"Die!"
The white powder exploded in mid-air, hurtling toward Ye Tian. Wang Hong's face twisted in rage as she roared, gripping her spear with her remaining right hand, unleashing all her true energy in a thrust aimed at Ye Tian.
At this moment, madness glinted in Wang Hong's eyes; if she could eliminate Ye Tian, she believed she could escape unscathed, even if she could not defeat Ye Ba. Conversely, if Ye Tian survived, her own demise was inevitable.
As for handing over the treasure? Wang Hong had never contemplated it. Even if she had, she would never part with it, for she understood that once she surrendered it, both Ye Tian and Ye Ba would undoubtedly kill her.
The white powder was lime, harmless yet blinding. If it struck, Ye Tian would be momentarily blinded, and that would present Wang Hong with the perfect opportunity for a fatal strike.
Ye Ba watched, a mixture of anger and shock flooding his expression as he bellowed a warning. "It's useless; you're finished!" Wang Hong sneered coldly, her entire body erupting with power, the peak strength of a ninth-level martial artist, like a storm that stirred the dust around her.
She poured all her strength into this one strike, believing that even a tenth-level martial artist would have to exert their full strength to withstand it. She doubted that the beginning ninth-level Ye Tian could withstand this attack after losing his sight.
But in the next moment, Wang Hong's pupils dilated, her expression shifting dramatically.
Before her, Ye Tian's demeanor suddenly hardened, his gaze icy as he locked onto her.
For reasons unknown, under the razor-like intensity of his stare, Wang Hong felt her body shudder.
"I've been prepared for you… Thunder Palm!" Ye Tian's cold smile emerged as he unleashed a sudden, thunderous roar, his left palm striking forth repeatedly, creating nine phantoms of his hand that soared through the air, conjuring a powerful whirlwind that blew back the lime powder.
"Ah..."
Wang Hong, attempting to sneak a victory, found the lime powder blown back down upon her. It splattered across her eyes, instantly blinding her.
Even a peak ninth-level martial artist panicked in that instant, her once-deadly strike now significantly weakened, its direction faltering.
At that moment, Ye Tian wielded his blood-red blade, channeling its formidable strength to intercept the misaligned spear.
Clang!
A resounding crash echoed as Ye Tian's blade collided with the spear, a surge of immense power jolting through him, propelling both him and the white tiger backward by several steps.
Wang Hong, too, felt the violent recoil, her already-injured state causing her to cough up blood. Completely blinded, she shouted in panic, her spear thrashing wildly.
"Xiao Bai, go!" Ye Tian chuckled coldly, urging the white tiger forward. With a swift strike, he unleashed a wave of blade intent, slicing toward the frenzied Wang Hong.
Wang Hong's ears perked up at the sound of the blade slicing through the air, hastily raising her spear to defend herself.
However, the spear, crafted from fine iron, could not withstand the sharpness of the blade intent and was cleaved in two.
Ye Tian, mounted on the white tiger, seized the opportunity to strike again, this blow more powerful than the last, aimed directly at Wang Hong's neck. The grotesque woman instinctively raised her right hand to block, but the outcome was disastrous as her arm and head were severed in one swift motion, blood splattering across the ground.
This gruesome sight left Ye Ba, watching from a distance, momentarily stunned. He hadn't anticipated Ye Tian would fight so ruthlessly. However, it made sense; Ye Tian was equally lethal when dispatching fierce beasts, and this time, the target was merely human.
Even Ye Ba, a tough man, felt queasy at the sight of Wang Hong's severed limbs and head, quickly turning his gaze away.
Meanwhile, Ye Tian wiped the blood from his blade and sheathed it, then urged the white tiger to advance, beginning his search of Wang Hong's corpse.
"Ye Tian, what are you doing? Hurry up, or the people from Wang Village will be upon us," Ye Ba said, exasperated, unable to fathom why Ye Tian would linger after taking a life.
"Uncle Ba, check if she has anything on her," Ye Tian replied, waving his hand toward Ye Ba.
Ye Ba, hearing this, felt a surge of disgust as he glanced at Wang Hong's corpse. "Do you really think she has any treasures? By the way, why don't you check yourself?"
Despite his words, Ye Ba dismounted and proceeded to inspect Wang Hong's body.
Ye Tian smiled. "Don't worry, Uncle Ba; I won't tell Auntie. Look, this ugly woman's figure isn't too bad."
"Brat, get lost!" Ye Ba snapped, his anger flaring. His hand, which had reached toward Wang Hong's corpse, halted abruptly as he picked up a broken spear nearby, using it to pry open Wang Hong's clothing.
Beneath the vibrant red attire, two ample peaks were revealed, causing Ye Ba's eyes to widen in surprise.
"Who would have thought this ugly woman had such a decent figure? Too bad about her face..." Ye Ba mumbled to himself, suddenly recalling Ye Tian's earlier remark. His face flushed with embarrassment as he quickly shifted his gaze and began a more serious examination.
In no time, Ye Tian saw Ye Ba uncover several items from Wang Hong's corpse: a handful of silver coins, a book of techniques, and a green crystal about the size of a fist.
The moment Ye Tian laid eyes on the green crystal, he was entranced, unable to look away.
"Hmm? Why do I suddenly feel the surrounding spiritual energy has thickened considerably, and my internal true energy is rapidly amplifying!" Ye Ba blinked, fixated on the green crystal in his hand. It was clear that this object was the source of the change.
The crystal was a rounded, fist-sized green gem that sparkled like crystal, exceedingly beautiful.
Yet, this was not the crux of the matter. The key was that as soon as the green crystal was produced, Ye Tian felt an overwhelming surge in the surrounding spiritual energy, flooding his body and significantly increasing his cultivation speed.
Even with his yellow martial soul, his cultivation speed had surged several times over. For Ye Ba, whose martial soul was only orange, the sensation was undoubtedly far more terrifying.
"What immense martial soul power! Why does this feel like pure martial soul energy, akin to the ones I devoured before?" Ye Tian was filled with astonishment as he hurriedly grasped the green crystal, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
At that moment, Ye Tian felt as if the martial soul within him had awakened, gazing upon the crystal with greedy eyes. He then perceived a vast force of martial soul energy streaming from the green crystal into his body, absorbed by his martial soul.
During this process, Ye Tian's martial soul began to grow stronger, the yellow glow becoming more vibrant, and eventually, a hint of green radiance emerged.
"Hmm? Why has it shrunk?" Ye Ba suddenly widened his eyes, for in that brief moment, he noticed that the green crystal in Ye Tian's hand had diminished in size and continued to shrink.
"Uncle Ba, I'm not quite sure what's happening either," Ye Tian replied, astonished. Yet inwardly, he couldn't help but smile, as he was fully channeling his devouring martial soul to absorb all the energy contained within the green crystal.
Under Ye Tian's relentless efforts, the once fist-sized green crystal soon vanished completely, leaving Ye Ba wide-eyed and incredulous.
"This—" Ye Ba rubbed his eyes, filled with astonishment, unable to believe that an object could suddenly disappear before him.
Only Ye Tian smirked inwardly, his heart brimming with elation, for within him, the yellow martial soul had dissipated, replaced instead by a vibrant green martial soul.
A green martial soul!
Yes!
After absorbing the energy from the green crystal, Ye Tian's martial soul had evolved into a green one.
"Uncle Ba, let's head back; otherwise, the people from Wang Village will truly be upon us," Ye Tian remarked as he casually picked up a book, only to discover it was a low-level yellow-grade spear technique, which immediately piqued no interest, prompting him to toss it to Ye Ba.
"Very well, let's go. This ugly woman has provided us with a black-blood horse, which will expedite our journey!" Ye Ba shook off his astonishment, recalling the impending pursuers from Wang Village, and swiftly mounted the black-blood horse belonging to Wang Hong.
Ye Tian, meanwhile, rode atop the white tiger, and together they dashed away.
Noticing the swift pace of the black-blood horse, Ye Tian commanded the white tiger to unleash its speed. At his command, the beast let out a mighty roar and surged forward, swiftly outpacing the horse. They shot forth like arrows towards the direction of Ye Family Village.
"Ye Tian, wait for me!" Ye Ba hurriedly urged the black-blood horse to accelerate, and soon the two figures vanished without a trace.
Before long, a middle-aged man riding a black-blood horse galloped into view, halting before Wang Hong's corpse.
This man was none other than Wang Tian, who had hastened to the scene.
"Hmm? Xiao Hong…" Upon seeing the lifeless body on the ground, Wang Tian's eyes narrowed, and his expression shifted dramatically as he dismounted and rushed to Wang Hong's side.
"How could she have met such a gruesome fate? With her strength, even I would have needed considerable effort to defeat her. Could it be that Ye Shi, that old scoundrel, acted personally?"
Wang Tian's face darkened as he contemplated.
Gazing at Wang Hong's headless body, he felt a swirl of complex emotions, eventually sighing, "Alas, I have failed you as a father. Continuing down this path will inevitably lead to our mutual destruction. It's better this way; may you find peace in another world. I shall avenge you."
With that, Wang Tian hoisted Wang Hong's body, turned his horse around, and sped towards Wang Village.
Realizing that it was Ye Shi's doing, he knew pursuing them would be futile and potentially perilous. After all, Ye Family Village was currently home to two level-ten martial artists.
"Clip-clop, clip-clop…"
Outside Ye Family Village, the sound of hoofbeats echoed.
Soon, amid a chorus of cheers, Ye Tian and Ye Ba returned to the village.
Upon receiving reports from the villagers, Ye Shi and Ye Feng hurried over.
"Haha! Our heroes have returned!" Ye Shi laughed heartily.
"Ye Tian, how was your experience out there?" Ye Feng inquired with a smile.
Before long, Ye Meng and the elder of the Bai Wu Pavilion also arrived, and the group made their way towards the village chief's residence.
Ye Tian greeted everyone with a smile and a nod, while Ye Ba, with a serious expression, quietly said, "Village Chief, we have a major situation."
"Hmm?" Ye Shi's expression shifted slightly upon hearing this, but being shrewd, he subtly nodded and replied, "Let's discuss this further back at my place."
Ye Feng, the elder of the Bai Wu Pavilion, and Ye Meng followed closely behind, their faces weighed down with gravity. They were acutely aware that if even Ye Ba deemed it a significant matter, it truly was serious.
Otherwise, it would be uncharacteristic of Ye Ba to dampen the mood at such a time.