None of You Three Are Getting Away!

The Bald Man also tried to dodge first when he saw this.

But his feet had already begun slipping on the ground.

That pulling force was far too strong.

Far beyond the power a Level 37 Soul Elder should possess.

"I told you just now..."

Lin Ye finally raised his head.

The Dark Demon Evil God Transformation had yet to fade. Black stripes covered his face and arms, while purple lightning surged in his eyes.

"Not one of you three beasts is getting away!"

As he spoke, the Black Hole expanded another circle.

Its suction instantly surged.

Liu Qing, who stood at the front, suddenly lost his footing and was dragged forward a step.

"No—don't!"

Liu Qing screamed as he stabbed his short blade into the ground, trying to anchor himself.

But the blade was yanked straight out by the overwhelming suction.

Then both blade and man flew toward the Black Hole.

"Third Brother!"

Yu Tieshan reached out to grab him, but he could barely remain standing himself.

Liu Qing's screams stretched thinner and thinner through the air.

His body was drawn into the Black Hole—first his feet, then his calves, his knees...

"Ahhh—!!! Help! Big Brother, save me!!"

No one could save him.

In an instant, the black vortex swallowed Liu Qing whole.

His screams stopped abruptly.

The Bald Man's heart pounded wildly in the alley!

"Liu... Liu Qing?" Yu Tieshan was completely stunned.

Where had he gone?

A living, breathing man had simply vanished like that?

"My Third Brother!!"

Yu Tieshan then ran madly away from the Black Hole, but the moment he moved, the immense suction yanked his entire body into the air.

"No! No, no, no—!"

"I don't want to die! I don't want to die yet!"

Yu Tieshan struggled desperately, unleashing all his Soul Power as the Scarlet Rock Giant Ape's Ape Armor covered his entire body.

But before that suction, a Level 39 Soul Elder's full resistance was no different from paper.

Three seconds.

Only three seconds!

Yu Tieshan's body was completely devoured by the Black Hole.

Just like Liu Qing, his screams stopped abruptly.

"Second Brother!"

Only the Bald Man remained in the alley now.

A Soul King.

His feet had sunk into the cracks between shattered stone slabs, and Soul Power surged madly through his entire body as he resisted the suction.

Despite resisting with all his strength,

his body was still being dragged backward.

"Kid, you... what the hell are you?"

The Bald Man's voice had become completely distorted.

Lin Ye did not answer him.

He merely glanced at Zhu Zhuqing, who lay on the ground.

She was still clutching her lower abdomen, blood from the corner of her mouth having spread to her chin.

Those eyes were looking at him.

Lin Ye then withdrew his gaze and looked toward the Bald Man.

"Because you rely on your strength, you dare commit evil and bully others!"

"Today, I, Lin Ye, will uphold justice and execute scum like you!"

As his words fell, the suction intensified once more!

The Bald Man's feet finally gave out.

His body was forcibly ripped into the air by the suction.

"No! Don't! Big Brother, Dad, Grandpa, I'm begging you, spare my life!"

"Hmph. Spare your damn life!"

The Black Hole then swallowed Shi Kun's entire body.

His final scream stopped in an instant.

The alley fell silent.

Lin Ye withdrew the Black Hole, and the Dark Demon Evil God Transformation faded with it.

The black stripes receded from his face and arms, and his muscles returned to normal.

After devouring the three men, a surge of pure energy exploded within Lin Ye's body and rapidly circulated through his meridians.

At the same time, his Soul Power rose to Level 38 in that instant!

But Lin Ye had no mind to feel any of it.

He crossed the distance to Zhu Zhuqing in three strides and quickly crouched beside her.

"Big Cat, let me take a look."

Zhu Zhuqing's hand was still pressed over her lower abdomen, blood seeping through the gaps between her fingers.

Her face was pale and bloodless, her forehead covered in cold sweat.

"I'm fine... I'm fine..."

She braced herself and tried to sit up, but the moment she moved, she winced.

"Don't move."

Lin Ye gently moved her hand aside and placed his palm over her lower abdomen.

The pure energy he had gained from devouring the three men still remained within him. He guided a portion of it into his palm, turning it into a gentle warm current that flowed into Zhu Zhuqing's body.

Zhu Zhuqing's brows were tightly furrowed, and cold sweat had plastered loose strands of hair at her temples to her face.

But once that warm current flowed into her, the churning pain truly eased considerably.

"Can you still walk?"

"...Yes."

Zhu Zhuqing braced herself against the wall and tried to stand, but she fell back down as soon as she lifted herself.

Lin Ye said nothing. He simply wrapped one arm around her waist, slipped the other beneath her legs, and lifted her into his arms.

"Lin Ye, what are you doing..."

"Don't move. It's not like this is the first time."

Zhu Zhuqing opened her mouth, wanting to say that she could walk by herself.

But the words reached her lips and were swallowed back down.

In the end, she stopped struggling.

She rested her head against Lin Ye's chest and could clearly hear his heartbeat.

It was fast.

Much faster than usual.

Lin Ye then carried Zhu Zhuqing swiftly through the streets beneath the night sky, heading toward Tianshui Hotel.

Moonlight fell over the two of them, stretching their shadows long behind them.

Ten minutes later, in a second-floor room at Tianshui Hotel.

Lin Ye placed Zhu Zhuqing on the bed and sent another wave of energy into her, only stepping back after confirming that her internal injuries had stabilized.

"Zhu Zhuqing."

Zhu Zhuqing looked up. Seeing Lin Ye call her by her full name, she froze for a moment.

"Don't ever do that again."

Lin Ye's voice was somewhat low.

"Do you have a death wish? You're only a Level 28 Great Soul Master, yet you dared take a Soul Ancestor's full-force attack head-on?"

Zhu Zhuqing lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously clutching the bedsheets.

After a long while, she spoke softly.

"Lin Ye, you are my only friend."

Lin Ye suddenly froze.

"From childhood until now, no one has ever helped me. Even my own older sister wants to kill me."

Zhu Zhuqing's voice trembled faintly.

"Only you have helped me, again and again."

"Back in the Star Dou Great Forest, you saved me."

"At the restaurant, you stood up for me."

"When the caravan was attacked, you protected me from the front."

She raised her head. A thin mist of tears now veiled those eyes that were usually so cold.

"I... I just didn't want you to get hurt."

Lin Ye looked at her in silence for two seconds.

Then he reached out and flicked Zhu Zhuqing's forehead.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"Hey, Big Cat, if you care about me, just say so."

Lin Ye raised an eyebrow.

"'I just didn't want my friend to get hurt'? As if anyone would believe that."

Zhu Zhuqing's face instantly flushed crimson.

"You big jerk! Who cares about you?!"

"You do."

"Hmph, I do not!"

"Then why did you block that attack for me?"

"I... I did that because... because..."

Before she could finish, she instantly pulled the blanket over her face, leaving only her bright-red ears exposed.

This big jerk!

I was being all heartfelt!

And he actually interrupted me just like that!

Damn it, damn it, damn it!

Lin Ye looked at those crimson ear tips and smiled, but did not tease her further.

He then took a stalk of Immortal Herbs emitting a faint glow from the Wishful Hundred Treasure Pouch at his waist.

The herb was translucent as jade, wisps of mist curling around its roots as it released a refreshing medicinal fragrance.

Smelling the fragrance, Zhu Zhuqing curiously poked her head out.

"What is that?"