One minute was neither long nor short.
For Father Ye, whose Soul Power was only at level seventy-one, keeping seven Soul Saints from taking any action for a full minute was already nothing short of a miracle.
The problem was that his wife was only a Soul Emperor. Once these Seven-Ring Evil Soul Masters regained the ability to move, catching up with his wife and daughter would only be a matter of time. If he wanted to ensure they got away safely, he had to slaughter all seven of these still-living Evil Soul Masters within that brief minute!
Time was tight, but faced with seven Evil Soul Masters who had lost their sight, Father Ye believed that as long as he fought with everything he had, it wouldn't be too difficult.
But things didn't go as he hoped. His sixth Soul Skill had severely impaired the vision of the seven Soul Saint-level Evil Soul Masters by catching them off guard, but it had barely affected their leader, the Eight-Ring Soul Douluo, who had been prepared.
Only five seconds later, the leading Evil Soul Master regained his sight. Seeing that one of his subordinates had already been run through the chest by the sharp sword in Father Ye's hand, he flew into a rage.
"Bold fool! I've clearly underestimated you!"
He had been hiding in the darkest corner from the start, so Father Ye hadn't noticed the Eight-Ring Soul Douluo leading them. Otherwise, he would certainly have chosen him as his first target.
Feeling the pressure of a Soul Douluo's Soul Power, Father Ye's face turned deathly pale. A jumble of emotions churned inside him, but he had no time to think, let alone answer. After pulling his sword from the Evil Soul Master's chest, he turned and drove it straight toward another man's chest.
It was too late for regrets. The only thing he could do now was kill as many of these Evil Soul Masters as he could before he died.
But his move enraged their leader beyond measure. In a flash, he blocked Father Ye's sword just before it could pierce the second Evil Soul Master's chest, holding it fast so it couldn't advance another inch.
Every Evil Soul Master who reached the Soul Saint level was a pillar of the Holy Spirit Cult, a valuable asset! If too many of them were lost because of a botched mission, the Soul Douluo leading them would bear heavy responsibility!
At the thought of the Cult's harsh punishments, the Eight-Ring Evil Soul Master couldn't help shuddering. Then his fury shot straight to its peak.
"You mangy dog! You think I've been going easy on you? Die!"
The instant the words left his mouth, a terrifying surge of Soul Power burst forth. An ordinary Seven-Ring Soul Saint struck by that attack would be gravely wounded at best, if not killed outright.
But because their Martial Souls countered each other, the evil Soul Power he unleashed was weakened by nearly a third before it could even reach Father Ye's Angel Avatar. And with the Angel Martial Soul highly resistant to evil Soul Power, the attack left Father Ye with only a minor injury—nothing that could stop him from fighting.
The sight left the Eight-Ring Evil Soul Master dumbfounded, and wariness flooded his eyes. At the same time, he felt a little relieved.
Thank goodness he'd brought his teammates today. At this rate, if he had fought Father Ye one-on-one, he might have ended up turning the tables on himself.
Father Ye, too, was surprised by what he saw.
His Angel Martial Soul actually let him withstand an Eight-Ring Evil Soul Master head-on, even though he had only just entered the seventh ring!
If that was the case, then perhaps today wasn't a death sentence after all!
At the thought, excitement surged into Father Ye's eyes, and his Battle Intent rose to its peak.
Whatever happened, as long as all the Evil Soul Masters kept their attention on him, his wife and daughter would at least be able to escape safely...
But when the Eight-Ring Soul Douluo in front of him sensed his change in mood, he seemed to guess what Father Ye was thinking. To crush his Battle Intent, he let out a lewd laugh.
"Heh. You don't actually think that pretty mother-daughter pair can get away, do you?"
Father Ye didn't answer. He simply summoned his Angel Martial Soul and unleashed a fierce streak of Angel Sword Qi at the man.
The boost from its holy properties made the Eight-Ring Evil Soul Master struggle to defend himself, but he still kept talking.
"Let me tell you the truth! Besides the eight of us hunting you, our Holy Cult has three more Seven-Ring members stationed about a thousand meters beyond the perimeter to keep watch!"
"If I'm not mistaken, your pretty wife is only a Soul Emperor, right? Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a shame that those fellows get first taste of the treat. I hope they don't get too carried away. At the very least, they'd better leave some fun for the brothers doing the hunting! Otherwise, none of us will stand for it. Isn't that right?"
At his words, the nearby Seven-Ring Evil Soul Masters still couldn't see, but they stopped cursing and chimed in lewdly.
"The boss is right! If those three bastards kill that top-notch mother-daughter pair before we brothers get our fun, we'll make them pay afterward!"
Father Ye did his best to remain calm, but hearing those beasts debase his wife with filthy words—especially knowing they meant to spare not even his adorable daughter—made his fury swell beyond control.
Kill! He would kill every last one of these inhuman beasts!
But the more urgent thing now was to reach his wife and daughter as quickly as possible!
If there really were three Seven-Ring Evil Soul Masters standing guard outside the perimeter, then his wife and daughter were in unimaginably grave danger!
Father Ye immediately beat his Angel wings, preparing to leave. But the Eight-Ring Evil Soul Master had been ready for that. How could he let him go?
The moment Father Ye turned, the Eight-Ring Evil Soul Master moved as well, flashing in front of him once more.
"Mr. Ye, get this straight. You chose us brothers as your opponents. Until you've dealt with us, there's no way we're letting you leave!"
As if he'd just thought of something delightful, the Evil Soul Master broke into a lewd grin.
"Either you kill every one of us brothers, Mr. Ye, or we team up and cripple you, leaving you with your last breath. Then we'll make you watch your wife and daughter serve us before we send you off to the next life! Don't worry, we'll take good care of them."
Before he knew it, more than half a minute had passed. Two of the stronger Seven-Ring Evil Soul Masters nearby could now barely open their eyes, and their blurred vision was rapidly returning.
The situation had grown even worse!