The gaunt man was apparently a regular at this bar.
The one who came to receive him was no ordinary waiter, but the manager himself.
The gaunt man said coldly, "Same as always."
"It has already been prepared for you in advance." The bar manager nodded and bowed obsequiously. With a wave of his right hand, dozens of unopened bottles of premium fine wine were brought out by the waiters.
The gaunt man casually stored them into his storage soul tool, left behind a bag of gold soul coins, and turned to leave.
Such a transaction wasn't particularly unusual, and with the noisy atmosphere inside the bar, almost no one paid any attention to this side.
Of course, Xu Zihuang and the golden-haired girl who seemed to have come prepared were the exceptions.
Not long after the gaunt man suspected of being an evil soul master left, the golden-haired girl stood up and followed him.
In just that short time, Ke Ke had already downed several more cups of fragrant rose wine. Her pretty face had turned rosy and extremely charming, and even her big eyes had taken on a slightly hazy look.
"Hmph! I refuse to believe you can escape from this lady's palm later."
As the saying goes, when a woman chases a man, there is only a thin veil between them—Ke Ke was holding exactly that mindset right now.
"Senior Ke Ke, I'm going to the restroom." Xu Zihuang stood up and said softly. He already had a plan for dealing with Ke Ke. Moreover, right now, he had something more important to confirm.
That golden-haired girl was clearly planning to actively cause trouble for that evil soul master. This made him think of someone from his memories of his previous life—the owner of the Holy Angel martial soul, Ye Guyi.
Ke Ke had no suspicions and even nodded somewhat eagerly, joy filling her heart.
"Go ahead, go ahead."
With Yu Tianhuang gone, she would have time to properly prepare her acting skills.
As the capital of the Sun Moon Empire, Mingdu was extremely vast. The bar itself was already in a rather remote location, yet the gaunt man still wound through the dense, crisscrossing streets for more than half an hour before finally stopping in front of an unremarkable building.
It was a courtyard with a black dome roof.
Then he walked into a dark corner, changed into a white robe decorated with silver patterns, and put on a conical bamboo hat with a hanging veil. His entire aura became even colder and more sinister.
The gaunt man raised his head and knocked five times on the main gate of the courtyard—three long, two short.
The door cracked open silently, and taking advantage of the moment, he flashed inside.
The courtyard was a world of its own; one could describe it as a winding path leading to a secluded spot. The trellises were covered with all kinds of climbing vines that also blocked the view from the sky.
The one who opened the door was a young man dressed in black and likewise wearing a conical hat.
The black-clothed youth lowered his head in awe.
"Second Holy Spirit Saint."
The gaunt man now called the Second Holy Spirit Saint walked past the black-clothed youth without expression and quickly headed along a small path toward the black-domed building in the center of the courtyard.
The building appeared to cover only about a hundred square meters.
Two men in white stood guard at the entrance. They did not wear conical hats, only white hoods that matched their clothes. And unlike the Second Holy Spirit Saint, their white robes bore no silver patterns.
"Second Holy Spirit Saint." The two white-clothed men saluted the Second Holy Spirit Saint, respectfully. Their status was clearly much higher than the black-clothed youth who had opened the door, so much so that even the Second Holy Spirit Saint nodded slightly to them.
Inside the room was a burly youth dressed identically to the Second Holy Spirit Saint. Upon seeing him, the burly youth warned in a low voice, "Second brother, why are you sneaking away from the branch altar at this time? The Elder has returned—he's already in the basement."
"The Elder?!" The Second Holy Spirit Saint's expression changed abruptly, filled with fear.
"Big brother, didn't the Elder return to the main sect? How is he back so soon?"
"How would I know!" The First Holy Spirit Saint replied irritably.
"Good thing I prepared an excuse for you in advance. You'll come with me to pay respects to the Elder and explain."
"Big brother, thank you." The Second Holy Spirit Saint's expression relaxed considerably, and then he chuckled. "I just bought another batch of good wine. When we have time, we brothers can enjoy it properly."
The First Holy Spirit Saint said seriously, "Enough, we'll talk about that later."
As he spoke, he pressed his right hand down on the metal table in front of him. With a loud metallic clang, the four legs of the table slowly sank into the floor. Then the tabletop split open, revealing an entrance about one square meter in size. A faint light shone from within.
Both men took a deep breath to compose themselves, then quickly stepped inside and walked down the straight passage.
At the same time, not far from the courtyard, the golden-haired girl also came to a stop.
For the first time, a change appeared in the girl's calm, waveless golden eyes—myriad emotions surged within them, most of it thick hatred.
"So these evil soul masters really are organized. That makes sense; otherwise, those traitorous thieves wouldn't have colluded with you."
"Wait, Guyi girl." Suddenly, an aged voice rang in her mind, causing the golden-haired girl, who had been about to release her martial soul and wipe out these evil soul masters, to halt.
"Elder Yi, what is it?"
The aged voice was silent for a moment before saying, "Nothing. Finish it quickly."
The golden-haired girl no longer hesitated. Imitating the earlier actions of the Second Holy Spirit Saint, she knocked on the courtyard's main gate. Her identity was now clear—she was none other than the possessor of the Holy Angel martial soul, Ye Guyi.
Inside the courtyard, the black-clothed youth opened the door in puzzlement, but what met his eyes was a stunning yet unfamiliar beautiful face.
A trace of holy intent instantly bloomed on Ye Guyi's delicate face. Golden-white radiance shone from her entire body, illuminating the whole courtyard as if even the darkness itself was about to be torn apart.
Two yellow, two purple, two black six soul rings rose from beneath her feet while, at the same time, two snow-white wings appeared behind her out of thin air.
The first soul ring shone. The holy wings behind her unfurled; every feather turned crystalline platinum, emitting a gentle golden-white misty light. The intense radiance even made her delicate body seem almost transparent.
Holy Angel martial soul first soul skill—Holy Light Shine!
This was an augmentation-type soul skill, but its effect was far, far stronger than the first soul skill, "White Tiger's Shield" of Dai Huabin and Dai Yueheng's White Tiger martial soul.
That was the gap in martial soul quality.
Furthermore, it could release holy light.
In a certain sense, this Holy Angel martial soul could be considered a variant of an extreme martial soul.
The black-clothed youth's body overflowed with gray-black air currents, but before he could even react, he turned to ashes under that holy light. This was the terror of the Holy Angel's martial soul; its restraining power against evil soul masters was no less than the extreme thunder attribute of Xu Zihuang's Purple Thunder Prison Dragon.
"Who are you?!" The two white-clothed evil soul masters guarding the entrance of the black-domed building shouted in shock and fury.
They had naturally noticed the abnormality here; even hundreds of meters away, that holy light had already affected them.
The holy aura emanating from Ye Guyi made them feel as if they were bathed in a warm layer that penetrated everywhere into their bodies.
And the soul power within them actually began to burn away by more than half.
"Fifth soul skill—Holy Sword!" Ye Guyi cried delicately. The black fifth soul ring blazed brightly; her right hand had completely turned golden-white, and a golden-white sword of light extended from her fingertips.
With a horizontal sweep of the sword, an enormous sword beam instantly devoured the bodies of the two white-clothed evil soul masters. Once again, not even bones remained!
A proud and disdainful look filled Ye Guyi's eyes. She held the Angel Holy Sword at an angle by her side; the angel wings behind her flapped, carrying her delicate body, floating gracefully into the black-domed building.
Her flight speed was comparable to an agility-attack system soul master of the same level. Moreover, a platinum-colored light constantly flickered over her body. Not only had the soul power consumed by using soul skills been completely restored, but her cultivation had even increased to a certain extent.
This was another characteristic of the Angel martial soul: it was the natural bane of all evil beings. As long as she killed and purified an evil creature, she would receive pure purification power as feedback, restoring soul power and raising her cultivation.
One step behind Ye Guyi, Xu Zihuang also arrived inside the courtyard.
He had already finished communicating with the Million-Year Sky Dream Ice Silkworm in his mental sea.
A brilliant golden light faintly shone on his chest, which was the effect of the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's shed skin, concealing his aura.
Holy Angel martial soul, it really is Ye Guyi. So this place is a branch altar of the Holy Spirit Church.
"Zihuang, beneath that black building, apart from that little girl, there are three other people. One Soul Sage, two Soul Emperors. They've already started fighting," the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm reminded him, also somewhat surprised.
"I never expected another Holy Angel martial soul to appear in this era."
Back when it was imprisoned by Emperor Heaven in the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest, it had learned some information about the human soul master world.
Ten thousand years ago, a descendant of the Angel Clan of the Spirit Hall had relied on the Seraphim martial soul to ascend to godhood.
The Holy Angel and the Seraphim came from the same lineage. Only because the Angel God's divine position had shattered did the inherited martial soul of the Angel Clan drop from the divine-level Seraphim, which was born at level 20 innate soul power, down to the Holy Angel.
Of course, the Holy Angel martial soul was still one of the strongest top-tier martial souls of the current era.
The underground hall beneath the black-domed building was spacious. Compared to the surface, it was much larger, over three hundred square meters, but rather gloomy.
A middle-aged man whose face could not be seen clearly stood with his back to the First and Second Holy Spirit Saints.
"Who dares intrude upon a branch altar of the Holy Spirit Church?!"
Suddenly, he whirled around. In the darkness, a pair of silver-gray eyes could be seen, like two leaping silver-gray flames.
Hearing the branch altar Elder's words, the First and Second Holy Spirit Saints jolted awake and immediately released their martial souls.
The First Holy Spirit Saint, possessing the optimal ring arrangement of two yellow, two purple, two black, stomped his right foot on the ground. His first two soul rings blazed as if burning, and the floor cracked open.
Six skulls emerged from the fissures.
Black flames also enveloped the Second Holy Spirit Saint's body; his clothes shattered completely, his height grew to over three meters, his flesh vanished, and he transformed into a gigantic skeleton.
But what answered them was Ye Guyi's silent yet overwhelming assault.
Appearing from the passage, the first, third, fifth, and sixth soul rings on her body lit up in succession.
First soul skill Holy Light Shine, third soul skill Holy Praise, both augmentation-type soul skills.
And under the effect of these two augmentation soul skills, using the Angel Holy Sword to execute her sixth soul skill, Angel Dance was her strongest attack.
From the very beginning, she had never intended to show mercy. Toward these evil soul masters, she felt only disgust and hatred.
The Angel Holy Sword in Ye Guyi's hand gradually changed from platinum to golden-red. The golden-red light continued to condense until it formed a three-meter-long greatsword. At the same time, a blazing orb of light appeared behind her, transforming into a second pair of pure white angel wings.
They were not as substantial as her original angel wings, being formed entirely of light. Even so, her aura skyrocketed.
The pitch-black sixth soul ring slowly rose, turning golden-red in the process before silently merging into her body.
Abruptly, she took a step forward in midair and spun. The enormous golden-red light sword in her hand danced with her, its terrifying sword beams seeming capable of piercing the heavens and the earth.
Relying on the profound foundation of her martial soul, in that instant, she used a secret method to forcibly raise herself to the seventh-ring Martial Soul Avatar state.
When the owner of a Holy Angel martial soul breaks through to Soul Sage and Titled Douluo, the martial soul will evolve, gaining another pair of wings corresponding to the Four-Winged Angel and Six-Winged Angel, respectively.
The Angel Holy Sword in Ye Guyi's hand even sublimated into the Sun Holy Sword.
The middle-aged man and the First and Second Holy Spirit Saints turned pale with shock. In this underground hall, there was nowhere to dodge.
But what shocked them the most was still Ye Guyi's Holy Angel martial soul and the attack that had erupted with power surpassing an ordinary Soul Sage.
Countless sword shadows flashed past; smoke and dust filled the air.
"Elder, save me!"
The two Soul Emperor-level First and Second Holy Spirit Saints had absolutely no ability to resist Ye Guyi, who completely countered them.
Amidst miserable screams, their bodies melted away, turning into dust on the floor.
"Good… very good, a Holy Angel martial soul." The middle-aged man's gloomy voice, filled with boundless killing intent, rang out from within the smoke and dust.
"Since you've come seeking death, this old man will grant your wish."
When the smoke cleared, the middle-aged man's human form had vanished. In its place was a massive one-eyed centipede over fifteen meters long that shimmered with faint green light. It swayed left and right; the hundreds of ferocious, sharp legs sent chills down one's spine.
Two yellow, two purple, three black, seven soul rings moved rhythmically along its bucket-thick body.
The middle-aged man had used his seventh soul skill, Martial Soul Avatar.
For soul masters above Soul Sage who possessed beast martial souls, the strongest attack was to transform into their true body and attack directly.
Although he was an evil soul master, his martial soul itself did not possess an evil attribute. It was an extremely powerful poison-attribute beast martial soul.
That was why he was not restrained by Ye Guyi's Holy Angel martial soul.
However, several deep golden-red sword scars had inevitably appeared on the faint-green hard carapace covering his hundreds of body segments.
The holy power contained within the Sun Holy Sword was still continuously eroding his body.
Yet when Ye Guyi saw the middle-aged man's martial soul avatar, the killing intent in her golden eyes only grew stronger.
"Heavenly Centipede?"
Scene after scene from her memories surfaced in her mind.
Blood and fire had once engulfed the luxurious mansion where she spent her childhood, and one of the chief culprits responsible for that calamity had possessed this very Heavenly Centipede martial soul, but only that person's cultivation had reached the Titled Douluo realm.
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