As expected… this is the true way a 'Thief' fights.
By stealing his opponent's consciousness, he rendered them completely defenseless, then finished them off with a soul tool pistol.
Unless the opponent was a five-ring Soul King with battle armor, or someone with an auto-triggering soul tool barrier…
With this smooth little combo, Nan Fusheng dared to say: Below the sixth ring, I'm invincible.
Of course, in the academy, he couldn't use this method — they were all classmates, after all. And the Spirit Transmission Tower had strict rules: no powerful soul tools allowed inside the Spirit Ascension Platform.
That was why this pistol had been gathering dust until now.
As for Tang Wulin's thousand-forged vest from before — well, that was him exploiting a bug.
After dealing with the man, Nan Fusheng immediately moved on to the other compartments.
Sure enough, in the other cars, there were also Evil Soul Masters butchering ordinary passengers. The stench of blood hit him the moment he stepped in.
Most of these Evil Soul Masters were four-ring Soul Elders.
Nan Fusheng ignored them for now, heading instead toward the strongest presence he could sense.
Three Soul Kings were locked in fierce combat. All three had the optimal two-yellow, three-purple soul ring configuration. Two of them radiated that same bloody stench — Evil Soul Masters.
The third one's aura felt normal; he was fighting the two to protect others. He wore a partial battle armor set: left-hand gauntlet + forearm piece, right-hand gauntlet + forearm piece.
A battle armor master — but with only four pieces, the boost to his strength wasn't enough. He was being pressed hard by the two Evil Soul Masters, and it was only a matter of time before he lost.
Nan Fusheng also noticed that the two Evil Soul Masters kept glancing in another direction, giving their opponent small windows to breathe.
That direction was where two Soul Emperors were dueling.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black.
Both Soul Emperors had the perfect soul ring configuration, and both wore battle armor. One was jet black, the other a vibrant green.
"Fifth Soul Skill — Wraith Summoning."
The jet-black figure lifted his staff — clearly his martial soul.
A magic circle flared under his feet, spewing forth countless wraiths. Even the souls of nearby corpses were dragged out and twisted into his army.
The wraiths came in all shapes — old men, women, children, even beasts — all rushing at the other Soul Emperor.
"So many innocent souls? You truly deserve death."
The Soul Emperor's voice dripped with killing intent. He hadn't expected this Evil Soul Master to have slaughtered so many, turning them into wraiths.
"Haha! As expected of 'Gentleman Sword' Fu Huaian. Such a righteous man! Don't worry — you'll soon join them."
Fu Huaian's martial soul was the Green Bamboo Sword. His demeanor was refined, like a noble gentleman, hence his title "Gentleman Sword."
Now, the Evil Soul Master grinned coldly, commanding the wraiths to swarm Fu Huaian and wear him down.
"Fifth Soul Skill — Green Bamboo Sword Formation."
A black soul ring on Fu Huaian's body glowed. Instantly, a dense bamboo forest erupted from the ground around him. Each stalk radiated razor-sharp intent — no ordinary plants.
The wraiths were held back. Normally, wraiths were incorporeal and could pass through obstacles, but Fu Huaian's soul skill was extraordinary, able to restrain even spirits.
Soon, though, the bamboo began to shake violently as the wraiths rammed into it. It wouldn't hold for long.
But Fu Huaian's goal wasn't to trap them. Bamboo leaves began falling in a slow drizzle — then they transformed midair into threads of sword qi, merging into his body and making his aura surge even stronger.
Then, the bamboo stalks themselves tore free from the earth, transforming into sword-shaped bamboo spears that floated protectively around him.
With the barrier gone, the wraiths charged, but before they could get close, they were shredded by the sword qi orbiting Fu Huaian.
His sixth soul ring flared:
"Sixth Soul Skill — Green Bamboo Slash!"
Like ten thousand swords returning to their master, he charged toward the Evil Soul Master. One slash — swift and decisive.
The Evil Soul Master hadn't expected this last hidden trump card. Even with wraiths shielding him, the bamboo swords darted ahead, slicing them apart.
Shu!
A terrifying sword aura split the Evil Soul Master clean in two. The bamboo swords followed, perforating the corpse into a bloody sieve.
"Huff… huff…"
Two high-consumption ten-thousand-year soul skills in a row — even Fu Huaian was breathing heavily now.
"Next… time to help Old Zhao."
He looked skyward, where two Soul Saints were battling.
"…No. Something's wrong."
The wraiths, which had begun to dissipate with their master's death, suddenly surged toward him like a tidal wave.
"What the—?"
The summoning circle in the distance was still active, endlessly producing wraiths. Even though the summoner was supposedly dead. Could it be… that Evil Soul Master wasn't dead?
Fu Huaian turned to where the corpse had fallen — only to find it gone. Of course.
"A rat who only knows how to hide…"
In an instant, he was swarmed by wraiths. While they couldn't harm him thanks to his battle armor, the numbers still bogged him down, and after using two powerful skills, his stamina was no small concern.
"Damn it… His real strength is even greater than the intel suggested. As expected of a Shrek Academy Outer Court graduate."
Hidden in the shadows, the Evil Soul Master was recovering. If not for his sixth soul skill, Wraith Substitution — which consumed massive soul power and wraiths to swap places with one — he would be dead.
Even so, he knew killing Fu Huaian was impossible, and even holding him off for long might be too much.
Thinking of the operation's real objective, his impatience grew.
Then — Boom! — Two streaks of light plummeted from the sky. One was blood-red and black, the other earthy yellow, crashing into the ground and gouging a massive crater.
Through the smoke, a black-red beam lanced toward Fu Huaian's forehead. Weakened from earlier, Fu Huaian couldn't react in time.
But a yellow barrier flared in front of him, absorbing the shot before shattering a heartbeat later. Still, it was enough time for him to activate a seventh-tier Invincible Barrier, stopping the beam cold.