A few minutes after Gana's death.
Ye Lingling and the Shi brothers finally returned to normal.
"Too scary… I really thought I was about to die just now."
Ye Lingling nervously patted her chest, her pretty face under the veil completely pale.
"Indeed. Under that petrification, we couldn't even breathe."
Shi Mo shivered at the memory. That kind of terrifying control-type soul skill… and yet they didn't die?
"Xiao Lin, isn't that soul skill way too unnatural? Is it even reasonable?"
Although fear flickered across Shi Mo's face, more than that was a burning desire for Gana's ability.
Wasn't such a soul skill even stronger than their pure defense?If you can directly take down the enemy, isn't that the ultimate defense?
"That guy's skill was definitely unusual. I suspect it was due to a soul bone."
Hearing their questions, Xiao Lin voiced his suspicion.
It was likely that the soul bone had fused multiple fallen ones' abilities, producing such an effect.
As he spoke, Xiao Lin even brought out the dropped right leg soul bone, showing it off to the group.
Everyone's eyes shone with desire, but none of them spoke up.
First—this was Xiao Lin's spoils, won by defeating the enemy. If Tang San and the others wanted it too, they'd only be snatching away what was his.
Second—for Ye Lingling, whose only ability right now was group healing, whether she absorbed it or not didn't matter much.
And as for Shi Mo and Shi Mo's younger brother Shi Mo (the two brothers)—they hadn't even decided which paths to walk yet.
Xiao Lin had told them they could take completely different directions:
One could inherit the mighty Xuanwu martial spirit, which combined overwhelming control, defense, and attack.
The other could walk the path of the Dragon Turtle—the Bixi martial spirit—another form of Xuanwu with immense strength, capable of moving mountains and filling seas.
But since soul beasts rarely came in pairs, the two didn't know which brother should take Xuanwu, and which should take Dragon Turtle.
So for now, neither of them could claim the soul bone.
Seeing that no one would take it, Xiao Lin simply decided to study it himself.
He was deeply interested in its "fusion" ability.
During his five years at Nuoding Academy, Xiao Lin, Tang San, and Xiao Wu had each taken very different paths.
For Xiao Lin, he chose the path of soul core resonance.
His technique Blazing Heart was a product of this, created as a stepping stone to condensing a soul core.
The explosive power of soul core resonance was terrifying—no weaker than the Clear Sky Clan's "Ring Explosion."
How many soul rings could an ordinary person even possess?But Xiao Lin's Blazing Heart, a low-tier "soul core," could be formed as many times as he wanted—as long as his body could withstand it, reinforced by Diamond-Immortal Soulforce and blood energy.
Tang San, however, had chosen ring fusion—a path Xiao Lin had suggested.
The Clear Sky Clan already had the "Ring Explosion" technique.If you fused the rings first and then detonated them, the power would be unimaginable.
Not to mention—Tang San would one day possess eighteen soul rings.
His rings were all tied to vitality, with strong interconnections. Fusing them before detonation would unleash inconceivable might.
As for Xiao Wu—at first, Xiao Lin thought she should follow Tang San's path too, since her soul rings were self-condensed and thus easy to fuse.
But later, Xiao Wu chose another way entirely.
Extreme mechanism, complete passivity.
In short, she leveraged her self-condensed rings to embed anti-death arrays into each of her skills.
Using soulforce arrays as passive triggers, reinforcing her reflexes with soul skills, she reached a state of "100% evasion."
On the surface, her path looked the weakest, but in truth—even Xiao Lin had no idea how to reliably harm her anymore.
Teleportation automatically dodged.Her future Invincible Golden Body would do the same.Her intangibility would do the same.
Even her future soul rings were discussed with Xiao Lin:For example, an invisible stand-in to block fatal blows for her—the Wheel Tomb ability of Uchiha Madara.
At the time, Xiao Lin thought she was just a genius coward, afraid of death, but somehow thinking of such brilliant ideas.
The only pity was that Xiao Wu couldn't practice poison, so she couldn't use substitution-poison defenses.
Although Xiao Lin hadn't focused on fusion himself, he did understand soul ring fusion techniques.
That was why he looked forward to seeing whether this soul bone might offer a new path.
Fusion didn't only mean fusing soul skills.Soul masters could fuse. Martial spirits could fuse. Even soul beasts weren't excluded.And martial spirits with soul tools… and beyond.
Xiao Lin's imagination, with just a little spark, already left the natives of this world hundreds of years behind.
"Alright then, Xiao Lin—can we go back now?"
As Xiao Lin's thoughts wandered, Ye Lingling could no longer endure the bitter cold of the Extreme North. Shivering, she asked with a chattering voice.
"We can."
Xiao Lin considered briefly, planning to circle around Aurora Town and then return to Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
"Leave? Did you ask our permission first?"
At that moment, a thick, ancient voice rang in their ears.
Xiao Lin and the others froze and turned around in shock.
In an instant, all five widened their eyes.
The enemy wasn't one person—but four.
And judging by their soulforce fluctuations, they were nearly all Soul Emperors.
"Damn it!"
Xiao Lin's heart sank.
If given time, and as long as his enemies couldn't fly, he was confident he could kill one Soul Emperor outright.
Then ambush and eliminate a second.
But the remaining two?
Could Tang Ni hold one back?
What about Ye Lingling and the Shi brothers…
No. What was he even thinking?Tang Ni was just an ordinary Soul Ancestor!
Facing four mocking, smirking old men, cold sweat rolled down Xiao Lin's back.
Impossible. How could the enemy have tracked them here?
And their speed—how could it be so fast?
Unless… after their first squad was destroyed, the enemy had immediately dispatched these four officers.
With that thought, a desperate plan flashed through Xiao Lin's mind.
"Listen to me, everyone. We're not hopeless yet—I have a way."
"A way?"
Hearing him, the others' despair lifted slightly, replaced with faint hope.
Ye Lingling and the rest all stared at him with shining eyes. Could there still be a miracle?
"A way?"
The Soul Emperors in the distance, with their sharp hearing, also caught Xiao Lin's words.
They sneered.
Facing them—four elite officers—these kids weren't even thinking of running, but… counterattacking?
What "way"?
But the next second—
Something completely unexpected happened.
Without any prior discussion, the five of them turned at once—and fled deeper into the Extreme North.
"So decisive?"
Bert stroked his graying beard, but didn't immediately give chase.
Days of forced marching had already worn the old men down.
Not their soulforce—but their bodies were no longer young.
"What now?"
Angshi grew impatient. He could still pursue—he wasn't as old as Bert.
But alone, he dared not.
The others in their base were dead already. These five had proven themselves dangerous.
"What's there to fear? With your ability, do you think they can escape?"
Brock snorted, arms crossed, looking scornful.
"The Extreme North will be their burial ground."
(End of Chapter)