First Meeting Shui Bing'er

Xiao Wu looked at the exquisite scorpion braid behind her.

She gently twirled the end of the braid with her fingertips.

Turning around, she hugged Lu Chen and looked him over with a hint of scrutiny.

Lu Chen rubbed Xiao Wu's head and asked curiously, "What's wrong? Don't you like it?"

Xiao Wu wrapped her arms around Lu Chen's neck from behind and rose lightly onto her toes, puffing out her little mouth.

Leaning close to his ear, she whispered, "Lu Chen, you haven't... braided anyone else's hair before, have you?"

Lu Chen slipped his left arm around Xiao Wu's slender waist and gently pinched her nose with his right hand.

He smiled. "Xiao Wu, you're being suspicious again. Zhuqing and Yan Zi don't have hair as long as yours."

At that, Xiao Wu lightly bit Lu Chen's neck, then said indignantly, "Lu Chen, you really are a big pervert!"

After wriggling around in Lu Chen's arms for a while, Xiao Wu rested her head against his chest. Listening to his steady heartbeat, her voice softened.

"Lu Chen, Grandpa Dean told me that you're destined to have more than one woman in the future..."

After seven years together, Xiao Wu was certain Lu Chen wasn't the promiscuous type.

Xiao Wu looked up at Lu Chen and asked earnestly, "Will you always love me?"

Lu Chen bent down and gently kissed her forehead. "I will. Always."

Xiao Wu cuddled up against Lu Chen and said, "Let's go out for a walk together. I've been in the Human World for so long, but I've never properly explored the town!"

"Sure."

As Lu Chen led her outside, the morning light spilled across the flagstones, warming them pleasantly.

Though it was only a small town, its proximity to Heaven Dou City made its streets especially lively.

The hawkers calling out their tanghulu, the restaurant attendants greeting customers, the children laughing as they chased one another... All the sounds blended together, filling the streets with the bustle of everyday life.

Xiao Wu held Lu Chen's hand, her eyes full of curiosity.

"Lu Chen, look at this hair tie. It's so pretty!"

Xiao Wu held a pink hair tie decorated with two adorable white rabbits.

Lu Chen checked the price, then took out five Copper Soul Coins and handed them to the vendor. "We'll take it, boss."

The vendor was a kindly old woman. Seeing how close Lu Chen and Xiao Wu were, she praised them. "A handsome man and a beautiful woman—you two make a perfect couple!"

At her words, Xiao Wu's cheeks immediately flushed pink.

After Lu Chen paid, a middle-aged man in black carrying a sack brushed past him.

Lu Chen pulled Xiao Wu into his arms and held her securely.

"How could he be so rude? Does he not watch where he's going?" Xiao Wu poked her head out from Lu Chen's arms, glaring angrily at the man in black.

A flicker of surprise crossed Lu Chen's eyes. He'd sensed a bloody aura coming from the man—the kind only found in those who lived by killing.

Just then, six girls in ice-blue uniforms hurried past them, leaving a faint chill in their wake.

Every one of them was beautiful.

Looking at their uniforms, Lu Chen asked in puzzlement, "Are they from Skywater Academy? It looks like they're chasing that man in black."

A tall, pretty girl with short gray-blue hair stared at the man in black as he ran farther away.

She said angrily, "That despicable Evil Soul Master took our big sister while our teacher was away..."

Lu Chen and Xiao Wu exchanged a glance.

Knowing Xiao Wu's nature, Lu Chen said, "Let's go see what's happening."

Lu Chen and Xiao Wu ran after the man in black side by side.

They were fast.

Within minutes, Lu Chen and Xiao Wu had passed the Skywater Academy girls and followed the man into a forest.

The man in black was cautious. He circled through the trees several times, glancing back now and then. Only after making sure no one was following did he stop beneath a large tree.

He slammed the sack against the trunk. A muffled groan came from inside.

Then the man in black drew a dagger from his waist. With a sharp rip, he sliced the sack open.

An unconscious girl tumbled out.

Her figure was well-proportioned, neither overly curvy nor petite.

Long, water-blue hair fell in a disheveled curtain down her back. She had fair skin and delicate features. Though she didn't quite compare to Xiao Wu or Zhu Zhuqing, there was a hazy, ethereal beauty about her.

Hidden behind a tree with Xiao Wu, Lu Chen looked at the girl and thought, That must be Shui Bing'er, the captain of the Skywater Team.

The man in black removed his hood, revealing his horrifying appearance. His skin was as pale as bone, and the flesh in his cheeks had sunk until it clung tightly to his jawbone.

Most terrifying of all were his empty eyes. His eye sockets were hollow, with only a faint blue light flickering deep within them, like ghost fire in the night.

The man in black stared at Shui Bing'er, his voice thick with greed. "As expected of someone with the Ice Phoenix Martial Soul. The chill inside you is so pure. I wonder how much stronger I'll become if I devour you."

The man in black formed a seal with his hands, and an icy wind howled past.

In the cold wind, a translucent, deep-blue ghost slowly took shape.

Its head was a skull pieced together from shards of ice, with two clusters of deep-blue ghost fire burning in its empty eye sockets. Its limbs resembled withered bones wrapped in a thin layer of ice.

Two Yellow Two Purple One Black Soul Rings appeared around the man in black.

A grave look crossed Lu Chen's face. A Five Rings Evil Soul Master with the Optimal Soul Ring Configuration. His Martial Soul must be a Frost Wraith that grows stronger by devouring souls.

The man in black controlled the Frost Wraith as it slowly approached Shui Bing'er. Xiao Wu was about to rush in.

Lu Chen pressed her down with his right hand and whispered in her ear, "Stay here. Evil Soul Masters have all kinds of tricks!"

Seeing Lu Chen's firm expression, Xiao Wu nodded. "Be careful, Lu Chen."

Lu Chen nodded. A flash of blood-red light appeared in his hand, and the Asura Demon Sword materialized.

He turned his wrist and sent a sharp blast of Asura Sword Qi straight toward the Frost Wraith behind the man in black.

"Who's there?"

The man in black's Third Soul Ring lit up. The Frost Wraith behind him let out a beastlike roar and sent a ghostly figure crashing into the Asura Sword Qi.

"Asura Berserk Devour!"

"Blood Fiend Power!"

The Fourth Soul Ring and then the First Soul Ring on the Asura Demon Sword lit up.

Blood flames rose from the Asura Demon Sword.

A dense Slaughter Aura surged from within him, seeming to condense into a suit of Blood Crystal Armor around Lu Chen.

"So it's just a little mouse!"

When the Evil Soul Master saw the Two Yellow One Purple two Black Soul Rings around Lu Chen's Asura Demon Sword, surprise flickered in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by scorn.

He'd even killed a Soul Emperor. What was a boy who hadn't even grown his hair out yet compared to that?

The Evil Soul Master's Fourth Soul Ring lit up, and the blue flames in the Frost Wraith's eyes instantly turned scarlet.

Countless vengeful spirits lunged at Lu Chen. Among them were all kinds of Soul Beasts, as well as humans—even several babies.

Fury surged in Lu Chen as he watched. He swung the Asura Demon Sword.