Before long.
Niu Gao and the Second Elder's burly figures emerged slowly from the dust beneath countless watching eyes, each carrying a severely wounded, half-dead Black-Robed Bishop in one hand.
Looking at the two yellow, two purple, and three black Soul Rings arranged neatly around Niu Gao and the Second Elder—
Everyone from Spirit Hall's pupils contracted.
"Seven-ringed Soul Sages!"
"Damn it, what do we do now?"
"There aren't any Cardinals from Spirit Hall nearby!"
"..."
As the Spirit Hall Soul Masters cried out in alarm—
The only remaining Black-Robed Bishop who had failed to recognize Niu Gao or his Martial Soul suppressed the terror in his heart and shouted sternly, "Who are you people?"
"You dare attack Soul Masters of Spirit Hall? Aren't you afraid of retaliation and reckoning from Spirit Hall?"
"Retaliation and reckoning?"
Upon hearing those words—
Niu Gao and the Second Elder seemed to recall some unpleasant memories. Their expressions darkened, and they almost simultaneously crushed the necks of the Black-Robed Bishops in their hands.
Then—
Niu Gao waved his large hand.
He tossed the corpses before Spirit Hall's sole remaining Black-Robed Bishop and said flatly, "You have three breaths to call for help. If no one comes, you can go down and join them!"
"..."
Hearing this—
Cold sweat poured down the Black-Robed Bishop's forehead.
He could not help cursing inwardly, This is the middle of nowhere! Where am I supposed to find anyone? And within three breaths at that!
Damn old bastard, if you want to kill me, just say so...
Why make such a fuss over it!
The Black-Robed Bishop had never expected Spirit Hall's identity, which had always been so useful, to hold not the slightest deterrence before these two ruthless men.
Just as he was trembling inwardly and pondering how to escape alive—
Within the Clear Sky Sect camp—
Tang Feng, the leading level 68 Soul Emperor, saw Niu Gao's rather familiar face clearly. His expression changed abruptly as he cried out, "I've seen you before... You're... Niu Gao, Chief of the Defense Clan!"
"Your Martial Soul..."
"Why is it different from before?"
!!!
After hearing Clear Sky Sect Soul Emperor Tang Feng's cry—
The Spirit Hall Black-Robed Bishop, whose forehead was drenched in cold sweat, had his pupils suddenly shrink. He said in disbelief, "Niu Gao, Chief of the Defense Clan?"
"How is that possible?"
"I remember the Defense Clan's Martial Soul characteristics clearly. It definitely didn't look like this... Unless... unless both of their Martial Souls mutated?"
"How could two people's Martial Souls mutate in exactly the same direction...?"
Seeing that Clear Sky Sect had recognized them—
Niu Gao and the Second Elder showed no change in expression. They had never intended to hide their identities anyway.
When Spirit Hall's sole remaining Black-Robed Bishop saw that Niu Gao and the Second Elder did not deny it, and considered the characteristics of their Rhino Martial Souls—
His heart instantly sank.
He knew full well that he would likely be unable to escape calamity today.
After all, he knew exactly what Spirit Hall had done to the Defense Clan several years ago. Their blood feud had long reached the point where only death could settle it.
No wonder Niu Gao and the Second Elder had killed the two Black-Robed Bishops so decisively after hearing Spirit Hall speak of retaliation and reckoning. So they had gone through it before...
Although he felt that his chances of surviving were slim—
The Black-Robed Bishop did not wish to resign himself to fate. Still wanting to struggle, he immediately used a Soul Skill that boosted his speed. His figure flashed as he abandoned his subordinates and fled toward the valley entrance.
As he ran—
He shouted, "Chief Niu Gao, since the Defense Clan is also interested in that 'Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone' Clear Sky Sect just obtained, Spirit Hall will no longer interfere."
"Farewell!"
Seeing even the bishop flee in terror—
The others from Spirit Hall froze at first, then cursed inwardly as they followed after him. The entire group fell into chaos.
At this sight—
Niu Gao and the Second Elder exchanged a glance.
Both saw a trace of astonishment in the other's eyes.
They looked at the Spirit Hall Soul Masters fleeing toward the entrance, then at the Clear Sky Sect clansmen huddled together nearby.
The more important target was obvious. Without the slightest hesitation, the two chased after the Spirit Hall Soul Masters.
At that moment, the Golden Horned Behemoth in the air also attacked under Jin Feng's control, prioritizing the two Spirit Hall Soul Masters with flying Soul Skills.
On the other side—
Listening to the screams constantly echoing around them and watching Spirit Hall Soul Masters fall one after another—
The Clear Sky Sect members were not happy at all.
Their expressions were even quite ugly.
Because—
Their acquisition of the Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone had been exposed by the fleeing Spirit Hall Black-Robed Bishop.
After a moment of silence—
Tang Yang, another Soul Emperor from Clear Sky Sect, said in a low voice, "Tang Feng, given the current delicate relationship between Clear Sky Sect and the Defense Clan, should we take this chance to slip away?"
"Slip away?"
"How exactly would we slip away?"
Tang Feng decisively shook his head upon hearing this.
His eyes were full of gravity as he said, "Our team is already in poor condition. Nearly everyone is injured. There's absolutely no way we can escape from this valley with only one entrance."
"Besides!"
"Haven't you noticed that after Niu Gao's Martial Soul mutated, his weakness in speed has already been made up for?"
"With the speed he has displayed while hunting down Soul Masters, catching up to the Black-Robed Bishop at the front would be easy. Yet he hasn't done so. Instead, he is calmly killing the Spirit Hall Soul Masters behind him one by one."
"Clearly, there are powerful members of the Defense Clan guarding the valley entrance as well."
At this point—
Tang Feng let out a soft sigh.
"Now, we can only hope that after we hand the Soul Bone over to the Defense Clan, they won't make things too difficult for us..."
"What?"
"Give them the Soul Bone?"
Tang Yang immediately grew agitated. "We worked so hard to obtain that!"
"Then what do you suggest?" Tang Feng glared at him and said irritably, "Tang Yang, you need to understand: the Soul Bone belongs to the sect, but our lives belong to us!"
"The most urgent matter is preserving our lives first."
"As for the final ownership of this Soul Bone..."
"Once we return alive to Clear Sky Sect and report the situation, whether to seize it back or not will be for the sect chief and elders to consider!"
"..."
As the Clear Sky Sect members discussed this—
Jin Feng had already controlled the Golden Horned Behemoth Martial Soul. With the First Soul Skill, Golden Scale Body Protection, and Golden Light Slash, he killed every three-ringed Soul Master from Spirit Hall with overwhelming force, leaving severed limbs scattered across the ground.
Niu Gao and the Second Elder had likewise dealt with Spirit Hall's other four-ringed Soul Ancestors and five-ringed Soul Kings.
At this point—
Only the Black-Robed Bishop, who was about to escape through the valley entrance, remained alive from Spirit Hall.
And at this moment—
The Black-Robed Bishop looked at the valley entrance close at hand.
Then he turned back and looked at Niu Gao and the Second Elder, who were still far behind after slaughtering the other Spirit Hall members.
His heart immediately filled with wild joy.
To him—
As long as he could escape the valley—
With his exceptional ability to flee for his life, the Defense Clan would never catch him in the vast Star Dou Forest.
What was more—
He was even thinking—
If he could bring back news to Spirit Hall that the Defense Clan had obtained a fortuitous opportunity, that their chief and a Soul Sage elder had both undergone Martial Soul mutations, and that their combat strength had risen sharply, what reward would he receive?
However—
As he fled with all his strength and indulged in his fantasies—
He failed to notice that after Niu Gao dealt with Spirit Hall's other Soul Masters, he did not pursue him but instead walked toward the Clear Sky Sect clansmen.
Although the Defense Clan's Second Elder was heading toward the entrance, his pace was unhurried and his expression relaxed, as if there was no way the Black-Robed Bishop could escape.
"Wonderful!"
"This bishop is finally getting out!"
"Damn Defense Clan, once this bishop returns to Spirit Hall, I'll make you pay a terrible price for what you did today... Urgh..."
Just as the Spirit Hall Black-Robed Bishop rushed to the valley entrance and swore to avenge today's humiliation—
A burly figure suddenly charged out from the grass to his left.
"Second Soul Skill: Giant Rhino Charge!"
Bang!
Along with the sound of flesh colliding—
Niu Ben, who had been lying in ambush for some time, rammed the completely unprepared Spirit Hall Black-Robed Bishop and sent him flying more than ten meters away.
Then—
Before he could climb back to his feet—
A massive shadow suddenly engulfed him.
Sensing danger, the Spirit Hall Black-Robed Bishop instinctively looked up, only to see the enormous claw of a colossal creature growing larger and larger in his pupils!
Before you continue