The group tensed, ready to flee. They knew the two Bear Spirit soul masters had been killed, and fear gripped them.
The Flower Spirit female soul master trembled. Had the enemy really tracked them down?
An arrow, with only its tail visible, was lodged in the stone floor. What kind of bow could unleash such power? This wasn't a soul master's spirit skill.
The surviving Bear Spirit soul master looked grim. He'd carried the Flower Spirit master on his back, taking a long detour to escape. If someone was behind them, why hadn't they attacked earlier? Why wait so long to strike now?
Ding Quan, using his compound bow against people for the first time, was stunned by its power. The arrow pierced the auxiliary soul master's skull without slowing, embedding diagonally into the stone floor.
He'd never seen Tang San's Zhuge Divine Crossbow, but he was certain this bow was stronger.
Seeing the group's wary faces, Ding Quan fired another arrow, targeting the Turtle Spirit soul master. He was the slowest, and as a pure defense soul master, the toughest to handle. His Turtle Spirit was top-tier, and if he used his skills, Ding Quan's Longyuan Sword couldn't break through.
"Move!" the Spirit Cat soul master shouted, spotting the arrow's speed.
"Second skill: Black Turtle Shield! First skill—" The Turtle Spirit master saw the arrow and froze in horror.
His two soul rings flashed. A tortoise-shell shield formed in front of him, but his first skill didn't activate in time. The arrow struck his chest, punching a hole through the shield and shattering its edges.
The power was terrifying. They knew the Turtle Spirit master's defense could block a third skill from a typical three-ring soul master. Yet this slender arrow broke it effortlessly.
The group panicked. The arrow pierced the shield, but the Turtle Spirit master survived, though his insides were clearly damaged.
The last Great Soul Master dragged him behind a pillar. His soul ring glowed, and a carrot appeared in his hand.
"Enemy attack!" the Bear Spirit master roared, shouting outside.
Hearing the noise, Ding Quan drew another arrow.
"Rush out! He's using a bow—his strength can't be that great!" the Flower Spirit female screamed.
The Bear Spirit master smashed a window with his palm. He and the Spirit Cat master traced the arrow's path.
"It's that kid! He's alone!" the Bear Spirit master bellowed.
Ding Quan stood on a tree outside, no one else around. The Bear Spirit master was furious. How dare this kid act alone?
"He's charging!"
Ding Quan notched another arrow, aiming at the Great Soul Master feeding the Turtle Spirit master carrots. A food-type soul master— this team was well-rounded.
*Whoosh!*
"Watch out!" the Spirit Cat master yelled, seeing the strange bow fire again.
The arrow's terrifying force pierced the pillar hiding the food-type soul master.
A scream followed. Ding Quan ignored it.
As he drew another arrow, the Spirit Cat master's face turned fierce.
"Second skill: Instant Strike!" His second soul ring lit up, and he lunged at Ding Quan with sudden speed.
Mid-leap, his white soul ring flashed, and sharp claws formed on his hands. He pounced straight at Ding Quan.
Ding Quan grinned. "Careful! He hasn't used his martial soul!" the Bear Spirit master shouted, trailing far behind.
Ding Quan stowed his bow, clenched his fist, and summoned his Longyuan Sword. A yellow soul ring appeared.
The Spirit Cat master sneered. Without that strange bow, what could a one-ring soul master do?
Ding Quan's expression hardened. The Longyuan Sword's black blade turned silver, except for its patterns. Soul power surged, forming a condensed breeze on the blade, aimed at the Spirit Cat master.
He didn't defend. As the Spirit Cat master's claws struck, a smug look crossed his face, only to twist into fear. His claws tore Ding Quan's clothes, leaving shallow scratches on his skin—nothing more.
But Ding Quan's Longyuan Sword slashed down, splitting the Spirit Cat master from shoulder to waist.
Blood sprayed, painting Ding Quan red. The two halves of the body hit the ground far apart with heavy thuds.
Ding Quan turned to the Bear Spirit master and smiled.
The Bear Spirit master stared, eyes wide. Ding Quan's blood-soaked figure and red-tinted gaze were terrifying. This guy was a monster.
Ding Quan walked slowly toward him. The Bear Spirit master froze in fear. His body had shrugged off an agile attack soul master's strike without injury—something even he couldn't do without defending.
Was this really a one-ring soul master?
Ding Quan felt his soul power surge, his mind buzzing with excitement. Splitting someone in half was unthinkable before, and the thrill was new.
He glanced at the Longyuan Sword, now gleaming silver. Its wood attribute, no longer suppressed, unleashed its full sharpness under his killing intent. A sword was a weapon for killing, and he embraced it.
His martial soul's enhancement wasn't as strong as before, but it had become his natural state. The Longyuan Sword's sheath-like possession and its first soul ring's toughness strengthened his body constantly.
With whale glue boosting him, Ding Quan, at level 13, was confident he could absorb a thousand-year soul ring. His physical strength matched many Great Soul Masters. His first soul skill's 40% damage reduction meant even the Bear Spirit master's second skill only pushed him back, not hurt him.
Ordinary hundred-year soul skills from Great Soul Masters couldn't touch him unless they came from a top-tier martial soul.
Ding Quan charged the terrified Bear Spirit master.
"First skill: Diamond Armor! Second skill: Diamond Palm!" The Bear Spirit master unleashed both skills at once.
Ding Quan snorted, sped up, and thrust his sword. The Diamond Armor shattered instantly, and the Longyuan Sword pierced the Bear Spirit master's bear-paw hands.
"Get back!" The Bear Spirit master swung his other hand. Ding Quan didn't dodge, blocking with his left arm.
The blow staggered him a few steps to the right.
Ding Quan shook his arm. As expected, he could handle the damage but not the force. The hit pushed him back, but the Bear Spirit master's hand hung limp, badly injured.
As Ding Quan prepared to strike again, the door burst open, and a group rushed in.
"He's only got one ring!" the Bear Spirit master shouted. "Kill him, and I'll pay 10,000 gold soul coins!"
"Ten thousand?"
"Really?"
"But that body…"
"He's just one ring!"
"Go!"
The crowd, mostly one-ring soul masters, surged forward, lured by the fortune.
Ding Quan frowned. The Bear Spirit master, relieved, turned to flee.
Ding Quan sliced through a rushing soul master. Several unleashed soul skills, forcing him to counter. The Bear Spirit master vanished through the door.
The Flower Spirit master had escaped too. They were lucky.
Ding Quan sighed. How long could these weak one-ring soul masters hold him? His soul power was low, but he hadn't used soul skills, so he had plenty left. Their white-ring skills couldn't harm him with his 40% damage reduction. Their defeat was inevitable.
He stepped back, drew his compound bow, and moved faster than them.
By a riverside sandstone, the Flower Spirit master faced trouble. A blonde tiger-eared girl and a silver-haired girl blocked her path.
Her condition was dire. An ice cone pierced her abdomen, and sword wounds covered her body, leaving her pale and bloodless.
She stared at the pair in despair. The two she'd once tormented were now her doom.
They weren't typical soul masters. Her soul skills barely affected them.
When Ding Quan killed the Spirit Cat master, she knew she had to flee.
In the silver-haired woman's hand was a crystal-clear snow lotus. The Flower Spirit master's face fell further.
As she escaped the room, the silver-haired woman's ice cone struck her. A second-ring Great Soul Master, she forced them back and fled through a secret passage.
But these ringless girls dared to pursue her.
Injured and drained of soul power, her skills useless against them, she couldn't even run.
"Sister, let's finish her!" the blonde tiger-eared girl panted, gripping a short sword from Ding Quan. A breeze swept blood off the blade—blood from the Flower Spirit master.
"Wei'er, be careful!" The silver-haired woman's snow lotus spun, forming ice cones.
The Flower Spirit master struggled to stand. The silver-haired woman was a genius, conjuring and controlling ice cones without a soul ring—a feat many ringed soul masters couldn't match.
The blonde tiger-eared girl's sword carried a breeze of soul power, forming a cutting whirlwind. The Flower Spirit master hadn't seen it before. Her own soul power couldn't match that whirlwind's slicing force.
Her wounds came from that blade's power breaking her defenses.
If this girl got a soul ring, she'd be as monstrous as the one hunting their team.
The sisters exchanged a glance. Ice cones shot forward, and the blonde girl charged.
The Flower Spirit master raised a weak hand. Her soul power was gone—she couldn't resist.
"First skill: Diamond Armor!" A shielded hand blocked an ice cone aimed at her head.
The hand grabbed Wei'er, whose short sword clashed with it. The blonde girl flew back, rolling to dispel the force.
"Wei'er!" The silver-haired woman fired more ice cones and rushed to help her sister up.
"I'm fine, Sister!" Wei'er stood, and they eyed the newcomer warily.
It was the Bear Spirit master, battered and bloody. His left arm, crudely wrapped, hung useless.
His two soul rings marked him as a Great Soul Master. Wei'er and her sister tensed.
"Old Bear! You're here!" The Flower Spirit master's face lit up, then darkened at his broken arm.
"We need to go!" The Bear Spirit master glared at the sisters.
The silver-haired woman conjured more ice cones, aiming at the Flower Spirit master. Wei'er grabbed her short sword and circled toward her again.
"Seeking death!" the Bear Spirit master roared. His shield, still intact, blocked the ice cones. He turned to Wei'er charging in.
The whirlwind on Wei'er's dagger grew stronger, aimed at the Flower Spirit master.
The Bear Spirit master's shielded hand met the dagger.
*Crack!*
The shield began to break.
(End of this chapter)