Chapter 195: Devouring the Divine Soul

"Since there's no countermeasure, just learn along!"

Ye Liuyun made up his mind and immediately released his Golden Armor Giant to compete with those trolls for devouring the annihilated souls.

At the same time, he used his Golden Pupil to strike those trolls from afar, coordinating with the Golden Armor Giant's actions.

The tactic proved effective; the Golden Armor Giant quickly grew larger and faster, and eventually, without Ye Liuyun needing to employ his Illusion Technique Domain, it eliminated the remaining trolls and devoured their souls.

Then the Golden Armor Giant returned to Ye Liuyun's Sea of Consciousness. The Ten Thousand Gods Command shone golden light, helping the Giant cleanse Demon Qi.

Ye Liuyun immediately sat in lotus posture, beginning to use the power of his Soul to theorize other applications of this soul‑devouring.

In the end he concluded that if the Golden Armor Giant can devour, then his Illusion Technique Domain should be able to as well. Likewise, the Illusion Pupil should also serve a devouring function.

Thus, impatiently, he rose and pressed on to the next stage of the battlefield, where Ye Liuyun directly used his Illusion Technique Domain to devour—effective indeed. He then tried the Golden Illusion Pupil, which also worked, though its efficiency was lower and considerably slower.

But Ye Liuyun did not give up; he persisted in using the Golden Illusion Pupil to devour souls, strengthening the pupil's effect.

As the number of souls he devoured increased, his devouring speed accelerated, and the Golden Illusion Pupil's efficiency greatly improved.

In the subsequent battles, he used the Illusion Pupil to directly devour those trolls.

Those trolls were already Soul bodies, requiring no killing before they could be devoured.

Streaks of black Demon Qi followed his golden gaze into the Sea of Consciousness, and after being purified by the Ten Thousand Gods Command, they replenished Ye Liuyun's Soul, causing it to continuously expand.

Gradually, Ye Liuyun felt his Soul had temporarily swollen to its limit. The Ten Thousand Gods Command had begun reclaiming the excess Soul power.

"It will probably require some time to settle," Ye Liuyun thought. He gazed at the passage ahead, reluctant to leave.

But in the end he gritted his teeth and turned to walk out of the cave.

"Come back when there's another chance! This time the gains were substantial! I've already reached Sixth‑level Soul Master. My Sword Intent has reached mid‑Great Achievement; I need to go out to train!"

Lost in thought, Ye Liuyun unwittingly walked out of the Red Soul Cave, an indecipherable utterance.

Standing at the entrance, he looked back and found the Red Soul Cave no longer seemed as terrifying as when he first entered.

Shortly after Ye Liuyun emerged, Chu Wanqing appeared before him.

"You attack me again, I'll try!" the Martial Soul Saint said to Ye Liuyun with a smile.

"Fine, then consider it an offense!"

After speaking, Ye Liuyun first activated his Golden Illusion Pupil to employ the Illusion Technique Domain, released the Golden Armor Giant, and then unleashed the pupil's devouring power—threefold attack toward the Martial Soul Saint's Sea of Consciousness.

The Golden Armor Giant, wielding a massive blade, slashed through the Martial Soul Saint's defense in a single strike and surged forward.

Chu Wanqing's expression changed dramatically. She felt herself immersed in Blood Thunder and flames; as the Golden Armor Giant charged in, Ye Liuyun's Golden Pupil also began devouring the power of her Soul.

Fortunately, Ye Liuyun stopped at a suitable point; the Illusion Technique Domain, the Golden Armor Giant, and the devouring force all ceased. Yet that single impact was enough for her to realize Ye Liuyun's tremendous progress.

"You've become a Sixth‑level Soul Master? That's rapid progress!" Chu Wanqing exclaimed, "No wonder your master holds you in such high regard; you truly have extraordinary talent!"

"Senior, you flatter me! I truly have reached the Sixth‑level Soul Master rank now," Ye Liuyun replied respectfully.

"Why didn't you continue cultivating inside?" the Martial Soul Saint asked further.

"I feel I've hit a bottleneck and need to go out to train. I'll return later to continue cultivation. At that time I hope you will permit me to re‑enter the Red Soul Cave," Ye Liuyun said, bowing to her.

Chu Wanqing smiled, "Very well, as a return, when you depart bring Lin Xueying, ensure her safety all the way, and bring her back unharmed, and I will let you re‑enter the Red Soul Cave."

"Alright, I accept! I'll first return to check, not rush to leave; when I do, I'll call on Senior Sister Lin Xueying," Ye Liuyun thought she only wanted Lin Xueying to be safer during her outing, and said nothing more.

"Alright, you may go!" Chu Wanqing did not stop him and let him leave.

Ye Liuyun first went to see his master, reporting his learning results and mentioning his intention to go out to train.

Grand Elder, aware of his recent progress and desire to train outside, immediately agreed and gave Ye Liuyun a Transmission Talisman.

"This Transmission Talisman can transmit sound over distance, facilitating communication; keep it on you," Grand Elder instructed.

"Understood!" Ye Liuyun replied, stowing the talisman before taking his leave from his master and returning to his quarters.

Inside the Dongtian Dadian, nothing had changed, except Lei Ming seemed a bit bored!

"Brother Lei Ming, you've been gone over half a month this time! Leaving me alone here, I'm bored to death!" Lei Ming began to complain as soon as he saw him.

"Hehe, then let's go. We'll check on the senior brothers and sisters, then prepare to leave the academy for training. There'll be things for you to enjoy then."

Ye Liuyun didn't linger, took Qiong Qi, hoisted Lei Ming, and headed straight to the Outer Courtyard disciples' barracks.

Before arriving, his Divine Sense from afar sensed something off about the atmosphere; many disciples bore injuries.

In the centers of several Side Courtyards, many disciples gathered. A disciple of Fifth Rank Sea Transformation spoke fervently, urging everyone to organize and jointly resist the oppression of Inner Sect disciples.

Ye Liuyun's arrival instantly drew everyone's gaze; many cast hostile looks upon seeing his Inner Sect attire.

Northern District disciples shouted, "Junior Brother Ye, you're here!" and someone immediately welcomed him.

"What happened here?" Ye Liuyun asked Han Feng.

"Junior Brother Ye, you don't know, we've been taken as Outer Sect disciples by the academy. It was fine, but the academy has a disciple guild called Clear River Pavilion that approached us, demanding we hand over cultivation resources. If we refuse they beat many of us."

Han Feng hurriedly reported the situation to Ye Liuyun, saying now only Ye Liuyun could help them.

Leng Yue added angrily, "Indeed! Those people are despicable and even gave us an ultimatum. If we don't submit today, they'll wipe us out!"

When Ye Liuyun arrived, Northern District disciples gathered around him, leaving the speaking disciple aside.

The disciple wasn't angry; instead, he came forward to greet Ye Liuyun.

"Junior Brother Ye, I've long admired your reputation! I'm from the Eastern District Branch, called Tie Jun. Dissatisfied with Clear River Pavilion's oppression, I wish to rally everyone to resist their tyranny together."

"Hmm," Ye Liuyun mused, then said, "The plan is feasible, but with your strength you likely can't match Inner Sect disciples. The gap in realms can't be compensated by numbers!"

"Yes, I understand that. Yet seeing so many disciples injured and maimed, and forced to submit pills monthly, I can't accept it."

Tie Jun nodded, acknowledging Ye Liuyun's point.

"Moreover, we've handed them all our cultivation resources, so our progress slows, and we'll never turn the tide! So I thought, organizing a resistance is at least better than being picked off one by one!"