Killing Intent in the North

Firelight flickered inside the cave.

The unconscious female teacher leaned against the stone wall, her breathing faint. Xue Qinglan had temporarily suppressed her injuries, but she would not wake anytime soon.

Shui Yunlan looked at the black palm print on her back, her expression grave.

The Evil Soul Masters had attacked more than one group.

Several children with ice-attribute Martial Souls had also been taken away.

The longer they delayed, the more danger those children would be in.

"Young Master Lin."

Shui Yunlan turned to Lin Yuan.

"We don't know how many Evil Soul Masters there are, and they may be stronger than the last group."

"I know this request is rather presumptuous, but with our current strength alone, I'm afraid it will be difficult to rescue them."

She said solemnly:

"I beg you to help Skywater Academy once more."

Lin Yuan did not hesitate.

"All right."

Shui Yunlan froze slightly.

Lin Yuan looked at the wind and snow outside the cave.

"Everyone has the right to put Evil Soul Masters to death."

"Since we've run into them, there's no reason to let them leave unchecked."

Gratitude flashed in Shui Yunlan's eyes.

"I'll go with you."

"No."

Lin Yuan glanced over her bloodstained shoulder.

"Your injury hasn't healed. Coming along will only slow me down."

Shui Yunlan frowned.

"But those children are students of Skywater Academy."

"That's all the more reason for you to stay alive."

Lin Yuan said:

"There are still wounded people and four children here who need protection."

Shui Yunlan fell silent.

Xue Qinglan took over.

"Vice Dean, I'll take you all back to the academy's base."

"There are other teachers at the base. Once we regroup, we'll immediately organize a rescue team and report this to the nearby Spirit Hall Branch."

This was the safest arrangement for now.

Lin Yuan would handle the tracking and confirm the Evil Soul Masters' location.

Skywater Academy and Spirit Hall would gather personnel from the outskirts, then follow up.

Lin Yuan took a token from his Soul Tool and handed it to Xue Qinglan.

The token was shaped like an arrowhead, dark gold all over.

A Six-Winged Angel emblem was engraved on the front, while the back bore a cyan-blue longbow.

A tiny star hung above the bowstring.

The Imperial Bow Token.

This was an identification token Qian Daoliu had crafted exclusively for Lin Yuan, the only one of its kind in Spirit Hall.

"Give this to the master of the local Spirit Hall Branch."

Lin Yuan said:

"Tell him to seal off the outskirts of the Far North immediately and search all suspicious Soul Masters."

Xue Qinglan accepted the token.

When her Soul Power touched it, the Six-Winged Angel emblem glowed with a faint golden light, and the longbow on the back also shone cyan-blue.

Her expression jolted, and she immediately put the token away safely.

"I'll hand it to the branch master personally."

Once everything was settled, everyone made the most of the time to recover their Soul Power.

Lin Yuan also leaned by the cave entrance, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing.

Using Starfall Arrow Rain and Charged Strike in succession earlier had consumed a considerable amount of his Soul Power.

He still had to track the Evil Soul Masters alone, so he had to recover as quickly as possible.

Several hours later, the wind and snow outside the cave gradually eased.

The sky also began to brighten.

Lin Yuan opened his eyes. Most of the Soul Power within him had recovered.

Everyone then left the cave.

At the foot of the mountain, the two groups formally parted ways.

Xue Qinglan took Shui Yunlan, the injured female teacher, Shui Bing'er, and the others back to the academy's base.

Lin Yuan headed north alone.

"Brother Lin."

Shui Bing'er stepped out of the group.

She looked up at Lin Yuan, unable to hide the worry in her eyes.

"Since those Evil Soul Masters dared to attack the academy's groups at the same time, there must be someone even stronger behind them."

"You must be careful."

"Mm."

Lin Yuan nodded.

Shui Bing'er pressed her lips together.

"We'll bring people back as soon as possible."

"Until then, don't take risks alone."

Lin Yuan did not agree, only saying:

"Take care of your aunt first."

Knowing she could not persuade him, Shui Bing'er could only nod earnestly.

"I will."

Shui Yue'er also ran over.

She grabbed Lin Yuan's sleeve and tilted her little face up to ask:

"Brother Lin Yuan, you'll rescue the people who were taken away, won't you?"

"I'll do my best."

"Then you have to come back too."

Shui Yue'er did not release her grip on his sleeve.

"You also promised to show me Starfall Arrow Rain again."

Lin Yuan glanced at her.

"When did I promise that?"

Shui Yue'er blinked.

"I said you promised, and you didn't deny it."

"..."

Lin Yuan fell silent for a moment.

"We'll talk about it when I get back."

Only then did Shui Yue'er smile and release his sleeve.

"It's a promise!"

Shui Bing'er bowed to Lin Yuan.

"Brother Lin, take care."

"You too."

Lin Yuan turned and left.

Cyan-blue Soul Power flashed beneath his feet, and his figure soon vanished into the depths of the wind and snow.

Shui Bing'er stood where she was until Lin Yuan was completely out of sight, then left with Xue Qinglan and the others.

The two groups traveled in opposite directions.

One group returned to the outskirts to seek help.

One person headed north alone to hunt.

After leaving the others, Lin Yuan did not immediately venture deeper.

He found a sheltered rock face, took out dry rations and clean water, and replenished his strength with a simple meal.

A short while later, he rose again.

The Imperial Bow appeared in his palm.

Four Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple.

The second Soul Ring lit up.

Second Soul Skill-Hunting Sense.

An invisible perception rapidly spread into the surroundings.

The fluctuations of Soul Power amid the wind and snow, the life hidden beneath the snow, and the Soul Beasts moving in the distance entered Lin Yuan's perception one after another.

However, those Evil Soul Masters had been gone for too long.

The distance between them was too great.

Even Hunting Sense could not directly pinpoint their location.

Lin Yuan closed his eyes, filtering out the jumbled signs of life around him.

After a long time, he finally detected a faint, cold fluctuation due north.

It was very indistinct.

He could not even judge the precise distance.

But the bloodiness and malice mixed within it were extremely similar to the presence of the Iron-Faced Soul Saint.

"Due north."

Lin Yuan opened his eyes.

The white smiling mask floated out of the wind and snow.

"Just a direction?"

"You don't even know where they are. Does that count as finding them?"

Lin Yuan put away the Imperial Bow and strode north.

"A direction is enough."

"What if you go the wrong way?"

"Then I'll try another direction."

The mask immediately burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha!"

"Hunting entirely by guesswork. How interesting."

Lin Yuan ignored it.

The farther north he went into the Far North, the harsher the environment became.

The snowy forest gradually thinned, and the snow on the ground grew deeper and deeper.

Cold winds swept across the open snowfields, cutting across his body like blades.

Lin Yuan maintained Hunting Sense the entire time.

That evil presence remained distant, but it did not disappear.

As he continued drawing closer toward the north, the once-indistinct sensation grew clearer little by little.

The direction was correct.

The Evil Soul Masters' base lay in the far northern reaches of the Far North.

Lin Yuan picked up speed.

Cyan-blue Soul Power covered his legs as his figure sped through the wind and snow.

Along the way, he stopped several times to confirm his direction.

The farther north he went, the more distinct that bloody presence became.

At first, it was only a barely perceptible abnormality.

Several hours later, Hunting Sense could already pick up intermittent evil fluctuations.

They did not come from just one person.

But from a group.

Several faint signs of life were mixed in among them.

The children who had been taken away were very likely still alive.

"We're getting closer."

The mask floated beside Lin Yuan.

"They must have prepared plenty of interesting things up ahead."

"A trap, a corpse, or an Evil Soul Master even stronger than the last one?"

Lin Yuan said evenly:

"We'll know when we get there."

The sky gradually darkened.

Lin Yuan crossed a snow-and-ice-covered hillside, and a patch of low, snowy woodland appeared ahead.

He was just about to enter it when his steps abruptly halted.

Within his Hunting Sense, intense killing intent erupted without warning.

It came from behind him to the left!

Lin Yuan's pupils contracted slightly.

A cold gleam, almost indistinguishable from the wind and snow, had already slipped through the gaps between the trees, striking silently toward the back of his neck.