Batian Martial Soul

Each suit of armor exuded a powerful aura, which was both strong and complex, clearly indicating that the techniques they had cultivated and the powers they possessed were all different.

Their eyes held undisguised greed and scrutiny, their gazes like sharp blades, sweeping over Ling Xiao and the others as if assessing their worth and contemplating how to devour them alive.

The leader was a young man with an arrogant face, dressed in a purple and gold star-patterned robe.

He hovered at the very front, his feet resting on a distorted halo of law, which swirled like a mysterious vortex, radiating a chilling power.

He stood tall and straight, like an ancient pine tree standing proudly in the void. His purple-gold star robe shimmered brilliantly under the reflection of energy, as if he were wearing the entire starry sky.

The young man in the purple-gold robe had eyes as sharp as a hawk's, as if they could pierce through a person's soul.

He slowly swept his gaze over Ling Xiao and Jin Tong, his eyes like two cold daggers, sending chills down their spines.

When his gaze lingered on Ling Xiao for a moment, a barely perceptible look of surprise and a deeper greed flashed in his eyes.

The astonishment seemed to stem from something unexpected about Ling Xiao; while the greed was like a hungry wolf seeing its juicy prey, wanting nothing more than to possess it immediately.

"Wait..."

His voice carried a strange echo, as if coming from the distant horizon, a roar that pierced through the turbulent currents of space, clearly reaching everyone's ears.

"From that tiny, insignificant town?"

Their tone was full of disdain and contempt, as if in their eyes, the place where Ling Xiao and the others came from was nothing more than an ant's nest, not worth mentioning at all.

Ling Xiao's lips curled into a playful smile, and he nodded.

Behind the young man in the purple-gold robe, a bald, burly man with a face full of scars and wearing bone shoulder armor swayed like a moving mountain of flesh and couldn't help but let out a strange, cacophony laugh.

The laughter was like the hooting of an owl, sharp and piercing, standing out starkly in the chaotic and noisy turbulent space.

"Boss, the rumors were true!"

The bald, burly man shouted at the top of his lungs, spittle flying through the air.

"The fat sheep of the Great Town Dynasty has really run into the hands of our 'Netherworld Hunting Group'!"

As he spoke, he stretched out his large, fan-like hand and patted his chest forcefully, making a dull sound, as if showing off his "great achievements".

After saying that, he stuck out his tongue and licked his lips fiercely, like a wolf licking its prey.

Those greedy eyes, like tangible threads, were practically glued to Ling Xiao, scrutinizing him from head to toe, as if Ling Xiao were now fish on his chopping board, at his mercy.

"I heard that place is incredibly lucrative, with fragments of laws scattered all over the ground. Is that true?"

The bald, burly man's eyes widened, flashing with a frenzied greed. He asked urgently, as if he couldn't wait to rush to the Great Town Dynasty and loot all the treasures.

Ling Xiao's face showed a hint of fear at the right moment. His expression was like that of a frightened fawn, with his eyes wide open, full of fear and helplessness.

His voice was so tense it was almost distorted, and he stammered, "It's...so-so!"

"This remote and impoverished place can't compare to the precious land of you gentlemen..."

His tone was filled with timidity and humility, as if he were truly terrified by the group of fierce-looking men in front of him.

"So-so?!"

The bald, burly man seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. His face instantly turned ferocious, and his voice boomed like thunder, causing the surrounding turbulent currents to pause slightly. It was as if even the raging spatial turbulence was intimidated by his roar.

He put his hands on his hips, glared angrily at Ling Xiao, and roared, "Bullshit!"

"We traversed the deathly aura of the Tianyuan Dynasty. That deathly aura was like countless sharp blades, constantly cutting into our bodies. Every step forward came at a huge cost."

"We lost three skilled men. Those three brothers were all battle-hardened and highly capable heroes, and they were left forever in that land of death."

"We finally managed to get to this godforsaken place!"

"If we don't recoup our losses, I'll pull your souls out and burn them like sky lanterns!"

As he spoke, he brandished the giant axe in his hand, which drew sharp arcs in the air, as if to show Ling Xiao his ferocity and ruthlessness.

Ling Xiao took a small half-step back in "fear," his body trembling slightly, as if a gust of wind could blow him over.

He practically hid at the very back of the floating warship, his hands covering his head, his voice trembling as he said, "Robbery...robbery?"

"My heroes, this...this is not right, is it?"

"When will this cycle of revenge end? Harmony brings wealth, that's the right way!"

He looked like a pitiful victim being bullied by a thug, who could only desperately beg the bully to let him go.

"Pfft!"

"Hahahaha!"

The sudden laughter was like a thunderclap in the silent night sky, and the other side immediately erupted in unrestrained, wild laughter.

The laughter was unrestrained and wild, as if it were releasing all the repression in this chaotic space, or as if they had heard the most ridiculous and absurd joke in the universe, and they were laughing so hard they couldn't stand up straight.

The bald, burly man laughed the most exaggeratedly, leaning back and forth as if his body had lost its skeletal support, swaying constantly.

The veins on his thick neck were bulging, his face was flushed red, his eyes were narrowed to slits, and tears were about to stream down his face.

He laughed as he slapped his thigh hard, making a "slap slap" sound, and mumbled indistinctly, "Oh my god!"

"Are all the top-quality goods from the Great Town Dynasty like this?"

"Naive! So damn naive!"

Having finally stopped laughing, he suddenly stretched out his hand, pointing at Ling Xiao. His finger trembled slightly from the force, and his face was full of mockery and disdain. His eyes looked as if he were looking at a clown.

"Kid, look at you, you've never done robbery before, have you?"

"Look at your timid and cowardly appearance, you probably don't even know how to write the word 'robbery,' yet you dare to talk to us about reason!"

Ling Xiao seemed not to hear the bald, burly man's taunts. He took a deep breath, straightened his back, and his previously hunched body instantly became straight, as if an invisible force was supporting him.

He forced a righteous expression onto his face, his brows furrowed, his eyes firm and serious, and declared loudly, "I, Ling Xiao, have always acted with integrity and uprightness!"

"Robbing and plundering? That's the work of evil demons and heretics!"

"I am an upright human being! How could I possibly associate with you evildoers!" (End of Chapter)