(Zhu Zhuqing's beautiful image)
Zhu Zhuqing silently observed her surroundings, and a hint of gravity appeared on her cool face.
She shook her head, her lips pressed tightly together. She had no answer either.
Just then, three men who had likewise failed to find their way through the forest, cursing as they wandered, ran into them.
The three had come after hearing about the King's Hall, hoping to try their luck, and they were currently full of complaints.
However, once they saw the breathtaking beauty and graceful figures of the two girls before them,
greed instantly flashed in their eyes, and they completely cast aside their original purpose of finding the King's Hall.
"Well now! You two little sisters, judging by the look of you, you're lost, aren't you?"
The bald man at the head forced out what he considered a friendly smile and stepped forward to strike up a conversation.
"What a coincidence. We know how to get to the King's Hall. Just follow us brothers, and we guarantee we'll get you there safely!"
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged a glance, each seeing doubt in the other's eyes.
But they were isolated and helpless right now, while the men spoke with such certainty. They seemed to be among their few remaining hopes.
After hesitating for a moment, the two silently followed them.
The three men walked ahead with their arms around each other's shoulders, suppressing their excitement as they spoke in low voices. Their filthy words were unbearable to hear:
"Tsk, tsk, Heaven's finally smiling on us! These two little girls are absolutely exquisite!"
"That skin's so soft and tender you could squeeze water from it. It's blindingly fair!"
"Especially the one in leather. That body... damn! I've never seen a girl this hot in my life!"
"Hehehe... looks like we've turned misfortune into fortune! Once we find a good spot..."
They arrived at a sunken area where the trees were especially dense, the light dim, and the place almost completely cut off from the outside world.
The three exchanged lewd, knowing looks and abruptly stopped walking.
This place was hidden enough. It was the perfect place to make their move!
Zhu Zhuqing's sharp senses instantly caught the sudden shift in the atmosphere. That undisguised malice wrapped around her heart like an icy venomous snake.
"Rongrong, be careful!" she shouted, pulling Ning Rongrong behind her.
The three men turned around, and the false smiles on their faces vanished entirely.
In their place were naked, disgusting lust and greed.
"What are you hiding for, little beauty?"
The bald man licked his lips and advanced step by step.
Without hesitation, Zhu Zhuqing instantly lowered her body, like a spirit cat that had sensed mortal danger, and entered a battle stance!
With Hell Spirit Cat Martial Soul Possession, a ghostly gleam appeared in her eyes, her fingertips became sharp, and two yellow hundred-year Soul Rings rapidly rose beneath her feet, radiating a fierce aura.
"Oh? So you're a feisty little wildcat after all!"
The bald man sneered, completely unconcerned.
Another man, skinny and tall as a bamboo pole, also stepped forward with a vicious grin. As he activated his Soul Power, three yellow and two purple Soul Rings appeared around him—he was actually a Soul King!
"Little girl, don't refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit! Behave yourself, and you'll suffer less!"
Zhu Zhuqing's heart sank. A Soul Grandmaster facing a Soul King was already a vast gap, not to mention the other two men watching her like tigers!
She knew she was no match for them, yet a resolute fire burned in her cool eyes.
She had already prepared herself to fight to the death and take them down with her!
Even if she died, she would never suffer such humiliation!
Ning Rongrong hid behind Zhu Zhuqing, her face pale with fright. But her young lady's pride forced her to maintain a show of calm as she snapped fiercely despite her fear:
"Y-you... what do you think you're doing? Do you know who I am?"
"I'm the young miss of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect! Take another step closer, and I'll have Grandpa Sword and Grandpa Bone chop every last one of you up and feed you to the dogs!"
"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"
Rather than being afraid, the bald Soul Emperor gave a vicious laugh as Soul Power burst from his body.
Three yellow and three purple Soul Rings suddenly lit up, and a powerful Soul Power pressure crashed down upon the two girls like a mountain!
"Hahaha! I don't give a damn what sect you belong to! In this godforsaken place where no cry reaches Heaven and no call reaches Earth, even if you were the Pope's daughter, you'll submit obediently today! Scream your throat raw if you want—it won't help!"
"Rongrong, I'll hold them back! Run! Go find someone!"
Zhu Zhuqing gritted her teeth and shouted. Her body leaned slightly forward as she prepared to launch a sudden attack and create an opportunity for Ning Rongrong.
"Run? Too late!" the bald Soul Emperor roared, and the Fourth Soul Ring on his body blazed brightly!
"Fourth Soul Skill, Iron Grille Fence!"
His Martial Soul was a control-type iron grille.
Just as Ning Rongrong turned to flee, several cold, hard iron bars gleaming with metallic light suddenly thrust up from the ground beneath her feet.
They instantly formed a sturdy cage, trapping her firmly in place!
"Ah! Let me go! Father! Grandpa Sword! Grandpa Bone—save me!"
Ning Rongrong desperately clutched the cold bars, tears pouring from her eyes as she cried out in despair.
The three men laughed lewdly, closing in step by step like hungry wolves that had spotted prey.
"Scream! Scream as loud as you can! Out here in these desolate mountains, who could possibly save you? Hahaha!"
Just as the bald Soul Emperor's filthy hand was about to touch Zhu Zhuqing, at that critical instant—
"Sorry, but we have to say goodbye the moment we meet!"
A cool yet powerful female voice tore through the air like thunder, shattering the dead silence of the forest!
It was followed by an incomparably sharp crimson sword light, as though it could rip apart space itself.
It streaked across at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow!
"Void Split Slash!"
The sword light flashed like lightning and vanished in an instant!
The three villains did not even see who had arrived. They only felt an irresistible sharp force sweep across their bodies.
Then darkness overtook their vision. Without even managing a groan, they collapsed and completely lost consciousness.
The powerful aftershock of the sword aura also sent Zhu Zhuqing, who had barely been holding on, and the terrified Ning Rongrong reeling. Their blood and qi churned, and both fainted.
Only then did the attacker's figure become clear.
She wore practical crimson leather armor that accentuated her athletic figure.
Her long, flame-red hair was tied into a neat high ponytail that swayed gently in the wind.
She held a pair of strange short-handled twin swords, cold light flowing along their blades. Heroic and valiant, she carried the stern righteous aura of a seasoned battlefield veteran between her brows.
It was Hua Mulan, responsible for daily patrols around the outer region of the King's Hall.
She glanced at the three unconscious scum on the ground.
Then she looked toward the two girls lying there, her heroic brows knitting slightly with a hint of pity.
"To think there are such scum causing trouble here. They've sullied this entire forest. Poor little girls... did those bastards frighten them unconscious?"
She smoothly sheathed her swords, stepped forward, and effortlessly hoisted Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing over her strong shoulders, one on each side.
"I should take them back to the Inner Hall and settle them in first. Leaving them out here in the wilderness is too dangerous. Who knows if there are wild beasts around, or something even worse."
"The Venerable One has always been kind. He probably won't blame me for meddling."
Though Hua Mulan was renowned for her courage and strength and known as the Blade of Legend, she was soft-hearted and kind within.
She had taken in many injured or abandoned stray cats and dogs at her residence in the Inner Hall, so naturally she would not leave girls in distress to die.
At that moment, Kai, who was patrolling the other side of the King's Hall's rear mountain, suddenly sneezed loudly for no apparent reason.
He rubbed his nose in confusion and looked up at the clear sky. "Strange. Who's talking about me?"
Before you continue