But, at the next moment, the roof of the laboratory suddenly burst open, and a figure shimmering with golden light leaped down into the lab.
"Not good!"
Xuan Ziwen's expression suddenly changed.
At this moment, there was a hint of fear on his face in addition to astonishment.
All because the enemy before his eyes was overwhelmingly powerful.
Titled Douluo!
And not just any ordinary Titled Douluo-level expert.
Instinctively, Xuan Ziwen thought to take out his soul tool to face the enemy.
But he heard the figure say, "If I were you, I would choose to stand still and surrender without a fight.
After all, at such a close distance, you have absolutely no chance. In fact, even a Level 9 Soul Guidance Master would be undoubtedly dead at this distance from me."
The voice was very calm, but both Qin Xiao and Xuan Ziwen could hear the threatening undertone and strong confidence in his words.
Without a doubt, should Xuan Ziwen choose to act, he would face an attack as furious as a tempest.
And the identity of this person became clear—it was the second strongest of the Body Sect, Jinpeng!
"You must be Qin Xiao."
While looking at Xuan Ziwen, Jinpeng's face was filled with sternness.
But when he turned to Qin Xiao, his demeanor underwent a 180-degree shift, and a smile squeezed onto his aged face.
He tried hard to appear approachable.
"Err..." Xuan Ziwen looked baffled.
What's all this about?
Do I really look that hateful?
Seeing Qin Xiao not speaking and thinking he was scared stiff, Jinpeng quickly explained, "Kid, don't be afraid, we're here to take you back home."
Back home?
Xuan Ziwen was flabbergasted, "You're Qin Xiao's family? Is there any need to be so violent if you're all family?"
Qin Xiao: "..."
"They're not my family, they're people from the Body Sect," he explained to Xuan Ziwen.
"You're from the Body Sect!"
Xuan Ziwen's pupils suddenly constricted.
If you were to talk about the most notorious groups of Soul Masters on Soul Land, the evil Soul Masters would be first, followed by the Body Sect, and of course, the Sun-Moon Empire would absolutely be the third...
Hearing Qin Xiao's words, Jinpeng shook his head slightly, unhappy, "Child, you're wrong to say that. Anyone with a self martial soul is a disciple of the Body Sect; this is a universally acknowledged fact in Soul Land. So when I say we're family, there's no issue."
"No, you can't take Qin Xiao away!" Xuan Ziwen resolutely stepped in front of Qin Xiao.
At the same time, hundreds of pitch-black barrels appeared on his body.
Unlike when he faced Fan Yu, he had now revealed all his soul tools, clearly giving his all.
"I've said, don't resist. I also dislike it when people point soul tools at me."
Jinpeng said, and then suddenly made his move.
With one step, he closed the distance to Xuan Ziwen and with a wave of his hand, he sent most of the soul tools on Xuan Ziwen's body flying away.
But Xuan Ziwen had prepared for a fight, and the remaining soul tools were quickly charging up; the barrels glowed as Soul Power condensed.
Seeing that Xuan Ziwen refused to concede, Jinpeng snorted coldly, "Hmph, truly courting death. Do you really think my cultivation level was given for nothing?"
With that, he reached out and grabbed for Xuan Ziwen's neck.
Xuan Ziwen was no less stubborn and immediately activated an Invincible Shield.
However, this soul tool that could stymie even Soul Douluos was completely ineffective against Jinpeng.
It didn't even last a second, let alone three.
It was as though it shattered upon contact. With a snap like a mirror breaking, it scattered on the ground.
Jinpeng's hand, which seemed to be cast from gold, grabbed Xuan Ziwen's neck and lifted him off the ground. A powerful surge of Soul Power was forcibly injected into Xuan Ziwen's body, suppressing and sealing his own Soul Power.
All of the soul tools on Xuan Ziwen's body that were half-activated then lost the continuous infusion of Soul Power, and their glow immediately dimmed.
"Heh..."
With his neck being tightly squeezed, and without the protection of Soul Power, Xuan Ziwen experienced breathing difficulties, and his face turned a shade of purple.
"Stop!"
Suddenly, from behind Xuan Ziwen, Qin Xiao spoke up.
Elder Jin, however, showed no intention of stopping, "I must admit, I underestimated him just now. I didn't expect him to be an Eighth-level Soul Master. With that said, I can't allow him to live."
Qin Xiao stepped forward, calmly looking at Jinpeng, "If you can't spare him, then don't expect me to go back with you to the Body Sect."
"Heh, kid, are you trying to blackmail me?"
Jinpeng hadn't seen such an interesting youth in a long time.
But how could he possibly be threatened by a youth?
He glanced at Qin Xiao indifferently, "Even if I have to take you by force, what can you do? With your strength, you can't resist at all!"
"Then you can't blame me!"
Qin Xiao knew that in times like these, to have a say, he needed to show his strength to win over the other's interest.
As Soul Power flowed, a split suddenly appeared at the center of his forehead.
"What's this?" Jinpeng's expression shifted slightly, puzzled.
His instincts told him that the youth before him might be about to reveal something new, so he tempered his strength, enough to keep Xuan Ziwen from dying but still unable to break free.
Just then, the third eye on Qin Xiao's forehead completely revealed itself to Jinpeng.
"Your Martial Soul is quite unusual!"
Even though Jinpeng had seen many self martial souls, Qin Xiao's was a first.
His heart was filled with surprise.
However, the ability that Qin Xiao was manifesting wasn't the Eyes of Destruction, but only the Eye of Life.
After all, it was always best to keep some cards hidden, to be brought out when necessary for maximum effect.
Ignoring Jinpeng's astonishment, his gaze fell upon the hand that was grasping Xuan Ziwen.
A golden light burst forth from his pupils, grazing past Jinpeng's wrist in an instant.
Hiss...
First, Jinpeng felt a chill in his wrist, followed by a sharp pain that caused him to reflexively let go.
Thump.
Xuan Ziwen fell to the ground, coughing ceaselessly.
Qin Xiao approached him, gently patting Xuan Ziwen's back, "How are you?"
Xuan Ziwen took a few heavy breaths before he could speak with difficulty, "I... I'm okay... you... you should go."
Qin Xiao responded with a wry smile, "Big brother, calm down. We have nowhere to run right now."
Of course, that was a bluff.
Despite only having a Cultivation Level of over forty, opening the Eyes of Destruction would make it no problem to escape. But why would he run?
Wasn't the Body Sect handing themselves over on a plate?
It would be rude not to take charge.
Jinpeng said pensively, "It's a waste that you are an Eighth-level Soul Master, not seeing the situation as clearly as this young kid."
Saying this, he turned to look at Qin Xiao, extending his hand.
Qin Xiao saw that on Jinpeng's wrist there was a thin wound, from which droplets of fresh, red blood were falling to the ground.
Without a doubt, this was the work of Qin Xiao's Eye of Life.
Qin Xiao was not surprised at all.
Originally, his Eye of Life could easily break through Absolute Defense; scoring a wound on Jinpeng's hand seemed trivial.
There was no anger in Jinpeng's eyes, only a sense of nostalgia, "I don't know how long it's been since I've been wounded. I never thought that today, I would be breached by such a young kid."
"Eh, why are you getting excited?"
Qin Xiao, "Why would I be excited?"
"Do you know? In my current state, even a full attack from a Soul Douluo wouldn't harm me in the slightest. Only a handful of Strong Assault Titled Douluo could break my defense, and yet you -- a mere youth -- did it. Shouldn't you be happy?"
Pride flickered in Qin Xiao's eyes, "There's nothing happy about that. If I could chop off your arm completely, I might find some meaning in it."
"Qin Xiao, don't provoke him..." Xuan Ziwen urgently sent a voice message to Qin Xiao.
He was genuinely afraid that Jinpeng would slap Qin Xiao dead with his hand.