Killing

Ma Xiaotao frowned. "Teacher Wang, how did you figure that out?"

Wang Yan adjusted his glasses and chuckled. "Simple. The cores of all the nearby Wenlan Trees have been dug out, and the damage looks fresh-probably less than five hours old. That's why I suspect the Death Hand Bandit Group is nearby."

Everyone was impressed. To reach that conclusion from so little information, Teacher Wang Yan truly knew his stuff.

Ma Xiaotao stepped closer to examine the hollow where a Wenlan Tree's core had been. Sap still clung to it. Just as Wang Yan had said, the damage was fresh.

Then Ma Xiaotao checked the other nearby Wenlan Trees. Their cores had all been dug out.

She nodded. "In that case, let's keep searching. There should be traces left by the bandits nearby."

"Huo Yuhao, keep using Spiritual Detection, and crank up the power."

Maintaining their previous formation, they ventured about three hundred meters deeper into the woods before Wang Yan stopped beside a Wenlan Tree. He immediately called everyone to a halt. "This Wenlan Tree's core was dug out very recently, probably within the last fifteen minutes. Yuhao, use your Spiritual Detection to thoroughly search an area thirty meters across around us. There must be footprints left nearby."

Huo Yuhao acknowledged him and immediately pushed Spiritual Detection to its limit, sharing it with Wang Yan alone.

Their surroundings instantly took on three-dimensional clarity. Wang Yan carefully studied the terrain around them...

Everyone advanced slowly.

"Stop," Wang Yan said in a low voice.

Wang Yan gestured for everyone to stay still, then slowly headed toward their three o'clock. Only after walking a dozen or so meters did he signal for the others to follow.

With Spiritual Detection, Wang Yan could always find the faintest threads of a trail: shoe prints, broken branches, scraps of bloodstained cloth...

Following those clues, they gradually emerged from the woods.

Wang Yan called them to a halt again and said gravely, "The footprints ahead are all jumbled. It looks like we've found the place. Everyone, get yourselves ready for battle."

They followed the footprints downhill for about five hundred meters and reached a hillside. They had already entered the Sun Moon Empire's territory...

The footprints on the ground continued down the hillside...

Wang Yan turned to everyone, his tone solemn. "Children, the enemy is below this slope. If I'm not mistaken, there should be a cave down there where they're hiding."

He then looked at the younger members. Speaking of age, Chen Tianyuan was actually only two years older than Huo Yuhao. He had yet to turn fifteen...

"When facing the enemy, you mustn't show mercy. This isn't a Soul Fighting match at the academy. It's a battle to the death!"

Wang Yan's expression was stern. "Here's the deployment: Ma Xiaotao and the other Inner Court students will lead the attack. The reserve team and I will provide support."

As he spoke, he looked at Chen Tianyuan. "Tianyuan, use your own judgment. You can attack or defend."

Gongyang Mo patted Chen Tianyuan's shoulder. "Junior Brother Chen, come with me. Together, we'll have no match below Soul Emperor."

Chen Tianyuan nodded and moved to the front of the group.

Ma Xiaotao looked at everyone. "We're about to fight. Put on your Shrek Inspector masks."

Everyone immediately got to work.

Although called masks, the Shrek Inspector masks were really just oddly shaped eye masks...

Chen Tianyuan pressed his lips together, then stepped in front of everyone. "Wait a moment."

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Chen Tianyuan in confusion.

Wang Yan asked, "What is it, Tianyuan?"

Chen Tianyuan took a deep breath. "I suspect the Evil Soul Master leading them can use Corpse Explosion. So after we kill anyone, we must destroy the body without leaving even a single limb behind."

Ma Xiaotao frowned. "How could we possibly have time to dispose of bodies under those circumstances? Besides, how do you know that Evil Soul Master can use Corpse Explosion?"

Chen Tianyuan looked at her. "Do you think I'd gamble with everyone's lives?"

"Enough." Wang Yan stopped the two before they could start arguing.

"In that case, we'd better be careful. But aside from Xiaotao, none of us seem to have the ability to destroy bodies without a trace, do we?"

Chen Tianyuan said, "We don't need to deal with ordinary people's bodies. It's the Soul Masters' bodies we need to watch out for."

"What's Corpse Explosion?" Xu Sanshi asked.

Bei Bei explained, "Corpse Explosion is a secret art. As the name suggests, it detonates corpses. The higher the person's cultivation was in life, the more powerful the explosion."

Chen Tianyuan looked at Huo Yuhao. "Yuhao, your ultimate ice should be able to freeze corpses into dust, right?"

Huo Yuhao nodded. "I can do that."

Chen Tianyuan nodded back. "Good. Then you'll handle the Soul Masters' bodies left behind while I advance with the others."

Wang Yan said quietly, "All right. Everyone, get ready to move."

Chen Tianyuan moved with the seven Inner Court students. Following the slope down, they did indeed find a cave. Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng leaped inside first, and the other Inner Court students followed one after another.

Inside the cave was a narrow, winding passage. A torch was mounted on the stone wall every twenty meters, so it wasn't too dark.

After advancing about thirty meters, they spotted seven bandits a short distance ahead. These bandits were all ordinary people, with no fluctuations of soul power, and failed to notice Chen Tianyuan and the others even as they drew close.

Once they confirmed that only those seven were guarding the entrance, Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng charged out.

Their strikes were clean and decisive. The bandits never even made a sound.

They pushed open the stone door and continued deeper inside.

But the sound of the stone door opening caught the other bandits' attention. A dozen or so came to investigate and spotted the eight of them.

Cries of an enemy attack instantly spread throughout the cave.

Chen Tianyuan acted without hesitation. His ultimate lightning erupted, blasting the dozen or so bandits to death.

Ma Xiaotao immediately gave the order. "Since we've been exposed, we'll fight them head-on. Don't leave a single one of these bandits alive. Kill them all!"

The light of soul rings shone within the cave, illuminating the dim passage.

They killed as they advanced. After slaughtering over a hundred bandits, they finally encountered Soul Masters, but most were only Soul Elders or Soul Grandmasters. They were blasted to death the moment they came face-to-face.

Despite killing for the first time, Chen Tianyuan felt none of the discomfort he had expected. Instead, he felt somewhat excited. Only the stench of blood filling the air made him a little nauseous.

Meanwhile, Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng were actually competing to see who could kill more bandits...

Chen Tianyuan did his utmost not to look at the bodies on the ground, focusing all his attention on the bandits still alive.

What Chen Tianyuan hadn't expected, however, was that there were underground tunnels inside the cave.

An Evil Soul Master at the Soul Ancestor level slipped out of a tunnel behind them, intending to launch a sneak attack.

Four soul rings-white, yellow, yellow, and purple-lit up beneath him.

But in the next instant, a bolt of ultimate lightning as thick as an arm slammed into his head.