Hu Liena once again unleashed her first soul skill—Foxfire Command.
As she counterattacked, she had to divide her attention to keep an eye on her brother, Xie Yue.
Faced with the endlessly surging swarm of bloodthirsty bats, Hu Liena was beginning to feel her strength waning.
The stench of blood in the air made her stomach turn.
"Damn these filthy bats! The more I kill, the more there are!"
"Brother, don't you dare lose focus!"
"It's all Yan's fault! What a terrible idea—to say we'd train better separately! Look how that turned out!"
The overwhelming tide of bats pressed in from all directions, leaving Hu Liena increasingly hard-pressed to hold them back.
Just as the situation turned desperate, countless fiery sparks suddenly rained down from the heavens.
Each spark was like a blazing blade, striking the bloodthirsty bats in the air with deadly precision.
Accompanied by a chorus of shrieks, swathes of the creatures fell to the ground, disintegrating into ashes upon impact.
Then, a figure wreathed in flames shot forward—like a man made of living fire—charging straight into the heart of the swarm.
In an instant, the raging flames devoured the bats entirely.
The few that survived scattered in panic, fleeing into the depths of the night sky.
"Yan!"
Hu Liena cried out, her voice brimming with relief and excitement.
Yan had arrived just in time, averting the crisis.
Seeing her brother safe and unharmed, Hu Liena finally let out a long breath.
"Yan, thank goodness you showed up when you did, or else—"
But she suddenly stopped mid-sentence, a realization dawning upon her face.
"That fiery rain just now—don't tell me that was your new soul skill? You've already obtained your fourth soul ring?!"
Her eyes widened in surprise as she turned to look at him.
Yan didn't answer, only gave a faint nod before glancing toward Xie Yue, who was still absorbing his own soul ring nearby.
Xie Yue appeared calm and steady; it seemed he had already been in the process for some time.
Over the past month, Yan had remained cold and distant—so unlike before. Hu Liena's temper flared, and she jabbed an accusing finger at him.
"Yan, what's wrong with you?! You're not the same person you used to be!"
Yan gave a faint smile and replied evenly,
"People change. I've grown up. I won't act like I did before."
Hu Liena froze at his words.
Yan was known throughout Spirit Hall as one of the most outstanding young soul masters—a proud and fiery genius who looked down on his peers.
Yet, before Hu Liena and Xie Yue, he had always been humble, even deferential—especially toward Hu Liena.
Everyone could see it: Yan was in love with her.
And how could Hu Liena not know?
The three of them had grown up together—they knew one another better than anyone else.
Hu Liena had always been aware of Yan's feelings, but she had never been satisfied. She always felt there was still something missing in him.
So, though she never accepted his affection, she had never outright rejected him either.
She had assumed Yan would always treat her the same way. But ever since they entered the Death Canyon for training, he had changed—his demeanor completely different.
She couldn't understand why.
Looking at him now, a faint ache welled up in her chest—an unfamiliar, unsettling feeling.
"What's happening to me? Could it be that I actually… care about him?"
"No! I won't admit that! He's just being cold to make me chase after him. I don't believe he can keep this up forever!"
"What are you thinking about?"
Yan's voice suddenly broke into her thoughts.
"Xie Yue's fine under my watch. You're covered in blood—go change into something clean."
Snapped back to reality, Hu Liena glanced down at herself. The bloodstains from the bats made her stomach churn again. Without another word, she turned and walked away.
Yan's gaze shifted to the ground where a massive corpse lay.
It was a White-faced Demon Tiger, roughly three meters long—powerful in both speed and strength, an ideal soul beast for Xie Yue.
Judging from the quality of the soul ring hovering above Xie Yue's head, it was about five thousand years old.
Yan sat cross-legged a short distance away, cultivating while remaining alert to the surroundings.
A while later, Hu Liena returned, dressed in clean clothes and freshly composed. Seeing Yan deep in cultivation, she chose not to disturb him.
Her own soul power had been greatly depleted in the battle, so she, too, sat down to meditate and recover.
An hour passed.
At last, Xie Yue opened his eyes—the absorption was complete.
Hu Liena's face lit up.
"Brother, you finally finished!"
"Mm. You've worked hard."
Rising to his feet, Xie Yue spotted Yan and broke into a smile of surprise.
"Yan, you're here too! That's great!"
But the moment he took in the faint smell of blood lingering in the air, he realized there had been a fight.
"Na Na, did another soul beast show up while I was absorbing the ring?"
"Yes, a swarm of bloodthirsty bats," Hu Liena replied, glancing at Yan. "Thankfully, he came in time and burned them all. Though… a few managed to escape."
Xie Yue nodded, still shaken by the thought.
He knew how troublesome those bats could be. His sister alone could never have fended them off.
"Yan, we owe you one."
"It's nothing," Yan said calmly. "By the way, after absorbing your fourth ring, how much did your soul power increase?"
A proud smile spread across Xie Yue's face.
"The White-faced Demon Tiger we hunted had nearly five thousand years of cultivation. After absorbing its ring, my soul power rose by one and a half ranks."
Hu Liena's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Brother, what's your fourth soul skill?"
Xie Yue chuckled, a confident gleam in his eyes.
"My fourth soul skill… is the perfect blend of strength and speed."
As he spoke, he extended his right hand, and a Moon Blade appeared, its crescent edge gleaming coldly under the moonlight.
"This soul skill," he said, "I call Dance of the Moonlit Night."
Before the words had even faded, Xie Yue's figure flickered—and in the blink of an eye, he vanished.
He reappeared ten meters away, his blade carving a graceful arc through the air. A sharp, dazzling flash of energy cleaved a massive boulder cleanly in two.
Then, almost faster than the eye could follow, he was back in his original position.
Hu Liena and Yan both looked on in awe.
This technique wasn't just fast and powerful—it was beautiful, elegant, like a dancer moving beneath the moonlight. A deadly blend of grace and lethality.
"Brother, that's incredible!"
Hu Liena cheered, her eyes filled with admiration.
Yan nodded approvingly. "Congratulations. That's an impressive new skill."
Xie Yue sheathed his Moon Blade, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
"Yan, if I'm not mistaken, you've also obtained your fourth soul ring, haven't you?"
"Yes," Yan replied with a nod.
"Oh? What kind of soul beast did you hunt? How much did your soul power improve?"
"I was lucky," Yan said calmly. "I came across a wounded Skyfire Fox—about six thousand years old. I killed it and absorbed its soul ring. My soul power rose by two ranks."
PS: Access advance chapters at