Chapter One Hundred Ninety-One: Soul, Do Not Speak

“Regrettably, in the end, I still became a burden to my cousin, Xiao Xie. He clearly had a far more brilliant future ahead of him. Yet when faced with death, why do I not feel fear? On the contrary, I almost feel relieved. Is it because of Xiao Xie? Xun’er, you are truly a bad girl. You clearly like Xiao Yan, so why are you still being so greedy toward Xiao Xie?” Gazing at the incomparably towering back that shielded her, Xun’er silently thought to herself: “If I were to die like this, perhaps I would not need to agonize over this any longer.”

“You little fool, what are you spacing out for now? Hurry up and put out the protective barrier! I have no time to look after you during the coming battle. Take care of yourselves!” Xiao Xie’s shout cut off Xun’er’s wandering thoughts.

Xiao Xie shook his head helplessly. He had no idea what this little girl was thinking. At a time like this, she could still let her mind drift. Even he was not entirely confident of victory against a Battle Saint, and once the fight truly began, he would have even less spare strength to watch over them. Yet at such a critical moment, this girl had actually gone absent-minded. If she were to be wiped out by the shockwaves later, it would be an utter joke.

Though he said so much, everything happened in an instant. After reminding Xun’er, Xiao Xie removed the bone bracelet from his right wrist and, under the shocked gazes of Xun’er and Ling Ying, summoned ten skeletal beasts.

“Form up!” Xiao Xie roared. In an instant, the ten skeletal beasts each took their designated positions. Above the array, the phantom of a hundred-meter-tall beast appeared. From its massive single horn shot a crimson beam dozens of meters thick, like a scarlet spear, crashing fiercely toward the black giant finger pressing down from the sky.

Boom!

The crimson pillar of light and the black giant finger collided, producing a heaven-shaking blast. The clouds that had been drifting in the sky were instantly scattered by the aftermath of the explosion, and the entire heavens seemed washed clean, so blue it made one’s heart tremble.

Hundreds of miles away, the leaders of the major factions in the Black-Corner Region narrowed their eyes and looked on from afar, their robes whipping violently in the gale of the battle’s aftershocks.

“So this is the true strength of the Sect Master? How terrifying! Just who is fighting the Sect Master? The battle’s aftershocks can spread this far. At the center of it, even a Dou Zong expert might not survive!” Fan Lao wiped the cold sweat from his brow. He had never imagined Xiao Xie’s power would be so immense, and he could not help feeling fortunate that he had submitted to Xiao Xie at the very first opportunity.

If Fan Lao knew that the cause of this great battle today was still his own son, who had tried to molest Xun’er, he would surely come to deeply understand the meaning of the words “bringing disaster upon one’s father.”

“I never thought the Sect Master would be this strong. He must also be excellent in bed! I really want to have a proper spar with the Sect Master!” Su Mei licked her lips, her eyes full of allure. Thinking of Xiao Xie’s powerful body, her breathing immediately grew a little rapid. Her pair of long, fair legs rubbed tightly together twice, and she already felt somewhat wet.

The Black Emperor Sect’s master, Mo Tianxing, and the elders were likewise stunned speechless. After a long while, Mo Tianxing said solemnly, “If Xiao Xie wins this battle today, my Black Emperor Sect will submit to the Dragon Gate!”

The elders were all startled by the sudden decision, but after exchanging glances, none of them objected. Based solely on the strength Xiao Xie had revealed now, if he won today, the Black-Corner Region would likely truly enter the age of unification.

The people of the Dragon Gate, seeing Xiao Xie display such might, were naturally overjoyed and relieved. As for the other sects not under the Dragon Gate’s banner, they made the same decision as the Black Emperor Sect: if Xiao Xie won today, they would submit to the Dragon Gate. Serving under such a powerful expert was an immense honor.

“He... he actually blocked it!” Ling Ying, inside the protective barrier, felt as if his eyes were about to pop out. Xiao Xie, with merely a Dou Zong cultivation, had actually blocked an attack from a Battle Saint. Although that strike might have only been a casual one from a Battle Saint of the Soul Clan, it had still been blocked. No matter what means Xiao Xie had used, to withstand a Battle Saint’s blow as a Dou Zong was the kind of feat that, if spoken of, would surely shake the entire Dou Qi Continent.

“So this is Cousin Xiao Xie’s strength?” Xun’er’s beautiful eyes were likewise filled with boundless shock. She had managed to withstand a Battle Saint’s attack because her clan elders had gone to great lengths to forge this protective jade pendant for her. Such a jade pendant, capable of resisting a Battle Saint-level strike, was a rare treasure even within the Ancient Clan. Only an inheritor of Xun’er’s flawless Ancient Emperor bloodline would receive such treatment.

Yet what had she just seen? Xiao Xie had relied on his own strength to withstand a Battle Saint’s attack. No, to be precise, he had relied on ten skeletal beasts at the Dou Zun level to block that one strike from the Battle Saint. But even so, that was astonishing enough. The difference between Dou Zun and Battle Saint was like that between an ant and a human: a person could crush an ant with a single finger.

Ten first-star Dou Zun skeletal beasts surviving a single attack from a Battle Saint would already have been a great fortune. Let alone that they had remained completely intact and actually neutralized the strike. Such a thing had never existed in Xun’er’s understanding.

“Hm?” A black-haired man in a black robe, with waist-length hair and a handsome face, stepped out of the void and let out a surprised exclamation.

His name was Hun Moyan. Among the Soul Clan’s few prodigies over the past several hundred years, he was one of the rare ones. At only sixty years old he had already broken through to Battle Saint, and now, at eighty, his cultivation had reached the three-star Battle Saint level. This time he had merely been traveling in the Black Mountain, ten thousand miles from the Black-Corner Region, when he happened to receive word from the clan that a genius of the Ancient Clan had appeared here in the Black-Corner Region, and that this person was even the flawless inheritor of the Ancient Emperor bloodline. The clan had ordered every nearby Battle Saint to hurry at once and eliminate this threat, so he had crossed through the void to come here.

When he was still twenty thousand miles from the Black-Corner Region, he noticed that the soul aura of the clan member who had sent the message back had vanished. Thus he hastily unleashed a Soul Annihilating Finger across the distance of twenty thousand miles. Though its power had been weakened by traveling that far, the strike still possessed the might of a half-saint’s full force. Yet what surprised him was that his Soul Annihilating Finger had been broken.

“A four-star Dou Zong? Such a talented little fellow?” Hun Moyan looked astonished. At first he had assumed some Half-Saint had intervened and shattered the weakened Soul Annihilating Finger. But after sensing more carefully, he discovered that Xiao Xie’s strength was merely that of a four-star Dou Zong. Although only a four-star Dou Zong, he was far too young—under twenty years old.

Even Hun Moyan, one of the Soul Clan’s rare geniuses over the past several hundred years, had only been a one-star Dou Zong at the age of twenty. But Xiao Xie was already a four-star Dou Zong before turning twenty. Then what heights would he reach in the future? Battle Saint? Or even a Dou Emperor?!

Hun Moyan shifted his gaze to the ten skeletal beasts beside Xiao Xie. Seeing the peculiar positions in which they stood, a flash of understanding passed through his eyes as he muttered, “A formation, perhaps? But the restrictions of such a formation must be considerable. This little fellow has truly managed to gather ten skeletal magical beasts of the same cultivation and the same race.”

The more Hun Moyan looked at Xiao Xie, the more he admired him, and he could not help but develop a fondness for talent. If this little fellow could join the Soul Clan, then in a few decades the Soul Clan would likely gain another Battle Saint, and perhaps even a Dou Emperor might appear.

Since he had made up his mind, Hun Moyan spoke with some impatience: “Little fellow, come back to the Soul Clan with this sovereign! This sovereign will spare no effort in nurturing you. Your future is limitless. Become this sovereign’s disciple, and this sovereign can let you break through to Battle Saint at the fastest speed.”

Hun Moyan’s words startled Xun’er and Ling Ying, but Xun’er quickly regained her composure. Xiao Xie’s cultivation talent was enough to leave even her speechless, and she had once entertained the idea of having Xiao Xie join the Ancient Clan. Hun Moyan suddenly inviting Xiao Xie to join the Soul Clan and even wishing to take him as a disciple was therefore not strange at all. It was unexpected, yet also perfectly reasonable.

If Xun’er had not inherited the Ancient Emperor bloodline of the Ancient Clan, thereby making her an inevitable enemy of the Soul Clan, Hun Moyan would likely have extended the same invitation to her as well.

“Join the Soul Clan? Not interested. Besides, with your qualifications, you are not even fit to take me as your disciple!” Xiao Xie said disdainfully. As he spoke, he tore off his tattered outer shirt. Earlier, under the shockwaves from the collision of the Soul Annihilating Finger and the red beam, his body had been covered in Armament Haki, so he had not been injured, but the cloak and clothes on him had all been reduced to beggar’s rags.