God-Bestowed Soul Ring!

Under Tie Bi's incredulous, even faintly horrified gaze, his Ghost Head Blade—empowered by his third soul skill and capable of cleaving metal and stone—struck Zichuan's tiny fist as though it had hit an ancient mountain of divine iron!

The sickly green Soul Power clinging to the blade burst and dissipated like foam. The refined steel blade let out a groan of unbearable strain, and then fine cracks crazily spread outward from the point where fist met blade!

"Crack... snap!"

With a crisp sound, the Ghost Head Blade was smashed into fragments by that single punch! Broken shards flew in every direction!

"What?!"

Tie Bi's palm split open, blood flowing freely. The immense backlash numbed his entire right arm, and he staggered back seven or eight steps before barely steadying himself, his face filled with ghostly horror.

It was not just him. The Iron Blood Sect disciples who had been watching for amusement were all dumbfounded. Their cruel grins froze on their faces and turned into blank stupor.

Bare-handed... he had shattered a Soul Tool enhanced by a soul skill? What kind of fucking monster was this?!

Tang Ya was even more stunned. She covered her mouth with a small hand, her large eyes full of confusion, as if she could not comprehend what had just happened.

Zichuan withdrew his fist and casually shook his wrist, as though he had merely swatted away a fly.

He glanced at the shattered blade fragments on the ground, then looked up at Tie Bi, whose face was full of uncertainty and shock. At last, he spoke for the first time, sounding somewhat helpless.

"I was going to use you to test my new soul skill, but forget it. I'm in a hurry."

He paused, as if talking to himself, or perhaps explaining.

"Kill ten people above level twenty, or one Soul Elder. Save a female soul master around level eighteen. Mm, all the conditions have been met."

Tie Bi and the others could not make sense of those disjointed words, but the word "kill" made their hearts jolt.

"Kid, just who are you..." Tie Bi shouted harshly, forcing down his fear while bluffing bravely. All four of his Soul Rings lit up as his Soul Power surged to its peak.

He realized that this child before him was anything but ordinary! He was very likely a monster secretly nurtured by some great sect!

However, Zichuan could no longer be bothered to waste words on him.

His figure moved.

Fast! Incomparably fast!

The Iron Blood Sect disciples present only saw a dark crimson blur flash before their eyes, as though a breeze had swept past them.

Then, bloody holes appeared in the throats of the two Soul Grandmasters standing at the very edge. Blood sprayed out as their eyes widened. They made two hoarse choking sounds before collapsing limply to the ground.

Zichuan appeared where they had been standing. Five dark golden claws, streaked with black fissures, slowly retracted from his fingertips—the Dark Gold Terrorclaw.

"First. Second." he counted softly, his tone as calm as if he were counting ants.

"Kill him!"

Tie Bi finally snapped out of it. Furious and terrified, he let out a piercing roar. His fourth Soul Ring blazed brightly. Though his Ghost Head Blade had shattered, both hands transformed into claws, and he lunged at Zichuan with a shriek that tore through the air!

He no longer dared to hold back. He immediately used his strongest soul skill!

The other Iron Blood Sect disciples also woke as if from a dream. Though fear filled their hearts, they knew they had to join forces to kill this monstrous child. They roared as they unleashed their soul skills, all kinds of light engulfing Zichuan.

Zichuan's eyes turned cold. Faced with their encirclement, he advanced rather than retreating.

This time, he finally used Soul Power.

A dark crimson flash glimmered over his left chest. From the roots onward, his hair instantly turned dark crimson. Destruction Form activated! A cold, violent aura of destruction spread through the air.

A Soul Ring rose beneath his feet.

One purple, one orange-gold.

The purple was deep, the orange-gold noble.

The moment that unprecedented orange-gold Soul Ring appeared, every soul skill attacking Zichuan seemed to freeze for an instant. Tie Bi and the others nearly had their eyes pop out of their sockets, their minds going blank.

Orange... orange-gold?! What kind of Soul Ring was that?! A hundred-thousand-year one? No, hundred-thousand-year Soul Rings were red! This color... they had never even heard of it!

"First soul skill, Battle Blood Boiling."

Zichuan's voice was especially cold amid the aura of destruction. His presence suddenly soared. His muscles swelled slightly, and dark crimson streams of light seemed to flow beneath his skin. All attributes increased by thirty percent!

Facing Tie Bi's claw strike, unleashed with his full power through his fourth soul skill, Zichuan neither dodged nor evaded. The Dark Gold Terrorclaw extended once more from his right hand, and he slashed at the incoming claw shadow!

"Rip—!"

The dark golden claw light tore through Tie Bi's soul skill claw shadow as easily as slicing tofu. Its momentum did not diminish, and before Tie Bi's horrified eyes, it swept across his neck.

Tie Bi's charging motion abruptly stopped. The savagery and horror on his face instantly froze. He lowered his head, wanting to look at his neck, but all he saw was scorching blood gushing forth.

"Urgh..." He let out a short, leaking whimper. Then his head tilted and rolled away. His headless body crashed to the ground.

Tie Bi, the four-ring Soul Ancestor of the Iron Blood Sect, was dead.

Silence.

A deathly silence, even more absolute than before.

The remaining seven Iron Blood Sect disciples stood frozen in place as though bound by a spell, the viciousness on their faces swallowed by boundless terror.

They looked at the small figure standing beside their leader's headless corpse, dark crimson hair stirring without wind, blood dripping from his fingertips, an orange-gold Soul Ring beneath his feet. It was as though they were seeing a demonic god crawling out of hell.

"Mon... monster..."

"Run... run!"

No one knew who let out the first broken scream, but the remaining people instantly lost all will to fight. Their souls nearly fled their bodies as they turned and ran for their lives in different directions!

The mission, Tang Ya—none of it mattered now. Keeping their lives was what mattered!

Yet before Zichuan, who had activated Battle Blood Boiling and possessed the Destruction Domain and Dark Gold Terrorclaw, their escape attempts were utterly laughable.

Zichuan became a dark crimson streak of light once more.

"Rip! Splat! Crack!"

Claws sliced through the air. Flesh separated. Bones shattered. Screams rose one after another, only to abruptly stop.

Like the Grim Reaper wielding his scythe, he mercilessly harvested lives.

One, two, three...

When Zichuan's figure became clear again before Tang Ya, his dark crimson hair had returned to black, and Destruction Form had been released. Ten corpses, including that of the Soul Ancestor, lay scattered beneath his feet.

The forest clearing was filled with the thick stench of blood. The once arrogant and overbearing Iron Blood Sect members had not left a single survivor.

Ten corpses lay strewn about, and the smell of blood permeated the woods. Yet Zichuan looked as though he had merely cleaned up some trash at the doorstep, his expression calm without the slightest ripple.

He lowered his head to look at his clean hands, then sensed the two God-Bestowed Marks at his brow, faintly burning.

In his mind, cold notification tones rang out almost simultaneously:

[Destruction God Trial, Second Trial: Kill ten soul masters with a Soul Power Level above 20, or kill one three-ring Soul Elder.]

[Status: Completed (Killed one four-ring Soul Ancestor and nine soul masters above level 20)]

[Evaluation: Perfect completion]

[Reward settlement: God of Destruction affinity increased by 10%. Current total affinity: 20%]

[Reward granted: God-Bestowed Soul Ring. All Soul Rings' age increased by one thousand years!]