Unexpected Battle

After transferring from the flying car to the Soul Tool train, the train sped along the tracks with a low hum.

Yun Zhiyu sat by the window. Her silver hair had been dyed ink-black and tied into a ponytail with a cloth band, while special contact lenses concealed her violet eyes beneath a deep brown. She looked like an ordinary girl from Heaven Dou City, save for the Star Ring on her finger and the Silver Dragon Hairpin at her wrist, both faintly visible beneath her clothes.

She rested with her eyes closed, yet her spiritual power spread out like fine threads, covering the entire carriage. Her Spirit Sea Realm senses allowed her to "see" every passenger's breathing, heartbeat, and Soul Power fluctuations. Most were ordinary people, with the occasional low-level soul master among them, none worth worrying about.

Until that cold, sinister presence seeped in.

It was as though someone had opened a crack in the gates of hell. Rotting stench and blood mixed with warped Soul Power, slowly spreading from the connection between the carriages. Yun Zhiyu's lashes trembled, but she did not open her eyes. Her spiritual power abruptly contracted, locking onto seven dark figures in the third carriage.

Evil soul masters.

She recalled the records from the original work. Tang Wulin had encountered these fallen beings on Soul Tool trains many times. They cultivated by devouring the blood and essence of living creatures and took pleasure in tormenting souls. They were the most unforgivable existence on the Douluo Continent. And now, they were on the same train as her, less than a hundred meters away.

"Dear passengers," a gentle female voice announced over the broadcast, "the train is about to pass through the Heaven Soul Mountains tunnel. The trip will take approximately fifteen minutes. Please close your windows and remain seated." The voice was calm and clear, carrying a reassuring strength.

Yun Zhiyu extended her spiritual power toward the broadcast room. A woman around twenty-seven or twenty-eight sat before the control console, dressed in a crisp dark-blue uniform with a silver-white conductor's insignia embroidered on her epaulets—Mo Lan. She had no Soul Power and was an ordinary person, but her back was perfectly straight, and her fingers moved over the controls with practiced decisiveness.

Yun Zhiyu silently repeated that name. In the later stages of the original work, Mo Lan had become a Dove Faction councilor, the daughter of an executive officer in Heaven Dou City, and the wife of a Federation councilor. Yet she had willingly given up a privileged life to become a train conductor who faced danger head-on. She had encountered evil soul masters many times, and during the most serious incident, she had nearly lost her life. It was only because Master Zhen Hua had called upon Mother Ya Li that she survived. Even so, she had remained on this train, speaking for civilians and taking blades for strangers.

"Interesting." Yun Zhiyu's lips curved, though her smile was cold.

She rose and headed for the third carriage.

When the door to the third carriage opened, the rotting stench hit her full in the face.

Seven dark figures were scattered throughout the carriage. They looked like ordinary passengers, but each bore something strange. Black energy wriggled like maggots in one old man's eye sockets; scarlet liquid dripped from a young woman's fingertips; a child's laughter was so shrill that it no longer sounded human.

They all turned their heads to look at Yun Zhiyu by the door, their eyes carrying the playful scrutiny of predators examining prey.

"Little girl," the old man said, his voice like sandpaper scraping rotten wood, "did you wander into the wrong carriage?"

Yun Zhiyu did not answer. Her gaze swept across the carriage, landing on several ordinary passengers curled up in a corner, their faces deathly pale. They had clearly already been invaded by the evil soul masters' aura. Farther away, a mother held her infant tightly and covered the child's mouth, refusing to let him make a sound.

"Seven," she said softly, as if speaking to herself. "Two Soul Elders, three Soul Ancestors, and two Soul Kings. Not a bad lineup."

The old man's pupils contracted sharply. He had not expected this seemingly ordinary girl to see through their cultivation at a glance. What unsettled him even more was the aura around her. She clearly possessed only the fluctuations of a Three-Ring Soul Elder, yet she carried an authority that made his soul tremble, as though some ancient beast had turned over in its sleep.

"Who are you?" the young woman demanded sharply, the scarlet liquid on her fingertips transforming into claws.

"Shrek Academy." Yun Zhiyu spoke only two words before releasing her martial soul.

The phantom of the Xuanyuan Sword emerged behind her, but it was not its usual violet-gold color. To avoid drawing attention, she had completely concealed the aura of her Torch Dragon Bloodline, revealing only pure sword intent. Even so, the edge of the Human Emperor's Sword caused the temperature inside the carriage to plummet. All seven evil soul masters retreated half a step, as though scorched by an untouchable authority.

"Shrek..." The old man's voice trembled, yet it was filled with twisted excitement. "Shrek blood is sweeter than ordinary blood."

He attacked first.

Black Soul Power transformed into countless maggots and surged toward Yun Zhiyu like a tidal wave. At the same time, the young woman's claws, the child's shriek, and the other four men's soul skills erupted together. The air in the carriage instantly turned as thick as blood, as if they had fallen into the depths of a nightmare.

Yun Zhiyu did not retreat.

First Soul Skill: Yinglong: Lightning-Calling Sword Chime.

Violet-gold lightning surged from her palm, but instead of spreading outward, it condensed into a slender sword qi and precisely sliced into the center of the maggot swarm. Wherever the sword qi passed, the black Soul Power melted away like ice and snow, hissing as if some evil force were wailing under purification.

"Evil-breaking!" the old man cried. "Her sword qi can break evil!"

Yun Zhiyu gave him no time to think. Her second soul skill, Yinglong: Heavenly Thunder Flash Slash, activated. Her figure turned into a streak of violet-gold light within the carriage and swept past the old man's side. Sword qi left a charred wound across his shoulder, but did not take his life. She needed to keep one alive and learn their purpose.

But the evil soul masters gave her no chance to breathe.

The two Soul Kings simultaneously released their Martial Soul Avatars. One was a twisted skeleton, and the other a rotting giant python. Black Soul Power pressed down on Yun Zhiyu like a flood. Her breathing stalled. The gap between a Three-Ring Soul Elder and a Soul King was as vast as a heavenly chasm, but she did not retreat. Her third soul skill, Black Tortoise: Azure Abyss Sword Shield, formed a heavy sword-shaped barrier around her. Deep-blue radiance collided with black Soul Power, producing an earthshaking roar.

Boom—

The shield shook violently, throwing Yun Zhiyu back several steps. Blood seeped from the corner of her mouth. But she also felt the shield absorb part of the impact and convert it into the circulation of her own Soul Power. The restorative effect of the Azure Sword Shield had saved her life at the critical moment.

"Can't hold on anymore, little girl?" the giant python Soul King sneered as the stench of rot washed over her.

Yun Zhiyu wiped away the blood at her lips. Her dark-brown contacts shattered under the turbulent Soul Power, exposing the vertical slits within her violet eyes. Those slits opened fully. Deep within her pupils, the shadow of the Black Tortoise Serpent intertwined with the shadow of the Torch Dragon, forming a totem that made even Soul Kings shudder in fear.

"I can hold on," she said softly, her voice carrying an inhuman majesty. "But you won't."

She crushed the Quasi-God Jade Slip her father had given her.

No, not all of it—only half. Of the thirty percent of Soul Power Yun Ming had sealed inside, she released merely five percent, roughly equivalent to a casual strike from a Super Douluo. Yet even so, that jet-black sword qi descended like heavenly punishment, tearing the giant python Soul King's Martial Soul Avatar apart down the middle. Its rotting body dissolved in the sword qi with a shrill scream.

"A... a Quasi-God Strike!" Despair filled the skeleton Soul King's voice. "You're the daughter of the Sky-Piercing Douluo!"

"Correct guess." Yun Zhiyu's voice was icy. "Your reward is—death."

She turned the remaining five percent of Quasi-God Power into a barrier, protecting the ordinary passengers in the corner. Then she faced the remaining six evil soul masters alone. Her Soul Power was draining rapidly, and the light of the Azure Sword Shield gradually dimmed, but her gaze only grew sharper. She seemed to be burning, boiling, like a sword on the verge of breaking that would never bend.

"Together!" the old man roared. "She can't last much longer!"

Black Soul Power surged forward again like a tide. Yun Zhiyu's sword qi crisscrossed the carriage. Every strike took away a trace of evil, and every strike consumed another fraction of her Soul Power. Her arms trembled, her meridians spasmed, and her nails turned white from the strain, yet she still gripped that Soul Power-forged sword tightly.

"Black Tortoise: Azure Abyss Sword Shield!" She raised the barrier once more, blocking the young woman's claws. At the same time, her sword qi swept back and purified the old man's swarm of maggots completely.

But her Soul Power finally ran dry.

She dropped to one knee as her sword qi dispersed, leaving her with only enough strength to gasp for breath. Though all six evil soul masters had been injured to varying degrees, they still had power left. Black Soul Power gathered over her head, forming the shadow of death.

"It's over," the old man sneered. "Shrek blood belongs to us now."

Yun Zhiyu raised her head. There was no fear in her violet eyes, only an almost tranquil expression, as though she were waiting for something.

She was waiting for someone.

Bang!

The carriage door was kicked open, and a dark-blue figure rushed in. She held a Soul Tool ray gun in her hand. She had no Soul Power, yet stood as straight as a pine.

"Train security! Don't move!" Mo Lan's voice rang out, steady as a bell, her gun aimed at the old man's forehead.

The old man froze for a moment, then burst into laughter. "An ordinary person? Courting death!"

He waved his hand, sending a bolt of black Soul Power at Mo Lan. Yun Zhiyu's pupils contracted. Using the last thread of her strength, she thrust the remaining glow of the Azure Sword Shield in front of Mo Lan—

Boom!

The shield shattered, and the shockwave sent Mo Lan stumbling back several steps. Blood leaked from her mouth, but she still gripped the ray gun tightly. She looked at Yun Zhiyu without fear, only with a stubborn resolve that warmed Yun Zhiyu's heart.

"Hold on," Mo Lan said between breaths. "I called for support. The Federation enforcement team is on its way!"

"Too late." Yun Zhiyu smiled bitterly. "They'll need another five minutes."

"Then hold on for five minutes!"

Mo Lan pulled the trigger, pouring Soul Tool rays toward the evil soul masters. The rays could not deal substantial damage to evil soul masters above the Soul Ancestor level, but they successfully disrupted their rhythm and bought Yun Zhiyu precious time to recover her breath.

Looking at the figure standing before her, Yun Zhiyu suddenly recalled the records from the original work. Mo Lan was an ordinary person without Soul Power, yet she had stepped forward repeatedly during evil soul master attacks, using her flesh and blood to build a line of defense for civilians. Her husband had urged her to stop, her father had reprimanded her, but she had only said, "If I don't step up, who will?"

"Conductor," Yun Zhiyu said hoarsely, "step back. I'll do it."

"You can barely stand!"

"I can!" Yun Zhiyu gritted her teeth and took a pill from the system space—the Soul-Recovery Pill refined by Ya Li. It could restore thirty percent of her Soul Power in a short time. As the pill entered her stomach, a gentle warmth flowed through her depleted meridians, and she gripped her sword again.

"Yinglong: Lightning-Calling Sword Chime!"

"Heavenly Thunder Instant Slash!"

"Black Tortoise: Azure Abyss Sword Shield!"

The three soul skills were unleashed in succession. Violet-gold lightning and deep-blue shields intertwined into a dazzling curtain of light throughout the carriage. Yun Zhiyu moved through it like a fish swimming into the abyss, like a sword piercing darkness. Her sword qi no longer sought precision; it became an overwhelming tide of sharpness that engulfed every remaining evil soul master.

"Madwoman!" The skeleton Soul King staggered back in terror. "She's burning her Soul Power!"

"Yes." Blood flecked Yun Zhiyu's voice, yet her eyes curved in a smile. "So you'll have to go mad with me."

The final sword strike.

She poured all her remaining Soul Power, spiritual power, and even the source power of her Torch Dragon Bloodline into that sword. The phantom of the Xuanyuan Sword behind her fully solidified. The edge of the Human Emperor's Sword pierced through the carriage, tearing apart, purifying, and annihilating the martial souls of all six evil soul masters at once.

Boom—

The carriage walls were pierced through by sword qi, and sunlight poured inside. Yun Zhiyu collapsed to her knees amid the ruins. Silver hair spilled free from beneath her shattered contacts, while the vertical slits in her violet eyes slowly closed, like a giant beast that had exhausted all its strength.

Mo Lan rushed over and gathered her into her arms. It was an embrace without Soul Power, yet it was warm enough to make one want to cry.

"Hold on." Mo Lan's voice trembled, but it carried a reassuring strength. "The enforcement team will be here soon. Just hold on."

Yun Zhiyu buried her face in Mo Lan's shoulder, breathing in the scent unique to a conductor's uniform, mixed with machine oil and sunlight. Suddenly, she felt this battle had been worth it.

The enforcement team arrived five minutes later and captured all the remaining evil soul master remnants.

Yun Zhiyu was arranged to rest in the train's medical room. The Soul-Recovery Pill's effects slowly circulated through her meridians, restoring roughly twenty percent of her Soul Power. Leaning against the bed, she watched the flowing clouds outside the window when she suddenly heard the door open softly.

Mo Lan entered, having changed into a clean uniform. The scrape at the corner of her mouth from the battle remained, but she smiled gently. "Little hero, how are you feeling?"

"Not a hero." Yun Zhiyu shook her head. "I'm a Shrek student."

"Shrek students are all heroes." Mo Lan sat beside her bed, her gaze falling on the silver hair Yun Zhiyu had accidentally exposed during the fight. "Silver hair... Are you Pavilion Master Yun Ming's daughter?"

Yun Zhiyu did not deny it. Instead, she took out a necklace from her clothes—a top-tier defensive Soul Tool forged from Heavenfrost Flowing Silver and Life Azurewood Gold. Its pendant was a small shield-shaped gemstone containing a complex defensive formation.

"Big Sister Mo Lan." She held the necklace out, her voice weary but sincere. "This is for you."

Mo Lan froze and did not take it. "This is too precious..."

"When you stood in front of me," Yun Zhiyu interrupted, sunlight from the window reflected in her violet eyes, "you had no Soul Power, no martial soul, yet you stood straighter than those Soul Kings. This necklace cannot match your courage, but..."

She paused, then pressed the necklace into Mo Lan's palm. "It can block one fatal calamity for you. It isn't for you to rely on it. It's so you... have the confidence to keep standing at the front."

Mo Lan clasped the necklace, feeling the gentle Soul Power contained within it, and suddenly felt her eyes grow hot. She remembered her father's words: "Mo Lan, you're an ordinary person. Don't push yourself." She remembered her husband's plea: "Quit this job. Let's live a good life together." She remembered the nightmares after every encounter with evil soul masters, and the resolve she found again each morning.

And now, a ten-year-old girl was telling her with a necklace: someone had seen her courage.

"...Thank you," she said softly, fastening the necklace around her neck. The shield-shaped gemstone rested against her collarbone, radiating faint warmth. "I'll keep standing. I'll stand until those with Soul Power are willing to stand beside me."

Yun Zhiyu's lips curved into her first smile after the battle, pale yet bright. "That day will come. I promise."

The train continued speeding along the tracks. Outside the window, forests gave way to plains, and plains gave way to coastline. Yun Zhiyu leaned against the bed, listening to the wheels strike the rails like an ancient rhythm playing a prelude to her arrival in Eastsea City.

The Tang Sect Bracelet on her wrist glowed faintly, while Zhen Hua's Star Ring flowed with deep radiance on her finger. She remembered everyone's faces when they parted, Na'er's Silver Dragon Hairpin, and her father's Quasi-God Strike. She had used half of it, and she could not bear to use the remaining half again.

Eastsea City, she silently recited. Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, Xie Xie, Xu Xiaoyan...

Mo Lan's figure passed the doorway. Her dark-blue uniform gleamed with steady light beneath the corridor lamps. Yun Zhiyu watched her back and suddenly felt that this world was better than she had imagined. There were ordinary people willing to take blades for strangers, brave souls who refused to retreat despite knowing the danger, and countless lights she wanted to protect and stand beside.

"Wait for me," she whispered, her voice dissolving into the roar of the wheels. "Wait for me to change everything."