Soul Emperor Awakening

"She told you to let go. Didn’t you hear?" Lin Xuan stepped out from the woods, his gaze fixed coldly on the Minotaur.

In the end, he decided to step forward. The Minotaur Race was truly capable of any evil. He could guess what they planned to do with these captive Demon Foxes.

Though he couldn’t change the world, he couldn’t just stand by and ignore what was happening right in front of him. Besides, a Demon Fox would make a far better guide than some stupid bull.

"A human!" The Minotaur’s eyes widened when it saw Lin Xuan, clearly not expecting a human to appear here.

The Demon Fox was also surprised. Humans were a rare sight here; one hardly ever saw them, but now there was one right in front of her.

"That’s right, I’m human. Let her go," Lin Xuan said with a cold smile.

"If you’re a human, then you can just die!" the Minotaur roared, swinging a heavy fist down at him with the force of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The Demon Fox shut her eyes. She couldn’t bear to watch what would happen next, already picturing the human before her being smashed into a pulp.

BAM!

The sound of the heavy blow wasn’t that of a person being sent flying, but more like a fist hitting a solid wooden post.

There was no scream, nor any sound of a body being thrown.

When the Fox Girl opened her eyes, the sight before her made them go wide. The human had caught the powerful punch with ease, completely unharmed.

"H-How is that possible?! How did you take my punch?!" The Minotaur was so shocked its eyes bulged, looking as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.

"Die." Lin Xuan snorted. With a tight squeeze, the Minotaur’s massive fist let out a sickening "CRACK" as it was crushed by his raw power.

"AGHH!" the Minotaur shrieked, its face twisting in agony. It released its grip on the Fox Girl and swung its other fist, this time with even more ferocious power.

BAM! With no suspense, Lin Xuan blocked this fist just as easily, and promptly crushed it as well.

With another scream of pain, Lin Xuan released his grip, balled his own hand into a fist, and slammed it forward. BAM! This time, the punch landed squarely on flesh. The Minotaur let out a muffled grunt and crashed into a tree trunk behind it.

Its chest was caved in, and it was clear the Minotaur was on its last breath. With just one punch, Lin Xuan had broken a creature from a race renowned for its strength.

The rescued Fox Girl at his side was stunned. It was an utterly shocking sight. She had never seen a human dare to challenge a member of the Demon Race in a contest of pure strength.

"Too bad for you. I’m stronger," Lin Xuan said with a cold snort, showing no mercy.

’There’s no need to show mercy to the Demon Race. Besides, it was the first to attack without mercy, so why should I be polite?’

"Benefactor, thank you so much! How can I ever repay you?" the Fox Girl said as she scrambled to her feet. She pressed her petite body right up against him, her eyes filled with seduction and her light-red pupils brimming with Charm.

She met Lin Xuan’s gaze as her slender hands wrapped around him, gently stroking his back. It was a blatant attempt to seduce him, as if offering her body in repayment.

Lin Xuan stared at her coldly, then swatted her on the head. "Your Charm Technique is too basic," he warned. "You haven’t mastered your Cultivation. I suggest you behave. I have no interest in you."

’I’m not falling for that. Giving in to temptation like this could get me killed. Besides, my willpower is strong enough that this barely counts as seduction. Her technique is just too unrefined.’

Fox Girls possess a natural aptitude for Charm Techniques, but she was too young and clearly hadn’t mastered hers.

The Fox Girl retreated, holding the spot on her head where he’d hit her. The Charm vanished from her eyes, replaced by a pitiful, doe-eyed gaze.

"You humans are all hypocrites! You say one thing and do another! Your words can’t be trusted! You capture just as many of our Demon Fox Race as the Minotaurs do!" the Fox Girl said angrily, tears welling in her eyes.

Only after she finished speaking did she remember her precarious situation and cautiously peeked at Lin Xuan’s expression.

Lin Xuan’s expression was indifferent. He knew the Fox Girl was right; humans and minotaurs were six of one and half a dozen of the other. It was only natural for relations between different races to be poor.

Young, beautiful Fox Girls were especially popular among humans, so Lin Xuan found her animosity toward him perfectly normal. He wouldn’t get angry and kill her for it.

"I don’t deny what you said," Lin Xuan stated calmly. "But I’m the one who just saved you. I suggest you listen to me obediently. Do as I say, and I’ll let you go. Otherwise, don’t blame me for what happens next."

The Fox Girl studied his expression, then finally nodded in submission.

Lin Xuan nodded, satisfied. "How much do you know about the Demon Race Continent?" he asked.

"The Demon Race Continent? Of course I know a lot about it. What do you want to know?" the Fox Girl inquired.

"Do you know of the Golden Dragon Race?" Lin Xuan asked.

"The Golden Dragon Race? Of course. They were wiped out by the Black Dragon Race. It was a huge war; almost everyone on the Demon Race Continent knows about it. But our Demon Fox Race specializes in gathering information, so we know more than most," the Fox Girl said.

"Then do you know where the survivors of the Golden Dragon Race are?" Lin Xuan pressed.

The Fox Girl shot him a look as if he were an idiot. "Are you really that ignorant, or are you just pretending? The Demon Fox Race is a vassal of the Golden Dragon Race. Even if we knew, we would die before we ever told you!"

Her tone was defiant. She clearly cared little for her own life; information about the Golden Dragon Race was more important.

Lin Xuan was taken aback. He hadn’t known about this relationship. Being a vassal was simple enough to understand—it meant they were under the protection of the Golden Dragon Race.

The Demon Fox Race had limited combat strength and focused primarily on gathering information. Without a powerful patron, they were easily captured and enslaved.

The current situation was the best proof. With the Golden Dragon Race in crisis, the Demon Fox Race was now suffering for it.

Hearing this, Lin Xuan’s animosity toward the Fox Girl lessened considerably. After all, because of Liu Yue’Er, he couldn’t bring himself to harbor much ill will toward the Demon Fox Race.

As the saying goes, "love me, love my dog." It was something like that.

"Then where are we?" Lin Xuan changed the subject.

"You don’t even know where you are? How can you just wander around like this?" The Fox Girl seemed to forget she was a captive, rolling her eyes at Lin Xuan. "This is the Minotaur Race’s tribal territory. If we get discovered, there’s no escape..."

"Oh no! I have to get back to my tribe and call for help..." The Fox Girl’s face went pale. She looked at Lin Xuan, biting her lip. "Please, let me go back to my tribe! Many of my sisters have been captured by the Minotaur Race. If I don’t go and report this, they’ll be in terrible danger!"

Tears glistened in the Fox Girl’s eyes. Lin Xuan knew she wasn’t lying. ’Logically, why would I care if they live or die? And if I let her go, there’s no way she’d come back.’

"Don’t worry, I... I won’t run away," the Fox Girl said through her tears. "As soon as I report back to my tribe and my sisters are saved, I, Hu Hong, will go with you. I swear I won’t trick you!"

She didn’t know if Lin Xuan would believe her, but she had to say it. The situation was desperate. She had escaped in the first place to call for reinforcements. She also knew she couldn’t possibly get away from him; Lin Xuan had killed that Minotaur in an instant, and killing her would be even easier.