"Big brother seems nice."
"You two are still young and don't understand many things. Come here quickly."
Seeing their parents rush over angrily, the two children fearfully clutched their ball and backed away.
The parents stepped forward, shielding their children behind them, and glared at Ye Yu: "You lunatic, why haven't you left? You're not welcome here."
Soon, villagers came running with hoes and other tools.
At this moment, Qiulu returned to the village and, seeing this scene, hurriedly stepped forward angrily, "You people, I've never liked you, not even once. How despicable to bully an injured patient."
"Hmph, didn't you say he was leaving? He's your man, right? If you don't want him to leave, keep him locked up inside. Don't let him out to cause trouble, you can't bear the responsibility."
Ye Yu looked at the plain-looking woman in yellow before him and thought, "She saved me."
Ye Yu felt very grateful and sensed carefully, finding no soul power or other energy within her; she was just an ordinary person.
Ye Yu was puzzled as to why the Power of Extreme Evil had been mostly suppressed back then.
Qiulu stood in front of Ye Yu and said, "Even a chicken locked in a cage needs to come out to find food, let alone a person who can still move. How could you keep him locked inside?"
"But if he's outside, he makes us anxious, not knowing when he'll suddenly go mad. If this continues, the people in our village will be on edge and go crazy."
"You brought him back, you keep him in check, hmph."
The villagers dispersed one by one.
Qiulu dismissed their words, saying to Ye Yu, "That's just how they are. Even if you hadn't done anything yesterday, they'd still reject you. They reject any outsiders. Let's go back."
Qiulu walked back to the house, muttering, "Rotten village, one day, one day I'll leave this place."
Suddenly, a sound of panic arose.
"Not good! Bandits are here! The bandits are here again!"
The sound of horse hooves accompanied by fierce shouts was heard.
"Hand over the money! Ten Gold Soul Coins!"
The bandits dismounted, more than twenty of them. Each had a fierce look, a kind of ferocity that came from having killed many people.
The villagers were terrified and trembling.
"What? Ten Gold Soul Coins? Didn't it used to be five? Why has it doubled?"
"Hmph, in times like these, even pork prices go up. Shouldn't your protection fee go up too?"
The villagers were indignant, thinking to themselves, "We're isolated from the world, living peacefully without you. Who needs your protection?"
However, they dared not speak it out loud.
"If you don't hand it over, you'll die."
The bandit raised the knife as he spoke.
Some villagers could only grimly take out money, but most didn't have enough, and were utterly terrified.
"Hey! You too!"
A bandit pointed a knife at Qiulu and then glanced at Ye Yu.
Ye Yu still looked somewhat pale and weak, making the bandit laugh: "Oh? A woman like you can still find a boyfriend? He looks like a pretty boy, doesn't he? Since there are two of you, that's twenty Gold Soul Coins."
Qiulu was panic-stricken; twenty Gold Soul Coins was beyond her means. She had already spent half of her savings on medicine for Ye Yu.
"I... I don't have it."
Qiulu was scared but stepped forward and said, "I picked him up; he's not from the village and not my man. Let him go."
"Hmph, do you think I'll believe that just because you said it?"
Ye Yu was touched; the person may not be beautiful, but she was kind-hearted.
Ye Yu stepped forward and said, "I do have money, but you won't live to take it."
Hearing this, the bandit was momentarily stunned and sneered, "Boy, are you tired of living? Seeking death!"
With that, he swung the knife down.
Ye Yu raised a finger and easily blocked it.
The bandit was shocked; his knife had been blocked steadily by one of the other's fingers, without even a scratch.
"A Soul Master?"
The bandit retreated a few steps in surprise, releasing his Martial Soul. Two white Soul Rings appeared, and a shovel materialized in his hand—this was his Martial Soul.
Ye Yu looked disdainful: "You must be over forty, and you're just a Grand Soul Master? With a shovel as your Martial Soul and two ten-year Soul Rings, you're trash."
"Huh? You dare look down on me? I might be trash outside, but here, I'm a genius!"
The bandit swung the shovel at Ye Yu, who quickly approached him, throwing a punch that sent the bandit flying.
Puff!
Blood mixed with shattered internal organs spewed out, and the bandit let out a piercing scream before crashing to the ground a hundred meters away, losing consciousness and dying.
This scene drew the gaze of the other bandits, as well as the villagers.
Behind him, Qiulu was utterly amazed, her eyes wide open.
The twenty bandits' expressions turned grim as their killing intent rose.
"You actually killed our brother, you're seeking death."
The twenty bandits all released their Martial Souls, wielding hoes, sickles, shovels, and other useless Martial Souls, their Soul Rings all white. Three were Three-Ring Soul Venerables with the Soul Ring configurations of white, white, and yellow.
After releasing their Martial Souls, they were ready to charge, only to stop abruptly.
Ye Yu had released his Martial Soul, revealing five Soul Rings around him.
At once, the bandits' eyes widened in extreme shock.
They looked at Ye Yu's five Soul Rings: purple, purple, black, black, black.
Two thousand-year, three ten-thousand-year!
Such a Soul Ring configuration left them incredulous.
"A Five-Ring Soul King?!!"
They prepared to flee, but Ye Yu ignored them and walked towards the house.
The bandits hesitated, questioning whether he was not going to confront them.
The villagers were completely stunned by this scene. Though they didn't know what such a Soul Ring configuration signified, they knew five Soul Rings meant a Soul King.
To them, a Soul King was already an extremely powerful existence. The most outstanding person from their village was merely a Soul Sect.
Seeing Ye Yu ignoring them, the bandits hastened to collect money, shouting harshly, "Hand over the money quickly, or be killed!"
Some villagers were very distressed. They had no money and could only look to Ye Yu.
"Hero, please save us."
"Hero, chase away these bandits."
Ye Yu reached the doorway and turned back with a faint smile, "Didn't you want me inside? Well, now I'm going in."
"We... we were wrong! Please save us."
"We apologize! We're sorry!"
"We were prejudiced against you, that's our fault, but the children aren't. You can ignore us, but please save my children."
Ye Yu was only frightening them. He turned and quickly charged forward.
The bandits, alarmed, scattered, but Ye Yu swiftly killed them one by one with a single punch each.
Even though he was currently in a weakened state due to going berserk, it was still extremely easy to kill these worthless opponents.
After finishing, Ye Yu returned to the house, with the villagers kneeling at the doorway to apologize, each filled with guilt.
Inside, Qiulu was amazed, "I didn't expect you to be so powerful, a Soul Master."
"Are you the one who saved me and brought me here?"
"Yes, I carried you back."
"You carried me?"
Ye Yu was surprised, "You could carry me?"
"I was born with a bit more strength than the average person," Qiulu explained.
Ye Yu muttered, "Innate Divine Power? What's your Martial Soul?"
"My Martial Soul? I don't have one."
"No Martial Soul?"
Ye Yu was astonished, as everyone should have a Martial Soul, with soul power or not being another matter. No matter who, they could awaken their Martial Soul at six, even if it's a wasted one like a hoe.
"Why ask that? No Martial Soul means no Martial Soul. I'm already sixteen and have zero interest in Soul Masters."
Ye Yu nodded, but he wondered if she really had no Martial Soul.
Or perhaps it couldn't awaken in an ordinary way?
Ye Yu was certain, the Power of Extreme Evil had been mostly suppressed because she was nearby, but she had no Martial Soul.
He felt her being extraordinary was very likely. Perhaps her Martial Soul was one that couldn't awaken through ordinary means.
For example, a Divine Beast Martial Soul often can't awaken through the usual ceremony and needs special means or external forces.
Putting aside those thoughts, Ye Yu expressed his gratitude, "Thank you for saving me. If my condition had persisted, it would've been very dangerous."
Ye Yu took out a pouch of Gold Soul Coins and said, "Take some of this money, and please use part of it to buy me some Mind Nourishing Medicine."