Douluo Continent: The Ice Dragon King Martial Soul, Ma Xiaotao is Addicted

In Ye Chen's raised palm, a semi-transparent phantom was firmly imprisoned by an invisible force, constantly twisting and struggling, emitting a faint purple light.

The illusory figure was vaguely Xu Tianran shrunk countless times, which was his original soul.

"No...you can't kill me! I am the Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire! What do you want?! Power? Wealth? I can give you anything! I can give you the entire empire..."

Xu Tianran's soul let out a hysterical scream, the shriek echoing directly in Ye Chen's mental sea, filled with extreme fear and humble pleas.

At this moment, imperial dignity and ambition to unify the continent are all fragile and vulnerable in the face of death.

Xu Tianran knew that no matter how big his ambitions were, he could only enjoy them while he was alive.

At this moment, Xu Tianran felt like a candle flickering in the wind; if the other party blew a single breath, he would be completely annihilated.

"What I want is something I don't need you to give me, and you can't give it to me anyway."

Ye Chen looked at the ball of soul light in his palm, which was violently twisted by fear, and gently shook his head.

Immediately afterwards, Ye Chen's five fingers suddenly clenched inward!
"puff!"

A barely audible sound was heard.

The struggling, pleading purple ball of soul light burst open instantly, like a soap bubble crushed by an invisible force, turning into countless tiny specks of light before completely annihilating and dissipating into the air without leaving a trace.

Xu Tianran, the new emperor of the Sun Moon Empire, thus perished completely.

The entire study fell into deathly silence.

Only the candlelight continued to flicker uneasily, casting swaying orange-red spots of light on the wall.

This reflects the chilling scene.

Orange stood frozen in front of the bookshelf, as if she had been frozen in place.

Her mouth was slightly open, and her beautiful eyes were wide open, filled with extreme shock and bewilderment.

The air seemed to solidify into a thick, sticky substance, pressing heavily on her chest, making each breath incredibly difficult.

The figure in the black robe slowly turned towards her. From the shadow of the hood, a hoarse, emotionless voice rang out, like sandpaper rubbing against dry bones, carrying a hint of mockery: "Why don't you run away? Perhaps... there would still be a chance?"

Orange's entire body trembled violently, as if struck by an invisible hammer, and the last bit of strength she had mustered instantly vanished.

Her legs gave way and she collapsed to the ground.

Although the floor was covered with an expensive animal hair carpet, a chilling coldness emanated from it.

Ju Zi raised her head, revealing a bitter smile: "With your cultivation level, if you really want to kill me, where can I escape to? If you don't want to kill me, then I don't need to escape..."

The instinct for survival ultimately prevailed over fear.

Summoning her last ounce of courage, she gazed into the unfathomable shadow of the hood, her voice trembling almost imperceptibly, nearly pleading: "If you spare me, I will not reveal a single word about what happened here..."

Orange stared intently at the man in black robes, seemingly trying to discern something from his gaze.

Unfortunately, the other person's face was completely hidden in the darkness, and she couldn't see anything.

But no matter what, she definitely didn't want to die...

She still wanted revenge, and although Xu Tianran's sudden death made the chances very slim, she still wouldn't give up.

Moreover, there's someone she wants to see...

If she dies here, then her last farewell to Ye Chen will be their last.

I wonder if Ye Chen will be heartbroken if he finds out she's dead...

Orange's mind started to wander.

The thought of that figure only intensified her desire to survive.

If she had the chance, she really wanted to see him one last time, even if it was just...

However, it was right on the edge of this abyss of despair.

The man in black robes suddenly raised his hand.

Under Orange's terrified gaze, the hand with distinct knuckles slowly reached towards the edge of the hood.

The soft rustling of fabric was amplified in the quiet study. The hood was gently lifted, slipped down, and revealed what lay beneath.

The candlelight finally shone unhindered onto that young face.

His sword-like eyebrows slanted upwards towards his temples, exuding the unique vigor of a young man, yet also possessing a composure far beyond his years.

Her nose was high and straight, and her lips had a clear yet soft line.

His skin glowed with a healthy sheen in the candlelight, his features were well-defined but not sharp, just like the handsome and bright young man in Orange's memory, Ye Chen.

Upon seeing this face, Orange was completely frozen in place, as if struck by an invisible lightning bolt...

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

Her mind went blank; all her thoughts and perceptions were shattered by the face before her.

The name "Ye Chen" echoed wildly in his mind, but he couldn't connect it with the terrifying assassin in front of him who had crushed a Title Douluo with a mere wave of his hand.

"How is this possible... This must be a hallucination..." Orange's beautiful eyes widened, and she even began to doubt whether this was a hallucination that her brain produced before she died.

She blinked hard instinctively, trying to clear her mind.

"...Ye...Ye Chen?"

Orange's voice was dry and hoarse, trembling with disbelief, each word seeming to be squeezed out with difficulty from her throat.

Her mouth was open, but the words that followed seemed to be tightly strangled by invisible chains, and she couldn't utter them no matter what.

After Ye Chen took off his hood, his piercing gaze softened.

She became exceptionally gentle, like a spring breeze blowing across frozen earth.

He raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a warm smile that Ju Zi knew all too well. That smile seemed to instantly dispel the chill in the study, making one feel as if bathed in a spring breeze.

Ye Chen walked up to Ju Zi, gently squatted down, and met her gaze. His voice regained the gentleness Ju Zi remembered, carrying a hint of inexplicable tenderness: "Sister Ju Zi, did I scare you?"

The tone made it sound as if it had just been a harmless prank.

If Xu Tianran's body hadn't been still nearby, Ju Zi would probably have seriously doubted whether everything that had just happened was a dream...

"Ye Chen... how could you... what's going on? Who... who are you...?"

Orange's gaze was still somewhat unfocused; the sheer volume of information nearly caused her brain to shut down.

The person before her had a familiar face and a familiar voice, yet he possessed a power and cunning she could not comprehend at all.

She couldn't connect the Ye Chen of this moment with the Ye Chen of the past; this huge sense of disconnect made her feel dizzy and panicked.

"All right……"

Ye Chen reached out and, with perfect ease, gently pulled the limp and powerless Orange into his arms.

Orange's body stiffened, then she felt the warmth and familiar scent from that embrace, refreshing and clean, with a unique fragrance that belonged to Ye Chen.

The aura strangely soothed some of her panic, but it still did not resolve her doubts.

Ye Chen placed a light kiss on her smooth forehead and whispered, "I'll explain it to you slowly later."

He helped Orange's somewhat weak body to sit on a royal armchair covered with soft velvet.

Orange's body was still trembling slightly, but her gaze involuntarily followed Ye Chen's figure.

Ye Chen turned around, his gaze returning to the lifeless body behind the desk.

Ye Chen remained calm and composed, as if he were handling an ordinary object.

A flash of light appeared on the storage ring on his finger, and a figure identical to Xu Tianran in build, appearance, and clothing appeared in the open space in the center of the study.

This "Xu Tianran" was also sitting upright, but his eyes were empty and dull, like a soulless puppet. Only the slight rise and fall of his chest proved that the other party was at least a "living person".

This "Xu Tianran" is the [Myriad Manifestations Puppet] that Ye Chen painstakingly created.

(End of this chapter)