Identity Exposed, the Killing Begins

Before long.

Niu Gao and the Second Elder's burly figures

slowly emerged from the dust under the watchful eyes of the crowd, each carrying a severely wounded, half-dead Black-Robed Bishop in one hand.

As they looked at the seven soul rings arranged neatly around Niu Gao and the Second Elder—two yellow, two purple, and three black—

all the Spirit Hall members' pupils shrank.

"Seven-ringed Soul Sages!"

"Damn it, what do we do now?"

"There aren't any Cardinals nearby from Spirit Hall!"

"..."

As the Spirit Hall soul masters cried out in alarm,

the only remaining Black-Robed Bishop, who had not recognized Niu Gao's identity or Martial Spirit, suppressed the terror in his heart and barked, "Who are you people?"

"You dare attack Spirit Hall soul masters. Aren't you afraid of Spirit Hall's retaliation and reckoning?"

"Retaliation and reckoning?"

Upon hearing those words,

Niu Gao and the Second Elder seemed to recall something unpleasant. Their expressions darkened, and they nearly 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 last remaining Black-Robed Bishop and said flatly, "I'll give you three breaths to call for help. If no one comes, go down and keep them company!"

"..."

Hearing this,

cold sweat immediately 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 help in three breaths?

Damn old bastard, if you want to kill me, just say so...

Why make such a roundabout show of it?

The Black-Robed Bishop had never imagined that Spirit Hall's identity, which had always been so effective, would hold no deterrent whatsoever before these two ruthless men.

Just as he anxiously pondered how to escape with his life,

among the Clear Sky Sect group,

Tang Feng, the leading level-sixty-eight Soul Emperor,

suddenly changed expression after recognizing Niu Gao's rather familiar face and cried out, "I've seen you before... You're... Niu Gao, the patriarch of the Defense Clan!"

"Your Martial Spirit..."

"Why is it different from before?"

!!!

Upon hearing Clear Sky Sect Soul Emperor Tang Feng's cry,

the Spirit Hall Black-Robed Bishop, whose forehead was drenched in cold sweat, abruptly contracted his pupils and said in utter disbelief, "Niu Gao, patriarch of the Defense Clan?"

"How is that possible?"

"I remember the Defense Clan's Martial Spirit characteristics clearly. It definitely didn't look like this... Unless... unless both of their Martial Spirits mutated?"

"How could two people's Martial Spirits mutate in exactly the same direction..."

When Clear Sky Sect recognized their identities,

Niu Gao and the Second Elder's expressions did not change in the slightest. They had never intended to hide them anyway.

Seeing that neither Niu Gao nor the Second Elder denied it, and taking in the characteristics of their Rhino Martial Spirits,

Spirit Hall's last remaining Black-Robed Bishop's heart instantly sank.

He knew full well that he would likely not escape disaster 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 neither side could coexist with the other.

No wonder Niu Gao and the Second Elder had so decisively killed the two Black-Robed Bishops after hearing Spirit Hall mention retaliation and reckoning. So they had experienced it before...

Although he felt his chances of surviving were slim,

the Black-Robed Bishop refused to resign himself to fate. Wanting to struggle one last time, he immediately unleashed a soul skill that boosted his speed, his figure flashing as he abandoned his subordinates and fled toward the valley entrance.

As he ran,

he shouted, "Patriarch Niu Gao, since the Defense Clan is also interested in that Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone Clear Sky Sect just obtained, Spirit Hall won't interfere."

"Farewell!"

Seeing even their bishop flee in terror,

the other Spirit Hall members first froze, then cursed inwardly as they followed him. The entire group descended into chaos.

Seeing this,

Niu Gao and the Second Elder exchanged a glance.

Each saw the flicker 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 priority was obvious. Without any hesitation, the two pursued the Spirit Hall soul masters.

At that moment, the Golden Horned Behemoth in the air also attacked under Jin Feng's control, targeting Spirit Hall's two soul masters with flying soul skills first.

Meanwhile,

as they listened to the screams continuously echoing around them and watched one Spirit Hall soul master after another fall within their sight,

the Clear Sky Sect members were not happy at all.

Their expressions were even rather grim.

Because

the fact that they had obtained 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 deep voice, "Tang Feng, considering the current delicate relationship between Clear Sky Sect and the Defense Clan, do you think we should take this chance to slip away?"

"Slip away?"

"How would we do that?"

Tang Feng decisively shook his head at those words.

His eyes were filled with gravity as he said, "Our squad is already in poor condition, with nearly everyone injured. In this valley with only one entrance, we absolutely can't escape."

"Besides!"

"Didn't you notice that after Niu Gao's Martial Spirit mutated, his weakness in speed has been made up for?"

"With the speed he's displayed while hunting down those soul masters, catching the Black-Robed Bishop in front would be easy. Yet he hasn't done so. Instead, he's calmly killing the Spirit Hall soul masters behind him one by one."

"Clearly, there are powerful Defense Clan members guarding the valley entrance as well."

At this point,

Tang Feng let out a soft sigh.

"Right 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?"

"Hand the soul bone to them?"

Tang Yang immediately became agitated. "We worked so hard to obtain that!"

"Then what do you suggest?" Tang Feng glared at him and snapped, "Tang Yang, understand this: the soul bone belongs to the sect, but our lives belong to us!"

"Our top priority is staying alive."

"As for the soul bone's final ownership..."

"Once we return alive to Clear Sky Sect and report the situation, whether to take it back will be for the patriarch and elders to consider!"

"..."

As the Clear Sky Sect members discussed matters,

Jin Feng had already controlled the Golden Horned Behemoth Martial Spirit, using the first soul skill Golden Scale Body Protection and Golden Light Slash to slaughter all of Spirit Hall's three-ringed soul masters with overwhelming force. Severed limbs littered the ground.

Niu Gao and the Second Elder had also dealt with Spirit Hall's remaining four-ringed Soul Ancestors and five-ringed Soul Kings.

At this point,

only the Black-Robed Bishop, who was about to reach the valley entrance, remained alive from Spirit Hall.

And now,

looking at the valley entrance so close at hand,

then turning to look at Niu Gao and the Second Elder, who were still far behind after slaughtering the other Spirit Hall members,

the Black-Robed Bishop was instantly overjoyed.

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.

In fact,

he was even thinking at that moment

about what reward he would receive if he brought back to Spirit Hall the news that the Defense Clan had encountered a fortunate opportunity, causing the patriarch's and a Soul Sage elder's Martial Spirits to mutate simultaneously and their combat strength to soar.

However,

as he fled at full speed and indulged in his fantasies,

he failed to notice that after Niu Gao finished dealing with the other Spirit Hall soul masters, he did not come after him, but instead headed toward the Clear Sky Sect clansmen.

Although the Defense Clan's Second Elder was approaching the entrance,

his pace was unhurried, his expression relaxed, as though there was no possible 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've done today... Urgh..."

Just as the Spirit Hall Black-Robed Bishop rushed to the valley entrance and swore to take revenge and wash away today's humiliation, a burly figure suddenly burst out of 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 a long time, sent the completely unprepared Spirit Hall Black-Robed Bishop flying more than ten meters with a single charge.

Then,

before he could climb back to his feet,

his body was suddenly shrouded by an enormous shadow.

Sensing danger, the Spirit Hall Black-Robed Bishop instinctively looked up, only to see the massive claw of a colossal creature growing ever larger in his pupils!