As Ye Ling's words fell, he didn't wait for Mutou Masao to stop him. He withdrew the demonic energy enveloping the Dragon Soul and slashed at it with his sword!
The sword energy sliced through the Dragon Soul from the middle, soaring into the heavens as if to cleave the entire sky in two!
"Roar—!"
The Dragon Soul, split in half by Ye Ling's strike, let out a mournful wail in the air. The deafening roar echoed throughout the base.
It sent shivers down the spines of all who heard it!
Mutou Masao gazed at the Dragon Soul's piteous cries in the sky with a look of desolation. His legs buckled, and he knelt to the ground, utterly devoid of spirit.
"It's over… Everything is over…"
Mutou Masao's eyes gradually lost their luster, and blood began to stream from his seven orifices. The side effects of the Dragon Soul's damage started to manifest in the citizens of Yangguo.
In an instant, a large number of people across Yangguo suffered mental damage, showing signs of becoming idiotic.
Seeing Mutou Masao's reaction, Ye Ling realized that the Dragon Soul had suffered irreversible damage. To prevent the situation from escalating further, Ye Ling directly seized the Dragon Soul, now split in two, extracted the portion belonging to Huaguo, and then fused the remaining parts together.
Soon, the golden dragon reformed, but it was a full size smaller than before Ye Ling had extracted its power.
Although Ye Ling's actions were swift and decisive, he still inflicted irreversible damage on the Dragon Soul.
The Huaguo portion of the Dragon Soul had long been integrated with the Yangguo portion. By extracting it now, Ye Ling had essentially severed an arm from a healthy person. While not fatal, the damage was still immense.
Ye Ling looked at the Dragon Soul suspended in the air, its eyes still showing a hint of pain, then glanced at the golden orb of light floating in his hand. After a moment of contemplation, he finally tore through space and sent the Huaguo portion of the Dragon Soul back.
Regardless of anything else, that portion of the Dragon Soul belonged to Huaguo. Ye Ling's retrieval of it was only natural, and he felt no need to apologize for the damage incurred in the process.
The Yangguo Dragon Soul, suspended in the air, had become much weaker after the extraction of its power. The light emanating from it was faint, and it could disintegrate at any moment.
Having accomplished his task, Ye Ling did not bother the Yangguo Dragon Soul further. He returned it to the underground of the Dragon Department base for safekeeping.
With this single act, the Yangguo Dragon Soul suffered irreversible damage, and Yangguo society might regress by decades, even centuries.
Although the Dragon Soul could self-repair, such societal regression was not a fatal blow to a nation. However, in today's highly globalized society, Yangguo's decline would ultimately lead to its complete detachment from the world. The ensuing human tragedies were unpredictable.
Huang Hun had no concept of such matters. He was even regretting that he hadn't managed to get a share of the Dragon Soul.
But Mutou Masao, kneeling on the ground, and Arasaka Shoichi, standing outside the Dragon Department base, both stared blankly at the spot where the Dragon Soul had disappeared, their grief unconcealable.
Having finished everything here, Ye Ling said to Mutou Masao, "It's time to leave. Give this place to Izanagi. We'll wait for them in the shadows."
"Yes…" Mutou Masao replied dejectedly and slowly stood up.
Although he now resented Ye Ling for what he had done to the Dragon Soul, he also knew that he was in no position to stop Ye Ling.
However, Mutou Masao understood that Ye Ling was not from Yangguo and would not care about its fate.
To put it bluntly, Ye Ling had dug out the Dragon Soul and hadn't directly devoured it, which was already an act of utmost benevolence.
If it were any other cultivator from another country, they would have devoured the Dragon Soul without a second thought!
To those cultivators, the survival of Yangguo was of no consequence.
Seeing Mutou Masao's current demeanor, Ye Ling paused for a moment, then sighed softly. Finally, he said, "Fine. I didn't intend to interfere, after all, you stole Huaguo's Dragon Soul first."
"But on second thought, those capable of stealing the Dragon Soul would not be harmed by a slight damage to it. It is the innocent who are truly suffering now."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Mutou Masao was stunned and looked at Ye Ling dazedly. "Your Majesty, what do you mean?"
Ye Ling sighed, "I'll just put in a little effort…"
With that, Ye Ling beckoned again, retrieving the Dragon Soul from underground.
Rumble…
The earth trembled once more, and the Dragon Soul flew out!
The Yangguo Dragon Soul had developed a psychological shadow from Ye Ling. Even with only its basic instincts, as Ye Ling pulled it out again, its eyes filled with boundless fear.
It was afraid.
Seeing the Dragon Soul's fearful state, Ye Ling said irritably, "Calm down. I'll help you replenish your strength and repair you."
Saying that, Ye Ling released his spiritual power, communicated with the Heavenly Dao, and drew down the power of the Heavenly Dao, pouring it into the Yangguo Dragon Soul.
Ye Ling had already analyzed the Yangguo Dragon Soul once before, and he understood its structure perfectly. Although it was troublesome to repair a foreign Dragon Soul with the power of the Heavenly Dao, it was not impossible.
Mutou Masao stared blankly as Ye Ling drew down the power of the Heavenly Dao to repair the Dragon Soul, completely lost in thought, even forgetting who he was…
The moment before, Mutou Masao had considered Ye Ling a heartless demon who could push Yangguo into the abyss without hesitation. But the next moment, Ye Ling's actions to repair the Dragon Soul's strength changed Mutou Masao's mind…
Possessing such immense power, with no one in the world capable of restraining him, he could do as he pleased without regard for the consequences of his actions…
Yet, Ye Ling still cared about the countless innocent beings…
Mutou Masao could not comprehend Ye Ling's true intentions, but a wild thought spontaneously arose in his heart.
If the world were ruled by someone like Ye Ling, perhaps a perfect utopia could be created!
Forces like Takamagahara would no longer exist!
In an instant, Mutou Masao began to indoctrinate himself, becoming a fervent believer in Ye Ling.
If Mutou Masao had initially been forced to work for Ye Ling due to sheer power, he was now willing to lay down his life for Ye Ling!
Mutou Masao slowly came to believe that by dedicating himself to Ye Ling, he could atone for his past sins.
Ye Ling, however, had no idea that his actions had completely won over Mutou Masao.
The reason he wanted to repair the Yangguo Dragon Vein was not because he saw Mutou Masao's despairing expression, but simply because he did not want too many innocent people to be drawn into this calamity.
Furthermore, by repairing the Yangguo Dragon Vein, he could also subtly insert some of his own agenda, simulating the replenished power as Huaguo's Dragon Soul to deal with Izanagi.
Ye Ling's separation of the Huaguo Dragon Vein was largely due to the minor conflict between Ye Ling and Izanagi. No matter how justified Ye Ling's actions were, the fact that countless ordinary citizens of Yangguo would suffer as a result was undeniable.
Although Ye Ling had always been decisive in his actions, he prioritized preventing innocent people from being caught in his conflicts.
Killing those who deserve to be killed and saving those he wishes to save – this was Ye Ling's code of conduct and the original intention behind founding the Demonic Palace.
If Ye Ling had simply walked away after separating the Yangguo Dragon Vein, disregarding the lives of other citizens, he wouldn't be Ye Ling…
As for Mutou Masao becoming his fervent believer, Ye Ling was indifferent.
Regardless of how Mutou Masao's mindset changed, it would not alter the fact that he would die after the Takamagahara incident concluded.
Why would Ye Ling care about the faith of a dead man?
Just as Ye Ling was repairing the damaged Dragon Soul and Mutou Masao was worshipping Ye Ling with boundless admiration, Sakura Getsu, severely injured, arrived from afar!