The entire battle, from start to finish, had lasted less than ten minutes. In that brief time, the dozens of Evil Soul Masters were completely wiped out.
Although Zhang Lexuan had taken action during the fight, she had only dealt with one Evil Soul Douluo who had been scared out of his wits by Zhou Sicheng.
All of the remaining Evil Soul Masters were taken down by Zhou Sicheng and his group.
Each of them had performed brilliantly. Gongyang Mo had supported them with a level of assistance that rivaled the legendary Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda.
Dugu Xianmeng, Ling Luocheng, Dai Yueheng, and others had shown explosive strength.
Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao even managed to defeat an Evil Soul Sage above their level. Everyone displayed strength far beyond what their soul ranks would normally suggest, their talents fully on display.
But Zhang Lexuan was very clear—this victory was all thanks to Zhou Sicheng.
He was simply too powerful.
He hadn't even gone all out. His fourth contracted soul beast was still hidden.
Even though the pressure Zhou Sicheng unleashed was directed solely at the Evil Soul Masters and not his allies, everyone could feel an overwhelming pressure coming from that unique domain of his.
Especially those dazzling golden eyes of his—even Zhang Lexuan found it difficult to meet his gaze.
In those emperor-like, piercing eyes was a commanding dominance that tolerated no dissent. No one dared look directly at him.
With the combined suppression of Zhou Sicheng's dual domains and Ye Guyi's divine radiance as a Holy Angel, the Evil Soul Masters—already in poor condition—stood no chance at resisting.
Everyone had performed impressively, but it was all because Zhou Sicheng had paved the way.
Zhou Sicheng's expression remained calm, with no hint of pride. He spoke slowly, "Quickly clean up the battlefield. There might still be Evil Soul Masters who escaped."
As he finished speaking, Zhou Sicheng activated the Domain of Eternal Ice. The power of Ultimate Ice surged forth again. All the flesh and blood on the ground was frozen and then shattered into dust.
Ye Guyi also activated her Divine Light Array, purifying the lingering evil aura. Having taken down an Evil Soul Sage, her gains were significant.
The team swiftly completed the cleanup. The scattered soul tools were collected. Inside the Evil Soul Masters' soul tools, aside from gold and silver, there was a considerable amount of rare ores and materials.
Even now, Zhou Sicheng still had materials in his soul tool that he had collected from Evil Soul Masters back in Morey City.
The resources accumulated from dozens of Evil Soul Masters made for a considerable fortune.
Once everything was taken care of, the group hid themselves again within the valley, closing their eyes to meditate and restore their soul power. Zhou Sicheng and Zhang Lexuan remained alert, silently observing the surroundings.
After the earlier battle, some of the vegetation in the valley had been affected. Even if more Evil Soul Masters managed to escape, they would likely proceed with extreme caution.
But with no other way out, they would still have to brave the valley head-on. Even if they wanted to enter the Sun Moon Empire from the Mingdou Mountain Range, they'd still have to pass through cities and military outposts of the Star Luo Empire.
Compared to that, taking their chances through the Mingwang Valley seemed like the lesser risk.
Once Zhang Lexuan had finished restoring her soul power, she turned to Zhou Sicheng. "You've been maintaining your soul fusion with your contracted beasts this entire time. Don't you need to recover your soul power?"
Zhou Sicheng smiled faintly. "The current consumption isn't much. Just one of my contracted beasts is enough to sustain it."
Hearing this, Zhang Lexuan was momentarily stunned. Zhou Sicheng was a four-ring Soul Ancestor, meaning he had four contracted soul beasts. But she had only seen three of them. He had never revealed the fourth.
She knew his fourth soul ring was a hundred-thousand-year soul ring, so she understood what he meant.
Using the soul power of one hundred-thousand-year soul beast to supply three ten-thousand-year beasts was more than enough.
And in fact, Zhou Sicheng hadn't lied.
Through his martial soul, the Book of Contracts, Zhou Sicheng could freely channel the soul power of any of his contracted beasts. Honghong was currently cultivating inside the Book of Contracts, and her immense reserves were more than sufficient to support the needs of A'Da and the others.
Once she replenished their energy, Honghong herself could continue cultivating within the martial soul, forming a self-sustaining cycle.
For Zhou Sicheng, this function was incredibly convenient. It allowed him to constantly maintain his triple soul beast fusion state, keeping his power at its peak without worrying about running out of soul power.
It also helped him avoid exposing his soul ring configuration.
In his current fused state, the aura Zhou Sicheng deliberately released was enough to rival that of a Titled Douluo.
And without revealing his soul rings, anyone who saw him would naturally assume he was a true Titled Douluo.
Zhou Sicheng had mastered the art of borrowing the tiger's might with the fox's cunning.
He smiled at Zhang Lexuan. "Senior Sister, your strength is nothing to scoff at either. I heard you're only twenty-seven, and your soul power is already nearing Rank 90."
Instead of pride, Zhang Lexuan's face showed a hint of sorrow.
She gave a bitter smile. "It's all thanks to the academy's nurturing. Without their resources, I wouldn't have achieved this."
Zhou Sicheng looked at her melancholic expression and couldn't help but reflect.
This senior sister of his was a devoted Shrek loyalist. Elder Mu had raised her with that mindset from a young age. She would give her life for Shrek if needed.
Winning her over would be incredibly difficult—perhaps even impossible.
Not only was she utterly devoted to Shrek, but she also fell in love with someone she shouldn't have.
As dramatic as it sounded, it was true. This senior sister had eyes only for Beibei, that oblivious fool.
To him, Zhang Lexuan was like an older sister or mother figure. Instead, he had fallen for Tang Ya, whose martial soul was just Blue Silver Grass.
Zhou Sicheng thought to himself—if he were Beibei, his future would've been a hundred times brighter than in the original story.
Without the existence of Huo Hang, Beibei was practically the chosen one. He had the full protagonist package—dead parents, a mysterious and powerful ancestor as a guardian, an endless supply of precious resources, and a top-tier Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul.
Elder Mu had poured his heart and soul into raising that boy. At the age of one, he was already promised to a genius childhood fiancée.
If Zhou Sicheng had been in Beibei's shoes, growing up with that kind of support would've been heaven.
Still, things weren't bad for Zhou Sicheng either. Even though he lacked Beibei's background, he had caught up fast.
In Elder Mu's heart, Zhou Sicheng was already being groomed as a successor, perhaps even more carefully than Beibei, his own great-grandson.
Zhou Sicheng glanced at the stunningly beautiful face of his senior sister and couldn't help but try to comfort her. "Senior Sister, I've heard some things about you. There are things in life we can't control. But if you want to break free from the feeling of being manipulated by fate, the best way is to become stronger."
"When your strength is enough to handle anything with ease, nothing will be able to bind you anymore."
Zhang Lexuan was taken aback. Her bright eyes flickered as she looked at him. "You really are... different from the other kids. Sometimes I forget you're only twelve."
"You're right. But reaching that level of strength requires unimaginable trials and suffering. Many geniuses have lost their confidence along the way."
Zhou Sicheng looked her in the eyes and said seriously, "I believe Senior Sister isn't someone who gives up easily. Everything we go through will eventually become the nutrients that help us grow."
"We might not be able to change what we've been through, but once we have the power, we can help others avoid the pain we've endured. Isn't that worth it?"
Zhang Lexuan smiled softly. "Yes... your perspective is admirable. But in order to make that a reality, you'll face enormous challenges."
Zhou Sicheng responded with a confident smile. "Then let's face them together. Even if we don't succeed in the end, at least we'll have no regrets."
Zhang Lexuan fell silent. After a long moment, determination filled her eyes.
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