A Hair's Breadth

Xu Tianming had come here with the sole intention of helping.

Seeing the girl's miserable state, his heart softened instantly. Once she knelt before him and begged, his blood began to boil, and he didn't even think to ask for her name.

He immediately stepped forward, grabbed the girl's slender arms, and helped her up from the ground.

"Calm down first. Tell us exactly what happened and where your parents are."

These words were like a ray of warmth—a lifeline—to Ye Guyi, who had been falling into an icy abyss of despair and was on the verge of freezing to death.

Tears of gratitude welled up, but she had no time to wipe them away. After nodding heavily and whispering a thank you, she turned quickly and pointed in the direction she had just fled from.

"My mom and dad are just ahead! They've been cornered by bad guys! Please, help them!"

At the same time, Mother Ye had burned her martial soul to its absolute limit.

Her soul power surged, breaking through directly to the 72nd rank. Facing the coordinated efforts of three seven-ring Evil Soul Masters, her strategy was simple: ignore her own life and launch a desperate, all-out assault on one of them.

She knew she wouldn't survive her current state. If she could drag one Evil Soul Master down with her before her martial soul burned out, it would be a fair trade. If she were lucky enough to kill two, she could die with a smile on her face even on the road to the underworld.

Unlike Mother Ye's rising battle intent, the three seven-ring Evil Soul Masters felt incredibly stifled and miserable.

Among the group of Evil Soul Masters sent on this mission, the three of them had the lowest cultivation, which was why they were assigned to perimeter guard duty. Facing Mother Ye's suicidal attacks, they could only dodge carefully, not daring to meet her head-on.

After all, they were Evil Soul Masters, not people who didn't value their own lives.

Unless they were insane, they wouldn't risk their lives to clash directly with a madwoman who clearly didn't have long to live.

By dragging the fight out and kiting her, they would be the victors once her martial soul burned out and she was completely drained. There was no need to take any risks.

Sensing the intentions of these three Evil Soul Masters, Mother Ye grew inevitably anxious.

These three beasts could afford to stall, but she could not. If she couldn't severely wound or kill them within her limited time, her sacrifice would be meaningless.

After all, no matter how fast her daughter ran—a girl who hadn't even obtained her first soul ring—she could never outpace a Soul Saint.

Thus, she began to attack even more frantically than before.

But facing the three seven-ring Evil Soul Masters' deliberate avoidance, her fists felt as if they were striking a pile of unresisting cotton.

After a stalemate of attacking and dodging, one of the Evil Soul Masters suddenly gave a lecherous grin.

"I just remembered something. There are three of us, so why do we all have to stay here and waste time with this madwoman? One of us can go catch her daughter. I don't believe she'll keep acting like a lunatic if we have her daughter as a hostage!"

He spoke without any restraint. The other two Evil Soul Masters looked enlightened, then nodded in agreement.

Struck in the most vulnerable part of her heart, Mother Ye instantly lost control of her emotions.

"Beasts! Don't you dare touch my daughter!"

She roared, launching a frantic assault without regard for her own consumption.

The three Evil Soul Masters only laughed at the sight.

"You won't let us touch her? We're going to touch her! And we'll do it right in front of you! What can a useless mother like you do? You can't hurt us, you can't stop us from catching your daughter, and soon you'll only be able to watch helplessly as we three brothers defile her until your martial soul burns out and you die with your eyes wide open!"

"If you kneel and surrender now, maybe we'll be a bit gentler with your daughter. Otherwise, if you exhaust our patience, the fury we've endured will be poured out on your daughter without reservation!"

The shameless and vicious threats made Mother Ye tremble, her heart filled with despair once more.

Just as these beasts said.

Three against one, she seemed truly powerless, save for her futile rage.

Oh, wait. She had forgotten one thing.

She could self-destruct!

She could detonate her soul power before it was completely exhausted!

If she could find an opening to get close, these beasts would at least be severely wounded, if not killed!

This was the last thing she could do for her daughter.

She only hoped that after she self-destructed, these beasts would have no strength left to pursue her precious daughter.

At this thought, an unprecedented madness surged in Mother Ye's eyes. She pushed her speed to the limit, charging with all her might toward the nearest beast!

The three Evil Soul Masters, who had been laughing, were stunned for a moment. Upon sensing that familiar, frantic aura from Mother Ye, they all gasped in horror.

"Run! The madwoman is going to self-destruct!"

Before the words had even faded, the three Evil Soul Masters retreated rapidly in different directions. After all, even if she did self-destruct, she could only take one of them down at most.

However, just as the three turned and Mother Ye was about to reach one of them, a sigh devoid of joy or sorrow echoed through the night sky. Then, the space seemed to hit a pause button; all people and things ceased their movements.

In the silent night sky, the scene appeared exceptionally eerie.

Xu Tianming, witnessing this, was slightly shocked.

He knew his uncle's martial soul possessed the power to control space, but he hadn't expected the effect to be this terrifying.

In a single instant, it had frozen four Soul Saint-level powerhouses, rendering them completely unable to resist.

Beside him, Ye Guyi snapped out of her daze and anxiously tugged at Xu Tianming's sleeve, pointing toward her mother, who wore a look of grim determination high in the air.

"That's my mom! Please, help her!"

Hearing this, Xu Tianming looked toward Kong Deming at his side.

Seeing Kong Deming nod, Mother Ye, who had seemed frozen in place, suddenly regained her ability to move. After standing dazed for a moment, she discovered with astonishment that her Martial Soul, which had been on the verge of burning out, had suddenly ceased its combustion.

Although the consumption of her Martial Soul's essence had been significant, as long as she rested for a few days, it was not impossible for her to return to her peak in the future.

Who was it!

Who could possibly extinguish her burning Martial Soul just like that?

However, before she could dwell on it, her attention was drawn by a shrill, desperate cry of "Mom!"

Mother Ye's heart trembled violently.

Following the source of the sound, she saw the daughter she had been worrying about waving at her from below. Beside her daughter stood a youth of similar age and an old man whose strength she could not fathom at all.

Confused by the situation, she was filled with bewilderment, but before she could speak, Xu Tianming decided to cut straight to the point to save time and rescue the others as quickly as possible.

"The situation is critical, so there's no point in wasting words. Your husband is also in grave danger. If you can still hold on, then follow us."