After looking around at everyone on the battlefield, he didn't feel nearly as relieved as he had expected.
There were only seven people left, including the severely wounded. And among those seven were none of the three people he was most worried about.
That's right. Xu Tianyao and the Hongchen siblings from Mingde Hall were nowhere to be seen.
After dealing with the Evil Soul Masters on the battlefield, he had questioned every surviving member of the Sun Moon Empire, hoping to find out where Xu Tianyao and the Hongchen siblings had gone.
At last, from one of the wounded students, he learned that their Prince Ming had been taken to the top floor, where he had been attacked. He had been fighting there ever since, and his fate was unknown.
After breaking away from the battle, the Hongchen siblings had immediately gone to the top floor to assist Prince Ming.
No one knew what the situation was now. They were trapped on this floor, barely able to protect themselves with their Soul Tools, and had no way to get away and help.
Hearing this, Qian Duoduo's expression changed dramatically. "How is that possible? I flew in from outside, and there was no one on the top floor!"
Could it be...?
"Not good!" Qian Duoduo cried out, then rushed outside at a speed rarely seen in his life.
This was exactly the situation he feared most. If the man had been killed, at least there would be an outcome, and they could give the Sun Moon Empire an explanation.
But if he had been kidnapped by the Evil Soul Masters, that would be a real problem—not to mention whether he would even survive.
Even if he did survive, those Evil Soul Masters would surely have tormented him—or, worse, changed him.
Then they wouldn't just be facing an Evil Soul Master with extraordinary talent.
They would also have to face the Sun Moon Empire's endless fury.
A member of the imperial family had been humiliated under their protection, then corrupted into an enemy of all Soul Masters. Qian Duoduo couldn't bear the consequences—and neither could the academy!
Meanwhile, in a valley several miles from the relay station, things weren't nearly as bad as Qian Duoduo had feared.
The valley, once silent and still, was now swept by howling winds and a blizzard of huge, feather-like snowflakes.
At the head of the group was an Evil Soul Master at the Soul Emperor level, with two Soul King-level Evil Soul Masters beside him.
All three were lost in the snowstorm, constantly fending off its attacks.
"Damn it! Didn't the intelligence say he was at most a Soul Ancestor? How could a Soul Ancestor possibly have a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring? Where did they get this intelligence?!"
The Soul Emperor-level Evil Soul Master cursed, his face dark. They had fought from the relay station all the way to the valley, and the longer the battle went on, the more he realized just how terrifying this boy's combat strength was. He had sprung one surprise after another.
And just now, the boy had given him the biggest shock of all.
He actually had a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring! When that blood-red ring slowly rose from his body,
the bright moonlight overhead illuminated the Bright Moon behind his back, which shone with a brilliance unlike anything seen before.
A ringing cry sounded, and then, centered on the Bright Moon behind him, a bone-chilling storm erupted throughout the valley.
Not only could they not find their way out, they also had to spend most of their Soul Power resisting the freezing snow.
This was the First Soul Skill of Xu Tianyao's Bright Moon Martial Soul—the Bright Moon Storm Domain!
On the other side of the valley,
Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen stood shoulder to shoulder atop a jutting outcrop of ice.
The howling snowstorm rushed past them, whipping their clothes in the wind.
Yet at that moment, they seemed not to feel the cold. Their eyes were fixed on the figure standing atop a distant ice mountain.
More precisely, they were fixed on the ring glowing with an eerie red light around him.
Beneath the bright moonlight, that red glow looked especially piercing.
It was like a blood moon hanging high between heaven and earth.
Xiao Hongchen's eyes widened, his face filled with shock.
Even with his arrogant, conceited nature, he had completely lost his usual composure.
"A... Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring?" he murmured, trembling.
"How is that possible..."
"He's only a Soul Elder!"
That was a treasure countless Titled Douluo dreamed of possessing.
Every powerhouse on the entire continent who had a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring stood at its very summit.
And yet here was a Soul Elder whose First Soul Ring was a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring!
The sight shattered everything he had believed for the past twenty years.
And his mind couldn't help but return to what had happened just moments ago.
Not long before,
after escaping the Evil Soul Masters inside the relay station, the siblings had immediately rushed toward the top floor.
Xiao Hongchen had always disliked Xu Tianyao.
But he knew that if Xu Tianyao really died here, the entire Sun Moon Empire would be shaken.
And besides...
That guy was his younger sister's future fiancé! The Hongchen Family and Mingde Hall were already deeply bound to him, sharing both honor and disgrace!
Whatever the reason, he couldn't simply stand by and do nothing.
But before they could find Xu Tianyao, two more ambushing Evil Soul Masters—their ambush long prepared—suddenly appeared and blocked their path.
By then, the siblings had already fought several battles inside the relay station.
Their Soul Tool Shield was close to collapsing, and the reserve Soul Power in their Milk Bottles had run dry.
Against two Soul Kings in peak condition, they had almost no chance of winning.
In less than a few minutes, the siblings were driven to the brink.
Meng Hongchen's pretty face was deathly pale, and Xiao Hongchen had been knocked back more than ten meters by a single blow. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
For the first time, the shadow of death loomed so clearly over them.
Just then, a golden streak of light suddenly tore through the night sky!
It was like a sun falling to earth.
Blinding golden light instantly illuminated the entire valley.
Xiao Hongchen hadn't even had time to see what had happened
before a loud, majestic cry rang in his ears.
A sacred, blazing aura swept in every direction.
In the next instant, two dazzling beams of golden divine light swept out.
The Evil Soul Master Soul Kings, who had just been so arrogant, were sent flying like kites with their strings cut.
Their bodies slammed heavily into the mountainside.
Rumble! Huge slabs of rock came crashing down, burying them as the entire valley shook.
At last, the figure bathed in golden light slowly came into view.
Golden armor covered him from head to toe, divine flames surged behind him, and he looked like a god descending from the heavens. Who else could it be but Xu Tianyao?
At the memory, Xiao Hongchen couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath.
But compared to what happened next, that stunning attack barely seemed worth mentioning.
Xu Tianyao slowly withdrew the Sunlight Martial Soul's possession.
The golden radiance behind him gradually faded.
In its place, a bright, mysterious moon slowly rose.
Silver moonlight spilled across the world, answering the moon in the sky.
Then, above the Bright Moon behind Xu Tianyao, a blood-red Soul Ring slowly appeared.
When that red light entered their eyes, both Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen fell briefly into a daze.
A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring! And it was his First Soul Ring!
Immediately after, the Bright Moon burst into unprecedented radiance, and another clear phoenix cry rang through heaven and earth.
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