A pile of Wolf Bandit corpses, an Evil Soul Master, ready to strike

Tang Shan returned to the campfire, but before he had fully sat down, a faint ripple of soul power came from the carriage nearby.

Su Haichao and Tang Shan exchanged a glance and knew that Su Yuntao had finished meditating. They hurried to their feet and strode toward the carriage.

"Yuntao, how do you feel?" Su Haichao asked at once, seeing the somewhat vacant look in Su Yuntao's eyes.

Su Yuntao looked around in bewilderment. "Why am I in the carriage?"

"Big brother, you slipped into Deep Meditation right after using your Self-Created Soul Skill. We had to carry you into the carriage so we could keep traveling."

Only after hearing Tang Shan's explanation did Su Yuntao notice the wooden board beneath his backside. He shifted slightly.

"Big brother, how does your body feel?" Tang Shan asked again.

"I feel very comfortable, but also a little weak."

Tang Shan sighed in relief. "Big brother, it's only natural to feel refreshed after entering Deep Meditation. As for the weakness, you haven't eaten or drunk anything for several days. Feeling a little weak now is perfectly normal."

"Can you move? Do you need a hand?" Su Haichao asked directly.

"No, no, I'm not that weak." Su Yuntao quickly waved him off and stood up. He swayed a little as he rose, but after leaving the carriage and walking a few steps, he soon returned to normal.

The water over the campfire bubbled and steamed. Tang Shan added some vegetables and seasonings, and before long, a savory aroma filled the clearing.

"Yuntao, what did you gain this time?" Only after confirming that Su Yuntao was merely a little weak and otherwise fine did Su Haichao ask about the results of his Deep Meditation.

Su Haichao had never heard of Deep Meditation before Tang Shan told him about it, which only made him marvel all the more at his son's breadth of knowledge.

"I've basically mastered that soul power cultivation method completely. My Soul Power Level also went up by one, and I gained quite a few new insights into fighting under Martial Soul Possession." As Su Yuntao listed his gains one by one, Tang Shan, sitting beside him, fell silent once again.

He had only just told his big brother to take his time studying the cultivation method jointly developed by his Martial Soul and bloodline, yet Su Yuntao had already mastered it completely. What left Tang Shan even more speechless was that Su Yuntao had reached level twenty-three only recently. In less than ten days, he had broken through to level twenty-four.

Even knowing that Deep Meditation accelerated cultivation, and that the Soul Grandmaster stage did not require much soul power accumulation, this rate of advancement still seemed far too fast.

"My son Yuntao has what it takes to become a Titled Douluo." Su Haichao could not help rejoicing for Su Yuntao, his voice brimming with pride.

Beside him, Tang Shan's hand involuntarily trembled, and he nearly dropped his chopsticks into the pot.

Maybe neither big brother nor I are the protagonist. For all we know, we might be the villains instead.

Tang Shan still had not become completely immune to Su Haichao's bold declarations. The "mysterious rules" lurking within them were simply too terrifying. Even knowing that this was the Douluo Continent, he could not help feeling uneasy.

"All right, come and eat." A little while later, Tang Shan called Su Haichao and Su Yuntao over for the meal.

Su Yuntao plopped down beside Tang Shan, a hint of smugness on his face. "Little brother, don't worry. Once your big brother makes it big, I'll definitely look out for you."

Tang Shan shoved a freshly warmed homemade meat-stuffed flatbread into Su Yuntao's hand with mild exasperation. "Just eat. Who knows which of us will be looking after the other?"

The carriage continued along the main road. Su Yuntao leaned halfway out, his eyes slightly closed as he carefully recalled the sensation of unleashing his Self-Created Soul Skill. The next moment, he activated Martial Soul Possession and gathered all his soul power into his left hand. Sharp claws abruptly extended, gleaming coldly.

His left arm absorbed the soul power, circulating it along a special route as it transformed further into the shape of a wolf's foreleg. In an instant, a phantom arm flashed and vanished, followed by the sweep of an enormous phantom wolf claw. Five claw marks of varying depths immediately appeared in the yellow earth.

"What a powerful Self-Created Soul Skill." Tang Shan had watched from start to finish and could not help praising it once the technique was complete.

"It's stronger than my second Soul Skill." After a brief comparison, Su Haichao reached his conclusion.

"That's all thanks to the inspiration your Soul Skill gave me, Dad." Su Yuntao was delighted, but he did not let it go to his head and tactfully offered Su Haichao a compliment.

"Whoa—" The carriage abruptly braked. Fortunately, its suspension was fairly good, and the three passengers only swayed slightly.

Before any of them could ask what had happened, the driver's panicked voice came from up front. "Lord Soul Masters, there are lots of corpses ahead! They look like Wolf Bandits!" The three exchanged glances and hurried out of the carriage. The old driver stood in front of the compartment, trembling uncontrollably, clearly terrified.

"You should take shelter inside the carriage for now," Su Haichao told the driver.

"Thank you, Lord Soul Masters." The driver was sensible enough to know he would be of no help outside. After bowing to thank the three of them, he scrambled into the carriage.

Tang Shan now got a clear look at the gruesome scene ahead. Creatures that resembled both humans and wolves lay on the ground, their skin dry and wrinkled, as though every drop of moisture had been drained from their bodies. There was little blood on the ground, with only an occasional red spot to be found.

Only after cautiously confirming that all these half-human, half-wolf creatures were dead did Tang Shan approach to examine them closely.

The creatures were covered in gray fur and had large frames. Where their fur was sparse, greenish skin showed through. Their heads were an eerie blend of human faces and wolf heads, while their overall builds combined a wolf's athleticism with a human's agility. Yet all their muscles were dry and shrunken, as though they had been weathered for a very long time.

There were quite a few such corpses, at least a dozen.

"Dad, do Wolf Bandit corpses always look like this? Something feels strange." Tang Shan turned to ask Su Haichao.

"I don't know. When I was young, I dealt with Soul Masters who committed evil deeds. My task was to eliminate them completely. Besides, the area around Nuoding City is fairly peaceful. This is my first time encountering Wolf Bandits too."

Suddenly recalling something, Tang Shan turned and walked back to the carriage. He quietly asked the driver inside, "Sir, are you certain those corpses are Wolf Bandits?"

"There's no mistake. I encountered a group of Wolf Bandits before while driving for other noble lords. They weren't as strange as these, but they looked much the same."

"A little strange." Tang Shan keenly picked out the key detail in the old driver's words.

"Yes, Lord Soul Master." The driver nodded, looking puzzled. "I remember the Wolf Bandits I saw before having huge muscles and powerful builds. They were incredibly fierce, and even dead, they gave off a terrifying presence. I don't know why the ones I just saw were so dried out."

Tang Shan nodded, disregarding the descriptions of their terrifying presence and ferocity to focus on the important point. "The Wolf Bandits you saw before had very developed muscles, correct?" The driver nodded vigorously in confirmation.

"We may have a problem." Returning to Su Haichao's side, Tang Shan frowned deeply, instinctively becoming more alert to their surroundings.

"What is it?" Su Haichao was also curious about what Tang Shan had learned from the driver.

"I suspect these Wolf Bandits encountered an Evil Soul Master. Otherwise, so many corpses couldn't have left so little blood. And then there are those shrunken muscles."

At the words "Evil Soul Master," and considering the scene before them, Su Haichao's expression immediately turned grave. "Get ready to board the carriage. Let's see if we can take another route."

As the master of Spirit Hall's branch in Nuoding City, no one understood the danger of Evil Soul Masters better than Su Haichao. One duty of every city's Spirit Hall branch was to investigate information concerning suspected Evil Soul Masters, then immediately report it to Spirit Hall through specially established communication channels. Spirit Hall would subsequently dispatch a Judgment Squad to track down and kill them, aiming to eradicate them completely.

When facing a truly powerful Evil Soul Master at the Soul Saint level, they would send a Titled Douluo in pursuit. If a Soul Douluo-level Evil Soul Master emerged, they would have two Worshippers from the Worship Hall act together, seeking absolute dominance and denying the enemy any opportunity to resist.

Their group consisted of one Soul Ancestor, one Soul Grandmaster, and one Soul Master. They simply could not withstand the threat of an Evil Soul Master. Su Haichao had not lost his head and would never consider confronting one directly. At most, he would report the matter to the local Spirit Hall branch after reaching the next city.

Su Yuntao reacted swiftly. He turned, entered the carriage, and hauled the driver out, then sat beside him at the front. "Get ready to turn around and leave. I'll stay up here with you, so don't be afraid."

Tang Shan and Su Haichao also boarded the carriage. Tang Shan carefully watched their surroundings from the outer side, while Su Haichao adjusted his condition, ready to respond to danger at any moment.

He was the strongest of the three. If they truly encountered danger, he would be their main fighting force and had to remain in peak condition at all times.

Though the driver was terrified, Su Yuntao's presence beside him gave him some sense of security. He picked up the whip with trembling hands, took a deep breath, and slowly steered the carriage around the pile of corpses.

"Help! Can someone save me?!" As his Martial Soul gradually fused with his body, Tang Shan's five senses grew sharper by the day. His ears twitched, and he was the first to hear the cries for help.

By then, they had already traveled a considerable distance from the pile of corpses.

"Big brother." Tang Shan called to Su Yuntao. Su Yuntao instinctively looked back and saw a cold expression on his little brother's face, his eyes filled with bone-chilling killing intent.

At that moment, Su Haichao's transmitted voice sounded in his ear. "Shanzi must have heard the cries for help. His Body Martial Soul probably enhances his five senses. I only just heard them myself. Keep an eye on whoever is calling for help. If anything seems wrong, all three of us will strike at full strength immediately."

The three then used secret voice transmissions to agree on a plan and readied themselves to strike. Tang Shan was the first to step out of the carriage. He immediately activated Martial Soul Possession, his body rapidly expanding, but he did not reveal his Soul Ring.

In this state, Tang Shan appeared to be nothing more than a powerfully built young man. His body showed no signs of beast transformation, and he held no weapon. Even if someone realized he was a Soul Master, they would not suspect that he had already released his Martial Soul.

After all, activating a Body Martial Soul caused little outward change. Tang Shan's was a full-body Body Martial Soul, so apart from making him taller and more muscular, activating it produced nothing unusual.

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