A Sudden Eruption of Killing Intent, One Deadly Blow After Another

In truth, the three of them had considered avoiding this trouble or simply standing aside, but after thinking it through, they realized that neither option was particularly feasible.

The carriage was still speeding along. If the other party really were an ordinary person or an ordinary soul master, they should already have passed each other by.

Yet Tang Shan's keen senses could clearly detect that the cries for help were drawing closer. In all likelihood, the other party had already singled them out.

Whether he was an Evil Soul Master or not, anyone chasing them so relentlessly was clearly up to no good. Rather than wait and react, they might as well prepare thoroughly and eliminate the threat before it could strike.

Whoosh!

Huge bat wings spread behind him. Their owner wanted to flap them and fly away, but the hideous wounds covering them left him powerless.

Dela felt utterly cursed by bad luck. Hadn't he merely slaughtered a small village to cultivate? Yet only a few days into his cultivation, Spirit Hall's Judgment Squad had come knocking.

After a desperate battle, he had barely managed to escape. He wanted to recover by feeding on blood, but feared that causing too much commotion would alert

Spirit Hall, so Dela could only turn his attention to these Wolf Bandits.

Fortunately, their blood proved surprisingly effective. What he had never expected was that powerful fighters were hiding among them. The ensuing battle had injured him all over again, leaving him in even worse shape than before.

"They just won't leave me alone."

Sensing the three presences pursuing him relentlessly, Dela carefully licked the corners of his mouth with his scarlet tongue, blood-red light gleaming in his eyes.

"Damn you. Why couldn't you just be good little blood meals and help me recover? Why did you have to resist?"

He darted through the dense, overlapping trees, occasionally giving his bat wings a light flap to narrowly dodge the trunks blocking his path.

His nose twitched a few times, as though he had caught an exquisitely appetizing scent. A look of crazed delight immediately spread across his face.

"What delicious-smelling blood. Here I come."

With that, Dela abruptly changed direction and headed off to one side.

As he ran, he deliberately cried out, "Help!"

Rustle, rustle, rustle!

Behind him, three hulking Wolf Bandits covered in wounds stopped where Dela had changed course. They lowered their heads and carefully sniffed the air, then changed direction as well, pursuing him along his new route.

Farther back in the forest, a group moved through the trees. All wore White Armor and carried themselves with steady composure. Their movements were disciplined, their coordination making them seem like a single, inseparable whole.

The sword-shaped emblems on their armor left no doubt as to their identity: Spirit Hall's Judgment Squad.

Those emblems did not depict the Seven Kill Sword usually engraved on Spirit Hall tokens, but the Angel Holy Sword, the symbol of the Angel Clan that had ruled Spirit Hall since ancient times.

"Captain, I've found the Evil Soul Master's trail."

A scout, also clad in White Armor, moved nimbly between the trees and soon returned to report.

"Then pursue him at full speed. We cannot let him escape."

At that command, the ten-member squad of soul masters once again sped through the forest like a sharp sword thrusting forward.

"Captain, besides the Evil Soul Master's trail, I also found traces of Wolf Bandits."

The scout stayed close beside the captain, reporting in a low voice.

"Kill them if we run into them. Otherwise, don't go out of your way. They're not our responsibility. Our primary target is that Evil Soul Master."

"Yes, Captain."

From above, one would have seen the Evil Soul Master Dela fleeing in the lead, three Wolf Bandits close behind him, and Spirit Hall's Judgment Squad bringing up the rear.

The Judgment Squad was the fastest, rapidly closing the distance on both groups ahead. Meanwhile, Dela was about to emerge from the forest.

"He's here."

As Tang Shan gave his quiet warning, a figure stumbled out of the trees.

He was a middle-aged man with unusually pale skin and a tall, thin build. A trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were narrow, his face bloodlessly white, and three soul rings—one white, one yellow, and one purple—slowly pulsed around him.

His clothes were so badly torn that their original appearance was impossible to make out. Large bloodstains covered them, and hideous wounds could be glimpsed through the rents.

At the sight of the speeding carriage, wild joy appeared on his face. He shouted toward it, "Save me! Wolf Bandits are chasing me!"

Su Haichao poked his head out of the carriage with a displeased expression and snapped coldly, "Get lost!"

The middle-aged man's expression froze. He had never imagined that his plea for help would receive such an icy response.

"Please, have mercy and save me! Just give me a ride. The Wolf Bandits won't be able to catch us!"

The coachman's hands had grown stiff, his entire body taut. He was clearly nervous to the extreme.

As the middle-aged man pleaded desperately, the first soul ring beneath his feet began to flash. Bat wings suddenly spread behind him, and his speed surged. A cold glint quietly appeared in his eyes. If you won't let me aboard, I'll force my way on.

"What kind of soul master are you? Don't you have any sense? Fine, I'll take you part of the way."

Su Haichao angrily scolded the middle-aged man, then withdrew into the carriage.

The cold glint in the man's eyes quietly faded as he calculated inwardly. Since you know what's good for you, I'll kill you a little later.

What he did not see was Su Haichao exchanging a glance with Tang Shan, who had been jogging beside the carriage all along. The moment the man came close, they would strike with everything they had.

Su Haichao lightly tapped the back of the carriage to signal Su Yuntao. At the same time, he quietly invoked his martial soul possession, and the third soul ring beneath his feet flashed as he pushed its enhancement to the limit. He held off on his First Soul Skill, Wolf Howl, both to avoid alerting the enemy and to weaken him more effectively at the crucial moment.

At the front of the carriage, Su Yuntao likewise activated his martial soul under cover of the surrounding blind spots. He unleashed both enhancement soul skills at once and entered his "Martial Soul Fusion" state. Soul power began pouring steadily into his left hand as he prepared to deliver a fatal blow.

What an intoxicating scent of blood... Dela stared at Tang Shan with burning eyes. His martial soul's instincts told him that if he could absorb this young man's blood, his injuries would not only heal completely, but his cultivation would improve as well.

It's fine. There's no hurry. Once I shake off those three dog-nosed pursuers, I can savor this delicacy at my leisure.

As he drew closer to the carriage, Dela vaguely sensed that something was wrong. But his craving for blood and freedom kept him from dwelling on it, and he continued chasing the speeding carriage.

At last, Dela caught up. That tantalizing scent of blood lingered right beside him, but at that moment, realization suddenly struck. If the owner of this carriage agreed to give me a ride, why didn't they stop and wait? Why are they still racing along?

An intense sense of danger suddenly erupted beside him.

Bang!

The purple soul ring beneath Tang Shan's feet flashed. His head and neck rapidly swelled, thick blue-black muscles covering them tightly. Without hesitation, he slammed a powerful headbutt into Dela's head.

Although Dela had done his best to prepare the instant he sensed danger, he had never expected such a bizarre attack, delivered in such an outrageous way. What soul master fights with headbutts?

Tang Shan's headbutt left Dela dizzy and utterly dazed, but the assault was far from over.

Before his head had returned to normal, Tang Shan's right arm swelled in turn. Seizing the instant when Dela instinctively lowered his head from the impact, Tang Shan drove a fist the size of a large bowl straight into his face.

Ferocious force blasted into Dela's body. His lower jaw shattered completely, and he spat out broken teeth mixed with blood, including two sharp fangs three inches long.

The tremendous impact snapped his head upward. His hands, which had been guarding his chest, lost their strength and dropped limply, leaving his torso completely exposed.

Then that blue-black right arm, as thick as an ordinary person's thigh, smashed downward, driving a heavy elbow into Dela's chest.

Crack!

The crisp sound of breaking bones faintly rang out, yet it still was not over.

A piercing Wolf Howl suddenly rang out. Su Haichao unleashed his First Soul Skill at just the right moment, briefly slowing Dela's movements. That fleeting pause allowed Tang Shan to execute his final two killing blows without restraint.

Both legs swelled as they gathered strength, and his right knee slammed into Dela, lifting his body upward. With control at the level of seeing the divine, none of that surging force leaked away; every bit poured into his opponent's body.

Then his left leg swept through a wide arc, building ferocious power before slamming across the middle-aged man's chest.

This time, the crack of breaking bones was unmistakable. Tang Shan's leg sent the middle-aged man flying.

As his body traced an arc through the air like a tattered sack, another attack followed before the last had ended. A spectral wolf claw flashed past. Su Yuntao, who had long been waiting, instantly unleashed all the soul power in his body and used his self-created soul skill once more.

Squelch!

Blood sprayed through the air around the middle-aged man. Struck by Su Yuntao's full-powered attack, he instantly suffered five hideous wounds, blood streaming from them.

As Tang Shan strode up onto the carriage, Su Haichao launched the final assault.

Seeing Su Yuntao's self-created soul skill, the spectral wolf claw, hit its target, he made the fourth soul ring beneath his feet flash.

His teleportation soul skill activated instantly, and he appeared out of thin air within the blood mist.

His second hundred-year soul ring shone brilliantly. He frantically slashed countless energy claws from his hands, pouring them into the blood mist. Every strike was precise and ruthless.

Then silver light flashed, and he was back aboard the carriage.

Thud!

Dela's mangled body fell limply to the ground. His lifeless eyes stared blankly up at the sky, filled with bewilderment and shock.

Awooo—oo!

Before the long wolf howl could finish, a dazzling light erupted from the forest. Three Wolf Bandits flew out sideways and slammed down beside Dela's broken body, joining him.

"Stop the carriage for now. We should be safe."

At the sight of that sacred light, Su Haichao hurriedly told the coachman to stop.

"Whoa!"

The carriage gradually slowed until it came to a steady halt.

By then, figures clad in White Armor were emerging from the forest one after another.

"Worthless Wolf Bandits. Bad luck for you, running into us."

One of the White Armor soul masters curled his lip, undisguised disgust written across his face.

"Enough. Killing Wolf Bandits was incidental. Our main target is still that Evil Soul Master."

The Judgment Squad captain's voice was stern.

"Captain, is that the Evil Soul Master over there?"

The sharp-eyed scout who had handled reconnaissance soon noticed the lifeless body beside the Wolf Bandits and asked with a hint of hesitation.

The captain followed the direction of the scout's finger and saw a battered, blood-soaked corpse lying on its back. Its eyes were wide open, clearly showing that the man had died unreconciled.

"Everyone, stay alert!"

Instantly recognizing the corpse as the target he had been pursuing, the Judgment Squad captain shouted a warning, guarding against any ambusher lurking nearby.

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