"Huh?! That's..."
At that moment, the enemies across the way had drawn near. Hundreds of sea-clan behemoths came to a halt, their sheer bulk alone radiating an overwhelming sense of pressure.
And Governor Iyaz spotted several 'familiar faces' among them!
"We meet again, Governor Iyaz!"
"I only regret not capturing you back then! If I had, I'd have skinned you alive and turned you into a carpet!" Iyaz spat through gritted teeth. His gaze then cut toward Leilin beside Belinda—he clearly recognized the one responsible for rescuing her and ruining his plans. If looks could kill, Leilin would have died countless times over. Unfortunately for Iyaz, that had never been the case, and Leilin remained utterly unmoved. After all, the real boss hadn't spoken yet.
"Hehehe... So you're the governor of Iyaz Port? I don't like the color of your eyes. As collectibles, I already have far too many of those..."
The Evil Eye Elder, Beklak, let out a sinister cackle.
"You are... the Evil Eye Elder! A fifth-rank Celebrant! 'The Eye-Gouging Butcher' Beklak!" Iyaz cried out Beklak's name with undisguised wariness.
Hearing those titles, even the several Morning Star elders at Iyaz's side retreated several steps in succession—they had clearly heard of this butcher's fearsome reputation.
"You've actually appeared here! Does that mean the新一轮 continental war is about to begin?!"
Clearly, Beklak's appearance had sent a massive shockwave through Iyaz.
"Hehehe! Aren't you being a bit too nosy? This is the territory of the Mother of Ten Thousand Snakes, not the Domain of Chaos! Even if I killed you right here, what could they do about it?"
Beklak waved his white tentacles. "Attack!"
"ROAR!" "ROAR ROAR!" "RAAAWR!!!"
The colossal sea beasts bellowed, churning up enormous waves that surged straight toward the port. The garrison defenders could only stare in disbelief as the sea rose into walls of water over ten meters high—before being swallowed by the raging surf.
The sea-clan forces brought by Beklak were clearly formidable in their own right, and with the massive sea beasts bolstering them, they seized an overwhelming advantage almost instantaneously.
Iyaz Port descended into utter chaos in a matter of moments. Many pirates and even some former sea merchants began looting, seizing the chance to enrich themselves and plunging the entire port into an even worse state.
"Hehehe! After today, Iyaz Port will be nothing but history!"
At that moment, Governor Iyaz and his forces could no longer worry about the port—even they themselves were facing a dire crisis.
Led by the fifth-rank Celebrant Beklak, they found themselves surrounded by a group of equally powerful fourth-rank experts.
"Nick! Now's your chance to shine! Pick any opponent you like and kill them!" Beklak said with ill intent.
"..." Leilin rolled his eyes. The Iyaz group across the way were Morning Star-level experts at the very least, and they were fighting with the desperation of cornered beasts. With the strength he was currently displaying, even the weakest among them would be his superior. And after exhausting himself in combat, Beklak's subordinates would likely swoop in to reap the rewards.
"Beast Soul Technique—Summon Godoric!" Despite his internal grumbling, Leilin stepped forward and summoned the phantom of Godoric, which resembled an enormous manta ray.
In the ocean, Godoric received an even greater boost. Although this beast soul was originally only third-rank, an adult Godoric possessed Morning Star-level strength. With a solid foundation, plus the covert modifications Leilin had made, it had subtly reached the threshold of a half-fourth-rank.
"Mooo..."
The massive Godoric spat out a torrent of blue water, enveloping a hawk-beaked alien warrior within a curtain of spray.
"Kill!" "Charge!" As if a signal had been given, brilliant light erupted from both sides as numerous experts surged into battle. Beklak, meanwhile, leisurely guided a colossal golden octopus along the edge of the battlefield, as if searching for weak points—indirectly placing tremendous pressure on Iyaz and his forces.
"Hold on! I'll come help you as soon as I've dealt with my opponent!" Leilin heard Belinda's telepathic message in his ear while standing atop his beast soul's back and couldn't help but let out a faint, wry laugh.
"Well, the role I'm playing right now is at best a mixed-blood White Devil who's just entered the fourth rank. There are things I must keep secret! Might as well test out the Beast Soul Technique first!"
The path of the Celebrant required suitable sacrifices, and since Leilin hadn't yet made up his mind about choosing one, he hadn't ventured down that road. The Beast Soul Technique, however, presented no such complications.
The greatest obstacle in cultivating the Beast Soul path was the soul strength and capacity of the Beast Soul Master themselves, along with the body's ability to endure—none of which posed any problem for Leilin. After all, wizards excelled precisely in matters of spiritual power and the soul.
"Mooo!" The massive Godoric beast soul plunged directly beneath the ocean's surface, forming an enormous dark shadow. Geyser-like columns of water erupted from time to time, and under Leilin's command, this Godoric displayed power even greater than it had possessed in life, managing to pin down even a Morning Star-level opponent.
"Beast Soul Summon—Deep Blue Sea Serpent!" The hawk-beaked alien across the way was clearly also a Beast Soul Master. Upon seeing the Godoric Leilin had summoned, his pupils contracted slightly, and a blue sea serpent tattoo surfaced on the back of his left hand.
A brilliant flash of light erupted in an instant. The blue tattoo merged with the sea's surface, instantly forming the phantom of a colossal blue sea serpent.
"Hsss hisss..." The phantom roared and clashed with Godoric.
"Impossible! My Deep Blue Sea Serpent is a fourth-rank beast soul! That Godoric is clearly only third-rank!"
On the battlefield, although the Deep Blue Sea Serpent held a certain advantage, Godoric was still holding its own—which left the hawk-beaked alien muttering in disbelief.
"There are no weak beast souls, only weak Beast Soul Masters! You're obsolete, old man!"
Leilin was playing the part of a hotheaded youngster to perfection, but inside he was sneering coldly.
The process of sealing a beast soul was extremely delicate and precise, requiring a large number of array diagrams and other aids. The higher the rank of the beast soul being sealed, the more intricate the required diagrams. Even a grandmaster-level Array Master would have no more than a fifty percent success rate—and even then, the sealing would be imperfect, with some loss of quality.
But Leilin was different! Not only did he possess grandmaster-level mastery of array formations, he also had the Chip's assistance. Every time he sealed a beast soul, he achieved perfection—100% compatibility—meaning every beast soul could unleash its full strength under his command.
Moreover, through the Chip's prior modifications, this Godoric, though it had died before reaching adulthood and possessed only a third-rank beast soul, at least had a Morning Star-level foundation and had been significantly enhanced.
All these factors, combined with Leilin's god-tier precision in operation, allowed Godoric to barely hold off the Deep Blue Sea Serpent—the incredible feat of a third-rank holding its own against a fourth-rank.
But that was as far as it went. Between the third and fourth ranks lay an insurmountable chasm. No matter how close this Godoric came to the fourth rank, it was still not truly fourth-rank. And no matter how battered the Deep Blue Sea Serpent's beast soul might be, its rank was still fundamentally fourth. For Godoric to maintain this disadvantaged stalemate was already a performance that would leave others thunderstruck—as for turning the tide and winning, that was out of the question.
"This Godoric's rank is too low, and there's never been a precedent for a beast soul advancing in rank. At best it has third-rank-peak strength—that's really not enough. I'll need to replace it sooner or later."
Watching the scene, Leilin grimaced inwardly.
For beast souls of the fourth rank and above, setting aside the price alone, the fact that each one required the soul of a Morning Star-level behemoth was enough for every major power to treat them as critical strategic reserves.
On the market, first through third-rank beast souls still circulated to some degree, but fourth-rank ones were utterly unthinkable. Without joining a major faction and fighting and bleeding for them to accumulate enough merit and contributions, obtaining a fourth-rank beast soul was impossible.
Of course, a Beast Soul Master could choose to venture out and hunt behemoths on their own, extracting their souls—but setting aside whether they could even accomplish such technically demanding work, even if every one of them were a master at soul extraction, how could a group of third-rank beast souls possibly kill a fourth-rank behemoth?
Thus, the preciousness of a fourth-rank beast soul was entirely understandable.
In fact, even someone like Governor Iyaz—high-ranking and powerful as he was—carried only a single fourth-rank beast soul on his person.
"Well, I not only have the strength of a third-rank Beast Soul Master, but I'm also a fifth-rank Warlock. Killing a few fourth-rank behemoths and extracting their souls would be laughably easy..."
A glint of light flickered through Leilin's eyes.
In the Purgatory World, strength was measured by one's highest rank. Beklak, for instance, was both an ancient-fourth-rank Evil Eye and a fifth-rank Celebrant of the Eye of Judgment—therefore, he was a fifth-rank powerhouse, equivalent to a fifth-rank Radiant Moon
Leilin's highest rank was that of a fifth-rank Warlock. Although he was currently weakened due to the Ten Thousand Serpents curse mark, killing a fourth-rank Morning Star behemoth still posed no real challenge.
In fact, with careful planning and a bit of luck, he even had the confidence to take down a fifth-rank behemoth.
If he successfully sealed a fifth-rank beast soul, he could instantly attain the rank of a fifth-rank Beast Soul Master—catching up to what his Warlock identity had accumulated over many years.
"Seal a beast soul to supplement the soul essence, then command the beast soul to slay behemoths and obtain even more powerful beast souls—creating a virtuous cycle. The Beast Soul Technique power system of the Purgatory World seems to allow for incredibly rapid progress, so long as one's true body is strong enough..."
In truth, ever since sealing Godoric's beast soul, Leilin had already felt the soul amplification it provided.
Though he had already reached the Half-Moon true spirit level and could barely notice such a minor boost, for first, second, or third-rank wizards, it would be considerably significant.