Ghost Infant

"Rou Yan, don't just attack from the front. Analyze its attack patterns and adapt to its rhythm."

"Jiang Wu, what are you hesitating for? Attack from the front!"

On the street, two figures, one attacking and one defending, were jointly fighting a ferocious-looking humanoid Evil Spirit.

However, compared to before, the confidence in their expressions had vanished, and they were both battered and bruised, looking quite disheveled.

Ma Xiu, meanwhile, stood off to the side, watching the battle with a smile, occasionally offering pointers. He seemed quite at ease.

When Ling Yun arrived at the scene, this was the sight that greeted him.

With his discerning eye, he could tell at a glance that the two combatants were roughly equivalent to Intent Conduit level martial artists.

While not exceptionally strong, considering their age, it was still impressive.

The martial artists of the same age in the Black Tiger Martial Hall were likely still struggling to break through to Force Conduit.

But this was normal; not everyone had a cheat like him.

As the battle gradually intensified, Facing the Evil Spirit's increasingly aggressive attacks, the pair cried out in pain, repeatedly retreating.

Ma Xiu, though showing no intention of intervening, also became serious.

After all, these two had significant backgrounds. Some trial was acceptable, but if anything truly happened, he couldn't bear the responsibility.

Just then, the Evil Spirit let out an enraged roar, its power instantly surging. Jiang Wu, who was responsible for drawing the Evil Spirit's attacks, was caught off guard and sent flying.

His flight was no small matter; it directly exposed Rou Yan, who was preparing to attack from behind, to the Evil Spirit's view.

Facing the crazed Evil Spirit charging straight at her, Rou Yan, who had never witnessed such a scene, had her mind go blank with fear, frozen in place and unsure what to do.

Just as blood was about to splatter, a shadow appeared beneath the Evil Spirit's feet. The next moment, a pair of ghostly claws emerged from the shadow, flipping it to the ground and pinning it down.

"Why aren't you attacking yet!" Ma Xiu's voice rang out, jolting the stunned Rou Yan awake.

Looking at the struggling Evil Spirit before her, she gritted her teeth, and her longsword thrust forward, piercing directly into its eye socket.

Her longsword seemed to have some special effect on the Evil Spirit; this single strike heavily wounded it.

"Roar!!"

As the sword was pulled out, a stream of black blood spurted out. The heavily wounded Evil Spirit let out a furious roar and actually broke free from the restraint of the ghostly claws.

However, seeing the unfavorable turn of events, Rou Yan had already retreated far to the rear.

At this moment, Jiang Wu, who had been knocked away, returned with a flushed face. Seemingly wanting to regain face in front of his goddess, he also roared and charged forward again.

But Rou Yan didn't spare him a glance, only staring at the bloodstains on her sword tip, a flush appearing on her face, as if… excited?

The subsequent battle was rather dull. The already heavily wounded Evil Spirit, coupled with Ma Xiu's occasional guidance from the side, soon let out a wail and was struck in a vital spot by Jiang Wu, falling to the ground dead.

"Phew, it's finally over. I'm exhausted!" Rou Yan wiped the sweat from her face and collapsed onto the ground without any regard for her image.

"Yeah, I didn't expect such a mere Mortal-grade Evil Spirit to be so troublesome."

Although Jiang Wu was also quite tired, he forced himself to appear relaxed to maintain his image.

It was a pity that his trembling legs had already betrayed him.

"Heh heh, now do you understand what I told you earlier?"

"To tell you the truth, this Evil Spirit had only recently formed, and it's one of the weakest in the 'Mortal' grade."

"If it had eaten two or three more people, its strength would have increased significantly from this!" Ma Xiu said, walking over with his arms crossed and a smile.

"Next, I'll tell you a piece of common knowledge: no matter where you are, you must always be vigilant of your surroundings."

Seeing their confused expressions, Ma Xiu didn't explain. Instead, he suddenly turned his head towards a dark corner and said in a deep voice, "Brother, you've been watching from the side for so long, why not come out and show yourself?"

"Someone's here?" The two were startled for a moment, then quickly stood up and looked in the direction Ma Xiu was pointing.

However, the scene was silent. Apart from them, no other person could be seen.

Just as they began to suspect Ma Xiu was deliberately toying with them, a heavy footsteps sounded, and a sturdy figure slowly emerged from the darkness.

Under the moonlight, Ling Yun's calm face was revealed to them.

"There really is someone!" The two perked up. After scanning Ling Yun from head to toe, their expressions quickly turned disappointed.

"Tch, I thought it was someone important. Turns out it's just some lowly martial artist," Jiang Wu said with a hint of disdain.

Rou Yan's eyes darted around, and she asked curiously, "Hey, big guy, were you peeking at us just now?"

Ling Yun looked at her strangely upon hearing this. "Peeking? Little girl, you have a funny way of speaking. This isn't your house, do I need your permission to take a stroll here?"

Rou Yan's face stiffened, and after a long pause, she said indignantly:

"Hmph, what's the big deal? Just some martial artist, I don't know what's so arrogant about that."

Seeing his goddess being slighted, Jiang Wu's hormones immediately kicked in. Like an enraged little bull, he drew his sword, shouting that he was going to teach Ling Yun a lesson, but Ma Xiu stopped him in time.

Ling Yun didn't intend to argue with these two brats. Instead, he looked at Ma Xiu and asked with great interest:

"By the way, how did you discover me? I wasn't found by that strange thing of yours this time."

Ma Xiu didn't answer the question, only looking at Ling Yun with a somewhat solemn expression.

Although in his perception, the guy in front of him was indeed just a martial artist, he inexplicably gave Ling Yun a chilling feeling.

It was just like... the ferocious-level Evil Spirit they had tracked down and eliminated with the team back then!

"Haha, what am I even thinking!" Ma Xiu chuckled inwardly, shaking his head to dispel the thought.

He must be too nervous tonight to even come up with such a ridiculous idea.

He then glanced indifferently at Ling Yun and issued a no-nonsense expulsion order.

"Kid, the Demon Suppression Division is investigating a case here. If you have nothing else to do, hurry up and leave!"

This guy is a bit strange, it's best to get rid of him quickly and not provoke him, that was Ma Xiu's thought.

Ling Yun didn't get angry upon hearing this. His gaze swept in a certain direction, and he said with an inexplicable tone:

"Instead of guarding against me over there, you'd better take care of yourselves first. Your troubles aren't over yet."