Profound Heaven Soul Sovereign

A man in a colorful robe walked up from the rear of the group. His gaze fell upon Ouyang Xiaoshan and the others, making them feel the cold chill of being watched by a venomous snake.

Ye Xuan was inwardly alarmed. The man’s Soul Power was incredibly dense and concentrated, almost tangible. It had actually reached the Peak of Fourth Grade, a notch stronger than even the vice-heads of the Soul Master Tower, like Elder Kuchen.

’Who on earth is this person?’ Though Ye Xuan was shocked, his gaze didn’t waver in the slightest. ’After all, I saw far too many experts in my past life. A mere Peak of Fourth Grade Soul Refiner isn’t enough to truly concern me. I’m just surprised because an expert of this caliber shouldn’t exist in the Liuyun Kingdom.’

’It seems what Wei Guang said earlier was true. This man in the colorful robe is likely from a major power outside the Thirteen Nations Alliance.’

"You brat, do you think you can oppose me just because you know a little about Arrays? Today, I’ll show you the consequences of offending me. One should learn not to be so arrogant." Lv Hao’s voice was cold, and a dense killing intent toward Ye Xuan flared within him.

"Those should be my words to you," Ye Xuan retorted. "Did you really think you could take us all down just by using your Peak of Fourth Grade Soul Power to form an intangible martial soul and loosely link their auras together? Ridiculous."

Ye Xuan’s words made Lv Hao’s expression change drastically. ’How does he know my Soul Power level?’ he thought, inwardly alarmed. ’Could he be a Soul Refiner even more powerful than I am?’ Lv Hao shook his head repeatedly. ’That’s impossible. Never mind that a small place like the Liuyun Kingdom couldn’t produce a powerful Soul Refiner; even if it could, at his age, he’d be a novice at best, someone who just stepped onto the path of Soul Refining.’

Just as he was thinking this, Lv Hao saw Ye Xuan leading Ouyang Xiaoshan and his men as they surged forward like a pack of tigers. Without a second thought, he immediately channeled his Soul Power and had Fang Tianhong and the others charge out to meet them.

The two powerful groups crashed into each other like a pair of great mountains. Profound Power and martial soul energy of all colors flared, and the air filled with a ceaseless roar.

The moment they made contact, Lv Hao’s expression changed abruptly. He was horrified to discover that Wei Hong’s group, unified and empowered by his Peak of Fourth Grade Soul Power, immediately crumbled upon impact with Ye Xuan’s forces. It was like an egg smashing against a stone.

’This is impossible!’ Lv Hao was filled with shock and fury. Even though the enemy had twice as many people and was stronger overall, he had calculated that with the boost from his Peak of Fourth Grade Soul Power, his team should have been more than a match for them. He never imagined they would be the ones getting utterly crushed.

’What kind of Array is he using?’ He couldn’t believe it. ’It can make so many people erupt with more than double their original strength. I’ve never heard of such a powerful Array, not even in my own Martial Sect.’

Lv Hao was utterly stunned, but he had no time to dwell on it. Ye Xuan’s group was pressing forward with the unstoppable force of a collapsing mountain, while the City Lord’s Mansion’s forces were in full retreat. If he didn’t do something, his side would completely break within seconds.

Seeing this, Lv Hao acted without hesitation. He threw out an Array Disc, which instantly enveloped Ye Xuan and his men in a blanket of white light. A terrifying aura of Profound Power radiated from within. This Array Disc contained a Tier Five killing Array that Lv Hao had brought from his Martial Sect. It was incredibly powerful—enough to easily slay a Tier Five Martial Sect expert—and was one of his trump cards.

But to his astonishment, in the same instant he released the killing Array, several array flags appeared in Ye Xuan’s hands. He threw them out, and they landed precisely on the formation eyes of Lv Hao’s Array, instantly shattering it.

Lv Hao lost all composure. He stared at Ye Xuan as if he were seeing a ghost. ’My killing Array is Tier Five! In a small place like the Liuyun Kingdom, this Array Disc is an absolutely Heaven-defying Level treasure! And yet it didn’t even last a few seconds before this teenager broke it?’ At that moment, only a single thought remained in Lv Hao’s mind: ’Is he even human?’

Still in shock, he acted on instinct, spitting out a mouthful of essence blood. His Peak of Fourth Grade Soul Power immediately enveloped the blood, transforming it into a series of strange, drifting runes. The entire area was instantly saturated with dense Soul Power fluctuations.

At this critical moment, Lv Hao no longer dared to hold anything back.

The moment the Soul Power fluctuations spread, Ouyang Xiaoshan and the others beside Ye Xuan felt their hearts sink. It was as if a terrifying force was suppressing their martial souls, causing their strength to plummet instantly.

’Soul Talisman suppression?’ Ye Xuan frowned, then gave a cold smirk. His pupils flashed cyan as his Soul Power—which had reached the Peak of Third Grade—morphed into a barrage of invisible blades. They shot into the suppressive field and, from an impossibly bizarre angle, tore Lv Hao’s Soul Talismans to shreds, neutralizing their power.

This all took a long time to describe, but the entire exchange happened in a flash.

With his Soul Talismans shattered, Lv Hao’s face turned livid. He had no time to try another move and could only watch helplessly as Ouyang Xiaoshan and his men stormed into the midst of his forces.

After just one clash, nearly ten of Lv Hao’s Martial Artists were killed, among them seven Earth Martial Artists and two Celestial Martial Artists.

Lv Hao’s side was already weaker than Ye Xuan’s to begin with. Now, with so many losses, their formation completely disintegrated. Agonized screams echoed as more of his men were cut down and fell.

"Master Lv Hao..." Wei Hong and the others fell back, their eyes pleading for help.

"Damn it!"

Lv Hao cursed inwardly. Being outmaneuvered by Ye Xuan again and again had made him lose all composure. A wave of invisible energy—his Peak of Fourth Grade Soul Power—erupted from between his brows and shot toward Ye Xuan. He planned to use the sheer force of his cultivation to storm Ye Xuan’s mind and instantly shatter his Soul Sea.

Ye Xuan gave a cold sneer. Of course he understood Lv Hao’s intentions. He didn’t try to block the attack, instead allowing the man’s Soul Power to enter his body. Simultaneously, he manipulated the Soul Power within his own mind, forming a blade-shaped Soul Sense that he used to slash at the invading force.

Ye Xuan knew his Soul Power cultivation was slightly weaker than Lv Hao’s, but his control over that power was on a completely different level. As soon as he realized Lv Hao was launching a soul attack, he decided to turn the tables, luring the enemy’s Soul Power into his own body to inflict a grievous wound upon him.

’As long as I can severely injure his soul and strip him of his Soul Refiner techniques,’ Ye Xuan thought, ’then dealing with a mere Tier Four Celestial Martial Artist will be a simple matter.’

Lv Hao pushed his Soul Power to its absolute limit. His thinking mirrored Ye Xuan’s: he wanted to use a soul attack to instantly inflict a grievous injury. He could see that Ouyang Xiaoshan’s forces were so powerful entirely because of Ye Xuan’s support. If Ye Xuan were seriously wounded, the others’ strength would plummet.

But Lv Hao never imagined that the moment his Soul Sense entered Ye Xuan’s body, he would be assaulted by a sudden, sharp pain. It was as if ten thousand blades were madly shredding his Soul Sense, instantly tearing it to pieces.

As pain seared his Soul Sense, Lv Hao knew something was terribly wrong. ’He has a Soul Sense Cultivation Technique—and a powerful offensive one at that!’

An ordinary Soul Refiner would have panicked and lost all ability to resist after such an attack, but Lv Hao, hailing from a major Martial Sect, was different. Without a second thought, he gritted his teeth, spat out another mouthful of fresh blood, and forcibly severed the portion of his Soul Sense inside Ye Xuan’s mind, withdrawing what remained.

This series of exchanges had filled Lv Hao with more horror than he had felt in the last several decades combined. With his Soul Sense injured, he could no longer afford to help Wei Hong and the others. He threw out a black orb and simultaneously retreated at high speed.

BOOM!

The black orb exploded in midair, releasing a cloud of black smoke infused with a violent wave of martial soul energy. It spread out instantly, stabbing at everyone’s martial souls and causing a sharp, needle-like pain in their minds.

Using the chaos as cover, Lv Hao swiftly retreated into the courtyard he had come from.

Ye Xuan knew at once. ’He can’t win, so he’s trying to run away.’ But there was no way Ye Xuan would let him escape. Shouting a quick order to Ouyang Xiaoshan, he transformed into a streak of light and plunged through the smoke, following Lv Hao right into the courtyard. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

With both Lv Hao and Ye Xuan gone, Wei Hong and his men were left stunned. They had only held on this long because they believed in Lv Hao’s power. They never imagined that the man they saw as their savior would be the first to flee. Thrown into a panic, they were quickly cut down by the Imperial Guard led by Ouyang Xiaoshan, and the courtyard became a rain of blood and severed limbs.

WHOOSH!

Ye Xuan shot into the courtyard ahead like a streak of light.

The courtyard was completely empty except for the mouth of a dark tunnel. Without a second’s thought, Ye Xuan jumped straight in.

The tunnel opened into a dark stone cave. The moment he landed, Ye Xuan sensed danger. A cold, sinister wave of martial soul energy wrapped around him. A giant serpent, radiating that same chilling aura and dense martial soul energy, lunged forward to bite him.