Unleashing a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Skill to Confront Soul Kings Head-On

At dusk, I opened my eyes and withdrew from my meditative state. The Soul Power in my meridians slowly settled.

It was completely dark outside. A few scattered lamps on the training ground swayed in the night wind.

I stood and walked to the window. The corridor was quiet. At this hour, the students were either resting in their dormitories or still putting in extra training at the evening grounds.

Something felt off. After thinking about it for a long while, I realized Yu Xiaolou had not come. Ever since I had known him, he had basically shown up at my courtyard gate on time every evening after training. He would sit on the threshold and start bragging about what he had seen and heard that day. In his words, "If I don't shoot the breeze with Brother Tian Lin for a day, I feel awful all over."

The night wind poured in through the window, sweeping several dead leaves across the ground with a faint rustling sound.

Just then, a letter slid in through the gap beneath the door. The envelope was ordinary kraft paper, the kind sold everywhere, without a single mark on it. I opened it. There was only one sentence, written in rushed, messy handwriting.

"If you want your companion to stay alive, come to the southern forest."

I folded the letter, my gaze turning cold. I muttered, "You want to die? Then I'll grant your wish."

The southern forest was a dense woodland beyond Thunder Academy's walls. It was not under the academy's jurisdiction, and teachers and students rarely went there. Choosing that place clearly meant they did not want anyone from the academy to see them. I put away the letter, opened my dormitory door, and walked out.

After leaving the academy through its southern gate and crossing a patch of wasteland, the outline of the forest emerged in the darkness. The trees were dense, their overlapping canopies blocking out the moonlight. Only an occasional wisp of ghastly pale light leaked through the gaps.

I released my spiritual power to investigate and found several Soul Power fluctuations waiting for me deep within the forest.

Two Soul Kings, and one level-twenty-eight Soul Master.

I entered the forest, my footsteps snapping dry branches with soft cracking sounds. In the clearing at its center, Roger leaned against a thick ancient tree with his arms crossed, a cold smirk on his lips. Two figures in black cloaks stood behind him, their faces mostly hidden beneath their hoods, revealing only sharply angled jaws.

When Roger saw me, the curve of his lips rose even higher.

"You really dared to come alone." He straightened up and flicked bits of bark from his sleeve.

"To be honest, I thought you'd bring academy teachers or notify your sect. I didn't expect you to be this cooperative. Looks like that fatty means quite a lot to you. But unfortunately, you probably won't ever see him again."

"Heh. There's no need to call anyone for trash like you." I pulled the letter from my pocket and tore it in half in front of him.

Roger's smile faded somewhat. He took a step back and said to the two deathsworn behind him, "Do it."

The two moved with clean, decisive coordination, attacking from both sides at once.

The man on the left formed claws with his fingers, carrying a fierce wind that tore through the air as he went straight for my throat. The man on the right cut in from the flank, sweeping low at my knee with the intent of crippling my mobility in a single blow.

These two had received professional joint-combat training. Their coordination was seamless. They were deathsworn cultivated specifically for killing.

I no longer hid my strength.

Purple, purple, black—three soul rings rose from beneath my feet.

The glow of the ten-thousand-year soul ring erupted through the forest. My level-thirty-three Soul Power burst forth without reserve, and the pressure of the Prison-Suppressing Azure Dragon crashed outward like something tangible. Night birds in the woods scattered in alarm, while both deathsworn's pupils contracted.

Roger's smile instantly froze on his face. He stared at the black ten-thousand-year soul ring around me, his lips moving several times before he forced out the words through clenched teeth. "A ten-thousand-year soul ring... Your third soul ring is ten thousand years? How is that possible?!"

The deathsworn attacking from the left was momentarily dazzled by the ten-thousand-year soul ring's light, slowing by half a beat. But he had undergone professional training, and he adjusted his stance in an instant.

The deathsworn reacted quickly. Realizing that fighting alone might leave them suppressed by my ten-thousand-year soul skill, he immediately exchanged a glance with his companion.

Both released their martial souls at once. The one on the left wielded a Shadow Leopard, while the one on the right wielded an Iron-Bone Eagle. Both were speed-type beast martial souls, and five soul rings lit up beneath the moonlight.

They no longer held back, attacking in a pincer formation from front and rear. The Shadow Leopard Soul Master launched a fierce frontal assault, his claws turning into dozens of afterimages that sealed off all my avenues of retreat. The Iron-Bone Eagle Soul Master swooped down from behind, his eagle claws striking directly for the back of my neck.

I loosely clenched my right hand, and my second soul ring lit up.

The Azure Dragon Halberd instantly condensed into form. It was a dragon-headed war halberd, its shaft wrapped in three azure dragon patterns. As its blade pierced the air, it brought forth a deep dragon's roar.

I spun and swept horizontally, the halberd blade drawing a slash that shattered all the claw shadows in front of me. Then I followed through with a backward thrust, the end of the halberd precisely crashing into the Iron-Bone Eagle Soul Master's eagle claws.

Two dull thuds rang out, and both Soul Kings retreated a step at the same time.

The Shadow Leopard Soul Master looked down at the back of his hand. A bloody gash had appeared there, and corrosive power was eating away at the skin around the wound. The Iron-Bone Eagle Soul Master's eagle claws trembled slightly after being struck by the halberd's end. The defense of his iron feathers had been forcibly cracked by the Azure Dragon Halberd.

Neither paused for even a moment before pouncing again.

The Shadow Leopard Soul Master's fourth soul ring lit up, and his body split into three. Three shadows attacked simultaneously from different angles. The Iron-Bone Eagle Soul Master's third soul ring lit up, his wings spread wide, and dozens of iron feathers rained down like arrows.

I swung the Azure Dragon Halberd and cut apart the two shadow leopard clones before me at once, but the third clone slipped in from the side and tore open the robe over my left shoulder with a claw. Three bloody marks ran from my shoulder to my upper arm. The iron-feather arrows followed close behind. I blocked most of them with the Azure Dragon Halberd, but several still grazed my ribs and lower back before embedding themselves in the tree trunk behind me.

Bracing against the assault, I stepped forward. The aura around the Azure Dragon Halberd surged, and I hurled it with all my strength.

Sensing the terrifying power within that strike, the two Soul Kings retreated and defended simultaneously. The Shadow Leopard Soul Master's third soul ring lit up, forming a shadow barrier before him. The Iron-Bone Eagle Soul Master folded his wings together, turning them into a shield.

The Azure Dragon Halberd collided with their defenses, erupting in blinding white light. They remained locked in a stalemate for a while before ultimately canceling each other out.

I took two steps back, feeling the Soul Power within me rapidly draining away. Yet I did not panic in the slightest. The surrounding grass and trees were continuously transforming their vitality into Soul Power, replenishing my expenditure.

Roger stood at the edge of the battlefield, and the composure on his face had vanished completely. He had originally believed that two Soul Kings dealing with a level-thirty Soul Elder would be effortless. Yet after several exchanges, not only had the two Soul Kings failed to take me down, they had even been injured. Although I was wounded as well, the mere fact that a Soul Elder was directly fighting two Soul Kings head-on had already surpassed his understanding.

"What are you two still dawdling for? Two Soul Kings are having this much trouble against one Soul Elder? What exactly does the family keep you around for?" Roger's voice rose several pitches, stripped of its usual composure and tinged with urgency.

The two deathsworn exchanged a glance and unleashed their fifth soul skills simultaneously.

The Shadow Leopard Soul Master's body swelled as shadows condensed into the phantom of a massive leopard. With a shriek that tore at the soul, it lunged toward me. The Iron-Bone Eagle Soul Master violently beat his wings, and iron feathers across the sky formed a massive iron-bone war spear, its tip locked onto my heart.

"Third soul skill, Azure Dragon's Fury."

I mobilized all the Soul Power in my body, and the ten-thousand-year soul ring lit up. Centered on me, a green force field instantly spread across a radius of one hundred meters. The two caught within it had their soul skills dissipate, their bodies slow, and their minds shaken by the pressure.

Roger stood at the edge of the woods, moonlight painting his face pale.