Soul Combat Technique

Lin Yu lowered his head, the hood of his black robe concealing most of his face and revealing only his taut jawline.

Sweat slid down his cheeks, drop by drop striking the gravel beneath his feet.

Lin Yu's soul power was at the level of a Sixth-Grade Alchemist. The Soul-Locking Chain's soul attack was indeed sinister, but it was far from enough to tear his soul apart completely!

Seeing that Lin Yu had stopped struggling, the Dou Wang assumed he had been utterly suppressed by the Soul-Locking Chain. A malicious smile curled across his lips.

He beat the Dou Qi wings on his back and dove down from midair, his right palm wrapped in violent Dou Qi as it smashed ruthlessly toward the crown of Lin Yu's head.

"Die for me!"

The Dou Wang's ferocious laughter echoed above the Feng Family estate.

The Feng Family head was tightly entangled by Mu Family experts. He could only watch helplessly as that palm drew closer and closer to Lin Yu, unable to offer aid. His eyes were nearly splitting with anxiety.

Yao Chen, hidden in the shadows some distance away, saw the scene as well. His heart nearly leaped from his throat.

Just as that palm came within less than three chi of Lin Yu's head—

Lin Yu abruptly raised his head.

Beneath the black hood, his eyes blazed with startling brilliance, like two fires suddenly igniting in the darkness.

At his brow, an invisible force of soul power had condensed to its limit, like a fully drawn bowstring poised to strike.

Yellow-tier High-Grade Soul Combat Technique—Soul Thorn!

Lin Yu roared inwardly as the soul power he had accumulated for so long transformed into an invisible spike and shot explosively from between his brows.

The Dou Wang's savage grin froze.

His palm halted in midair, only two chi from Lin Yu's head.

It was not that he did not want to strike.

He simply could not strike.

The Soul Thorn pierced straight through his brow.

In that instant, what the Dou Wang felt was not pain, but a complete, irreversible emptiness.

It was as though an invisible hand had reached into his mind, found the core of his soul, and crushed it without mercy.

His consciousness was completely erased from his body in that instant.

His soul shattered.

All light abruptly vanished from the Dou Wang's eyes. His pupils dilated sharply, turning hollow and ash-gray.

The Dou Qi wings behind him slowly dispersed, and his body dropped straight from the air, slamming heavily onto the bluestone ground of the Feng Family estate with a dull thud.

He was dead.

One strike. Instant death.

The entire Feng Family estate fell into deathly silence.

Everyone seemed to have been struck by a freezing spell, locked in place in their fighting stances.

The Feng Family head stood with his mouth open, his longsword raised in midair, having forgotten to bring it down.

The two Mu Family experts who had been restraining him widened their eyes, staring in disbelief at the corpse on the ground as it slowly lost its warmth.

The others in the distance were completely stunned. They had not even seen what had happened. They only knew that the black-robed man had looked at the Dou Wang once, and then the Dou Wang had died.

Ignoring the gazes around him that were filled with awe, terror, and disbelief, Lin Yu walked directly to the Dou Wang's corpse. He bent down and slid the Storage Ring, stained with a little blood, from the dead man's stiff finger.

He turned the Storage Ring over in his palm and sent his spiritual sense inside. His brows lifted slightly.

This Dou Wang was not exactly poor. Within the Storage Ring were several decent medicinal herbs, along with jade slips for the Soul-Locking Chain and the Wood-Seeding Art, plus several miscellaneous materials.

What interested Lin Yu most, however, was the Soul Bag.

Lin Yu put away the Storage Ring, raised his gaze, and leisurely glanced toward the other side of the courtyard.

The Mu Family members were quietly edging toward the courtyard wall.

The leading Dou Ling were pale-faced. They exchanged looks and stepped as softly as they could, afraid of alerting the black-robed god of death.

They had just witnessed the entire process of a Dou Wang being killed in an instant.

Even a Dou Wang had met such a fate. Wouldn't Dou Ling like them be throwing their lives away by staying here?

Run!

The moment that thought formed in their minds, Lin Yu vanished from where he stood.

A fiery afterimage swept through the courtyard. With the Cloudfire Step activated, Lin Yu instantly appeared behind a Mu Family Dou Ling who was retreating.

That Dou Ling was no ordinary fighter. He had exchanged several rounds with the Feng Family members earlier. Though he had expended considerable energy, the combat instincts honed through years of slaughter still remained.

The instant the wind stirred behind him, he knew something was wrong. He spun around sharply, crossing his arms over his chest as his Dou Qi barrier expanded at full force. At the critical moment, he actually managed to mount an effective defense.

However—

Scarlet Flame Sky-Shattering Palm!

Lin Yu struck with his palm, and a crimson flaming palm print slammed solidly into the Dou Qi barrier.

The Dou Ling only felt an irresistible force surge through his arms. His protective Dou Qi was torn apart like thin paper beneath that strike.

The flaming palm print did not slow, crashing heavily into his chest.

Before he could even cry out, he flew backward like a kite with a severed string, smashed into the courtyard wall, then slid limply to the ground without another sound.

Lin Yu did not even spare him another glance. He turned on his heel, and soul power gathered between his brows once more.

Against Dou Ling who had already exhausted themselves, he did not even need to use his full strength.

The second Dou Ling was climbing over the wall to flee when his entire body suddenly shuddered violently. His pupils instantly lost focus, and he froze for a moment in his climbing posture before plunging stiffly from the top of the wall.

There was not a single external wound on his body, but his soul had already been shredded by the Soul Thorn.

After killing two men in succession, Lin Yu's face turned slightly pale.

The Soul Thorn was powerful, but it consumed an enormous amount of soul power. After using it repeatedly, even he was beginning to struggle.

He took out a medicinal pill from his Storage Ring and swallowed it. The medicine transformed into a cool stream that flowed into his brow, easing some of his exhaustion.

Only then did the rest of the Feng Family react. Feng Xiangtie swept out a hand, and the Feng Family elders and guards seized their weapons and gave chase.

More than half of the Mu Family's main force had already been lost in this attack. Those who remained were merely ordinary guards and low-level cultivators, and they crumbled before the high-spirited Feng Family forces.

Shouts of killing and clashing weapons rang out from beyond the courtyard, mixed with the screams and pleas for mercy of the defeated Mu Family soldiers, gradually fading into the distance.

The crisis that had nearly destroyed the Feng Family had finally come to an end.

Feng Xiangtie straightened his robes and hurried to Lin Yu. He clasped his hands in salute and solemnly bowed.

He was broad and powerfully built, with deep lines carved into his square face by wind and weather. Yet his expression was now full of gratitude and reverence. In a loud, sincere voice, he said, "I am Feng Xiangtie, head of the Feng Family. Thank you, Senior, for coming to our aid! Your grace toward the Feng Family is akin to giving us new life. Should you ever have need of us, the Feng Family will obey without hesitation!"

Lin Yu nodded in response but said nothing more.

His gaze passed over Feng Xiangtie's shoulder and settled on two youths hurrying over from the end of the street.