Soul Emperor Awakening

"You... you’re not human! How is your body so tough!" Pan Cheng cried out in terror. His attacks had been completely useless, easily blocked by Lin Xuan. The three of them all had higher Cultivation levels than him, yet they were all defeated. They weren’t even in the same league.

"How am I not human? Don’t blame others for your own ignorance!" Lin Xuan snorted. ’Martial Intent is indeed something few people have ever seen. After all, very few know how to cultivate it. Or rather, too few focus on cultivating their Spiritual Power. Without powerful Spiritual Power, Martial Intent can’t manifest at all.’

"Now, it’s time for you to pay the price." Lin Xuan walked over with a cold smile. The Chi Dragon Heavens Rod in his hand pulsed with a red glow as he prepared to deliver the final blow to Pan Cheng.

"No, don’t kill me! We’re both human, aren’t we supposed to stick together...?" Pan Cheng scrambled up, begging for his life in terror.

To only start talking about so-called unity now was truly pathetic. They hadn’t mentioned a word about it when they were ambushing Lin Xuan to rob him. Yet the moment he fought back, they attacked without mercy. And they called that unity?

They acted solely for their own benefit, with no regard for the lives of others. If someone died in this remote forest, no one would ever suspect them. With so many Demon Beasts around, a death wouldn’t necessarily be attributed to a human. Besides, a corpse would be devoured by Demon Beasts soon after death, leaving nothing to be examined.

This also wasn’t the first time they had done something like this, so they were experienced in covering their tracks, leaving not a single clue behind.

"The scum of humanity!" Lin Xuan snorted coldly and thrust the Chi Dragon Heavens Rod forward without mercy.

"I don’t want to die!" Pan Cheng roared. His desperate will to live made him suddenly burst with power. With a small surge in strength, he swung his greatsword horizontally, unleashing a domineering arc of blade light.

"Staff Martial Intent!"

Lin Xuan grunted, cloaking his body and his Weapon in Staff Martial Intent. He shattered the incoming blade light and continued his thrust, viciously piercing Pan Cheng’s body.

"BAM!"

Pan Cheng was sent flying by the blow, slamming hard against a tree trunk. He stared at Lin Xuan with wide eyes, his mouth agape as if to speak, but no words came out. In the end, he could only glare venomously at Lin Xuan, powerless to do anything else. A moment later, his vision went dark, and he slumped sideways, his breathing ceased.

Lin Xuan’s strike had shattered the man’s heart from the inside—a fatal blow. He never showed mercy when he attacked. Any threat had to be eliminated. It wasn’t that he was cruel; they had been cruel to him first.

In a place this dangerous, letting one’s guard down or showing too much mercy was an invitation to death. He had no intention of dying here.

He mercilessly finished off the other two heavily injured men, each with a single blow from his staff. Afterward, he summoned a Phoenix, which spewed Flame to incinerate the corpses and destroy all evidence, leaving not a single trace behind.

After taking care of everything, Lin Xuan said calmly, "You brought all of this upon yourselves. I hope the spirits of the compatriots you’ve harmed can now rest in peace."

He didn’t know how much human blood Pan Cheng and his men had on their hands, but he imagined it was as much as, if not more than, the blood of the Demon Beasts they had killed. There was no reason for such ruthless people to exist in this world. They were the lowest form of scum.

If Unity City ever fell to the Demon Beasts, it would undoubtedly be partly thanks to people like them. When it was time to run, they would surely use others as shields. People like them were a disaster waiting to happen!

After dealing with them, Lin Xuan meditated outside for a while to recover before getting up and returning to Unity City.

"Huh? You’re back already? Where are those two Fox Girls?" Wei Jun frowned, his opinion of Lin Xuan plummeting. ’A man so easily distracted by worldly pleasures will surely amount to nothing.’

"Brother Wei, I left them with some friends of mine outside," Lin Xuan said, offering an excuse. ’I can’t just say I let them go. Who knows what they’d think? If they knew I just let go of something worth two million Primordial Stones, they might suspect I have a connection to the Demon Fox Race, and that would be trouble.’

"Left them with your friends? If you don’t have anything better to do, go and accept some tasks. If you don’t complete the required number, you can’t stay in Unity City."

Wei Jun’s frown deepened. His dissatisfaction had eased slightly, but not by much. ’Anyone who buys a Demon Fox can’t be a very good person. If he really just needed them to sweep the floor, he could have offered a few Primordial Stones and found plenty of humans willing to do the job. Why bother with Demon Foxes?’

"I know. I was just about to head to the Task Hall to pick up some tasks and earn some Contribution Points." Lin Xuan didn’t let Wei Jun’s opinion bother him. Everyone had their own way of seeing things, and to him, it was irrelevant.

Back in the Task Hall, Lin Xuan started looking through the available tasks again. The news about the Demon Fox had distracted him earlier, so he hadn’t gotten a proper look.

"Hey, buddy. I’ve got a really good task here. Want to team up?" someone suddenly whispered, sidling up to him.

"What task?" Lin Xuan frowned. ’This guy sounds like a con artist.’

"This one!" The young man slapped his hand on the task board, pointing to a mission marked with the highest difficulty rating: Secret Treasure of the Demon Fox Ruins!

’Another task related to the Demon Fox...’ Lin Xuan was a bit surprised. He hadn’t seen this task before. Now that he looked closely, the description was quite terrifying.

It was classified as a highest-difficulty Level mission because the journey was extremely perilous. Not only was the path itself fraught with danger, but the objective was also incredibly difficult to complete.

This mission to the Demon Fox Ruins wasn’t about capturing a Demon Fox. If someone wanted one, they could just buy one at the market. The key point was that the Demon Fox Ruins supposedly held treasures of the Demon Fox Race, and retrieving one would earn a massive amount of Contribution Points.

These missions only provided information; their authenticity wasn’t guaranteed. Of course, any treasure found did not have to be turned in. If it was of no use to the finder, it could be submitted, but it had to be of a quality befitting the location. Otherwise, the mission would not be considered complete.

Otherwise, someone could just turn in a cheap Elixir Pill and claim the mission was done, which would be far too easy. The real question was whether a Secret Treasure truly existed in the Demon Fox Ruins. It would be a huge waste of effort to make the trip for nothing.

"Secret Treasure of the Demon Fox Ruins..." Lin Xuan’s eyes lit up. This reminded him of what the Minotaur had said to Hu Hong—demanding the Demon Fox Race hand over their treasures. ’Could there really be treasure from the Demon Fox Race in those ruins?’

’The Demon Fox Race was once protected by the Golden Dragon Race, so they must have had many treasures. The Dragon Race was immensely powerful, so any treasures they gifted would have been extraordinary. With the Golden Dragon Race now annihilated, the Demon Fox Race would surely have been plundered. It was a tragedy that their home was looted and left in ruins.’

"That’s right. So, are you interested? I happen to know a shortcut," the young man said with a sly grin, his smile filled with confidence.