My Name Is Lin Ye, the Ye of Night

Zhu Zhuqing cut in from the flank like a bolt of black lightning!

Her sharp claws precisely slashed across the waist and ribs of the Great Soul Master on the left who wielded an iron staff.

Blood splattered instantly.

"Ah! You bitch!"

The Great Soul Master screamed. His body instinctively twisted to block, but he exposed an opening in front of him.

And Lin Ye's fifth slash happened to strike at that exact moment.

"Not good! Big Brother, save me!"

Before he could react—

Boom!

The Great Soul Master was sent flying by the slash. He crashed through two trees before coming to a stop, vomiting blood as he lay sprawled on the ground, unable to rise again.

"Second Brother!"

The three-ring Soul Elder was horrified at the sight, but he was not doing much better himself.

The stacking damage of the Evil God Thirteen Slashes was simply absurd.

He could barely withstand the first few strikes, but starting from the sixth, every slash that landed on his Dark Wolf Bracer made his bones crack and splinter.

That kind of power was nothing a level-twenty-five Great Soul Master should have been capable of producing.

"Impossible... This is absolutely impossible!"

The three-ring Soul Elder's eyes were filled with shock.

He was a level-thirty-one Soul Elder! An entire major realm above the boy before him!

Yet in a head-on clash, he had been suppressed the entire time?

Meanwhile, the Great Soul Master using Ghost Vine took advantage of the gap while Lin Ye attacked the Soul Elder. He controlled dozens of pitch-black vines that burst from underground and crazily wrapped around Lin Ye's legs.

"Bind him!"

However, just as the vines touched Lin Ye's calves—

Suddenly—

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

The black lightning coursing around Lin Ye's body instantly spread over the vines. The Ghost Vines seemed to have been thrown into a vat of boiling oil; after convulsing violently, they rapidly withered and blackened, turning into ash.

"Damn it, my Ghost Vine!"

The Great Soul Master cried out in alarm.

But in the next second, a black shadow flashed swiftly behind him.

It was Zhu Zhuqing!

Zhu Zhuqing appeared behind him, her cold feline eyes filled with bone-deep frost.

"Second Soul Skill, Netherworld Hundred Claws!"

Swish, swish, swish!

Nearly a hundred claw shadows rained down upon the Great Soul Master's back in less than ten seconds, every one of them piercing precisely into the same spot.

A bloody mist instantly burst from his back.

Before he even had time to scream, the Great Soul Master's body toppled stiffly to the ground, completely motionless.

Less than two minutes had passed.

Yet only the three-ring Soul Elder remained standing.

His arms had already been deformed. His Dark Wolf Bracer had long since shattered, exposing the mangled flesh beneath.

Even the light of his three soul rings flickered unsteadily, his soul power nearly exhausted.

"You... What kind of monster are you?"

The three-ring Soul Elder retreated again and again, his voice trembling.

Lin Ye did not answer. He simply advanced step by step.

A yellow and a purple soul ring slowly revolved beneath his feet. The phantom of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger roared low behind him, black lightning leaping across its body as wild winds swept up the fallen leaves around them.

Under that chilling pressure, the three-ring Soul Elder's legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed.

"Don't... Don't come any closer!"

The three-ring Soul Elder finally broke down. Where was his earlier arrogance now?

Nothing remained in his eyes but terror.

"Oh? Who was it just now that said he'd chop someone up and feed them to soul beasts?"

Lin Ye stopped walking and tilted his neck.

The three-ring Soul Elder shuddered involuntarily upon hearing that.

"And who was it that said he'd have some fun for a few days before sending her on her way?"

"B-Big Brother, I... I was ordered to do it! Zhu Zhuyun sent us! It has nothing to do with me!"

"It has nothing to do with you?"

Lin Ye sneered.

"Bullshit!"

Then, he slowly raised his right fist.

Black evil energy, purple lightning, and howling wind—three forces gathered around his fist at once.

The air pressure suddenly sank.

The three-ring Soul Elder's pupils abruptly widened. His lips trembled as he spoke his final words:

"You... Who exactly are you?"

But before he could finish asking, Lin Ye's fist had already slammed forward, its force tearing through the air.

"My name is Lin Ye!"

"The Ye of night!"

Boom!!

After a dull, thunderous crash—

The three-ring Soul Elder's body flew backward. The armor over his chest shattered completely, and he smashed into an ancient tree, breaking the trunk in half.

The three-ring Soul Elder's eyes remained wide open, a streak of blood hanging from the corner of his mouth.

But his pupils had completely lost focus, and he no longer drew breath.

Lin Ye then withdrew his fist with satisfaction. Black lightning crackled twice between his fingers before fading away.

Silence returned to the surroundings.

Only the campfire continued to crackle.

Zhu Zhuqing stood where she was, frozen in a daze.

She looked at the three corpses on the ground, then at the boy walking toward her. Her mind was completely blank.

These three men had pursued her for three whole days.

Assassins she had been unable to escape even after giving everything she had.

Yet in Lin Ye's hands, from the start of the fight to its end, it had taken less than five minutes.

That three-ring Soul Elder had not even been given a chance to flee.

Zhu Zhuqing's lips moved, and her eyes gradually reddened.

Not from fear.

But from the relief of surviving a calamity.

She took a deep breath and suppressed the surging emotions within her. Though her voice remained cold, her tone had softened by far more than before.

"...Thank you, Lin Ye."

"Without you, I would probably already be dead."

After saying that, she turned her head slightly and added in an extremely soft voice:

"Even though you're a pervert, you're... not a bad person."

Lin Ye's mouth immediately twitched.

"Big kitty, I was talking about your martial soul, martial soul! Why are you still holding onto that?"

"Hmph."

Zhu Zhuqing did not reply, but the tips of her ears reddened again.

Lin Ye could not be bothered to argue with her over that topic. He crouched down and searched through the belongings of the three assassins.

Money pouches, daggers, several bottles of recovery potion, and a secret letter.

The letter detailed Zhu Zhuqing's physical traits, escape route, and even clearly marked the destination she might be heading toward.

"Damn, this assassination was really thorough."

Lin Ye then tossed the secret letter to Zhu Zhuqing.

Zhu Zhuqing glanced over it. Her fingertips turned slightly pale before she crumpled the letter into a ball and tossed it into the campfire.

The flames swallowed the paper, casting flickering light in her eyes.

After a moment of silence, Zhu Zhuqing asked:

"Lin Ye, where are you planning to go next?"

Lin Ye thought for a moment.

"I'm an orphan with nothing tying me down. Since I've awakened my martial soul, of course I'm going to travel across the Douluo Continent."

That was what he said, but he was thinking about something else entirely.

The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

That had been one of Tang San's greatest opportunities in the original story.

He remembered its location perfectly. It was deep within the core region of Sunset Forest.

Other than Dugu Bo, no one should have discovered that place yet.

Why should something that good belong solely to someone named Tang?

First come, first served. It was only natural.

Sorry, little bastard Tang. I'll be taking this opportunity first.

"Travel across the continent?" Zhu Zhuqing frowned.

"Just by yourself?"

"What? You want to come with me?"

Lin Ye shot her a sidelong glance, his tone carrying a hint of teasing.