Mo Qianye: Nine Netherworld Phoenix Martial Soul (Su Chen's First Companion)

Night gradually deepened.

Su Chen vaulted over the courtyard wall, his figure vanishing into the Rear Mountain.

That two-meter-high wall should have been an obstacle for a six-year-old child.

But he did not want Iron Wall to help.

The last time Iron Wall had merely touched the courtyard gate, the gateframe and half the wall had collapsed together.

There was an abandoned training ground on the Rear Mountain, where the weeds had already grown to knee height.

It was a full four hundred paces from the nearest dormitory building, quiet enough.

Su Chen raised his hand.

Ten dark golden spatial rifts opened before him.

The ground rumbled repeatedly as ten ten-thousand-year Dark Golden Terrorclaw Bears stepped out one after another, their heavy paws crushing the stones beneath them.

Su Chen gave no order.

Only one word flashed through his mind.

Defend.

The bear pack immediately moved.

Iron Wall stood at the center, with four Terrorclaw Bears spread out on each side and the last one holding down the rear.

The ten gigantic beasts pressed shoulder to shoulder, forming an arched shield formation.

A translucent membrane of light swiftly formed between their dark golden scales.

Legion Coordination—Dark Golden Iron Wall.

Su Chen's intent shifted again.

Attack.

The formation changed instantly.

Iron Wall charged at the forefront while the nine gigantic beasts behind it split into two rows, forming a triangular arrowhead formation.

Change formation.

Surround.

The ten Terrorclaw Bears burst apart, encircling the withered locust tree in the center of the field.

They left no gaps between them.

Su Chen withdrew his intent.

All the Terrorclaw Bears stopped at once.

From defense to offense, then to encirclement, the three formation changes had taken fewer than five breaths.

Su Chen had not shouted any commands, nor had he specified any directions.

"Driven by strategic intent."

He spoke softly.

"No detailed command is needed. Just determine the objective and direction."

He recalled his adoptive father's dilapidated wooden hut.

Inside the hut was an old book damaged by worms, with only two words on its title page.

The Art of War.

Before he turned six, he had read that book twenty-seven times.

Back then, he had not understood why a herbal farmer deep in the mountains would keep a book on military strategy.

Now, that question no longer mattered.

At noon the next day, Jiang Yuandong appeared again.

This time, he brought two gray-robed soul masters.

The two were only Great Soul Masters, yet Spirit Hall-standard soul-guided daggers hung at their waists. That was not the equipment of ordinary guards; it looked more like a setup for escorting prisoners.

"Young friend Su Chen." Jiang Yuandong wore a broad smile. "A new special training ground has been built west of the academy. It is more suitable for cultivation than the Rear Mountain. This old man has already applied for it on your behalf. Shall we go now?"

Su Chen followed him for more than a dozen steps before suddenly stopping.

"Elder Jiang."

Jiang Yuandong turned around.

"The training ground is to the east." Su Chen looked at the road ahead. "Yet you are leading me west."

Jiang Yuandong paused.

Su Chen continued, "Beyond the academy wall to the west, Nording City's west gate is three hundred paces away. Beyond the west gate lies open wilderness with a clear field of view."

He lifted his head.

"It is very suitable for an ambush."

Jiang Yuandong turned around. The smile remained on his face, but the corners of his mouth had already stiffened.

Su Chen looked at him and continued, "At the third watch last night, you used a soul-guided communicator to contact Spirit Hall headquarters. The call lasted about the time it takes to burn two sticks of incense. The communicator was hidden in the third drawer of the desk in your study, wrapped in soundproof beast hide. The hide can block sound, but it cannot block Iron Wall's senses."

The smile vanished completely from Jiang Yuandong's face.

He slowly straightened his back. The spine he had kept bowed and servile for two days now regained the bearing of a Soul King powerhouse.

Five soul rings rose in sequence. Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black.

A Gray Shadow Wolf appeared behind him, its wolf eyes gleaming with cold, ghostly green light.

"Young friend Su Chen." Jiang Yuandong's voice turned cold. "This old man had intended to let you go to Spirit Hall and enjoy a comfortable life with dignity. But you insist on courting death."

"Take him!"

The two gray-robed soul masters drew their soul-guided daggers at the same time and closed in from both sides.

At that moment, a black shadow descended from the academy roof, swift as a ghost.

The two Great Soul Masters only saw a blur before a cold purple flame flashed across their necks.

They did not even have time to scream before their bodies froze in place. The light in their pupils rapidly dimmed, and their life force vanished in an instant like dry grass set ablaze.

The black-robed figure landed, revealing beneath his hood the pale, handsome face of a youth.

It was Mo Qianye.

Behind him, a black phoenix with a wingspan exceeding four meters silently emerged. Purple netherfire burned at its wingtips, while two thousand-year soul rings pulsed beneath his feet.

"Spirit Hall's lackeys." Mo Qianye's voice held no emotion, but the dark purple light deep in his pupils seemed tangible. "They all deserve to die."

Jiang Yuandong's pupils constricted. "Where did this little brat come from? You're courting death!"

He forcefully drove his soul power and released his third soul skill with an angry roar. "Nether Wolf Howl!"

Gray soundwaves took the shape of a wolf's head and blasted toward Mo Qianye.

Mo Qianye remained expressionless. The Nine Netherworld Phoenix behind him let out a low cry, and the purple netherfire at its wingtips surged. It opened its beak and swallowed the gray wolf head, erasing it without a trace.

"Fifth Soul Skill—Shadow Escape!"

Realizing the situation was unfavorable, Jiang Yuandong's body transformed into a gray shadow as he attempted to flee.

Su Chen raised his right hand.

Ten dark golden rifts exploded beneath Jiang Yuandong's feet at once. Ten ten-thousand-year Dark Golden Terrorclaw Bears instantly formed a battle formation, their invisible force field sealing the entire area.

Jiang Yuandong had barely escaped several meters before slamming into an invisible wall and being pinned down. He was forced out of his soul skill state, and his body solidified again.

He stared in horror at the dark golden gigantic beasts surrounding him, then at the black-robed youth strolling toward him as if taking a leisurely walk. For the first time, pure terror appeared on his face.

"You... you..."

Mo Qianye walked up to him, holding a cluster of purple netherfire in his palm.

The flames had no temperature, yet Jiang Yuandong felt as though his soul itself were trembling.

"No... don't..."

The netherfire gently fell onto him.

There was no burning pain, only the agony of an ultimate punishment that seemed to tear apart his soul inch by inch from its very depths.

The Gray Shadow Wolf martial soul behind Jiang Yuandong let out a mournful cry. It was forcibly driven out of his body alive, twisting and struggling painfully within the netherfire before finally dissolving into specks of purple light.

"Ah—!"

Jiang Yuandong clutched his head and rolled across the ground, animalistic howls forcing their way from his throat.

His martial soul had been burned away alive by those bizarre flames!

Mo Qianye withdrew his hand and calmly watched Jiang Yuandong convulse on the ground, his gaze indifferent.

From the moment Jiang Yuandong released his martial soul to the moment it was destroyed, fewer than thirty breaths had passed.

Su Chen crouched beside Jiang Yuandong and met his eyes.

"Will Spirit Hall send more people?"

Jiang Yuandong's entire body twitched. Half his face was buried in the dirt, and his only visible eye glared at Su Chen with venomous hatred.

"You... killing me... won't help..."

"Headquarters already knows..."

"They will send Soul Emperors, perhaps even Soul Sages..."

Su Chen stood up. He would not kill Jiang Yuandong.

A living but crippled Soul King could bring greater confusion and apprehension to Spirit Hall.

Su Chen turned to Mo Qianye. "Your condition."

"Spirit Hall's destruction." Mo Qianye spoke those four words. The nether phoenix behind him raised its head, purple fire flickering in the night.

Su Chen did not hesitate. "Deal. But all actions follow my pace."

Mo Qianye nodded.

Su Chen said, "Let's go. We can't stay in Nording City any longer."

"Where to?"

Su Chen looked north.

At the end of the horizon, a dense forest pressed against the earth, its canopies joining into an expanse of darkness.

The Star Dou Great Forest.

The largest soul beast forbidden zone on Douluo Continent.

"Somewhere no one can find us."

Su Chen leaped onto Iron Wall's broad back.

Mo Qianye tapped the ground with his toes and followed along the flank on purple netherfire.

The ten Dark Golden Terrorclaw Bears formed a long column and marched forward, making the earth tremble with every step.

As the group passed Nording City's north gate, Little Gold walked at the rear. It glanced back at the tiny city and snorted out two streams of white vapor.

Several guards on the city wall widened their eyes.

A six-year-old child rode atop a dark golden gigantic beast, followed by ten ten-thousand-year soul beasts, heading toward the Star Dou Great Forest.

One guard gaped for a long time before finally squeezing out a sentence. "My god... he's going to the Star Dou Great Forest? Does he have a death wish?"

The old soldier beside him stared fixedly at the departing group and swallowed.

"Whether he wants to die, I don't know."

"But this matter will soon spread across the continent."

Su Chen did not look back.

The ten Dark Golden Terrorclaw Bears stepped across the boundary of the Star Dou Great Forest.

The towering canopies closed overhead, shutting out the light from the city wall behind them.

From the depths of the darkness, Su Chen's voice drifted out.

"Also—"

"I need my second soul ring."