A swordsman needs a pure Sword Heart, and Ouyang Sword’s purity was on full display.

Shen Bai clapped Ouyang Sword on the shoulder. "We’ll find the mastermind soon enough. When we do, we’ll cut them down."

Ouyang Sword nodded, taking several deep breaths to quell the rage in his heart.

The two of them followed Yang Feng and headed out.

Half of their people had been assigned to stay in the county town to protect the citizens.

The rest followed Yang Feng, rushing toward the Soul Master’s last known location.

The Soul Master himself had not come along, instead remaining in the county town to stabilize the wounded.

Before long, the group had left the town.

...

「Outside Liangshui County.」

In the desolate outskirts, the barren landscape evoked a sense of profound loneliness.

The moon in the sky was now hidden behind a dark cloud.

As the moonlight dimmed, the darkness deepened, making it difficult for an ordinary person to traverse the night road.

Fortunately, they were all Cultivators, so walking at night posed little difficulty—especially for Shen Bai.

The Night Combat Attribute of his Shadow Kill technique even made Shen Bai more powerful in the dark than during the day.

They walked in this direction for the time it takes two incense sticks to burn, when something unusual appeared up ahead.

A cluster of thatched huts appeared abruptly before them. They looked particularly strange sitting on this desolate land.

Seeing the state of the huts, Shen Bai’s brow furrowed slightly. ’They really are a bunch of madmen.’

The thatched huts were dilapidated, looking as though they had been thrown together haphazardly. But in front of them, the ground was covered with straw mats.

On each mat lay a corpse, carelessly discarded. Every body was covered in different kinds of wounds.

Some were cut by sharp weapons, others bludgeoned by blunt instruments, and some wounds were so mangled it was impossible to tell what had caused them.

And besides these wounds, in front of each corpse stood a square frame.

There was writing on the frames. The words were scrawled messily across them.

Even from a distance, Shen Bai could make out the words.

"Today’s research focused on the soul of the human left hand. I used over a dozen Silver Needles to pierce the subject’s most painful acupoints, but failed to induce a soul tremor from the pain. Experiment failed."

This was written on one of the boards. Shen Bai’s gaze shifted to another.

The other board was filled with similarly crazed writing.

"I cut open his brain and carefully observed its pathways. The pathways appeared normal. However, when I submerged him in a pool of corrosive liquid yesterday, a fluctuation occurred. What is this soul fluctuation?"

The rest of the boards were all covered in similar text.

In other words, each corpse had been a tool for their experiments. The goal of these experiments was to explore the various mysteries of the soul.

Judging by their clothing, the bodies belonged to the common people of Xia Yunzhou.

Yang Feng’s expression became extremely grave, a terrifying killing intent emanating from him.

"These madmen... they’re animals! These were living people they captured and subjected to brutal torture."

"If we don’t eliminate these scumbags from Xinhua Academy, the Great Zhou Country will never know peace."

Shen Bai nodded. "Lord Yang is right. They truly are a disgusting group of madmen."

He had sensed that same madness from Wang Tianxing before, but that had just been one person.

Now, seeing the bodies of these commoners, Shen Bai suddenly felt that the actions of Xinhua Academy could only be described as incurring the wrath of both Heaven and man.

Beside him, Ouyang Sword drew the longsword from his waist and scanned the surroundings. "There’s no sign of them."

The door to every hut was wide open. From the outside, there was no sign of anyone alive.

Yang Feng thought for a moment, then waved his hand. "Search every inch."

At his command, the members of the Observatory spread out and began to meticulously inspect each hut.

About fifteen minutes later, they finished their search. The Observatory members all gathered in the open area and shook their heads in unison.

"Lord Yang, Lord Shen, we found nothing. They’re long gone."

Yang Feng gritted his teeth. "Those animals must have known a Soul Master was tracking them, so they fled in advance."

Shen Bai contemplated for a moment before speaking. "But the Soul Master definitely guided us to this location... This is bad. We’ve fallen for a ploy to lure the tiger from its mountain."

A ploy to lure the tiger from its mountain?

After a brief moment of thought, Yang Feng’s expression changed drastically. "Lord Shen, are you saying Liangshui County is in danger?"

Shen Bai nodded. "Exactly. Liangshui County’s defenses are thin right now. We brought most of the Observatory members with us. I’m afraid they’re very likely to attack the county."

Yang Feng mulled over Shen Bai’s words, then immediately waved his hand. "Everyone, back to Liangshui County, now! We cannot allow the casualties to increase."

Everyone nodded and, under Yang Feng’s lead, hurriedly rushed back the way they came.

Shen Bai followed behind them, but he shot Ouyang Sword a meaningful look.

Ouyang Sword was taken aback for a moment when he saw Shen Bai’s look, but after realizing its meaning, a mysterious smile touched his lips.

The group had arrived quickly, and they departed just as fast, soon leaving the clearing behind.

Yang Feng was anxious. He was worried about the situation in Liangshui County; after all, this was no ordinary mission.

One misstep could lead to massive casualties.