Ye Xinglan was oblivious to Gu Yue's melancholy. Along her path, she eliminated anyone she encountered, honing her sword intent. The Star God Sword refracted blinding cold light under the sun, and its blade sliced through the air with a buzzing vibration like that of bees.
Golden sword qi, visible to the naked eye, enveloped her surroundings. Trees in her path were sliced into spider-web-like cracks. Her eyes burned with an intense thirst for battle, and ever since encountering Gu La, her hunger for the sword path had grown even stronger.
When Gu Yue's figure appeared in the clearing, Ye Xinglan's pupils contracted sharply.
The memory of her crushing defeat from three years ago flashed back in her mind. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the sword hilt tightly. Without a word, the Star God Sword carved sixteen intersecting afterimages in the air, and her second soul ring suddenly lit up.
Sword God Net!
Golden sword qi wove itself into a ten-meter-wide grid-like cage, each strand of energy vibrating at high frequency. The air around Gu Yue was sliced into fine ripples.
However, the silver-haired girl remained calm and detached. Ripples of spatial energy flickered at her fingertips—then, in the next instant, Gu Yue vanished, reappearing behind Ye Xinglan.
Boom!
A four-element sphere exploded behind Ye Xinglan, and the purple glow in Gu Yue's eyes deepened further.
Ice, fire, wind, and earth elements entangled and expanded against all logic. The shockwave from the explosion nearly knocked the Star God Sword out of Ye Xinglan's grasp.
As Ye Xinglan staggered backward, the second wave of elemental storms had already formed. The ground split open into spider-web cracks under the influence of the earth element.
Ye Xinglan turned and raised her sword to block, but the Star God Sword wasn't suited for defense. Though it managed to withstand the first explosion, the second blast sent her crashing to the ground under the force of the shockwave.
Gu Yue was in no mood for mercy. The four elements bombarded relentlessly, leaving Ye Xinglan no chance to counterattack.
Xu Lizhi and a Soul Ancestor watched this scene from afar.
"Sister Xinglan!"
Xu Lizhi's heart-wrenching cry echoed from a distance.
Xu Lizhi's round body erupted with incredible speed, throwing six healing buns toward the battlefield.
But just as the buns were about to reach the fray, countless fireballs condensed, incinerating the food mid-air.
The Soul Ancestor grabbed him. "Don't be reckless! We're no match for the vice-president, and this is just a test."
Xu Lizhi's tears stopped flowing, his nose twitching. "That's right… this is just a test."
But seeing Ye Xinglan being overwhelmed, Xu Lizhi broke free from his companion. "No, I can't just stand by and watch Sister Xinglan get eliminated. I'm going to help her!"
"Damn it!"
The Soul Ancestor gritted his teeth and stomped his foot, then charged forward alongside Xu Lizhi.
By the time Gu La finished dealing with Tang Wulin and Yang Nianxia and arrived here, he saw Gu Yue fighting three-on-one.
The entire forest trembled violently. Ink-green vines surged out of the cracks in the ground, each one wrapped in eerie crimson patterns. Gu La descended from the sky atop a wave of animated plants, four distorted figures gradually solidifying behind him.
"How lively," the boy remarked casually.
He unbuttoned the top button of his collar, revealing plant tattoos spreading across his neck, representing the avatars. The sea of trees surged and surrounded the four of them in an instant.
The two-headed man-eating flower avatar had fully materialized, standing two meters tall. Its abyssal maws filled with sharp teeth opened and closed, emitting a metallic grinding laugh. "Little fatty's soul power… smells delicious."
The four combatants separated. Gu Yue looked on indifferently, unsure of what Gu La was planning.
Ye Xinglan shot a reluctant glance at Gu Yue. She had thought herself much stronger than she was three years ago, but before even encountering Gu La, Gu Yue alone had stopped her.
Gu La clapped his hands, and the walking plants behind him took on human forms.
The first to solidify was the two-headed man-eating flower, its avatar originating from a timeline where the Abyss Plane successfully invaded Douluo Continent.
Its martial soul, Abyssal Maw, was a spatial-attribute soul born from the Abyss Plane's influence on Douluo Continent, possessing powerful devouring properties and a hint of spatial manipulation.
It was burly, retaining Gu La's memories. Targeting Xu Lizhi's food-based abilities, two new heads sprouted on its shoulders, their massive mouths almost taking up the entirety of its head.
The black hole-like gravitational pull generated by the Abyssal Maw martial soul began to drain the soul power of the four fighters from a distance.
Its raspy voice echoed: "Little fatty, feed me with your soul skills, and I'll let you go."
The terrifying aura of the martial soul caused Xu Lizhi's fat to tremble, yet he stubbornly stood by Ye Xinglan's side.
The random Battle Soul Ancestor's lightning panther martial soul radiated confusion. "Be careful. I don't remember these four being in our class."
A flash of purple light crossed Gu Yue's eyes, her brilliant mind piecing things together. "The four plant-type soul beasts he cultivated—why do they give off the feeling of transformed soul beasts? Yet their cultivation levels clearly aren't close to a hundred thousand years."
Before personally infiltrating human society, Gu Yue had sent several transformed soul beasts ahead to act as spies, confident in her instincts.
She telepathically questioned her allies, but Gu La offered no explanation, leaving her to guess.
In reality, limited by his current soul power level, the avatars could only advance to the equivalent of Level 45 before they had to completely detach from their plant hosts or risk stagnation.
With no other option, he decided to test their abilities in the arena.
"Abyssal Feast."
The man-eating flower avatar's two heads emitted metallic laughter simultaneously. Xu Lizhi had no choice but to toss out his bun soul skill to satisfy the burly man-eater. Seeing that Xu Lizhi hadn't been harmed, Ye Xinglan turned her attention to a frail figure behind Gu La.
The thin figure stepped out from behind Gu La, his indifferent face reminiscent of Gu Yue's detached demeanor. His gaze wasn't one of life—it was pure disregard, colder even than murderous intent.
This was the Killing Willow Avatar, a dual martial soul user from a captured timeline. Born without emotions, it was raised as a killing machine until summoned by Gu La.
Its first martial soul was twelve nine-leaf flying daggers, usable both in close combat and as projectiles. Possessing extreme metal sharpness, the daggers wouldn't cause backlash unless more than half were shattered simultaneously.
Its second martial soul inherited Gu La's telekinetic abilities, essentially a manifestation of brainwave activity that manifested as telekinesis.
Due to the nature of telekinesis, the Killing Willow Avatar could wield both martial souls simultaneously, using telekinesis to control the twelve daggers, capable of attacking up to one hundred and eight weak points on an enemy at once.
Oh, and it also innately mastered a ruthless blade intent—the strongest attack power and most efficient killer among the four avatars.
Ye Xinglan tightened her grip on the Star God Sword, sweat dripping from her forehead. She could sense the overwhelming strength of the person before her, and the seed of sword intent within her stirred, ready to sprout.
Overcoming her instinctive fear, she slowly advanced, facing the Killing Willow Avatar head-on.
Xu Lizhi tried to throw a red bean paste bun to support Ye Xinglan, but the burly man with gaping mouths on his shoulders devoured it the moment it was created. Helpless, Xu Lizhi could only continue making red bean paste buns, tears welling up in his eyes.
------------------------------------------------------
40+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)