Seeing Great-Grandma

"The source?" Xie Yue frowned.

"Wolf Bandits don't go berserk for no reason."

Hu Liena rose to her feet. "If I'm not mistaken, there must be something in the lair controlling them.

"Find that thing and destroy it, and the Wolf Bandits' berserk state should end."

"You're going alone?"

Xie Yue's brow furrowed even deeper, his tone openly disapproving.

"Do you think we have another choice?"

Hu Liena countered, meeting his gaze calmly.

"Bishop Riels is tied up with their leader. You two need to relieve the pressure on the flanks. The rest are dead or wounded—there's no one who can go with me. Besides..." She paused, the corners of her mouth lifting,

"don't forget, I'm a control-type Soul Master.

"I may not be as good as you at fighting head-on, but in a chaotic situation like this, sneaking in and taking out the lair, no one's better suited than me."

Xie Yue fell silent.

He knew his sister was right. In terms of stealth and self-preservation, Hu Liena was indeed the strongest of the three.

And His Holiness the Pope had probably left some safeguard on her, too.

But even so, as her brother, he couldn't bear to see his sister risk her life.

"One incense stick."

Xie Yue finally spoke, his voice hard. "If you haven't come out within one incense stick, I'm going in after you."

"Deal." Hu Liena said no more. Her figure flickered and turned into a blur, vanishing among the rocks. Only her fluffy fox tail swept through the air in a graceful arc.

Xie Yue drew a deep breath. The two Moon Blades spun in his palms, their edges reflecting the flames of the battlefield.

He glanced at Yan, who had already pushed his Flame Lord Martial Soul to its limit. The boy was shrouded in scarlet flames, his Third Soul Skill ready to unleash.

"Wanna bet?" Xie Yue suddenly said.

"On what?" Yan blinked.

"Who kills more."

Before he had even finished speaking, Xie Yue had already become a streak of silver light, cutting into the battlefield. His Moon Blades crossed as they slashed, and a cross-shaped flash of cold light struck a Soul King-level Wolf Bandit squarely in the back, forcing the beast three full steps away from Riels.

Yan grinned and charged into the fray after him, his lava-wreathed fist smashing into the head of another Soul King-level Wolf Bandit. The stench of scorched fur instantly filled the air.

"Come on, you beasts! Your grandpa Yan will teach you what pain feels like!"

His roar burst across the battlefield, carrying all the reckless bravado and hot-blooded fervor peculiar to a young man.

And just as the two succeeded in drawing the flanks' attention, Hu Liena's figure had already slipped soundlessly into the darkness at the deepest part of the valley.

Above, where Jiang Lin and the others were.

"Elder Chen, are there any powerful Soul Masters hiding nearby?"

"Yes."

Jiang Lin wasn't surprised. It would've been strange if there weren't.

"What rank?"

"Three Soul Douluo."

"Soul Douluo? No Titled Douluo?"

Elder Chen shook his head. "Though this old man is only level 92, my Martial Soul gives me strong spiritual power. Even someone at level 95 couldn't hide from my third eye."

It seemed Bibi Dong hadn't yet brought the Elder Hall under her control. The only Titled Douluo at her disposal were probably Ju and Gui.

Bibi Dong herself probably needed Ju and Gui, too, which was why she'd only sent three Soul Douluo.

"Hmm? Two of them are following that young lady below into the depths."

At that, Jiang Lin's brows lifted slightly. He had reason to suspect that all three Soul Douluo had been sent by Bibi Dong to protect Hu Liena.

Yan and Xie Yue were probably just an added bonus.

"Elder Chen, go down in a bit and put on a show. Draw the attention of all three Soul Douluo. I'm going into the cave to look for something."

"Will it be dangerous?"

"Don't worry. I have a way to protect myself."

The Wolf Bandits' lair was inside a massive cave.

The moment Hu Liena reached it, she caught a foul stench.

Her pretty brows knitted, but she still proceeded cautiously into the cave.

The two Soul Douluo secretly guarding her exchanged a glance and prepared to follow her inside.

But just then, a calm voice transmission reached their ears.

"You three, since you're here, why not join this old man in exterminating these beasts?"

The two Soul Douluo's eyes flew wide open, and they instinctively searched for the speaker.

The other Soul Douluo guarding Yan and Xie Yue also tensed.

Along with their shock, all three were bewildered.

Soul Power transmissions had a limited range. Yet within that range, the two of them hadn't detected the other person at all. Just how powerful was he?

Before they could figure it out, the voice suddenly rose.

"Wretches, you still dare to run wild!"

Instinctively, all three Soul Douluo looked toward Riels, the Soul Saint.

Not long before, Riels's Martial Soul Avatar had already been tottering under the onslaught.

Yan and Xie Yue were still only Soul Elders. Even working together, they could barely hold off one Wolf Bandit whose strength rivaled a Soul King's.

The other three Wolf Bandits, each on par with a Soul King, were attacking Riels alongside their leader.

Riels was drenched in blood, and his Soul Power was nearly spent.

Panting hard, he stared fixedly at the Wolf Bandit leader in front of him, whom he had just sent flying—but who would soon be back.

"Haah... haah... ngh!"

Just then, Riels, already exhausted, suddenly felt a sharp pain in his butt. He looked back to see a Soul King-level Wolf Bandit clamped firmly onto it.

Judging by its bite and the spot it had chosen, he had reason to suspect the beast had originally meant to bite off his manhood. But with him in his Martial Soul Avatar state, its attack hadn't landed where it should have.

Riels was instantly consumed by rage.

He was a dignified red-robed cardinal of Spirit Hall. Even if he died, he could never die in such a humiliating way.

In a fury, Riels decided to tear the attacker to pieces first.

"Sixth Soul Skill, Sky-Ripping Claw!"

As the last of Riels's Soul Power poured into his Sixth Soul Ring, an ochre light blazed over his two bear paws.

The Soul Skill's boost made the claws sharper and heavier.

Riels planted a foot on the leg of the Wolf Bandit that had him in its jaws, then flipped over and slammed it to the ground.

The price was steep.

A chunk of Riels's butt was gone, and blood streamed from the wound without stopping.

But he couldn't worry about that now.

One swipe tore the Wolf Bandit, which hadn't even gotten back to its feet, into four pieces.

Before he could catch his breath, a foul stench and gusts of fishy wind reached his nose.

From the corner of his eye, he saw the Wolf Bandit leader he'd sent flying taking advantage of the moment to lunge for his head.

It's over!

That was the only thought in Riels's mind.

In a daze, he seemed to see his great-grandma making noodles for him when he was little.

In other words: he was seeing Great-Grandma.