Soul Emperor Awakening

The sudden appearance of four figures made the guard’s heart lurch, and a sense of crisis washed over him. He found he couldn’t see through their Cultivation; he could only feel an oppressive aura, as if from the heavens and the earth themselves, that made him feel hopelessly small.

Seemingly influenced by Lin Xuan, the four statues began to radiate a boundless killing intent. It sent a shiver down the spines of the men before them, and a terrifying fear bloomed in their hearts.

"W-who are you people? Do you know where you are? How dare you barge in here!" The guard’s heart hammered in his chest. He was so stunned that he didn’t even notice when Tuo Yunhai wrenched his hand free, his attention completely captivated by the four figures before him.

The others were equally dumbfounded. These four were clearly anything but ordinary. Their presence was overwhelming, far surpassing that of the guards—they weren’t even on the same Level. Their appearance drew the eyes of everyone nearby. Guards in the distance, seeing that something was wrong, began rushing over.

"I don’t know what this place is, but I know it’s made an enemy of me!" Lin Xuan pointed at the guard and said coldly, "Die!"

The next moment, the statue of Qing Liuyun flashed forward, executing a flawless Cyan Cloud Step. It appeared before the guard faster than he could react and struck him in the chest with a Palm Seal. A surge of cyan energy poured into his body.

"BAM!"

A dull thud echoed as the guard was sent flying. He coughed up a mouthful of blood before crashing to the ground, unconscious. A one-hit kill, utterly effortless.

"What do you think you’re doing? You dare cause trouble here!" another guard roared, seeing his comrade injured.

"Get them!"

With a cold glint in his eye, Lin Xuan commanded the four statues to attack, unleashing an absolute slaughter. The four statues, all based on peerless experts from their past lives, charged forward and clashed with the guards.

There were quite a few guards in the mine—at least several dozen, needed to manage the thousands of slaves. The alarm was quickly sounded, alerting everyone to the unfolding incident.

However, they couldn’t gather quickly, which gave Lin Xuan plenty of time to escape. In fact, he didn’t even need to run; he could have strolled away without a problem. But before that, he had some unfinished business.

He walked toward Long Ba, one step at a time. Even with his injuries unhealed, his presence was still more than Long Ba could bear.

"Snitching, huh? A clever trick, using others as you please. You really are something else!"

Lin Xuan approached with a cold sneer. Every step he took felt like it was stomping on Long Ba’s very soul. Beside them, Tuo Yunhai was still reeling from the shock, trying to understand where these four figures had come from inside his own grotto. And why did they look so familiar?

THUMP. Long Ba fell to his knees, crying, "Your Excellency, please be magnanimous! I... I was just momentarily bewitched, I wasn’t thinking straight! I was blind and failed to recognize your greatness! Please, spare my worthless life!"

Talk about knowing when to bow and scrape. This was a masterclass. For those struggling to survive here, there was nothing they wouldn’t do to live. Stealing food from others when you were starving was a common occurrence.

If he couldn’t read the situation clearly now, then he would have wasted all those years he spent as their leader.

"Spare your worthless life? I’ve heard all about you. You just wanted to use others so you could escape! And you claimed you’d come back to rescue them? With your character, I highly doubt you’d ever return for them!" Lin Xuan scoffed. "Putting on airs as some young master from a wealthy family with what little talent you have... you’re quite the actor, aren’t you!"

"Brother Long, you... you weren’t really lying to us, were you?"

The men behind him all stared at Long Ba in shock as the truth began to dawn on them. Tuo Yunhai was among them, his face a mask of disbelief. He clearly couldn’t accept that Long Ba would deceive them.

It was mainly because Long Ba had been so good to them. He would sometimes share his steamed buns or split whatever rewards the guards gave him. On top of that, he was quite capable and always offered to help, winning over many of them. That was why they all believed he would truly come back and save them!

"H-how could I deceive you? I was being sincere! Senior, you can’t just spout nonsense. Everything I did was for the greater good!" Long Ba knew he couldn’t admit it, not even on pain of death. If he confessed now, he would surely die without a proper burial.

"Sincere? If you were sincere, why did you snitch? All Yunhai did was take a few Primordial Stones, and because he didn’t hand them over to you, you decided to report him. What is that if not selfish! Because Yunhai didn’t obey you, you chose to abandon him. How ruthless! And to think, whenever Yunhai spoke of you, he did so with complete trust. What a shame you failed that trust. Today, you will die without a doubt!"

Lin Xuan’s voice grew heavier with every word as he closed the distance. Each syllable struck the hearts of the men listening. Thinking back, they realized it was true. Long Ba was incredibly selfish. He always preached about the "greater good," but in reality, he would abandon anyone who dared to defy him!

"Brother Long, is it true...?" Yunhai gave a bitter smile. He never thought the person he trusted so much would deceive him.

Suddenly, a desperate glint appeared in Long Ba’s eyes. He grabbed Tuo Yunhai and roared, "Stay back! Another step and I’ll kill him!"

"SHIING!"

A flash of light shot through the air and straight into Long Ba’s head. When the crowd’s eyes could focus again, they saw Lin Xuan’s fingers embedded in the man’s forehead. He then gently pulled them out.

The light faded from Long Ba’s eyes as he collapsed backward, all signs of life gone. Even grievously injured and far from recovered, dealing with such trash was no problem for Lin Xuan.

"Your sins will always find you out." Lin Xuan pulled Tuo Yunhai to his side and addressed the crowd coldly, "He couldn’t save you, but I can give you a chance. Whether you can escape, however, will depend on your own capabilities!"

’These people have been broken by this place,’ Lin Xuan thought. ’They’ve become ruthless in their own way. The most crucial point is that I can’t save everyone. At most, I can only take Tuo Yunhai with me.’

Lin Xuan channeled his energy into his voice, making sure his shout echoed throughout the entire mining camp. Seeing that many of the guards had been killed, the other slaves grew bold. The escape boats were always heavily protected by the guards, making them impossible to seize. But now, with so many guards dead, they had a chance.

At that moment, someone with a fierce will to live took the lead, sprinting for the exit. Once one person started, many more followed. Staying here meant death. It was better to take a gamble and try to escape. That was their only hope for survival.

"Don’t you dare run!" The guards were overcome with rage and tried to stop the escaping slaves, but the four Gods of Slaughter before them were simply too powerful. Nearly every one of their attacks was lethal, and they showed no mercy.

Although the statues couldn’t kill all the guards, they could tie them down for a time, and that was more than enough.

"Quickly! Report to our superiors! Tell them the camp has been overrun!" a guard with a higher Cultivation shouted as he tried to hold back one of the statues, ordering the others to send a report.

As for what happened next, it was out of Lin Xuan’s hands. He couldn’t manage the aftermath. Allowing so many people a chance to escape was the most he could do.