Chapter 45: The Demeanor of a General: Courage and Resourcefulness
Dust clung to their travel-worn cloaks after days of relentless riding. The seven-member team from the Body Sect, led by Liu Yuan, finally crossed back into the borders of the Heavenly Soul Empire, pulling their mounts to a halt on the rugged outskirts of Yaluo City.
Gazing at the familiar towering walls of the city, Liu Yuan's expression remained a mask of absolute calm.
Rather than following the impulsive instincts of youth and charging blindly toward the Evil Soul Master's stronghold detailed in their intelligence reports, Liu Yuan raised a single, decisive hand. The entire team stopped instantly.
A biting wind swept through the dense alpine forest, whipping the hem of Liu Yuan's dark robes around his boots. He stepped atop a jagged, towering boulder, his gaze locked onto the distant, hazy silhouette of Yaluo City.
"Do not rush the attack," Liu Yuan commanded. He turned to face his fellow sect members, his voice carrying the steady, resonant weight of a seasoned commander.
He had not let his rapidly growing strength cloud his judgment. On the contrary, he treated the authority handed to him with ruthless pragmatism. As their captain, his absolute priority was ensuring every single person standing before him returned to the sect breathing.
"The true terror of an Evil Soul Master does not lie in the raw rank of their soul power," Liu Yuan continued, his eyes sweeping over the group. "It lies in their depravity. Their methods are insidious, unpredictable, and entirely devoid of human morality. A careless Soul Master can easily be butchered by an Evil Soul Master with merely a five-ring cultivation base, even if that victim is a six-ring Soul Emperor or a seven-ring Soul Sage. The continent's history is soaked in the blood of arrogant elites who thought raw power was enough to survive."
He let the silence stretch for a moment, allowing the gravity of his words to sink in.
"Since I am leading this operation, and our target is confirmed to be a five-ring Evil Soul King, I will leave nothing to chance. We will only strike when every variable is accounted for. We get exactly one opportunity to sever his head. If we alert him prematurely, the hunt becomes a trap."
Long Aotian stood quietly near the front of the formation. Despite boasting a soul power of Rank 48—a full tier above Liu Yuan's current cultivation—the Chief Disciple displayed zero arrogance. He watched Liu Yuan with undisguised approval. Ever since their brutal clash in the sect's arena, Long Aotian had been thoroughly conquered by Liu Yuan's terrifying combat intellect and ruthless efficiency.
The rest of the team mirrored this respect. Chen Lu, Wang Yanfeng, and Gu Tong stood at attention. Even Vina and Mu Xue, who carried the noble blood of the Heavenly Soul Empire's royal family, listened with absolute focus. Not a single voice of dissent rose from the ranks.
"Listen to my orders," Liu Yuan commanded, his tone sharpening into a blade. "Disperse immediately. We will not march into Yaluo City and announce our presence like fools. Infiltrate the surrounding villages, the black markets, the taverns, and the refugee camps. Gather every scrap of intelligence you can find on this Evil Soul Master. I want the exact details of his attacks, the state of the corpses he leaves behind, his killing methods, and his daily habits. Record everything. Do not miss a single syllable."
At his word, the team moved as one. Seven streaks of soul light fractured into the dense mountain forest, vanishing without a trace.
They spent the entire day operating in the shadows. It was only when the sky bruised into a deep purple and the first cold stars pierced the canopy that the team silently reconvened in the designated clearing.
A small, smokeless campfire crackled in the center of the camp. Liu Yuan sat beside the flames, his face illuminated by the orange glow as he used a charred twig to carve a detailed topographical map into the packed dirt.
Chen Lu stepped out of the tree line first. He wiped a layer of cold sweat from his brow, his breathing slightly ragged as he crouched beside the fire. "Captain, I found our target's trail in the underground black market," he reported, keeping his voice low. "The locals are terrified of him. They call him the 'King of Blood.' His martial soul is an extremely rare, mutated bat variant. His primary combat style revolves entirely around the absolute manipulation of blood."
Long Aotian materialized from the shadows next, bringing intelligence that carried a much heavier weight. "I tracked down a survivor from an incident half a month ago," Long Aotian said, his brow furrowed. "The King of Blood engaged in a brutal fight with a local Soul King. The defending Soul King was slaughtered on the spot. According to the witness, this Evil Soul Master possesses a terrifying soul skill called 'Blood Explosion.' He can forcefully detonate large quantities of spilled blood, and even fresh corpses, turning the very battlefield into a chain of high-yield explosives. He used this exact method to instantly cripple and obliterate that Soul King."
Vina approached the fire next. The flickering light caught the sickly pallor of her usually pristine face. Her jaw was tight with disgust.
"I managed to extract the location and layout of his stronghold," she said, her voice laced with revulsion. "He accelerates his cultivation by draining and consuming massive quantities of human blood. A few desperate mercenary Soul Masters tried to raid his lair a month ago. None survived, but rumors leaked before the raid. He has constructed a massive, artificial blood pool deep within his base. He uses it to cultivate, but in a fight, it acts as a massive reservoir of ammunition. Since his soul skills require blood as a medium, fighting him in his own territory means he can draw upon that entire pool for endless defense and devastating counterattacks."
Liu Yuan listened in silence. When the final report concluded, he pressed the charred twig into the dirt, drawing a deep, heavy line across the center of his makeshift map. Based on the intelligence collected by everyone, he quickly constructed a flawless combat model of this Evil Soul Master in his mind.
"Absolute blood manipulation. A high-yield Blood Explosion soul skill. A massive, pre-prepared reservoir of ammunition in his lair," Liu Yuan muttered, his brain working at terrifying speeds. "This means his stronghold is his absolute domain. Inside that cave, the sheer volume of blood will multiply the destructive force of his soul skills exponentially. Every puddle, every corpse, every drop of moisture on the walls could be a fatal explosive trap waiting to be triggered. A frontal assault is suicide. Even if we win, he will drag at least half of you to hell with him."
He raised his head. The firelight danced across his face, reflecting off his Double Pupils, which now glowed with a chilling, predatory light.
"Therefore, we do not fight him in his domain. We drag him out of it. Without the support of that blood pool, he loses his infinite ammunition. He will not be able to recklessly spam large-scale Blood Explosions, and his soul power consumption will not be artificially replenished. We strip away his greatest advantage before the first blow is even struck."
Reaching into his robes, Liu Yuan unrolled a highly detailed parchment map of the region, spreading it flat over the dirt. He tapped a slender finger against a jagged, desolate canyon situated just north of Yaluo City.
"This is the kill zone. Look closely. The terrain here is treacherous, and the exit is a severe bottleneck. It is a natural choke point, perfect for a concentrated ambush. The six of you will position yourselves at these exact coordinates along the cliffside. I will infiltrate his lair personally and drag him out into the open."
"You are going in alone?" Wang Yanfeng blurted out, his eyes widening in shock. "Captain, that is practically suicide! You are walking directly into the fortified stronghold of a five-ring Evil Soul King!"
Liu Yuan shook his head, his tone leaving absolutely no room for debate. "I possess the Qilin Precious Technique. My explosive speed is the highest among us., my Undying Body grants me a massive margin for error if I trigger a sudden blood explosion trap. I am the only one here who can guarantee a safe retreat while keeping his aggro. The moment I drag him past the canyon's threshold, you will execute a synchronized pincer attack. I want him dead the instant he steps foot in the kill zone. Do not give him a fraction of a second to retreat toward his blood pool or channel a large-scale destructive art."
The group stared at the precise tactical markers on the map, then up at Liu Yuan's unwavering, resolute gaze. One by one, they nodded. The sheer meticulousness of his planning washed away the heavy tension that had gripped their chests, replacing their anxiety with a surging, icy battle intent.
A hundred meters away, hidden deep within the suffocating shadows of the forest canopy, Elder Chen hovered in mid-air like a silent phantom. He had perfectly synchronized his aura with the biting wind, the cold night, and the absolute darkness. Unless Liu Yuan actively focused his Double Pupils to scan the exact space Elder Chen occupied, even he would struggle to detect the old man's presence. Elder Chen had shadowed the team since they left the sect, strictly adhering to his duty as their secret protector.
From his vantage point, he had witnessed every single command, analysis, and tactical arrangement Liu Yuan had made.
'First, gather exhaustive intelligence. Second, formulate a ruthless strategy based on hard facts. He does not underestimate the enemy just because they are outnumbered, nor does he cower because the enemy possesses a higher cultivation rank,' Elder Chen praised inwardly, his eyes gleaming in the dark.
Watching Liu Yuan refuse the urge to blindly charge into battle, choosing instead to coldly dissect the enemy's martial soul characteristics and environmental advantages, the deep gratification in the elder's eyes only intensified.
'This child is truly exceptional. He possesses both immense courage and terrifying resourcefulness. The absolute calm and organizational mastery he displays on the eve of a life-and-death battle perfectly embody the demeanor of a seasoned general. The Sect Master's decision to let him lead this team was a deliberate test to forge him into our future leader. With this kind of mental fortitude, paired with his monstrous combat power, the future of the Body Sect is completely limitless.'
Elder Chen shifted slightly, his body dissolving into the night breeze as he silently drifted toward the desolate canyon. He reaffirmed his decision to remain a ghost, vowing not to intervene unless a fatal blow was imminent.
He wanted to witness this with his own eyes. He wanted to see exactly how these youths, guided by Liu Yuan's ruthless intellect, would cross the massive chasm of cultivation realms to hunt down the wicked King of Blood.
[Akarin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/AkarinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/AkarinTL
🔗 All My Links: linktr[.]ee/AkarinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]