Despite not being yelled out, the word âfreezeâ reverberated across the skies as loudly as if it had been. And for the metal-type Early-stage Soul King, in particular, the word might as well been a clap of thunder that had sounded off in his ears!
Perhaps not just his ears. It reverberated into his mind and slammed his soul with enough noise to shake it!
âWhoosh!!â
The violet streak of light from earlier flew through the skies while the Early-stage Soul King was dealing with the aftermath of hearing that word. And by the time he shook it off, the violet streak of light was already upon him!
âPcht!!â
Left without any time to properly defend himself, the metal-type was perforated through the chest by the bolt of lightning!
The golden light around his person crumbled away in a spray of red mist. Eyes dimming in light, the Soul King began to fall back down towards the groundâŚÂ
An instant kill!!
The attacker behind the move hadnât even shown themselves before an Early-stage Soul King was killed off!
âBoom!!â
An explosion erupted from above the metal-type Soul Kingâs head upon his death as the giant âvolcanoâ came smashing into the golden sawtooth blade. The golden weapon was smashed apart in a matter of moments while the âvolcanoâ continued onwards to the lightning python!
âRumble!!â The rumbling sounds grew even more intense as strands of lightning arced out from the python this way and that like a cascading waterfall smashing down onto a large surface.
The purple-robed elderâs eyes widened at the sight of the object hitting his python. Lepaing back, the elder decided to forget about his attack to focus on the person heading on over from the south.
  âŚâŚ
Jing Mingfeng took a cautious moment to look around himself now that all dangers were seemingly neutralized. âOlâBai?!â He cried out, stunned by the familiar presence.
Who else could it be but Bai Yunfei to drop by right in front of him?
Having killed its mark, the Heavenâs Thunder came flying back around to Bai Yunfei. Likewise, the giant volcano transformed back to its original size to float right next to him. âAre you alright?â Bai Yunfei asked.
It was with genuine concern that Bai Yunfei asked the question, and Jing Mingfeng couldnât help but feel a tinge of gratitude stir in him. âHaha!â He barked with laughter, âIâd have been in trouble if it werenât for your good timing. A little too good timing in fact. Maybe you were hiding off to the sides and waiting for the best time to shine? If I was a lady, Iâd probably be in your arms alreadyâŚâ
âYouâre definitely fine if you can joke around like thatâŚâ Bai Yunfei muttered under his breath, âTell me, Mingfeng. What was the real reason you came to Swallow City? Whatâs all this?â
His eyes swept from the murderous-looking elder in purple robes to the other side where multiple people were fleeing one after another.
The snickering smile on Jing Mingfengâs face faded away. âWellâŚâ He sighed, âThereâs nothing much to hide anymore. I just didnât want to get you involvedâŚGrandfather and my goals were to come to Swallow City andâŚexterminate the Qin!â
âExterminate the Qin?!â Bai Yunfeiâs eyebrows flew straight up on his forehead. âYou have to be joking?!â
âDo you really think Iâm joking with a sight like this?â Jing Mingfeng waved at the sight to the west with a bitter laugh. âMy grandfatherâs fighting patriarch Qin right now. If he can just kill him, then the rest of the Qin willâŚnot be a problemâŚâ
âPatriarch Qin?â Bai Yunfei asked. His eyes traveled to the west in idle curiosity. âThe secret deep within the mines had to do with the patriarch? Was that why you were down there? The patriarch was most likely closed away to try and breakthrough to become a Soul Emperor. You came to stop him before that, right? Itâd be the easiest time to kill him.â
It was Jing Mingfengâs turn to ask the questions, âNo wayâŚâ He gaped, âYou could guess even that?!â
âBut thatâs too dangerous for youâŚâ Bai Yunfei continued on, âItâs unclear if senior Jing will be able to win over patriarch Qin. And youâre here fighting against multiple Soul Kings by yourself, arenât you a little too hasty to die?â
âThe original plan was for me to run away actuallyâŚâ An embarrassed Jing Mingfeng replied. âGrandfather has a way to escape detection after he kills the patriarch, but I had some bad luck and got found out. Doesnât it look like I was in the middle of running away?â
âThen what now?â
âWell!â Jing Mingfeng sighed. âYou shouldnât have done anything, OlâBaiâŚYou shouldâve pretended you didnât know me. They canât find me if I run away, but youâre different. Youâre going to be the Qinâs enemy nowâŚâ
âDo you really think Iâd watch as you fight for your life by the sidelines? Am I even a brother to you?â
âOf course you are!â Jing Mingfeng retorted, âButâŚbut this is a family matter. Itâs not a good thing to get involved, these arenât easy enemies you can just kill and be done withâŚâ
âGetting involved or not isnât important. I canât just ignore the matter now that Iâve seen it. BesidesâŚIâve already earned myself a deep âgrudgeâ from the Qin. Itâs not going to make much of a difference.â
âOh, so you really did kill the two Qin brothers?â Jing Mingfengâs eyes widened, âWhat in the world happened there?â
âYou know about that? They killed themselves in front of me, but I didnât do anything. Iâm being framedâŚâ
âFramed? Why? And by whom?
âNowâsâŚnot the time to be talking about it.â Bai Yunfei watched two different streaks of light towards them from behind the elder. âLetâs talk about it later, our enemies just increased.â
Bai Yunfei had a decent grasp of what was going on now that he asked those questions. The people fleeing from the ground below were well above the hundreds, and most of them were Soul Exalts and Soul Ancestors. A portion of them was still fighting against several peopleâto which Bai Yunfei recognized as being members of the Qin.Â
Jing Mingfeng came here to make trouble with the Qin, but what about the rest of these people?
Bai Yunfeiâs mind danced with that question as he tried to find an answer, but he couldnât find one. While he had been paying attention to the people down below, several Soul Kings were already coming closer and closer to this area.
âYouâre right, time to go!â Jing Mingfeng spoke somewhat urgently.
He was prepared to fly towards the opposite direction of the newcomers when Bai Yunfei stopped him. âNot that way.â
âWhy noâohâŚâ Jing Mingfeng was in the middle of asking when he froze up at the sight of multiple streaks of light coming from the direction he had been planning on going for.
âIs thatâŚQin Long?!â He cried out.
âŚâŚ
âIsnât thatâŚBai Yunfei?! But how?!â
Two streaks of light were flying from the south to get to where Jing Mingfeng was. It was Qin Long and Qin Pingzhi. Behind them were Soul Kings such as the lord-mayor of Swallow City, Yan Tianxing. It was with great shock that the two of them took notice of Bai Yunfeiâs presence in front of them.
The murderous intent in Qin Longâs eyes deepened, but his attention was concentrated elsewhere towards the Emperorâs Phenomenon. He managed to suppress his urge to go after Bai Yunfei and flew towards the purple-robed elder after noticing him.
âMy lord!!â The elder cried out at in first in joy. âThe patriarchâs breakthrough was stopped by that Jing Wuying! The two of them are fighting now! The previous headmaster, Qin Shu, Qin Jian, Qin Xin, Qin Kun, and even Qin Kui are dead! That person there is Jing Wuyingâs companion!!â He spoke to him using Soul Communication.
âWhat?!â
Qin Long came to an immediate halt as the weight of the elderâs words fell on himâŚ
He was dazed for a while as if he was in a dream. He hadnât even been as shocked at the news of Jing Wuying appearing and battling the patriarch than hearing news of this. His father wasâŚdead?!
First, it was his brother Qin Hu. Then his sons Qin Shoufeng and Qin Shouhao. And nowâŚeven his father, Qin Tian?!
Not even half a day went by and yet there was already so much tragedy. How could anyone possibly take news like that?!
His father had been a Late-stage Soul King! A powerful individual for even Soul Kings!! HowâŚhow could he possibly die?!
âMy lord! Nowâs not the time to be disheartened! We might not be able to fight in the battle with the patriarch, but we canât let Jing Wuyingâs companion get away! That fire-type Soul King appeared just now, he must be a helper! He killed Qin Kun when he appeared! Weâll regret it if we donât kill the both of them right now!â
The purple-robed elder clearly didnât recognize Bai Yunfei and only thought of him as someone related to Jing Mingfeng.
Qin Longâs body trembled as if awakening from a deep trance. His eyes were filled with nothing but angry as he glared at both Bai Yunfei and Jing Mingfeng before letting out a furious roar!