Just like Ye Zhongming killing the ogre, those black shadows were too fast.
Saint Ao Cha had already activated his bloodline—Molten Torch—transforming his body into something resembling a lava beast. His skin turned into charred stone, with no visible bones or organs inside, only red magma.
His head was the same, with only pitch-black eyes remaining.
His clothes couldn’t withstand the high temperature and turned to ashes, which explained why Ao Cha only draped a gold-grade black cloak over himself.
The Molten Torch bloodline was an explosive-type bloodline. Originally, Ao Cha had planned to stall Ye Zhongming for as long as his bloodline lasted while his subordinates looked for opportunities to deal heavy damage to him.
At first glance, this approach seemed backward—shouldn’t it be the others stalling while Ao Cha attacked?
But Ao Cha Shengzuo had no choice. Seeing how effortlessly the King of Cloud Peak had killed a level-seven ogre made it clear that, apart from himself, no one here could withstand even a single move from Ye Zhongming.
His plan was sound, but those black shadows delivered a harsh wake-up call.
For a moment, Ao Cha thought he was doomed.
However, he and his subordinates felt nothing after being struck by the shadows, not even pain.
Many looked down at their chests, where a small black sphere was embedded. If not for its strange patterns, it would have looked no different from a glass marble.
But when they tried to knock it off with their hands or weapons, Ye Zhongming’s attack arrived.
Blades flashed, ghostly and unpredictable.
Ao Cha knew the black spheres couldn’t be anything good, but he had no time to deal with them. With just a single swing of Ye Zhongming’s weapon, two of his subordinates were killed. If he didn’t intervene, all his men would be dead in seconds.
The Soul Merchant’s method of nurturing Saints was to provide them with all necessary resources, but the Saints themselves were responsible for their subordinates. However, each Saint received different allocations. Every so often, the Ten Saints would undergo a comprehensive ranking—those at the top received more resources, while those at the bottom got less.
Why was Ao Cha the first to evolve to eight stars? Because he ranked second in the last evaluation, earning him priority access to an eight-star evolution potion.
The men he brought with him were his elite subordinates. He had already lost his strongest fighter. If the rest died too, he would likely drop to the bottom three in the next evaluation.
The Molten Torch bloodline was excellent in every way except for one—it slightly reduced the user’s speed. Ao Cha was already slower than Ye Zhongming, and now he could barely even touch his shadow.
All he could do was watch as Ye Zhongming avoided direct combat with him and instead slaughtered his subordinates one by one.
Ao Cha roared in fury, continuously attacking Ye Zhongming with earth spikes, but to no effect—Ye Zhongming dodged them effortlessly.
On top of that, Ao Cha could spew magma pools from his palms and mouth. These abilities were deadly in close combat, catching opponents off guard, but as long-range attacks, they were far less effective.
He watched helplessly as his men were nearly wiped out.
Ao Cha was furious but hadn’t lost his senses. Seeing that he couldn’t stop Ye Zhongming, he immediately turned and charged toward the fleeing “livestock.”
You kill my men? Then I’ll kill the people you’re protecting.
This tactic worked. Ye Zhongming stopped his assault and closed the distance slightly.
Ao Cha was pleased with his countermove.
“You think I can’t kill you?” Ye Zhongming frowned, watching Ao Cha approach the women.
The Undead Sand Moon Blade vanished from his hand, replaced by a strangely shaped firearm.
When this weapon appeared, Ao Cha sensed overwhelming danger, his entire body freezing in terror.
His moving body suddenly dropped to the ground as a bullet grazed his scalp, sending searing pain through his now stone-like head.
Ao Cha knew he had just narrowly escaped death.
He didn’t understand—what kind of weapon was that? How could a single shot carry such terrifying power?
But before he could find an answer, Ao Cha felt a crushing force slam into his back, plunging his vision into darkness and halting his thoughts.
His bodily functions were severely damaged, and his bloodline deactivated, reverting him to his original form. Covered in blood, his nose and mouth bleeding profusely, he was left powerless to resist.
Silence fell over the surroundings.
Ever since learning this man was Ye Zhongming, whether it was the Soul Merchant members or the escaped women and children, everyone had expected Ye Zhongming to win and Ao Cha to lose.
But no one imagined Ao Cha would lose so decisively, so helplessly.
A gunshot, a dive, a single kick…
This… was almost comical!
Were the gaps between eight-star evolved really this vast?
Ao Cha, now unconscious, could answer that.
That shot was no ordinary bullet, and that firearm was no ordinary weapon.
If Ao Cha hadn’t dodged, he might have been instantly killed. The fact that he avoided it at all was a testament to his strength. But after dodging, he left himself wide open—there was nothing he could do.
Even if a nine-star evolved had been in his place, taking a direct stomp from Ye Zhongming while defenseless would have severely injured them.
Ye Zhongming stepped on Ao Cha and turned to the remaining Soul Merchant members, gesturing downward with his gun.
Immediately, they dropped their weapons and pressed themselves to the ground, surrendering.
If Ye Zhongming could defeat Ao Cha so easily, killing them would be like slaughtering chickens. Surrendering at least offered a slim chance of survival—resistance meant certain death.
Ye Zhongming glanced at Ao Cha, who was starting to regain consciousness, then slammed the butt of his gun into his head, knocking him out again.
He then walked over to the surrendered Soul Merchant members and called over Xiao Hua, who was still in shock.
“Take them aside one by one for interrogation. Cross-check their statements later. Kill anyone who lies.”
After announcing the questions he wanted answered, Ye Zhongming showed no concern about the unrestrained prisoners rebelling. He walked away and picked up several black spheres from the ground.
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