The Soul Engineer's Methods

Lin Yan gently placed Wang Dong on the back of a Flash-Wing Firebird Flame Spirit, letting it swiftly carry her away from the center of the battlefield.

Having done all that, Lin Yan suddenly fixed his gaze on Ma Xiaotao ahead.

After their brief clash just now, Ma Xiaotao, who had completely lost her reason, had locked onto him. Her scarlet pupils held nothing but the brutality and madness left after being consumed by Evil Fire.

The crimson-and-black Phoenix Evil Fire around her suddenly surged. Her formidable Soul Power at the Soul Emperor level erupted without restraint, and swathes of Blue Silver Grass by the lake were instantly scorched and reduced to powder by the heat.

Martial Soul released, full possession!

Ma Xiaotao transformed into a streak of crimson-black light and lunged at him without warning. Her phoenix claws, engulfed in raging Evil Fire and carrying Qian Jun's force, locked onto Lin Yan's heart!

Lin Yan remained composed and solemn as he swiftly slid aside.

However, settling Wang Dong just now had delayed him for an instant, leaving him barely able to evade the wind-like claw strike.

The sharp force of the claw scraped across the surface of his Flame Spirit Armor, and a piercing sonic boom exploded in the air behind him.

Without giving Ma Xiaotao even a moment to change moves or catch her breath, Lin Yan immediately activated his first and second soul skills with a thought.

More than a hundred Flame Spirits appeared at once, instantly weaving an impenetrable net of blazing fire. Regardless of Soul Power expenditure, they closed in and sealed her off from all directions, firmly holding Ma Xiaotao in place.

At the same time, Soul Power trembled faintly in his left hand, and three silver shuttle-shaped peak fifth-grade Soul Tools instantly floated above his palm.

The moment Soul Power was precisely injected into them, pale blue halos burst from the Silver Shuttles. They traced three intersecting arcs and shot like lightning toward Ma Xiaotao, who was entangled in the flaming net.

Ma Xiaotao, delirious with madness, had no guard up at all. The three Silver Shuttles accurately struck her shoulders and the back of her neck in an instant.

The next second, the core formations inside the Soul Tools activated with a boom. Bone-piercing cold gushed forth, instantly condensing into a fine yet resilient ice net that tightly restrained Ma Xiaotao's upper body.

The frigid cold temporarily suppressed the rampaging Phoenix Evil Fire, and a trace of clarity briefly flashed through Ma Xiaotao's dark eyes.

But it was swallowed again in the next instant by the surging, violent Evil Fire. A dark phoenix phantom vaguely materialized behind her as it gathered power, ready to break free of the ice net at any moment.

Lin Yan did not dare relax. He had only managed to trap Ma Xiaotao first because she had lost her mind and dropped all her defenses. If she broke free now, a hard battle would inevitably follow.

Fortunately, the battle was not unavoidable. As long as he could forcibly suppress Ma Xiaotao for a moment and make her completely still for an instant, Lin Yan had a way to wake her!

Seeing the ice net around Ma Xiaotao begin to crack inch by inch, a sharp light blazed in Lin Yan's eyes. He clenched his right hand in the air, and a dark crimson-gold cauldron with three legs and two handles, its entire body carved with intricate flame patterns, appeared in midair.

The Golden Cauldron possessed a heavy, solemn aura. It was the culmination of his current abilities as a Soul Engineer—a sixth-grade Soul Tool, the Fire-Suppressing Spirit-Sealing Cauldron!

Although this Golden Cauldron was technically his medicine cauldron, its suppressive power was not weak in the slightest!

"Suppress!"

With that low shout, Lin Yan poured all his Soul Power into the cauldron without reservation, activating its core formation with all his strength.

Bzzzz—!

The heavy ring of the cauldron shook the lakeside. Carrying the majestic might to suppress all things, the crimson-gold cauldron descended with its legs facing downward.

The Flame Spirits binding Ma Xiaotao instantly scattered and withdrew, and the giant cauldron crashed down. Ma Xiaotao, who had still been struggling frantically, was ruthlessly pinned to the ground by its Qian Jun force.

An extreme restraining force instantly locked down her limbs and body. Even the rampaging Phoenix Evil Fire abruptly froze, leaving her completely immobilized.

Lin Yan seized the fleeting opportunity and closed in at once. His first Spirit Ring lit up, and an Emperor Flame Seed condensed in his palm before he directly struck it into Ma Xiaotao's lower abdomen.

The instant the flame seed entered her body, it unleashed a powerful devouring force. The Phoenix Evil Fire rampaging inside Ma Xiaotao seemed to encounter its natural nemesis, and was entirely drawn in and devoured by the Emperor Flame Seed.

As the Evil Fire within her dissipated, the mad brutality in Ma Xiaotao's eyes gradually faded away, layer by layer, and her unfocused gaze slowly became clear.

Having fully regained her senses, Ma Xiaotao recalled how she had lost control and been suppressed just moments ago. Looking up at Lin Yan, who stood above her and looked down, intense humiliation and resentment surged within her.

She had actually been suppressed so easily by a mere Soul Elder like Lin Yan?

Though that was because she had lost her mind and had not even used a single soul skill.

But the more that was the case, the more unwilling she was to accept it. If she had been conscious, she believed she would never have lost to Lin Yan!

"Awake?"

"Lin Yan, don't get smug! If we fought normally, I definitely wouldn't lose to you!"

Seeing that this was the first thing Ma Xiaotao said, Lin Yan's expression turned cold as he demanded harshly, "Do you know what you just did?"

"Hmm?"

"Wasn't it just injuring someone? He didn't die, did he?"

Seeing Ma Xiaotao's complete lack of guilt and disregard for life, Lin Yan reached out and roughly pinched her cheeks, looking her over from side to side. Oddly enough, he felt relieved instead.

Previously, he had disliked Ma Xiaotao because of the descriptions in the novel from his past life.

In the original story, Ma Xiaotao had first completely disregarded Xu Sanshi's feelings and forcibly pressured him to help her resolve her Evil Fire. Later, when her Evil Fire went berserk and accidentally injured Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, she had not shown the slightest remorse.

Then, after learning that Huo Yuhao possessed Ultimate Ice, she had ignored the immense gap in their cultivation and forcefully pressured him into helping suppress her Evil Fire.

Moreover, even though she knew her cultivation could easily trigger an Evil Fire rampage and harm innocents, she still showed no restraint. She shifted the risks posed by her own hidden danger onto others. Combined with her many double standards later on, all of it had always left him with an extremely poor impression of Ma Xiaotao.

Still, considering that this was a real world after all, Lin Yan believed in seeing for himself. Before witnessing it firsthand, he had not rashly drawn conclusions about Ma Xiaotao.

But after personally seeing Ma Xiaotao act like this today, even the last trace of goodwill Lin Yan had toward her vanished completely.

He released Ma Xiaotao's face and disgustedly shook his hand.

Ignoring the humiliation on Ma Xiaotao's face and the rage churning within her, Lin Yan said coldly, "I don't care how recklessly you usually behave, but today you lost control, injured someone, and happened to run into me. You need to account for it."

"Perfect. Yan Shaozhe told me to come find you just now, so come with me."

As his words fell, the Golden Cauldron pressing down on Ma Xiaotao rose into the air and flew back first.

Immediately afterward, Ma Xiaotao let out a muffled groan as the three Silver Shuttles embedded in her body, trailing faint crimson blood, all returned to Lin Yan's hand.

Seeing the restraints around her vanish, Ma Xiaotao immediately tried to attack again.

But Lin Yan had long been prepared. With a thought, the Emperor Flame Seed remaining within her lower abdomen instantly erupted with powerful, blazing devouring and refining force.

"Ah—"

Along with Ma Xiaotao's scream, a Crimson Chain flew from Lin Yan's palm and wound around her in staggered loops, binding her with considerable artistic flair.

"Behave yourself. If you dare move again, I can't guarantee whether the flames inside you will lose control and refine you."