Interception and Rescue

Night, Shrek City, an ordinary roadside stall.

Zhou Huan and the other three ate grilled skewers, drank beverages, and chatted freely about the possibilities of the future.

It gave Zhou Huan the feeling of returning to the nightlife of his college days.

The only difference was that it was a little early—only nine in the evening. Still, after leaving the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, everyone had agreed to Xiao Xiao's suggestion of having a late-night snack.

Facts proved that, as Soul Masters, their digestive abilities were no joke. As long as they wanted to eat, even after less than three hours, they could still put away quite a lot.

"When do you think we'll have more Gold Soul Coins than we can ever spend? Buy whatever we want? If I ever become rich enough to rival a nation, I'm definitely going to the Treasure Gathering Pavilion and buying a complete set of Soul Bones." Xiao Xiao suddenly made a shocking declaration, voicing a grand ambition.

Hearing that, Zhou Huan immediately poured Xiao Xiao another glass of orange juice. "Drink a few more cups. Once you're drunk, you can have anything in your dreams. Soul Bones are way too low-level. By then, you can eat Immortal Herbs whenever you want and take God Positions whenever you please."

"Pfft!" Wang Qingya was the first to burst out laughing. Mainly because those two were just too hilarious. They really dared to dream—one wanted a full set of Soul Bones, while the other said Immortal Herbs and God Positions could be taken at will. Even dreams did not dare to be this absurd.

Even Wen Xiaoshuai could not help smiling. His family had a Super Douluo, yet they would not dare claim they could get him an entire set of Soul Bones. As for Immortal Herbs and God Positions, he had never even considered such things.

Still, they were all young. Having a few dreams—or fantasies—was not necessarily a bad thing.

Yet Xiao Xiao was not angry at all after hearing Zhou Huan. Instead, she said, "Then I'll take that as a good omen. When I get Immortal Herbs and a God Position in my dreams, I definitely won't forget your blessing. Once this young lady becomes a god, I'll carry all of you to greatness!"

"Haha..." Zhou Huan laughed heartily. "It's a deal!"

As he spoke, he clinked his orange juice cup against Xiao Xiao's, then drained it in one go with considerable bravado.

Anyone who did not know better would have thought he was drinking strong liquor.

Wang Qingya and Wen Xiaoshuai looked speechlessly at the two drama queens before quietly clinking their own cups together and drinking half a cup of orange juice.

Just then, a red light suddenly shot into the sky from the direction of Shrek City's northern gate. It exploded high above, turning into countless golden-red specks that bloomed like fireworks.

"Huh? Why are they setting off fireworks?" Xiao Xiao blinked her large, sparkling eyes.

But Wen Xiaoshuai, beside her, frowned. "It's a distress signal from the Inner Court!"

Zhou Huan naturally guessed what had happened and immediately said, "Go!"

Without wasting any more words, the four left money for their late-night snack and sprinted toward Shrek City's northern gate!

Of course, Zhou Huan was not doing this to play hero. He knew that by the time the four of them arrived, Shrek's big shots would already be there. There was no reason for them to be slower than a few students.

Their safety was One Hundred Percent guaranteed.

Besides, he had already had a small idea when he came over tonight.

Before long, the four arrived at the scene where the signal had been sent.

What greeted them was Huo Gua and Wang Dong, who had just used their Martial Soul Fusion Skill—Golden Road—and were falling from the sky, their Soul Power depleted.

A fiery-red figure immediately flew toward them at high speed, grabbing one in each hand and tossing Huo Gua and Wang Dong respectively to Beibei and Jiang Nannan, who were jumping down from the city wall.

"Xu Sanshi, take care of Yu Hao and Wang Dong. Beibei, Nannan, stop one Soul King each." The woman in red rapidly issued orders.

Then, flames filled the red-clothed woman's eyes as she looked at the six Men in Black around them—one Soul Emperor and five Soul Kings. "You actually dared to assassinate Shrek students? If I let even one of you escape today, then I'm not Ma Xiaotao!"

The newcomer was none other than the Flame Demon, Ma Xiaotao, a six-ring Soul Emperor not yet twenty years old!

By then, Zhou Huan and the other three had also reached Huo Gua and Wang Dong, while Beibei and Jiang Nannan joined the battle.

But an enraged Ma Xiaotao was absolutely terrifying. The entire battlefield in the sky was filled with firelight!

She had only learned tonight that Huo Yuhao possessed Extreme Ice and had a strong chance of purging her Evil Fire. Yet the moment she arrived, she saw someone trying to kill Huo Yuhao. How could she not be furious?

In barely a dozen seconds, three Soul Kings had died in Ma Xiaotao's flames, each of them essentially taken out in a single move.

As for that Soul Emperor, he had been severely injured and knocked to the ground. But he absolutely did not dare take to the air again. That red-clothed demon was simply the ruler of the skies, and those terrifying flames could wound anyone upon contact!

At that moment, he had only one thought—to flee as far away as possible!

But how could Ma Xiaotao possibly let him go?

A streak of red light shot straight toward the Soul Emperor. Just as he was about to be turned into charcoal, a yellow figure appeared before him like a ghost at the critical moment. Then the Soul Emperor felt his neck being seized, his Soul Power sealed, and found that he could not even move.

Already seriously wounded, he had no ability to resist.

By the time he regained his senses, he was already immobilized and thrown to the ground. A fireball had blasted a huge pit where he had been standing, while the youth in yellow standing beside him—the one who had saved his life—did not even spare him a glance.

Seeing this from midair, Ma Xiaotao froze for a moment before angrily shouting, "What are you doing?! You actually saved an assassin!!"

She had clearly recognized the youth in yellow. The last time he had refused to help her, he had left a deep impression on her. If Senior Disciple Sister had not intervened, she would have beaten him up long ago.

But now, he actually dared save an assassin right in front of her?

At that moment, furious as she was, Ma Xiaotao did not even think about why a Second Year student could rescue an enemy from her attack.

Naturally, the one who had saved him was Zhou Huan.

Originally, Zhou Huan had intended to leave a survivor on Beibei or Jiang Nannan's side. However, Beibei and Jiang Nannan were Soul Ancestors facing two Soul Kings. Once they attacked, they would definitely go for the kill and could not afford to hold back.

If they held back, there was a strong chance the enemy would escape or strike back and kill them. The two of them did not know that quite a few of Shrek's big shots had arrived at the scene.

Thus, in order not to affect the battle, Zhou Huan decided to leave a survivor on Ma Xiaotao's side instead. Moreover, the best survivor was clearly the Soul Emperor with the highest cultivation.

It was not that Zhou Huan could not have called out to stop Ma Xiaotao. But first, he was on the ground while Ma Xiaotao was in the sky, and the enraged Flame Demon might not necessarily have listened to him. Second, Ma Xiaotao killed assassins too quickly; there was simply no time to explain.

Therefore, just as Ma Xiaotao was about to kill the Soul Emperor, Zhou Huan openly activated Ice Step while secretly using the first soul skill of his third Hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring—Heavenly Horse Step!

A powerful soul skill capable of raising a Soul Ancestor's speed to that of a Soul Emperor!

Of course, he did not need to expose his third ring. His third Soul Ring had not even appeared, all thanks to the Stealth soul skill of the Floating Pagoda.

Thus, to everyone else, Zhou Huan had merely used Ice Step. It was just that this Ice Step had been absurdly fast!

Now that he had saved the Soul Emperor assassin, Zhou Huan faced Ma Xiaotao's questioning with the same calmness as before. "We need to leave someone alive. Otherwise, how will we find out who is behind this? Killing people is easy, but the truth matters more. We need to find out who dared intercept and kill Shrek students in Shrek City. Otherwise, this will happen again next time. Shrek's honor will not tolerate being challenged!"

Those words were entirely reasonable and righteous!

They were exactly the kind of proper thoughts an outstanding Shrek disciple should possess—someone who put the academy's interests first and treated its honor as his own!

As for how many of those words were sincere, perhaps only Zhou Huan himself knew.

After all, with so many big shots present, Zhou Huan knew very well that an invisible Rainbow Fart was even more potent.

Whether those big shots believed him or not, Zhou Huan did not know. But in that instant, Ma Xiaotao was thoroughly stunned by his words.

Clearly, she believed him.

By then, Beibei and Jiang Nannan had also dealt with their opponents.

Ma Xiaotao looked around. Of the six assassins, only the Soul Emperor Zhou Huan had just saved remained alive.

However, Ma Xiaotao was not the fussy sort. Once she understood Zhou Huan's intentions, she said bluntly, "You were right this time. I didn't think it through. But I still don't like you."

Zhou Huan shrugged and said nothing.

He was not a Gold Soul Coin. He did not need everyone to like him.

Then Ma Xiaotao looked at Beibei, Jiang Nannan, and the others. "Escort these junior brothers and sisters back. I'll take this assassin back to the academy first and have the teachers interrogate him."

As soon as she finished speaking, a streak of red light flashed past, and Ma Xiaotao flew toward the academy with the completely immobilized Soul Emperor.

She had come in a rush and left in a hurry!

There was no helping it. Ma Xiaotao had always been that kind of fiery, impatient person.

There was nothing else to do after that. The big shots never showed themselves from beginning to end.

Naturally, Zhou Huan returned to the academy with Beibei and the others. His goal for tonight had been achieved.

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