Fallen Soul Masters, Trapped in Peril

In a small village, the stench of blood hung thick in the air.

The village was littered with corpses, all of them bizarrely shriveled like mummies, as though every drop of blood had been drained from them.

Inside a spacious house, three figures lounged boldly in their chairs. The table before them was covered in leftover food, while three more corpses lay on the floor nearby.

One was the corpse of a young man whose limbs had all been severed at the roots; another was a boy with his neck twisted broken; the last was the corpse of a completely naked woman.

Unlike the terror frozen on the faces of the three corpses, the three people reclining in their chairs looked pleased, utterly unconcerned by the blood-soaked surroundings.

Just as they were enjoying themselves, a series of footsteps suddenly sounded in the distance.

The three immediately snapped alert, their expressions turning wary in an instant.

One of the gaunt men cursed loudly.

"It must be those bastards from Martial Soul Hall catching up to us!"

"Damn it, we only drank the blood of a few lowly commoners. Do they really have to chase us so relentlessly?"

Another man looked at the burly figure in the middle, whose left eye was marked by a vicious scar, and asked solemnly, "Boss, what do we do now?"

The burly man's face darkened, cruelty flashing in his eyes.

"Martial Soul Hall has already set its sights on us. Even if we escape this time, they'll definitely come after us again."

"Rather than being hunted endlessly like this, we might as well kill the deacon chasing us and then flee somewhere no one can catch us."

The gaunt man hesitated. "But the world is so vast. Where can we run to?"

"Do we flee overseas?"

The burly man shook his head, a sharp gleam flashing through his eyes.

"No. I heard there's a Fallen Paradise in the Extreme West that shelters fallen ones like us. As long as we enter it, even Martial Soul Hall won't be able to go in and seize us."

(I searched it up, and some say the City of Slaughter is in the Extreme West, while others say it's in the Extreme North. Does anyone know its exact location?)

The gaunt man and the other man's eyes immediately lit up.

"Boss, is that information reliable?"

The burly man said confidently, "Most likely."

"Then let's go there!"

"But before that, we need to kill those Martial Soul Hall bastards who came after us."

"They've chased us all the way here. I've put up with them for long enough!"

"Good!"

On the main road, a carriage rolled along slowly.

Father Qi drove the carriage while chatting with Mother Qi and Qi Dao inside.

Suddenly, Father Qi's nose twitched slightly, and he frowned.

"What a strong smell of blood!"

He muttered to himself, his gaze gradually turning vigilant.

"A Rou, Ah Dao, something's wrong. Stay alert!"

With that, Father Qi urged the carriage onward a little faster.

Inside the carriage.

Mother Qi and Qi Dao's gazes sharpened slightly, their expressions growing more serious.

At the same time, three figures ahead of them suddenly stopped walking.

The burly man in the middle grinned.

"Didn't expect to run into a few little ants~"

The gaunt man beside him licked his lips. "I haven't had my fill of that Martial Soul Hall soul master's blood yet. This is perfect—a little dessert after the meal."

"I hope whoever's coming isn't some ordinary person. It'd be such a pity if I can't drink a soul master's blood."

The third man let out a sinister cackle as well.

"Let's go. Let's be proactive."

A savage smile spread across the burly man's face as he turned and walked toward the middle of the road.

The other two followed closely behind.

"Whoa~"

Seeing the three figures suddenly dart out from both sides of the road, Father Qi hurriedly pulled on the reins, every hair on his body standing on end.

The bloody aura around the three men before him was so dense it was unbelievable.

Inside the carriage, Mother Qi's expression changed slightly as she instantly summoned her Ruby Martial Soul.

Peerless at Qi Dao's waist trembled faintly. It only settled down after Qi Dao placed his hand on the sword hilt.

Outside the carriage, Father Qi held the reins in one hand while summoning his martial soul with the other, his eyes filled with vigilance.

However, he did not act rashly, merely staring at the three men opposite him.

"May I ask what the three of you mean by this?"

"If you're short on funds, I can provide the three of you with a sum of money."

Father Qi had his own soul-hunting party. What sort of people had he not seen before?

Yet the pressure these three men gave him was far greater than that of any so-called desperados he had encountered over the years.

Thus, he made a swift decision to buy peace with money.

However, after hearing Father Qi's words, the three men merely laughed mockingly.

"Second, Third, this guy wants to give us money. Do you think we should accept it?" the burly man asked with a wide grin.

The gaunt man said sinisterly, "But if we kill him, won't his money still be ours?"

The tall Third licked his lips. "He's even a soul master. I can already smell the fragrance in a soul master's blood."

"Boss, let's get started. I can barely wait any longer!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his face instantly turned ferocious, and thick black fur sprouted all over his body.

Four soul rings slowly rose beneath his feet.

One white, two yellow, one purple!

A four-ring Soul Elder!

Father Qi's pupils constricted sharply. Fear flashed through his eyes as he immediately shouted.

"A Rou, Qi Dao, run!"

Upon hearing this, Mother Qi and Qi Dao immediately rushed out of the carriage.

When the three men saw Qi Dao and Mother Qi, their eyes lit up.

"Haha, I didn't expect an unexpected bonus."

"Three soul masters, hehehe~"

"Boss, we can each take one."

"That woman is mine!"

"Third, she's my prey!"

"You two idiots, stop fighting!"

On the other side, Mother Qi and Qi Dao did not flee as Father Qi had told them to.

"What are you doing? I'll hold them back."

"Dad, it's useless. Even if Mom and I leave you behind and run, they'll catch up to us right away."

Qi Dao stared at the four soul rings on the tall man's body, his expression so grim it seemed water could drip from it.

It was not hard to tell from the conversation between the three men that they were undoubtedly fallen soul masters from the first Douluo era.

Because of Martial Soul Hall, fallen soul masters in the first Douluo era were nowhere near as widespread as evil soul masters in the second.

But Qi Dao had never expected to encounter such a crisis the moment he left the newbie village.

There were at least three Soul Elders on the other side!

Father Qi fell silent, while a trace of despair flashed across Mother Qi's face.

Could it be that today...

Their entire family would die here?

They had not yet lived to see Qi Dao grow into an adult, nor had they watched him become a powerful soul master renowned far and wide.

"Oh my, what's going on here?"

"Have you already been scared out of your wits before the fight has even begun?"

"That'll take away so much of our fun."

The gaunt man bared his teeth in laughter and likewise possessed himself with his martial soul. His face instantly became savage and sinister, while several spider legs sprouted from his back.

Clearly, his martial soul was some kind of spider.

His soul ring configuration was the same as the tall man's.

Finally, there was their boss, the rough-looking burly man.

He too unleashed his martial soul—a blood-red mountain-splitting saber.

And his soul rings...

Two yellow, two purple!

"Dammit!"

Facing the three men, Father Qi let out a low growl, the veins on the arm gripping the iron sword bulging wildly.

Mother Qi's body trembled slightly, yet she still looked at Qi Dao and asked gently, "Dao, are you afraid of death?"

Qi Dao took a deep breath and immediately visualized the Peerless Sword in his mind. The warmth spreading through his spirit instantly restored his calm.

He slowly drew his sword and casually slashed once before looking at Mother Qi with calm eyes. "Mom, of course I'm afraid of dying!"

"But..."

As he said this, his gaze seemed to burst with chilling light, and his tone abruptly shifted.

He suddenly turned to the three men opposite him, his eyes filled with nothing but resolve!

"No matter who wants my life, I'll tear a chunk of flesh off him first!"