During his time wandering, Huo Yuhao had discovered just how powerful the White Tiger Dagger truly was.
For one thing, it was exceptionally sharp, so whether he was preparing food or fighting at close range, Huo Yuhao would often take it out and use it.
More importantly, the White Tiger Dagger could absorb Soul Power based impact skills and release that stored energy with his next strike.
And so, the following scene unfolded.
Just as the sword energy was about to strike Huo Yuhao, it suddenly vanished.
“…”
“What was that, Second Brother?
That move of yours seemed kind of weak.”
“What nonsense are you talking about?!
It’s obviously because of the weapon in his hand!”
“You still have time to argue?”
Huo Yuhao mocked them.
By then, he had already rushed straight into their midst.
He slashed with the dagger, and the stored energy erupted instantly.
In the blink of an eye, bloody wounds appeared all over several of them, and they crashed heavily to the ground.
“Useless trash!”
Lu Renjia, who had been counting on his companions to finish quickly and come help him, was nearly driven mad with anger.
How had they been the ones taken down first?
And why was Jiang Nannan so vicious when she fought?
He was already starting to struggle against her.
All or nothing!
Lu Renjia pulled out a Soul Burst Pill he had acquired.
It could temporarily increase his Soul Power, and he refused to believe he still could not overpower her after taking it.
He swallowed the pill and let out an enraged roar.
Then…
The world suddenly spun around him.
A sharp pain stabbed through his head, and even the sounds around him began to fade.
It was Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Shock.
Jiang Nannan seized the opening, closed the distance in an instant, and drove her elbow viciously into Lu Renjia’s throat.
“…”
Lu Renjia did not even get the chance to utter any last words before collapsing to the ground, motionless.
The two then went around finishing off each enemy and confirming their condition before finally relaxing.
“That was really close.
Yuhao, I seriously owe you one!”
“Not really.
Besides, Sister Nannan’s strength was completely different from how you usually fight.”
“Look who’s talking.
You had that dagger too…”
The two were still talking when a sharp whistling suddenly tore through the air.
“Sister Nannan, look out!”
Huo Yuhao lunged forward and tackled Jiang Nannan to the ground beneath him.
Several crossbow bolts coated in snake venom shot directly over the two of them.
Seeing that his attack had failed, the assailant immediately tried to flee.
But there was no way Huo Yuhao would let him escape.
If Huo Yuhao had not remained even slightly vigilant, Sister Nannan might already have been struck by one of those bolts.
Anger surged through him.
A dark purple light appeared in Huo Yuhao’s left eye, and a Spiritual Shock imbued with the Destruction Attribute erupted instantly.
The distant figure let out a muffled groan and fell from the tree.
Pinned beneath Huo Yuhao, Jiang Nannan had not seen the change in his eye, but she had clearly sensed that surge of Soul Power.
“Xiao Yuhao, you…”
“Sister Nannan, what happened just now was a kind of mutation in my Martial Soul.
Please don’t tell anyone about it, okay?”
Huo Yuhao’s legs had gone somewhat numb.
It seemed he had released too much power at once, leaving him unable to get back up for the moment.
So he simply remained sprawled weakly on top of Jiang Nannan.
“Of course I won’t tell anyone.
But in return, you’d better bribe me properly.”
Jiang Nannan smiled at the completely serious Huo Yuhao.
Finding his reaction rather amusing, she rubbed his head before slowly getting back to her feet.
…
Up close, the corpse turned out to be none other than Chen Wen, the man who had previously provoked Huo Yuhao and Jiang Nannan.
His luck had truly been terrible.
Chen Wen had originally intended to kill them and silence any witnesses, so he had bought crossbow bolts on the black market, coated them with snake venom, and waited for his chance.
But when the men he had hired failed to return for a long time, Chen Wen sensed that something was wrong and secretly slipped into the forest to investigate.
By the time he arrived, he discovered that all of them had already been taken down.
Chen Wen’s anger flared even further.
In a fit of rage, he decided to eliminate one of the two first.
What he had not expected was that he had already entered Huo Yuhao’s sensory range.
Nor had he expected Huo Yuhao’s Martial Soul attack to be so terrifying.
At first, Chen Wen merely froze for a moment.
Then he felt his mind being steadily eroded.
Finally, he lost consciousness altogether.
Jiang Nannan said, “Let’s pile all the bodies together and burn them.
That’ll keep us from attracting unnecessary trouble.”
…
The world of Soul Masters was simply that cruel.
If they were not ruthless now, they would be the ones who suffered later.
Jiang Nannan was only unsure whether Xiao Yuhao could handle it.
After they finished cleaning up the scene, Jiang Nannan secretly glanced at Huo Yuhao.
She found him standing where one of the corpses had been, staring down at something.
“Sister Nannan, this guy had so many Gold Soul Coins!
It’s enough for you and Aunt Jiang to live on for a long time!”
“…”
“Xiao Yuhao, was this your first time killing someone?”
“No.
On my way here before, I ran into bandits and highwaymen who tried to rob me.
At first, it did make me feel sick, but after a while, I learned to deal with it.”
“I see…”
Jiang Nannan looked at Huo Yuhao, whose legs were still trembling slightly, then turned her back to him.
“Come on.
I’ll carry you back.
Consider it your reward for saving your sister.”
“But I…”
“Stop trying to act tough.”
As she spoke, Jiang Nannan directly lifted Huo Yuhao onto her back.
Although Huo Yuhao had been taking in plenty of nourishment recently, the malnutrition from his childhood was not something that could be corrected in just a few days.
He was still small and thin, so to Jiang Nannan, carrying him almost felt like carrying a little child.
Huo Yuhao carefully rested against Jiang Nannan’s back, his entire face flushed red, but he did not struggle.
There were no comforting words along the way, nor any idle conversation.
The entire forest seemed to contain nothing but the slow rise and fall of the wind and the steady sound of Jiang Nannan’s footsteps.
On that silent journey back, the unspoken bond between them quietly deepened.
…
“You’re telling me my son has simply vanished these past few days?
You can’t even find a trace of him?”
Several days earlier, Chen Shu had discovered that his son had completely disappeared.
Their family had served the Mysterious Underworld Sect for four generations.
Who would dare lay a hand on his precious son?
“Yes, sir.
We followed Young Master Chen’s movements over the past several days and questioned everyone along the way, but no one knows anything.”
“Master, could an Evil Soul Master be involved?
I heard several people have also gone missing from nearby towns recently.”
“An Evil Soul Master?
Forget the fact that our Mysterious Underworld Sect has forces stationed here.
This place isn’t even that far from Shrek City.
Are those Evil Soul Masters all insane?”
“But aren’t Evil Soul Masters a bunch of lunatics to begin with?”
“…Forget it.
Report that there may be an Evil Soul Master in the area.
I only hope my son can still…”
“Yes, sir!”
The servant stepped outside and let out a long breath.
He had finally managed to brush the matter aside.
Now all he had to do was report the information.
Seriously, who knew where Chen Wen had gone?
As for the possibility that he had been captured and killed…
Come on.
Even when beating a dog, you had to respect its owner, right?
…
At Shrek Academy, a young woman was reviewing the latest reports concerning Evil Soul Masters.
She was tall and slender, with glossy black hair cascading like a waterfall all the way to her waist.
Her skin was smooth and fair as jade, her features delicate, and she carried a clear, serene presence reminiscent of moonlight.
She was Zhang Lexuan, the Eldest Senior Sister of Shrek Academy’s Inner Court.
According to the report, traces of an Evil Soul Master had appeared in a town not far from Shrek.
She was already on the verge of breaking through to Level 80.
Once she finished investigating this matter, she could go hunt for her Eighth Soul Ring.
“Tell Elder Xuan that I’m going to investigate this matter.
Judging from the situation so far, I won’t need any assistance.”
“Understood, Eldest Senior Sister.
Have a safe journey.”