We of the Holy Angel Lineage Have Only Heroes Who Die in Battle, Never Prisoners Who Live on Their Knees!

After dealing with the evil soul masters before him, Li Changqing turned and looked at the blonde girl.

Ye Guyi's exquisitely beautiful face, stained with blood and dust, was filled with near-stunned shock and disbelief.

Her eyes, which should have shone as brightly as stars, were slightly widened as she stared unblinkingly at the corpses on the ground, rapidly losing their vitality as their evil aura dissipated.

Soul Grandmasters and Soul Elders had been as fragile as paper in his hands.

Most crucially, he was actually younger than she was.

Li Changqing said nothing. He merely calmly extended a hand before her.

A faint golden radiance still lingered on his hand, the residual power of the Exquisite Pagoda from moments ago, pure and warm.

The gesture pulled Ye Guyi back to her senses. Her gaze fell upon the boy's clean, slender fingers, and after less than a moment's hesitation, she placed her bloodstained hand in his.

His palm was cool yet firm. A gentle force flowed through their point of contact, steadying her body, which had gone weak from exhaustion and injury.

Using his support, she rose to her feet. More pale skin and bloody wounds showed through the torn portions of her dress.

Yet she seemed wholly unaware of it. She only looked at Li Changqing, her voice hoarse from the fierce battle and carrying a barely perceptible tremor. "Thank you... for saving my life."

Li Changqing smiled and said indifferently, "I merely happened to pass by. You needn't take it to heart."

"Oh no! My mother! She's been holding off those two Soul Emperors for a long time. I have to help her at once!"

At that moment, Ye Guyi seemed to remember something, and her expression immediately changed.

She did not even have time to tend to her most serious wound.

The remaining sacred soul power around her stirred faintly.

Then, the phantom of her damaged angel wings tried to condense once more as she prepared to rush toward the depths of the forest.

"Wait." Li Changqing reached out and firmly caught her arm.

Ye Guyi turned back anxiously. "Let go! My mother is in danger!"

"Danger?"

Li Changqing looked at her, a trace of helplessness in his eyes. His words were blunt to the point of cruelty. "With your current condition—your soul power nearly exhausted, more than a dozen wounds across your body, and that wound on your left shoulder only half an inch away from damaging your bones and tendons—how much of your strength do you have left? If you rush over there, will you be helping your mother, or causing her trouble? She'll have to divide her attention to protect you while fighting, and may even expose an opening because of you."

Ye Guyi's body stiffened. Every word Li Changqing spoke was like a cold needle, piercing through the boiling blood stirred up by her worry.

She opened her mouth, wanting to refute him, only to realize that every word he said was true.

In her current state, let alone facing a Soul Emperor, even a formidable Soul Grandmaster could likely take her down with ease.

If she rushed over like this, she truly might... become a burden to her mother.

"Then... then what should I do?"

Ye Guyi's voice dropped, filled with unconcealed panic and helplessness. Her eyes reddened slightly as she said helplessly, "Am I supposed to just watch? That's my mother! How can I...?"

Li Changqing fell silent for a moment as he watched her.

Then he let out a soft sigh and said helplessly, "Show me the way. I'll go with you."

Ye Guyi abruptly lifted her head. Her dim eyes lit up at once, like a drowning person clutching at driftwood. "Really? Thank you! This way!"

Without hesitation, she turned and led the way, driving the little remaining soul power in her body to race toward the source of the fluctuations.

The closer they came to the center of the battlefield, the more violent the energy currents raging through the air became.

Sacred and evil powers collided fiercely, ravaging the trees for hundreds of meters around. Scorched earth lay everywhere, while broken branches and fallen leaves swirled through the sky.

At the center of the battlefield, the situation was far more tragic than Ye Guyi had imagined.

Two evil soul masters at the Soul Emperor level had joined forces to madly besiege a woman.

The woman appeared to be in her thirties. She was tall and shapely, and even amid such a fierce battle, her noble and elegant bearing remained apparent.

She wore a pale gold gown in the same color scheme as Ye Guyi's, though hers was more exquisite.

However, her battle dress had already been torn in many places, revealing bloodstained skin beneath.

Her features resembled Ye Guyi's by seventy or eighty percent, but she was more mature and ravishing, possessing a captivating charm.

Yet all color had drained from that beautiful face. She was pale as paper, blood continuously seeping from the corner of her lips, and her aura was in utter disarray. Clearly, she had suffered grave internal injuries.

Her Martial Spirit was also a Holy Angel, but its phantom was more solid, its wings more magnificent and broad.

At present, however, the angel phantom's glow had dimmed, and illusory cracks had even appeared across parts of it.

"Ha ha ha! Beauty, stop struggling!" one of the evil soul masters, a short and sturdy man with a savage face, laughed wildly.

Thick black mist like ink coiled around him, vaguely forming countless ghostly faces howling in agony. "I've had plenty of women, but a top-class prize like you—powerful, beautiful, and possessing a Sacred Angel Martial Spirit—is a first for me! Surrender obediently and let us treat you right. If you serve us well enough, we might even spare your worthless life!"

The other evil soul master, skinny as a bamboo pole with deeply sunken eye sockets, let out a shrill, sinister cackle. "Big Brother is right! The sacred soul power, and all this flesh and blood... once we drain her dry, our cultivation will surely soar! I hear women with this Martial Spirit have a flavor unlike any other!"

He greedily licked his lips, his snake-like gaze roaming back and forth over Ye Wanqing's alluring body, filled with lewdness and excitement.

For evil soul masters who walked in darkness, trampling underfoot and wantonly humiliating a Holy Angel Martial Spirit bearer—someone born to suppress them—brought a twisted thrill and desire for conquest far more intoxicating than simple slaughter.

Ye Wanqing clenched her pearly teeth. Though her aura was weak, unyielding fire still burned in those beautiful eyes, so similar to Ye Guyi's. They were cold and resolute. "Evil scum, keep dreaming! We of the Holy Angel Lineage have only heroes who die in battle, never prisoners who live on their knees!"

Before her words had even faded, she forcibly drew a breath, and the fifth soul ring beneath her feet suddenly blazed with light!

"Fifth Soul Skill, Sword of Holy Judgment!"

The angel phantom behind her instantly solidified for a moment. Its hands formed a grasping gesture, and a massive sword of light, entirely condensed from dazzling sacred power, appeared out of thin air. Carrying the mighty force to purify all things, it slashed down at the short, sturdy evil soul master!

Wherever the light sword passed, the black mist vanished with sizzling sounds like snow splashed by boiling water.

"Hmph! You're at the end of your rope!"

The short, sturdy evil soul master snorted coldly, yet did not dare let down his guard. His fifth soul ring instantly lit up.

In the next instant, the black mist around him erupted, transforming into a five-meter-tall evil ghost giant with a blue face and protruding fangs. Roaring, it swung a ghostly claw wrapped in chains and fiercely met the light sword head-on.

At the same time, the skinny evil soul master flickered like a ghost around to Ye Wanqing's rear flank. His third soul ring flashed, and several pitch-black shadow blades silently struck toward her back.

Ye Wanqing's light sword struck the evil ghost giant's claw, unleashing a blinding burst of golden and black light as shockwaves rolled outward.

Already injured, she had forced herself into this direct clash, and her internal organs violently shook. Blood rose sweetly in her throat once more.

Though she sensed the shadow blades attacking from behind, she was unable to fully evade them while confronting her enemy head-on.