Chapter 38: Peak Soul King Evil Soul Master — Blood Infant
"Yes, Senior Sister!"
Ling Luochen and Ma Xiaotao's expressions hardened. They immediately dropped all levity and hurried downstairs.
Ye Chen followed right behind.
But he heard Zhang Lexuan's gentle voice from behind: "Xiao Chen, if you feel overwhelmed, just call for your sister—I'll always be right behind you."
Though academy rules stated guardians must not interfere unless absolutely necessary, Zhang Lexuan didn't care.
Ye Chen was her favorite godbrother—she could never stand to see him hurt, not even slightly.
"Mhm, you're the best, Sister~" Ye Chen turned and gave a bright smile before quickly following the others.
"So adorable..." Zhang Lexuan murmured softly, watching his warm smile as affection bloomed deeper inside her.
...
...
The lair of these evil soul masters was in the mountains. Their arrogance made them easy targets for the Overseer Corps' intelligence network, and they were found without much effort.
In the quiet of the night, Ma Xiaotao, Ling Luochen, and Ye Chen advanced swiftly along the forested path toward the coordinates.
Before long, they reached a valley lit up like a small camp.
A fortress-like hideout was built into the rock face itself, riddled with tunnels likely designed for escape. If they couldn't win a battle—they'd flee.
According to intelligence, there were over one hundred people here, all under the command of a single Soul King-level evil soul master—one who cultivated with infants' hearts.
The rest were little more than murderers and outlaws, not true evil soul masters.
Real ones were rare—they shared several grim traits: terrible innate talent, quick growth, terrifying combat strength, and tragically short lives. Their cultivation methods were brutal beyond reason.
This was why genuine evil soul masters were so few.
Still, numbers mattered, and every one of these henchmen was cruel and ruthless. Even Ling Luochen wouldn't dare underestimate them.
...
Ma Xiaotao led the team quietly through the trees, scanning for the right timing.
Their main target was the evil Soul King, the "Blood Infant," so they had to be careful not to spook him.
But moments later, both she and Ling Luochen froze.
From the mountain path ahead, several masked men appeared—one of them carrying two unconscious infants, small arms dangling weakly.
Blood stained their robes—likely splattered from the babies' parents.
"Animals!! You deserve to die!!"
Fury erupted in Ma Xiaotao's heart. She flared instantly into her Phoenix form, unleashing a concentrated beam of flame.
"Whoosh—!"
The fiery streak shot through the darkness, hitting her targets dead-on.
They were reduced to ash within seconds.
The leader, a soul master, raised his martial soul too late—his head vanished in a burst of flames.
"Thud—"
The body hit the ground, and Ma Xiaotao dashed forward, catching the two infants just in time and laying them aside safely.
"Enemy attack!"
"Kill them!!"
"Sh*t—it's a Soul Emperor! Run, run!!"
Chaos erupted instantly.
Men poured out of the caves, weapons drawn—until their eyes caught the six spirit rings behind Ma Xiaotao.
Black. Black. Black.
All six glimmered ominously in the darkness.
Their faces blanched.
"Run! Inform Lord Blood Infant!"
They weren't suicidal—most of them were just low-tier soul masters in their teens or twenties. Fighting a Soul Emperor wasn't courage—it was suicide.
They'd let their leader handle this.
"You Shrek pests dare ruin my plans?! You court death!!"
A blood-red figure shot out from one of the inner caves.
Behind him floated a gruesome phantom—an infant bathed in blood, wailing with piercing cries that shook the valley walls.
His armor flared crimson. Behind him burned five spirit rings—white, yellow, and three ominous black ones.
A Soul King—but his aura surged dangerously close to Soul Emperor level.
Those three ten-thousand-year rings were clearly acquired after succumbing to corruption.
Before turning evil, he had likely been a weak, struggling soul master.
But through the gruesome path of devouring infant hearts, he'd leapt to power—able to absorb rings far beyond his limits.
It was power gained through madness.
And madness, as always, tempted the desperate and the fallen.
Even with a ninety-nine percent chance of death, countless failed soul masters—and even some broken "geniuses"—still succumbed.
"Phoenix Meteor Shower!"
"Boom! Boom! BOOM!!!"
A storm of flaming meteors descended, lighting the valley in a raging inferno.
Fire rained down mercilessly on the Blood Infant and every one of his subordinates who hadn't yet fled underground.
Those who could run did—scrambling through secret tunnels to escape the carnage.
"Damned Shrek hounds!"
The Blood Infant snarled, forming a twisted crimson shield to absorb the barrage before bolting toward the side tunnels himself.
He was no fool—fighting a top-ranked Shrek Soul Emperor head-on meant certain death.
Though at the peak of Soul King, his power could briefly reach Soul Sage level—but only once. Using that final move would burn his life instantly.
He wasn't about to die for pride.
"Xiao Chen! We must chase them! Don't let those accomplices escape!"
Ling Luochen grabbed Ye Chen's arm and sprinted down one of the branching tunnels.
The Blood Infant belonged to Ma Xiaotao now—the rest were theirs to handle.
Each of these criminals was vicious beyond words. If they got away now, they could easily resurface as new evil soul masters later.
"Got it, Senior! We'll split up."
Ye Chen nodded firmly and vanished into the darkness.
"Wait—Xiao Chen, don't—!"
Ling Luochen reached out, but he had already disappeared from sight.
"Fine… just small fry, he'll be alright. And Senior Zhang's overseeing us anyway," she muttered, biting her lip before hurrying in another direction.
What she didn't know… was that Zhang Lexuan was also looking for Ye Chen among the chaos.
"Teleportation, huh? This kid really hides a lot..."
She sighed softly.
From the shadows, she struck swiftly each time an enemy crossed her path—clean and efficient kills.
She had been keeping watch over Ye Chen, but his teleport range was wider than she expected.
The moment he vanished into the dark, she had lost his trail completely.
Though she doubted any weaklings could harm him, she couldn't shake off a faint worry deep inside.
(END CHAPTER)
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