Thick black mist lingered around Yao Yang. Among his seven spirit rings—one yellow, three purple, and three black—the dazzling glow of the fifth and sixth black rings gradually receded.
His blood-red, eerie eyes turned abnormally cold, exuding such an extreme chill that even Wang Xiao couldn't help but glance sideways at him.
The domain of darkness earlier had been released by Wang Xiao, but it was Yao Yang who annihilated the Lan Hai Spirit Master Regiment and inflicted devastating damage on Yu Yun's spiritual sea.
The terrifying power of a Spirit Master with a strong spiritual attribute was truly frightening.
"Uncle Wang, don't worry. I didn't devour the souls of those soldiers. I once promised His Highness the Prince." Yao Yang raised his head, meeting Wang Xiao's gaze without the slightest hesitation. His voice was so resolute it was moving.
His martial soul was a special one called the Sea Demon, a spirit of spiritual attribute that had been passed down through his family for generations.
However, when he first awakened his martial soul, it mutated—gaining the ability to devour the souls of humans and spirit beasts. Because of this special ability, he was noticed by the Holy Spirit Cult, which ultimately led to the destruction of his entire family, with only him taken away.
Later, he was saved by Xu Zihuang's father, barely escaping with his life.
Wang Xiao withdrew his right hand, which had pierced Yu Yun's left chest, and silently nodded.
It had already been over ten years since he and Xu Zihuang's father rescued Yao Yang from the Holy Spirit Cult. To be honest, Yao Yang's current strength far exceeded his expectations. It was hard to reconcile the desperate young boy—who once hated himself for being powerless to protect his family—with the man standing before him now.
Letting out a heavy breath, Wang Xiao once again turned his determined gaze toward the island ahead.
It wasn't just because he trusted Yao Yang. The main reason was that their rescue plan could no longer be delayed.
"No more wasting time. According to the plan, I'll lead a team to block Haixiao and the main force of the Western Sea Spirit Master Regiment. Yao Yang, you'll lead the other team to rescue the young master."
With a deep shout, Wang Xiao's body shot into the sky first.
The annihilation of Yu Yun's Lan Hai Spirit Master Regiment had taken place here, and the noble ladies in the giant ship's cabin had all fainted. The Western Sea Spirit Master Regiment would soon notice something was wrong.
There was no longer any need to remain hidden in the shadows.
If they wanted to rescue the young master, they had to face the well-equipped Western Sea Spirit Master Regiment head-on.
Following closely behind Wang Xiao were more than twenty elites of the former Imperial Dragon Spirit Master Regiment—elites among elites. Every single one of them was at least level sixty, and with the propulsion of sixth-grade flying spirit tools, their speed was no less than Wang Xiao's.
Over twenty Spirit Emperors, just like that. This alone was enough to show the profound foundation of the former Imperial Dragon Spirit Master Regiment.
Brilliant trails of flames streaked across the night sky. The rescue plan, prepared for three long years, was finally being carried out!
Two yellow, two purple, and four black spirit rings—eight in total in the best possible configuration—pulsed wildly around Wang Xiao's body, making him look like an untamed beast of legend.
"Seventh Spirit Skill! Martial Soul Avatar!"
His voice was low, repressed, and tinged with madness as it burst from his mouth. Dense black-violet flames ignited across his body, wrapping him in a giant cocoon of light.
A deep, resonant tiger's roar then exploded in midair. A mighty black-winged tiger, imposing and majestic, descended from the skies, swooping down toward the massive city wall that loomed fifty meters high.
The soldiers patrolling atop the wall of the Western Sea Spirit Master Regiment were instantly alarmed, lifting their heads in shock.
Haixiao had indeed ordered them to tighten security that night, but Wang Xiao's sudden appearance had taken them completely off guard.
Earlier, the annihilation of Yu Yun and his Lan Hai Spirit Master Regiment had actually taken less than a single breath. With Yao Yang's fifth spirit skill that allowed him to conceal his form, and his sixth spirit skill of mass spiritual attacks, combined with Wang Xiao's domain of darkness, not even the slightest disturbance had been revealed.
On the city wall, a middle-aged man who seemed to be a squad leader was the first to react. As he released his martial soul, he also used spirit power to amplify his voice and roared:
"Enemy attack! All units, obey orders! Hold your ground at the fixed soul cannon emplacements—exterminate the enemy!"
The soldiers of the Western Sea Spirit Master Regiment were clearly of much higher caliber than Yu Yun's Lan Hai Regiment.
Under the squad leader's orders, the soldiers quickly calmed down and adjusted the pitch-black cannon barrels of the fixed soul cannons mounted on the walls.
To resist rampaging sea spirit beasts, such cannons had been installed every few dozen meters along the wall.
A fourth-grade fixed soul cannon had about the same power as a Spirit Ancestor's full-strength strike. When used in unison, however, their destructive potential was terrifying.
Behind the squad leader, a massive red octopus phantom appeared, and six spirit rings—two yellow, three purple, and one black—rose into the air, marking his Spirit Emperor-level cultivation.
Though not the optimal configuration, it was still quite impressive.
But he had overlooked one critical problem—Wang Xiao's true power.
Transformed into his Martial Soul Avatar, the black-winged tiger stretched over twenty meters long. Despite its massive frame, it moved with feline agility, like a panther.
With the aid of its black wings, its speed was astonishing. Turning into a blur of shadows, even its afterimage was almost impossible to track by sight.
Almost the instant the squad leader's shout fell, Wang Xiao was already upon him.
With a swipe of his tiger claws, a thunderous crash resounded—the thick, sturdy city wall was instantly ripped open, leaving a gaping breach. The fixed soul cannons mounted on the wall were torn loose and flung aside.
"Boom—!"
In the squad leader's despairing gaze, the giant tiger struck again, pinning him mercilessly into the stone floor. His limbs twisted grotesquely, blood gushed, and fragments of his organs spilled from his nostrils. He was clearly beyond saving.
"Captain!" The surrounding Western Sea Regiment soldiers felt their blood run cold. No matter how elite, even they could not resist fear in the face of death.
The battlefield changed in a heartbeat, and in that instant of their distraction, the elites of the former Imperial Dragon Regiment following Wang Xiao had already passed through the zone covered by the fixed soul cannons.
From there, it was nothing less than a massacre.
A top-tier Spirit Douluo and eighth-grade Spirit Tool Master, backed by more than twenty Spirit Emperors—such a force could overwhelm even a Title Douluo. Against the Western Sea Spirit Master Regiment, whose soldiers were mostly around level forty, they stood no chance at all.
Wang Xiao no longer struck at the soldiers scattered in disarray. Instead, in his Martial Soul Avatar form, he raised his massive head and instinctively turned his gaze toward the castle at the island's center.
As though in answer to his gaze, a thick bolt of blue-violet lightning—wide as a barrel—suddenly shot through the night sky above the castle, illuminating the island under the shroud of darkness.
Haixiao, clad in deep-blue armor, revealed his figure amidst the lightning. In his gleaming eyes surged a complex mix of fury and astonishment.
"Wang Xiao… it's you?! You're still alive?!"