223: I want his secret!

Ye Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Are you from the Soul Hall?"

Back at the Fuwangduo Beef Sauce Restaurant in Hong Kong City, he and Bai Shanshan had cracked a gruesome case involving human flesh. Ultimately, the layers of clues had pointed to a mysterious evil cultivation organization called the "Soul Hall."

They had destroyed the other party's temporary stronghold in Hong Kong City and killed an evil cultivator who called himself a "Soul Guiding Emissary," thinking they would have some peace for a while.

Unexpectedly, not much time had passed, and the other party had already silently reached into Yanjing, even making their way into the heart of the Chu family and kidnapping Bai Wanqing!

"Hehehe..."

A burst of laughter came from beneath the black robe, sounding like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

"Good eyes."

"I am a 'Soul Ferrying Emissary' of the Soul Hall, tasked with tracking and receiving those... sinful wretches who dare to kill our Soul Hall disciples."

He tilted his head slightly.

"The Hong Kong City stronghold destroyed, a Soul Guiding Emissary fallen..."

"It was you, wasn't it?"

"Yes, so..." Ye Chen looked up. "Are you here to kill me?"

"No, no, no..."

The Soul Ferrying Emissary suddenly shook his head.

"Killing is sometimes the least efficient way to solve a problem, especially when it comes to... valuable prey."

"I've been observing you for quite a while now."

"The Wang family's downfall, Dark Crow's decapitation, Nether Spring's capture..."

"Your methods are ruthless, decisive, and tinged with strangeness."

"You have secrets on you, very big secrets."

"The Soul Hall appreciates talents with strength, potential, and especially 'uniqueness'."

The Soul Ferrying Emissary's voice took on a seductive, bewitching tone.

"Ye Chen, I came here today to give you a choice."

"Give up your pointless resistance, convert to the Soul Hall, offer your loyalty, and... the secrets on you."

"The Hall Master might be very interested in you."

"At that time, resources, power, and even the secrets of eternal life... all will be yours for the taking."

"And today's little unpleasantness, as well as the 'mistakes' you've committed before, can all be written off."

He raised his hand slightly, pointing toward a room on the second floor where Bai Wanqing was located.

"Even this beautiful lady's safety will be guaranteed."

"Her aptitude seems decent as well. Perhaps she can join you as a distinguished couple within our Soul Hall?"

"What do you say?"

The Soul Ferrying Emissary's voice echoed eerily in the dim living room. "As long as you nod, we can avoid a conflict right now. This is... an invitation."

Ye Chen listened quietly, his expression remaining unchanged.

A few seconds later.

He suddenly gave a light chuckle.

"An invitation?"

"For a bunch of trash like you—hiding your heads and showing your tails, practicing evil arts, using the souls and flesh of the living as nourishment, living like rats in a sewer—to think you're worthy of..."

"...inviting me?"

What does it mean to be arrogant?

This was it!

The Soul Ferrying Emissary was utterly stunned.

He couldn't imagine...

That someone would actually dare to speak to him like this!

And...

He had called the Soul Hall rats in a sewer!!!

However.

Before they could react, Ye Chen's figure suddenly vanished from the spot!

In the next second.

He appeared at the corner of the stairs, almost face-to-face with the black-robed Soul Ferrying Emissary!

Then.

He threw a punch straight at the other man's face!

The punch was without flourish, but it concentrated the fierce power of the first layer of Layered Wave Strength, enough to shatter stone monuments!

However.

Facing this sudden and violent strike, the Soul Ferrying Emissary only let out a disdainful snort.

"Courting death!"

His arm beneath the black robe blurred, as if he were just casually grabbing forward!

In the next second, a sudden change occurred!

In the void where his fingers grasped, countless tiny black specks of light emerged out of thin air. Like black fireflies being summoned, they instantly converged, stretched, and took shape!

A massive, pitch-black scythe with a hideous design actually condensed out of thin air in his hand!

Countless tiny, distorted faces seemed to be wailing on the blade, emitting a bone-chilling aura of resentment!

This was not a physical weapon, but one condensed from released internal energy!

"Die!"

The Soul Ferrying Emissary growled low. The black scythe in his hand traced an arc. Without blocking or parrying, he struck second but arrived first, bringing with it the sound of ghostly wailing as it slashed down diagonally toward Ye Chen's oncoming fist!

An energy blade clashing head-on with a fist of flesh and blood!

A sharp light flashed in Ye Chen's eyes as he surged his Layered Wave Strength once more!

"Break for me!"

"Boom!!!"

As the fist and scythe met, a wave of air exploded outward from the point of impact, instantly shattering the wooden handrails and vases at the corner of the stairs!

In the next second.

The black scythe exploded, dissipating into wisps of black smoke on the spot!

Ye Chen's fist only paused for a microsecond before continuing with unstoppable force, passing through the crumbling phantoms of the black scythe and continuing its strike toward the Soul Ferrying Emissary!

The Soul Ferrying Emissary clearly hadn't expected his energy scythe to be crushed by a single punch.

In his haste, black mist surged in his right palm as he forcibly met Ye Chen's fist!

"Bang!"

Amidst the muffled thud, the Soul Ferrying Emissary used the force to drift backward. Like a weightless ghost, he instantly retreated to the platform above the stairs and stabilized himself.

"Condensing energy into weapons, transforming between void and solid?"

"Though it's just a prototype and relies on the tricks of an evil art..."

Ye Chen slowly retracted his fist and shook his wrist, a look of interest appearing on his face.

"But to be able to touch this level, you can be considered to have stepped over the threshold of the 'Heaven Realm'."

Releasing internal energy and condensing it into weapons was indeed one of the hallmark techniques of a Heaven Realm Expert!

This Soul Ferrying Emissary was indeed a Heaven Realm Expert.

Even if he had only just entered this realm, it was enough for him to run rampant anywhere!

Hearing Ye Chen expose his cultivation level in one go, the Soul Ferrying Emissary's eyes were filled with horror.

"You... you actually saw through my realm?"

"And you could even crush my 'Resentful Soul Scythe' with one punch?"

"You... you're also in the Heaven Realm!!!"

The shock in the Soul Ferrying Emissary's heart was like crashing waves!

So young!

He looked to be only in his early twenties!

He had actually entered the Heaven Realm?

How was this possible???

The spiritual energy in the secular world was thin, making cultivation difficult. Even with the secret shortcuts of the Soul Hall, raising a Heaven Realm Expert required a massive amount of resources and decades of time!

He had investigated Ye Chen's background; it was ordinary, and his rise had only taken a mere month!

In one month, from a mere driver to being able to kill those in the Xuan Realm and rival those of the Earth Rank...

And now he was displaying the power of the Heaven Realm?!

This could no longer be explained by being naturally gifted!

There was definitely something fishy!

A huge secret!

A massive opportunity!

The Soul Ferrying Emissary's eyes were suddenly replaced by endless greed!

The previous thought of recruitment had long since been thrown to the back of his mind!

Capture him!

Torture the secrets out of him!

Take this world-shaking opportunity for himself!!!

"Jie jie jie... Hahahaha!"

The Soul Ferrying Emissary suddenly let out a burst of piercing, frenzied laughter. His black robe fluttered without wind, snapping loudly. Even denser black mist surged from his body, as if countless resentful souls were struggling and roaring within it!

The "Resentful Soul Scythe" was instantly repaired, its black light shining even brighter, and its size even seemed to have expanded by a notch!

"Heaven Realm!"

"You truly are a grand gift bestowed upon me by the heavens!"

"Ye Chen! Hand over your secrets! The source of all your fortuitous encounters!"

"I can swear to spare your soul and let you achieve 'eternal life' in another form within our Soul Hall's sacred land!"

Before his voice had even faded.

The Soul Ferrying Emissary's figure suddenly burst forth, turning into seven or eight black afterimages that were hard to distinguish from the real thing, diving down from the stair platform like ghosts!

He swung the black scythe, tracing arcs of piercing black light across the sky, as if weaving a web of death to completely seal off the space around Ye Chen!

This time.

He held nothing back; the power of the early Heaven Realm exploded completely, as he vowed to take Ye Chen down in one go!

Facing this overwhelming scythe-shadow offensive, Ye Chen's eyes turned slightly cold.

This was the first time he had encountered a Heaven Realm Expert!

Perhaps...

He could use this person's cultivation level as a touchstone to see where his own limits lay!

In an instant.

He shifted his feet, amazingly dodging the lethal scythe blade.

At the same time, he took a deep breath, and the blood and qi within his body began to surge like a mighty river.

The mental cultivation method of Layered Wave Strength operated at high speed!

"You want my secrets?"

"Then let's see..."

Ye Chen's gaze sharpened, and he met the attack with a punch, the force of which instantly compressed the air until it boomed!

"...if you have the ability to take them!"