The battle between the Wolf Bandit leader and Ban Shu was about to begin in the arena.
On Ban Shu's side stood the hunting party members, led by Li Yan. They all kept their eyes fixed on the other side, in case the Wolf Bandits suddenly attacked.
The Wolf Bandits opposite them did the same, glaring at their enemies as if they wanted to tear them limb from limb. Unfortunately, Ban Shu's terrifying strength had them well and truly spooked.
As long as Ban Shu stood there, those bullies who preyed on the weak wouldn't dare come any closer.
"Dying beneath my halberd is an honor."
Ban Shu pointed his halberd at the Wolf Bandit leader.
"Roar!"
The blue Wolf Bandit wasn't angered by Ban Shu's taunt. Instead, it lowered its body and circled slowly, trying to find an opening.
"Hm?"
Seeing how calm his opponent was, Ban Shu couldn't help but be taken aback. He hadn't expected the Wolf Bandit leader to be so intelligent. It was clearly different from the other Wolf Bandits, which were ruled by nothing but animal instinct.
"Interesting."
Ban Shu knew that after all the battles he'd fought, his Soul Power was running low. So he decided to unleash his full strength and end the fight quickly.
"First Soul Skill: Thunder Demon!"
"Second Soul Skill: God-Demon Body!"
Ban Shu didn't waste time thinking. He hefted his Painted Halberd and swung it at the Wolf Bandit. "I don't care what you are. Die!"
The Wolf Bandit leader saw Ban Shu charge without a care and a flicker of excitement appeared in its eyes. It pretended to retreat, but was already gathering strength in its legs.
Li Yan, watching from outside the arena, had seen through the Wolf Bandit's trick. He was just about to warn Ban Shu when he noticed the faint curve of Ban Shu's lips. He immediately decided to keep quiet.
It looks like Ban Shu saw through the Wolf Bandit's plan long ago and already has a counter ready. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Li Yan thought to himself.
Inside the arena, Ban Shu swung his halberd without hesitation, leaving his chest wide open. The Wolf Bandit immediately leaped into the air, blue light gathering around its feet as it kicked toward Ban Shu's chest.
"That's exactly what I was waiting for!"
What the Wolf Bandit hadn't expected was that Ban Shu's attack had been nothing more than a feint, meant to lure it into striking.
The instant he saw its feet leave the ground, Ban Shu leaned back and arched his waist, dodging its kick at an extremely tricky angle.
"Didn't see that coming, did you?"
Ban Shu straightened up. Lightning burst from the Painted Halberd in his hands as he drove it viciously into the Wolf Bandit leader's chest.
"Die!"
Ban Shu gathered all his Soul Power. Boundless lightning surged into the Wolf Bandit's body, wreaking havoc on everything inside it.
Overcome with fear of death, the Wolf Bandit instinctively grabbed the Painted Halberd, only to scream as the lightning on it shocked it again and again.
"Hah!"
Seeing that the Wolf Bandit was still struggling, Ban Shu tensed the muscles in his arm until they stood out, veins bulging across his neck. With sheer force, he drove the Wolf Bandit into the ground.
After a while, the Wolf Bandit leader finally couldn't take any more. It vomited blood, its whole body charred black, and died.
When the surrounding Wolf Bandits saw that their leader had lost, they fled in all directions. They hadn't expected Yue Guan's squad to arrive as reinforcements, and were promptly surrounded and caught like fish in a net.
As for Ban Shu, once he had killed the Wolf Bandit leader, he finally let out a breath and slowly sank to the ground.
When the battle ended, the seemingly endless strength in his body abruptly vanished, replaced by exhaustion—an exhaustion beyond compare.
The side effects of Soul Power depletion were awful. Ban Shu's head was spinning, and he could barely move his arms or legs. Only by leaning on the Painted Halberd could he keep himself from collapsing.
Just then, Bibi Dong came over. Seeing the great number of Wolf Bandit corpses scattered around, she looked surprised.
"Xiao Ban, did you kill all of these?"
"Yeah."
Ban Shu's whole body ached. He was so tired he could hardly be bothered to speak, so he simply nodded.
"What happened to you?"
Bibi Dong keenly sensed that something was wrong with Ban Shu. She hurriedly crouched down and carefully checked whether he was injured.
"Dong'er, no! Not there!"
Despite Ban Shu's desperate protests, Bibi Dong still didn't manage to get her way. "Dong'er, I'm fine. My Soul Power's just depleted. I'll be all right after I rest."
"That's good."
Bibi Dong finally let out a sigh of relief. If anything had happened to Ban Shu, she would have worried herself sick.
"Xiao Ban, I'll go help clean up the battlefield. Take your time resting."
After making sure Ban Shu was all right, Bibi Dong went back to help.
The fighting had nearly ended. With two Soul Saints, Li Yan and Yue Guan, watching over the field, no one in the hunting party had died. A few had only been injured.
Before long, Yue Guan came over to Ban Shu.
"My lord, I heard you're suffering from the side effects of having depleted your Soul Power."
Yue Guan hurriedly took out a bottle of pills. "I made these myself. They can quickly restore Soul Power and ease the side effects. Take one right away."
"Thank you, Bishop Yue Guan."
Ban Shu nodded, took a pill, and swallowed it. Then he sat cross-legged and began to refine its effects.
About a quarter of an hour later, the foggy, groggy feeling in his head gradually faded. Ban Shu finally breathed a sigh of relief and slowly rose to his feet.
"Thank you, Bishop Yue Guan, for giving me such a precious pill. I'll repay you someday."
"Ah, my lord, you're too kind. It was nothing." Yue Guan smiled and waved his hand.
"Bishop Yue Guan, you don't have to call me 'my lord' from now on. I'm younger than you, so you're my senior. Just call me Xiao Ban."
"In that case, I won't stand on ceremony."
Ban Shu stood up, pulled the Painted Halberd out of the Wolf Bandit leader, and prepared to deal with its corpse.
"Huh?"
Only then did Ban Shu notice what looked like something on the Wolf Bandit's leg. He cut open its thigh and found a Soul Bone inside, shimmering with a blue-green light.
"Now that's a treasure!"
Ban Shu picked it up. It felt as smooth and warm as jade—a fine treasure indeed.
"Bishop Yue Guan, take a look."
Ban Shu handed the Soul Bone to Yue Guan.
"What is it?" Yue Guan asked curiously.
"It fell out of the Wolf Bandit leader I killed. I suppose this is a Soul Bone?"
"Correct."
Feeling the surging energy within it, Yue Guan nodded. "There's no doubt that it's a Soul Bone. Judging by its quality, it's at least a thousand-year Soul Bone."
"That's wonderful."
Ban Shu smiled and nodded, then explained what he wanted to do with it. "Bishop Yue Guan, I plan to exchange this Soul Bone for the equivalent in Gold Soul Coins and then share them with everyone."
"Why would you do that?"
Hearing this, Yue Guan was taken aback. "By rights, this Soul Bone should belong to you. You don't have to share it with anyone."
Ban Shu only smiled. "Everyone contributed to this hunt. I can't take the reward for myself. That's final."
"All right, then."
"There's one more thing." Holding the Soul Bone, Ban Shu fell into thought.
"Oh? What is it?"
Yue Guan looked at Ban Shu, deep in thought, and felt curious. Did he have some other idea?
"Bishop Yue Guan, don't you think something about all this is strange?"
Ban Shu furrowed his brow. "You know the habits of Wolf Bandits. They would never take so many living captives back to their lair. And now there's this unusually intelligent leader, too. None of this is normal."
"You mean..."
Yue Guan had apparently noticed something amiss as well. "Is a Fallen One controlling these Wolf Bandits?"
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