Unexpectedly seeing a reliable side of Donnie, Xiao Lin couldn't help but give a small smile.
The enemy before him, spitting blood, looked as though he wouldn't live much longer.
"Donnie, ask them who they are."
Xiao Lin suddenly thought of something and asked urgently.
Earlier, when dealing with the other merman, he had instantly killed him without asking anything.
Now, of course, he had to get some answers—although Xiao Lin more or less already had an idea who they were.
"Who we are?"
"Heh… heh… we are from Lai Bing—"
The hook-nosed man, realizing he was close to death, still couldn't resist putting on a grand act before Xiao Lin, hoping to instill some fear in them before he died.
However, before the hook-nosed man could say more than a few words, his eyes suddenly revealed boundless terror.
Like an insect being crushed, his face twisted into a hideous grimace.
It was as if he were enduring unbearable pain from the depths of his soul, his whole body convulsing violently.
This abnormal reaction made Xiao Lin's pupils contract in shock—because the hook-nosed man had already been run clean through the back by Donnie's Golden Dragon Spear.
With Donnie's immense strength, she had likely already pierced his body completely, even breaking his spine.
Such an injury would paralyze the lower half of a person's body—meaning they would lose all sensation there, including pain.
Yet this man looked as if he were enduring agony beyond what the soul itself could bear.
"No! Boss, no—!"
The next moment, under the astonished gazes of Xiao Lin and Donnie, the man quickly lost all signs of life.
Moreover, the way he died looked more like the death of his mind, his consciousness, and even his soul.
It was as if butter had fallen into a red-hot iron pan—his soul had completely melted away.
Xiao Lin, of course, knew that people in this world had souls.
Could it be that the mastermind's martial spirit could actually attack and destroy a person's soul?
"What on earth is going on here?"
Xiao Lin exhaled softly and looked at Donnie, who was closest to the man.
With Xiao Lin's experience, he had heard of such situations before—but only in the information-overloaded world of his previous life, in the countless excellent scripts and stories.
Could a low-IQ fantasy world like Douluo Continent really have people using such methods?
Noticing Xiao Lin's gaze, Donnie also shook her head. This method was simply heaven-defying—not something a soul beast like her could understand.
She was also puzzled—she hadn't used the Golden Dragon Spear to devour the man's life force.
So how had he died as if she had?
With Donnie's five thousand years of experience, only the methods of the Dark Devilgod Tiger among soul beasts were this sinister.
And the man's death looked exactly like a complete annihilation of the soul—not even the "thread of fate" was severed, but erased entirely.
Donnie couldn't explain it to Xiao Lin.
"No matter what, this isn't good news. The enemy—or rather, the true mastermind—must be at least a powerful Soul Sage or above."
Although the hook-nosed man had died mysteriously, Xiao Lin understood very well—for an ordinary soul master to have such heaven-defying soul skills was impossible.
If you had that kind of luck, you'd already be the fated protagonist.
A Soul Sage's gift ability is their Martial Spirit Avatar, so… did the mastermind have a soul bone with spiritual attributes? Or had they already reached Soul Douluo level?
"In our current situation, we can only temporarily abandon this mission. After we successfully obtain the soul rings we want, we'll leave this place."
By this point, Xiao Lin had no desire to linger in this place of trouble.
Qu He's map and the strange treasure it marked might be excellent,but it wasn't worth gambling their lives over.
There would be bigger opportunities in the future—without as much danger.
Obviously, you'd choose the latter.
Before long, Xiao Lin and Donnie returned to the ice hut and explained the situation to Ye Lingling and the others.
Ye Lingling and the rest weren't unreasonable people, and decisively agreed to retreat for now.
Keep the green hills, and you'll never lack firewood.
If they truly felt guilty toward Qu He, well—then they would grow stronger in the future and come back to take revenge.
Or they could simply ask their powerful backers or family elders to deal with it.
However, when Ye Lingling and the others heard Xiao Lin's words, they all shook their heads.
Finding backers and relying on elders was not their style.
They were, after all, geniuses of their generation—elites among elites.
Even if they couldn't compare to a monster like Xiao Lin, they were still prodigies who could become Titled Douluo (especially with immortal herbs).
They had their own pride. If they were going to resolve it, they would resolve it themselves.
In the end, the five of them made a verbal agreement in the ice hut—In the future, they must avenge Qu He, find Yang Lai Bing and even the mastermind behind him, and eliminate them all.
The time was set for when they had all reached Soul King level.
Why Soul King?
Because Xiao Lin and Donnie were confident that, at Soul King, they could fight and defeat enemies above their level—even a Soul Sage wasn't entirely out of the question.
And by then, it wouldn't just be the five of them.Would Tang San, Yu Tianheng, and the others simply turn a blind eye?
Obviously not.
In other words, this would become a future "mandatory dungeon" for the Huangdou Battle Team—a hell-level raid they'd clear together.
After making the agreement, the five of them pulled themselves together, quickly left the area, and continued toward the Black Profound Snake Turtle's location.
They had to leave before the Lai Bing gang reacted.
If the enemy lost track of them, the danger would lessen.
Meanwhile, in the Xueling Province—
Inside the lavish and beautiful Spirit Hall—
In the massive office of the Hall Master, a tall, slightly fat man was enjoying the service of a pretty-faced woman beneath him.
His appearance was very ordinary, and even the blissful expression on his face didn't make him look disgusting.
Most people, upon seeing him, would simply think he was very kind—a benevolent Hall Master of the Spirit Hall, someone easy to get along with.
The next moment, the man frowned and kicked the woman away.
The assassination squad members had died? And even said my name?
Ba Tu's right eyelid twitched violently—he felt a trace of foreboding.
What had happened to make him so uneasy?
He had clearly "washed his hands of crime," stopped appearing in public,and even to protect his safety, he had killed the real Hall Master of Xueling Province—Ba Tu—
Then assumed Ba Tu's identity.
Because Ba Tu himself was the same type of person, Yang Lai Bing had been able to imitate him without anyone suspecting.
He had lived steadily like this for over ten years.
But now—suddenly—he felt that old sense of danger again.
It had been more than a decade since he last felt this way.
"Onion, go find that guy Cucumber, and get the reason out of him."
Ba Tu snorted coldly, speaking calmly toward a shadow in the office.
Though outwardly calm, he was already at the edge of fury.
He believed Onion understood what he meant.
"Yes!"
With that reply, the shadow in the office rippled slightly—and then disappeared.
A moment later, Ba Tu instantly released his purple soul rings.
The woman in the office fell into an illusion—and the next moment, seemed to feel a splitting headache.
Before she could scream in pain, she lost consciousness entirely, eyes rolling white, collapsing to the floor.
Only the rise and fall of her chest proved she was still alive.
It was just… she had become an idiot who knew nothing.
Judging by Ba Tu's practiced movements, this was clearly not the first time.
(End of chapter)