Profound Heaven Soul Sovereign

"You..."

Li Jiuran was so furious he nearly spat blood. His face flushed crimson, and his chest heaved violently.

Yu Chi Bugong sneered. "Elder Li, don’t be afraid. I’d like to see just how brazen the Xiao family can be."

He moved to Li Jiuran’s side, a cold smile playing on his lips as he released his own formless pressure.

Xiao Wuji’s gaze turned cold. "Yu Chi Bugong, this has nothing to do with you. Must you insist on making an enemy of the Xiao family?"

Yu Chi Bugong smiled faintly. "Patriarch Xiao, what an accusation. I simply can’t stand the way some people conduct themselves and wish to uphold justice, that’s all."

Ye Xuan watched the scene with cold eyes. ’This Yu Chi Bugong is truly disgusting. A moment ago, he acted like this had nothing to do with him, but now that Xiao Wuji has stepped in, he shamelessly involves himself. I despise people like him.’

Ye Xuan immediately shot back, "Justice? Is the ’justice’ you speak of simply a matter of twisting the truth? The Ancient Pill Tower deliberately framed my Profound Light Pavilion. The evidence is irrefutable, as everyone here has witnessed. To think the great Yuchi family, one of the top families in the Celestial Capital Prefecture, would stoop to this... It’s utterly nauseating."

The onlookers were dumbfounded. ’Has Xuan Ye lost his mind? He actually dared to call the Yuchi family nauseating? Does he not know their standing in the Celestial Capital Prefecture? He’s practically begging to be killed!’

Yu Chi Bugong’s expression instantly turned foul. He unleashed a terrifying pressure and growled, "Boy, what did you just say?"

His face flushed with rage, his gaze turned frigid, and his expression was so dark it could have been wringing wet. A terrifying killing intent radiated from his entire being.

BOOM!

A formless shockwave erupted from his body and slammed violently toward Ye Xuan. The turbulent energy tore ripples in the very air, thick with a killing intent that made his objective clear: to put Ye Xuan in his grave.

At the critical moment, Xiao Wuji rushed in front of Ye Xuan. Profound energy flared around him, deflecting the impact. "Yu Chi Bugong," he roared, "what do you think you’re doing?!"

"What am I doing?" Killing intent flared in Yu Chi Bugong’s eyes. "This whelp slandered my Yuchi family. Today, I will kill him."

"You..."

A cold light flared in Xiao Wuji’s eyes. ’I just said I would protect Xuan Ye, and now Yu Chi Bugong insists on killing him. This isn’t about dealing with the Profound Light Pavilion anymore; it’s a direct slap in the face to the Xiao family.’

"Good. Very good." Xiao Wuji laughed in his fury. "I’d like to see how you manage to kill this Xuan Ye right in front of me."

"Xiao Wuji, you overestimate yourself! Li Jiuran, you hold him back. I will kill this Xuan Ye myself."

Yu Chi Bugong sneered and was about to make his move when a world-shaking roar thundered from the distance. "Who is so bold as to kill a member of my Soul Master Tower?!"

The voice was sonorous and clear, traveling from far to near with deafening power. In the blink of an eye, it was directly over the Profound Light Pavilion. Everyone looked up to see a gray-robed figure hurtling toward them like a meteor, trailing a long ripple in the fabric of space.

’Another Tier Eight Third Layer Martial Emperor.’

The crowd was aghast.

Before the figure even arrived, a terrifying pressure enveloped the area, reeking of unbridled, tyrannical arrogance. The sheer dominance of his approach surpassed even that of Yu Chi Bugong and Xiao Wuji.

’It’s Tower Master Zuo Yuan from the Soul Master Tower! We’re in deep trouble now!’

A flicker of worry crossed Xiao Wuji’s eyes, and his heart sank.

The newcomer was none other than Zuo Yuan, the highest authority of the Celestial Capital Prefecture’s Soul Master Tower. He was also the prefecture’s number one Soul Refiner, an expert from the Divine Capital, the holy land for Soul Refiners.

Although the Celestial Capital Prefecture was dominated by the two great families, there were certain powers they dared not easily offend. Among them, the Soul Master Tower was the most formidable.

Even though Zuo Yuan was only a Tier Eight Third Layer Martial Emperor, and the two great families likely possessed the means to kill him, he was an expert from the Divine Capital. If the Divine Capital were to be angered, never mind a second-rate power like the Celestial Capital Prefecture—even some first-rate powers would be reduced to ash in an instant.

Upon seeing Zuo Yuan, Yu Chi Bugong instantly halted his forward momentum and returned to his original position. He stopped his attack, a cruel, mocking smile playing on his lips. "Xiao Wuji," he taunted, "weren’t you so determined to protect that Xuan Ye? Well, today I’d like to see just how you’re going to save him from Tower Master Zuo Yuan. Haha!"

"Outrageous! Preposterous! Absolutely preposterous!"

A figure descended. Zuo Yuan had finally arrived, landing in the center of the crowd. His eyes, filled with fury and disbelief, fell upon Rongyang’s corpse nearby before his icy gaze locked onto Yu Chi Bugong and Xiao Wuji.

"Patriarch Yuchi, Patriarch Xiao, you have some nerve! You dare kill the Vice Tower Master of my Soul Master Tower? Are you trying to challenge our authority? If you two don’t give me a good reason today, then even if I can’t kill you myself, I will send word to the Divine Capital to have both your great families in the Celestial Capital Prefecture utterly destroyed."

Among everyone present, Yu Chi Bugong and Xiao Wuji held the highest status. In Zuo Yuan’s mind, they were the only ones who would have dared to kill Rongyang.

"Tower Master Zuo Yuan, you’re mistaken," Yu Chi Bugong explained hastily, pointing a finger at Ye Xuan. "This has nothing to do with the Yuchi family. It was the people of this Profound Light Pavilion who killed Master Rongyang, and the one who struck the fatal blow was this young man, Xuan Ye."

"He killed Rongyang?" Zuo Yuan froze, his gaze falling on Ye Xuan. He found it hard to believe, seeing that the young man was only a Tier Seven Martial King. However, the expressions of the onlookers all confirmed that what Yu Chi Bugong said was true.

Li Rucheng also began to wail, denouncing Ye Xuan’s crimes. "Tower Master Zuo Yuan, it was he! Xuan Ye murdered Master Rongyang! This boy is deeply scheming, cunning, and treacherous. He pretended to compete with Master Rongyang in Soul Refining, only to use a despicable trick to win. Then, while Master Rongyang had his guard down, he struck the fatal blow! To think that a man of Master Rongyang’s esteemed status would die in such an ignominious way... this boy is utterly depraved!"

"The Profound Light Pavilion, is it?" Zuo Yuan snarled. ’What audacity. Daring to murder a master of my Soul Master Tower. I don’t care who you are or where you come from. Today, all of you will die.’

"Tower Master Zuo Yuan, please listen to me. This is what happened!" Xiao Wuji quickly stepped forward to explain. He could not allow Zuo Yuan to kill Ye Xuan.

"Say no more," Zuo Yuan thundered, glaring at Ye Xuan and the others. "You dared to murder a master from my Soul Master Tower. Forget this so-called Profound Light Pavilion; even you, Patriarch Xiao Wuji, would have to die. Patriarch Xiao, another word of nonsense from you will be taken as a declaration of war against the Soul Master Tower. Step back now. Anyone who stands in my way dies."

The aura of a Tier Eight Third Layer Martial Emperor erupted from him, and every Martial Artist on the street felt a crushing pressure on their hearts that was nearly unbearable. At the center of the storm, Su Xiuyi and the others found it difficult to breathe. They couldn’t even move their feet, feeling as though they had lost control of their own bodies.

’It’s over.’

Su Xiuyi and his companions’ hearts sank. They struggled to move, trying to resist the oppressive might, but it was utterly useless. In an instant, they were plunged into despair.

Never mind Tower Master Zuo Yuan’s heaven-defying cultivation; his status as someone from the Divine Capital alone was something even the two great families couldn’t oppose, to say nothing of their tiny Profound Light Pavilion.

Amidst the crowd, only Ye Xuan managed to remain unfazed.

"Hm?" Zuo Yuan grunted in surprise. His pupils contracted slightly as a look of shock crossed his face.

He had intended to use his powerful Soul Power to crush the Profound Light Pavilion’s Martial Artists and break their spirits. But when his Soul Power washed over Ye Xuan, it was clearly repelled by an external force.

With his cultivation as a Peak of Seventh Grade Soul Refiner, such a thing should have been impossible. Taking a closer look, he realized that Ye Xuan was also a Seventh Grade Soul Refiner. Though his Soul Power was much weaker than his own, it was certainly enough to rank in the top three of the Celestial Capital Prefecture. The discovery stunned Zuo Yuan.

"So, you are also a Seventh Grade Soul Refiner," Zuo Yuan said. "No wonder you were arrogant enough to kill Rongyang of my Soul Master Tower. But in my presence, I don’t care about your identity or background. You will die today."

Zuo Yuan snorted in anger. Formless Soul Power coalesced before him, whipping into a Soul Power Storm.

The storm was condensed and stable. From a distance, it looked like a mass of ethereal energy swirling and merging in the void, finally forming a dense net of Soul Power blades that descended upon Ye Xuan.

This net of blades was interconnected, forming a single, organic whole. It seemed to have no flaws, giving one the sense that it was both impenetrable and inescapable.

The cold sneer on Ye Xuan’s lips suddenly vanished, replaced by a look of stunned surprise. His brow furrowed slightly.

"You’re from the Divine Capital?" Facing the net of Soul Power blades, a force capable of killing even a Tier Eight Martial Emperor, Ye Xuan suddenly spoke with calm indifference. A peculiar expression crossed his face as he asked, "Is Gongyang Yu doing well?"

Zuo Yuan’s pupils contracted. His expression flickered, then hardened into a cold glare. "Brat, cut the act. Don’t think you can save yourself just by knowing my master’s name. Die!"

Zuo Yuan’s face twisted into a vicious snarl as the boundless net of Soul Power blades slashed down on Ye Xuan.

"Hmph." Ye Xuan snorted. In that split second, he raised his right hand. Formless Soul Power rapidly condensed at his fingertips, coalescing into runes, which he then tapped with lightning speed onto the approaching net of Soul Power blades.

CRACK!

With a faint cracking sound, the dense net of Soul Power blades was thrown into chaos, as if its vital point had been struck. In an instant, it shattered into pieces, dissipating into pure Soul Power.

"What?" Zuo Yuan cried out in shock, his face a mask of disbelief. "You... you actually broke my net of Soul Power blades! That’s impossible!"

His eyes were wide with shock, his spirit reeling from the immense blow.

Ye Xuan’s expression was impassive. "The Soul-Slaying Blade Skill has six layers," he stated calmly. "It focuses on materializing Soul Power, making it omnipresent and endless in its cycle of creation and destruction. However, your Soul Power is only at the Peak of Seventh Grade, so you can only execute the first three layers. You’re incapable of manifesting its true concept of endless regeneration. What’s so special about me breaking it? If it were your master using this skill, no opponent, no matter how strong, could have shattered the net of Soul Power blades as easily as I just did."

"How... how did you know I was using the Soul-Slaying Blade Skill? And how do you know so much about it...?"

Zuo Yuan was utterly shaken, his face a mask of complete and utter disbelief.