In the silent, deserted alley, a shady man carried a long-haired youth over his shoulder and stopped in front of a very inconspicuous iron door.
After a series of knocks that followed a specific rhythm, the man withdrew his hand and stood quietly at the door, waiting.
After a while, the iron door was opened from the inside without a word. The shady man walked in, still carrying Huo Yuhao over his shoulder.
One, two… a total of eight people were in the room. All were Soul Masters: one Soul King, three Soul Elders, and the rest were Great Soul Masters.
In the adjacent room, five more people were being held captive. Judging by their auras, they seemed to be ordinary civilians.
Through his mental detection, Huo Yuhao, who appeared unconscious, had already scanned and taken in all the information about these people the moment he entered.
"What's going on? Didn't I tell you to lay low for a while?"
The Soul King frowned as he looked at the shady man carrying Huo Yuhao, his voice filled with cold malice.
"Relax, relax. I checked the area before acting—no one saw anything!"
The shady man shrank back, looking a little fearful, his gaze flickering with guilt.
"It had better be that way," the Soul King snorted coldly. Then his gaze shifted to Huo Yuhao. His tone changed as he asked, "What kind of catch could make you so eager?"
Hearing this, the shady man gulped, a lecherous smile creeping onto his face.
"I ran into him by accident on the street at night. He's still young, but that face—definitely a top-tier 'prize.'"
At these words, the others in the room exchanged knowing smiles. Their eyes flashed with suggestive glances, except for one young man in the corner who looked uncomfortable and frowned deeply.
"Is that so?"
The Soul King seemed intrigued by the shady man's words. He motioned to a burly man with the power of a Soul Elder, signaling him to check it out. The burly man stepped forward to lift Huo Yuhao's hair, but the shady man instinctively took a step back, stammering, "Boss, I went through a lot of trouble to get this one. You can't take him from me!"
"Hmm?" The Soul King raised an eyebrow, his aura immediately bearing down on the shady man. "When have I ever stolen your prize? Haven't I always returned them to you after a while?"
Seeing the shady man grit his teeth and stay silent, the Soul King gestured for the burly man to continue.
The burly man lifted Huo Yuhao's long hair and grabbed his chin, slowly raising his face to reveal his delicate features to everyone present.
His face was slightly pale, likely due to the cold weather, but that didn't diminish the striking beauty that made everyone instinctively hold their breath.
After a moment of stunned silence, everyone's eyes, except the young man's, lit up with greedy desire. Their lust flooded Huo Yuhao's mental space, sending a wave of disgust through him.
These beasts…
Huo Yuhao could hear the laughter of Tianmeng in his mind, and he was barely holding himself back from taking action. He suppressed the urge to attack immediately, focusing instead on observing the frowning young man.
The burly man, standing closest to Huo Yuhao, was clearly the most affected. A faint scent reached his nose, and his excitement grew. His breathing became heavier as he spoke.
"Boss, this one really is a rare find!"
"I see that," the Soul King murmured in approval, his face lighting up with excitement. He clapped his hands, grinning.
"Alright, take him to that room. Tomorrow, when he wakes up, I'll entertain him properly."
The shady man's face twisted with reluctance, but when he saw the Soul King's sharp gaze, his lips moved as if to protest, but he didn't dare speak.
Just as he was about to carry Huo Yuhao away, a voice suddenly broke the silence in the room.
"Uncle Jiang, this is obviously still a child. Let him go."
Everyone fell silent in shock. The room became so still that you could hear a pin drop. The Soul King's expression darkened as he turned his cold gaze toward the young man who had spoken.
"What did you just say?"
Under the oppressive pressure, the young man's face paled, but he gritted his teeth and spoke.
"This wasn't what you promised when you invited me to join."
"What you're doing every day now—how many of the people you capture have really done anything wrong? I could even turn a blind eye to that, but now you're going after an innocent child!"
The burly man beside Huo Yuhao was about to step forward, but Uncle Jiang stopped him with a gesture. Smiling coldly, he walked toward the young man. Despite the young man trembling in fear, he stood his ground and met Uncle Jiang's eyes without flinching.
"If I hadn't saved you, do you think you'd still be alive, standing here and talking to me? Have you already forgotten those people's smug faces and how they oppressed you because of your martial soul? Have you forgotten how they drove you to the brink of despair?"
"But these people are innocent—"
Before the young man could finish, Uncle Jiang interrupted him.
"Innocent? What a joke. Are we not innocent too? Why are we labeled as Evil Soul Masters just because our martial souls are considered evil? We're all innocent, so why should only we suffer?"
"What we're doing is just revenge. We're giving back to this world what it once gave to us."
As he spoke, Uncle Jiang leaned in close to the young man's ear, his voice dropping to a cold whisper.
"I tolerated you because of your talent, but now I see you're just weak. I've changed my mind. Kill her. Then you'll truly be one of us."
The young man trembled involuntarily.
"What?"
"Right now. Kill the one Lao San brought in."
Uncle Jiang's face was emotionless as he delivered the young man's fate, his voice icy.
"She doesn't die—you do."
The young man's body shook. He glanced back at the unconscious Huo Yuhao, then at Uncle Jiang's cold eyes.
"Why…"
He stumbled back a few steps before collapsing to the ground, his strength drained. His lips quivered as he choked out sobs of anguish.
"Why does it always have to be like this? Why must we hurt others just to survive?"
"I just… I just want to live…"
He suddenly looked up, his tear-streaked face twisted with rage, as he screamed at Uncle Jiang.
"What did I do wrong in my past life to be born with this cursed martial soul, to the point where even living is a crime!? Why can't any of you just leave me alone!?"
"I'm sorry, but that's how this cruel world works. Often, we don't get to choose."
Uncle Jiang's eyes were filled with pity, but his voice was cold as ice. "Unfortunately, you've failed the test."
Just then.
The sound of a blade cutting into flesh broke the tense silence.
Everyone turned to look. The burly man standing beside the shady figure had a terrified expression as he desperately tried to stop the blood gushing from his throat. But it was no use.
Huo Yuhao, who had been carried over the shady man's shoulder, was now standing in front of the burly man, holding a blood-stained dagger. His voice was calm and low.
"Take a deep breath. Feeling dizzy is normal."
It wasn't until the man convulsed and collapsed to the ground that Huo Yuhao turned to scan the room, noting that everyone was still frozen in shock. Finally, his gaze settled on the young man.
As if answering the young man's earlier question, Huo Yuhao spoke softly.
"You did nothing wrong."
(End of chapter)