Moonlight

Beneath the mask was actually a middle-aged woman with faint wrinkles.

"Talk. Who sent you to seize the Toad King's Moon Pearl?"

Chen Qingquan had never expected this. She had taken on a mission to steal the Moon gazing Toad King's Moon Pearl.

Yet the greatest obstacle was not the harsh environment or the surrounding soul beasts, but these two powerful figures who had appeared from who knew where.

Chen Qingquan looked at the nine soul rings flashing around the Second Elder and lost all thought of resisting.

"Your Eminence, this is a bounty issued by Lady Xue Yao of the Heaven Dou Empire. As long as I bring back the Toad King's Moon Pearl, I can receive a reward of one hundred and twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins."

"Heh. One hundred and twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins. She really is willing to spend."

The First Elder was very displeased. One hundred and twenty thousand was no small sum. There would definitely be people willing to take the risk, and that was absolutely a threat to the Moon gazing Toad clan.

"Besides you, has anyone else accepted this mission?"

"Your Eminence, I really don't know that. But this mission was posted through our organization. Since I accepted it, there probably won't be anyone else taking it."

"What is your organization called?"

"Blood Blade Pavilion, in Heaven Dou City."

Chen Qingquan honestly confessed everything. She wanted to live.

Stealing a glance at the two elders, Chen Qingquan did not know their background, but they were definitely deeply connected to the Moon gazing Toads.

It looked like she really had kicked an iron plate this time. Damn that Xue Yao.

"Fine. I can let you go back, but pass a message to your Chief. If he dares accept another mission involving the Moon gazing Toads, then he will be making an enemy of me."

"Of course, Your Eminence. Of course."

Hearing that she could survive, Chen Qingquan was overjoyed. As for this Eminence's demand, that was a minor matter.

Although their Blood Blade was the largest mercenary organization in Heaven Dou City, their Chief was only a Soul Douluo. How would he dare provoke a Titled Douluo?

However, this bounty could not be called known by everyone in Heaven Dou City, but at the very least, those above Soul King should have heard about it.

This Eminence actually did not know. If she took this chance to establish a connection with this Eminence, the Chief should reward her greatly, right?

"Your Eminence, our organization does have some skill in gathering intelligence. I wonder if you need information from Heaven Dou City?"

"Oh?"

The continent was in a troubled time, and the Star Crown Sect truly needed more sources of intelligence.

Especially in the Heaven Dou Empire. The Star Crown Sect's intelligence here was nearly nonexistent.

The two elders discussed it briefly, then the Second Elder stepped forward and gave Chen Qingquan a token.

"Gather information and send it to Yuelai Inn in Blue Sunshine City."

This inn had been established by the Star Crown Sect back then to watch over Xu Mingxi.

Chen Qingquan accepted the token respectfully. She knew that this time, she had rendered a great service.

"Rest assured, Your Eminence. The information will definitely be delivered."

"You may go."

"Yes."

Chen Qingquan turned into a black shadow and fled into the ground. She never wanted to come to this damned place again.

The two elders stood where they were, protecting Xu Mingxi.

Under Xu Mingxi's guidance, the purple soul ring continued to draw closer to him. The instant the soul ring fully appeared above the Star Crown...

In some unknowable place, a silver-haired Goddess let out a soft sound of surprise and cast down her gaze.

"Mingxi, how is it?"

Seeing that Xu Mingxi had finished absorbing the soul ring, the two elders came over.

Although the soul rings the other clansmen absorbed from Moon gazing Toads all produced the soul skill Star's Protection, Xu Mingxi was special. From his First Soul Skill onward, he had been different from the rest, and the two elders were also hoping he would create another miracle.

Xu Mingxi shook his head. Without even releasing it, he could feel that this soul skill should be Star's Protection.

Even so, he still summoned his Star Crown Martial Soul. His fourth soul ring lit up, and brilliant starlight shone forth. A large amount of starlight gathered, forming a semicircular shield that enveloped the three of them.

Xu Mingxi and the two elders seemed to see countless strands of starlight flowing and weaving across the shield.

"Grandfather, Second Elder, my Fourth Soul Skill is still Star's Protection."

To Xu Mingxi's surprise, both elders shook their heads at the same time.

As elders of the Star Crown Sect, Xu Mingxi might not know clearly, but how could they not know the true appearance of Star's Protection, a soul skill that had been passed down for a thousand years?

Shock appeared in the Second Elder's eyes. She had never seen Star's Protection look like this before.

"No, Mingxi. This is Star's Protection, and yet it is not Star's Protection.

"Mingxi, look. What is flowing across your shield is not only golden starlight. Isn't there also a trace of silver light?"

Xu Mingxi turned to look at the shield and observed it carefully.

Only then did he discover that within the brilliant starlight, there was indeed a faint wisp of silver light mixed in—hard to detect, yet impossible to ignore.

"Elder, could this be... moonlight?"

"I think so. With the Soul Ring produced by the Moon Gazing Toad, plus this color, there shouldn't be any other possibility."

The Second Elder was not entirely certain either, but he truly could not think of any other possibility.

"Mingxi, let's return to the sect first. Perhaps the Sect Master is experienced and knowledgeable enough to know what this situation means."

"All right."

Xu Mingxi looked up in the direction of the full moon, then followed the two elders onto the road back.

Back then, it had taken the three of them four days to travel from the Town of Northern Suppression to Ice Scar Valley. Getting out this time was naturally no easy task either.

However, the farther out they went, the higher the temperature became. Xu Mingxi covered the soles of his feet with Soul Power, stepped across the snowy surface, and ran swiftly.

"Roar—"

Suddenly, a violent roar came from the distance, drawing Xu Mingxi's attention.

"Mingxi, over there seems to be that little girl from the Ling Family. She's being chased by an Ice Thorn Wolf King of around twenty thousand years. Should we go save them?"

Xu Mingxi ran a distance toward the direction of the roar, and only then did he see Ling Yilan.

The elderly woman beside her seemed to have already had one arm torn off while protecting her.

Her left hand hung limp, blood flowing without stop. Though wounded, she still had to protect Ling Yilan, and several times she was nearly bitten by the Ice Thorn Wolf King.

"Grandfather, please make a move and save them."

From afar, the First Elder lit up his Martial Soul. Ling Yilan only saw a streak of starlight flash past, and the Ice Thorn Wolf King collapsed directly to the ground, unable to rise.

Only then did the two from the Ling Family see Xu Mingxi and the others arrive. Ling Yilan took healing medicine out of her Storage Soul Tool and gave it to Shuang Lan to swallow before walking over toward the three of them.

The look in her eyes as she gazed at Xu Mingxi was a little complicated. This incident really did have something to do with Xu Mingxi.

She and Grandma Shuang Lan had followed Xu Mingxi into the Far North Land, and by accident, they had gone a little too deep. On the way back, they had seen an Ice Thorn Wolf of around four thousand years and had originally wanted to hunt it as her fourth Soul Ring.

But they had never expected to provoke an Ice Thorn Wolf King of twenty thousand years. Grandma Shuang Lan had taken her along while fighting and retreating, and that was how they had held out until now.

Unexpectedly, in the end, it was still Xu Mingxi's group of three who saved them.

Moreover, that streak of starlight had at least been released by a Soul Douluo.

As the daughter of the Soul Douluo family head of the Ling Family, Ling Yilan knew very well that defeating an Ice Thorn Wolf King of around twenty thousand years in one move was absolutely not something a Soul Saint could do.