Under the concealment of his Everchanging Core, Zhou Sicheng silently walked through the casino. The establishment had only two floors.
The first floor was filled with standard gambling tables, while the second floor consisted of private rooms that appeared slightly more luxurious than the ground level.
Most of the patrons here were commoners—some wealthier than others—but ultimately, there was nothing particularly noteworthy about them.
After observing for some time, Zhou Sicheng concluded that this group of Evil Soul Masters had a very straightforward purpose. The reason they were discovered was primarily due to their inability to restrain themselves, having captured some people for entertainment along the way, and were inadvertently exposed in the process.
Zhou Sicheng remained in the casino for two hours. It wasn't until late in the evening, when the crowd began to grow, that something unexpected occurred.
Two figures cloaked in black robes entered through the back door and went straight to a hidden entrance. They knocked on the secret door in a specific pattern—three long, two short, one long. The door opened, and the two entered.
They were the two Evil Soul Emperors.
Their bodies reeked of blood, a clear sign that they had just returned from hunting for "fresh food."
Once Zhou Sicheng confirmed that the rest of the Evil Soul Masters were hiding beneath the secret door, he quietly left the casino and returned to the hotel where Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao were waiting.
By this time, both women had recovered their energy and even completed their disguises.
When Zhou Sicheng saw them, he couldn't help but pause in surprise. The two beautiful young women were now made to look like drunkards—almost indistinguishable from true gambling addicts.
They had even altered the appearance of their skin. Without a close inspection, no one would suspect anything unusual.
This wasn't their first undercover operation, and their disguises were clearly honed by experience.
Zhou Sicheng nodded in satisfaction and explained the situation inside the casino. As long as the Evil Soul Masters hadn't caught on, this operation would go smoothly.
The combined strength of the three of them was more than enough to eliminate the group.
After giving detailed instructions, Zhou Sicheng left the hotel, and the two women followed soon after, heading toward the casino as well.
When Zhou Sicheng returned to the casino, he remained concealed with the help of the Everchanging Core, but this time, he had fully merged with his three contracted soul beasts and was ready to unleash his full strength at a moment's notice.
Something was slightly off. A Soul Ancestor-level Evil Soul Master in a black robe was gambling with a group of patrons.
Zhou Sicheng didn't pay the man much attention—he was likely just stationed there to keep watch in case of trouble.
Through Tianmeng's shared spiritual detection, Zhou Sicheng confirmed that the rest of the Evil Soul Masters were cultivating beneath the hidden door. The Evil Soul Sage, in particular, had accepted two "offerings" brought back by the Emperors and was currently enjoying himself with three young girls.
Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao entered the casino. Ye Guyi instantly locked onto the gambling Evil Soul Master. The two women blended in naturally, behaving just like real gamblers.
Ma Xiaotao silently moved toward the hidden door, though it was at the back of the casino and not somewhere she could approach openly.
She was waiting for Zhou Sicheng to make his move.
After a while, the secret knock was heard again.
The moment the hidden door opened, Zhou Sicheng slipped in and grabbed the neck of the man who answered. Before the man could even react, his neck was crushed, and he collapsed lifelessly.
In the next instant, Ultimate Ice burst forth, and the Domain of Eternal Freeze instantly expanded. As the underground chamber began to freeze over completely, Ma Xiaotao released a burst of powerful soul power from her legs and charged straight in.
The moment she entered, the entire underground chamber was sealed by the power of Ultimate Ice, creating an enclosed space.
The sudden surge of extreme cold caught the Evil Soul Masters completely off guard—whether they were cultivating or indulging in pleasure.
"Enemy attack!" someone shouted, and waves of evil energy erupted throughout the space.
Zhou Sicheng and Ma Xiaotao entered one after the other. Zhou Sicheng immediately locked onto all Soul Masters below the Soul Emperor level. Raising his right arm—now transformed into the Ice Jade Scorpion Claw—he cast Ice Explosion Technique.
Several beams of bluish-green light burst forth, instantly freezing the lower-level Evil Soul Masters. They had barely released their martial spirits before being rendered immobile.
At the same time, the Evil Soul Sage and the two Emperors unleashed their most powerful attacks.
Ma Xiaotao's six soul rings—two yellow, two purple, and two black—lit up around her as the Fire Phoenix possessed her body. One ring after another shone as she launched a Phoenix Cloud-Piercing Strike, targeting one of the Evil Soul Emperors.
Zhou Sicheng's eyes turned golden, and he activated his Sovereign's Might Domain. Under the oppressive weight of the terrifying pressure, the remaining three Evil Soul Masters felt an overwhelming force pressing down on them, slowing their reactions.
Still, in the face of death, their survival instincts overpowered fear.
Zhou Sicheng charged directly at the Evil Soul Sage. The man had just blocked his Ice Explosion Technique, leaving him momentarily drained of soul power.
The Darkgold Terrorclaw extended in a flash, piercing the Evil Soul Sage's chest before he could finish casting a soul skill.
Ultimate Ice exploded from within, spreading its freezing power through his body.
Already fatally wounded, the Evil Soul Sage didn't have time to react before his body was turned into an ice sculpture.
Calmly withdrawing his Darkgold Terrorclaw, Zhou Sicheng left behind a fist-sized hole in the Sage's frozen chest.
One of the Evil Soul Emperors hadn't yet launched his attack. He immediately turned and dashed toward a hidden tunnel—an escape route prepared in advance.
But the tunnel was now sealed by the Domain of Eternal Freeze. The Evil Soul Emperor ignited his sixth soul ring and unleashed a devastating beam of dark energy, concentrating all its power to shatter the ice sealing the door. He then transformed into a streak of blood and disappeared into the escape tunnel, not daring to look back.
Their leader, a Soul Sage, had been defeated in an instant. With only six soul rings, how could he hope to fight back?
He wasn't afraid of the six-ringed Fire Phoenix user, but the other attacker hadn't even revealed his rings and still managed to wipe out everyone below Soul Emperor level—and even one-shot their leader.
Leaving the two Soul Emperors alive was clearly intentional—to serve as sparring partners for their junior.
This was a premeditated ambush. They had even been deliberately spared to serve as training.
Faced with this, the only slim chance of survival was to escape, even if it meant damaging his core.
The remaining Evil Soul Emperor, still locked in battle with Ma Xiaotao, realized they were completely outmatched. His leader was dead, his companion had fled, and he knew he was doomed.
But even if he died, he would take someone down with him.
They wanted training experience? Did they really think "Evil Soul Master" was just a name?
Within an instant, he resisted Ma Xiaotao's fierce onslaught as rings of blood-red light radiated from his body, accompanied by a suffocating aura of evil and gore.
Ma Xiaotao immediately understood what he was attempting—self-destruction.
Evil Soul Masters were ruthless not only to others but to themselves as well.
She activated the soul bone in her legs, surging forward instead of retreating. In the blink of an eye, she was in front of him, and her fourth soul ring—purple—lit up.
Phoenix Howling Sky Strike was unleashed—not its first phase, but its second, which induced stun.
A pillar of flame shot up from beneath the Evil Soul Emperor, even melting some of the surrounding ice.
His self-destruction was momentarily delayed.
That brief moment was all she needed. Her sixth soul ring—black—glowed, and her slender jade hand struck his forehead.
"Phoenix Burst!"
The terrifying energy of Phoenix Meteor Shower was compressed into a single palm strike—a self-created soul skill Ma Xiaotao had developed by refining her sixth soul skill.
Harnessing the explosive potential of her sixth ring, she used her complete control over soul power to concentrate the meteor shower into a single devastating blow.
In close combat, this technique could catch opponents off guard. If it struck a vital point, the result was death or severe injury.
Boom!
The Phoenix Burst exploded against the Evil Soul Master's head. His attempt to self-destruct was interrupted, and his skull burst like a watermelon. His limp body collapsed to the ground, blood and gore spreading across the floor…
The instant the Evil Soul Master's head exploded, countless filthy fragments splattered outward, but whenever they landed on Ma Xiaotao, they were instantly incinerated into nothingness by her terrifying flames.
The sudden outburst of her soul power consumed a fair amount of her energy, but she successfully managed to kill the Evil Soul Master head-on.
It was the first time Ma Xiaotao had managed to slay an Evil Soul Master so easily after fighting them for so long.
She clearly understood that this Evil Soul Master had first been suppressed by the Domain of Perpetual Ice, and then further overwhelmed by Zhou Sichen's Sovereign's Might. After witnessing Zhou Sichen decisively subdue an Evil Soul Sage, this Evil Soul Master's heart had been consumed by fear.
Thus, when facing Ma Xiaotao, his mind was already in disarray. Knowing he had no hope of survival, he desperately tried to trigger a self-detonation.
Yet Ma Xiaotao's strength was formidable in its own right. She seized the opportunity instantly and unleashed a series of relentless attacks, killing the Evil Soul Master within just a few breaths.
The entire sequence, from when Zhou Sichen and Ma Xiaotao had entered through the secret door to when they finished off the group of Evil Soul Masters, took less than a minute.
At this moment, Zhou Sichen slowly approached the corpse of the Evil Soul Emperor that Ma Xiaotao had defeated. With a gentle wave of his Ice Jade Turtle martial soul, he completely froze the foul-smelling body.
Turning toward Ma Xiaotao, Zhou Sichen said, "The ice should keep them frozen for at least an hour. You go ahead and rescue the civilians they captured. I'm going after my sister."
Ma Xiaotao gave a slight nod, glancing at the Evil Soul Sage who had been turned into an ice sculpture, with a gaping hole through his chest. "Is he dead?"
Zhou Sichen shook his head. "No. But I've frozen his lifeblood. With such a grave injury, he's completely incapacitated. As for the remaining Evil Soul Masters, there's no need for you to kill them—leave them for my sister."
Ma Xiaotao, knowing well the nature of the Holy Angel martial soul, understood that Zhou Sichen had deliberately left them as nourishment for Ye Guyi. She didn't ask further questions.
Zhou Sichen immediately jumped into the underground secret passage, chasing after the escaping Evil Soul Master.
This hidden passage had already been discovered by Tianmeng. One reason Ye Guyi had remained upstairs was to prevent any Evil Soul Masters from staying behind in the casino, but the other was to intercept any who attempted to flee through the secret exit.
The fleeing Evil Soul Emperor—of course, his escape was intentional on Zhou Sichen's part.
Given Zhou Sichen's current strength, with a sudden assault utilizing both the Domain of Perpetual Ice and Sovereign's Might at full power, a mere Evil Soul Emperor wouldn't have had the slightest chance to escape.
Zhou Sichen had even been considerate enough to thin the ice covering the secret passage significantly, just to ensure the target could break through.
He was afraid that if the ice remained too thick, the Evil Soul Emperor wouldn't even have the chance to flee.
The secret passage led out to a drainage ditch filled with urban waste. There were no residents within a two-kilometer radius, so there was no risk of any civilians getting caught up in the pursuit.
Meanwhile, as Zhou Sichen and Ma Xiaotao launched their attack, Ye Guyi had immediately activated her martial soul. She drew the sixth-grade soul tool Zhou Sichen had given her—the Holy Sword of Light—from her soul tool storage.
Wielding the Angel Wings, she moved the moment a nearby Evil Soul Master tried to react, beheading him with a single strike.
Without hesitation, Ye Guyi soared out of the casino, flying toward the drainage exit point Zhou Sichen had instructed her about.
Her younger brother had told her beforehand: he would deliberately let one Evil Soul Emperor escape through the secret passage. Her task was simple: finish off the Evil Soul Masters inside the casino, and intercept the fleeing Evil Soul Emperor.
With her four Angel Wings flapping fiercely, Ye Guyi pushed her speed to the limit. While the fleeing Evil Soul Emperor had just broken through the ice blocking the passage, Ye Guyi was already closing the distance at an astonishing rate.
Her speed was easily twice that of the escaping Evil Soul Master. Unless something unexpected happened, she would reach the exit before he could.
The Evil Soul Emperor, having transformed into a blood-red shadow within the escape tunnel, kept glancing anxiously behind him as he fled.
Sensing the terrifying chill closing in from behind, he frantically used a blood sacrifice technique to boost his speed.
The enemy was far too powerful—at least at the Title Douluo level!
The terrifying cold was even more chilling than the blood-cold nature of the Evil Soul Masters themselves. The heart-piercing sensation made the Evil Soul Emperor painfully aware of the danger.
He could only pray he might escape.
Originally, the tunnel would have taken ten minutes to traverse, but after activating his blood sacrifice, the Evil Soul Emperor shortened it to less than five minutes.
He even felt that the terrifying cold behind him had slowed somewhat. Hope sparked within him.
However, just as he thought he might make it, as he burst out of the passage, he was greeted by a blinding radiance of holy light—something he despised above all else.
A stunning figure stood in the air, two pairs of Angel Wings unfurled behind her, holding a radiant Holy Sword and gazing at him with icy indifference.
At the very moment the Evil Soul Emperor emerged from the tunnel, Ye Guyi activated her first soul skill: Holy Light Baptism.
There was nowhere for the blood-red figure to hide. Under the locking effect of Holy Light Baptism, the blood mist around him steamed like boiling water.
He instinctively recoiled in fear, much like a vampire under the sun.
Ye Guyi coldly watched the Evil Soul Emperor, and her fourth soul ring—purple in color—lit up.
"Fourth Soul Skill: Holy Light Array — Seal!"
Ye Guyi's fourth skill, Holy Light Array, conjured a special formation through the power of light.
Originally, the Holy Light Array was designed to gather light energy and amplify Ye Guyi's own power, but through her development, it had gained multiple functions.
It could now be used for defense, offense, and most importantly—imprisonment.
As her fourth soul ring shone brightly, a massive Holy Light Array appeared in the sky. Bursting forth with endless radiance, it formed a cylindrical space around Ye Guyi with a diameter of 200 meters.
Within this space, countless light runes pulsed, sealing the entire area. Inside the array, Ye Guyi was sovereign.
All her abilities would be amplified, while the Evil Soul Emperor would be greatly suppressed.
Of course, the main purpose of the array was to prevent the enemy's escape.
Upon seeing this, the Evil Soul Emperor immediately felt an overwhelming sense of pressure and danger.
A six-ring Angel!
The natural nemesis of Evil Soul Masters!
Faced with an Angel, all the Evil Soul Masters' usual tricks were naturally suppressed by at least thirty percent.
Though they were both Spirit Emperors with six soul rings, he knew he could not match Ye Guyi head-on.
Had it been Ma Xiaotao with her fire attribute pursuing him, he might still have fought back.
But facing Ye Guyi, the embodiment of the Holy Angel, he had no second option.
Begging for mercy was out of the question. It wasn't just the hatred ordinary people felt toward Evil Soul Masters—this was an Angel before him. How could she possibly spare him?
Already drained from burning his blood essence to flee, his condition was utterly poor. Facing an Angel, he had almost no chance of survival.
If he was going to die, he might as well drag someone down with him.
To kill an Angel alongside himself would be the ultimate victory.
In an instant, the Evil Soul Emperor made his decision.
Instead of retreating, he surged forward toward Ye Guyi, the blood mist around him accelerating.
At the same time, the fifth black soul ring on Ye Guyi's body lit up.
"Fifth Soul Skill: Holy Angel Sword!"
In her right hand, Ye Guyi held the sixth-grade soul tool Holy Sword of Light; in her left, she summoned the energy of her fifth soul skill—the Holy Angel Sword.
Her cold gaze fixed on the rapidly approaching Evil Soul Emperor. Suddenly, she brought both swords together.
The two blades merged flawlessly, without the slightest resistance.
The power of her fifth soul skill fused perfectly with the soul tool, enhancing the sixth-grade soul tool to a level comparable to a peak seventh-grade soul tool.
"Second Soul Skill: Holy Spirit Slash!"
The yellow second soul ring flared brightly. Ye Guyi slashed out with her Holy Angel Sword.
Enhanced by multiple soul skills, a radiant golden slash burst forth, like a brilliant golden rainbow cutting across the sky. The holy power it unleashed seemed capable of annihilating all evil.
"Buzz—!"
The golden sword energy surged, and the blood shadow transformed by the Evil Soul Emperor seemed to vaporize directly.
At that moment, Zhou Sichen rushed out of the escape passage and saw Ye Guyi killing the Evil Soul Emperor with a sword.
****
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