Ye Guyi

After several days of traveling at full speed, the three finally reached the border between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Sun Moon Empire. Ye Yulin sighed with relief that his perilous mission was finally coming to an end.

Piloting the Soul Guidance Aircraft, Ye Yulin glanced at the two sitting cross-legged in cultivation.

"Hm? There's something strange about Lin Mo's soul power."

Following his gaze, unlike Huo Yuyao's pale soul power fluctuations, Lin Mo's soul power seemed more solid, with distinctly visible black and white strands.

Soul power normally only became this condensed during cultivation once someone reached Soul Ancestor or Soul King, yet it had appeared in a Soul Grandmaster who had only just broken through.

Both of them had made breakthroughs in their soul power.

Lin Mo had broken through to Soul Grandmaster over half a month earlier, and his soul power had now reached rank 23.

Huo Yuyao had broken through to Soul Grandmaster over the past few days and had already reached rank 22.

Both used the Soul Power Compression Cultivation Method to continually condense and purify their soul power as they cultivated.

"Hm?"

Just as the three flew toward the Sun Moon Empire, fierce sounds of battle suddenly rose from a patch of forest.

Flashes of soul skills and curses rang out incessantly, rousing the two from their cultivation.

"Little Yao."

"Mm."

[Spiritual Detection, Spiritual Sharing] activated simultaneously, quickly linking into their vision.

Lin Mo looked at the figures fighting in the forest, startled.

In the woods below, six cloaked figures in black were pursuing a blonde girl. Each gave off a bloody aura, with soul rings rising beneath their feet.

"To think they're Evil Soul Masters."

Among the six Evil Soul Masters were two Soul Elders, three Soul Ancestors, and one Soul King.

However, four of the six had mere ten-year soul rings as their first soul rings, and even the sole Soul King's fifth soul ring was only a hundred-year soul ring.

"Is that?!"

Lin Mo's gaze locked onto the blonde girl the others had cut off.

"Ye Guyi?!"

The girl had a graceful figure and flowing blonde hair. She darted through their attacks, four soul rings pulsing around her as radiance imbued with a sacred aura emerged from her body.

However, she was badly wounded, and her tattered clothes were covered in bits of grass.

"Senior Ye, could I ask you to help?"

"In theory, no. You two are-"

Before he could finish, Lin Mo stopped looking at him. He turned and leaned forward, his first soul ring instantly flashing beneath his feet.

A pure white halo appeared, and a clone identical to him immediately leaped off the aircraft.

"Although I only have two rings, after activating my first soul skill, I deal double damage to Evil Soul Masters. This is the perfect chance to try it out."

Only after doing that did he turn back to Ye Yulin and scratch his head awkwardly.

"Hehe, sorry. Senior Ye, I hate Evil Soul Masters more than anything. If neither you nor I go down, surely I can send my soul skill down instead?"

Looking at Lin Mo's punchable expression, Ye Yulin spoke with a smile that never reached his eyes.

"Why don't I sense any apology from you?"

"Hehe."

"Besides, I said 'in theory.' Even if you hadn't said anything, I would have gone down and killed those Evil Soul Masters. Withdraw your soul skill."

"Then hurry down, please. Save that girl while you're at it."

No matter what, I have to be the first one she sees when she's rescued. Saving her will win me some goodwill. A genius like Ye Guyi is someone I absolutely have to recruit in the future. Hehehe.

After hearing Lin Mo's last remark, Ye Yulin looked at him with a complicated expression. Huo Yuyao, who had been watching the entire exchange, did the same.

The girl's gaze held a hint of displeasure as she looked at Lin Mo.

However, Lin Mo did not notice.

In the forest, just as Ye Guyi's escape route was about to be completely sealed, "Lin Mo" emerged from the shadows with a bizarre movement technique and sent a Soul Elder flying with a single strike.

The sudden turn of events shocked everyone present.

"Enemy attack!"

A Soul Ancestor closest to Ye Guyi had just turned his head, intending to see who had suddenly launched the attack.

But in the next instant, a golden sword ray traced a perfect arc before him.

"Aaargh!"

"Third!"

"Little Yao, go! Use Spiritual Shock on him."

"Yes!... Hm?"

Seeing Ye Guyi cleave one of the six to death, Lin Mo hurriedly spoke to Huo Yuyao beside him on the aircraft.

Yet she found the order rather strange. For some reason, the girl felt there was something odd about his tone.

Still, she did not hesitate. A brilliant gleam shot from her eyes, and an invisible spiritual shock crossed beyond the aircraft and through layers of trees, shooting straight toward one of the Soul Elders.

"Urgh!"

The man struck by Spiritual Shock immediately toppled backward.

"You little brat!"

Feng Mang, the strongest member of the group, saw that the one responsible for all this was a boy who looked even younger than Ye Guyi, and fury blazed within him.

He immediately activated his hundred-year fifth soul ring.

"Blood Bone Art!"

As his words fell, that hundred-year soul ring glowed with an eerie, bloody light. Several blood-red skulls burst out around him and hurtled straight at "Lin Mo."

Lin Mo controlled his clone, dodging attack after attack.

Since his clone inherited only 50% of his stats, even though [Extreme Yang] granted double damage against Evil Soul Masters, that bonus applied only to offense, not defense.

"Still trying to dodge? My fifth soul skill tracks its target! You've gotten so many of my brothers killed. Today, I'll make you wish you were dead!"

Seeing this, Ye Guyi immediately tried to rush over to help, only to be stopped by the two remaining Soul Ancestors.

"You!"

"Hmph, little bitch. Be good and die!"

The two Soul Ancestors unleashed their third and fourth soul skills simultaneously.

Watching the blood-red skulls pursuing him relentlessly and the Soul King charging toward him, Lin Mo acted with a thought.

The clone instantly vanished where it stood.

The Soul King froze for a moment. He had never imagined that a perfectly solid person could suddenly disappear before his eyes.

His fifth soul skill ended as its target vanished.

All of this had happened because Lin Mo had directly canceled the effect of his first soul skill.

Lin Mo's first and second soul skills both had a special effect: they could be activated twice in quick succession within a short period.

"Senior Ye, it looks like you might not need to act. That guy's a little stupid."

As Lin Mo spoke, he activated his first soul skill again.

He controlled the clone and sent it back into the dense forest. This time, the Soul King did not dare relax. He had indeed let his guard down at first, never imagining someone could hide nearby and suddenly appear to eliminate his subordinates.

He reached the spot where Lin Mo's clone had vanished and concentrated on searching his surroundings.

Although his soul ring configuration was truly poor-white, yellow, yellow, yellow, yellow-and could even be called trash among trash, he was still a Soul King. After searching carefully, he actually noticed the hidden "Lin Mo."

"No! Second, Fourth!"

Indeed, since he was not a spiritual-type Soul Master and his soul ring configuration was so poor, his detection abilities were utterly awful despite his Soul King rank.

By the time he detected him, "Lin Mo" had already charged out of the shadows, aiming straight for his subordinate's neck.

Although they were fighting two against one, and Ye Guyi was wounded, the difference in talent and the countering of their attributes meant the two could only manage to suppress her.

Second, who heard his boss's voice first, had only just turned his head when he saw the sharp blade already closing in on his neck.

"Bastard!"

He hurriedly channeled all his soul power into his neck to protect himself.

With a crisp clang, the clone wielding the Mystic Sword merely cut through his skin before it could advance no farther.

"Tsk, what a shame."

Sitting aboard the aircraft, Lin Mo could not help sighing.

"It really is a shame. Brother Xiao Mo's soul skill seems to have only 50% of his own strength."

"Shall I go down?"

Ye Yulin had originally intended to descend right from the start, but Lin Mo's intervention had interrupted him.

"Wait a little longer. I think I can still put up a bit of a struggle."

"Huh?"

"After all, I'm not the only one fighting down there."

Sure enough, with one Soul Ancestor being harassed by Lin Mo's clone, Ye Guyi, whom it had originally taken two Soul Ancestors to suppress, immediately broke free.

However, she did not attack the Soul Ancestor who had been blocking her. Instead, she first attacked the one Lin Mo had interrupted.

[Holy Light Illumination]

[Holy Praise]

[Holy Spirit Slash]

Her first, third, and second soul skills appeared simultaneously.

The Soul Ancestor who had intended to pursue her was briefly immobilized as soon as her first skill shone upon him. The other Soul Ancestor, who noticed her charging toward him, could not escape even if he wanted to.

The Soul King farther away rushed forward, but he was already too late.

"Second!"

Amid his scream, the Evil Soul Master called Second was instantly beheaded. Meanwhile, as Ye Guyi swung the longsword in her hand again and again, her wounds healed and her soul power continually recovered and increased.

"Enough! I'll make you pay with your-"

Before he could finish saying "lives," an even more terrifying pressure slammed him into the ground.

"Is that so? How arrogant."

Ye Yulin's voice drifted over slowly as he piloted the Soul Guidance Aircraft down beside them.

The pressure of a Titled Douluo erupted in an instant.

Before the two Evil Soul Masters could act, they felt every bone in their bodies shatter.

"A T-Titled Douluo."

Ye Guyi clearly had not expected a Titled Douluo to be hidden nearby, and instinctively took two steps back.

Seeing this, Ye Yulin said nothing more.

He looked at "Lin Mo" in front of Ye Guyi, curiosity on his face.

Ye Guyi noticed as well. Sensing that the two sides probably did not know each other, she hurriedly grabbed "Lin Mo" and pulled him behind her before bowing respectfully.

"This junior, Ye Guyi, thanks Senior Titled Douluo for saving my life."

Seeing Ye Guyi even pull Lin Mo's clone behind her, his expression grew stranger still.

"I merely intervened to suppress the Evil Soul Masters."

Ye Yulin waved his hand, then looked toward the two still aboard the aircraft.

Because of its special material, although the aircraft was protected by a transparent glass canopy, those inside could see out, while those outside could not see in.

Lin Mo and Huo Yuyao both stepped down.

"Hello, Ye Guyi."

"Hello."

After seeing the two descend, Ye Guyi immediately realized that the boy among them looked exactly like the one standing behind her.

She looked behind her in disbelief, but within three seconds of her turning around, that figure vanished.

"Ahem, sorry. That was my soul skill."

"...Huh?"

Dazed, she did not know what to say for a moment.

They had fought together for so long, yet she had never noticed that he was only a clone.

"Thank you for saving my life, young sir."

"Don't dwell on it. We were simply on our way back to school and happened to lend a hand. Evil Soul Masters are the common enemy of the continent. Killing them when we encounter them is also ridding the people of a scourge."

"Exactly."

"Speaking of which, your martial soul seems rather unusual. It feels familiar. Is it connected to the Six-Winged Angel of Spirit Hall from ten thousand years ago?"

"You have a discerning eye, young sir. To be honest, my family is indeed connected to the Qian Family, who possessed the Six-Winged Angel lineage ten thousand years ago. However, as time passed, our martial soul gradually degenerated into the Holy Angel it is today."

At this point, Ye Guyi could not help giving a bitter smile.

"My name is Lin Mo. This is my younger sister, Huo Yuyao. This is Senior Ye, who accompanied us to obtain our soul rings."

"Hello."

"Hello."

The two greeted her in turn.

"Your injuries seem quite serious. You probably need to rest for a while. Do you have anywhere to go?"

Ye Guyi had not expected him to suddenly ask such a question. Since it was not anything particularly important, she answered.

"No. My entire family was killed by Evil Soul Masters. All these years, I've wandered the continent with the goal of wiping out every Evil Soul Master, so I have no fixed abode."

Nice! If I recruit a genius to the academy ahead of time, I'll have a core member for an organization like the Spirit Pagoda when I establish it later.

Although Lin Mo was delighted, he could not show it on his face. He coughed awkwardly twice.

"I'm truly sorry."

Ye Guyi merely shook her head, untroubled.

"That's all in the past. There's no need to feel guilty. Besides, thanks to you, I survived. Otherwise, they probably would have killed me today."

"I already said we were just lending a hand. Right, if you don't have a fixed abode at the moment, would you like to come to the academy with us? In your current condition, you probably won't be safe wherever you go. Why not come back to school with us?"

"Back to your school?"

"Yes. You can rest at our school for a while. Don't worry, it's very safe there."

"Hmm, where is your school?"

"We're all from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy."

The two exchanged words back and forth, while Ye Yulin and Huo Yuyao could only watch from the sidelines.

"So that's it. This brat actually wants to lure this genius into the academy. He really does have the academy's interests at heart."

Ye Yulin wore a wry smile.