"Evil soul masters are truly troublesome."
Su Wen looked at the black-robed man smashed to a pulp by Gale, sighing.
With Blood Rage doubling all attributes and Su Wen's support, they barely won. The Soul Sage puppet's strength was a bit lacking, only at the peak Soul Emperor level, and couldn't use its martial soul avatar like a living person, so its power was largely restricted. Only then did they win, albeit dangerously.
It seems that after breaking through moral constraints, power does grow rapidly.
"..."
In the distance, Yan Feng was still trapped in ice, more terrified than ever.
What kind of monster had he provoked?
And… troublesome?
He'd crossed almost twenty levels of combat, yet it was the Holy Spirit Sect's protector who died, and all Su Wen said was "troublesome"?!!
Since becoming Zhongli Wu's disciple, this was the first time he'd felt death so close. Looking at the approaching figure, his heart pounded wildly. He didn't want to die! He really didn't!
"Sigh~"
A sigh suddenly sounded.
Su Wen's pupils shrank as he looked sharply to Yan Feng's side.
Rustle~
Several black crows had landed on the ice sculpture, their inky eyes staring at him. The strange sight made Su Wen's scalp tingle. The sigh had come from one of them.
"Young man, I see you're talented. Why not join my Holy Spirit Sect? I guarantee you'll become a Holy Son in ten years." One crow's beak opened, but the voice was unmistakably human.
"Holy Spirit Sect? I'm not an evil soul master—why would I join you?" Su Wen grinned, but his body was tense. Against such a mysterious top-tier expert, he could only think of escaping—if escape was even possible.
"You're quite amusing. But did you know, once your hands are stained with enough blood and resentment, your martial soul may mutate? Paired with my sect's secret arts, your strength could double!" The calm, middle-aged man's voice continued.
But coming from a crow's mouth, it was both absurd and chilling.
"This space is sealed. Until the secret art is undone, anyone inside would need to be above Limit Douluo to break out."
"How long will the secret art last?" Su Wen asked with interest.
"About… three days."
The crow's voice held a trace of amusement.
"Oh." Su Wen nodded in realization.
More crows flew over, forming the image of a black-robed man. His gaze was playful as he stared at Su Wen, regarding him as prey. He seemed less interested in the Emperor Auspicious Beast.
A gentle breeze lifted the mysterious man's cloak, revealing a refined and elegant middle-aged man—someone who wouldn't look out of place at a noble banquet.
Su Wen's heart sank.
He'd anticipated the Holy Spirit Sect would send someone like Zhongli Wu—a near Limit Douluo-level figure. But compared to this guy, he'd have preferred the three Zhongli brothers…
Hiding in the Poké Ball was his ultimate trump card.
But the drawback—no matter how long he stayed inside, he'd always reappear at the entry point. If the enemy guarded that spot, he'd be trapped. So unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't use it.
But now…
It seemed he really was facing a life-or-death crisis.
The Emperor Auspicious Beast, blessed with auspicious energy, could escape, but what about him?
Not so certain…
"Trying to stall for time?"
Wu Yun raised his arm, glancing at his watch. "There are still three days until the barrier breaks. If you're hoping for Shrek Academy's experts to rescue you, Xuanzi is probably still eating grilled fish—he won't be coming… Oh~"
"You're waiting for the Star Dou Forest dwellers, I see."
Wu Yun smirked.
"Exactly. The Emperor Auspicious Beast has only been missing for three hours. Maybe those slowpokes haven't noticed yet, but as time passes, the chance they'll notice only increases, right?"
Su Wen was silent.
"If you won't join us…"
Wu Yun smiled.
"Then die."
Rustle~
His form split into crows, scattering.
Su Wen's heart leapt. He leapt back, using his superior physique for the first time defensively—yet even so, he was being utterly suppressed.
"Swap!"
Crows gathered around him, moving so fast his eyelids twitched and adrenaline surged. He dared not hold back, teleporting to Gale's side.
As long as it was a contracted beast, he could teleport between Poké Balls—but not swap places, unlike Xu Sanshi's iconic move in the tournament.
"Emperor Auspicious Beast!"
Su Wen shouted.
The Emperor Auspicious Beast immediately vanished.
Seeing that the Poké Ball holding Emperor Auspicious Beast showed no reaction, Su Wen relaxed a little. It seemed he'd finally earned some trust.
"Oh? Interesting."
Wu Yun looked more and more surprised, his smile growing.
"You really do have more tricks."
Being able to completely hide Emperor Auspicious Beast's aura, even from him, proved this boy was full of secrets—he had to be taken back to the Holy Spirit Sect or killed on the spot.
Anyone who knew Wu Yun would understand—this Worship-level elder was now truly serious.
"But where can you run?"
Watching Su Wen leap across the ancient trees at blurring speed, Wu Yun grinned.
"Crow Clone!"
A pale purple soul ring rose beneath his feet.
Rustle~
Countless crows emerged, forming three identical Wu Yuns, all flying after Su Wen.
A figure darted among the towering trees, leaping across dense branches.
No pursuers could be seen, but Su Wen ran with all his might.
He knew escape was impossible.
Before a top expert skilled in tracking and tricks, without enough strength, all schemes were useless. His only option was to stall for time—until Di Tian noticed something was wrong and tore open the sealed space.
But could he really hide in a Poké Ball, waiting for the supposed "three days" to pass?
He was unwilling.
Was he just a cat's toy?
Su Wen couldn't help glancing back. The enemy seemed to have vanished, but he knew with such strength, he could never really lose them.
The next moment—
Boom!
Su Wen was sent flying, crashing through a web of branches and roots, finally slamming into a thick tree trunk, splinters flying.
He spat blood; his left arm, covered in golden fur, was mostly shattered, white bone protruding through torn flesh.
His whole body was embedded in the tree, sweat beading on his forehead from the pain, his face pale.
Wu Yun's speed was overwhelming.
What looked like a single attack was actually the result of a strategic duel between him and Wu Yun.
At the instant he sensed danger, he'd teleported to Gale, but Wu Yun's clone was already lying in wait. So as he recalled Gale, he summoned Little Gold, teleporting again.
But Wu Yun's speed was despairingly high.
Even with perfect moves, the enemy's clone appeared and struck.
Against absolute speed, Little Gold couldn't shield Su Wen.
He could only watch Su Wen get sent flying.
Little Gold roared in rage.
"Roar~!!"
The bear's roar echoed through the forest, but to Wu Yun, it was nothing.
Instead, he looked at Su Wen with growing curiosity.
"Still hiding trump cards?"
He knew how strong that last blow was. Most Soul Emperors or Sages would've died instantly, but Su Wen only lost most of his left arm and was otherwise unharmed—truly a freak!
He'd sensed that, at the moment of impact, Su Wen's left arm had swelled, releasing a bloodline aura even stronger than that of pure dragons, as if some ancient beast had awakened—enough to make even him uneasy.
"A soul skill? Then there should be a soul ring…" Wu Yun narrowed his eyes, his interest in Su Wen only growing.
And there was also the approaching Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear.
The huge beast landed beside Su Wen, its eyes full of anger and worry.
It immediately attacked Wu Yun.
But the next instant, it too was sent flying.
It crashed into a distant tree.
"Roar!!!"
Its left arm radiated a terrifying power. With the Behemoth bloodline at its peak, even after being repelled by a crow strike, it only shook its head and roared.
"Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear… no, there's more bloodlines in there. What the hell is this kid? Can Shrek Academy really nurture such monsters?"
Even Wu Yun was stunned by the youth's monstrous abilities.
The Emperor Auspicious Beast was secondary.
He absolutely cannot be allowed to leave alive!
Wu Yun's expression turned grim.
"Oh… Behemoth bloodline?"
Just as Su Wen was despairing and ready to play his last card, a voice sounded in his spiritual sea.
"Old Yi?"
Su Wen quietly responded.
"You woke up?"
"Hehe, I was awakened by that aura. Behemoth beasts… haven't seen one in a long time." Electrolux's voice was relaxed and content. "How did you end up in such a sorry state? I've never seen you like this before…"
"Please don't tease me, old sir." Su Wen smiled bitterly.
But his heart settled.
A true powerhouse had arrived!
They'd barely exchanged five words before, but the tacit understanding was enough.
"I need to get Emperor Auspicious Beast out of this space. As long as the Star Dou Forest's ruler learns of Emperor Auspicious Beast's situation, everything will resolve itself. But first, I have to escape…"
In his spiritual sea,
Su Wen looked at the black mist that was Electrolux's incarnation.
"Can you help me?"
"Hm… hahaha, of course, of course I can! It's my honor to help a genius like you, hahaha…"
Electrolux laughed, satisfaction in his tone.
"As the Calamity of the Undead, I still remember some necromancy and array skills from my past. It's enough to help you break this formation, but I'll need to borrow your body."
"Alright!"
Su Wen nodded.
Outside—
Little Gold was battered and had lost the ability to fight.
The crow looked calmly at Su Wen, who now hung his head.
He too had once been a righteous soul master, but because of his dark energy, he was hunted as an evil soul master. Eventually, he joined the evil soul masters, hunting down those who'd chased him.
Fate is so ironic.
Now, he was facing the juniors of those so-called righteous soul masters. Perhaps one day, he too would stand at the continent's peak and repeat their actions, hunting others like himself, driving them down a dark path.
But now, he stood on the Holy Spirit Sect's side.
His eyes narrowed dangerously.
This kid is too dangerous. If he's allowed to grow, the Holy Spirit Sect will surely face a calamity in the future…
He slowly raised his hand, eyes cold.
His finger pointed at Su Wen.
The crows fluttered toward him, seemingly ready to devour his body and soul in a death feast.
"Huh?!"
Wu Yun lost count of his surprises.
But the next moment, the boy who'd seemed on the verge of death lifted his head, his eyes coldly fixed on him.
His dark pupils gradually turned gray.
His entire aura changed.
"Hahaha, such a young body, full of vigor…"
An old voice sounded from Su Wen's mouth.
"Possessed?!" the crow was shocked.
"No! There's a powerful spirit residing in him!"
The crow was horrified.
On the Douluo Continent, anyone strong enough to reside in another's spiritual sea must have been at least half a step to godhood in life…
Even Limit Douluos couldn't do that!
"What the hell!"
The crow's face turned dark.
He thought the kid was hard to kill, but this was ridiculous.
Fortune after fortune—was this the legendary Chosen One?!!
"Damn it, no more games." Wu Yun gritted his teeth.
He slapped his palm down.
A black soul ring rose from beneath his feet.
Countless crows gathered, forming a technique: "Crow Silence!"
Dense black mist surged from his body, waves of terrifying dark energy spreading toward Su Wen. Forcing him to use his eighth soul skill—this kid was truly formidable.
But Su Wen remained calm, as if just a spectator, watching with interest.
"Dark energy, but not pure enough."
"Hahaha, boy, let me show you what true darkness is," Electrolux said.
A gray beam shot to the sky.
Cracks appeared in the blue sky. The entire space, maintained by secret arts, lasted only a few seconds before shattering.
<><><>>><><><><><><><>
Advanced chapter here: p-atreon.com/Sajaboyzzz
<><><><><>><>>><><><><>
Keep the Chapters coming - Support with Power Stones!
Every 200 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter!