Hearing Haixiao's words, the tiger eyes of Wang Xiao in his Martial Soul Avatar flickered with surprise. His pupils then shrank sharply as he said in an abnormally cold voice:
"So it really was you who sent those two Evil Douluo to assassinate His Highness the Prince back then."
Ten years ago, Xu Zihuang's father had concealed his identity and traveled within the three great empires of the former Douluo Continent. Wang Xiao had accompanied him as his sole guard. When they reached the northwestern border of the Heavenly Soul Empire and were preparing to return to the Sun Moon Empire, they were suddenly ambushed by two Evil Soul Masters of Titled Douluo level.
At that time, Wang Xiao's soul power cultivation had already reached rank eighty-nine, only one step away from becoming a Titled Douluo. Xu Zihuang's father was also a Soul Douluo whose cultivation was not much weaker, and with the full set of high-quality soul bones granted by the late Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire, along with his powerful Purple Radiance Heaven-Destroying Dragon martial soul, his combat strength actually surpassed that of ordinary Titled Douluo.
Although Evil Soul Masters were sinister, with the combined strength of the two, if they had chosen to flee with all their might, even those two newly advanced Titled Douluo-level Evil Soul Masters would have found it hard to keep them. But they had not been alone—Xu Zihuang's mother had been with them as well.
In the end, they had still escaped from the two Evil Douluo. Otherwise, Xu Zihuang would not exist today.
However, in order to protect Xu Zihuang's parents, Wang Xiao paid a severe price. He needed nearly ten years of recovery before he could function again. Even then, he still bore the life-long affliction of the Evil Douluo's venom. The toxin corroded his organs and bones, leaving him in constant agony and preventing him from advancing in cultivation.
After returning to the Sun Moon Empire, for certain reasons, Xu Zihuang's father concealed the incident. He used the excuse of needing Wang Xiao to oversee matters of their fiefdom, sending him away from Mingdu to the southern regions of the empire to recuperate.
Wang Xiao was certain that no information had leaked. From his return to Mingdu until his departure, the only ones who knew he had been gravely injured were Xu Zihuang's parents and a healing-type Soul Master who could not possibly have betrayed them.
Yet from Haixiao's reaction now, it was clear he knew of that matter. The only possible source of such knowledge could be those two Evil Douluo.
The eight spirit rings around Wang Xiao surged violently. The dark-element domain he had released earlier spread outward again from his body, his killing intent impossible to conceal.
"It seems that three years ago, during the palace coup, you must also have relied on the power of those Evil Soul Masters. To collude with such inhuman creatures to usurp the throne?!"
Haixiao's stiff face changed slightly, his fists unconsciously clenching and loosening.
What Wang Xiao said was not wrong. Three years ago, during the palace coup, the Evil Soul Masters had indeed been involved. Otherwise, how could the palace, guarded by the Sun Moon Royal Spirit Master Regiment, have fallen so easily?
He also knew that those Evil Soul Masters had once massacred countless Sun Moon Empire citizens. In truth, he too loathed them from the bottom of his heart. But above all else, his loyalty lay with his master.
Haixiao suddenly swung his right arm backward. His armor clashed with a crisp metallic sound, as though he were shaking off the last of his hesitation.
Blue-violet lightning nets crackled around his body as a massive phantom of a strange fish appeared behind him.
The phantom fish was entirely azure-violet, broad and bat-like in shape, with a pitch-black tail tipped with venomous barbs. The blue-violet lightning net crackled from the spikes at the end of its tail.
The Purple Thunder Manta Ray—this was Haixiao's martial soul. The manta ray, also known as the devilfish, was one of the ocean's most ferocious and powerful soul beasts.
An adult devilfish of ten-thousand-year cultivation was so fearsome that even schools of Demon Great White Sharks or Demonic Killer Whales would avoid it. Though both those species were strong and nearly immune to toxins, they dreaded the terrifying poison of the devilfish's tail spines.
Haixiao's Purple Thunder Manta Ray martial soul was an even rarer variant, possessing dual water and lightning attributes.
"The matters of the royal family are not something a minor figure like me can interfere with. For me, as long as the Sun Moon Empire remains under imperial rule, that is enough. Prince Zhengxuan once granted me his favor. During that palace coup, although I knew of it, I did not participate. Wang Xiao, you don't need to interrogate me like this."
The hesitation in Haixiao's eyes gradually faded as he lifted his head calmly to look at Wang Xiao.
"We each serve our own masters. Although I don't know how you discovered His Highness the Prince's place of imprisonment, since you have led the remnants of the Imperial Dragon Spirit Master Regiment here, only one of us can leave alive today."
"You care nothing for the countless Sun Moon Empire citizens slaughtered by the Evil Soul Masters?" Wang Xiao sneered, his sharp gaze as if piercing directly into Haixiao's heart.
Haixiao's brows furrowed tightly. The blue-violet lightning nets raging around his body grew denser, reflecting the turmoil in his heart.
He was far less calm than he appeared.
Wang Xiao's words struck straight into his soul. Born a commoner, he had possessed a rare talent and martial soul. Because he was from the common people, he understood better than anyone the hardships faced by ordinary citizens of the Sun Moon Empire—rampaging sea soul beasts, Evil Soul Masters slaughtering innocents, and wars with the Heavenly Soul and Star Luo Empires that left countless homeless. Though the continent seemed peaceful, it was rife with undercurrents.
His original intent in joining the army straight after graduating from the Sun Moon Royal Spirit Master Academy had been to protect his fellow citizens. Yet the master he served had secretly colluded with Evil Soul Masters. Deep inside, he had long felt a sense of guilt, as though the faith he had once believed in had collapsed in an instant. But years of ingrained loyalty to the throne made it impossible for him to resist.
His choice to leave Mingdu—the very heart of power in the Sun Moon Empire—and come to this desolate island was, in truth, also an act of escape.
Wang Xiao let out a cold laugh, then unfurled his wings and released a sky-shaking tiger's roar. Carrying a boundless aura of ferocity, he charged straight at Haixiao.
Perhaps it was somewhat underhanded to try to shake Haixiao's resolve with words to seize the advantage, but to Wang Xiao, sacrificing his dignity was worth it if it meant fewer of his subordinates would die. Besides, this was a battle where only one side could survive.
Haixiao snapped back to his senses, instantly discarding his inner conflict. His vast soul power surged forth, laced with violent blue-violet lightning, to meet the onrushing Wang Xiao head-on.
Two yellow, three purple, and three black—he too possessed eight spirit rings, though his configuration was clearly inferior to Wang Xiao's.
The seventh black ring glowed ever darker, and as blue-violet lightning enveloped him, a monstrous fish over ten meters long materialized in the sky above the island. Its back gleamed azure-violet, its underbelly stark white, and its mouth and gills twisted into a grotesque human-like face.
Facing such a formidable opponent, Haixiao would certainly not be foolish enough to hold anything back.
Although the Sun Moon Empire placed greater emphasis on soul tools, the higher one climbed as a Soul Master, the more the foundation of battle lay in one's martial soul. After all, whether Soul Master or Soul Engineer, everything stemmed from the martial soul.
The Martial Soul Avatar might appear awe-inspiring, but for Soul Masters of Wang Xiao and Haixiao's level, they could maintain this state for over half an hour without even using additional soul skills. It was only when they layered other skills and soul tools—ones that consumed massive amounts of soul power—on top of the Avatar that the true decisive battle would begin.
Their unspoken choice to clash high above the island in their Martial Soul Avatars was also to avoid harming their own subordinates—or Xu Zihuang, who was still inside the castle.