Chapter 8: A Devastating Defeat (Part 1)

Guo Shieru carefully observed the man before him, who was laughing maniacally. The man seemed young, but he bore no resemblance to Li Ran at all—his face was long and angular, what could be described as a “horse face” in past lives. His eyebrows were thick and triangular, his eyes small and rather ugly, yet he exuded an extremely fierce aura. Even with Guo Shieru’s current strength, he found it hard to withstand such pressure. He knew clearly that this man was far stronger than him.

The man wore ordinary gray clothes, nothing distinctive about them, and he wasn’t tall either. Guo Shieru estimated his height to be at most 170 centimeters—completely a dwarf compared to them. Yet it was this unremarkable dwarf who made everyone feel as if facing a formidable enemy, each sensing an intense threat.

Li Ran said coldly, “Is it that funny?”

The man patted Ding Ningzi and said, “Not bad, not bad. Your task is done. Haha, hahaha!”

Ding Ningzi tried to dodge, but no matter what he did, he couldn’t escape. The slap landed on his shoulder, shaking him violently and turning his face pale instantly. After the last slap, Ding Ningzi’s legs gave way, and he knelt on the ground, bleeding from all seven orifices. With a clicking sound, he stopped breathing within moments. Until his death, he never imagined he would be killed by this man.

The man rubbed his nose and laughed, “Sorry, I was too happy. My hand… was a bit too heavy, hehe.”

A chill swept through everyone’s hearts. This man was terrifying and utterly despicable. Guo Shieru couldn’t help but whisper, “Brother, he doesn’t resemble you at all…”

The man had sharp ears. Hearing this, he laughed and said, “Resemble me? Of course not! I’m part of myself that I’ve separated out. I want to absorb various kinds of… knowledge and personalities. Unfortunately, I can’t absorb yours… Well, among these seven, three of them are quite strong. Hmm, interesting—each of them has a decent soul…” He stuck out his tongue and licked his lips, even saying shyly, “Sorry, my saliva almost came out.”

Qi Wu Zhen couldn’t help but curse, “Bastard, pervert!”

The man nodded and said, “This girl… not bad. Pretty. She could make a good little wife for me. If she’s sensible, maybe I’ll spare her life.”

Qi Wu Zhen was about to lose control when Guo Shieru grabbed him and said, “He’s deliberately trying to provoke you!”

Li Ran sneered, “I’ve been away for too long. I never wanted to go back. What are you doing here?”

The man said, “Been away for too long? That’s no excuse. You just became strong and wanted to be independent. As your master, I have the right to take it back… You shouldn’t even be alive in this world.”
Li Ran replied, “You might not be able to take it back… It’s still unknown who will win or lose!”
The man clapped his hands and said, “Yes, yes, haha. Last time, there was a guy just like you who dared to attack me. Guess… what happened?”
Li Ran remained silent, staring at him.
The man smiled slightly and said, “The result… I won, haha, hahaha. That idiot thought he could defeat me… Hahaha. In the end, he gave me everything, allowing me to grow so strong, haha, hahaha! I never expected to meet you again. I must say, my luck is truly amazing, almost unbelievable, uhhhh…” He was so excited he couldn’t stop dancing around.
Guo Shier’s soul trembled slightly. “This guy is a bit mentally unstable…”
Qi Wuzhen’s soul also trembled slightly. “His soul is chaotic, but still overwhelmingly powerful.”
Li Ran replied, “It must be because he didn’t fully digest the last soul he consumed. No wonder I couldn’t sense him at all when I came out. That’s his weakness!”
Ku Mu said, “This guy is extremely sinister… Don’t have any illusions of luck. Once we attack, we must strike quickly and kill them!”
The man let out an exclamation. He sensed the soul fluctuations as the seven of them communicated, but he couldn’t decipher them. He said, “Will you go die on your own, or shall I kill you? In my opinion, it’s better for you to die on your own. If you fall into my hands, you should know what I’m capable of.”
Li Ran said coldly, “What do you think I’ll do?”
The man sighed and said, “Sigh, you all are so stubborn… Back then, you were so weak. Once you became strong, you became so rude. Treat your master… with respect! You fucking… have no respect at all. Is it that hard for you to die? Do you really need me to do it myself? That’s absolutely unreasonable!”
Everyone was stunned, watching the man explode in anger, growing more furious by the second, giving the impression of being a complete madman.
The man added, “Not only will you die, but none of you will survive. All of you, die!”
Guo Shier shouted, “Be careful!”
Boom!

The man suddenly attacked, and in an instant, the Five-Star Formation was shattered, sending all seven of them flying. He then appeared beside Seraphine and slammed a palm onto her back. With a crack, Seraphine was flung thousands of meters away and died silently without uttering a sound.

Guo Shier immediately went berserk. He teleported to Seraphine’s side and hugged her tightly. Her back was completely collapsed, and streams of blood gushed from her mouth along with pieces of internal organs.

Guo Shier roared in anger and frantically pulled out advanced talismans, stuffing them into her mouth, but it was useless. His eyes turned blood red as he cast several spells, extracting Seraphine’s soul and placing it on the Soul Altar. He shouted, “Elder Shuai, help… stabilize her soul!”

Elder Shuai cried out, “Be careful! This man is extremely strong!”

With blood-red eyes, Guo Shier summoned his own altar, which appeared at his feet in the blink of an eye. He sat cross-legged, and the Soul Stabilizing Cauldron emerged above his head. The tentacles of Guxi Bi stretched out from the bottom of the altar, with the Umbrella Tower Sacred Treasure protecting both the altar and him. The Moon Blade and Hebaina Pearl Sacred Treasures floated in front of him, and only then did he begin searching for the man.

After killing Seraphine with a single palm strike, the man turned to attack Wang Dayang. This guy was incredibly powerful—he could tell who was weak and who was strong, so his first move was to kill the weakest ones. Among the seven, Seraphine was the weakest. After unexpectedly breaking through the Five-Star Formation formed by the seven, he killed Seraphine first. No one had time to react as they watched her die at his hands.

Li Ran also summoned his own altar and shouted, “Use your strongest tactics!” Then he charged at the man.

Qi Wuzhen shot dozens of flames at the man with a wave of his hand.

Wang Dayang instantly teleported away. The man was slightly stunned; he hadn’t expected Wang Dayang to teleport. With a cold laugh, he said, “What a remarkable escape tactic… it’s useless to me!” He suddenly disappeared from his original location and reappeared less than a hundred meters beside Wang Dayang.

Wang Dayang was terrified. He swung his sword wildly and shouted, “Kill him!”

The man reached out with an empty gesture and laughed loudly, “Is that all you’ve got?”

Wang Dayang felt his whole body tense; he couldn’t bring himself to deliver the strike. Immediately afterward, the man punched through the air, creating a circle of golden light.

At that moment, Guo Shier appeared. Yue Ren swung his blade down fiercely, cursing, “Damn you!” With a whoosh, his blade sliced through the air. The man casually threw a palm-sized object, which instantly expanded in size. With a loud explosion, Yue Ren’s blade cut through the obstacle, but it was already too late.

A ring of golden light suddenly appeared on Wang Dayang’s altar, causing a massive explosion. Wang Dayang and his altar were sent spinning in the sky by that punch. The intense shock left Wang Dayang dizzy; he could no longer control his altar and fell from the sky, crashing into a metal building. With a deafening crash, the metal structure collapsed.

Guo Shier felt a chill in his heart—this man’s strength was terrifying. A single punch was enough to send Wang Dayang flying. Without hesitation, he teleported away, knowing he had no chance against this man head-on. He hadn’t been blinded by Serichelin’s death; after all, he was battle-hardened and knew that the more impulsive one was in battle, the faster they would die.

The man was also surprised. The object he had thrown was a defensive treasure, yet it had been shattered by Guo Shier’s blade. He became wary. Though he spoke wildly, he wasn’t reckless in battle. He had experienced more fights than Li Ran and the others and was more experienced.

Kumu and Monier’s altars were connected. Whenever they moved, one would attack while the other defended. They kept fighting in a constant movement, never staying in one place for even a second, making it impossible for the man to target them. He cursed inwardly at their cunning. At that moment, Li Ran rushed forward, while Qi Wuzhen came from behind.

Guo Shier teleported out and shouted, “Attack together! Don’t scatter! This guy… wants to take us one by one!”

Kumu yelled, “Form a formation!”

Li Ran and Qi Wuzhen attacked simultaneously, forcing the man to dodge. They exchanged a glance and teleported away in unison. The five of them tried to regroup.

Guo Shier used two rapid teleports to get closer to the other four.

Suddenly, the man appeared beside Kumu and Monier. Guo Shier saw this and let out a terrified scream, “Dodge quickly!” He slapped the Soul-Calming Cauldron hard, sending out a wave of shockwaves. This time, he went all out—the shockwaves moved at incredible speed. Before the man could act, the shockwaves had already passed him.

The shock waves from the Soul Calming Cauldron were aimed at the soul. The sudden tremors stunned even the strongest of individuals. It took only two seconds for that person to recover, after which he roared and charged at Guo Shier. Shouting, “Kill you!” he lunged at him. By this time, Qi Wu Zhen and Li Ran had already reached Guo Shier’s side, along with Ku Mu and Monier, who also teleported over instantly. Guo Shier roared, “Attack! Kill! Kill! Kill!” With each cry of “kill,” he struck the Soul Calming Cauldron violently. This time, the shock waves radiated from the front of the cauldron, one wave after another—three consecutive waves—that even Guo Shier found difficult to endure. You see, these three strikes consumed as many as three hundred souls of energy.