I Am a Swan... Not the Angel You Spoke Of

"No, no! I am not an Evil Soul Master, don't you dare slander me!"

The little angel was completely bewildered by the evil Xu Qing's combo, momentarily at a loss for what to do. The iron sword in her hand lost its supply of soul power and dimmed, and she hurriedly explained:

"Look, there isn't a shred of evil soul power fluctuation on me!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I apologize to you. I shouldn't have said you let the Evil Soul Master go."

"And what else?"

"Uh... what else, what else could there be..."

"Oh, oh, oh, oh! Thank... you?"

Ye Guyi tilted her head slightly, her golden eyes fixed on Xu Qing, looking a bit confused.

Was that green afterimage that flashed by just now your soul skill?

"Mhm, without me, you would have been decapitated by that Evil Soul Master's sword just now!"

Xu Qing was satisfied. He nodded, then lowered his voice and continued:

"These Evil Soul Masters are all the same. They act calm on the surface, but behind the scenes, who knows what kind of schemes they're cooking up!"

"Exactly, exactly!!"

"Evil Soul Masters are born evil and must be thoroughly suppressed by us righteous soul masters!"

"Right, right!"

Wait, no, no, no!

"W...e...?" Ye Guyi pondered, "Are you also a light-attribute soul master?"

"Don't I look like one?"

Xu Qing stepped back a few paces, rubbed his chin, and blinked, his left eye lighting up with a golden glow at just the right moment.

At the same time, a dense aura of light began to emerge from his body.

Elder Yi is the real MVP.

"A holy aura!!?"

Now, Ye Guyi's little head couldn't process it at all.

Only the Holy Angel Martial Soul possessed the noble holy attribute; no other light-type Martial Soul on the Douluo Continent could possess a holy aura of the same level as an angel.

And such pure holiness...

"Huu..."

She closed her eyes, her eye sockets turning slightly red. After a moment, she looked at Xu Qing, who had already retracted his manifestation, her voice trembling:

"Are you a Holy Angel Martial Soul? With such a holy aura, you must be, right..."

Ye Guyi took a deep breath, her gaze becoming exceptionally resolute, as if she had made up her mind. She walked a few steps in front of Xu Qing.

"To tell you the truth, I also..."

"I'm not, Miss Angel of Justice."

Xu Qing gently interrupted her, then sidestepped. The little angel's sincere, righteous heart was too warm; he couldn't handle it, he really couldn't.

"You're not...?"

Ye Guyi was completely confused.

She had just arrived in the Sun Moon Empire with the merchant guild specifically to track down the local branch of the Holy Spirit Cult! The instincts of her Holy Angel Martial Soul made it impossible for her to ignore evil.

That was why, as soon as she accepted the invitation from the Pingfan Alliance, she went out alone to investigate the specific situation in the Ming Capital.

It just so happened that she discovered that woman with lingering traces of evil aura coming to these outskirts.

And then she got discovered... Sigh, it seems my ability to hide an angel's aura still needs work.

But fate had led her to meet a soul master with such a thick holy aura!

Seeing a golden opportunity to strengthen the angel faction right before her eyes, how could he suddenly not be one...

Xu Qing interrupted Ye Guyi's brainstorming.

"Of course I'm not an Angel Martial Soul, but you are an Angel Martial Soul eliminating harm for the people, and even if I'm not, I can still punish evil and promote good. We're all just here to wipe out the Evil Soul Masters, right?"

"That, actually... I'm not a Holy Angel Martial Soul either," Miss Angel said, her gaze darting around, the tips of her ears turning slightly red from the lie. "I am a Bright Swan Martial Soul..."

Xu Qing's mouth twitched. A Bright Swan Martial Soul, what a joke.

A Holy Angel disguising herself as a swan? Why did that sound so familiar?

Are you here in the Sun Moon Empire to usurp the throne?

"Fine, then Miss Swan, if you aren't an Angel Martial Soul, what are you doing at the doorstep of the Holy Spirit Cult?"

"And why are you so hell-bent on punishing Evil Soul Masters?"

Seeing Ye Guyi stammering and unable to speak, Xu Qing sighed silently and then raised his hand.

Ice-attribute soul power converged, and two cups of ice-marrow beverage appeared out of thin air, even thoughtfully equipped with two straws.

Drinks could ease the atmosphere; a fine touch for social maneuvering.

"Here, one for me, one for you."

"Oh... thank you."

The sweltering temperature was brought down by the Ultimate Ice, and the restlessness Ye Guyi felt from having her thoughts exposed gradually subsided along with the diminishing ice drink.

She held the ice cup in both hands, her goose-yellow sleeves inevitably darkening where the condensation seeped through.

"Is this actually the entrance to the Holy Spirit Cult? No wonder that evil soul master stopped when he reached this point..."

Ye Guyi felt conflicted, but she decided to follow her heart; a pure angel could not tell lies.

Besides, even if this person didn't possess the Holy Angel Martial Soul, he was still a kind, light-attribute soul master... right?

"Alright, actually, I do have the Holy Angel Martial Soul."

A pair of holy wings slowly emerged from her back, specks of light feathers manifested in the air, and even her robes were surrounded by a holy glow.

She looked exceptionally noble and sacred, beyond desecration.

The phenomenon lasted only a few seconds before she retracted it.

Ye Guyi's cheeks flushed slightly, seemingly embarrassed for having disobeyed Miss Swan's instructions.

"A powerful and beautiful martial soul," Xu Qing sighed with genuine admiration.

The Holy Angel Martial Soul—this martial soul was originally supposed to be a god-level martial soul, the Six-Winged Angel.

However, everything came to an end during the divine war ten thousand years ago.

In the Battle of Jialing Pass, the Angelic God position shattered, and the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul lost its god-bestowed tenth-level soul power and innate domain.

Its rank dropped, demoted to the two-winged Holy Angel.

Yet, even as a two-winged version, it remained the bane of evil soul masters.

With its noble holy attribute, as long as there wasn't an absolute gap in strength or numbers, the Holy Angel could absolutely cut through evil like a hot knife through butter!

But over these ten thousand years, under the encirclement and suppression of evil soul masters, Ye Guyi was likely the only possessor of the Holy Angel left in the world.

As for Yu Mengdi, who would only appear later in the Soul Master Tournament, she possessed merely an ordinary Angel Martial Soul.

"Hehe, thanks for the compliment."

Ye Guyi pursed her lips around the cool straw and took a gentle sip. The sweet ice marrow mixed with ice water entered her mouth, so refreshing she couldn't bear to pull away.

So delicious... this guy is actually pretty nice.

"My name is Ye Guyi. By the way, what's your name? And what is your martial soul?"

You already know my martial soul, but I don't know yours—that won't do!

"My name is Elec..."

[Hey!]

A warning from Elder Yi, plus one.

Xu Qing shook his head to dispel the slight dizziness. Looking into those pure, unclouded golden eyes, he raised an eyebrow and said:

"I'm Xu Qing, and my martial soul is..."

He gestured with his chin toward the ice cup in Ye Guyi's hand:

"Ice cubes."

"?"

"Grateful for the Holy Emperor's grace! Hehehe, who would have thought! To encounter such a weak Holy Angel right at my own doorstep!!!"

A shrill, ear-piercing voice suddenly exploded!

Immediately following, countless black mists surged from thin air, instantly enveloping the entire alley and blocking the retreat for both Xu Qing and Ye Guyi.

Tap, tap, tap...

A figure slowly stepped out from the shadows of the alley—it was none other than the leader of the Ming Capital branch of the Holy Spirit Cult: the Great Holy Spirit!

He was draped in a tattered black robe, dark red blood dripped from his pant legs, and his buck-toothed, grinning mouth looked incredibly hideous.

Yet, the soul power fluctuations radiating from him clearly marked him as a level 78 Evil Soul Saint!

"And you even brought a light-attribute soul master as a bonus! This must be a sign from the Holy Emperor and the Holy Maiden!"

But the matter was not over yet!

Another grating voice rang out, sounding like fingernails scraping hard against a chalkboard.

It was enough to make an ordinary person let out a sharp, piercing shriek.

"Hehehe, Great Holy Spirit, this is truly a wonderful affair!"

"...Miss Swan, it seems we are in big trouble."