The destructive power of three five-thousand-year Soul Beasts in their enraged state was terrifying. Charging into the group, a single sweeping strike snapped the surrounding trees in half, while the ground cracked apart like a spiderweb under the strain.
"Damn it! Defend yourselves, defend yourselves!" Dai Chong roared.
The others immediately summoned their Martial Souls to fend off the attacks of the three five-thousand-year Soul Beasts, while Cheng Xiao, who had caused all this, had long since vanished.
Although they had put up their defenses at once, several people were still injured after only a few exchanges.
Five-thousand-year Soul Beasts were nothing like three-thousand-year ones. Even Soul Ancestors had to face them with utmost caution. If there had only been one, the seven of them could have relied on their coordination to maneuver around it and kill it.
But three had appeared at once, making them extremely difficult to handle. A single lapse in coordination was enough to get someone injured.
"Stop holding back! End this quickly!"
Seeing that the situation was turning bad, Dai Chong finally dared not be careless any longer. He unleashed his true strength and fought the three Soul Beasts with everything he had.
Boom!
As the final Soul Beast fell, the seven of them finally slew all three Soul Beasts. But they had paid a heavy price. Everyone was wounded and covered in blood, while the most severely injured had even lost an arm!
"Can you all still hold on?" Dai Chong asked, his face filled with viciousness as he swept his gaze over the battered group.
"I won't die." Seventh Brother clutched his severed arm, pain making the corners of his eyes twitch uncontrollably.
"That damn brat!" Sixth Brother gritted his teeth and said viciously, "Kill him. We have to kill him!"
"That's right! We absolutely can't let him go!"
"Bastard!"
For a moment, the group was seething with indignation.
"Well, well! You're all still alive?"
Suddenly, that familiar childish voice rang out again. Like a death warrant, it sent another chill through the hearts of all seven, making their scalps gradually tingle. Their curses abruptly stopped as a bad feeling rose within them.
"Little brother, we admit defeat this time." Dai Chong's expression was grave as he took out two purple cards from his robes. "This is the payment for hiring us. Consider it our apology and compensation, all right? As long as you let us leave, we'll keep out of each other's way from now on and never make trouble for you again."
Their group was in terrible condition now. After killing three Soul Beasts, they no longer had the strength to fight. Their Soul Power was exhausted, and Seventh Brother had even lost an arm. If they clashed again with Cheng Xiao, whose strength they knew nothing about, the consequences would be impossible to predict.
However, Cheng Xiao was not buying it. He was not some three-year-old child who could be fooled so easily. If he let them go for such a small amount of soul coins, what if they came back to trouble him after recovering from their injuries?
His family were all ordinary people. If these guys came back looking for trouble, his whole family would be finished!
Besides, killing them would also get him Gold Soul Coins!
"Leave none alive!" Cheng Xiao was no softhearted person. A trace of mockery curled at his lips, and though his words were soft, they carried a chilling killing intent. "Kill."
The next instant, Cheng Xiao's shadow stirred as though it had come alive. Tentacles continuously stretched from it and connected with the surrounding trees, weaving into a vast crisscrossing net. Then, thirteen Soul Beast shadows crawled out of it as if emerging from the abyss of hell, roaring furiously as they surrounded the seven people without leaving a gap.
"Y-you, you..."
The seven were stunned pale with terror as they stared at six of the Soul Beasts. These were clearly the ones they had helped him hunt before!
No wonder! No wonder that brat had hired them to hunt Soul Beasts and refused to let them watch!
Now everything made sense!
That brat actually possessed such a bizarre ability!
"Fight!" Sixth Brother roared and charged forward first.
"Together!" Dai Chong took a deep breath and slashed his hand downward with a grave expression. "Protect Sixth Brother. Break through and seize that brat!"
Since there was no way to settle this peacefully, they could only risk everything. Fortunately, none of the thirteen Soul Beasts exceeded three thousand years. If they could force their way close enough to take that brat hostage, they might still survive.
Bang!
Boom!
Risking further injuries, the seven killed the weakest Tiger Demon Cat and tried to break through the Soul Beast line to rush Cheng Xiao.
However, when two Soul Beasts closed in on them, the seven discovered in horror that the Tiger Demon Cat they had slain behind them had actually revived beneath a cloak of shadow!
"W-what the hell is this!?" The seven nearly lost their souls in terror.
They had never seen such a bizarre method. Those dark phantoms radiated an aura of deathly stillness, yet they could revive endlessly...
This was definitely not the ability of a normal Soul Master!
It was more like... those Fallen Ones hunted by Spirit Hall!
Fallen Soul Masters! The moment those words came to mind, the seven felt as though they had fallen into an ice pit.
"It's over. It's all over!" One person dropped to his knees in despair.
If those Soul Beasts could be killed, they might still have had a chance for one or two of them to escape. But those Soul Beasts could revive without limit. No matter how coordinated they were, they could not escape the fate of being killed.
"It's all because of you! You had to get greedy when we told you not to!" someone said, shoving Sixth Brother.
"I don't want to die. I still have children at home. Boss, think of something."
Cheng Xiao watched their ugly display with a heart as hard as steel, utterly unmoved. With a light wave of his hand, seven Soul Beasts pounced together, while the other five guarded the perimeter and filled any gaps. Relying on their limitless recovery, they wore down the enemy's Soul Power before killing them once they could no longer endure.
Only after all seven had fallen did Cheng Xiao withdraw the Shadow Domain. He drew his dagger and went from corpse to corpse, delivering finishing blows. Kill, finish them off, then loot the bodies. Good habits had to be developed young—Cheng Xiao understood that all too well.
Sixth Brother's limbs had already been completely devoured by the Soul Beasts, but he still clung to his last breath. Watching Cheng Xiao meticulously deliver finishing blows, he felt his entire body turn stiff and cold. How had this brat even grown up to know about finishing blows!?
Cheng Xiao's still-small body blocked out the sunlight like the shadow of death.
As death approached, Sixth Brother's heart was filled with endless regret. If he had not been so greedy in the beginning, perhaps he would not have ended up like this.
"Y-you... won't... live much longer either..." Sixth Brother suddenly widened his eyes. A sharp glint abruptly burst from his deathly gaze as he forced out one last breath, coughing blood while laughing loudly.
"Ha ha ha ha! Come to hell with us..."
Snick! Cheng Xiao sneered, taking it only as the vicious curse of a dying man having a final burst of life.
He crouched down, preparing to drive his dagger into Sixth Brother's heart and end his life.
However, Cheng Xiao's expression changed drastically in the next instant as a fierce aura locked onto him.
Cheng Xiao's eyelids twitched wildly. The pressure came from behind him, and the sunlight was blocked by a massive figure. That terrifying aura made his heart pound like a war drum.
He stiffly turned his head and saw that an enormous bear had silently approached behind him while he had been delivering finishing blows!
Cheng Xiao's breathing stopped. "A... Dark Golden Dreadclaw Bear!?"
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