As Wang Chen was covered in soul sand, the bloody killing intent inside the carriage slowly dispersed.
The soul sand wrapped tightly around Wang Chen's body like the most secure cage, steadily eating away at the last of his consciousness.
The Evil Soul Master who had been screaming madly in the carriage, arrogant and domineering, had now lost every trace of his earlier ferocity.
His entire body convulsed violently, broken rasping sounds escaping his throat.
His remaining consciousness was stripped away, devoured, and ground out of existence bit by bit. He was practically no different from someone in a vegetative state.
Watching Wang Chen, who could no longer struggle, Xiao Chen felt not the slightest ripple in his heart.
There was no need for even a shred of mercy when dealing with an Evil Soul Master like this, who had spent years slaughtering living beings and committing countless evils.
With a slight shift of his thoughts, Xiao Chen immediately canceled his Soul Skill's effect.
The writhing soul sand filling the air stopped its erosion and drew back like a receding tide, all of it returning to Wither's body.
Then the pitch-black Wither withdrew into Xiao Chen's body. The entire process was clean and decisive, without the slightest delay.
After the soul sand dispersed, Wang Chen lost all support and could no longer hold himself up. His legs buckled, and he dropped heavily to his knees on the cold carriage floor with a thud.
He looked utterly wretched now, long since stripped of a Five-Ring Soul King's ferocity.
Large portions of his muscles had shriveled and wasted away, his skin clinging tightly to his bones. His entire body was emaciated beyond recognition, his blood and vitality completely depleted.
Most fatal of all, his soul had been utterly devoured by the soul sand. His head was empty, devoid of all consciousness and thought.
His flesh remained, and his life had not yet ended, but he had become a living corpse without thought or awareness.
The carriage fell deathly silent for a moment. The next second, long-suppressed cheers erupted, ringing throughout the entire train car!
"We won! We're saved!"
"Incredible! That boy is so strong!"
"That was an Evil Soul Master! A child actually dealt with him so easily!"
The passengers broke free of their terror one after another. The pallor gradually faded from their faces, replaced by the wild joy of surviving a disaster and admiration.
Everyone raised their heads, their gazes converging on Xiao Chen, their eyes filled with shock and praise. Waves of applause rose without end.
Moments earlier, the oppressive certainty of death had shrouded the entire car. Everyone had thought they would not escape this calamity today and were about to become souls slain at the Evil Soul Master's hands.
No one had imagined that the person who would save everyone in the car would turn out to be a handsome boy who looked only about ten years old.
Amid the noisy applause and praise, a light, sweet voice was the first to ring out.
Blinking her clear silver eyes, Na'er moved close to Xiao Chen. Her little face was filled with realization, and her voice carried a little resentment and grievance. "Wow! Big Brother, that move was incredible! You were going easy on me before, too!"
She had challenged Xiao Chen to countless sparring matches. Every time, he had seemed to win by only a narrow margin, and she had always thought the gap between them was not very large-that she could catch up if she trained diligently.
Only after witnessing Xiao Chen instantly overwhelm the Evil Soul Master today did she finally realize.
It turned out that in every sparring match, her brother had deliberately gone easy on her and held back!
"Hmph, you're so mean, Big Brother! You've been hiding your strength from me all along, deliberately going easy on me to bully me!"
Na'er pouted slightly, gently shaking Xiao Chen's arm as she complained in a wheedling voice.
Xiao Chen could not help chuckling helplessly. He raised a hand and gently rubbed her long silver hair without offering much explanation.
Just then, steady, hurried footsteps approached.
The train's conductor hurried over. She had been maintaining order in the rear carriages, and when she had just sensed the fluctuations of Soul Power and sounds of fighting in the carriage ahead, she had been frantic, fearing the Evil Soul Master would slaughter people indiscriminately and cause a catastrophe.
Yet upon reaching the scene, what he saw left him utterly stunned.
An Evil Soul Master lay collapsed on the floor, no different from a cripple, while the person who had dealt with him was merely a young boy with a refined, untroubled air.
Deeply shaken, the conductor quickly walked up to Xiao Chen. With a respectful, sincere manner, she cupped her hands and bowed deeply in thanks.
"Thank you for coming to our rescue, young brother! Without you, the consequences for all the passengers on this train today would have been unimaginable. You saved every one of our lives!"
Faced with the conductor's solemn gratitude, Xiao Chen remained composed and shook his head slightly. His tone was modest and polite, without a trace of pride or complacency.
"It was only a small effort. I was just lucky enough to deal with him. There's no need to be so courteous."
His manner was calm and gentle, neither arrogant nor impatient. Such a disposition only deepened the conductor's admiration.
At such a young age, he possessed the terrifying strength to overwhelm a Five-Ring Soul King, yet remained modest and unassuming. It was truly rare.
Filled with emotion, the conductor took out the Soul Guidance phone she carried and quickly pulled up the Federation's wanted list of Evil Soul Masters, comparing the face of Wang Chen, who lay collapsed on the floor, to verify his identity.
A few seconds later, the verification result appeared. The conductor's pupils abruptly contracted, and the shock in her heart intensified.
Wang Chen, a level fifty-eight Power Attack System Soul King and Bloodthirsty Bear Evil Soul Master, had roamed the East Sea waters and surrounding cities for years, committing countless crimes and slaughtering large numbers of Soul Masters and ordinary civilians. His methods were cruel in the extreme, and he was an exceptionally dangerous Evil Soul Master on the Federation's priority wanted list.
Over the years, the East Sea had repeatedly dispatched forces to encircle and eliminate him, but he had always escaped through his formidable strength and cunning methods, stirring up wind and waves throughout the East Sea region with no one able to stop him.
Yet this veteran Evil Soul King, who had left the entire East Sea helpless and roamed free for years, had actually been easily overwhelmed and utterly crippled today by a boy of only ten!
Truly, heroes emerged from the young!
The conductor suppressed the storm raging in her heart and looked at Xiao Chen again, her manner even more respectful and warm as she took the initiative to introduce herself.
"Little brother, my name is Mo Lan. I'm the conductor of this Federation special-class Soul Guidance Train."
Having introduced herself, Mo Lan spoke with a solemn expression and sincere tone.
"Today, you rid the people of a scourge, eliminated an Evil Soul Master on the special-class wanted list, and preserved the lives of everyone aboard. Your contribution is immense."
"Under the reward provisions of Federation law, you fully qualify to apply for a special-class reward."
At this point, Mo Lan paused briefly before solemnly announcing, "I'll submit a merit application for you right now and apply for a Federation-wide Soul Guidance Train pass on your behalf!"
"With this pass, you can ride Soul Guidance Trains on every route throughout the Federation free of charge for life. Special-class, high-tier, long-distance, short-distance-all of them will be free!"
"In addition, whenever you travel, you can use the train's highest-standard private luxury compartment free of charge and without conditions."
Federation-wide access, free travel for life, and a private compartment did not mean much to him, but since it was being offered, he would accept it.
Hearing this, Xiao Chen nodded slightly and thanked her politely. "Thank you, big sister."
He occasionally needed to go out for training and travel between different places. With this special-class pass, future journeys would indeed be considerably more convenient.
As Mo Lan looked at the modest, composed, and powerful boy before her, her heart filled with appreciation and admiration.
At such a young age, he possessed both peerless talent and a steady temperament. In the future, he would undoubtedly become a towering figure whose name resounded throughout the Douluo Continent.
Beside him, Na'er's little face was also full of pride as she watched everyone praise and admire Xiao Chen. She puffed out her little chest, her eyes sparkling as though she were the one being praised, her heart brimming with the joy of sharing in his glory.
Not long after the Evil Soul Master was dealt with, the train continued running as usual, heading toward the East Sea.
Looking at Na'er, who had fallen asleep leaning against his shoulder again, Xiao Chen sank into thought.
Judging by the current situation, he had already been drawn into the affairs of Na'er and Gu Yue, the two Silver Dragon Kings.
After spending nearly four years with Na'er, he did not want her to be treated as fusion material and absorbed by Gu Yue.
Furthermore, he was clearly on Na'er's side and opposed to Gu Yue. The plot had changed, too. He was certainly not the original story's Tang Wulin, and Gu Yue probably was not the original story's Gu Yue either.
The best solution was for Na'er to absorb Gu Yue without becoming Gu Yuena.
That way, not only would Na'er be fine, but he would also have a Silver Dragon King on his side to help him face the Great God Realm in the future.
If he could gain control of the Command Block, his side could also have a Dragon God.
His strength was still insufficient. For now, he did not even have a seat at the table in matters like these.
"Sigh, a whole pile of damn problems. Once you know enough people, every kind of trouble comes along."
"I'll have to grind away at training again. Gu Yue probably won't keep playing the pig to eat the tiger..."
"I wonder whether Na'er can turn things around and devour Gu Yue instead... and she can't become Gu Yuena, either..."
"What a pain. One more thing to deal with."
Before you continue