Eagle and Rabbit

Eagle and Rabbit

Martial souls were inseparably linked to soul masters.

They were born from one's bloodline.

Connected to a soul master's soul.

Cases of martial souls being shattered mostly happened to soul masters with tool martial souls.

The reason soul masters with beast martial souls were spared was not because beast martial souls were stronger than tool martial souls. Rather, when summoning their martial souls, beast martial soul masters had to undergo Martial Soul Possession before they could fight. Thus, to shatter the martial soul of a beast martial soul master, one first had to inflict devastating injuries upon them.

How devastating?

So devastating that they had only one breath left!

But what was the purpose of shattering a martial soul?

It was to kill the opponent!

This created a self-contradictory problem: if I could shatter a beast martial soul, that meant I was capable of killing my opponent. Since I could kill my opponent, why would I go to such lengths to shatter their martial soul in order to make killing them easier?

Going to great lengths and making things easier were inherently contradictory.

It was simply superfluous.

Yet, the essence of all soul masters was the same.

To shatter a beast martial soul, the prerequisite was beating the soul master until they had only one breath left. Therefore, while shattering a tool martial soul did not require reducing its owner to that state beforehand, the backlash from the tool martial soul's destruction would still leave the soul master at death's door, perhaps even with lifelong regrets.

Tang San had not died on the spot thanks largely to the Mysterious Heaven Skill.

A frailer soul master had a considerable chance of dying on the spot after their martial soul was shattered. Tool martial soul masters were physically weaker than beast martial soul masters to begin with. When a tool martial soul was shattered, its owner was certainly in combat. Even at full strength, the backlash could leave them at death's door. If they were already badly injured, the risk of sudden death went without saying.

Still, everyone knew Ye Qingcang could not be blamed.

Tang San's hammer had been aimed at killing Ye Qingcang.

Especially that sentence Tang San had shouted afterward.

"Die for me?"

Who was supposed to die?

Those who killed would eventually be killed!

As both an observer and someone who knew about the relationship between Liu Erlong and Yu Xiaogang, Flender's view of Ye Qingcang was more objective than the others'. He did not know what everyone else thought. Perhaps in their eyes, Ye Qingcang was a ruthless genius. But in his eyes, Ye Qingcang was a person of exceptional restraint—straightforward, principled, and measured in his actions.

If he lacked restraint, he would not have warned Yu Xiaogang.

He could have dragged Yu Xiaogang into some alley, thrown a sack over his head, and beaten him up. He could even have killed Yu Xiaogang and sunk his body in a river, making him vanish from this world without a trace, never to appear before Liu Erlong again. Flender believed Ye Qingcang had both the ability and connections to do so.

He was a friend who stood on equal footing with the Heaven Dou Crown Prince.

With a single word from him, plenty of people would be willing to help.

But Ye Qingcang had not done that.

By warning Yu Xiaogang in front of everyone, on one hand, he showed his straightforward nature and disdain for such underhanded tricks. On the other, it showed that he always left some room for others. If Yu Xiaogang could realize the error of his ways, perhaps they could be friends the next time they met.

They certainly would not be enemies.

This straightforward nature was also reflected in his conversation with Xiao Wu. He clearly had many ways to force Xiao Wu to sacrifice herself to him, yet he had chosen the most open, fair, and difficult method. One could say that he had laid his bottom line before Xiao Wu. If Xiao Wu refused, there would be no excuse to make. If she agreed, she would surely do so wholeheartedly. Others might misunderstand, but anyone with eyes could see how safe this was.

As for crushing the Clear Sky Hammer, it looked as though he was destroying Tang San's future. In reality, he was merely teaching Tang San a lesson. If he had been more ruthless, holding the hammer down with one hand while raising the other...

No one dared imagine what would have happened to Tang San!

Would Ye Qingcang have killed him with one punch?

Never mind that shattered martial souls could recover on their own. Even if martial souls could not recover after shattering and were one-use items, the lesson Ye Qingcang had given Tang San was by no means excessive. Any soul master would fight to the death against someone who wanted to kill them.

If you did not die, my heart would never be at peace!

Eradicating the roots—that was all there was to it!

What Flender did not know was that he was not the only one who thought so. Zhao Wuji, Shao Xin, Li Yusong, Oscar, Ning Rongrong, and the others all felt the same way. Even Dai Mubai, who supported Tang San, had his brows tightly furrowed as he found Tang San's words utterly baffling.

Both he and Fatty hated Ye Qingcang.

Perhaps they were lashing out in embarrassment after their flaws had been exposed.

But their hatred only made them want to teach Ye Qingcang a lesson.

Preferably, beat Ye Qingcang so badly he would be bedridden for a month.

They had never thought of taking a life over a few verbal disputes.

Tang San had not only thought it—he had said it aloud.

Whether Tang San was narrow-minded could be discussed later. As for the consequences of his actions, even if Ye Qingcang killed Tang San, it would count as self-defense at most. At worst, it would be excessive self-defense. No one could find fault with it!

How foolish!

However, while the Shrek group all thought this way, Yu Xiaogang, who had come begging Liu Erlong for help, did not necessarily see it that way. Seeing the battered and miserable Tang San in the Training Field, Yu Xiaogang's expression immediately changed. In a sarcastic tone, he sneered at Liu Erlong, who stood behind him with a troubled expression. "This is the son you've always been so proud of?"

"Xiaogang..." Liu Erlong waved her hand. She signaled Ye Qingcang to stop with her eyes while explaining, "There must be some misunderstanding here!"

"I don't want to hear the word 'misunderstanding' right now!"

"Nor do I want to hear you making excuses for anyone!"

"I only want to ask you this: with the friendship and relationship you, Flender, and I have built over so many years traveling the continent, even if your son, my disciple, and Flender's disciple had some conflict, did it need to escalate into something this ugly?"

Using this as an excuse, Yu Xiaogang flew into a rage.

He looked at no one's expression.

He gave face to no one.

Like a triumphant rooster, he strode into the Training Field with his head held high.

He marched aggressively toward Tang San and Ye Qingcang.

It seemed as though he intended to demand an explanation.

Liu Erlong quickly grabbed Yu Xiaogang and stood between him and Ye Qingcang. "Wait, Xiaogang. Little Eagle may indeed have acted a little impulsively, but given the friendship and relationship between you, me, and Flender, can't everyone take a step back?"

Yu Xiaogang was instantly left speechless.

Flender nearly choked on his saliva as well.

He had lifted a stone only to drop it on his own foot.

Since when had Liu Erlong become so clever?

She had even learned to use Yu Xiaogang's own words against him?

But everyone else's attention had gone in an entirely different direction.

"Little Eagle, this child?"

Was that Ye Qingcang's name?

Little Eagle was Ye Qingcang's childhood name?

"So lame..." Ning Rongrong was not the only one laughing. Even Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai, who had always held a grudge against Ye Qingcang, burst into uncontrollable laughter. "Having a childhood name is one thing, but why is it so utterly ordinary?"

But...

"Eagle?" Xiao Wu's breathing quickened slightly. Although she made no sound, she did not dare laugh either. Ye Qingcang's childhood name might have sounded lame to others, but its intimidation was greater to her than any other name.

She was a little rabbit.

Ye Qingcang was a little eagle.

And Ye Qingcang had seen through her true form at a glance.

One of her signature techniques was called Rabbit Kicks Eagle.

Ye Qingcang had also immediately identified Tang San's origins.

He had awakened her from her confusion.

Was this fate's mutual restraint?

Or was it an ill-fated bond?