Save me? An Evil Soul Master?

What should they do, boss?

Save them or not?

Cannon Bro surveyed the battlefield.

Ma Xiaotao had been left hanging from a tree after the Wolf King's sudden attack.

A rather well-endowed senior student hung there with her, except her upper and lower halves were no longer connected.

Clearly, that student had taken the brunt of the first blow for her.

Now that Ma Xiaotao was so far off the ground, though, she looked unusually safe.

Every Clone knew how this was supposed to end: Zhang Lexuan would kill the Wolf King at the last moment, absorb its Soul Ring, break through to level eighty, and become an eight-ring Soul Master with a hundred-thousand-year ring. In one stroke, she would become the senior-most student of the Inner Court and the next-generation successor to the Sea God Pavilion.

But how many people would die before then? Jiang Hao had no idea.

At his current strength, he couldn't afford to dwell on it.

Running was out of the question.

If I abandon my companions and run, won't I be cast from the same mold as those hypocrites at Shrek?

"Everyone, take your positions! Get every enhancement you have running! Prepare to charge!"

"We're going big. Kill the Wolf King! Take the Soul Bone!"

"Kill the Wolf King! Take the senior students!" the Clones echoed.

Jiang Hao released all his Clones again. During the earlier fighting, only half of them had obtained Soul Rings; the other half still hadn't hunted theirs.

They were closer to the mixed zone now, where Hundred-Year Soul Beasts were more plentiful. He divided them into eighteen groups of a hundred and resumed the large-scale sweep.

The Silver Moon Wolf King's summons had also drawn in nearly all the Hundred-Year Soul Beasts nearby.

Jiang Hao sensed the Soul Beasts his Clones were encountering. There were clearly far too many.

He couldn't help cursing Xuan Zi again.

The man was a Limit Douluo, for heaven's sake. Was his perception really that poor?

He hadn't even noticed a Soul Beast stampede.

Ordinary people would have been wiped out by now if he delayed any longer.

Through Cannon Bro's eyes, Jiang Hao watched the battlefield strewn with wreckage.

Of the ten Six-Ring Soul Emperors who had been keeping the Wolf King occupied, only three remained.

The Seven-Ring Soul Sage who had fought beside Zhang Lexuan had been gravely wounded too. She was the only Soul Sage still holding on.

Zhang Lexuan counted herself lucky. For some reason, the hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast's summons hadn't brought the weaker beasts nearby.

If it had called over even a few Hundred-Year Soul Beasts, things would have been far worse with so many people lying injured on the ground.

As the fight dragged on, Zhang Lexuan felt herself weakening.

If it continued, the Wolf King might wear her down, so she resolved to finish it quickly.

As the saying went, the wolf only feigned sleep to lure its prey. Perhaps it was pretending to be badly hurt.

"You beast!"

Her Seventh Soul Skill blazed to life!

Martial Soul Avatar! Moon Wheel!

Sixth Soul Skill! Moon's Chill!

The outline of a moon appeared in midair. Moonlight fell like icy sword shadows, streaking toward the Wolf King!

The Wolf King dodged again and again, closing the distance.

Then it took the full force of her Sixth Soul Skill and sent Zhang Lexuan flying with a swipe of its paw.

The Wolf King turned on the three Soul Emperors, devouring their flesh to heal its wounds.

It had already killed them with a casual swipe when it lunged at Zhang Lexuan. She had survived only by luck; otherwise, she would have died there too.

Am I, Zhang Lexuan, going to die here today?

I never even had the chance to investigate the blood feud that destroyed my family. Mom, Dad, I have no time left to seek justice for you. Your daughter has failed you!

Sobbing, Zhang Lexuan drew on the last of her strength, ready to die fighting.

But the attack she expected from the recovering Wolf King never came. Instead, she heard metal scraping against the ground and footsteps moving through the forest.

A warrior wearing a woven Blue Silver Grass mask and wooden armor emerged from the undergrowth.

"I hear you're pretty tough! Let's see what a hundred-thousand-year beast is really made of. Take this!"

First Soul Skill, Three Hoe Strikes!

The hoe swung rapidly, leaving two afterimages on the third strike.

It did no damage at all.

"Hey, hey, hey! Watch my Mother's Entanglement! First Soul Skill!"

First Soul Skill! Nine Treasures Turn Into Glazed Glass, First: Enhancement!

More than two hundred Soul Masters unleashed their First Soul Skills at once. The spectacle was staggering.

Zhang Lexuan searched her memories. She certainly hadn't seen anything like this as a child.

A sight like this belonged on a battlefield where empires fought over territory.

On the other side of the forest, rows of Blue Silver Grass Soul Masters stood at the front, shaping wood into armor for the Clones by hand.

It wasn't much use, but at least it kept their identities from being easily exposed.

"Here! Have another of my Super Invincible Red Bean Buns. Stuff two more inside your clothes—you'll need them later. You can eat them, and they explode!"

"Invincible Healing Sausage! One for everyone!"

Several Food Type and support Soul Masters frantically piled buffs onto the armored Clones, trying to bring them to peak condition.

"Hahaha, brothers! I won't shortchange you this time! After I got my First Soul Ring, my lousy wooden banner evolved into a Soul-Refining Banner. When you die, you're all invited inside for tea!"

The sinister cackling chilled everyone present. They edged away from the Clone holding a banner that billowed black smoke, afraid one careless move would land them in that rag of his, throat and flesh included.

Over on the battlefield, they were still using the safest, most effective tactic: hounds at the Wolf King's rear! If Gangzi's Sanpao had learned this move back then, he could have become a god.

They stabbed hard at the Wolf King's backside.

First Soul Skill! Pole Vault!

Enraged, the Wolf King spotted the nearest Clone and ignored the attacks from behind.

Just as the Wolf King's paw was about to crush the sole surviving Lone Bamboo Martial Soul, Jiang Hao, hidden among the branches above, recalled Bamboo Bro with a thought.

Jiang Hao had already moved into a position where he could recall the Clones around the battlefield if anything went wrong.

He was only a few hundred meters from the Wolf King, close enough to be killed by one of its ranged attacks. All he could do was stay hidden and direct the production line behind him in his mind.

As more Clones joined the hunt, their line stretched farther and farther.

Already covered in wounds, the Wolf King could no longer bear the strain on its body and mind. It moved slower with every moment.

"Keep it up! Hold on! It's a spent crossbow bolt!"

"Hold formation! Keep the supplies coming!"

Even with their hit-and-run tactics, many Clones were caught by the shockwaves. Every one of them was badly hurt. Jiang Hao swiftly withdrew them from the battlefield so they could recover among the healing Soul Masters gathered elsewhere.

Recalling an injured Clone only froze its condition; it didn't erase the pain. Its wounds would still be there the next time Jiang Hao summoned it, and its condition wouldn't reset.

That gave him a headache. The costs hidden behind this were enormous. The resources needed to raise one Soul Master were nothing like those needed to raise thousands. He couldn't afford that now. It was a bottomless pit for money!

Elsewhere, several healing Soul Masters worked with Blue Silver Grass Soul Masters to sneak every still-breathing Shrek student off the field for treatment.

Zhang Lexuan was among them, held down by two Blue Silver Grass Soul Masters.

Healing Staff, First Soul Skill! Healing Light!

White Swan! First Soul Skill! Cleansing!

The healing began slowly. Then Cleansing swept away nearly all the disorder the Wolf King's Soul Power had caused within her, speeding up the recovery of her own Soul Power. Even the small scrapes on her body began to heal.

"Here, young lady, try this! First Soul Skill! Secret-Recipe Savory Soup Dumpling! My dumplings can restore Soul Power quickly."

Baozi Bro, his face hidden behind a Blue Silver Grass mask, conjured two plump, springy dumplings and placed them in Zhang Lexuan's hands.

Each dumpling restored ten percent of her Soul Power instantly, then another ten percent over the following thirty minutes. There was no cooldown on eating them, but their effects couldn't stack; they took effect one after another. An hour after she ate them, all their effects would expire. That meant only two dumplings could help her within an hour.

"Eat them. You still need to kill that Soul Beast! All we can do is buy you time!"

Baozi Bro patted Zhang Lexuan's shoulder with an air of profound wisdom.

Zhang Lexuan looked at the two steaming dumplings in her hands, then at the support and healing Soul Masters who were tending the wounded and applying buffs in orderly fashion. Tears welled in her eyes, and she drew her slender legs in, bewildered. As far as she could tell, they were all One-Ring Soul Masters. There wasn't a single Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster among them, yet they had risked their lives to rescue her and the others from a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast.

"Are you all part of an organization?"

The question slipped out. Then Zhang Lexuan realized something was off. Masks on their faces, armor over their bodies—weren't they trying to avoid being recognized?

They must all be kind people.

Just as she marveled at what a wonderful organization this must be, sinister laughter rang out.

"I've struck it rich! Ten Soul King souls, seven Soul Emperor souls, and—and a Soul Saint's soul! I'm going to be the first chief commander!"

Banner Bro's gleeful voice carried from one side of the forest to the other.

Wreathed in billowing black smoke, he came off the battlefield and hurried toward the healing Soul Masters.

He had suffered a small scrape, but his haul had been tremendous. He had collected the souls of every fallen Shrek Academy student. He had even stored their bodies in his Martial Soul, ready for the next stage of refinement!

"Give me some buffs, quick! I can get back out there right now. I'm terrifyingly strong!"

Oh! So they're Evil Soul Masters! I almost fell for them.