Rescue

This weakest human was the greatest root cause of the situation turning against him!

With that thought, the Evil Eye Tyrant flicked a tentacle, and its figure vanished from where it stood.

In the next instant, it appeared behind Ye Luochen, who had already fled several kilometers away.

Then, an enormous silver pillar of light erupted and blasted viciously toward Ye Luochen.

Die!

Sensing the aura rapidly closing in from behind, Ye Luochen's expression turned extremely grim.

Yet no matter how he drove his Soul Power or attached more propulsion-type Soul Tools to himself, he could not outrun the massive silver pillar of light behind him.

He could only let the threat of death draw ever closer.

"Am I going to die...?"

"The door to the world of Soul Tools has only just opened for me. My efforts have only just begun to pay off. I haven't even proven to those people from Shrek how absurd they were..."

"Am I really going to die...?"

As his strength steadily drained away, Ye Luochen slowly closed his eyes.

Yet the impact he expected never struck him.

A pair of powerful hands firmly caught him.

Then, an enraged roar exploded.

"You dare!"

"If you harm him, I guarantee that Mingde Hall will level the Evil Demon Forest!"

Hearing the somewhat familiar voice beside him, Ye Luochen froze and turned to look.

The Level 9 Soul Engineer leading the team stood behind him. With a wave of his hand, a screen of light condensed and steadily blocked the silver beam unleashed by the Evil Eye Tyrant.

At the same time, several incomparably massive Soul Guidance Cannons appeared instantly.

Terrifying black light gathered wildly at their muzzles before suddenly pouring forth!

With a single strike, the previously imposing Evil Eye Tyrant was blasted apart in an instant!

A moment later, a blood-red Soul Ring rose into the air!

After killing it in one blow, the old man did not pause in the slightest. He swiftly flew forward, took out a strange-looking metal device, and gave a light beckoning gesture, directly drawing the Soul Ring into it.

Only after finishing this did the old man wave his hand again. The familiar membranous space appeared, wrapping Ye Luochen within it.

Then, the flying Soul Tool activated at full power and sped away from the Evil Demon Forest without looking back.

"Good thing I made it in time. If something had really happened, this old man would have had no face left to return to Mingde Hall as the one leading the team."

As he flew at top speed, the old man spoke with lingering fear.

After luring away the fifty-thousand-year Evil Eye Tyrant earlier, he had immediately turned back to search for Ye Luochen and the other two.

But who could have expected that the three were no longer at their previous location?

He had searched a huge area without finding any trace of them.

Just as the old man was growing frantic, two bursts of energy belonging to Level 9 Soul Tools erupted in the distance.

The instant he sensed them, the old man's face turned livid.

Naturally, he could recognize the source of those two Level 9 Soul Tools. They bore Jing Hongchen's distinctive style.

And at this time and place, Jing Hongchen's Level 9 Soul Tools had been activated, accompanied by a powerful spiritual fluctuation unique to the Evil Eye clan.

Even if he had guessed with his feet, he could have figured out roughly what had happened.

The three must have encountered an even stronger Evil Eye Tyrant and been forced into an extremely dangerous situation, to the point that they had used the protective Soul Tools Jing Hongchen had left behind!

With that thought, the old man felt as if he had fallen into an ice pit. No longer caring about exposure, he immediately raced toward the source of the fluctuations without holding anything back.

What a joke.

Who were these three little ones?

One was the grandson of the master of Mingde Hall, one was the granddaughter of the master of Mingde Hall, and one was a newly rising genius in whom the master of Mingde Hall had placed great hopes.

If anything had happened to the three while he was leading the team—

Then even as a Level 9 Soul Engineer, he probably would not have been able to bear the wrath of the master of Mingde Hall!

Fortunately, he had not arrived too late.

"Cough... cough cough... Where are Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen?"

As he followed the old man in rapid flight, Ye Luochen asked.

"Of course they were not left behind."

With a wave of the old man's hand, the membrane behind the wing on the other side shed its camouflage, revealing the Hongchen siblings within.

Both of them looked extremely pale at the moment, but judging by the fact that they could still wave at Ye Luochen, they should have been fine.

"Thankfully, none of you three suffered any serious problems, but this Soul Hunting Operation is over."

Leaving aside whether he had been exposed, even if he had been lucky enough not to attract the attention of the Evil Eye Tyrant Sovereign, they could not return to the Evil Demon Forest anytime soon.

That was because the cost of that recent attack had been enormous.

Out of worry and fury, he had forcefully activated several Level 9 Heavy Soul Guidance Cannons at once.

Heavy Soul Guidance Cannons ranked among the very best in destructive power among offensive Soul Tools, not to mention that they were all Level 9.

The results had indeed been remarkable. Under the bombardment of several heavy cannons, the imposing Evil Eye Tyrant had directly exploded into a hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring.

However, because they had not been preheated and had been charged too violently, the overwhelming load had directly damaged those Level 9 Soul Guidance Cannons.

Without extensive repairs, they were basically no different from scrap metal.

Not only that, those few shots had instantly drained nearly eighty percent of his Soul Power.

Now, not only had he lost his most powerful Soul Tools, but his Soul Power was also close to running dry.

Taking the group and fleeing back to Mingde Hall was the wise choice.

Mingde Hall.

Looking at Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen lying on the beds with pale faces, Jing Hongchen's expression was so dark it seemed water might drip from it.

Although careful examinations showed that neither of them had suffered much actual injury, merely excessive exhaustion and weakness that would recover after some rest—

That did nothing to lessen Jing Hongchen's anger.

As for Ye Luochen, although his condition was somewhat better than the other two, he had still failed to obtain his Fourth Soul Ring, and the Soul Hunting Operation had returned empty-handed.

"Good. Good. Good."

"This is the team you led? This is the fine work you did!"

Jing Hongchen roared and slammed a palm heavily into the old man's chest, sending his entire body flying into the wall.

"From today onward, your authority, resources, and everything else in Mingde Hall are reduced to nothing! Until you produce ten Level 9 Soul Tools, you are not allowed to leave the laboratory for even half a step!"

Hearing this, the old man wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and nodded with a bitter smile.

Without any resource support, demanding that he create ten Level 9 Soul Tools was practically stripping his entire fortune clean.

Still, receiving this outcome was already beyond his expectations.

If not for the fact that the three were still relatively healthy and intact, and that he was one of the few Level 9 Soul Engineers, Jing Hongchen would likely have already killed him in his rage.

"You two as well. Why were you causing trouble during Ye Luochen's Soul Hunting Operation? Until your cultivation reaches Rank 60, neither of you is allowed to leave the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy for even half a step!"

After berating the Hongchen siblings, Jing Hongchen turned his gaze to Ye Luochen.

"Luochen, since you were put in danger this time, Mingde Hall will provide you with appropriate compensation. As for your Fourth Soul Ring, this old man will personally find it for you."