Mother Zhang's voice trembled slightly, and her eyes were full of disbelief.
His once-youthful face had grown sharply defined, and his eyes held a cold, resolute look.
His bearing was that of a decisive killer. One look told her he was a ruthless man who had crawled out of a pile of corpses.
Although his demeanor was utterly different from that of the frail child five years ago, the surname Zen was exceedingly rare. That, coupled with the familiar look between his brows and all the other details, gradually allowed Mother Zhang to recognize him.
"It's me, sis," Toji said with a nod. "Something happened to my family five years ago. I finally managed to come back, and I wanted to see you, but I never expected..."
He trailed off, his gaze sweeping over the gruesome scene in the room. A chill flashed in his eyes.
Mother Zhang followed his gaze, and her expression grew complicated. She took a deep breath, struggling to steady her emotions, then said softly:
"Child, thank you... If you hadn't arrived in time, Lexuan and I might have..."
Before she could finish, a faint noise suddenly came from under the bed.
Zhang Lexuan hurriedly poked her head out from under the bed and looked at Toji.
"Brother Toji?"
She called out timidly, her voice lacking confidence and tinged with uncertainty.
After all, five years had passed, and Toji really had changed a great deal.
Toji crouched down and looked at Zhang Lexuan, a rare smile appearing on his face:
"Lexuan, it's me. You're not hurt, are you?"
Zhang Lexuan crawled out from under the bed and threw herself into Toji's arms, hugging him tightly:
"Brother Toji, I only just found out about this too. What about my dad...?"
She remembered how her mother had played hide-and-seek with her and hidden her away to protect her, then thought of how she had no idea what her father was going through right now. Her voice began to choke, and tears streamed down her face.
Toji gently patted her back and comforted her. "Don't be afraid. With me here, no one can hurt you."
Mother Zhang's eyes also shimmered with tears as she watched. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, then said to Toji:
"Child, this isn't the time to catch up. The Zhang Family... is finished. Hurry and take Lexuan away..."
Before she could finish, a clamor of footsteps and battle cries suddenly came from outside. Toji frowned, quickly rose to his feet, and tightened his grip on his long saber.
"There's no time. They're already after us," Toji said in a low voice. "Sis, Lexuan, stay close to me. I'll get you out of here."
Mother Zhang was still worried. After all, Toji was just an ordinary person without Soul Power...
"But..."
"There's no time for buts, sis. Listen to me. You, Lexuan, and uncle can all live," Toji quickly interrupted, his voice serious.
Mother Zhang could only nod and grip Zhang Lexuan's hand tightly.
Toji went to the window and quickly surveyed the situation outside.
More than a dozen Soul Masters had poured into the courtyard, every one of them brimming with killing intent. Clearly, they had come to pull the grass up by its roots.
"Stay close. Don't fall behind," Toji said quietly. He then kicked the window open and jumped out first.
Mother Zhang and Zhang Lexuan followed close behind. The three quickly crossed the courtyard and ran toward the back gate. The Soul Masters, however, had evidently spotted them and immediately gave chase.
"Don't let them get away! Kill them!" the Soul Master in the lead shouted, his voice full of killing intent.
"Sis, take Lexuan and run to the back gate. I'll deal with them."
As Toji spoke, he charged at them. His long saber swept out, cutting the two Soul Masters at the front in half at the waist.
The bloody sight stunned the Soul Masters around them.
Whose fierce general was this?
"Courting death!" Toji said coldly. He charged into the crowd alone like a tiger among sheep, his long saber stirring up a spray of blood as it swung.
He was incredibly fast, and his strength was even more astonishing. Every stroke was incomparably precise, and he killed several Soul Masters in an instant.
Though the Soul Masters had numbers on their side, their cultivation was low. Most were around the Soul Grandmaster or Soul Elder level, and there were only three Soul Ancestors among them. Before Toji, they could not withstand a single blow.
Mother Zhang and Zhang Lexuan followed close behind Toji, watching his back with a mixture of shock and relief.
They had never imagined that the child who had once felt inferior for having no Soul Power would grow so strong and become such a decisive killer.
He could actually slaughter three-ring and four-ring Soul Masters like pigs. Surely even an ordinary Soul King couldn't do that?
Seeing that Toji was doing fine, Mother Zhang immediately took Zhang Lexuan and ran toward the back gate.
Mother Zhang and Zhang Lexuan had just reached the back gate when they found their path blocked. Five Soul Ancestors, their four rings flashing, stood in their way.
As they looked at Mother Zhang and Zhang Lexuan, the four men's faces twisted into savage smiles.
"Still trying to run? Be good and die!" the Soul Master in the lead sneered.
Mother Zhang's face turned pale. She held Zhang Lexuan tightly, her body trembling slightly:
"Lexuan, don't be afraid. Mommy will protect you."
Just then, Toji's voice came from behind them:
"Who said they were going to die?"
Long saber in hand and a dense killing aura surrounding him, Toji approached step by step. Looking like an Asura who had crawled out of hell, he sent an involuntary shiver through the Soul Masters.
"Don't be afraid, he's just one man! Use your Soul Skills!"
Seeing Toji charge over, the Soul Masters unleashed their Soul Skills, sending fireballs, ice spikes, wind blades, and more at Mother Zhang and Zhang Lexuan.
Toji stepped in front of Mother Zhang and Zhang Lexuan and swung his long saber in an impenetrable flurry. A screen of saber shadows formed, cleaving the fireballs, ice spikes, wind blades, and other Soul Skills apart one by one.
"???"
The Soul Ancestors unleashing their Soul Skills stared wide-eyed at the sight.
Their shock was no less than that of someone in the modern world seeing a person cut bullets down with a blade.
"Hit him harder! There's something strange about this man. Keep your distance and keep suppressing him with Soul Skills. Don't let him get close!"
Seeing how ferocious Toji was, the Soul Ancestors immediately changed tactics.
At the same time, the pressure on Toji grew. As his long saber continued to hack and slash, cracks gradually appeared in it.
Toji also noticed the oddity, his face full of displeasure.
"In the end, it's not a Soul Tool. It's just a well-made weapon. What a pity."
This also made him realize just how important it was to have a Soul Tool as a weapon.
With a crisp snap, the long saber in Toji's hand finally shattered, scattering countless fragments across the ground.
But by then, he had also cleaved apart every one of the Soul Skills. Mother Zhang and Zhang Lexuan were safe.
The Soul Ancestors were delighted at the sight:
"His weapon's broken! Get him!"
The delight on their faces froze the moment the words left their mouths.
Toji quickly pulled a brand-new long saber from the spatial Storage Soul Tool on his belt.
Since they weren't Soul Tools, they were cheap, so Toji had bought several in case he needed them.
As for the spatial Storage Soul Tool he carried, it was a third-level one. It had cost him several thousand Gold Soul Coins and nearly emptied his savings.
But it was worth it!
Toji gripped the long saber tightly and burst forward. A cold gleam flashed from the blade, so dazzling that they could hardly see.
"Clatter."
By the time they came to their senses, Toji was already standing among them. The long saber in his hand shattered in an instant, and a Soul Ancestor's head rolled to the ground in return.
Toji pulled out another brand-new long saber.
The long saber in his hand glinted coldly in the sunlight.
His eyes were as cold as bottomless abysses, and a savage grin curled his lips, as though the Soul Ancestors around him were nothing more than lambs awaiting slaughter.
"We can't let them get out, or we'll all die!"
The Soul Masters swarmed forward, their Soul Rings flashing. The light of their Soul Skills intertwined in the air into a dazzling net, but in Toji's eyes, it was all nothing more than futile struggling.
"Come on, then."
Toji quickly raised his arm and swung his long saber. Shadows of the blade swept out like a raging wind and driving rain.
As the saber shadows flashed, the force behind each swing nearly tore invisible cracks through the air. Wherever the blade passed, the Soul Masters' Soul Skills shattered and dissolved into flecks of light that scattered into the air.
The two Soul Ancestors at the front had been charging forward menacingly one moment. The next, they felt an irresistible force strike them head-on.
The webs between their thumbs and forefingers jolted violently, as though struck by an immense, invisible force. Their bodies flew backward involuntarily, crashing heavily to the ground. Blood spurted from their mouths, and their faces went deathly pale.
"This... how is this possible? Just what is his cultivation level? Why can't I see through it?"
One Soul Ancestor clutched his chest, his eyes full of terror.
He had never seen anyone so unusual. Without the slightest trace of Soul Power, Toji had left Soul Ancestor-level experts like them unable to fight back.
The battle was not over, however. The moment Toji swung his saber, the two Soul Ancestors on the right had quietly circled behind him.
A sinister light flashed in their eyes. Their Soul Rings suddenly lit up, and Soul Skills gathered in their hands, bearing destructive power straight toward the center of Toji's back.
The Soul Skills erupted with a roar, their blazing light crashing toward Toji's back like meteors.
Victorious smiles had already appeared on their faces, as though they could already see Toji being blasted to pieces by their Soul Skills.
Yet the instant the Soul Skills were about to strike Toji, their pupils contracted sharply, and their smiles froze.
Before them, Toji's figure actually vanished like a phantom. The Soul Skills struck empty air, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"An afterimage?!"
The two Soul Ancestors were horrified. Before they could react, a chilling killing intent swept over them from behind.
The killing intent pierced their marrow as though it were solid, making their blood seem to freeze in an instant and leaving their bodies too stiff to move.
"Pfft-"
The sound of the long saber cutting through the air was crisp and cold. The two Soul Ancestors' heads slowly slipped from their necks, and blood gushed out like fountains, staining the ground red.
Their eyes were stretched wide, as though even in death they could not believe they had been killed so easily.
Toji stood behind their corpses, blood still dripping from the long saber in his hand, and looked at the two remaining Soul Ancestors.
"Don't kill us, we're-"
"Crack."
Before they could finish, Toji easily dealt with both Soul Ancestors.
The long saber in Toji's hand shattered once again.
All five Soul Ancestors had been wiped out.
Mother Zhang and Zhang Lexuan watched Toji fight, their faces full of shock. In the past, they would never have believed, even if beaten to death, that Toji could become this strong. Killing these Soul Ancestors was as easy as reaching out and grabbing them.