

He could only collapse weakly to the ground, never to make another sound.

Huo Yuhao walked over and pulled the White Tiger Dagger from the guard's forehead.

Drops of blood slid down the blade.

He then walked over to the guard he had kicked away first.

The guard lay on the ground, his eyes full of pleading.

But Huo Yuhao showed no mercy. With one swift strike, he ended his life.

He carefully inspected them again, adding several more cuts to every corpse to ensure they were completely dead.

Only then did he place the nearly ten Gold Soul Coins he had searched from the steward and guards into a small storage ring he had found on the steward.

He looked himself over again. His clothes had not been stained with much blood.

So he smeared some blood from the corpses onto his clothes and face.

Fortunately, this was an outlying area beyond the White Tiger Duke Mansion. Aside from mother and son, few people ever passed through here.

Thus, the brutal fight just now had drawn no one's attention.

Still, he had to take his mother and leave the White Tiger Duke Mansion as soon as possible, or trouble would arise sooner or later.

With that in mind, Huo Yuhao picked up the fish scattered across the ground, intending to dispose of them elsewhere.

The skills he had learned in the Ultimate Soldier Project in his previous life had come in handy now.

He began staging the scene, erasing as many traces of the battle as possible to buy himself and his mother more time to escape.