Wrong Intelligence, There Were Two Evil Soul Masters!
As expected, something unexpected happened.
As the sun slanted westward, the Enforcement Corps members searching the area had found nothing and were preparing to return to Gui Mei.
Suddenly, a piercing shriek rang out in the distance. Jun Yan hurriedly looked toward the sound and saw a red firework burst in the sky.
A Soul Saint said, "That's our signal. Red means danger."
Another Soul Saint said, "Lord Gui Mei should already be on his way there. We'd better hurry over too."
"Jun Yan, you're too slow. We'll take you with us."
Before Jun Yan could speak, the two men each grabbed one of his shoulders and headed toward the signal.
By the time they reached their destination, they were too late. There were no signs of a fierce battle at the scene, only three shriveled corpses and Gui Mei standing there all alone.
"My lord!" The three stepped forward and called out in unison.
Gui Mei gave his three subordinates an explanation. "I was too late. They were already like this when I arrived."
Jun Yan approached the corpses and examined them, finally finding a wound on the back of each person's neck.
Then he said, "They were probably ambushed from behind and had their life force drained. Strangely, they don't seem to have put up much resistance. They only sent out a signal."
"That's strange!" Gui Mei frowned. He had lost three subordinates without even seeing his opponent.
Gui Mei suddenly asked, "Wait, what about the other squad?"
Only then did everyone realize that of the three squads from before, only one had returned. Even counting the three people on the ground, three were still missing.
"Could they be too far away and haven't made it here yet?"
Gui Mei asked, "Do you know which way that squad went?"
"I think they went west!" Jun Yan answered after a moment's thought.
"I'll go take a look!" With that, Gui Mei put the three corpses on the ground into his Soul Tool.
The four headed straight west and soon found three more corpses, their condition in death no different from that of the first three.
Gui Mei frowned and said grimly, "Why didn't they even send out a signal this time? It seems the intelligence really was wrong this time."
"Heh heh heh, is it possible the intelligence wasn't wrong, merely incomplete?"
A cocky laugh suddenly rang out, and a pale-faced man walked out of the woods nearby.
At the sight of the man, Gui Mei was both angry and pleased. He was angry that the man had killed six of his subordinates, but pleased that he had dared to show himself.
"You're courting death!"
Gui Mei turned into a black shadow almost at once and flew toward the Evil Soul Master. Black light flashed in his hand as he brought it slashing down.
With a flurry of flapping, the Evil Soul Master suddenly turned into dozens of bats that scattered in every direction, causing Gui Mei's attack to miss.
The dozens of bats flew to the top of a nearby tree, where they gathered and became the Evil Soul Master again.
"Lord Gui Mei, don't be so impatient! I'm not your opponent."
Gui Mei had spent years in the Enforcement Corps, killing Evil Soul Masters wherever he went, so that even this newly emerged Evil Soul Master knew his name.
Before the Evil Soul Master had finished speaking, a black shadow suddenly flashed into view in front of Gui Mei. Almost on instinct, Gui Mei bent his arm to block, and a fist struck it squarely.
Then he punched the shadow in the lower abdomen, sending it flying backward. A second later, however, it once again turned into an illusory shadow.
Gui Mei said darkly, "So there are two Soul Douluo. No wonder you could kill six of my subordinates in succession."
The Evil Soul Master standing atop the tree laughed sinisterly. "Lord Gui Mei, your Martial Soul is special. I'm afraid I'm no match for you, but my brother's Martial Soul happens to be a ghost too. He's just the one to play with you."
"One at level eighty-four, the other at level eighty-one. You must have eaten a bear's heart and a leopard's gall to dare make enemies of me!"
Gui Mei spoke disdainfully, then instantly turned into an illusory shadow, a faint black light radiating from him.
His Martial Soul Avatar was similar to that of the Evil Soul Master, but its color was much fainter. That did not mean Gui Mei's Martial Soul was inferior, however.
Gui Mei became a phantom and shot straight toward his opponent. Black light flashed over the Evil Soul Master with the ghost Martial Soul, and he vanished from where he stood.
But Gui Mei suddenly reached out and grabbed. A huge ghostly hand instantly appeared where the Evil Soul Master emerged, gripping him tightly.
The black Qi around the Evil Soul Master abruptly swelled, and the ghostly claw grew a size larger with it. Wisps of black Qi seized the chance to seep into the claw, then exploded.
While the two Soul Masters with ghost Martial Souls fought, the Evil Soul Master with the bat Martial Soul did not remain idle. He turned into bats again and flew toward Jun Yan and the other two.
Jun Yan hurriedly manifested his Martial Soul, then activated his Fifth Soul Ring.
Branches began growing rapidly from his hands, forming a wooden figure his own size beside him. The wooden figure then assumed Jun Yan's appearance.
Fifth Soul Skill, Wood Clone. It created a controllable Wood Clone that possessed most of the original's abilities, including but not limited to Soul Skills and Self-Created Soul Skills. Moreover, as Soul Power increased, the clone's strength drew closer to that of the original.
After releasing his Wood Clone, Jun Yan controlled it from a distance to fight the enemy.
Facing a Soul Douluo, the two Soul Saints beside him did not dare let their guard down in the slightest and immediately released their Martial Soul clones. One had a Chilong Saber as his Martial Soul, while the other had a Crimson Flame Tiger. Both were considered fine Martial Souls.
The Chilong Saber wielder's saber techniques were masterful. He unleashed razor-sharp saber Qi, chopping the incoming bats dead and sending them to the ground.
The other, a huge Crimson Flame Tiger, kept spewing flames from its mouth, burning several bats to death.
The bat Evil Soul Master immediately merged all the bats into one and resumed his original form, then opened his mouth and roared soundlessly at the three.
Wave after wave of invisible sonic attacks sped toward them.
Jun Yan's Second Soul Skill flashed, and his Wood Clone immediately unleashed a Soul Skill-Wood Barrier. Several trees grew rapidly from the ground, then bent to form a thick black wooden barrier in front of the three.
The sound waves, imbued with Soul Power, struck the Wood Barrier and blasted away many splinters. But because the barrier was so thick and kept regenerating, they failed to break through its defense.
The bat Evil Soul Master looked astonished. A Soul Emperor's Second Soul Skill had actually blocked his First Soul Skill.
While the attack was blocked by the Wood Barrier, Jun Yan activated his Third Soul Skill again. Suddenly, four vines burst from the ground around the Evil Soul Master. Covered in sharp thorns, they lashed at him.
The two Soul Saints were not about to let Jun Yan have all the glory. They rushed out from behind the Wood Barrier and activated their Sixth Soul Skills at the same time.
Two black Soul Rings flashed. A fiercely powerful blade of light descended from the sky, slashing straight at the Evil Soul Master, while a tiger wreathed in flames lunged at him from the other side, jaws snapping.
Faced with the three men's attacks, the Evil Soul Master's Seventh Soul Ring, Fifth Soul Ring, and Eighth Soul Ring flashed in succession.
An enormous blood-red bat abruptly appeared before them, constantly radiating blood-red ripples. The moment Jun Yan's Wood Spike vines touched the ripples, they shattered.
The bat then spewed a pool of blood from its mouth, which was filled with sharp teeth. The blood surrounded its body and gave off a foul, bloody stench.