Second Soul Skill, Flesh Thorns

Lin Yang flipped himself onto the roof of the carriage, sweeping his gaze over the figures pouring out of the darkness in the distance.

There were about twenty-odd bandits, dressed in a motley assortment of clothes and wielding sabers and axes, greed and ferocity flashing in their eyes.

One thing was certain, however: they were nothing more than a rabble of Soul Masters and bandits.

Among those dozens of people, only two or three had white Soul Rings circling them.

"Form up! Protect the goods!"

Phil had also spotted those greedy hyenas.

Though tense, his years of traveling north and south allowed him to quickly steady himself and bark out orders.

The guards swiftly backed against the wagons, their spears pointing outward in unison to form a simple defensive circle.

"Lord Lin."

Hearing Phil's shout, a sharp gleam flashed in Lin Yang's eyes, and two Yellow Soul Rings shone brilliantly at his feet in the darkness.

This was naturally the result of Lin Yang using "Invisibility" to distort their senses.

Actually revealing the colors of two Thousand-Year Soul Rings would have been far too shocking.

Even so, two Hundred-Year Soul Rings-a standard pairing-still stirred up a towering wave among the bandits.

"A Soul Master! There's a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster!"

One of the bandits cried out involuntarily.

Their heads had been clouded by greed, but when they saw those two Yellow Soul Rings symbolizing power and rank,

it was as though a basin of cold water had been poured over them, and fear flooded their eyes.

Just as some began to falter, a ghost-headed broadsword instantly cleaved a bandit in two.

A white Soul Ring and a yellow one circled the one-eyed burly man as he coldly surveyed the others, his fleshy face vicious.

"Let's see who else dares retreat!"

Seeing this, the bandits could only steel themselves and charge forward.

Charging might not get them killed; refusing to charge certainly would.

Lin Yang paid no attention to what they thought. His second Soul Ring swiftly lit up.

With a casual motion, Lin Yang scattered a splash of blood toward them. The blood rapidly mutated in midair, turning into blood-red thorny vines.

Demon God Body, second Soul Skill: Flesh Thorns!

The thorny vines grew wildly and spread at astonishing speed.

Densely covered in sharp barbs, they were hard yet incredibly resilient, like living iron caltrops.

Like an enormous net, the thorny vines descended over the bandits' heads.

Their sharp barbs pierced skin and sliced through flesh with ease.

Once they drew fresh blood, the thorny vines immediately took root, absorbing blood to grow and multiply.

Until their hosts were utterly dead!

Amid cries of agony, the bandits at the front were instantly swallowed by the thicket of thorns.

"This one's trouble! Take that brat out first!"

The one-eyed man roared.

He knew very well that they could not drag this out any longer. If they did, these men's fighting spirit would collapse completely.

He charged toward Lin Yang with great strides, Soul Power erupting around him.

As his white Soul Ring flashed, a faint layer of white light rose over his ghost-headed broadsword.

Stamping down hard, the burly man leaped into the air, his blade bearing down heavily as though he meant to split Lin Yang and the carriage together.

Lin Yang's expression remained unchanged. His fingertips twitched, and several thorny vines suddenly whistled through the air from behind the man, nimbly winding around his legs.

The barbs pierced his flesh. The one-eyed man's expression changed sharply, and he redirected his blade, hacking left and right in an attempt to sever the vines.

Yet when his Martial Soul struck the vines, faint sounds of clashing metal actually rang out.

"What the hell kind of Martial Soul is this?"

The one-eyed man was both shocked and furious. His first Soul Skill could not even damage them?

Meanwhile, the other bandits had already become embroiled in battle with the caravan guards.

Shouts of battle, clashing weapons, and screams instantly painted this wilderness with a wash of blood.

"Die, damn you!"

A skinny, monkey-like bandit moved with great agility, a white Soul Ring flickering around him.

In two or three steps, he rushed up to a guard and swept out his hand, instantly tearing the leather armor over the guard's chest in half as though it were paper.

Lin Yang's brows furrowed slightly, and with a thought,

three or five vines abruptly split off from the thicket, lashing like whips at those One-Ring Soul Masters.

The lashes instantly split the bandits' skin and flesh, sending them staggering backward and immediately easing the pressure on the guards.

"Bastard, your opponent is me!" the one-eyed man bellowed furiously.

Seizing the moment when Lin Yang's attention was divided, he sent the Soul Power within him surging wildly, and his second Soul Skill lit up.

"Second Soul Skill, Raging Slash!"

Dark red light blazed from the ghost-headed broadsword, its blade seeming to swell considerably.

Bearing a savage, frenzied momentum, it cleaved straight toward Lin Yang himself.

Clearly, unable to cut through the vines entangling him, he intended to eliminate Lin Yang, the Soul Master, first.

Once Lin Yang died, the Soul Skill would naturally collapse without further effort.

Yet faced with the one-eyed man's desperate strike, Lin Yang did not even look at him. He merely gave a bored yawn.

Just then, the one-eyed man's burly body abruptly stiffened in mid-charge, his remaining eye bulging in disbelief.

Pfft! Pfft!

The next instant, a dense succession of hair-raising sounds came from his body.

Countless sharp, blood-red thorny vines burst wildly from the one-eyed man's mouth, his eye, and even all over his body.

The vines were coated in warm blood, which dripped onto the ground and splashed into tiny crimson flowers.

In the blink of an eye, the vicious bandit had become a tattered wreck of a corpse.

Vines continued growing over it, like ropes that hooked souls and snatched lives.

The horrifying sight plunged the entire battlefield into deathly silence.

Bandits and caravan members alike now looked at Lin Yang with eyes full of terror and horror.

Clang!

A broadsword was thrown to the ground, giving off a piercing sound.

A bandit, his face utterly bloodless, clutched his head and screamed hoarsely,

"I... I surrender! Don't kill me!"

That cry was like the first domino falling.

Clink, clank... Weapons were thrown to the ground one after another.

As though drained of every ounce of strength, the remaining bandits dropped their weapons one by one.

Like quails, they crouched on the ground with their heads in their hands, trembling.

Only heavy panting, stifled sobs, and agonized screams remained around the camp.

"L-Lord Lin..."

Phil approached, forcibly suppressing his discomfort as he cautiously studied Lin Yang's expression.

"What... what should we do with these people?"

Lin Yang's indifferent gaze swept over the surviving captives. Every one of them instinctively averted their eyes, not daring to meet his gaze.

There was little expression on Lin Yang's face. He merely waved a hand casually.

"Handle it as you see fit!"

With that, he paid no further attention to anything behind him and flipped back into his carriage.

Everything that followed was shut outside the carriage.

Lin Yang had no interest in knowing how Phil dealt with the surrendered bandits.

He could, however, clearly feel the respect and caution in the others' gazes throughout the rest of the journey.

The day after encountering the bandits, the caravan officially entered the Star Luo Empire. Everyone could not help letting out a long sigh of relief, their expressions relaxing considerably.

On the fifth day, the caravan entered the Pelagi Kingdom.

In Pelagi City, the kingdom's capital, Lin Yang looked at the fawning Phil, reached out to accept twice the original payment, and officially parted ways with the caravan.