Qian Jue

"Everyone, hold on a little longer! Once Elder Xuan hears the commotion here, he'll definitely rush over as fast as he can! Don't give up!"

Zhang Lexuan's voice was already turning hoarse, yet she still desperately tried to boost morale.

"But Sister Lexuan... this 100,000-Year Soul Beast has gone completely insane, we really can't hold on anymore..."

"Five of our fellow disciples have already fallen..."

Star Dou Great Forest, mixed zone.

The glaring scarlet school uniforms looked particularly tragic in this dim forest.

If any outsiders were present, they would certainly recognize this iconic attire; they were elite disciples from the Inner Court of Shrek Academy.

However, these Inner Court students, usually the pride of the heavens, were now trapped in a desperate situation.

Hunting them down was a 100,000-Year Soul Beast that had fallen into a state of complete madness.

Of the twelve-person elite squad, nearly half were now lying on the ground with severe injuries, and the rest were at the end of their rope, their formation crumbling.

Under Zhang Lexuan's bitter struggle to hold the line, the group fought desperately to stall the beast, their only belief being the rescue of their team leader, Elder Xuan.

Yet, as time ticked by second by second, that long-awaited figure never appeared.

Despair spread through the team like poison, and some, on the verge of a breakdown, couldn't help but curse out loud.

"Where is Elder Xuan?! Where the hell did he go!"

"Heh... that old man probably got drunk and passed out ages ago, right? We're making such a huge scene, he probably thinks we're just setting off firecrackers; he doesn't care if we live or die at all!"

A blood-soaked male disciple let out a miserable laugh, his eyes filled with unwillingness:

"I never thought that I, a dignified level-60 Quasi-Soul Emperor, wouldn't die on the battlefield against Evil Soul Masters, wouldn't be able to avenge my parents, but would instead die in the mouth of a beast in such a ridiculous way..."

Listening to the blood-chilling complaints of her junior brothers and sisters, Zhang Lexuan bit her lower lip tightly, saying nothing.

But deep in her heart, an uncontrollable sense of wavering and sorrow began to grow.

Has Elder Xuan... really abandoned us?

"Watch out! Sister Lexuan, it's charging at you!"

A shrill roar suddenly came from a junior behind her.

Zhang Lexuan jerked her head up, only to see the 100,000-Year Bloodthirsty Dragon Lizard crushing toward her like a moving mountain of flesh. A foul stench hit her face, and that blood-filled maw, lined with fangs, had already loomed over her head.

The spot where she stood was a dead end; there was nowhere to dodge.

"Is it over..."

Zhang Lexuan whispered miserably.

Her Soul Power had long been overdrawn, and her body felt so heavy she couldn't even lift a finger.

But at the final moment of death's arrival, she still used every ounce of her strength to shout one last sentence to the companions behind her:

"Run! While its attention is on me, get out of here! Save whoever you can!"

BOOM--!!!

A deafening roar echoed through the forest, and the violent shockwave of Soul Power kicked up billowing dust, instantly swallowing Zhang Lexuan's slender figure.

"Sister Lexuan--!!!"

A shrill wail erupted among the Shrek group, tears blurring their eyes.

"Fight this beast to the death! Avenge Sister Lexuan!"

"Kill!!"

Meanwhile, in the center of the swirling dust.

"Am I... already dead?"

Zhang Lexuan subconsciously squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the excruciating pain of being torn apart.

However, the expected death did not arrive; instead, a bone-chilling night breeze brushed against her cheek.

She hesitated and slowly opened her eyes, only to be stunned to find that she hadn't fallen into the beast's mouth, but was hovering several yards above the ground.

Following the arm that was firmly wrapped around her waist, she looked up, and what met her eyes was a strange, pale, yet breathtakingly handsome face.

Then, her pupils contracted violently.

Behind this man, three pairs of pitch-black wings were spread wide.

It was a pure, extreme aura of darkness—cold, profound, and carrying a sense of oppression that made the soul tremble: a Fallen Angel Martial Soul!

"An Evil Soul Master?!"

Zhang Lexuan's mind went blank instantly. "I... was saved by an Evil Soul Master?"

Facing the shock of the person in his arms, Qian Jue's expression remained indifferent; he didn't even lift his eyelids.

He held Zhang Lexuan with one hand, his six pitch-black wings flapping slowly in mid-air, and with the posture of a god looking down from above,

he coldly overlooked the rampaging 100,000-Year Soul Beast and the desperate Shrek group below.

A violent and extreme dark pressure, like ten thousand invisible mountains, descended with a boom, instantly suppressing the entire scene.

"Just awakened, and already I'm met with such a clamorous scene."

Qian Jue's deep, magnetic voice echoed through the air, carrying an undisguised coldness and arrogance.

"Disturbing my slumber with such noise... I am very displeased."

As the words fell, Qian Jue didn't even glance down. He simply raised his free right hand and closed it gently against the void.

Hum--!

High above, the sky, previously obscured by dust, suddenly tore open a pitch-black fissure.

A colossal sword, wreathed in dark purple demonic patterns and radiating an aura of destruction, instantly coalesced from the nothingness!

"Go."

Following his indifferent command, the black blade transformed into a bolt of lightning that tore through space.

With unstoppable force, it plummeted from the heavens, instantly piercing the massive body of the 100,000-Year Soul Beast and pinning it firmly to the earth!

"Roar..."

Blood sprayed like a waterfall as the 100,000-Year Soul Beast let out a shrill, agonizing scream before falling abruptly silent.

Its indestructible vitality melted away like snow under the sun, its aura fading at a speed visible to the naked eye. It instantly fell into a near-death state, left to twitch helplessly in a pool of blood.

In that moment, everything fell silent.

The Shrek students below, having escaped death, were all stunned into wooden statues by this horrifying sight, their breathing coming to a halt.

"One strike... just a single strike?!"

"Such a powerful Evil Soul Master?!"

An Inner Court disciple's voice trembled, his legs giving way as he collapsed to the ground.

A 100,000-Year Soul Beast was a terrifying existence that even a Super Douluo had to treat with gravity; yet, before this mysterious six-winged youth, it couldn't even withstand a single move?

At this moment, Zhang Lexuan, held in Qian Jue's single arm, felt her scalp tingle.

She was closest to Qian Jue, and the feeling of facing an abyss was at its most intense.

She could clearly sense that the dark power contained within this man was so pure and vast, like a true demon god.

Zhang Lexuan even had the illusion that before him, even Elder Xuan would seem as ridiculous as a mayfly.

However, Qian Jue paid no mind to the shocked gazes of those ants below.

His gaze shifted slightly upward, looking at the translucent screen that had suddenly popped up, visible only to him.

[Congratulations, you have completed the trial of Word Spirit: Zagrede.]

[Mission Reward: All Soul Ring ages increased by 10,000 years, obtained the power of the Word Spirit Demon.]