I Pick Up Talents on the Interstellar Battlefield - Chapter 374 - 333: Return to the Battalion Camp

Chapter 374: Chapter 333: Return to the Battalion Camp

A gust of wind swept across the wasteland, carrying with it a hint of desolate chill.

The Old Ghost’s eyelids twitched and he slowly opened his eyes. The blinding sunlight made him squint involuntarily, and at the focus of his gaze, a tall figure stood with his back to him.

He recognized at a glance that it was Qin Tian.

In an instant, Old Ghost’s muscles tensed abruptly, and his soul power instinctively wanted to surge, but before he could make any move to resist, a strong sense of submission from the depths of his soul suddenly surged into his heart like a tide, causing a strange numbness throughout his body, rendering even his fingertips immobile.

What’s… happening to me?

Old Ghost’s pupils constricted sharply, and his soul power unconsciously probed inward, only to discover to his horror that at the center of his Sea of Souls, a dark golden Soul Seal was suspended, the oppressive presence emitted from its flowing patterns firmly locking down the essence of his soul.

As a Tier Six Soul Master, he understood better than anyone what this meant—he had become someone else’s Soul Servant.

“Mas… Master!”

Old Ghost staggered as he stood up; the wound on his chest had long since healed but ached subtly with the movement. He looked at that figure, his voice hoarse as if sandpapered, laced with an indescribable complexity.

Qin Tian slowly turned around, his gaze calmly scrutinizing him. From the remnants of Yan Song’s memories, he had already pieced together Old Ghost’s past, as well as the twisted entanglement between him and Yan Song.

Old Ghost, originally named Zong Xiangui, came from an ordinary family. After becoming an adult, his bloodline suddenly awakened, setting him on the path of cultivation.

Due to the uniqueness of his bloodline, he did not choose the common paths of Martial Artist or Mage. Instead, he became one in a million—a Soul Master capable of directly manipulating soul power for combat.

Relying on this God-given bloodline and far surpassing others in painstaking cultivation, Old Ghost eventually ascended to Tier Six, becoming a powerhouse in his own right.

But his nature was reclusive; he never married, had no children, and was unwilling to join any faction, always a lone wanderer across different planets.

As for why he worked for Yan Song, it all boiled down to Yan Song’s despicable scheming.

Yan Song accidentally learned of this Tier Six Soul Master’s existence and, seeing his solitary, unattached situation, conceived the idea of subduing him.

He utilized the family intelligence network to thoroughly uncover Old Ghost’s background—the seemingly detached Soul Master had only one weakness in his heart, an old confidant from his early years.

Thus, Yan Song set a poison scheme, secretly framing, resulting in the ruin of that confidant’s family, leaving only a five-year-old child untraceable.

When Zong Xiangui heard the news, he was anxious beyond measure. At a loss for how to find the child, Yan Song “coincidentally” appeared, offering with a show of “kindness” to employ all Yan Family resources to search for that surviving child, without charge, no conditions mentioned.

When the child was finally found, it turned out he was suffering from a strange illness, with organs failing, having to rely on a special elixir for sustained life.

Even for a Tier Six Powerhouse, acquiring such an elixir with ease was impossible.

It wasn’t until this moment that Yan Song showed his fangs. He agreed to cover all the child’s treatment costs and even personally arranged for family physicians to take care of him. The condition was—Old Ghost must come under his command and serve him for five years.

To preserve the only remaining bloodline of his friend, Old Ghost gritted his teeth and agreed.

But since then, although Yan Song delivered medicine on time to maintain the child’s life, he kept the child hidden so tightly that not to mention seeing him, even the child’s whereabouts were never mentioned, only allowing Old Ghost to occasionally video with the child to confirm his safety.

“Jun Jia, that child, is now on Tianyu Star.” Qin Tian’s voice was calm and unruffled, yet it was like a boulder crashing into Old Ghost’s heart lake, “His illness was long cured; Yan Song has been hiding this from you all along. This I dug out from Yan Song’s memory, it’s undoubtedly true.”

Old Ghost shuddered violently as if an invisible hand gripped his heart. The next moment, his taut spine suddenly collapsed, his eyes involuntarily growing warm—the boulder hanging over his heart for years crashed down, and the guilt and anxiety that had stifled him transformed into a bittersweet warmth coursing through his whole body.

Had he not seen through Yan Song’s tricks?

The disaster that befell his friend’s family, from beginning to end, all because of him.

Yet the child was his friend’s only surviving bloodline, even knowing it was a trap, he could only act like a bull led by the nose, working for Yan Song.

For years, he had borne his earth-shattering hatred for Yan Song just to exchange for a thread of hope for that child’s life.

Now learning the child was safe, even long since healed, Yan Song’s death suddenly became immensely satisfying, years of pent-up resentment surged out of his throat in an almost inaudible sob.

“Thank… thank you, Master.” Old Ghost lowered his head, his voice carrying a lingering tremor, but this time the term “Master” was called out much more willingly, less with humiliation and more with a tinge of willingness.

“Hmm.”

Qin Tian responded noncommittally, his gaze on the slightly lowered head of Old Ghost. He knew clearly that the obedience of this Tier Six Soul Master was mostly compelled by the Soul Seal’s suppression—a lone powerhouse suddenly reduced to another’s vassal, such disparity was not something easily digested.

But Qin Tian was not in a hurry, knowing that over time, as Old Ghost witnessed the opportunities he could provide, he would naturally understand that today’s reversal of identity was not the beginning of shackles, but the most fortuitous turning point in his life.

……

When Qin Tian and Old Ghost returned to the Chijin Battlegroup with Yan Song’s corpse, the entire battlegroup’s atmosphere turned peculiarly eerie.

“Young Master.”

Yan Song’s personal guards were the first to surround them. Seeing the ravaged, bloody corpse, the leader of the guards buckled, dropping to his knees with a soft “thud,” his face pale, while the other guards had reddened eyes. Though knowing Young Master had an erratic temperament, they had also benefited from him. Now the sudden collapse of their mainstay left them bewildered and at a loss.

Feng Xiaotian and several other battalion commanders bore complex expressions. Yan Song had not treated them poorly ordinarily, sharing credit in battles, a clear ploy to win favor. But to see the once spirited, golden-blooded genius reduced to a mangled corpse still brought a choking sensation to their chests.

After all, they were comrades, and even the superficial camaraderie now transformed into an indescribable melancholy.

But within the battlegroup, another scene unfolded. The grassroots soldiers, having clawed their way up, did not dare openly cheer, yet couldn’t hide the long-restrained satisfaction in their eyes.

Who hadn’t suffered under Yan Song’s tyranny?

This young master only cared for battalion commanders of similar bloodline heritage, being particularly harsh on soldiers of grassroots civilian origin, routinely taking credit and shifting blame.

While he did lead them to some victories, how much of that credit was soaked in the blood of comrades?

Compared to the tiny sweetness he handed out, the humiliation and harm inflicted on everyone had long entwined their hearts like a toxic vine.

Now the toxic vine was finally severed, and though the future was uncertain, at least in this moment, even the wind carried a scent of relief.

Of course, some noticed that Yan Song’s mangled corpse also lacked treasures, notably the Red Ruby Ring on his finger.

Was the ring dropped or lost during the demon’s tearing, or taken by someone?

Their gazes passed over Qin Tian and Old Ghost—Qin Tian was Yan Song’s subordinate, and Old Ghost was his adversary; they could not have colluded.

The two acted together from the start; if one truly intended to pocket the ring, the other would never stand idly by.

Thus, the answer seemed singular—that ring, bearing the Heaven-Burning Purgatory, was likely to vanish from the world once more, who knows how many years before it would reappear again.