Oscar

Time rewound to three minutes earlier.

"Yu Chen, look. These men were friends, but they turned into enemies over profit. You'll have to watch out for that in the future."

Ming Dashan spoke as he patted Yu Chen on the shoulder.

Yu Chen nodded.

He had understood these truths in his previous life.

Having lived three lives, he was no ordinary nine-year-old child.

"Uncle Dashan, could you save the Soul Master who's absorbing the Soul Ring?"

Yu Chen spoke up.

"Oh? Why?"

Hearing this, Ming Dashan tilted his head slightly, his gaze settling on Yu Chen's face.

He already had a plan in mind.

After years of traveling far and wide, Ming Dashan had never been softhearted.

He had come here to teach Yu Chen, not to save anyone.

Even if he intervened, he would wait until they had exhausted their soul power before stepping out and subduing everyone with his strength as a Soul Ancestor.

"No particular reason. I just feel a little sorry for him."

Yu Chen's voice was calm.

"All right."

Ming Dashan nodded.

There was no calculation in Yu Chen's eyes. He simply wanted to save someone.

As his elder, Ming Dashan found that deeply reassuring.

If Yu Chen had just said, "Let's steal that Ox Treasure," or, "Kill them all," Ming Dashan would truly have questioned whether he was fit to be a principal.

Whoosh-

Ming Dashan hesitated no longer and darted out.

In the hollow.

Wang Liu had already raised his broadsword and was about to bring it down.

Suddenly, a powerful force surged toward him from the side. His entire body stiffened, and a chill ran down his back.

"Who's there?!"

He whipped his head around and shouted, his eyes wide.

Ming Dashan stood tall at the edge of the hollow, four Soul Rings slowly revolving around him.

Two yellow, two purple.

The two purple Soul Rings were particularly glaring.

"A Soul Ancestor!"

Wang Liu instinctively backed up two steps, stepped on a stone, and nearly stumbled.

Beside him, Wang Wu's face turned white in an instant, the heavy flesh on his plump face twitching twice.

A Soul Ancestor!

The two brothers were only Soul Grandmasters. Even together, they were no match for a single hand of his.

Damn it. We can't hold on to the Ox Treasure.

His thoughts took a sharp turn for the worse.

No!

This was no longer a question of treasure, but whether they could keep their lives.

Murder and robbery were commonplace in the Soul Master World. A Soul Ancestor had appeared here and caught the brothers killing someone to silence him. Any excuse would suffice for slaughtering them.

Wang Wu plastered a smile on his face, stepped forward, and bowed. "Senior, we..."

Before he could finish, Ming Dashan spoke:

"Get lost."

Wang Wu and Wang Liu exchanged a glance, relief filling their eyes.

Wang Wu's knees buckled, and he dropped straight to the ground. "Senior! Thank you! Thank you for sparing us!"

Ming Dashan stood there without speaking.

He knew perfectly well that these two had blood on their hands, perhaps not for the first time.

Leaving such ruthless men alive would only invite trouble.

But Yu Chen was still watching nearby. He could not go on a killing spree in front of the child. Yu Chen was only nine; witnessing throats slit and necks severed would inevitably leave a shadow in his heart.

"You're thanking me too soon!"

Ming Dashan turned his right hand, and a sword blade sliced through the air.

Shhk-

Sword light flashed, severing Wang Wu's right hand cleanly at the wrist.

"Aah!"

Wang Wu clutched his wrist, veins bulging on his forehead as he screamed like a pig being slaughtered.

"Big brother!"

Wang Liu shouted in panic and lunged forward to help Wang Wu up. But before he could reach him, Ming Dashan had already closed in.

The blade turned, and another cold gleam flashed.

Shhk-

Wang Liu's right hand was likewise cut off.

Yet despite the pain piercing his heart, Wang Liu gritted his teeth and did not cry out.

"Get lost."

Ming Dashan looked down at the two men, his gaze sharp.

Clutching their severed wrists, Wang Wu and Wang Liu scrambled to their feet and stumbled backward several steps.

"Thank you for sparing our lives, Senior!"

"Thank you, Senior!"

Both kept their heads lowered, their voices full of terror.

Not daring to linger another second, they supported each other and fled the hollow.

"Uncle Dashan, that move was so cool!"

Ming Dashan said calmly, "I spared them, but I cut off a hand each to prevent them from seeking revenge later."

After saying this, he sighed inwardly.

If his left leg had not been crippled, he would probably have broken through level fifty long ago.

But his circumstances back then had been different from today's. He had been the victim of persecution.

"Mm..."

Just then, a sound suddenly came from behind them.

Yu Chen turned to look. Full Beard had finished absorbing his Soul Ring.

He looked around blankly, then settled his gaze on the two of them, his face full of confusion.

"Huh? Who are you?"

His voice was clear and bright, sounding like a teenager's and completely at odds with Full Beard's face.

Yu Chen stared at him for two seconds, unable to shake the feeling that something was strange.

The next moment.

The boy turned his head and saw Li Si lying on the ground.

The corpse lay facedown, a large pool of dark red blood beneath it mingling with the dirt.

"Ah!"

The boy's lips trembled, and his face went white.

"You... you killed him!"

His voice shook, his eyes reddened, and tears instantly welled up.

"Senior! Please don't kill me! I'm still a child!"

The boy fell to his knees and banged his forehead against the ground before Ming Dashan.

He cried and shouted, his voice shrill and clear, tears and snot mingling in a thoroughly miserable mess.

Looking at Full Beard, the burly man kneeling and sobbing before him, Ming Dashan's mouth twitched.

A child?

With that huge beard, he had to be at least thirty, and he called himself a child?

"Young fellow, get up."

Ming Dashan waved a hand and sighed, somewhat speechless.

"I didn't kill this man. This Soul Beast yielded a piece of Ox Treasure, and they turned on each other, robbing the robbers."

Yu Chen added, "If Uncle Dashan hadn't stepped in, you'd be dead too."

The boy raised his head and blinked.

He had been absorbing the Soul Ring earlier and had been completely unaware of the outside world.

If they wanted to kill him, he would have no way to fight back.

He was only a support system Soul Master with no combat ability. A Soul Ancestor had no need to go to such lengths to deceive him.

The boy wiped the tears and snot from his face, rose from the ground, then knelt again.

This time, he knelt properly and bowed deeply, pressing his forehead to the ground.

"I am Oscar. Thank you for saving my life, Senior!"

Ming Dashan stood there with a calm expression and his hands clasped behind his back, saying nothing more.

But when Yu Chen heard the name "Oscar," his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Your name is Oscar?"

Yu Chen stepped closer. "What's your martial soul?"

The boy paused, then scratched his head and smiled. "My martial soul is a sausage, the big, long kind. It's delicious. Oh, and I'm a support system Soul Master."

With that, he extended his hand and turned his palm upward. A steaming sausage appeared in it out of thin air.

Yu Chen stared at the sausage and the heavily bearded face before him, the corners of his mouth slowly lifting.

It really was him.

Who would have thought that saving someone in passing would lead to meeting one of the Shrek Seven Devils?