Undercurrents

Under the terrifying pressure, Zhang Qing's Thousand-Year Soul Ring lit up. His already burly body became even more exaggerated, like a humanoid Soul Beast, and he let out a roar.

Those utterly inhuman arms reached for Tie Li's Thunder Hammer.

Boom!

Tie Li felt a tremendous force travel through the hammer. He was driven back eight or nine meters before barely steadying himself.

In contrast, his opponent took only three steps back. However, his arms had been forcibly torn open with several gashes from blocking Thunder Strike head-on. Blood flowed from the cracks, and they trembled unnaturally.

"Again!" Dolangbu shouted.

At the same time, he controlled the Vines to attack Zhang Qing. A Three-Ring Soul Elder had suffered such severe injuries—this was the perfect chance to eliminate him.

Two thick Vines instantly split into dozens of tendrils, surging over Zhang Qing's body and binding his massive frame.

"Alright."

Tie Li had also been affected, but the Thunder Armor around his right arm had absorbed most of the damage for him.

He unleashed his Second Soul Skill once more, and the lightning-condensed Thunder Strike erupted with astonishing force again.

Li Qing'er's expression shifted slightly. She could not possibly watch Zhang Qing be eliminated just like that.

But at that moment, Bai Jiao blocked her path.

Bai Jiao knew that doing this might get him eliminated as well, but as long as he held her back, the other side would lose one Soul Elder.

Boom!

Boom!

With those two sounds, the first to be eliminated were unexpectedly two Soul Elders: Youhe and Zhang Qing.

Bai Jiao became the third Soul Master to be eliminated in order to stop Li Qing'er.

This made the situation even more grim.

They had already been at a disadvantage, and now their only Soul Elder had been eliminated. The matchup had become five against six.

As the team leader, Kaiqi left the Sub Soul Arena at this moment and went to a room within the Great Soul Arena.

"You're saying that the people we encountered on the road weren't members of the Gold Strength Clan?" Kaiqi had long suspected as much; she was merely curious about their identities.

"They were from the Crimson Fire Clan. I just received word that the Crimson Fire Clan was wiped out, and only a handful of its members escaped;

The Crimson Fire Clan had deep roots in Guya City, yet they were exterminated on their own territory. More importantly, news of their destruction only emerged now. Don't you find that unbelievable?" A trace of shock still lingered deep in Director Ao's eyes.

Director Ao had called Kaiqi into the room alone because the team she led had encountered fleeing members of the Crimson Fire Clan on the road.

"When you were on the road, you must have sensed the Soul Masters pursuing them, right? What are your guesses? Or rather, have you determined where the Soul Masters chasing them came from?" Director Ao asked.

Kaiqi shook her head. In truth, she already had a suspect in mind, but she did not dare voice it.

To wipe out the Crimson Fire Clan in Guya City without letting the news spread, the culprit had to be a colossal force. But... for such a force to target the Crimson Fire Clan, had the Crimson Fire Clan obtained some priceless treasure?

Director Ao saw Kaiqi's apprehension and did not press her further.

To be honest, if he had not received orders from above, he would not have wanted to get involved in this mess.

But to satisfy his superiors, he could only put on a show and call Kaiqi over. It just so happened that they had encountered fleeing members of the Crimson Fire Clan on the road.

After asking a few more inconsequential questions, Director Ao allowed Kaiqi to leave first.

"Do you merely want to know what happened? Or are you also interested in the treasure the Crimson Fire Clan obtained?" Director Ao murmured as he looked toward a dark corner.

When she returned to the Sub Soul Arena, the Soul Battle had already ended.

Facing a team with three Soul Elders, they had lost the Soul Battle without any surprise. What surprised Kaiqi was that they had actually eliminated two of the opposing Soul Elders.

Fortunately, the second round used a points system. Losing a single match would not have much impact.

"It's alright. The teams we face next won't be this difficult to handle," Kaiqi comforted them.

Everyone returned to the venue, discussed the teams they would face next, and formulated tactics before returning to their respective rooms to rest.

There would be consecutive Soul Battles ahead, so rest was extremely important.

Over the next six days of Soul Battle matches, Rock Team lost only its team battle against Giant Stone Team and won every other match. They had earned enough points to avoid bottom-rank elimination. With two Soul Battles remaining, they would finish the second round.

What Tie Li wondered about was just how formidable the team dispatched by the Main Martial Soul Hall would be, aside from the rewards for the top three places.

That night, Tie Li once again took out the Soul Beast Skull and fiddled with it unwillingly.

Every time he took out the Soul Beast Skull, he held onto a sliver of hope, yet every time, he resentfully put it back into his Storage Ring.

"Ah, two thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

His faint sigh carried a trace of regret.

After learning that they had enough points to advance to the next round, they let the members who had never taken the field participate in the remaining two matches, so they would have no regrets.

The second-round elimination matches ended, and Rock Team advanced in sixth place.

That same night, the Main Martial Soul Hall of Benoa City surrounded the Gold Strength Clan.

"Ambro, what is the meaning of this? Are you planning to make a move against my Gold Strength Clan?" As the Gold Strength Clan's patriarch, Jin Yan glared furiously at the other party.

"Patriarch Jin, your Gold Strength Clan has been colluding with Fallen Soul Masters. Today, Spirit Hall will eradicate every last one of you."

"Ambro, you need evidence when you speak. You have no evidence at all, so what gives you the right to claim that we're colluding with Fallen Soul Masters? Does whatever Spirit Hall says simply become the truth?"

"This is the evidence."

Ambro waved his hand, and a Deacon from Spirit Hall carried out a drained corpse and casually threw it before Jin Yan.

"You're using some inexplicable corpse as evidence?"

"Isn't that enough? Once I capture all of you, won't all the evidence come to light? Attack!"

At Ambro's signal, all the Soul Masters from the Main Martial Soul Hall charged into the Gold Strength Clan's residence.

"Ambro, you're courting death!" Jin Yan shouted furiously as Soul Rings emerged beneath him.

Two yellow, three purple, and one black!

As the patriarch of the Gold Strength Clan, his Soul Power Level had reached sixty-seven.

In his Martial Soul Possession state, a layer of golden insect armor covered his body. His size did not change much, but terrifying strength lay beneath that armor.

The Diamond Ant Martial Soul's most distinctive traits were its exceptional strength and formidable defense.

"Call out the ancestor of your Gold Strength Clan. You aren't qualified to face me."

A chilling spear appeared in Ambro's hand, radiating an extraordinary aura. Seven Soul Rings emerged from it.

One white, one yellow, three purple, and two black!

As a senior bishop of Spirit Hall, his Soul Power Level had reached seventy-three. His Martial Soul was the Ice Crystal Glass Dragon Spear, a Tool Martial Soul.

His first, third, and fifth Soul Rings lit up simultaneously. Empowered by three enhancement Soul Skills, his aura rose to its peak.

Jin Yan's expression turned grim, but he did not retreat. The ancestor was absent, and as patriarch, he had to stand at the forefront.

Black light flared. Without the slightest hesitation, Jin Yan unleashed his Sixth Soul Skill, his only Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Skill.

Against a Seven-Ring Soul Saint, this was his only option.