"How long have you been here?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"It's been several months. Every day I watch different people taken away, new people brought in. It's been a terrifying time," the young man sighed.
"How should I address you?" Evan Yang asked, still curious.
"My name is Damien Sword," the young man replied. After hearing his introduction, Evan said, "I'm Evan Yang, and she's Gavin White."
"Meeting here is fate, but who knows how long we'll survive?" Damien Sword smiled helplessly.
Evan Yang inspected the things binding him and found they were specifically designed to restrain souls, making it impossible for the soul to escape. Gavin White tried a few times and confirmed she couldn't break free, so Evan had to think of another way. He began gathering Chaos Soul-Power in his hand.
The people who had all been waiting to die watched Evan Yang in curiosity as a strange power appeared in his hand.
Under everyone's gaze, the bindings on Evan Yang's hands snapped. It was the first time anyone had ever seen someone break free from these strange restraints, so they all frantically begged Evan to help them too.
Evan Yang hushed the crowd, "Everyone, quiet. I'll help you unlock these, but I advise you not to run around for now. We don't know what's outside. If we run into powerful enemies, it'll be trouble."
No matter what was outside, everyone just wanted to be safe right now, so they listened to Evan. After Evan freed Gavin White, he quickly unlocked the others as well. There were over a hundred clear-headed people here, while thousands more lay elsewhere, all unconscious or dull. Evan said to the hundred-plus, "Wait here. She and I will go check things out."
"I'll go with you," Damien Sword said.
"You?" Evan Yang looked curiously at the first person to greet him. Damien Sword gazed at Evan, clearly wanting to go out.
Evan Yang thought for a moment and said, "Alright."
So Evan Yang led Gavin White and Damien Sword slowly to the door. Luckily, it wasn't locked and opened easily.
Evan Yang quietly cracked the door open and used Divine Sense to check the situation outside.
Seeing that it was eerily quiet outside, Evan Yang frowned. "This is a bit too quiet."
"It is," Damien Sword replied. Evan Yang pondered for a moment and asked, "How often do their people come to take souls away?"
"Every afternoon," Damien Sword answered after thinking for a moment.
"How strong are they?" Evan Yang asked Damien Sword, wondering if he could make a move at that time.
Damien Sword thought for a bit and said, "Three people come every day. One wears blue, two wear white—the two in white are probably attendants. The one in blue, I'm not sure, but his aura isn't very strong. They mainly use a special tool to take away the designated person."
After hearing Damien Sword's explanation, Evan Yang said, "Alright, we'll target them directly. In a moment, you two handle the white-clad attendants on either side, and I'll subdue the one in blue."
Damien Sword nodded, and Gavin White understood Evan's meaning. The three waited here; after all, only by forcing answers from those people could they learn about this place. Wandering out blindly would be too dangerous.
So, the three waited patiently. Soon, the trio Damien mentioned slowly walked in from outside. The moment they pushed the door open, three bursts of power dragged them inside.
They never expected anyone inside to escape, so by the time they reacted, they'd already been subdued. Evan Yang quickly sealed the movements of the three soul-handlers.
Seeing the three immobilized, Damien Sword couldn't help but admire Evan Yang. Evan then questioned the man in blue, "Where is this place? What faction is this? Why are you capturing souls?"
At that moment, the three were completely stunned—they hadn't expected these people to be so terrifying.
"What, didn't you hear my questions?" Evan Yang pressed.
The blue-clad man came to his senses and said, "This is the manor of General Skybreaker, a Great Spirit under Spirit King Hanlin."
"Spirit King Hanlin? General Skybreaker?" Evan Yang didn't understand, but Damien Sword said, "So that's how it is. Then why are they capturing us? Why are these people like this?"
The blue-clad man replied gloomily, "It's for General Skybreaker's Master Soul Summoner. They say if they gather one million souls, they'll be able to forge the strongest soul puppet, powerful enough to battle a Spirit King."
Evan Yang didn't know the power hierarchy of the Spirit Prison Realm, so he decided to ask Damien Sword about it later. After the blue-clad man finished, Evan asked, "What does the map of your manor look like? How is it laid out? Tell us everything. If anything goes wrong, you're done for."
The three were frustrated, but they had no choice. Even though telling could have serious consequences, they had to explain bit by bit under Evan Yang's questioning.
Once they finished, Evan Yang stood and asked Damien Sword, "What kind of strength do Spirit Kings and Great Spirits have?"
"Above Spirit Kings are Saint Kings. Below them are Great Spirits. All are very strong, but I can't say exactly how powerful," Damien Sword replied.
Hearing this, Evan Yang wanted to test what a Great Spirit could do. He said, "Let's find the Master Soul Summoner first, then go after the Great Spirit. Damien, you release everyone during the chaos. As for the ones who are mindless, I'll see if we can get a solution from the Master Soul Summoner."
"Alright, leave it to us." Damien Sword supported Evan Yang and Gavin White's unwillingness to abandon the others, so he agreed.
With Damien Sword helping, Evan Yang could go out with peace of mind. He and Gavin White put on blue and white uniforms and, following the directions they'd gotten, carefully made their way toward the so-called Master Soul Summoner.
On the way, they avoided many hidden sentries. Soon they arrived at the Master Soul Summoner's door. Evan Yang knocked and said, "Master, are you in?"
"I'm here. Come in," came a voice from inside.
Evan Yang and Gavin White exchanged a glance, then walked in.
The first thing they noticed inside was the overwhelming mix of smells—it was suffocating. The room was extremely dark, and Evan Yang could only see clearly thanks to his Night-Eye Technique. Gavin White was annoyed, forced to stay close to Evan.
Just then, an old man slowly emerged from the darkness and looked at Evan Yang and Gavin White. "Where are today's souls?" he asked.
"Today's souls ran into trouble—they might not make it," Evan Yang replied. Gavin White took the initiative to close the door. Seeing this, the old man waved his hand, lighting fires around them. In the flickering flames, the three locked eyes.
"Who are you?" Seeing they weren't the usual handlers, the Master Soul Summoner glared.
"We're here to deal with you," Evan Yang said, gathering Chaos Soul-Power in his hand. Seeing the strange power, the Master Soul Summoner wasn't angry—instead, he laughed. "Good, very good! I'm just missing a main soul. You're perfect for the role. Now that you're here, you won't be leaving."
With that, the Master Soul Summoner vanished in a flash. Evan Yang and Gavin White found themselves back-to-back on a circular platform. Four openings surrounded them, and from each emerged a soul—just an empty shell, no consciousness—ready to attack Evan.
Evan Yang called out, "Master Soul Summoner, you're planning to use these souls against me? You're underestimating me."
"I don't know who you are, but I want to see what you're capable of. These are just appetizers—the real thing comes later," the Master Soul Summoner sneered from somewhere nearby.
Evan Yang instantly pinpointed the source of the voice. If he got a chance, he'd definitely find that spot and drag the man out.
"Is that so? Well, these appetizers aren't appetizing at all," Evan Yang said, dispatching them in an instant.
Evan Yang laughed. "If you're going to do it, give me something fierce. If these are your appetizers, just save them—don't waste my time."
"No rush, let's take it slow," the Master Soul Summoner said with a smile, but inwardly he sneered, "Kid, I'm going to wear down your strength bit by bit. Once you're completely drained, I'll show myself and you'll obediently become my main soul."
So wave after wave of different souls attacked Evan Yang, but he and Gavin White dealt with them all.
"This can't go on," Gavin White frowned after more than a dozen rounds.
"Yeah, let's wait a bit more. I know he's trying to wear us down. Listen to me—pretend to be exhausted next round," Evan Yang instructed. Gavin White didn't know what he was planning, but she trusted him, so in the next wave she acted very tired.
Evan Yang also started to look strained. If earlier he handled things easily, now it seemed to be taking more effort, and his power seemed to drop.
Seeing his chance, the Master Soul Summoner flashed in front of Evan Yang, holding a large fan covered with countless souls. All of them looked eerie, as if ready to devour someone.
"Kid, today you'll be my main soul—you should feel honored," the Master Soul Summoner sneered, swinging the fan at Evan Yang.
But in an instant, Evan Yang erupted with power. With a flash, he appeared beside the Master Soul Summoner, grabbed his left hand, twisted the fan away, and struck his left side with a palm.
The Master Soul Summoner was shocked, but he couldn't react as fast as Evan Yang. In a single move, the fan was snatched away and he was sent flying, crashing against the wall.
Gavin White snapped out of it, and the two approached the Master Soul Summoner. Evan Yang crouched down, sealed several of his acupoints, and said with a smile, "Master Soul Summoner? The way you refine souls is just inviting divine retribution."
"Divine retribution? Hah! What's that? Kid, you'd better let me go. If General Skybreaker finds out, you're dead for sure." The Master Soul Summoner showed no fear of Evan Yang—in fact, he seemed excited by Evan's strength.