A soul master's battle armor is closely bound to their martial soul—intertwined with their flesh and blood. Forcibly stripping it away is like carving out a part of the body.
Wu Changkong struggled fiercely to protect his armor, but he stood no chance. Surrounded by powerful individuals on par with himself, he lost his armor piece by piece.
With a final tearing sound, "Puff", Wu Changkong spat out a mouthful of blood. His face turned pale, and his breath grew faint and sluggish.
Scattered across the ground was a pile of thin, icy-blue armor—stained with his blood.
His storage soul guide was also forcibly removed by Deputy Tower Master Li, who broke its lock and handed it over to Shi Yu.
Shi Yu took all the icy-blue armor and stored it without a shred of politeness, treating it as his rightful spoils of war.
Deputy Tower Master Li and the others didn't even consider sharing in the loot.
It wasn't that the battle armor lacked value—it certainly did. But accepting it meant taking on the wrath of Wu Changkong… and potentially even his powerful teacher, Zhuo Shi. No one wanted that risk. Better to let the bold and brash Shi Yu bear the consequences.
Deputy Tower Master Li knocked Wu Changkong unconscious and dragged him away, along with Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan.
Shi Yu had no problem letting those two go. The only person Gu Yue truly cared about was Tang Wulin.
Now, only Shi Yu, Gu Yue, and Tang Wulin remained in the lounge.
With a swift knife-hand strike, Shi Yu knocked Tang Wulin unconscious.
Gu Yue's heart clenched as she watched him fall. Her eyes turned murderous as she stared daggers at Shi Yu.
"Why do you want my blood?" she asked coldly after she destroyed the surveillance equipment in the room. "What do you know?"
"Should I know something?" Shi Yu replied with a faint smile.
Gu Yue didn't blink. She didn't believe for a second that he was clueless.
Shi Yu sighed and said frankly, "Alright, I do know your blood is special. I thought I might gain something from it."
She was already murderous, so he didn't mind provoking her further.
Powerful elemental energy began to stir around Gu Yue. Her killing intent surged. She could strike at any moment.
"You can't kill me," Shi Yu warned, expression sharp. "Tang Wulin's life is in my hands. If you make a move, the consequences won't be something either of us can afford."
Gu Yue gritted her teeth, suppressing her fury.
"How do you know my blood is special?"
"I can't tell you that," Shi Yu replied. "Just know that I know your secret."
"Not only me—my parents know as well. If anything happens to me, they'll reveal everything."
His tone was calm, almost casual, but his meaning was deadly serious.
Gu Yue's expression flickered. After a moment of silence, she gave a cold sneer."You think you can scare me with that? What secret could you possibly know?"
Her greatest secret—that she was not human, but a soul beast—was something only Di Tian and a handful of others knew.
Unless they had betrayed her, which seemed impossible, Shi Yu couldn't possibly know.
If it wasn't that secret, maybe he just knew her blood was special. That alone wasn't worth panicking over.
Then Shi Yu uttered three words.
"Silver Dragon King."
Gu Yue's expression changed instantly. Her eyes widened in shock.He knew.
"You… what are you talking about? I don't understand." She tried to play it cool, but her composure had cracked.
"Do we really have to keep pretending?" Shi Yu looked at her. "I'm not bluffing. I really know."
Gu Yue's face turned colder. "How?"
"Still a secret," Shi Yu replied, calm as ever. "You just need to know that I know everything—and so do my parents. If I die, the truth gets out."
"So if you're thinking of having Di Tian assassinate me… think again."
"Maybe he can succeed. But if he does, you and your secret will be exposed."
"Kill me, and you kill your entire tribe's hope of revival. Think carefully—is it worth it?"
Shi Yu laid it all out, trying to neutralize any future assassination attempts. If he didn't intimidate her now, Di Tian might really show up tonight.
When Gu Yue heard him mention Di Tian by name, her doubts vanished.He really did know too much.
How he found out—that was the mystery. But clearly, he wasn't going to tell her.
"Fine," Gu Yue said icily. "What do you want?"
"This time," Shi Yu said, "I want to trade Tang Wulin for ten drops of your blood."
"As for the price of keeping your secret… I haven't decided. I'll think of something later."
"But don't worry," he added. "I won't go overboard. I know where the line is."
"If you agree to three future requests, I'll never speak of this again. I won't keep blackmailing you forever."
Seeing how dark her expression had become, Shi Yu decided to ease off.
"You'd better not push too far," Gu Yue warned. "If you do, we'll both go down. I may lose my plan, but you—and your parents—will die for it."
The threat was clear. She hated being in a position where she was being held hostage.
"All I want is a little profit," Shi Yu shrugged. "I don't want to die. I'm not trying to start a war."
Seeing his seemingly calm and measured stance, Gu Yue relaxed a little—but the threat he posed was still very real.
"Give me the ten drops of blood, and I'll release Tang Wulin," Shi Yu said, steering the conversation back on track.
Gu Yue hesitated for a moment, but eventually complied—for Tang Wulin's sake.
She offered him ten drops of blood.
Though it wasn't blood essence, the bright red blood glowed with iridescent colors, proof of its unnatural power.
Shi Yu's heartbeat quickened as he looked at it. He immediately swallowed all ten drops.
It wasn't just urgency—it was necessity.
The bloodline of Tang Wulin, which he had previously consumed, had begun to stir inside him.He hoped the Silver Dragon King's blood would harmonize with it and suppress its chaotic effects.
"My blood isn't that easy to refine," Gu Yue thought coldly. "Don't think you can gain something so easily."
Shi Yu, meanwhile, kept his word. He retracted his Eight Spider Lances and released Tang Wulin.
"You'd better keep this secret to yourself," Gu Yue said, carrying the unconscious Tang Wulin on her back. As she reached the door, she turned back with a warning.
"If you don't… the consequences won't be something you can bear."
"You too," Shi Yu replied with a faint smile. "Don't try to send soul beasts to kill me. If I die, your secret won't die with me—it'll be revealed immediately."
"My parents and I know more than just your identity. We know a lot about your plans. If those are exposed… the damage will be irreparable."
Shi Yu spoke frankly—he wanted Gu Yue to truly fear killing him.
"Hmph," Gu Yue snorted coldly and left, carrying Tang Wulin.
Outside the lounge, the group staggered out of the Spirit Pagoda.
Tang Wulin was unconscious in Gu Yue's arms.Wu Changkong, Xie Xie, and Xu Xiaoyan supported each other—all of them weakened and wounded.
They hailed a taxi and rushed to the Tang Sect's East Sea headquarters.
There, they would need the Tang Sect's detoxification pills to purge the Eight Spider Lance's venom.
Shi Yu had let them go—but he had not withdrawn the poison from their bodies.
The group of five left in a humiliated state.
None of them had imagined things would end this way.
Especially Wu Changkong—his self-esteem had been crushed, and he had lost his most precious possession: his battle armor.
It was, without a doubt, the worst day of his life.