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**
Xiao Lin's "sacrifice" filled Tang Ni and the others with a wave of deep guilt.
However, it wasn't long before Xiao Lin smiled, signaling for everyone to not overthink it.
"In this world, how many Soul Masters can truly gather a full set of soul rings and soul bones?"
"Leaving aside Spirit Hall, even the Clear Sky Clan of the upper three sects probably can't piece together a complete set of soul bones for a single person."
Hearing Xiao Lin use these words to comfort them only made Tang Ni and the others feel worse.
"How about you give this soul bone to me instead? It wouldn't be a waste on me, and my strength isn't bad either," Tang Ni suddenly blurted out.
If she could become stronger by absorbing this soul bone, their team would be able to handle the oncoming enemies with far greater ease.
"I can absorb it too, though I doubt I'd be of much help..." Ye Lingling murmured, though her voice quickly trailed off into a whisper. She was merely an ordinary healing-system auxiliary Soul Master. Even if she absorbed the soul bone, it wouldn't magically turn her into an elite combatant.
Seeing how desperately everyone wanted to alleviate his burden, Xiao Lin's mood brightened up significantly. He could naturally tell that Tang Ni, Ye Lingling, and the rest were definitely not freeloaders trying to take advantage of him.
With a faint smile, Xiao Lin placed the soul bone directly into Tang Ni's hands, his expression turning exceptionally solemn.
"Tang Ni, unless it is an absolute matter of life and death, do not absorb this soul bone."
Xiao Lin certainly wasn't being stingy over a ten-thousand-year soul bone. He simply possessed absolute confidence in his own ability to defeat the enemies, and he didn't want Tang Ni to damage her future potential over this.
Truth be told, if he were entirely alone in this frozen wasteland of the Far North, his chances of winning would actually be significantly higher. If he couldn't win, he could simply flee; if he saw an opening, he could launch a lethal ambush.
Ambushing and slaughtering even a single one would be a net gain. If he kept retreating deeper into the core of the Far North, Xiao Lin highly doubted those bastards would even have the courage to keep chasing him.
Furthermore, if it were only Xiao Lin by himself, he could truly unleash his full, unrestricted firepower.
"Alright, we will proceed with the ambush according to the plan. I will spearhead the initial assault. If my sneak attack successfully takes down one of the enemies, you guys will step in to help me draw their aggro and split their attention."
"If the ambush fails, you guys must immediately continue your retreat. If I can't beat them, I'll flee deeper into the Far North. I will lead those people away from you. I will guarantee your safety."
The moment the words left Xiao Lin's mouth, Ye Lingling's vision instantly grew misty with unshed tears.
"Xiao Lin..." Ye Lingling called out, her voice trembling.
Leaving Xiao Lin behind to cover their retreat was something she truly couldn't bear to do.
"Stop arguing. This is the plan, and as the captain, my word is final." Xiao Lin cut off Ye Lingling's sentimental display, speaking with harsh authority.
"Alright, I'm heading out first."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Lin instantly summoned his Horned Dragon Staff. In the blink of an eye, four soul rings flashed in unison beneath his feet.
The concentrated soul power of one yellow, two purple, and one black soul ring violently surged into Xiao Lin's body. In the next instant, an icy-blue cometary trail erupted behind him, and he completely vanished from their line of sight.
"Tang Ni, what should we do?" Ye Lingling still couldn't shake her deep anxiety for Xiao Lin, turning her gaze toward Tang Ni.
"There's nothing else to discuss. Our only option is to back Xiao Lin up." Tang Ni tightened her grip around the soul bone in her hands, turning around to chase after Xiao Lin's trajectory.
Ye Lingling and the Shi brothers stared silently at Tang Ni's retreating golden silhouette as it rapidly faded into the distance.
After a long pause, Shi Mo finally broke the silence.
"Let's move. We should set out now. This time gap should be just enough to confirm whether Xiao Lin's sneak attack succeeds."
Following Shi Mo's words, Ye Lingling couldn't help but wipe her eyes, letting out a choked sob as she stepped forward.
"Let's go, we need to back Xiao Lin up."
As defense and healing-system Soul Masters, they couldn't afford to let Xiao Lin and Tang Ni get distracted. Turning back at this exact moment was perfect.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Moving at absolute full speed, it took Xiao Lin less than a minute to blitz right back to the vicinity of the base. Without wasting a single syllable of breath, he charged straight at the four cadres.
Xiao Lin's reappearance was heralded by a blinding, crackling lightning and a cometary ice-blue trail. His sudden arrival instantly caught the attention of Bei Te and the others, who were still in the middle of recovering their soul power.
"How interesting. Faced with the four of us, he actually chose to charge straight at us instead of running away?"
"He's merely a petty Soul Ancestor. Does he honestly think he can defeat us just because our soul power is at less than half capacity?"
Bei Te and his companions let out a collective chuckle, resting their hands on their hips as they joked around. They clearly had not realized the sheer gravity of the situation.
"Leave this brat to me. I absolutely love breaking self-proclaimed geniuses," Bu Luo Ke sneered with a chuckle. As the individual with the highest cultivation rank present, the moment he spoke up, the others naturally raised no objections.
"Broccoli, do not underestimate them. They are the ones who completely destroyed our base," Ang Shi warned immediately, a persistent sense of unease gnawing at him.
"Alright, alright. I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice," Bu Luo Ke shot back coldly, completely dismissing Ang Shi's warning.
Even so, driven by a Soul Master's battle instincts, he instantly triggered his Martial Soul Possession the moment Xiao Lin closed the distance.
"Glacial Rock Sprite, Possess!"
In a single instant, a thick layer of glacial rock fused onto Bu Luo Ke's already burly frame, making his massive build appear even more monstrously gargantuan.
To anyone unfamiliar with the Glacial Rock Sprite martial soul, a single glance at Bu Luo Ke's current appearance would lead them to assume he was a pure defense-system specialist. In reality, however, Bu Luo Ke stood at an imposing three meters tall after his Martial Soul Possession.
His dual fists were heavily encased in thick glacial rock armor; when his strikes rained down, even top-tier defensive beast martial souls would find them incredibly troublesome to deal with.
This was because the Glacial Rock Sprite was a species of soul beast that actually scaled up its offensive power as the rock armor coating its body broke down. Bu Luo Ke's martial soul was no exception.
In fact, Bu Luo Ke even possessed soul skills specifically designed to launch aggressive assaults at the direct cost of shedding his own glacial rock defense.
"Fourth Soul Skill: Water Flow Rock Shattering Fist!"
Holding his Horned Dragon Staff high, Xiao Lin, who was closing in on Bu Luo Ke at extreme speed, quickly caught sight of Bu Luo Ke unleashing a purple soul skill.
A sudden torrent of liquid water erupted over Bu Luo Ke's glacial rock gauntlets. As the flowing water enveloped the stone armor, it caused his gauntlets to swell exponentially in size.
It was clearly a soul ring meticulously selected for optimal performance in the freezing climate of the Far North. Once that flowing water froze solid and shattered, it would highly likely trigger an effect that heavily amplified his raw attack power.
The moment this analysis flashed through Xiao Lin's mind, he instantly triggered his Tool Soul Avatar right as he breached Bu Luo Ke's immediate perimeter. In the next fraction of a second, another blinding flash of blue light erupted from Xiao Lin's body.
The golden flame core and the ice-blue flame core nestled deep within his chest cavity gradually fused together. Finally, Xiao Lin's fourth soul ring flashed brilliantly once more.
An intense layer of ice-blue flames instantly coated the entire length of the Horned Dragon Staff.
"This speed! A black soul ring?!"
Pa Te and the others were momentarily blinded by the piercing lightning flash. Stunned to their very core, all traces of their casual, hands-on-hips arrogance vanished in an instant.
"Not good! Bu Luo Ke, go all out!"
Pa Te and the others roared in desperation. For some inexplicable reason, an overwhelming sense of impending doom simultaneously gripped their hearts.
"Martial Soul Possession!"
Pa Te, Bei Te, and Ang Shi rapidly activated their Martial Soul Possessions in a frantic bid to reinforce Bu Luo Ke.
However, after unleashing his Tool Soul Avatar, Xiao Lin's velocity had completely doubled. Moving at absolute maximum speed, he materialized directly in front of Bu Luo Ke's face in a mere heartbeat.
"Comet Star Strike!"
By the time Bu Luo Ke finally managed to force his eyes open against the glare, preparing to launch a counterattack, a massive staff dozens of meters long was already sweeping toward his face with cataclysmic momentum.
**
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!