"Let's get one thing straight first. If my dad asks later, tell him you came up with another way to sneak over here yourself. Don't say I brought you."
Yun Ze warned Na'er. Thanks to the plot's divine hand, Yun Ming treated Na'er just as he did in the original story—as if she were his own daughter.
If Yun Ming found out Yun Ze had taken Na'er to an Evil Soul Master hideout, Yun Ze's hide would be in serious danger.
Yun Ze wasn't the kind of person who'd cause himself a whole lot of trouble for a little benefit.
Na'er sat obediently in the back of the mecha's cockpit and nodded at the rearview mirror.
Yun Ze said no more, and the two of them headed toward Tianlin City.
Tianlin City was within the approved flight zone for Soul Guidance Mechas. As they neared the city, the smart autopilot system automatically raised their altitude to the permitted flight level.
But Tianlin City truly lived up to its reputation as the Holy Spirit Cult's chosen base for Evil Soul Masters. The locals were a rough lot. As Yun Ze's mecha flew overhead, two purple mechas suddenly appeared in front of him.
Under normal circumstances, when mechas encountered each other, their pilots would communicate and work out the best way to pass.
At the very least, they would simply fly off in different directions to avoid one another.
These two mechas were different. They began darting up and down directly in front of Yun Ze's mecha, completely blocking his way.
Yun Ze clicked his tongue softly. What a pair of pests.
He glanced down. Tianling City was just a little farther ahead, and he didn't want to get into a fight with them. After sending a descent signal, he began slowly lowering his mecha.
But when the two mechas saw him descending, as if preparing to switch to ground mode, they seemed to think he was backing down.
They immediately began blaring their horns and circling Yun Ze's mecha, while extending what looked like ropes to tie it up.
What Yun Ze saw from inside the cockpit made him even angrier. Those ropes were actually steel cables, specially forged for the purpose.
If they managed to wrap around his mecha and wind them around it a few times, his machine would likely be wrecked.
Yun Ze said gravely, "Na'er, are you sure that as long as I wear this mask and don't let my Soul Spirit show itself, my aura won't be exposed?"
Na'er nodded firmly. "Don't worry. If you put a mask of the right size on the Soul Spirit, its aura will be concealed too."
Yun Ze nodded slightly, then switched on cruise mode and activated the mecha's protective shield. "Don't move around. Wait here."
As he spoke, Yun Ze activated the mecha's ejection system. The cockpit canopy flipped open overhead, and an airflow shield appeared, keeping the force of the wind from making Na'er uncomfortable in the rear seat.
Then the ejection system launched Yun Ze out of the mecha, and a long spear appeared in each of his hands.
They were his Martial Souls: the Heaven-Propping Spear and the Heaven-Surpassing Spear. Held in Yun Ze's hands, both were now shrouded in opaque black smoke, thanks to the mask Na'er had provided. The ancient characters on them could no longer be made out.
Naturally, no one could identify their true origin.
Using the force of his ejection and his own Soul Power, Yun Ze took two steps and reached the mecha in front of him. He swung his spear with full force.
The Heaven-Propping Spear, powered by Yun Ze's arm, pierced through the mecha's protective shield and cockpit canopy as easily as a hot knife through tofu. It impaled one of the pilots, killing him instantly inside the cockpit.
"I gave you a chance to back off. You want me dead? Then you can leave your lives behind!"
With two quick strikes, Yun Ze smashed the unmanned mecha to pieces. Then his Death God-like gaze fell on the other mecha.
Seeing its companion killed in an instant, the pilot realized he'd run into a tough opponent. He released the cables, turned the mecha around, and tried to flee.
But it was already too late. Yun Ming pushed off from the wreckage with both feet and shot forward.
With the spears held out in front of him, Liang Bingqiang drove them both into the core at the back of the mecha, piercing two holes through the Core Array.
"Die!"
Yun Ze spread his hands. The spears shot out of the mecha, tearing it clean in half like a slab of raw meat.
The Soul Master piloting it hurriedly tried to summon his Martial Soul in midair. Yun Ming didn't even spare him a glance. In a fit of rage, he ran him through with his spear.
Watching Yun Ze from above, Na'er suddenly had an absurd thought.
What if this guy got carried away killing people and casually put a spear through me too?
Yun Ze glanced back at the mecha still hovering in midair, gave a soft snort, and returned to his own cockpit.
After putting away his spears, Na'er noticed that he didn't have a single drop of blood on him.
After slaughtering the two roughnecks, Yun Ze seemed to be in a good mood. He casually said to Na'er, "Remember this. If anyone provokes you out there, don't hold back. Fight back with everything you've got."
"If I hadn't stepped in just now, those steel cables would have wrapped around the mecha. With the force they were using, they would've torn it to shreds in an instant—and turned us into mincemeat along with it."
Na'er nodded. "I never learned anything about mechas before this, so I really didn't know that."
Yun Ze licked his finger and continued, "Actually, plenty of mecha pilots in the peaceful districts don't know about this trick either. It was used by mecha robbers back in the savage days, when mechas had just appeared and there weren't any laws governing them yet."
"Later, as the laws improved and mecha pilots gained more protections, that sort of tactic disappeared because it wasn't worth the trouble. All they got out of it was a pile of mecha wreckage, but they'd make enemies of the Federation—or even an entire powerful mecha-pilot family."
Yun Ze explained it to Na'er. She asked, "Is it more frightening to offend a mecha-pilot family than the Federation?"
Yun Ze smiled. "Isn't that obvious? The Federation would need a trial to kill you. A mecha pilot can do it with the press of two buttons."
"Just like I did. If I'd gone through the proper legal procedures and had them tried, they wouldn't even have died."
Na'er nodded thoughtfully. Yun Ze flew toward Tianlin City.
Before you continue