Ye Lingling sighed helplessly and prepared to go out and buy some essential daily necessities.
Heaven Dou Royal Academy was not in Heaven Dou City, but on a mountain outside the city.
Students who went out generally headed to Heaven Dou City as well.
With the night growing late, Ye Lingling planned to go and return quickly.
But after leaving the area under the academy's jurisdiction, Ye Lingling suddenly had a bad feeling.
A faint chill crept up her back, as though someone were following her.
Ye Lingling was only a six-year-old girl, after all, and a faint trace of fear gradually spread through her heart.
She glanced back warily.
But behind her, aside from the empty road and the pitch-black woods,
there was not a single person in sight.
Ye Lingling pulled her clothes tighter around herself and continued toward Heaven Dou City.
The academy was not very far from Heaven Dou City.
All of a sudden, Ye Lingling felt a fierce gust rise behind her.
Acting on instinct, Ye Lingling immediately dodged aside.
Some purplish-red liquid had appeared where she had just been standing.
White smoke rose from it in wisps as it steadily corroded the ground.
"Tsk, pretty quick to react. As expected of a rare Martial Soul."
Before Ye Lingling could recover, an icy voice suddenly came from behind her.
At some unknown point, a figure in a black robe had appeared, their face hidden beneath their clothing.
"Who are you?"
Ye Lingling's expression turned grave, and she immediately released her Martial Soul.
A yellow Soul Ring slowly appeared beneath her feet.
But unexpectedly, after seeing Ye Lingling's Martial Soul, the other party showed no intention of leaving.
There was even a twisted note of excitement in the figure's voice.
"Heh heh heh, my nose was right after all! It really is the Nine Heart Begonia! A Martial Soul that can only have two exist at the same time. I've really struck it rich today."
The man gave a sinister laugh and slowly stepped toward Ye Lingling.
With each step, a Soul Ring appeared beneath his feet.
Yellow, yellow, purple.
"A Soul Elder?"
A slight tremor entered Ye Lingling's voice.
She was no Yu Tianheng, and her own Martial Soul was only a support-type Martial Soul.
She had no chance whatsoever of winning against someone above her level!
"Little girl, your Martial Soul can make a contribution to raising my Soul Power. You should feel honored."
A black snake formed from Soul Power coiled around the Evil Soul Master's arm.
Its pair of slit pupils stared fixedly at Ye Lingling.
Ye Lingling frowned deeply, her mind racing as she searched for a way out of this predicament.
"You can't escape. This place belongs to neither Heaven Dou City nor Heaven Dou Royal Academy. I've been waiting for you for a long time."
The man licked his scarlet tongue.
A flash of killing intent passed through his eyes.
"Second Soul Skill: Bone-Corroding Deadly Poison!"
As his voice fell, the man opened his mouth and spat out two streams of venom.
Ye Lingling tried hard to dodge, but the Soul Power suppression from the Soul Grandmaster
left her unable to move her legs at all.
She could only watch helplessly as the black venom drew closer and closer.
Just as Ye Lingling thought she had no escape and closed her eyes in despair, waiting for death,
she suddenly felt pressure around her waist.
Her entire body was sent flying along with it.
"Are you all right?"
Hearing the all-too-familiar voice, Ye Lingling opened her eyes in disbelief.
The face that met her eyes was actually Yu Tianheng's.
"Why are you here?"
Ye Lingling could hardly believe her eyes, and she even wondered
whether she had already died and everything she saw now was nothing but a fantasy after death.
"I was cultivating on the mountain behind the academy just now when I suddenly sensed a very strange surge of Soul Power, so I thought I'd come take a look."
Yu Tianheng told the truth. The man before him was most likely an Evil Soul Master.
Given that exceedingly strange feeling, Yu Tianheng really couldn't think of any other possibility.
"Looks like my luck is good. There's a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon too..."
The Evil Soul Master's anger at being interrupted instantly vanished.
He had thought some expert had discovered him, but it turned out to be another wet-behind-the-ears brat at a level in the teens.
But after sensing him carefully, the Evil Soul Master's expression suddenly changed.
This isn't a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon!
This feeling seems even more profound!
Looks like I've really struck it rich today.
"A rat who should be hiding in the sewers dares to come out and make a fool of himself now? Looks like Spirit Hall hasn't done enough to hunt down and suppress Evil Soul Masters."
Yu Tianheng showed no fear, and there was a hint of mockery in his voice.
"Shut up! What does a kid who hasn't even grown all his hair know? What Evil Soul Masters? We're the true orthodox path! Today I'll show you the power of what you call an Evil Soul Master!"
As his voice fell, at some unknown point,
a faint layer of black fog had appeared around the Evil Soul Master's body.
"Third Soul Skill: Spirit-Devouring Black Fog!"
The Evil Soul Master moved his hand, and the black fog gradually condensed into a black venomous snake.
It opened its bloody maw as though it meant to swallow both of them whole.
"First Soul Skill! Thunder Dragon Tyrant Body!"
Yu Tianheng had seen the Evil Soul Master's Martial Soul just now. It seemed to be a Forest Kingsnake.
A snake dared to run wild before a dragon?
Violent lightning surged constantly over Yu Tianheng's body.
The moment the black fog snake drew near,
Yu Tianheng abruptly raised his hand.
A torrent of lightning shot out.
Boom!
With a violent explosion, the snake formed from black fog was torn to pieces by the lightning.
Such overwhelming Martial Soul suppression could not be overcome by a mere gap in Soul Power.
On top of that, this Evil Soul Master had always relied solely on figuring things out for himself.
He simply could not bring much strength to bear.
The residual force of the explosion shook the Evil Soul Master back several steps.
He opened his mouth and spat out a pool of blood.
"How could a wet-behind-the-ears brat at a level in the teens possibly have such strength?"
Disbelief showed on the Evil Soul Master's face.
Even Soul Masters at the same level usually found it difficult to last more than a few moves against him.
How did this brat break through my black fog so easily?
That's simply impossible!
While the Evil Soul Master was stunned, Yu Tianheng moved as fast as lightning.
In the time it took a spark to fly, he had arrived in front of the Evil Soul Master.
His great dragon-claw-like hand struck the man's cheek squarely.
The Evil Soul Master spun several times in the air and went flying backward.
Caught completely off guard, the gap between their Soul Power Levels was of no use.
"Thunder God Domain!"
That was not all. Yu Tianheng also released the Thunder God Domain at once.
He had no intention of giving the Evil Soul Master a chance to catch his breath.
This Evil Soul Master was not like those inexperienced senior students at the academy.
People like him hovered between life and death every day, and their methods were far more terrifying.
Yu Tianheng would not allow any possibility of being injured through carelessness.