Qian Xunji had resorted to ruthless measures to find Tang Hao and his wife.
With the hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor about to give birth, Qian Xunji had been wondering whether killing a soul beast's child before it was born would yield a hundred-thousand-year soul bone, just as killing a hundred-thousand-year soul beast would.
To test this insane conjecture, he wanted to kill the Blue Silver Emperor and the child in her womb before she gave birth.
That was why Qian Xunji was in such a hurry. He wished he could fly straight to Tang Hao and the Blue Silver Emperor this instant.
But the couple was far too good at hiding, slipping away every time before their pursuers could track them down. Qian Xunji knew why, too. She was a hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor, so practically all the blue silver grass carpeting the land served as their eyes and ears.
That was how they always escaped his encirclement one step ahead of him. But the Blue Silver Emperor would give birth very soon, and they would surely seek out a quiet place for it.
That would be their chance.
That night, in a room that had long stood abandoned in an ordinary little village, a baby's cry shattered the village's tranquility.
A smile spread across the kindly old woman's face. Their village was remote, and all the young, able-bodied people had gone to work in the city, leaving only a few dozen elderly residents to spend their remaining years here.
This was the first new life they had seen in over a decade.
It was as though that vibrant cry had blown away much of the twilight air hanging over the village.
"Let me see, quickly. My child, my child..."
Sweat covered the face of Blue Silver Emperor Ah Yin. She watched the baby in the old woman's arms anxiously, her face filled with tender love.
This child was the fruit of her love with Tang Hao, proof that even a soul beast like her could know love.
She did not want her child to suffer any harm.
Barely a few minutes after giving birth, Blue Silver Emperor Ah Yin forcibly stopped her bleeding with soul power. Pale-faced, she cradled her baby and ran toward the door.
Tang Hao, who looked middle-aged, was keeping watch at the entrance.
"Brother Hao, we have to go. The blue silver grass nearby sent word. They're coming."
"All right. Hurry."
"But what about them...?"
An agonized look crossed Blue Silver Emperor Ah Yin's face. She knew that once they left, everyone in this village would be doomed. But she had no choice. She wanted to live.
"Ah Yin, stop hesitating. Whether we leave or not, they'll all die."
After hearing Tang Hao's words, Blue Silver Emperor Ah Yin no longer hesitated. Repeating I'm sorry over and over in her heart, she raced away into the distance.
Tang Hao and his wife had done nothing wrong by coming here, but their timing was wrong. And with that wrong timing came disaster.
"You two youngsters should stay another night. You've only just given birth-your body won't be able to take it." The old woman watched Tang Hao and Ah Yin retreat into the distance, worry covering her face and unease weighing on her heart.
But no sooner had Tang Hao and Ah Yin left than Qian Xunji arrived with Gui Mei and Yue Guan.
If he had only wanted to kill the two of them, Qian Xunji alone would have been enough. He was a Titled Douluo with a divine-grade martial soul. Even the Clear Sky Hammer, the finest tool martial soul on the continent, amounted to little in his eyes.
After all, Tang Hao was only level eighty-nine.
He had brought Yue Guan and Gui Mei merely to keep the couple from escaping again.
The only reason he had pursued them for so many days was that he simply could not catch up. Now that they had caught up, it meant the Blue Silver Emperor had already finished giving birth.
His insane plan had gone down the drain.
At that thought, an unaccountable fury rose within him. The smiling old woman looked unbearably offensive to his eyes.
He swept an icy gaze over the village and gave one of his Soul Douluo subordinates a signal. Soon, a squad split off and headed into the village.
Qian Xunji, the other two, and the remaining men flew swiftly after Tang Hao and his wife.
They were very close now. Catching up was only a matter of time.
Under Qian Xunji's leadership, Spirit Hall had done little good over the years. With Gui Mei-a core elder more depraved than an Evil Soul Master-among its ranks, there were naturally plenty of ill-intentioned people under his command.
At Qian Xunji's signal, a Soul Douluo and five Soul Saints raised their butcher's blades and flew toward the village without the slightest qualm.
There was not a single soul master in the village. Almost everyone was an elderly person in their sixties or seventies, and most were already asleep at this hour. Only those who had taken Tang Hao and his wife in during the night were still busy attending to other matters.
The sudden arrival of so many strangers puzzled them. But when they saw the weapons in their hands, the elderly villagers finally realized something was wrong.
"Run! Sari Lang! Sari Lang!"
"Help!"
But they were only ordinary people, and elderly at that. How could they possibly outrun powerful soul masters?
A savage grin spread across the leading Soul Douluo's face, as though the imminent slaughter excited him.
But when he slashed at an old man who lacked even the strength to truss a chicken, the bloody carnage he expected never came. Instead, a ringing clash resounded.
It was the sound of blades colliding.
He looked up and found a mysterious man in black robes standing before him. The aura coming from the man was anything but weak. By a conservative estimate, he was at least as strong as the Soul Douluo himself.
"Sir, Spirit Hall is conducting its business. Please do not interfere. These are heretics, and His Holiness has ordered us to purge this place."
Yet the black-robed man showed not a trace of fear at the mention of Spirit Hall. Instead, he burst into laughter.
"What a coincidence. I'm acting on the orders of the Elder Hall's Saint Son to purge you rebels."
With that, he released his martial soul without the slightest hesitation and clashed with the Soul Douluo.
Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao's other subordinates also plunged into battle with the remaining men.
As for Huo Yuhao himself, he stood with his arms folded across his chest. The six angel wings behind him radiated golden light, illuminating the pitch-black sky, while his eyes shone with a dazzling golden radiance.
He looked like a Divine Son descending to earth!
His voice drifted slowly down from the sky. "You dared to attack ordinary people, and elderly people who lack even the strength to truss a chicken at that. You deserve death a thousand times over, and your deaths will be no loss."
"Heed my command. Kill them without mercy!"
Huo Yuhao's verdict meant that this squad of Soul Saints, led by a Soul Douluo, would meet its end here today.
The moonlight remained unchanged, but below it, killing intent surged without end, and blood flowed in rivers.
Far away in the sky, two figures hovered silently. Everything around them was utterly still; not even an insect chirped. One could only imagine how formidable their strength was.
"Boss, you said you'd let him handle it himself, yet you still couldn't rest easy and followed him out. Are you satisfied now?"
"Yes. Decisive in killing, with an imposing air spilling from him. Just what I'd expect from my grandson."
"Good riddance to these parasites. Keeping them would only tarnish Spirit Hall's reputation! After today's battle, it's time I gave Bibi Dong the papal seat I promised her. That unfilial son Qian Xunji truly is no longer worthy."
"There's nothing worth watching in the strong bullying the weak. Come, let's head back."
"As you command!"
Golden Crocodile Douluo agreed without hesitation. After all, there really was nothing worth watching.
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