"What!?"
As the Qiu Long Staff struck Brock with tremendous force, his vision instantly went black.
He had just shouted in surprise, intending to use his soul skill to resist…
Only to realize he could no longer use any soul skills.
By the time Brock regained his sight, a sharp pain stabbed his abdomen, and he found himself flying through the air.
No…
It wasn't that he was flying—it was that his body had been struck apart, cleaved in two.
Brock's mind raced as he saw the last image before his eyes: the lower half of his body was a bloody mess.
Not even bone fragments remained.
It was as if he had been frozen for a moment and then smashed to pieces.
Brock seemed to understand the cause of his death.
Yet even in death, he couldn't comprehend it.
He, an ice-attribute soul master, had been frozen.
He, a Soul Emperor, had been killed by a mere Soul Sect member.
"Brock!"
The other three cadres, who had been bracing against Xiao Lin's fourth soul skill, the Comet Star Trace Slash, regained their vision.
Pat, seeing Brock's gruesome demise, immediately shouted in shock.
Bett and Angsh snapped back to reality.
"Impossible!"
As Bett and Angsh exclaimed, all three were sent flying hundreds of meters by Xiao Lin's Qiu Long Staff.
The immense power and destructive force made their palms tingle. Angsh, the weakest, felt his chest churn and spat a mouthful of blood.
"This… is impossible!"
Gasping, Angsh could hardly believe it.
Even though they had immediately activated Martial Soul possession and used their soul skills to block…
They were no match for Brock's arrogant foolishness, and yet even with proper defense, they were thrown hundreds of meters, their soul power shaken.
For a short time, they couldn't use any soul skills.
"What!"
Pat stared at his arm in disbelief.
Somehow, before he even realized it, his arm had shattered.
Completely numb, the only sensation was the chill at the break.
His arm had been frozen and could not withstand the pressure—it had shattered.
"How could this happen? I'm an ice-attribute beast soul combat master, a Soul Emperor!"
Pat trembled, staring at his broken arm in disbelief. How could an ice-attribute combat soul master be frozen?
Could it be the "Ultimate Ice"? Pat recalled a paper published by Master Yu Xiaogang years ago on extreme attributes.
And with the rumors of a true overlord in the far north…
Pat confirmed: Xiao Lin was indeed a soul master with Ultimate Ice.
Bett gasped at Pat's condition.
Luckily, as a control-type combat soul master, Bett had used his soul skill externally to block the staff.
Angsh, a sneak-attack specialist, was also a mere Soul King. His attack earlier had been half-hearted; otherwise, his fate might have been like Pat's.
As Angsh trembled at the close call, he silently cursed himself, already considering retreat.
Meanwhile, Xiao Lin, having consumed nearly half of his soul power, exited the Spirit Weapon True Form.
The massive drain forced him to end the fusion of the Flame of Heart.
His chest heaved as golden and blue flames swirled within.
After a few breaths, Xiao Lin stood tall, his eyes brimming with battle intent.
But…
Xiao Lin was shocked by the three men before him.
What kind of Martial Souls did these guys have?!
The frail old man's body was covered in blue ice-crystal armor, with white fur peeking through, making it impossible to discern his Martial Soul.
The seemingly normal old man held fragments of unknown plants, which instantly reassembled into a jade-green snake-like vine.
The middle-aged man had faint white fur, and at times would disappear from sight during his breathing.
Three strange Martial Souls—but one of them was significantly weakened.
Frowning, Xiao Lin gripped the Qiu Long Staff and slowly approached them.
In the next moment, golden flames enveloped him.
Earlier, using Spirit Weapon True Form, he had avoided this to conserve energy. Now, without Spirit Weapon True Form, he could unleash his full normal combat power.
"Whoa, this guy looks fierce!"
Pat coldly smiled and regenerated his ice-crystal arms from the broken stumps.
He thought even Ultimate Ice couldn't beat him through ice, so he sneered at Xiao Lin.
The gray-white beard on his ice-crystal armor bristled menacingly.
Only when he saw his arms regenerate, complete with hoofed ice hands, did Xiao Lin realize Pat's Martial Soul.
Snow Armor Steed—a horse-type combat beast with strong defense and mobility.
During a charge, ice spikes would form around its body, and it could perform colliding attacks with ice balls.
But with arms relying on ice condensation, Pat's combat power was reduced. Xiao Lin was not overly concerned.
"This is more ferocious than I expected… even fiercer than when I was young."
Bett frowned but sounded somewhat relaxed.
Although the middle man's Martial Soul seemed plant-based, it gave Xiao Lin the illusion of ice-fire immunity.
From Bett's tone, Xiao Lin understood the old man's Martial Soul.
It was a plant-type immune to ice and fire—found in the Frost Snow Forest of the far north, called the Snake Vine Guardian.
Not truly immune, but adapted to extreme cold by absorbing water from the ground—cold water gave it natural frost resistance.
With snake characteristics, it excelled at entangling, and the old man was a control-type combat soul master.
Seeing the old man confident, likely unaware of Ultimate Ice and Fire's power, Xiao Lin prepared to ambush him.
The advantage was his!
As for the last man, Xiao Lin still couldn't discern his Martial Soul.
As Xiao Lin approached, the middle-aged man vanished from sight.
"Xiao Lin, I'm here to help!"
At the crucial moment, Donnie arrived, running alongside Xiao Lin, radiating golden light like a golden-armored war god.
"Are there only two enemies left?"
Donnie scanned the battlefield, noting only half a corpse and two soul masters, and said bluntly:
"One is still invisible."
Xiao Lin smiled. With Donnie here, he had the confidence to take down a Soul Emperor directly.
"Invisible?"
"We'll handle the invisible one!"
At that moment, the Shi brothers, with the Xuanwu Shield surrounding them, protected Ye Lingling in the middle as they arrived on the scene.
"I didn't expect you to succeed, Captain Xiao Lin."
Ye Lingling smiled slightly, summoning her Nine-Heart Begonia Martial Soul. With the Shi brothers' defense, they were as solid as a fortress.
(End of Chapter)