Endless golden flames and blazing blue ice-fire burned throughout the base.
They were like the undying true fire of the sun.
High in the air, hundreds of meters above, Gana's eyes were filled with hatred, his fists clenched tightly.
"Good… good… GOOD!"
Looking at the raging flames, his fury had already reached its peak.
With such destructive power, Gana no longer believed that his research base and laboratories had survived intact.
That was the place where he had spent over ten years conducting human experiments.
Now everything was ruined in one stroke, and Gana's hatred for Xiao Lin had reached its absolute limit.
As he glared at Xiao Lin withdrawing his staff, a formless killing intent condensed in Gana's heart.
The next second, Gana unleashed the soul power pressure of a Soul Emperor, and his whole form changed.
Unlike his usual graceful, gentleman-like appearance after Martial Soul possession, this time he looked like a complete monstrosity.
In addition to the organs granted by his martial soul, Gana had grown many others.
A pair of massive emerald-green sickles that gleamed like metal.A serpent's head coiled around his neck, flicking its tongue.And eight massive spider legs sprouted from his back, sharp and deadly, dripping with violet poison.
At that moment, Xiao Lin, shielding his eyes with his hand to observe carefully, frowned.
He couldn't understand how this fallen one had gained the powers of multiple soul beasts.
External soul bones? Clearly not.
This was more like one of those "stitched monsters" out of stories from his previous life, like Frankenstein's creations.
But one difference: before transformation, none of these insect-beast organs appeared on the man's body.
Studying him closely, Xiao Lin quickly recognized some of those organs:
The sickles came from the Nether Mantis, one of the most refined designs in the soul beast world, known as the Nether Scythes. Said to be formed of pure moonlight essence, each swing released blades thinner than moonlight itself.
The serpent's head seemed like it came from a Medusa-like venomous snake soul beast. Just meeting its eyes could petrify a soul master, leaving them immobile.
And those eight spider legs were unmistakably the Eight Spider Lances—from the Man-Faced Demon Spider, infamous for their deadly poison.
This was the ultimate patchwork abomination.
Xiao Lin now understood: this fallen one was a type of evil soul master, one who killed soul masters and used them as test subjects for fusions between soul beasts and humans.
And he had clearly perfected the process.
Considering that he had just used his Martial Soul True Body, Xiao Lin's soul power was heavily drained.
So he had no intention of dueling this monster directly.
Nor did he believe that his companions could truly help here—especially since the enemy could fly, which was overwhelmingly unfair.
Although Xiao Lin's attack range wasn't short, the enemy could easily probe and learn his limits.
So his plan was to lure the enemy deeper into the core region of the Extreme North, buying time for Ye Lingling and the others to escape.
After making his decision, Xiao Lin withdrew his Flood Dragon Staff and immediately activated his second soul skill—Flowing Shadow Lightning Flash—rushing north toward the heart of the Extreme North.
But after running for only three or four seconds, he turned back—only to see that the fallen one wasn't chasing him at all.
Instead, Gana was flying straight toward Ye Lingling and the others.
"Damn it! It's the serpent's olfactory sense—temperature detection!"
Xiao Lin knew he had no chance to run now. He didn't even have time to recover his soul power—he had to turn back.
"Donnie! Watch out for his venom dust! Don't look at the snake's eyes! Block his scythes—"
But the distance was too great.
Before Xiao Lin's warning fully reached them, Ye Lingling and the Shi brothers had already met the Medusa head's gaze.
A gray-white, cement-like substance spread over their bodies, and they froze in place, completely immobilized.
At that moment, only Donnie—thanks to her rich battle experience—kept her eyes carefully away from the Medusa, remaining alert.
"Damn it!"
Xiao Lin cursed. His plan to draw the enemy away had backfired, causing his teammates to be struck first.
But there was no time to regret. After a single breath, Gana's attack reached Donnie.
Countless moonlight-thin blades rained down toward Ye Lingling and the immobilized Shi brothers.
The enemy's goal was obvious—to kill the defenseless ones first.
At this critical moment, Xiao Lin saw something strange.
Donnie… wasn't preparing to defend? She looked like she was ready to abandon them.
"Donnie! Ye Lingling and the others can still be saved!"
Xiao Lin's shout reached her just in time. Trusting him, Donnie stepped forward, shielding the three behind her.
As endless moonlight blades descended, she possessed her martial soul, unleashing four soul skills in a row. Her Golden Dragon Spear danced like a solid wall.
But even so, the spear wasn't long enough.
Some blades slipped past, striking the petrified Shi brothers.
Cracks began to appear in the "cement" covering their bodies, and blood seeped out—only to freeze instantly in the bitter cold of the Extreme North.
If this continued, the cold would seep deeper, and they would freeze to death.
And that was exactly what Gana wanted.
Seeing blood flow from the Shi brothers, he tightened his grip on his sickles, focusing his full ranged assault on Donnie.
This time, the relentless moonlight blades broke through.
Some slashed past her spear, cutting into her flesh.
Blood spilled from Donnie's wounds.
Yet she stood her ground, unfazed by the freezing cold of the Extreme North, determined to shield Ye Lingling.
"Die!"
Xiao Lin roared, a black soul ring glowing beneath his feet.
"Comet Scar Slash!"
Fury surged. For someone who had crossed the line this far, he had no intention of holding back.
As he neared Donnie and the others, he reactivated his Martial Soul True Body.
Merging his ice and fire cores, he used triple Flowing Shadow Lightning Flash.
His Flood Dragon Staff blazed with the tailfire of a comet as it slashed straight at Gana.
"You can't handle this already? You destroyed my lab—none of you will leave here alive."
Gana sneered. But when the massive comet-fire staff strike came down, he dodged.
Twisting his body in midair, he slipped out of range with ease.
"Heh… I admit your attack is strong. Fine, I'll leave the ground to you. And then what?"
His mocking tone dripped with scorn.
But suddenly, Gana froze.
A burning pain flared.
He looked down—his eyes widening in shock.
On the sickle in his hand… faint sparks of fire were clinging, eating into it.
(End of Chapter)