At this moment, Lin Yu was flying through the Star Dou Forest, his Thunderwind Wings spirit bone fully extended, aiming to cut straight through and head toward the Star Luo Empire's capital city, Star Luo Royal City.
Just as he crossed through both the inner and outer regions of the Star Dou Forest, about to leave its outskirts entirely, something unexpected occurred.
Suddenly, his Chaos Green Lotus martial spirit vibrated sharply within him.
A mysterious sensation washed over Lin Yu, one that felt eerily familiar. It reminded him of the time when his Chaos Green Lotus and Golden Sacred Dragon spirits had synchronized, enabling the use of a martial spirit fusion technique. That strange connection between the two martial spirits...
"Wait, could it be that I'm sensing a martial spirit capable of fusing with my Chaos Green Lotus?" Lin Yu thought, alarmed.
To his surprise, he had indeed felt the presence of another martial spirit that could merge with his. Naturally, he couldn't ignore such a powerful call, so he immediately took off, following the sensation at high speed.
As he flew, Lin Yu activated his Dual Pupils martial spirit, scanning the surroundings from the sky.
Before long, he spotted the target in a forest below: a small girl, no more than six or seven years old, dressed in black, frantically fleeing a group of soul masters hunting her down.
From what Lin Yu could observe, the girl didn't even appear to be a soul master, yet the soul masters chasing her were all at least ranked 20 Soul Grandmasters. The strongest among them was a rank 50 Soul King!
There were seven of them in total—a typical hunter group.
The little girl had no hope of escaping such powerful pursuers. However, as she ran, wild soul beasts kept leaping out of the forest to block the hunters' way, hindering their chase.
Even though the girl was injured, her body covered in wounds, she continued to press on, driven by sheer willpower, refusing to give up.
"A hunter group... chasing down a little girl?" Lin Yu frowned in disgust at the scene unfolding below him. As someone raised in modern times, he couldn't stand such bullying, no matter the reason.
It didn't matter that the girl's martial spirit resonated with his Chaos Green Lotus. Even if it didn't, Lin Yu wouldn't have turned a blind eye to this injustice.
Without hesitation, Lin Yu's Thunderwind Wings flared as he shot toward the fleeing girl like a bolt of lightning, landing ahead of her in the forest.
While flying, he had cloaked himself in the mirage energy from his external spirit bone, the Mirage Dragon Pearl, making his descent unnoticed.
As he touched down in the dense woods, Lin Yu retracted his wings and assumed his alternate form, adopting the appearance of Ye Liangchen. Just as the girl rushed past him, he stepped forward, blocking the hunter group's path. Pointing at them, he called out angrily:
"What do you think you're doing? A bunch of grown men chasing a little girl? You've got no shame!"
"Where'd this little brat come from? Get lost!" barked the leader of the hunter group, their faces twisted in rage.
After all, killing this girl would earn them a staggering reward of five million gold soul coins from their employer. If they could pull this off, they'd be set for life, able to retire comfortably.
But Lin Yu wasn't intimidated by their threats. Smirking, he calmly summoned his Dual Pupils martial spirit.
"First Soul Skill: Purple Spirit Weakening Aura!"
With a cold command, a black soul ring around him lit up. A purple halo spread from beneath his feet, instantly enveloping the entire hunter group.
"What the—?!" The hunters' eyes widened in shock as they saw the two black soul rings circling Lin Yu, their expressions filled with fear.
In the next moment, the Purple Spirit Weakening Aura took effect.
As a fifty-thousand-year soul ring, under the power of Lin Yu's rank 70 soul force, the weakening effect of the Purple Spirit Weakening Aura was devastating for the hunter group, whose strongest member was merely a Soul King.
Once trapped within the aura, their abilities—including soul power, strength, speed, and even recovery—were all reduced by more than eighty percent! It was as if they had instantly aged into decrepit old men.
Now completely debilitated, they struggled even to walk, let alone continue their chase. The sudden onset of weakness caused the entire group to collapse to the ground.
Although Lin Yu was tempted to test his second soul skill, he chose not to, remembering the little girl's dire condition. Instead, he summoned his Chaos Green Lotus martial spirit and activated his fourth soul skill: Karmic Fire Red Lotus.
From his hand, a small blossom of karmic fire shot toward the leader of the hunter group, igniting him instantly.
In seconds, the intense crimson flames spread across the rest of the group, consuming them in a fiery blaze. Their agonized screams echoed briefly before they were reduced to nothing more than ash.
With the hunters dealt with, Lin Yu retracted his flames and dismissed both his Chaos Green Lotus and Dual Pupils martial spirits.
Turning back toward where the little girl had fled, he chased after her. Given how quickly he had dispatched the hunters, only about a minute had passed since he had intervened.
It didn't take long for Lin Yu to find the girl lying on the forest floor. Her clothes, soaked with blood from numerous wounds, were nearly dyed red. She must have finally succumbed to her injuries and collapsed, her delicate face drained of all color, deathly pale.
"She's badly hurt. Her clothes are practically soaked in blood... those hunters were monsters to treat a child like this," Lin Yu muttered angrily, furrowing his brow.
Luckily, Lin Yu was quite skilled in healing. Kneeling beside the unconscious girl, he summoned his Chaos Green Lotus once more.
This time, he activated his first soul skill: Merit Golden Lotus.
As the first of his century-old soul rings lit up, a dazzling golden lotus appeared in his hand. With a gentle infusion of soul power, the golden lotus emitted a brilliant light that fell over the girl.
Under its healing glow, her wounds began to close, her skin mending before his eyes. Soon, her tight brow relaxed, and color returned to her once-pale cheeks.