Chapter 149: Authority - 2

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The grotesque soul master, who had been wearing a mocking grin, instantly froze, his expression morphing into one of terror.

Pinned to the ground by an overwhelming force, he was completely immobilized.

Su Yu's spiritual power had reached the threshold of materialization, allowing it to exert a tangible influence on the world around him.

The boy, still wide-eyed with fear, stared at the sight of his tormentor, who had been about to kill him, now sprawled helplessly on the ground. Yet, the fear in his heart didn't dissipate.

He didn't move to strike back immediately.

The soul master's torment had played out twice before.

This maniac had intentionally let him escape twice already, only to continue the cruel hunt.

Even knowing he was doomed, Bai Feng could only run with all his might. He understood one thing: survival was his only hope.

"Boy, kill him."

Su Yu's voice suddenly sounded as he appeared beside the boy.

It was only then that Bai Feng realized someone was standing next to him.

Unlike the grotesque soul master's sinister aura, this newcomer carried a life-giving energy that felt profoundly reassuring.

Staring blankly at the dagger Su Yu handed him, Bai Feng swallowed nervously.

But as he gripped the dagger with trembling hands, his gaze hardened.

Turning toward the soul master, Bai Feng's eyes grew cold and resolute.

Slash! 

The dagger fell.

Bai Feng had killed the soul master, his small hands gripping the weapon tightly as he delivered the fatal blow.

"What's your name?" Su Yu asked, his tone filled with a mix of sympathy and curiosity.

He felt a connection to this child who had experienced such a similar ordeal to his own. The boy's ability to act decisively also spoke to a strong mental fortitude.

Bai Feng sat on the ground, tears streaming silently down his cheeks. His body trembled as he wept, unable to even register Su Yu's question.

Su Yu waited for a moment before asking again, his tone patient and steady.

"My name is Bai Feng. Thank you, benefactor!" Bai Feng wiped away his tears and bowed deeply to Su Yu, expressing his gratitude.

"Your family...?"

"They were all killed by that maniac. Starfall Village is gone, too," Bai Feng replied, his voice heavy with grief.

From Bai Feng's account, Su Yu learned that Starfall Village was relatively prosperous, housing one Spirit Elder, three Spirit Grandmasters, and even a Rank 2 Spirit Tool Master.

However, the entire village had fallen victim to the massacre carried out by the grotesque and deranged evil soul master. Everyone had perished.

This particular evil soul master was close to Spirit King rank, vastly outclassing the Spirit Elder of Starfall Village. Despite this, the Spirit Elder had managed to hold him off for a while, buying time for some villagers to escape.

Bai Feng wasn't the sole survivor.

But he had the misfortune of catching the maniac's attention, enduring relentless torment and pursuit.

Su Yu was left speechless.

These evil soul masters truly seemed to be mentally unhinged.

Deranged.

He recalled the evil soul master who had once hunted him, gleefully shouting about how the thrill of the chase excited him more than anything else.

"Benefactor, was he an evil soul master?" Bai Feng asked, pointing to the corpse of the man he had just slain.

Su Yu gave the boy a surprised glance.

This little one already knew about evil soul masters?

"Yes," Su Yu confirmed.

"Grandpa Village Chief was right—evil soul masters are all maniacs, monsters! I swear I'll kill every last one of them!" Bai Feng declared, his young heart consumed by an overwhelming hatred as he thought of the brutal deaths of the village chief and the others.

The "Clarity" and "Insight" runes within Su Yu's spiritual sea glimmered, soothing Bai Feng's turbulent emotions and calming his raging heart.

"Killing evil soul masters requires strength. Without it, you're just throwing your life away. Not only will that fail to hurt them, but it will also strengthen their resolve and dark power," Su Yu advised calmly.

"Please, benefactor, help me awaken my martial soul!" Bai Feng knelt on the ground, imploring Su Yu with desperation in his voice.

The Sun-Moon Empire was not as restrictive as the Douluo Three Kingdoms in terms of martial soul awakenings.

Soul devices had already begun to spread among the common people, and efforts to universalize martial soul awakenings had also been underway for quite some time.

However, these efforts had their limits. Complete accessibility for all citizens remained elusive.

After all, the empire still had aristocratic families controlling certain rights and functions, and there was no independent force detached from imperial interests to oversee the work.

Ironically, it wasn't until Xu Tianran rose to power that these initiatives were fully implemented.

It was a paradox of governance—sometimes, emperors known for their ruthless methods implemented policies benefiting commoners far more thoroughly than their moderate predecessors.

"Focus and sense the energy within your body. A martial soul is a part of you, like another organ. Feel its presence carefully," Su Yu instructed.

With that, Su Yu decided to help Bai Feng awaken his martial soul.

With the guidance of soul power, even though Bai Feng's martial soul hadn't fully manifested, Su Yu could already sense the soul power within him.

After scanning with his spiritual power, Su Yu noted that the soul power wasn't weak.

"Innate full soul power?"

Su Yu was somewhat surprised.

He had casually found a person with full innate soul power on the way?

In Bai Feng's hand, the golden-glowing sphere of light began to reveal a longsword.

Stars shimmered across the blade.

Su Yu felt a spiritual fluctuation emanating from the sword, along with a unique essence.

Bai Feng observed his martial soul and felt its power.

"Star Soul Sword, this is my martial soul—the Star Soul Sword!"

"Star Soul Sword, slay the evil spirits!" Bai Feng declared, sensing the ability of his martial soul.

He summoned his martial soul and struck down at the evil soul master's corpse.

The Star Soul Sword emitted a purple energy.

Su Yu raised an eyebrow as he observed the evil aura on the corpse of the evil soul master seemingly dissipating after Bai Feng's strike, surprised by the sword's effectiveness.

This sword… does it naturally have an effect that counters evil soul masters?

Su Yu didn't comment on Bai Feng's dramatic lines, as they were more reflective of a child's inner thoughts than anything else.

Although he sensed that Bai Feng's soul power was about level 10, Su Yu still pulled out a soul testing device.

It wasn't something he carried around, but rather a device he had made previously while creating soul tools. It had been stored away in his storage soul tool, and he hadn't thrown it out yet.

Bai Feng took the disk from Su Yu, infused it with his soul power, and the innermost ring of ten circles on the disk lit up.

"Congratulations, innate full soul power," Su Yu smiled, feeling fortunate.

Bai Feng was well aware of his level of innate full soul power.

In the past, he would have rushed to tell the village chief the good news, but now...

"Your martial soul has great quality. It's just a bit mixed—starry attributes, sword, spiritual attributes, and it even carries the essence of demon-slaying," Su Yu commented.

To be honest, Su Yu couldn't give much advice on how to cultivate this type of martial soul.

Each attribute was a different direction.

All of them had considerable potential.

The decision of which direction to take would have to be made by the boy himself.

"What kind of soul ring do you want?"

After briefly explaining the considerations for choosing a soul ring, Su Yu left the decision to Bai Feng.

"I want a star attribute one, preferably one that enhances my sword," Bai Feng responded.

Through his connection with his martial soul, Bai Feng understood that the core of his martial soul lay in the power of stars and the sword.

The demon-slaying essence had come from the combination of these two.

Although Bai Feng couldn't directly sense the spiritual attribute, he believed it also originated from the star power.

"Star attribute soul beasts are not easy to find," Su Yu said with a frown.

High-quality soul beasts were already rare in the Sun-Moon Empire, and star attribute ones were even rarer.

"Come back to Sun-Moon with me. Join the Royal Soul Master's Academy of the Sun-Moon Empire. My senior brother has done research on star power and should have the best information about soul beasts suited to you."

Su Yu had grown accustomed to gathering information first before seeking out soul rings.

(End of chapter)