The Soul King spat out a mouthful of blood, and the Soul Power in his hands dissipated.
Mother Zhang and Zhang Lexuan seized the chance to break free and hurried to Father Zhang's side.
When the other Soul King saw how fierce Toji was, his expression changed instantly. He swept his hand forward, unleashing a Soul Skill in a burst of blazing light that hurtled toward Mother Zhang and Zhang Lexuan like a meteor.
But Toji vanished from his sight like a ghost. The next second, a long blade blocked his view, and Toji drove a fist into the Soul King's abdomen.
Cracks spread across the protective Soul Power around his abdomen under the punch, and the terrifying force sent him staggering backward.
At the same time, the long blade in Toji's hand shattered into fragments.
It was over.
They had been so focused on Father Zhang, the Soul Emperor before them, that they had overlooked Toji, whom they had never been able to sense.
A born assassin whose presence could not be sensed with Soul Power at all.
Toji could be said to have brought his physique to its absolute limit.
Seeing that Toji had rescued both their hostages, the two Soul Kings felt their hearts sink to rock bottom.
Father Zhang stepped forward without hesitation, shielding his wife and daughter and blocking the Soul Skill coming at them. Then his fourth Soul Ring rose, and crescent moons surged from his hands like a tide, bearing down on the two Soul Kings.
The crescents swept over them like ocean waves, swallowing them whole. They hurriedly raised their hands to defend themselves, instantly condensing protective Soul Power around their bodies, but they were only level fifty-one Soul Kings. Before a level sixty-two Soul Emperor, their struggle was meaningless.
"Puchi-"
The crescents sliced through their bodies, sending blood gushing out. Both Soul Kings turned deathly pale.
A cold glint flashed in Father Zhang's eyes, and his fifth Soul Ring lit up. A crescent moon suddenly appeared overhead, radiating a frigid light as it slammed into the two Soul Kings with destructive force.
"Moonfall!"
The crescent moon fell like a meteor, striking both Soul Kings in an instant. A violent explosion rang out, and the shockwave from the moon's detonation blasted them back, blood spewing from their mouths. Their bodies were covered in wounds, and their Soul Power fell into disorder.
Seeing his chance, Toji pulled out another brand-new blade and shot forward like lightning, raising it as he bore down on the two Soul Kings' throats.
Without protective Soul Power, the two Soul Kings' necks were easily cut by the blade, and blood gushed out.
A single stroke ended both their lives.
Toji put away his blade and looked at the corpses on the ground, his eyes betraying not the slightest flicker of emotion.
He turned around to see Zhang Lexuan and her parents embracing one another. Reunited, the family shared a moment of happiness.
The sight left Toji with complicated feelings.
How should he put it? He had once had a family too, but one accident had made him an orphan.
The standard treatment for a webnovel protagonist.
Toji sighed and went to stand watch, giving them some time for their long-awaited reunion.
But just as he took a step away, he felt someone tug at his clothes.
He looked back to see the young Zhang Lexuan gazing up at him, her beautiful eyes blinking.
"Brother Toji, thank you. If you hadn't stepped in... I really don't know what would have happened."
"It was nothing." Toji nodded and saw Father Zhang approaching with Mother Zhang.
"Thank you, Toji. If you ever need us, just say the word. We'll climb mountains of blades and plunge into seas of fire for you," Father Zhang said in a deep voice, straightening his chest.
"Today, our whole family owes you an immense debt."
"Mm." Toji made no pretense of modesty. "Let's not talk too long. This place isn't very safe. I scared that Soul Emperor away, but if he comes back with reinforcements and finds us, we really won't escape death."
"Let's go to the outskirts first. It's safe there."
"All right, we'll do as you say."
Toji led them out of Heaven Dou City and found a place to settle down in the outskirts beyond the city.
The night was growing deeper. Moonlight spilled through gaps in the leaves, casting a mottled pattern of light and shadow on the ground.
Toji settled Father Zhang and his family temporarily in a secluded spot outside the city.
Father Zhang's condition had stabilized, and eighty percent of his cultivation had recovered.
With Father Zhang, a Soul Emperor, there, they naturally had no need to worry about their safety.
Mother Zhang and Zhang Lexuan stayed close to Father Zhang, fussing over him with concern written all over their faces.
Toji stood a short distance away, his eyes sweeping warily over their surroundings to make sure no enemies were pursuing them.
Sitting beside her father, Zhang Lexuan looked at Toji's back, and warmth welled up in her heart.
After making sure her father was no longer in serious danger, she quietly got to her feet and tiptoed over to Toji.
Toji noticed her approach and turned his head.
"What is it?"
Though only eleven years old, Zhang Lexuan had already blossomed like a flower on the verge of opening, beautiful enough to intoxicate.
Her beauty was truly beyond words. Her skin rivaled snow, fair with a rosy flush, like peach blossoms in the third month, so lovely they seemed to drip with color. She also carried the refined bearing of a young lady from a noble family.
Her beautiful eyes were bright, their black and white distinct. Like autumn waters, they were clear to the bottom; like cold stars, they sparkled with light.
Her nose had an elegant, well-shaped bridge that added much to her face, and her small cherry lips were rosy and full. As she faced Toji, she smiled shyly, like a spring breeze brushing his face and warming his heart.
Her long hair flowed down her back like a waterfall, black and lustrous. It fluttered in the wind, lending her an even more ethereal grace.
Girls always developed faster than boys. Though still young, she had already begun to show the beauty of her curves, and the scent of her body wafted to Toji's nose, fresh and pure as a secluded orchid in an empty valley.
Such beauty and bearing at so young an age were truly rare in the world; she was destined to be a peerless beauty.
"Brother Toji..."
Zhang Lexuan murmured softly, a blush rising to her cheeks. Her hands twisted tightly together, and her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
"Thank you... If it weren't for you, my family would probably have..."
Her voice caught, but she went on.
"You saved us. I... I don't know how to repay you."
Zhang Lexuan had met Toji before she was old enough to awaken her Martial Soul. At first, they had simply been good childhood playmates. During the five years Toji had been missing, she had looked for him, but unfortunately... there had been no news of him at all.
With her mother always urging her to attend her lessons and cultivate diligently, Zhang Lexuan had no other playmates besides Toji.
His disappearance had left an emptiness in her heart, and she had felt utterly lonely.
After five years apart, when her family faced the calamity of annihilation, Toji had descended like a god of war and saved them...
Now that they had met again, a feeling she herself could scarcely describe stirred in Zhang Lexuan's heart. Looking at Toji, she couldn't help feeling her heart beat faster, and her cheeks grew slightly warm.
She didn't know what the feeling was, only that Toji was becoming more and more important to her.
Toji looked her up and down and couldn't help teasing her.
"All right, your family has thanked me plenty already. If you really don't know how to thank me, then hurry up and get stronger. Become a powerful Soul Master."
"That way, maybe someday I can cling to your thigh and eat soft rice?"
Zhang Lexuan's face was already as red as a ripe apple.
"So you like eating soft rice, Brother Toji."
"Rice that's too hard hurts my teeth," Toji said.
Just as Zhang Lexuan was about to say something else, Toji's expression suddenly turned wary. His long blade slipped silently from its sheath, and his eyes fixed on a certain direction, sharp as a hawk's.
"Who's there? Come out!"