Inside the secret chamber of Liu Yuan's Duke's Mansion, the azure aftershocks of spirit power from his breakthrough had yet to fully dissipate when the system's icy, murderous notification finally fell silent within his Sea of Consciousness.
Liu Yuan's half-closed eyes snapped open. A flash of uncontrollable joy surged deep within his gaze.
"The seventh spirit ring… it's finally here!"
For any Spirit Master, Rank 70 was a true watershed.
Only after crossing this threshold could one touch the core power of the Spirit Master world—the Martial Soul True Body.
And the system's reward was outrageously generous: a god-bestowed spirit ring with a guaranteed minimum age of one hundred thousand years.
This meant that as long as Liu Yuan could endure the pressure, his seventh spirit ring would almost certainly be an unconventional red—or perhaps something even higher.
Faced with such "cheat-like" efficiency, the frustration of spending an entire year in seclusion just to advance four ranks instantly vanished.
However, as his gaze moved to the detailed mission description on the quest panel, the joy in his eyes cooled at a visible pace, replaced by chilling disgust.
"The Holy Spirit Cult…"
Liu Yuan ground his teeth, his clenched knuckles cracking sharply.
Having lived in the Sun Moon Empire for so long, he admitted that the advanced soul tool technology and the straightforward social atmosphere suited him well. But there was one thing here that made his stomach churn—the Evil Soul Masters, clinging to the empire like maggots burrowed into bone.
They hid in the shadows, draining the flesh and blood of the land like parasites.
"These vermin… really do need to be wiped out."
Liu Yuan slowly stood and pushed open the heavy iron door of the secret chamber.
In the courtyard, an ice-blue figure stood quietly beneath a tree, like a proud snow lotus that had been waiting for some time.
The Snow Empress remained motionless. Any fallen leaf that drifted within three feet of her body was instantly frozen and shattered as it touched the ground.
Sensing the unprecedentedly vast aura radiating from Liu Yuan, she turned her head. A trace of softness and relief flashed through her cold eyes.
"You broke through?" Her voice was gentle, like icy spring water striking stone.
"Mhm. Rank 70." Liu Yuan walked to her side, his gaze turning toward the distant borderlands.
"But now isn't the time to celebrate. Snow Empress, come with me. Some rats hiding in the gutters have grown far too lively—I'm going to crush them all."
"Alright."
She asked no unnecessary questions.
Nearly two years of companionship had quietly transformed their relationship. What had begun as a forced contract had long since evolved into a deep mutual understanding and attachment born at the soul level.
The Snow Empress was no longer merely his protector. She had become an indispensable presence in his life.
Without drawing attention, the two departed the Duke's Mansion under cover of night.
…
Sun Moon Empire border — Chaotic Soul Ridge.
This was a valley shrouded in dense, eerie jungle.
Miasma lingered year-round, and its remote location ensured that almost no ordinary people ever ventured here.
But guided by the system's precise navigation, Liu Yuan knew exactly where the filth was hiding—within an underground palace buried beneath the valley.
Like drifting clouds, Liu Yuan and the Snow Empress landed silently at the edge of the ravine.
"The auras are chaotic, and the resentment is overwhelming," the Snow Empress frowned slightly. As the wielder of Extreme Ice, she instinctively rejected this filthy, sinister presence.
"Conceal your aura. Let's go in first and take a look," Liu Yuan transmitted calmly.
Their figures blurred. With the Snow Empress's mastery of space and Liu Yuan's newly consolidated Rank 70 spirit power, they slipped past the third- and fourth-ring Evil Soul Master sentries at the entrance like ghosts, moving deep along a damp, pitch-dark corridor.
But the deeper they went, the scene that unfolded before them made even Liu Yuan—accustomed to witnessing grand horrors—tremble.
It was a vast underground plaza.
At its center lay an enormous blood pool, countless mutilated corpses submerged within. Most were villagers from nearby settlements—some were even infants still wrapped in swaddling cloth.
Floating above the blood pool were eerie green orbs of light.
"Those are… Souls?"
The Snow Empress's slender body trembled. The chill in her eyes condensed into tangible killing intent.
Several Evil Soul Masters clad in blood-red robes were wielding Soul-Summoning Banners, forcibly extracting the living souls of the dead from the pool.
The souls screamed and wailed, yet were mercilessly stuffed into soul tool bottles engraved with vicious runes.
"This is only part of it," Liu Yuan said, pointing to the other side of the underground palace. His voice sounded as though it were forced through clenched teeth.
There, rows of iron cages held dozens of Spirit Masters with vacant, numb expressions. Most were only second- or third-ring cultivators. In front of them sat several sealed containers.
A sinister Evil Soul Master held a wailing soul aloft, dangling it before a young Spirit Master.
"See clearly?" he sneered. "This is your biological father's soul."
He drove a glowing needle straight into the soul.
"If you still refuse to cooperate, I'll let him suffer soul-burning torment a hundred times a day right in front of you—until his soul completely scatters!"
"No! Stop! Please stop!"
The young Spirit Master collapsed, kowtowing frantically.
"I'll listen! I'll do whatever you say!"
This was the Holy Spirit Cult's method.
They didn't just kill—they shattered hearts. Using the souls of loved ones as leverage, they enslaved low-level Spirit Masters with families, turning them into expendable tools scattered throughout the empire.
"So this is what humans call 'civilization'?"
The Snow Empress closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her snow-white hair stirred without wind, and fine ice crystals began to condense in the surrounding air.
She turned to Liu Yuan, her gaze solemn beyond anything before.
"These things… can no longer be called living beings."
"May we begin?"
Liu Yuan did not answer immediately.
He slowly raised his head as his spirit power surged violently, fueled by boundless fury. The phantoms of Primal Kyogre and Mega Rayquaza silently manifested behind him.
At this moment, reason no longer mattered. Only judgment remained.
"Kill."
His voice was colder than ice.
"Leave not a single one alive. Cleanse every last piece of filth."
BOOM—!
The instant his words fell, the once-silent underground plaza was dragged into annihilation.
The massive blood pool exploded apart.