It was with jittery excitement that the boy known as Feiyun held himself back when the fight began. But when the red and yellow wolves tore a single Late-stage Soul Exalt in half, the boy let out a yelp and fell to the ground. From there, he promptly ran behind w.a.n.g Tong and watched the rest of the battle behind the older male’s back.
Not even w.a.n.g Tong and Kai Wen were able to watch the wolves with a straight face. This was the first time they saw a battle as b.l.o.o.d.y as this.
It was only when the battle was over and silence was all that was left when w.a.n.g Tong let out a sigh. “How about it?” He asked Kai Wen.
A single eye of Kai Wen twitched at the question. “These people…are far weaker than the soulbeasts we fight near the depths of the Qimang Mountains.”
“Cut the c.r.a.p, you know that’s not what I meant.” w.a.n.g Tong retorted.
“How does it feel to ‘kill a person’ for the first time?”
This was the first time they had ever killed a person!
“I didn’t do a thing.” Kai Wen replied monotonously.
w.a.n.g Tong looked like he wanted to retort but then thought twice about it. “I guess none of us really did anything, haha…raising soulbeasts to kill for us is only an excuse. I don’t think I could be able to kill someone if I had to personally do it myself…”
“They were enemies. We don’t know what they would’ve done if they were to find us. The only possible result would’ve been to…kill them all.”
“You’re right…I guess there’s just some things we can’t avoid. Two thousand years of hiding and we were still found out. I’m almost afraid to see how powerful our enemies are if the scouting party was this strong…maybe three or four Soul Kings?”
Kai Wen looked cautiously around themselves. “It’s not safe here. Let’s head back.”
“Fine by me, let’s get going then.”
A ‘wave’ of black flowed towards Kai Wen as they spoke. It was the swarm of ants. Now that they were done eating the soul cultivators, they were ready to head to reform to their original size and shape as a small black sphere to enter his sleeves.
The two vipers were en route back to w.a.n.g Tong’s side as well. Coiled around their tails were the two Late-stage Soul Exalts they fought. One of them was still alive.
The Late-stage Soul Exalt was thrown to the ground in front of w.a.n.g Tong. Acting immediately, he pressed several points on the Soul Exalt’s body and knocked him unconscious.
The red, green, and yellow dogs were back by Feiyun’s side and wagging their tails excitedly. With how they were acting, no one would’ve thought that these three loveable dogs had only just a while ago defeated two Late-stage Soul Exalts.
w.a.n.g Tong took a look at the b.l.o.o.d.y area here and then to the nearby village. “I…think we should clean up this place first.” He muttered.
“Obviously. Otherwise, the villager would be considered our accomplices.”
The two sprung from body to body to take and store into their s.p.a.ce rings while Feiyun gave a sharp whistle to the yellow dog. Barking in response, the dog sent a wave of soulforce into the ground beneath and had it rumble violently before the scarred ground was restored back to its original state! The green dog was also doing something similar and accelerating the growth of the plants around to cover the places the yellow dog might’ve missed. Soon, not even the ‘destroyed’ trees and plants were there to be seen as they were replaced by whole and healthy ones…
In less than a few minutes, the entire scarred hillside was back to its original prime state!
Some of the villagers who were hiding behind the trees let out an audible gasp. One of them could even be heard whispering ‘magic’ again.
“Alright that should be enough. No one should be able to think anything of this place now. As long as those villagers stay quiet they shouldn’t be in any danger.”
w.a.n.g Tong spoke once the last of the corpses was taken care of. “Let’s get going then.”
Just as the three prepared to take off into the skies, Feiyun suddenly turned his head to look towards the village. “You’re already awake?”
A newly awakened Bai Yunfei was standing there where Feiyun was looking at. His eyes were wide open as he took in the handiwork of the three soul cultivators. “Thank you very much for your a.s.sistance.” He bowed, “If not for you, our village would’ve been destroyed…”
w.a.n.g Tong stared curiously at Bai Yunfei. “Don’t be so polite with us, brother.” He grinned, “this has to do with us, so don’t think too much about it.”
The reason why w.a.n.g Tong was curious at Bai Yunfei was because of him being a Soul Warrior. A soul cultivator living amongst villagers? It was a curious sight and not something he expected to see, especially out here.
Bai Yunfei was looking hesitant to speak, but he managed to say what he wanted after a second or two to recollect himself. “May…may you three be from the ‘alchemy school’?”
“Oh?” w.a.n.g Tong raised an eyebrow in guarded caution. “Why might you ask that, brother?”
“Please don’t misunderstand,” Bai Yunfei bowed, “I mean no harm. I…I only just…”
He didn’t know how to say what was on his mind. It was a very difficult thing for him to do, since he wasn’t even awake when he was healed by them.
“I know the ‘elixirs’ the village talked about comes from the ‘Immortals’. I know you are from the alchemy school, and that these ‘elixirs’ are powerful beyond belief. I even heard that a single ‘elixir’ the honored Elf gave me when I was injured was able to heal my wounds. I am extremely grateful for you saving me, but…but I…”
He paused. It was getting harder for him to speak his mind now.
“But I would like to ask…would you happen to have an ‘elixir’ that brings back memories? If there is…please…if I may have one. I’ll…I’ll do whatever it takes for such an elixir! If it’s within my powers, I’ll work my hardest!”
He had said it at last. There was hopeful desperation that these Immortals might have what he wanted, but he was so nervous in hearing their answer that his hands clenched tightly in on themselves so hard that they turned white.
“Restoring one’s memories?” w.a.n.g Tong’s eyes narrowed. “You lost your memories?”
Bai Yunfei noded.
“How did you cultivate into becoming a Soul Warrior?” w.a.n.g Tong asked.
“A Soul Warrior?” Bai Yunfei looked confused. “Are you asking about my strength? I don’t know what you mean by ‘cultivate’, but my body has been growing stronger and stronger for the last three years.”
“You’ve self-awakened?!” w.a.n.g Tong gasped, “And you got this far without relying on anything else but yourself? How!?”
At first w.a.n.g Tong thought that Bai Yunfei was lying. There was no way this should’ve been possible, but Bai Yunfei didn’t look like he was lying, and there was nothing wrong with his soulforce. He didn’t need a truth pill to know that Bai Yunfei was telling the truth, and that mystified w.a.n.g Tong.
“Brother w.a.n.g Tong.” Feiyun whispered into his ear. “I saw his soul and originseed was damaged earlier. It’s been a very long time since then.”
“Damage to his soul and originseed?!” w.a.n.g Tong sucked in a deep breath. “Are you saying…he’s lying? But…”
“I’m not.” Feiyun interrupted. “I’m not saying that. I’m pretty sure he’s telling the truth. What I meant was…his soul was damaged for some reason and probably caused his soulforce to awaken. It feels like a contradiction, but it’s probably the reason why he was able to get stronger so fast and become a Soul Warrior. I heard dad say before that there’s a symptom of something like this. A person’s soulforce will grow stronger and stronger before…it becomes too strong for the person to control. His life will be in danger soon!”
“…” w.a.n.g Tong took a moment to think about what Feiyun was saying. “So you want to save him?”
“I saw him fighting against the original four intruders when I was on my way here. He risked his soul and life to fight those guys. I think this person is a good guy and is worth saving, don’t you think?”
w.a.n.g Tong’s eyes flickered over to Bai Yunfei for a moment as if debating if he should believe in Bai Yunfei’s word or not.
“Feiyun’s grown up I see…” w.a.n.g Tong smiled at last. “You’d best think about this. Bringing an ‘outsider’ back, even for treatment, will most likely get you in heavy trouble.”
“I’m not scared!” Feiyun brightened up. “Dad is always saying that we should be good to others. I’m just following his teaching by treating people! Why should I be punished for it?”