Xiao Ya's Blackening

Ye Guyi wasted no words. Forcing down the pain of her injuries, soul power flowed around her fingertips as she swiftly laid out a precise martial soul awakening array on the ground.

She lifted her eyes to Ye Fan, her voice urgent yet firm. "Xiao Fan, hurry and stand in the array. Put your hand on the crystal ball. Big Sister will awaken your martial soul for you!"

Ye Fan suppressed the worry and panic in his heart, strode quickly into the center of the array, and solemnly pressed his palm lightly against the cold surface of the crystal ball.

Ye Guyi's slender hand moved slightly, and pure, gentle angelic soul power poured completely into the array and the crystal ball.

In an instant, the dim thatched hut suddenly lit up. Colors on the crystal ball's surface shifted wildly, and waves of warm soul power surged through Ye Fan's palm into every part of his body as a sacred, majestic force slowly awakened.

Just as Ye Guyi and Ye Fan were devoting themselves completely to the martial soul awakening, a conversation was taking place in the sky above Saint Guide Village.

One of the men, wreathed in black qi, was the first to complain.

"Lord Fourth Elder, don't you think the Cult Master is being far too nervous?"

"It's only a little Soul Elder, yet he actually sent two Titled Douluo like us to surround and kill her!"

Hearing this, the man called Fourth Elder frowned slightly. "Ten Thousand Souls, angel martial souls are the bane of us evil soul masters. We absolutely cannot be careless!"

"Our subordinates reported that the soul master with the angel martial soul once appeared in this area!"

"Next, it depends on your performance!"

"Jie jie jie, Lord Fourth Elder, don't worry. When it comes to torturing people, I'm a professional!"

And so, an inhuman massacre of soul extraction was unfolding in Saint Guide Village.

"Bad guy! Let go of my grandma!"

The one speaking was Xiao Ya.

Soul Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls used a secret technique to control Xiao Ya's grandmother and searched her mind. Very soon, he found information about Ye Fan and Ye Guyi.

Then he turned his gaze to Xiao Ya nearby and forced her to lead the way. "Oh? Found them. Little girl, take me to the home of that little boy who usually brings you water!"

Hearing this, Xiao Ya desperately refused. At the same time, she kept pounding on Soul Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls, but she was not even a soul master and could not break through his soul power barrier at all. Soul Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls was also angered by Xiao Ya, so with a backhanded motion, he clamped his hand tightly around her throat.

Even then, Xiao Ya kept muttering, "I won't. I'll never betray Brother Xiao Fan."

"Jie jie jie, that's not up to you! For every second you hesitate, I'll kill one person in your village! And I'll also imprison their souls in the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls, so they can neither live nor die."

"I'd like to see how long you can hold out."

"The first will be your grandmother!"

"Will you talk or not?"

As he spoke, Soul Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls waved his hand and killed Xiao Ya's grandmother, at the same time taking her soul into the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls. Xiao Ya saw her grandmother's face twist as she let out an agonized wail before being collected into the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls. At the same time, countless wronged souls inside the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls roared in pain.

How could Xiao Ya ever have seen such a scene? All she could do was call out again and again, "Bad man, you killed my grandma! I'm going to kill you!"

"I'm going to kill you!"

Xiao Ya clenched her tiny fists and repeated again and again, "I'm going to kill you!"

Boundless grief and towering rage completely swallowed Xiao Ya. Dense, deathly black qi surged madly from the gaps in her flesh and wrapped around her body.

As the dim black mist churned, the phantom of a phoenix with wings covered in ink-black evil fire slowly took shape behind her. Its feathers flowed with a dark luster, and its pressure spread in all directions.

Fourth Elder and Soul Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls' pupils constricted sharply at the same time, and they cried out in shock, "Autonomous martial soul awakening."

Such a thing had precedents in the Holy Spirit Cult before. As long as the awakened one was in extreme grief, they could awaken their martial soul on their own. There were even people in the Holy Spirit Cult who had only awakened their martial souls in their teens.

Therefore, the two Titled Douluo were not surprised. Instead, their faces filled with joy, because they discovered:

"Ultimate Dark Phoenix martial soul."

The two exchanged a glance, unable to hide the wild delight in their eyes.

Compared with killing the angel bloodline, the reward for subduing a successor to such an ultimate darkness martial soul would be far greater.

Seeing that Xiao Ya's martial soul was still unstable and had not fully formed, the two exchanged a tacit look and decided to keep applying pressure to force out her full potential.

Soul Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls gave a sinister laugh and raised his hand to slaughter the remaining villagers. Shrill screams rang out one after another, constantly provoking Xiao Ya, who was on the verge of losing control.

But even now, she still had not betrayed Ye Fan.

Seeing this, Soul Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls curled his lips into a cold smile. "What an interesting little thing. Suffer. Wail!"

"Since you don't know what's good for you, I'll kill until you talk. Number ten!"

"Will you talk or not?"

Xiao Ya watched Soul Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls raise his hand and kill the uncle who usually helped her and her grandmother with fish, and she cried out, "No! Uncle Wang!"

"Number seventy!"

"Will you talk or not?"

Every time Soul Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls killed a villager of Saint Guide Village, he asked Xiao Ya once. At this moment, Xiao Ya watched one living, breathing person after another die before her eyes. Her face had long since turned pale, without the slightest trace of blood, and her entire body trembled and sobbed uncontrollably.

Blood dyed the earth beneath her feet red. Corpses lay everywhere in a horrifying sight. Xiao Ya shook violently all over, tears and mud smeared across her face.

As she watched the seventieth villager fall, the pain and hatred in the depths of her heart finally shattered their restraints, and utter despair gave birth to a strange power. Pitch-black mist surged wildly from every part of her body, sweeping out in all directions as the air around her twisted and trembled.

A shrill phoenix cry rang through the village. Behind her, the huge phantom of a dark phoenix spread its wings, its feathers wreathed in black evil fire, its talons gleaming with a chilling cold light.

The Dark Phoenix martial soul had fully manifested. Dense evil-soul power spread unchecked, and Xiao Ya's eyes were veiled in a murky ink-black shade. A destructive ferocity surged within her young body, and her towering hatred locked firmly onto the Soul Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls before her.

"Liii—gh!" The phoenix martial soul behind her cried out in agony.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

At that moment, Xiao Ya seemed devoid of all emotion. Only the will to slaughter remained in her mind, while the Dark Phoenix behind her unleashed the ultimate flames of darkness, spraying them straight toward the Soul Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls and the Fourth Elder.

The Soul Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls also wanted to test the tyranny of Xiao Ya's Dark Phoenix and its ultimate darkness, so he chose to withstand the phoenix flames head-on with a soul-power shield.

"Creak!"

With a crisp crack, the Soul Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls' soul tool shield shattered on the spot.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!" Startled, the Soul Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls hurriedly activated his own soul tool barrier.

At the same time, he circulated his soul power to strip away the flames of ultimate darkness.

In the next second, the Fourth Elder made his move as well. Like a ghost, he appeared behind Xiao Ya, then struck her lightly with his palm and knocked her unconscious.

"Ten Thousand Souls, I'll leave the rest to you!"

"I'll take her back first."

Hearing this, the Soul Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls did not hesitate in the slightest and nodded in agreement. "Lord Fourth Elder, rest assured."

"There are only so many people in this village. The ones I killed earlier weren't the family we're looking for, so the remaining family must be them."

"Then the family living far from the village must be the one we're looking for!"

As he spoke, the Fourth Elder left Saint Guide Village with the unconscious Xiao Ya, while the Soul Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls headed straight for the home of Ye Fan and Ye Guyi.

On Ye Fan's side, the martial soul awakening had also reached a critical moment.

Not long before, he and Ye Guyi had both heard the phoenix cry coming from the village, but Ye Guyi warned him, "Xiao Fan, focus completely. Don't get distracted."

Only then did Ye Fan stop thinking about it and devote himself fully to the martial soul awakening.