Soul Land: Legend of Saint Seiya

Chapter 217: Hell Knights

The Star Luo Empire was rife with fraternal rivalry, but the Heaven Dou royal family was no better. The stand-in prince could never truly replace the real Qian Renxue. Lacking her sharp perception and strategic mindset, the substitute fell victim to an underhanded ploy by Prince Xue Xing, enabling the Fourth Prince, Xue Beng, to gain a foothold in the court.

Fortunately, the foundation laid by Qian Renxue earlier ensured that most court officials still supported the stand-in, Xue Qinghe. With the Nine Stars Hall backing him and Emperor Xue Ye favoring the widely respected crown prince, the situation remained manageable. The emperor allowed Prince Xue Xing to promote Xue Beng as a rival to Xue Qinghe, simply to prevent the crown prince from setting his sights prematurely on the throne.

The timeless rule of imperial families—"there is no father and son in the royal house"—remained true, even in this fantastical world.

While the outside world roiled with schemes and secret machinations among major powers, Xiao Yu, Qian Renxue, Ye Lingling, and Huo Wu focused solely on cultivation within the Netherworld.

Time flew by. It had been a month since they defeated the guardian of the First Hell, the Dark Arbiter.

During this time, both Ye Lingling and Huo Wu had broken through the bottleneck at level 60.

Ye Lingling, after absorbing the inner core of the Dark Spirit Tiger, had reached level 63 in soul power.

Huo Wu, meanwhile, had broken through to level 60 three days ago but hadn't yet found a suitable inner core to convert into her sixth soul ring. The inner core of the Flame Demon Ape was far too powerful. If Huo Wu attempted to absorb it at her current level, the energy backlash would likely cause her to explode.

The inner core of the Dark Spirit Tiger was suitable in terms of age, but its pure darkness attribute clashed with Huo Wu's fire attribute. Forcing the absorption could result in a soul skill completely incompatible with her abilities.

Xiao Yu was in no rush, as there were still seven more hells and four more circles to explore. Surely, they would find a suitable beast along the way.

In the meantime, Huo Wu could focus on accumulating soul power through cultivation. As flawed as Yu Xiaogang's theory might have been, Xiao Yu recognized its practicality. Of course, given Yu Xiaogang's meager level 29 soul power, he never had the opportunity to put his theories into practice. Xiao Yu could easily guess that this knowledge was likely gleaned from Spirit Hall's archives.

Over this month, Xiao Yu and Qian Renxue had also made significant progress in their soul power.

Xiao Yu had reached level 78, even though he had spent the early days in the Netherworld condensing and purifying his soul power to stabilize the levels gained from Xiao Wu's sacrifice. Without that delay, he might already be on the verge of breaking through the level 80 bottleneck.

Qian Renxue, meanwhile, had reached the peak of level 74, just one step away from level 75.

This rapid cultivation speed filled Qian Renxue with excitement. She knew full well that even with her utmost dedication in Spirit Hall, such progress would have been impossible.

All of this was thanks to Xiao Yu bringing her into this secret realm. Otherwise, she would still be struggling to overcome the bottleneck to becoming a Soul Sage.

Though Qian Renxue didn't say much, her attitude toward Xiao Yu had noticeably softened, with a hint of tender warmth that wasn't there before.

"Let's move out!"

Xiao Yu's original plan was to head to the Second Hell after Huo Wu's breakthrough to level 60. However, Huo Wu, spurred by Xiao Yu's provocative remarks, had pushed herself too hard. As a result, her soul power was unstable when she broke through.

With his keen spiritual power, Xiao Yu quickly noticed Huo Wu's condition and ordered her to stop cultivating to stabilize her realm.

Three days later, once Huo Wu's realm had stabilized completely, Xiao Yu led the three women toward the Second Hell.

Passing through the vast hall of the First Hell, they opened the heavy doors at the back of the palace.

A fierce wind howled through, its force like the pounding of thousands of hooves striking the ground. The sheer intensity of the wind shook the air and filled their ears with a deafening roar.

"Let's go!"

Xiao Yu released his Nether God Domain, and a faint black glow enveloped the group like a protective membrane, shielding them from the raging winds. Maintaining a steady pace, they quickly crossed the turbulent gusts and entered the Second Hell.

The Second Hell was a place for punishing the greedy. The environment was dark, and a light drizzle fell from the sky, its droplets carrying a faint chill as they landed on their skin.

In the distance stretched an endless army of skeletons. Noticing Xiao Yu and the others, the skeletal soldiers began surging over the hills, rushing toward them in a wave.

The four maintained the same formation they had used against the skeletons at the Acheron River. Ye Lingling, the team's support, was protected in the center like a precious gem, while Xiao Yu, Qian Renxue, and Huo Wu each held a corner of the formation, charging head-on into the skeletal army.

Xiao Yu was the first to unleash his martial soul. His four wings spread behind him, and the cold blade of the Nether King Sword gleamed with a chilling light. He dove into the skeletal horde, sweeping his sword in all directions. The skeleton soldiers disintegrated into dust the moment they came into contact with the blade.

Qian Renxue radiated dazzling light as her Angelic Domain expanded, covering several thousand square meters around her with brilliant golden light. Her Six-Winged Angel form was a natural nemesis of these undead creatures. The weaker skeletons disintegrated into ash from the divine energy in her domain before she even got close.

Although Huo Wu wasn't as powerful as Xiao Yu or Qian Renxue, her fiery determination drove her to fight with all her might. Intense fire elements gathered around her, transforming into a storm of blazing meteors that bombarded the skeletal army. Under the relentless onslaught of flames, countless skeletons were reduced to charred fragments.

Ye Lingling held a fragrant begonia flower in her hands, its soft light glowing faintly. Countless white petals floated from her palms, rising with the wind and dancing in the air before merging into the bodies of her three teammates. Her abilities ensured that they maintained their peak soul power at all times.

Working seamlessly together, the team was like a sharp blade slicing through layer after layer of the skeletal army's defenses. Countless skeleton soldiers were reduced to fragments under their relentless attacks.

"Fall back!"

Suddenly, a cold and commanding voice echoed through the battlefield. The skeleton soldiers, who had been charging fearlessly, immediately halted and stepped aside, forming a path down the middle.

"It seems the guardian of the Second Hell is making their appearance!"

Xiao Yu, Qian Renxue, Ye Lingling, and Huo Wu all had the same thought at that moment.

Tap, tap, tap!

The crisp sound of hooves broke the silence, and soon, a figure came into view. A knight clad in pitch-black heavy armor, his face obscured by a black visor, appeared before them. In each hand, he held a spiral lance about a meter long. His imposing warhorse, also covered in the same black armor, exuded an oppressive aura of darkness.

This was the guardian of the Second Hell: the Hell Knight.

(End of chapter.)

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