Chapter 211: Soul-Shattering Evidence Search

"Does who he is matter?"

Yan Xishou glared at the man in red, looking as if he wanted to devour him whole.

"The fact that he dared to investigate the organ trade means he's seeking his own death. He even threatened me, demanding I hand over the transaction records... No matter who he is, he must die today!"

"Don't worry, he's certainly going to die today," the Puppeteer said slowly. "I've mostly figured out his tricks. With me and Pu Shu here today, he won't escape even if he grows wings."

"Aren't you curious what connection he has with Chen Ling, the enforcer who broke into Aurora City and self-immolated in broad daylight?"

Hearing this, some of the murderous intent faded from Yan Xishou's face. He looked at the man in red, who was immobilized, and said in a deep voice:

"Are you suggesting...?"

"I've already activated the Soul-Shattering Orb. We might as well use this opportunity to see what secrets he's hiding."

As the Puppeteer spoke, he looked up at a short distance. A paper figure was slowly approaching, holding an object... It was a gray, crystal-like sphere, about the size of a human head. Inside the gray crystal, white 'shooting stars' darted chaotically. If one looked closely, they would discover that these were, in fact, countless struggling, pained soul faces.

The man in red's gaze fell on the gray crystal. His eyes narrowed slightly, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

"'Soul-Shattering Examination?' The old butler nodded. 'That's fine. If his soul isn't strong enough and gets crushed to bits, it will save us the trouble of doing it ourselves...'"

The Puppeteer walked up to the man in red. His fingertip lightly brushed the surface of the gray crystal, leaving a barely perceptible crack. At the same time, the dense, struggling faces within the gray crystal seemed to go mad, pushing towards the opening like a school of fish desperately trying to escape their cage.

As the Puppeteer lifted his fingertip, one of the faces was released, swirling like a wisp of white smoke around his palm. With his other hand, he brushed the gray crystal's surface again, and the barely perceptible crack automatically mended, restoring it to its original state.

"Currently, the highest record for a Soul-Shattering Examination belongs to that kid named Jian. We don't know what his soul is made of, but he managed to endure four rounds..."

The Puppeteer slowly raised his hand, the one wreathed in white smoke, pausing it above the man in red's head.

"As for you... how many times can you endure?"

Bang—!

As the words left his lips, the Puppeteer's hand lightning-fast descended upon the man in red's head. The swirling white smoke instantly transformed into a grotesque face, frantically burrowing into his mind!

As the face vanished, a wisp of white mist began to spread around the man in red's head. Countless light and shadow flickered within this mist, like a faulty television screen slowly searching for a signal.

The Puppeteer, Pu Shu in black, Yan Xishou, the old butler, and the others all watched the white mist intently, and the air fell into a dead silence.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

Time slowly passed, but no image appeared in the mist.

Yan Xishou, standing nearby, slightly furrowed his brow.

"What's going on? Did the examination fail? Why is there no reaction..."

The old butler was equally perplexed. Just as he was about to speak, within the swirling white mist, a pair of crimson eyes suddenly opened!

The next moment, as if an invisible pair of hands had struck the white mist, it was forcibly crushed and exploded. A sharp, painful wail erupted from the man in red's head, quickly fading into silence...

That wasn't the man in red's voice, but that of the struggling face that had just burrowed into his mind.

Everyone was stunned. They had used this ritual artifact for so long, and nothing like this had ever happened...

Before they could react, the man in red, who had kept his eyes tightly shut, suddenly snapped them open. His crimson opera robe billowed like a wave of blood, momentarily obscuring everyone's vision. By the time they could see clearly again, his figure had lightly soared into the air, darting towards a nearby rooftop!

"Damn it! The Soul-Shattering Examination is useless against him?!"

"He took the Soul-Shattering Orb too!"

"This fellow is too bizarre! He absolutely cannot be allowed to live! Kill him on sight!!"

Successive roars of anger erupted from the crowd. The old butler watched the retreating figure in red, his eyes flashing with murderous intent, and immediately gave the order!

The Puppeteer was also enraged. Being repeatedly outsmarted had completely worn out his patience. Even if the old butler hadn't said anything, he would not leave this one alive... This time, he didn't even send his paper figures to pursue; instead, he personally stepped onto a rapidly folding paper figure and sped frantically in the direction the man in red had gone!

Nearby, Pu Shu in black also looked extremely grim. He took a step forward, and his figure deconstructed into brushstrokes once more, vanishing from his spot.

On the rooftop, the bitter wind howled!

The man in red landed on the rooftop. Just as he was about to make a move, the next moment, his body exploded!

Two strokes, like two cannonballs, burst through the man in red's body from behind, blasting two horrifying, bloody holes in his heart and abdomen. Through the bloody remnants, Pu Shu in black's figure rapidly emerged.

The man in red's figure abruptly halted, suddenly freezing in place. Simultaneously, an incredibly sharp paper blade sliced through the air, lightly cutting across his body...

He was like a block of blood-red tofu split open. From his left shoulder to his right hip, his upper body began to eerily shift out of alignment with his torso, the severed edges remarkably smooth.

He had been cut in two.

Pu Shu in black and the Puppeteer stood side-by-side a short distance away. They coldly watched the now unrecognizable man in red, their expressions utterly indifferent... With a Rank 4 and a Rank 5 expert simultaneously unleashing their full power, there was no suspense to the outcome.

At the far end of the road, Chu Muyun, wearing a woolen coat, was walking quickly and happened to witness this scene. He froze on the spot.

"I told you, even if you grow wings today, you won't leave this place," the Puppeteer said, looking at the man in red as if he were already a corpse.

Perhaps due to his blood-soaked attire, even with his insides torn out, his torso shattered, and his body cut in half, the man in red did not die immediately... He stood on the rooftop, drenched in blood, like a monster forcibly pieced together from disarranged flesh and gore.

A cold wind swept across the towering rooftop, lifting the blood-soaked edges of his opera robe. The fragmented figure looked down from his height, a strange, mad smile curving his lips.

"Who said... I was running?"

In full view of everyone, he picked up the gray crystal used for the Soul-Shattering Examination with one hand, laboriously raising it to his front...

"Only one soul for the examination... is not enough."

The man in red opened his mouth and bit down hard on it!

His sharp, pale teeth instantly gnawed the gray crystal to pieces. Countless soul faces frantically struggled within it, emitting sharp, piercing shrieks as the crystal fragments were vigorously chewed by his blood-stained mouth!

In that moment, he was like a demon devouring souls!