Enslaving the Soul Mutant Bell!

After receiving the soul fragments, Mia and Shelly took their leave and continued leading their teams to gather high-quality Sanctuary Souls.

Allen stayed behind. Roger spent some time helping him bind the Netherlo Ring, then gave him the soul fragments.

Sensing the transparent barrier surrounding his soul ocean, Allen felt far more secure.

A Soul Defense Divine Artifact was different from a Material Defense Artifact.

As long as an opponent's soul attack did not surpass Roger's, it could block the attack completely.

That meant Allen could now ignore soul attacks from Asuras and anyone below them, vastly improving his ability to stay alive.

As for physical defense, he could only rely on his own cultivation level and divine artifact armor.

There was little Roger could do to help him with that at present.

After Roger took Allen around the Undead Sacred Mountain, Allen found a secluded chamber upon their return and began cultivating in seclusion.

Powerful figures were appearing with increasing frequency throughout the Netherworld.

If he wanted to secure his position as deputy city lord, he needed the strength of a Highgod.

The magical beast Allen had bound through a Master-Servant Contract had already refined a High Godhead.

But if Allen himself lacked strength, it would still be hard to earn everyone's respect.

Previously, Allen had been troubled by his slow cultivation.

Now that he had soul fragments, he could drastically shorten the time he needed.

Time continued to pass.

Several hundred more years went by in the blink of an eye.

During this period, Allen returned to Netherlo City to keep it running. He also managed to fully master two profound mysteries, leaving only earth pulsation to master before he could break through to Highgod.

As for Mia and Shelly, since they were already Highgods, their progress was not much faster than before. They merely gained a deeper understanding of the edicts they cultivated.

After all, even within the same branch of the same edict, each person's insights differed.

"Master, I've discovered someone suspicious. He is a Highgod, but he possesses the auras of both light divine power and earth divine power. He should be one of the soul mutants you mentioned before."

Suddenly.

While cultivating in seclusion, Roger received a telepathic message from Mia.

A soul mutant? With those two types of divine power, too? Could it be my old acquaintance, Bell? Roger recalled meeting Bell thousands of years ago, when he was still a Midgod.

Back then, he had not been confident he could stop Bell from escaping. But now... he had reached the Asura level, and his soul was no weaker than Bell's.

Roger was very confident he could subdue him.

"Where is he now?" Roger asked at once.

"Deep in the Snowwind Mountains."

"Good. Keep your distance and continue watching them. I'll be there right away."

Pushing open the chamber doors, Roger followed his soul connection with Mia and immediately headed toward her.

Several days later.

"Mia, you said they've been hiding in the canyon ahead all these years?"

Roger asked as he looked at a cave tens of thousands of meters away, hidden deep in the mountains.

"Yes, Master. A patrol first discovered them, but they thought they were only stopping briefly, so they didn't pay much attention," Mia said.

"But several years passed, and they were still here. That was when I was notified. When I went to investigate, I saw him attack from a distance, so I immediately hurried back to report to you."

"Good. Next time you encounter a soul mutant like this, or any divine beasts, special life forms, and the like, tell me immediately."

Roger nodded in satisfaction.

Over the years, as his progress in the death edict slowed, the growth of Roger's strength had gradually slowed as well.

That was why he had begun stripping away vast quantities of soul fragments.

At the same time, Roger had instructed his subordinates to watch for certain unusual experts.

He intended either to enslave these people himself or have Mia enslave them...

In short.

Roger had no intention of letting anyone with potential slip away.

"Wait here. I'll go meet him."

Ordinary people were no match for a soul mutant who had reached Highgod.

Even Mia might not be able to defeat him without using her Innate Divine Ability.

"Yes, City Lord!"

Leaving the patrol behind, Roger took Mia with him and flew toward the cave.

A moment later.

Roger and Mia arrived several thousand meters in front of the cave.

His surging soul power swept across it.

Once he "saw" the situation inside, a satisfied smile curled Roger's lips.

"So it really is you, Bell!"

After all these years and all their wandering, they had unexpectedly met again.

"Mia, keep your distance for now and wait for my instructions."

"Yes, Master."

Whoosh!

With everything arranged, gray divine power surged around Roger, and he instantly accelerated, flying toward the cave.

But he had only made it halfway.

Bell appeared outside the cave. "It's you!"

"Haha, I didn't expect you to remember me." Seeing that Bell recognized him, Roger stopped.

"Of course I remember. I never expected to meet you here, City Lord Roger."

Bell laughed loudly. He appeared calm, but a trace of wariness lingered in his expression.

In the intervening years.

After breaking through to Highgod, he had long since slain his former enemies.

Now, he only wanted to find somewhere quiet to cultivate and continue climbing toward the pinnacle.

However.

He had never expected to encounter an old "acquaintance" even after traveling all the way to the central Netherworld.

Moreover, while traveling through the Netherworld over the years, Bell had heard of Roger, the lord of Netherlo City, more than once.

After making a few inquiries, Bell had confirmed that this powerful city lord was the obscure tribal chief he had met back then.

"What brings you here, City Lord? This shouldn't be part of your territory, should it?"

Seeing that Roger did not leave and instead studied him with interest, Bell felt a flicker of unease.

"Haha, if we're really going to get technical, this place could indeed be considered part of my territory."

Roger laughed. "But this time, you don't have a choice."

Whoosh!

As soon as he finished speaking, a translucent javelin shot from Roger's eyes.

"Hmph, I'm no longer the Midgod I was back then. Let's see what you can do, City Lord Roger!"

Seeing that it was a soul attack, Bell felt no fear whatsoever.

He was a Highgod soul mutant!

His soul was naturally ten times stronger than those of others at his level!

In all these years, he had yet to meet anyone capable of breaking through his soul defense.

But in the next instant.

Boom!

The rapidly spinning translucent javelin whistled through the air and slammed into Bell's soul defense.

Having undergone several transformations, the Soul Annihilation Blade was now fully capable of threatening other Asura-level experts.

Although Bell was a Highgod soul mutant, he had not yet completely fused the profound mysteries of different elements. He was stuck at the final step.

Thus, his strength could, at best, be considered that of a Six-Star Demon.

His soul defense was impressive, but against the Soul Annihilation Blade, which was hundreds of times stronger than him, it could not hold!

Hiss!

Sure enough.

The rapidly spinning Soul Annihilation Blade easily pierced Bell's soul defense!

"No!"

He felt his soul barrier being pierced with ease. The soul defense he had always been so proud of was now as fragile as paper, and Roger cultivated the death edict on top of that.

An ominous premonition suddenly flashed through Bell's mind.

"So you're not a fully realized soul mutant. Then don't blame me for showing no mercy."

The moment he pierced Bell's soul defense, Roger understood the extent of his strength.

Without hesitation, he dispersed the Soul Annihilation Blade charging into Bell's soul ocean, then used its scattered soul power to instantly form a Soul Leech.

Hiss!

The eerily animate Soul Leech instantly rooted itself deep within Bell's soul, enslaving it in a flash!