224: Soul Plate

After a grand and impactful baptism, this sudden battle came to an end.

Below the deep pit, it was a mess, with dilapidated scenes everywhere.

The Violent Thunder Beast had once again returned to its heavily injured and weakened state.

Under its massive body, blood gathered into a small stream.

Seeing that fulfilling its master's wish was hopeless, the Violent Thunder Beast's eyes were about to split open from rage.

It was still as useless as it had been more than a decade ago.

It simply couldn't protect its master... If not for its master's help, how could it be what it was today?

Slowly, it dragged its almost falling-apart body, moving towards Zhou Jinhu.

It thought that even if it died, it would die with its master... Lin Shu remained silent at this scene, simply watching quietly.

Despite this, he didn't let Hei Ye and the others stop their attack.

An enemy's tragedy would not earn anyone's pity.

The Violent Thunder Beast coughed up large mouthfuls of blood, its body trembling like chaff.

The few meters that were once within reach now seemed like an insurmountable chasm, visible but unreachable.

It could only writhe its body like a puddle of mud.

But fortunately, its forelimbs were long enough, and it finally touched Zhou Jinhu's body.

Immediately, the Violent Thunder Beast was content, pressing its crumbling body, like shattered porcelain, tightly against Zhou Jinhu's emaciated form, and slowly closed its eyes.

It quietly awaited death.

Zhou Jinhu, now like a dried corpse, completely dark, seemed to sense something and tremblingly raised his deformed, chicken-claw-like hand to caress the Violent Thunder Beast's neck.

This scene caused a rapid succession of images to flash through his mind.

He felt as if he had returned to the day he first became a Beastmaster.

The moment he first contracted the Violent Thunder Beast.

How lively and excited he had been then... A line of clear tears slipped from the corner of his eye.

His vision gradually blurred, then completely plunged into darkness.

Finally, Zhou Jinhu could no longer hold on; his body turned into specks of dust and vanished, merging with the wind, blowing to an unknown destination.

Only the tiny burning embers remained in place.

And the Violent Thunder Beast also followed, its massive body transforming into countless red light particles.

They drifted with the wind into the distance, their whereabouts unknown.

They would, in the end, be together forever... A gentle breeze stirred, bringing with it a faint coolness.

A soft, continuous whimpering sound, seemingly carrying a hint of relief.

Lin Shu calmly watched this scene, his previously furrowed brow relaxing.

Thus, this assassination attempt came to an end.

Seeing the immediate increase in proficiency, he felt relieved.

Finally, this battle was over.

The intense pain in his mind continued unabated, causing his face to turn pale.

He squatted on the ground without a care, beginning to pant heavily.

It was clear how immense the Mental burden of fully unleashing "Mirror Flower, Water Moon" was.

This battle was incredibly difficult to win, but thankfully, his methods were superior, giving him a slight edge.

Otherwise, he would have had to rely on external help.

He then turned his gaze to Tu Yao, who was beside him.

If not for him, he would have been in grave danger in this battle.

Tu Yao squatted beside him, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

His robust body was covered in scorch marks and bloodstains, and even the large hole piercing his body was still visible; this battle had almost cost him his life.

If not for the stat points and the Ten Thousand Healing Elixir, the outcome would have been uncertain.

Intense pain swept through his entire body, pain enough to kill an ordinary person, but this intensity was still within Tu Yao's acceptable range.

As long as his master wasn't injured, anything was acceptable.

Hei Ye, Ziyu, and Silver Spirit were by his side, looking at these shocking wounds.

They felt very distressed; after such a long companionship, it was the first time they had seen him so heavily injured.

Tu Yao showed a silly grin at their concerned gazes, waving his huge arm.

Then he twisted his body, striking a bodybuilder-like pose, telling everyone that he was fine.

Their hearts felt a little better then; it was good that there was nothing serious.

Although the Violent Thunder Beast's main target wasn't them, the powerful energy explosion still had some residual effects on their bodies.

Everyone had varying degrees of injuries on their bodies, but relatively speaking, they were only minor injuries.

Observing Tu Yao's condition, the panel showed moderate injuries.

It seemed there was nothing major.

After a brief rest, Lin Shu got up, the Mental fluctuations in his mind now much better.

Everyone also recovered some of their state after a short rest.

Looking at the vast, desolate battlefield, it was as if it had been carpet-bombed.

It was enough to show how explosive the battle situation had been just now.

And the huge black shield that had originally enveloped the thousand-mile radius shattered directly after Zhou Jinhu's death.

Without overthinking these things, Lin Shu took Hei Ye and the others, preparing to leave the Shadow Grotto.

Although they were temporarily safe, this place was not suitable for a long stay.

It was better to return to the school first and let everyone's injuries heal.

And he also needed to report this matter to his mentor and the school.

How many other Great Xia traitors like Zhou Jinhu might there be?

He then quickly departed, leaving behind only scarred traces.

Although there were no gains from this battle, learning this information was the greatest reward... At this moment, within a hidden corner of the Spirit Domain forces.

In a somewhat bright secret room.

The room appeared extremely empty, with nothing inside.

But on the walls on both sides, there were rows of densely packed, palm-sized pits.

Inside them were placed blood-red jade tokens of uniform shape and palm size, constantly flickering with faint red light in the confined space.

Below the jade tokens, names were meticulously recorded in text.

And these were the soul tokens of the Spirit Domain members.

The Fifth Lord, clad in a black robe, casually observed the upper area.

The flickering light, visible through the black robe, revealed that his face was actually covered by a black armored mask.

It completely enveloped the Fifth Lord's face, with only a pair of eyes exposed, filled with a sense of vicissitude and ruthlessness.

Each of these blood-red jade tokens represented a Blue Star person who had joined the Spirit Domain.

As far as the eye could see, the pulsating red lights on both walls numbered in the hundreds.

This showed the extent of the Spirit Domain's infiltration.

The purpose of these blood-red jade tokens was to check their life and death status.

Everyone who joined the Spirit Domain would be controlled by a secret art; no one was an exception.

This was also the most crucial point.

Moreover, as soon as anyone attempted to reveal any information or data about the Spirit Domain, the secret art would automatically activate, causing a huge Mental shock that would lead to their sudden death.

Just like Shen Tu Wu Hong.

This was also one of the important reasons why the Spirit Domain could develop stably within the Great Xia.

Otherwise, if even a trace were exposed, it would have long been eradicated by the Qingyi Bureau.

And this secret room contained all the Blue Star people's tokens; the blood-red jade tokens of the others were in a different location.

The Fifth Lord came here to check on Zhou Jinhu's situation.

Regarding Lin Shu's assassination mission, there was no way Zhou Jinhu could have returned.

It should be time for him to have made his move.

The Fifth Lord didn't have to wait long; the blood-red jade token with Zhou Jinhu's name on it suddenly dimmed at this moment.

It transformed into a transparent crystal, then shattered into pieces from within.

Until it turned into specks of white light and disappeared.

At this time, it had been less than ten minutes since Zhou Jinhu reported the assassination time.

He was actually eliminated so quickly.

Seeing this scene, the Fifth Lord instantly understood.

He roughly imagined the specific situation.

It seemed Lin Shu had directly used his life-saving method.

He was quite decisive, somewhat clever.

After all, the strength gap between the two sides was still visible to the naked eye.

Meaningless struggles were pointless.

And this also meant that the Fifth Lord's previous plan was completed.

Next time, it would be easier.

This assassination was merely an appetizer.

The real kill mission was yet to come.

However, there was still some time; let Lin Shu continue to enjoy himself outside for a while longer.

The Fifth Lord was very curious about the secrets he possessed.

But he was not in a hurry; he had plenty of time, and this was just an interesting event in his long years.

He then disappeared into the darkness without looking back, leaving only the red lights flickering on the two walls, constantly dancing.