Liu Yuan did not linger in the imperial palace.
He changed into a neat set of black martial attire, a jade pendant symbolizing his status as an imperial duke hanging at his waist. Behind him followed a mobile squad of twenty elite Soul Engineers, all fully equipped with the most advanced flying soul tools and detection devices.
Under the cover of night, they swept westward from the Bright Capital like a flock of silent falcons, gliding low over mountain forests.
According to the confidential intelligence previously provided by Jing Hongchen, the Holy Spirit Cult had established several hidden branch altars on the outskirts of the Bright Capital, responsible for harvesting souls and essence blood. This time, Liu Yuan's target lay within a concealed area of Black Wind Canyon to the northwest.
After roughly half an hour of high-speed flight, Liu Yuan raised his left hand, signaling the team to descend.
They landed soundlessly on a flat rock overlooking a dense forest.
Liu Yuan retrieved a faintly glowing military map from inside his clothing and spread it across the stone. Complex contour lines crisscrossed its surface, and a large forested area was circled in red.
He extended a finger and pointed toward a cliff at the edge of the marked zone, then turned to the guard commander beside him.
"Confirm our position. Is the entrance to the branch altar nearby?" His voice was soft, yet exceptionally clear in the still jungle.
The commander immediately produced a hemispherical soul-power positioning device. After adjusting it against the North Star for a few moments, he gestured toward the mist-shrouded forest ahead.
"Reporting to the Duke, the coordinates are a perfect match. Passing through this forest leads into Black Wind Canyon. The Holy Spirit Cult's branch altar is hidden in a cavern midway through the canyon. However… the aura here is unstable. There appear to have been violent spirit-power fluctuations not long ago."
Liu Yuan folded the map away, a cold glint flashing through his eyes.
"Activate stealth mode. Advance while searching. Avoid enemy sentries."
The squad acknowledged in silence, their figures melting into the darkness.
Yet after they had advanced barely two hundred meters, the lead scout suddenly halted and made an urgent concealment signal.
Liu Yuan moved to the front in a few swift bounds and crouched behind the trunk of a fallen giant tree.
"What did you find?" he asked quietly.
The scout pointed toward a moonlit clearing ahead, surprise evident in his voice. "Duke, there's a pursuit happening. The one being chased is a young girl—and the pursuers are…"
Liu Yuan followed his line of sight.
In the clearing, a girl dressed in white was stumbling through the undergrowth. Her long hair was disheveled, her dress soaked with blood and mud, and her breathing ragged—her spirit power was clearly exhausted.
Less than fifty meters behind her, four Evil Soul Masters clad in pitch-black robes were closing in, cruel smiles twisting their faces. Thick gray-black mist coiled around their bodies as they wielded short blades ground from pale bone, eerie laughter echoing through the forest.
"Stop running, little girl," the leader sneered. "Your blood smells pure. The cult master will be very pleased."
He flicked his wrist. A ball of ghostly green flame shot past the girl's shoulder, instantly corroding a nearby tree into a charred husk.
Liu Yuan did not give the order to intervene immediately. His eyes narrowed slightly as he studied the girl.
As she stumbled while dodging the flames, she grit her teeth and pulled an all-gold longsword from her chest pocket, turning back to slash with a faint arc of golden light.
The strike was weak—insignificant against four Spirit Emperor–level Evil Soul Masters.
Yet the aura within that light made Liu Yuan's pupils contract.
Pure. Upright. Intensely purifying.
An Angel-type Spirit.
In this world, Angel Spirits were extraordinarily rare—and the natural nemesis of Evil Soul Masters.
A name surfaced in Liu Yuan's mind.
Ye Guyi.
In the original course of fate, she wielded the Starlight Holy Sword, possessed the Holy Angel Spirit, and would become an important force in the future crusade against the Holy Spirit Cult.
"Ye Guyi… so it's you," Liu Yuan thought.
Given the nature of her Spirit, she could never be recruited by the Holy Spirit Cult. She was a born enemy of theirs—and a natural ally.
Letting her wander alone would be a waste. Saving her now and bringing her under his wing would not only add a subordinate of immense potential, but also strengthen his future campaign against Evil Soul Masters.
Below, the fight had reached its end.
The four Evil Soul Masters completed their encirclement.
Ye Guyi collapsed onto a bed of dead leaves, the golden longsword in her hand dimming as her spirit power ran dry.
The leader raised his bone blade and thrust it viciously toward her throat.
"Die!"
Ye Guyi shut her eyes in despair.
But the expected pain never came.
In that instant, a deep, majestic dragon's roar shattered the silence of the night. Emerald-green divine light flooded the sky, illuminating the entire forest in a blinding flash.
"Creatures like you dare murder in my presence?"
Liu Yuan's cold voice descended from above.
His figure fell like a meteor, landing before Ye Guyi. At the same moment, a massive phantom of Mega Rayquaza flickered into existence behind him—then vanished.
Even as a mere projection, the divine dragon pressure was far beyond what Spirit Emperor–level Evil Soul Masters could endure.
"Who—?!" the Evil Soul Masters cried out in terror.
Liu Yuan did not waste words.
He brought his fingers together like a blade and slashed lightly through the air. The void trembled as Rayquaza roared, and several emerald-green wind blades tore forward in an instant.
Faced with absolute suppression, the four Evil Soul Masters did not even have time to scream before they were shredded into ash by the violent wind element.
Silence returned to the clearing. Torn leaves drifted slowly down from above.
Liu Yuan withdrew his spirit power and turned toward the girl slumped on the ground.
The cold killing intent he had shown earlier was completely gone. He restrained his aura, bent slightly, and extended a hand toward Ye Guyi.
Moonlight illuminated his features, calm and composed.
Looking into her shock-filled eyes, Liu Yuan offered a gentle smile.
"Are you alright?"
Ye Guyi stared blankly at the young man who had saved her, then at the spot where the Evil Soul Masters had vanished without a trace. Overwhelmed by the shock of surviving certain death, she forgot to respond.
Liu Yuan waited patiently, his outstretched hand steady beneath the pale moonlight.
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