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**
Aurora Town.
Inside a dark, gloomy basement.
Qu He was tied tightly to a blood-stained chair, his body covered in countless inhumane wounds.
There were traces of soot around his nostrils from smoke inhalation, charred black patches on his limbs from electric shocks, and several iron nails had been driven into the gaps between his fingernails.
"Old man, are you going to talk or not?"
A muscular man with yellow hair stared at Qu He with cold, indifferent eyes, trying to force a certain secret out of him.
"I don't know..."
Qu He gave a miserable smile, revealing a mouth that had long since been stripped of all its teeth.
"You're asking for death!"
Slap!
The yellow-haired man struck Qu He across the face with such force that it nearly twisted his neck.
It seemed one slap wasn't enough to vent his frustration, so the man began to kick Qu He brutally in the abdomen. Qu He was just a frail, withered old man; how could he possibly endure such agony? In less than a minute, he lost consciousness again.
"Damned piece of trash."
Seeing Qu He faint, the yellow-haired man still wasn't satisfied.
He turned to a subordinate standing nearby.
"When he wakes up, throw him straight to the Snow Wolves."
The man's eyes were devoid of emotion, as if he were discussing something as mundane as chores.
"Yes, Boss."
The subordinate immediately complied, then asked with a fawning tone, "Boss, what was the point of capturing this old geezer anyway? It's not like those people are coming back alive, right?"
The subordinate was curious.
In his eyes, Xiao Lin's group was already as good as dead.
Doing this felt like an unnecessary extra step.
"What do you know? The Big Boss said he doesn't want anyone investigating him, and all those who know too much must die."
The yellow-haired man spoke as if it were common sense.
He wasn't doing this for fun; he was doing it to minimize risk to the absolute lowest.
If the mission isn't completed, I'll be the one dying, he thought to himself, a flicker of fear crossing his eyes.
He knew the methods of their syndicate's leader all too well. There was once an assassination squad that was dissatisfied with their cut and went to demand an explanation from Yang Laibing. As a result, one of the squad's Soul Kings was killed.
His death had been horrifying.
Who could have imagined that the Soul King's corpse would be found dead in a state of absolute terror, with his body literally fused into the frozen earth? It wasn't that he was buried underground—his body and the permafrost had merged into one, inseparable from each other.
The yellow-haired man had no desire to experience such an eerie death.
Fortunately, the men he had sent out were his two most capable subordinates.
Both were already at the level of Soul Ancestor and shared a perfect synchronization. In the frozen landscape of the Far North, their strength would be pushed to the limit. Under these circumstances, he didn't believe for a second that those brats would survive.
Meanwhile.
The two members of the Frozen Ice Syndicate following Xiao Lin—the yellow-haired man's subordinates—shared that exact sentiment.
The Far North was vast.
Even with the map as a guide, finding a Mysterious Underworld Snake-Tortoise for the Shi brothers was a difficult task. Not to mention, there were various other Soul Beasts along the way that would launch sudden attacks on Xiao Lin's group.
Xiao Lin and the others had been traveling for nearly a day and a half.
Because of the unique environment of the Far North, the constant daylight made it difficult for them to perceive the passage of time. It was precisely because of this that Ye Lingling had truly begun to feel exhausted, prompting Xiao Lin to organize a rest for the team.
Among the five-man squad, only Xiao Lin and Tang Ni remained relatively energetic.
"Sss—ha!"
"Phew!"
Ye Lingling and Tang Ni leaned against each other, as did the Shi brothers, huddled together for warmth.
The biting cold of the Far North caused their physical strength to drain even faster. Just exhaling created a cloud of heat that was instantly condensed into water droplets by the frigid air. If someone were to urinate here, it might very well turn to ice mid-stream.
Observing the condition of his teammates, Xiao Lin's brow furrowed.
This wouldn't do.
Forget hunting Soul Beasts—if they kept this up for ten days or a fortnight, Xiao Lin feared the team would collapse from sheer exhaustion. In this environment, they were losing too much body heat, and the weather...
Xiao Lin looked up at the sky and noticed a dark cloud appearing out of nowhere. Logically speaking, it should have been impossible for dark clouds to form here; water vapor would typically freeze and fall as snow long before it could gather into a cloud.
"Everyone, stay sharp. There might be enemies."
Ignoring their fatigue, Xiao Lin spoke with gravity.
Once the group assumed a defensive posture, the enemies he had predicted launched their sneak attack. In an instant, across the boundless glaciers of the Far North, the oppressive rain clouds descended right over their heads.
"Damn it! They're trying to freeze us to death with rain!"
Xiao Lin reacted instantly, his eyes widening as a look of horror instinctively crossed his face.
In a place like the Far North, the greatest danger wasn't necessarily Soul Beasts or malicious Soul Masters—it was the ultimate cold and the extreme environment. If the team members were soaked by this rain, Xiao Lin was certain that he would be the only survivor among the five.
"Don't let a single drop touch you!"
Xiao Lin shouted urgently and began scouting the surroundings.
Among the five, only he could ignore the rain and extreme cold, making him the most suitable person to find the enemy.
Splash!
Within seconds, before Xiao Lin could even scout for a few moments, the torrential downpour arrived.
"Black Turtle Possession! First Soul Skill: Black Turtle Shield!"
Almost the moment the rain began to fall, the Shi brothers behind Xiao Lin reliably initiated their Martial Soul Possession. As the Black Turtle spirits merged with them, their already sturdy muscles became as hard as granite.
Beneath their massive frames, they raised their earthy-yellow tortoise-shell shields perfectly overhead, looking like two giants holding up the sky, shielding Tang Ni and Ye Lingling completely.
Drip! Drop!
The rain fell relentlessly, yet it failed to harm anyone in Xiao Lin's squad. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, spraying some of the rain onto the Shi brothers' bodies. The bone-chilling cold made even these two, known for their immense endurance, gasp sharply.
Despite this, the Shi brothers used their massive physiques to their advantage, standing as a bulwark in front of Tang Ni and Ye Lingling. When it came to defense, their Black Turtle was a top-tier Beast Martial Soul on the same level as the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.
To the Shi brothers, allowing those behind them to get hurt would be an insult to their pride. "Absolute Defense" at the same rank was not just an empty boast.
"Mass Healing!"
Feeling the Shi brothers shielding her from the wind and rain, Ye Lingling reacted instantly.
She summoned her Nine-Hearted Begonia Martial Soul, and a white, petal-shaped light surged into the brothers' bodies. In that moment, Ye Lingling's powerful healing ability made the Shi brothers stop feeling the cold, and even their Soul Power consumption decreased significantly.
Of course, Ye Lingling didn't actually have a skill to reduce Soul Power consumption; it was simply that under her potent healing, the Shi brothers no longer needed to expend as much Soul Power to protect their own bodies, and their natural recovery speed was slightly bolstered.
**
Hello everyone,
Thank you for your support! If you enjoy my work, you can check out my Patreon—there are 100+ early access and exclusive content. I update 5 advanced chapter from Monday-Saturday
www.patreon.com/c/FanficTranslator
I truly appreciate it!