Normal Attacks Interspersed with Plunges, Eula's Full Combo!

"Boss..."

Shi Mo glanced at Qin Qi, hesitation showing in his eyes.

"Why the hell are you hesitating? Move! Whoever encounters a soul beast and catches it owns it."

"The soul master world is ruled by the strong. The weak are prey to the strong!"

Qin Qi spoke without hesitation. The Four-Eyed Scale-Armored Beast was a rare mutant among scale-armored beasts, something that could only be encountered by chance.

It could be said to be the best possible choice for a defense-type martial soul. Now that they had come across one, how could they possibly give it up just because of a few words from the other side?

"Qin Qi is right. Move. I'll handle these people."

Qin Ming pushed up his glasses as his martial soul possessed him. Six soul rings rose behind him—a six-ringed Soul Emperor!

The members of the Strength Clan and the Defense Clan immediately revealed their soul rings as well. Both were five-ringed Soul Kings!

Ha!

Shi Mo no longer hesitated. He hurled his turtle shell at the Four-Eyed Scale-Armored Beast, striking its vulnerable mouth and killing it instantly.

A yellow soul ring emerged, but this was not the time to absorb it.

"That soul beast was our prey! Isn't it too much for you to steal our prey like this?"

The Soul King from the Defense Clan flew into a rage at the sight. He had prepared that soul beast for his son.

Yet it had actually been snatched away. This was simply outrageous!

"That soul beast charged at us out of nowhere. We had the right to defend ourselves."

"As for whether it was your prey, that's hard to say. And even if it was, you only have yourselves to blame for failing to keep watch over it. Don't blame us."

Qin Ming became extremely forceful. Standing in front of Qin Qi and the others, he spoke with sharp eyes.

"That's not how it is. We've been chasing that soul beast for two days."

"It still bears the wounds we left on it. That proves the soul beast was ours."

The member of the Strength Clan spoke up.

"Boss Qin Qi, is there any point in arguing about this now? Whoever kills the soul beast gets to absorb its soul ring."

"We already struck first. They have no way of absorbing it anyway."

Shi Mo had finished absorbing the soul ring and officially entered the rank of Grand Soul Master.

He walked to Qin Qi's side, watching the four enemies before them warily as he spoke in a low voice.

"Their target is no longer the soul beast. Their target is us."

"They're unwilling to accept that we stole the soul beast, but they're also wary of my brother's strength as a Soul Emperor."

"They're looking for an opportunity."

Qin Qi took two small steps back, letting the massive bodies of Shi Mo and Shi Mo shield him.

"Shi Mo, Shi Mo, if this standoff continues, it'll be unfavorable for us."

"Although they're only Soul Kings, one follows the path of ultimate strength and the other the path of ultimate defense. My brother isn't afraid of either one in a one-on-one fight."

"But if it's one against two, their coordination can bring out extraordinary power."

"So we have to strike first."

Qin Qi hid behind Shi Mo and Shi Mo, speaking quietly.

"Boss Qin Qi, tell us what to do."

Shi Mo had come to understand the situation as well. They were in the Star Dou Great Forest, deep in the wilderness, surrounded by danger.

The other side might very well try to murder them in secret.

"Do you see those two younger ones over there?"

"The one on the left has a strength-type Herculean Ape martial soul, while the one on the right has a defense-type Plate-Armored Rhinoceros martial soul."

"In a moment, I'll have my brother attack first and disrupt them."

"Then the two of you and I will focus our attacks on the one with the Herculean Ape martial soul. If we take him down, we'll have a hostage."

There was not the slightest fluctuation in Qin Qi's eyes as he spoke, nor did he release even a trace of hostility.

"Boss Qin Qi, isn't that too risky?"

Smack.

The moment Shi Mo finished speaking, Qin Qi kicked him.

"Things have already reached this point. Do you think we can settle it just by talking?"

"Anyone who dares hesitate when we make our move—I'll kill them."

Qin Qi spoke irritably. These two brothers were like a pair of clueless blockheads. They were truly infuriating.

"Mm."

The Shi Mo brothers nodded slightly. They might not have minds as quick as Qin Qi's, but they were obedient.

They knew they could not make sense of the current situation, but they did not argue stubbornly.

Qin Qi tugged lightly at Qin Ming's sleeve from behind. He said nothing, but Qin Ming immediately understood what Qin Qi meant.

"Gentlemen, we're from Heaven Dou Royal Academy."

Qin Ming spoke up, invoking the power backing him.

"Heaven Dou Royal Academy..."

The two men from the Defense Clan and the Strength Clan hesitated slightly. They were not exactly afraid, but they did have some reservations.

Yet Qin Ming struck at the very instant they hesitated, flames engulfing the area in an instant!

Bang!

Using the flames as cover, Qin Qi charged toward the boy from the Strength Clan. Shi Mo and Shi Mo also hurled their tortoise shells in attack!

"Want to face me head-on? Then come on!"

The boy from the Strength Clan did not dodge. Instead, he pounded his chest with both fists and roared as he launched himself at Qin Qi.

"First Soul Skill, Strength Augmentation!"

The Strength Clan boy's muscles bulged once more as he swung his fist at Qin Qi.

"Ora ora ora!"

Qin Qi had no time to charge up his punches. He launched a rapid barrage of ordinary strikes, his fists raining down without pause.

Their fists collided.

Crack!

The sharp sound of breaking bone was immediately followed by a scream.

"Ah!!!"

The Strength Clan boy let out a bloodcurdling scream. The instant his fist met Qin Qi's, the bones in his hand had shattered!

"Ora ora ora!"

Qin Qi continued his assault, beating the boy unconscious in one burst.

The entire exchange had taken no more than the blink of an eye!

By the time the two Soul Kings broke through Qin Ming's flames, Qin Qi had already subdued the boy from the Strength Clan.

"Gentlemen, you'd better not move. Otherwise, I'll crush this brat's neck!"

Qin Qi gripped the Strength Clan boy by the throat and threatened them.

"Gentlemen, it's only a soul beast. There's no need for us to fight to the death over it."

Qin Ming immediately stepped in front of Qin Qi as well. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. With a hostage in hand, this fight was bound to be impossible to continue.

"Have you no shame?!"

"You ambushed us, then threatened to kill my son!"

"And now you say it's only a soul beast? Do you think it's that simple?!"

The man from the Strength Clan was furious, roaring loudly.

"But if we hadn't done this, would you have let the matter go so easily?"

Qin Qi tightened his grip slightly, and the Strength Clan youth immediately screamed even more miserably.

"Old Ape, don't be impulsive."

"Brother, let's talk this out."

"The soul beast has already been killed by you, so we can't absorb its soul ring anyway."

"Let him go now, and we'll leave immediately. There's no need to keep making trouble."

The man from the Defense Clan hurriedly stopped Old Ape and spoke up.

"That would be best. But first, let our man absorb the soul ring. Shi Mo, what are you standing around for? Hurry up and absorb it."

Qin Qi smiled, then looked toward Shi Mo beside him and shot him a fierce glare.

What was this big idiot staring blankly for?

Did he really think they would just let this go? Just because they could not absorb it did not mean Qin Qi's side could do so smoothly.

They would definitely interfere. Rather than let them have it for free, they would rather see it wasted.

"Alright!"

Shi Mo finally came to his senses. With a hostage in hand, the other side had reservations. This was the best time to absorb it.

Once he finished absorbing it, they would run. By then, it would not be easy for the others to chase them.