The platform was in complete chaos, with panicked people scattering in all directions, and the spirit beasts huddled in the corners, trembling. The sunlight still filtered through the shattered dome, but it could no longer illuminate the once harmonious scene.
Li Yucheng's face was pale, his fists clenched so tightly that they creaked. "This is bad."
He had to contact the Spirit Pagoda immediately!
But in a place he didn't notice, a wisp of gray mist and a figure quietly disappeared.
...
A bone-chilling wind, sharp as a blade, swept across his skin.
The boy instinctively opened his eyes, his pupils contracting sharply, beneath him was a bottomless abyss, with wispy clouds like ghosts swirling around his feet, and the icy air tearing at his suspended body.
He was encased in a narrow, blood-red barrier, unable to move.
Opposite him, in another blood-red barrier, Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena were also trapped.
Huo Yuhao's brows furrowed tightly as he "suddenly" woke from his unconscious state.
His eyes were clouded with gray mist, which quickly dissipated. The first thing he saw was Gu Yuena lying on top of him, her hand clutching his collar tightly.
Her face was pale, her long lashes drooping, trembling slightly in the cold wind, as if she might wake at any moment.
At that moment, Gu Yuena's brows lightly furrowed, her eyelids struggling for a moment before slowly opening.
Her amethyst-like eyes showed a trace of confusion, but when she saw the evil soul master, they turned to realization, her brows knitting tightly.
Huo Yuhao: "..."
What can I say? Great acting.
Usually, you wouldn't out-act me, would you?
"You woke up quite quickly."
A cold, eerie voice suddenly rang out, neither male nor female, carrying a twisted, bone-chilling quality, as if countless tiny insects were crawling across their eardrums, and hallucinations seemed to appear in their eyes.
The cold-faced boy quickly closed his eyes and remained silent. Huo Yuhao and the others also stayed quiet, only looking at the evil soul master with vigilance.
At that moment, a strong sense of weightlessness suddenly hit them. The surrounding clouds rushed past like sharp blades, and the ground was hurtling toward them at a terrifying speed.
The suffocating sensation from the rapid descent made their blood feel as if it had frozen. Just as they were a mere hundred meters from the ground—
"Bang!" An invisible force suddenly yanked the three of them to a halt. The feeling of their internal organs being squeezed out of place surged through them, and before they could recover, their feet had already landed heavily on solid ground, their knees bending uncontrollably from the impact.
Gu Yuena staggered to steady herself, a cold glint flashing in her amethyst eyes, her face pale.
Huo Yuhao held her shoulder, his gaze extremely "grave" as he looked at the evil soul master.
This evil soul master was completely shrouded in impenetrable darkness—
A form-fitting gray combat suit seemed to blend into the shadows, and even his face was completely covered by a specially made hood, revealing only a pair of chilling eyes.
Those grayish eyes, with blood-red pupils like two drops of congealed blood, glowed with an eerie light in the dim surroundings.
Blood-Eye Martial Soul, and a Super Douluo at that...
He seemed to have some recollection.
Wasn't this the evil soul master who had attacked the Divine Craftsman?
This time, he's targeting the next Divine Craftsman?
The Blood-Eye Evil Soul Master looked at the three of them, "One by one, your mental fortitude isn't bad, not unworthy of your talents."
Facing him without showing fear was indeed commendable, but the tension and worry were still there.
This was only natural, given the gap in strength.
If they weren't nervous, that would be the real problem.
"Senior, why have you captured us?"
The boy beside them struggled to his feet and couldn't help but ask:
"Weaklings like us shouldn't be worth your effort, right?"
"Weaklings? Ranked tenth on the Young Genius List—Yuan En Yehui, fifth—Gu Yuena, first—Huo Yuhao."
The evil soul master glanced at them coldly, his icy voice echoing in their ears.
"You may not be strong now, but what about the future? At this age, one is a high-level Soul Elder, one a Soul Ancestor, one a Soul King... The Federation has been producing more and more geniuses in recent years. But on the flip side, killing you now means fewer peak powerhouses for the Federation in the future, nipping the future of major factions in the bud. Why wouldn't I do that?"
Yuan En Yehui's brows furrowed slightly, "If you really wanted to kill us, you wouldn't have brought us here to do it."
The evil soul master glanced at Yuan En Yehui but didn't respond, instead turning to Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena, "The Spirit Pagoda's protection of those with evil martial souls is quite efficient, but they seem to have overlooked geniuses like you from their own factions."
"However, geniuses like you, without guardians by your side, didn't your teachers leave you with any other means of protection?"
Huo Yuhao glanced in Yuan En Yehui's direction, took a deep breath, and said, "Since we already have the ability to protect ourselves, we can't rely on our teachers for everything. Who could have expected to encounter you today?"
"A five-ring Soul King, plus a battle armor... you do have some ability to protect yourself."
The evil soul master's blood-red eyes narrowed slightly, locking onto Huo Yuhao's eyes like a snake eyeing its prey.
The latter's somewhat mocking words didn't anger her; instead, the corners of her mouth twisted even more.
When she had captured Huo Yuhao earlier, the fleeting glimpse of gray mist in his eyes still lingered in her mind, so pure, so sweet, the aura of death.
Just recalling it made her shiver, a tingling pleasure rising from the depths of her marrow.
A casual move had led to such a delightful surprise... fate had truly favored her!
Seeing this, Huo Yuhao's eyes flickered.
Her attention was completely on him now. It seemed the death aura he had stirred up earlier had been very effective.
"Rest here for now, and don't try anything."
The evil soul master said coldly, "If anyone comes after us, you'll be the first to die. But if we can get through this peacefully, you might just make it out alive."
As soon as she finished speaking, her figure quietly disappeared from the spot.
Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena exchanged a glance, both understanding without words, neither speaking.
Yuan En Yehui was silent for a moment before slowly walking over to them, her gaze shifting between the two, "I'm sorry for dragging you into this. She's probably after me. If there's a chance later, I'll try to draw her attention, and you two should escape as quickly as possible."
Huo Yuhao sensed that the evil soul master's aura had temporarily left their vicinity and looked at "Yuan En Yehui."
Yuan En Yehui, female, sometimes disguised as a male due to her martial soul.
Her martial souls were the Titan Giant Ape and the Fallen Angel, both of which were evil martial souls. Moreover, the Fallen Angel could connect to the demon realm at the ninth ring, making it one of the most dangerous among evil martial souls...
Thinking of this, Huo Yuhao suddenly smiled slightly and transmitted a message:
"It's fine. With us drawing her attention, she hasn't even noticed Your Excellency. It shouldn't be too hard for us to escape."