Ye Qing glanced over the three men's Soul Ring Configuration, the corner of his mouth curling into a meaningful smile.
"White, yellow, yellow, purple? That's it?"
At those words, the veins on Scarface's forehead immediately bulged.
What was wrong with white, yellow, yellow, purple?!
That configuration was already pretty good among ordinary Soul Ancestors!
What was with this kid's expression, like even his grandma had a better configuration?!
"Kid, when you're on your knees begging for mercy later, let's see if you can still laugh!"
Scarface gritted his teeth.
Soul Power surged through his wolf claws, their sharp tips gleaming with a chilling light in the moonlight.
"Get him!"
"Break him!"
The three of them unleashed their Soul Skills and lunged at once.
Wolf claws whipped up a gust of foul wind.
A sickle slashed out in a streak of light.
The Wild Dog's fangs went straight for Ye Qing's legs.
Their three attack routes had clearly been honed through countless real fights, sealing off every avenue of escape around Ye Qing.
An ordinary Soul Ancestor might have taken a beating even if he could withstand this kind of group assault.
But Ye Qing wasn't an ordinary Soul Ancestor.
The pink-haired girl stood quietly where she was.
Her beautiful eyes watched Ye Qing, a trace of curiosity flashing in their depths.
Ye Qing simply raised his right hand.
Chaos Green Flame sprang to life in his palm, its cyan light instantly illuminating the entire dark alley.
"I don't even need to use a Soul Skill. Using this on you would be a waste of Soul Power."
He quipped as the cyan-and-white flame lotus in his palm bloomed.
Its petals unfurled one by one, rapidly spreading over his entire body.
Each petal held enough heat to warp the air, while also releasing a bone-chilling cold.
In that moment, extreme cold and extreme heat achieved an inconceivable balance.
The tall, skinny man's sickle was the first to strike.
"Clang!"
The instant its blade touched the cyan flames around Ye Qing, ice raced along the edge and froze it solid.
The tall, skinny man stiffened violently.
"Arrrgh—!"
The next moment, he let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Chaos Green Flame spread along the sickle and onto his arm, two extremes of power—ice and fire—surging into his meridians at once.
The scorching heat charred and split his skin, while the blood beneath it froze solid in the bitter cold.
The double torment of being burned and frozen made his nerves snap.
He convulsed like a puppet with its strings cut, flew backward, slammed into the wall, and slid to the ground, still twitching uncontrollably.
The short, stocky man's Wild Dog Martial Soul was halfway through its pounce.
Seeing his companion's horrific state, he tried to pull back, but it was already too late.
Ye Qing flicked his hand.
"You don't get to run either. It's a tough night for you—let me send you on your way."
A tongue of flame split off and struck the short man's chest.
The cyan fire caught at once, spreading wildly and feeding on his Soul Power.
The short man toppled to the ground.
His fat body writhed violently in the flames, and he howled like a slaughtered pig.
"Ahhh! Big brother, save me!!!"
The cyan flames grew stronger, his flesh rapidly charring and curling in the heat.
But the white breath that poured from his open mouth froze into frost in the extreme cold.
His insides were frozen by the cold, while his outsides were consumed by raging fire.
His suffering was no less horrific than his companion's.
In less than three breaths, his screams abruptly stopped.
He lay sprawled on the ground without moving, cyan flames still flickering over his body.
Scarface rolled clumsily to one side.
He had reacted faster than his two underlings,
releasing a defensive Soul Skill in time and shielding his chest with his wolf claws, so the tongue of flame hadn't hit him head-on.
Even so,
his robe had been burned through at the chest, exposing the charred skin beneath.
His prized wolf claws were covered in a thick layer of ice.
His ten fingers were so stiff he couldn't even bend them.
The extreme cold of Chaos Green Flame had already seeped from his claws into his bones.
"What... what the hell is that..."
Scarface's voice warped with fear, and his legs turned weak beneath him.
In a single exchange.
Two Soul Elders, killed instantly!
This guy hadn't even used a Soul Skill!
The complete reversal of their fortunes filled him with despair.
At last, he understood: this was someone he couldn't afford to provoke!
Wrapped in Chaos Green Flame, Ye Qing walked toward Scarface one step at a time.
Cyan fire danced over him, casting an eerie, icy sharpness across his naturally handsome, sunny face.
The chill in his black eyes
robbed the hardened criminal, who had done evil for years, of every last shred of courage to stand.
"What was it you said just now?"
Ye Qing looked down at Scarface, slumped on the ground.
"That you'd make me kneel and beg for mercy?"
"Go to hell!"
Like a cornered dog, Scarface made a desperate lunge and tried to swing his claws.
"Crack!!!"
The sharp sound of a joint dislocating rang out.
In the blink of an eye, Ye Qing had cleanly dislocated both his arms.
"Arrrgh—!"
Scarface scrambled backward.
His back hit the wall, leaving him nowhere else to go.
"Have mercy, sir!"
"I was blind!"
He dropped to his knees with a thud, weeping bitterly.
His forehead struck the flagstones with a dull thump.
Once, then again,
until he was so dizzy his vision swam.
"I have an eighty-year-old mother at home and a three-year-old—"
"That line's ancient. Try another."
Ye Qing cut off his formulaic plea for mercy.
He crouched in front of him.
His smile was as warm as that of the boy next door.
But the chill in his black eyes made Scarface's blood run cold.
"I'll ask you a few questions."
"Answer well, and I might consider sparing your life."
"Answer badly, though—"
Chaos Green Flame flickered at Ye Qing's fingertip, its cyan light reflected in Scarface's pupils.
"You'll end up just like your companions."
"I'll tell you everything!"
Scarface nodded frantically, blood already running from his forehead.
"First question."
"Do you often pull this kind of thing around here?"
Scarface hesitated for a moment.
But when he saw the flame at Ye Qing's fingertip brighten, he immediately admitted it with a miserable face.
"Y-yes..."
"My brothers and I have been running around the western part of the city for a while. We pick on women who are alone."
"But before, we only ever robbed them."
"Today, we'd had a little to drink and lost our heads—"
"Second question."
Ye Qing cut off his excuse, his tone still even.
"Have you ever taken a life?"
"N-no!"
"Never!"
Scarface frantically shook his head, but his eyes involuntarily darted to the right.
"We only rob people. We don't kill!"
Ye Qing watched him in silence.
His black eyes seemed able to see through flesh and into the filthiest corners of his soul.
Scarface shivered under his gaze, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.
A moment later.
"Liar."
Ye Qing spoke softly,
his voice carrying a hint of weariness that was hard to place.
He raised a finger and pointed.
Chaos Green Flame flew from his fingertip and landed between Scarface's brows.
The cyan flames spread over Scarface's entire body in the blink of an eye.
The dual forces of ice and fire erupted at once.
Scarface's body froze into a grotesque ice sculpture in an instant.
Inside the ice, his frozen body silently burned, the scorching heat reducing him to char from the inside out.
A world of ice and fire, inside and out.
He didn't even have time to scream.
Ye Qing stood up and brushed nonexistent dust from his clothes.
"That glance to the right gave you away."
"I suggest you learn a little microexpression psychology in your next life."
He paused, then added, "Oh, right. You won't have a next life."
The first time he'd killed someone, he did feel a little conflicted.
But he didn't feel much aversion to it.
Scum like this could die for all he cared. He'd just taken out the city's trash.
"Ye Qing!"
Dugu Yan hurried up from the mouth of the alley and grabbed his arm.
Her emerald-green eyes were full of worry as she looked him up and down.
"Are you hurt?"
"That tall, skinny guy's sickle almost hit you!"
Ye Qing chuckled. "Weren't you watching the whole time?"
"They were just three small fry. They didn't even touch my clothes."
"That doesn't make it okay!"
Dugu Yan insisted on checking him over once more.
She pressed her slender fingers against various parts of his body, and only relaxed when she'd confirmed there wasn't a single wound.
Then her usual cool, haughty expression returned, and she huffed.
"Don't take risks like that again."
"Was that supposed to be dangerous?"
Ye Qing didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Taking on three thugs who didn't even have the best Soul Ring Configuration counted as dangerous?
Then what did you call his earlier battle against Dugu Bo?
Suicidal performance art?
"I said no, so no!"
Dugu Yan glared at him with emerald-green eyes, her tone domineering and leaving no room for argument.
But the tips of her ears had quietly turned a little red.
"Fine, fine. I'll do what you say."
Ye Qing raised his hands in surrender, though the corners of his mouth curled into a triumphant smile.
The thugs had been dealt with.
That left the matter of the pink-haired girl.