Tang Wulin was working hard to earn money.
Every day, he went to the forging room to forge metals and then handed them over to the Blacksmith Association to complete tasks.
By the time he returned to his dormitory, he was so exhausted that he collapsed onto his bed, unconscious.
Was it love?
Was it responsibility?
Perhaps it was both, but Tang Wulin felt that the core reason was, he was poor!
"Poverty drives progress. What Teacher said in class today really makes a lot of sense."
Muttering to himself as he walked toward the Blacksmith Association, Tang Wulin noticed his soul communicator ringing.
It was a call from his parents. Delighted, he answered immediately.
"Hello, Dad, Mom! Are you coming to Eastsea?"
On the other end of the line, Tang Ziran and his wife exchanged a glance and chuckled softly. Tang Ziran said, "Wulin, we have a home in Eastsea now. Although it's just a rental for now, we finally have a place to settle down."
"Really?" Tang Wulin was thrilled.
"Where is it? I'll come find you!"
Tang Ziran replied, "It's located at..."
Hearing the location, Tang Wulin realized that it was a place he had been to before.
It was near that food street he had visited with Xie Xie!
His parents probably chose that area because there was a four-ringed Soul Ancestor guarding it, which gave them a sense of security.
Thinking of this, Tang Wulin quickly said he would head there right away, put away his soul communicator, and excitedly ran toward the food street.
In Eastsea, he finally had a home too!
---
"This kid, he's really impatient."
Looking at the disconnected soul communicator, Tang Ziran glanced at his wife and smiled helplessly.
"He must really miss us," Lang Yue said with a smile.
—Ding dong!
Suddenly, the doorbell rang, breaking the peaceful atmosphere.
The couple froze for a moment, looking toward the door in confusion.
Who could it be? Had Wulin arrived already?
Tang Ziran frowned slightly and walked to the door.
Peering through the peephole, he saw a tall, robust man standing outside, dressed in a black cloak.
The hood of the cloak covered most of his face, revealing only a pair of deep, penetrating eyes.
The moment Tang Ziran saw him, a chill ran down his spine, as if he had fallen into an icy abyss.
The entire room seemed to become eerily cold.
His pupils contracted sharply, and he quickly turned back to Lang Yue. "We have to go. They've found us."
A flash of panic flickered in Lang Yue's eyes, but for the sake of Tang Wulin, she forced herself to remain calm.
"If we leave, what about Wulin? If they go after him..."
Tang Ziran's movements froze, his expression turning complex.
Yes, if they just fled, what would happen to Wulin?
The persistent ringing of the doorbell echoed in their ears like a death knell, throwing Tang Ziran's thoughts into chaos.
Finally, he took a deep breath, abandoning the idea of escaping.
He turned and opened the door.
"We'll go with you."
The black-robed man curved his lips into a faint smile.
Just as he turned to lead the couple away, his gaze suddenly sharpened.
He looked toward a shadowy corner of the room, and in an instant, a scepter appeared in his hand.
Around him, four soul rings emerged one by one.
Two Yellow, Two Purple—With a Faint Green Mist
"Come out!"
Realizing he could no longer hide, Guang Long stepped out of the shadows.
His entire body was covered in gray dragon scales, and like his opponent, four soul rings, two yellow and two purple, surrounded him.
At the same time, a lizard and a giant python soul spirit emerged, transforming into yellow and purple light spheres floating beside him.
"Are you sewer rats stupid or what? Walking around in broad daylight dressed in black cloaks, no wonder the locals reported you."
Though Guang Long mocked the black-robed man, his gaze was heavy with caution.
There was no doubt, this eerie aura belonged to an evil soul master!
Evil soul masters were unpredictable and sinister.
Even though both of them were four-ringed soul masters, Guang Long couldn't guarantee victory.
He had no choice but to summon his soul spirits for aid.
This tactic wasn't widely encouraged.
Under the soul spirit contract, if a soul spirit perished in battle, it would take a long time to recover within the soul master's body, weakening soul skills and even reflecting injuries back onto the master.
The stronger the soul master, the less likely they were to rely on this method, especially mecha and battle armor masters.
But Guang Long was neither a powerful soul master nor a mecha or battle armor master.
His soul spirits provided significant combat strength, increasing his chances of winning.
There was no reason not to use them.
"Captain Guang Long?!"
Tang Ziran was briefly delighted to see Guang Long, but when he glanced at the evil soul master beside him, who remained utterly unfazed, his lips parted slightly, yet he dared not speak further.
Instead, he pulled Lang Yue back, trying to stay as far from the battlefield as possible.
The evil soul master ignored their subtle retreat, merely sneering at Guang Long.
"An Armored Dragon martial soul? If it were your brother, I might hesitate. But you? You're nothing."
Guang Long smirked. "Judging by the fact that you don't have a soul spirit, I'd guess you lost control of your martial soul's abilities before you could even acquire your first soul ring and became an evil soul master. No self-restraint whatsoever, what a loser."
The evil soul master's eyes widened in fury, his gaze turning impossibly dark.
Guang Long had hit a nerve.
Indeed, he had failed to control himself.
Before obtaining his first soul ring, he had already begun using evil soul master abilities.
He quickly became addicted to the rapid increase in power.
By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late, he could never go to Spirit Pagoda again, nor could he receive sponsorship.
He had been forced into a vagrant existence, until he joined the Holy Spirit Cult…
Sensing that he had struck a sensitive spot, Guang Long continued his verbal assault, hammering at the man's mental state.
"The only place left for you evil soul masters to hunt for soul rings is the ocean. It must suck, scouring the deep seas for soul beasts, huh? Took you quite a while to get to four rings, didn't it?"
"Hah! Shows how little you know. The Holy Spirit Cult has its own methods."
The evil soul master took a deep breath, his voice dripping with malice.
"You're stalling. Waiting for the mecha brigade to show up? Too bad, you're making a mistake."
The moment he finished speaking, an intense green glow erupted from his body.
The green light expanded like smoke, rapidly engulfing the surroundings.
"My martial soul controls the plague. How long have you been breathing the same air as me?"
Guang Long and the Tang couple's faces instantly paled.
—
By the time Tang Wulin excitedly arrived home, he was met with a nightmarish scene—
His parents lay on the ground, their faces twisted in pain.
Guang Long, his complexion green with poison, was gripped tightly in the evil soul master's hand.
All the excitement drained from Tang Wulin's face, replaced by utter confusion.
What… was happening?
"What a shame," the evil soul master sneered, glancing at Tang Wulin.
"All you managed to bring was a little brat."
Casually, he tossed Guang Long to the ground, his body twitching weakly.
Then, he turned toward Tang Ziran and Lang Yue.
Had he not held back his power, these two ordinary people would have been dead already.
"Let go of my parents!"
Tang Wulin glared at the evil soul master, his lone yellow soul ring appearing as he charged forward.
But the moment he stepped into the evil soul master's aura, he collapsed. His limbs went numb.
"Hah."
The evil soul master barely spared him a glance before looking back at Tang Ziran and Lang Yue.
"So, you had a child? That's quite the surprise."
"Please… spare Wulin. We… will go with you."
Lang Yue's voice trembled as she spoke, her heart aching as she watched her son struggle to move.
"That won't do. With him alive, you'll be much more obedient in the Holy Spirit Cult."
The evil soul master's lips curled into a sinister grin as his hand reached for Tang Wulin.
—
Deep within Tang Wulin's consciousness, Tang San's divine sense abruptly awakened.
He quickly scanned the situation outside and—He was delighted.
Wonderful! Evil soul master, you've done well!
But you've already sealed your fate. Now, let me use your death to win Wulin's trust!
BOOM!
A sudden, deafening explosion shattered the moment.
From the sky, a black mecha crashed down, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris.
Both Tang San's divine sense and the evil soul master's smirk froze in place.
…
Shit.
Fuck You!