Hearing the leader's order, one of the young guards in the rear hurriedly fumbled inside his clothes for a firework flare. He was so nervous that he even dropped it. He glanced at Hals, saw that he hadn't moved, and forced himself to calm down. Shaking, he picked up the flare and fumbled with it for a long while before finally lighting it.
"Whoosh!"
A sharp, piercing sound rang out as a streak of fire shot into the sky and burst into a brilliant flare. It was dazzling, especially against the faint light of early morning.
Ning Songxi was the captain of Star Luo City's guard force, as well as a Level 69 Power Attack System Battle Soul Emperor. Her martial spirit was a Blood Tiger, and it was said she was distantly related by blood to the imperial family of the Star Luo Empire.
Being the captain of Star Luo City's guard force was an exceedingly easy job, though it was also a sinecure. Normally, she only had to stay at the post and keep watch. She only needed to step in if a Soul Master caused trouble and the ordinary guards at the gate couldn't handle it.
Ning Songxi had been lounging at the post as usual, drinking tea and basking in the sun, when she suddenly froze and looked toward the sky above the city gate. That flare was blinding.
Someone was causing trouble!
Ning Songxi wasn't alarmed; she was delighted. She and her brothers spent their days bored out of their minds here, to the point that their bones were nearly rusting. Now that they'd finally gotten a chance to stretch their limbs, she couldn't help feeling thrilled.
Ning Songxi sprang up from her reclining chair and called out cheerfully, "Quick, quick, brothers! Get up, there's work to do! Come on, let's go loosen up our muscles!"
Nearby, a bare-chested, muscular man was holding a stone lock as tall as a person and half as wide. At her words, he dropped it with a crash, kicking up a cloud of dust. He hastily pulled on the undershirt hanging nearby, then nudged with his foot a frail, scholar-like young man lying on the bluestone ground. "Quick, quick, Lao Si! Didn't you hear what big brother said? Still lying there? Get up! Come out and stretch with us. Just look at how skinny you are!"
The young man rocked from the kicks. He lifted the book that had been resting on his face and, without bracing himself against the ground, effortlessly sat up by engaging his core. He looked helplessly at the clumsy brute. "Second brother, I was born this way. I take after our parents. I can eat all I want and never gain weight, and I can't build muscle. There's nothing I can do about it. I only managed to go home last night, and my wife was already nagging me to do my duty."
Grumbling, the young man called Xiaoliu stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes. His eyes wandered around, searching for somewhere to sit. "Honestly, all you ever think about is fighting. Can't you be a little more refined and easygoing, like me?"
The strongman curled his lip and smacked Xiaoliu on the back, making him stumble. His voice was loud enough to carry for miles. "Bah! If anyone else said that, I'd have to think it over. But you? You mad scholar, Yan Xiaoliu? You've probably got more lives on your hands than I do!"
Xiaoliu braced his left hand against his waist and coughed nonstop. That blow had nearly knocked the wind out of him. Hearing the "culprit" say that, he angrily punched the strongman in the waist. It didn't hurt the brute at all, but it left Xiaoliu gasping for breath again.
Ning Songxi watched her brothers fool around without minding. Instead, she narrowed her eyes and smiled, watching from the sidelines.
"Enough, enough. You're grown men, so stop acting like children. Get ready, and let's hurry over there." Ning Songxi glanced around, then asked in confusion, "Where's Lao Si? Why can't I see him?"
The strongman, who had an arm around Xiaoliu's neck and was joking with him, looked up with a grin. "Hey, big brother, you know what Lao Si's like. If he's missing now, he's definitely gone to the Rain Pavilion again. I heard they've got a new girl there. That's his type, so he's probably gone to check her out."
"Ridiculous." Ning Songxi's expression darkened as she cursed. "Damn it, that useless bastard goes to a place like that during work hours? Just wait till I get back—I'll beat him to a pulp. Forget it. It's just the three of us. Let's hurry over before something really happens. Move!"
With that, she took the lead and ran toward the city gate.
At the city gate, the guards were still confronting Hals. They didn't dare move, and Hals couldn't be bothered. Their leader had been helped to his feet by his comrades and was now trembling behind the other guards, his eyes full of venom. Hals couldn't be bothered with him. He wasn't going to let a nobody like that ruin his grand plan.
As the guards trembled, a thunderous shout rang out from the other side. The man hadn't even arrived before his voice did. A muscular brute dropped from the sky with a crash, smashing a half-meter-wide crater into the ground by the gate.
"Let this grandpa see which little punk dares to cause trouble on his turf!" The strongman looked around arrogantly, then fixed his gaze on Hals, who was dressed in a long robe.
"Kid, are you the one causing trouble on my turf?"
Seeing that the guard leader's backup had arrived, he hurriedly stuck his head out and wailed, "Second Master, it's this bastard—" He stopped abruptly. The Second Master, whom he and the others had revered like a god, had been sent flying with a single sweep of the mysterious man's sleeve. The man had appeared in front of him in an instant, and Second Master crashed hard to the side, his head lolling as he passed out.
Ning Songxi and Yan Xiaoliu arrived just in time to witness the scene. Their eyes turned bloodshot. Ning Songxi let out a furious roar, and red fur sprouted all over her body as a blood-soaked aura surged around her.
"Roar!" A growl unlike any human voice burst from Ning Songxi's mouth. Six Soul Rings—white, yellow, yellow, purple, purple, and purple—rose behind her. Her first three Soul Rings flashed in succession. Both her hands turned into tiger claws, which grew another half inch and were covered in a layer of blood-red light.
Ning Songxi was about to charge when someone rushed ahead of her and reached Hals first.
The five Soul Rings behind Yan Xiaoliu—yellow, yellow, yellow, purple, and purple—flashed together. He gripped a dagger in each hand, blades held in reverse, and slid low along the ground toward Hals, slashing at his groin.
The corners of Hals's mouth lifted beneath his hood. He struck in an instant and grabbed Yan Xiaoliu by the head.
"Xiaoliu!" Ning Songxi cried in shock. She abruptly stopped her charge and glared furiously at Hals, her blood-red eyes seeming ready to drip blood.
Even while held in Hals's grip, Yan Xiaoliu didn't stop fighting. He swung a dagger back at Hals's shoulder.
"Hmph." A muffled grunt came from his throat, and an inexplicable pulse traveled down Hals's left arm and into Yan Xiaoliu's head.
Yan Xiaoliu's body stiffened. His dagger stopped just short of Hals's shoulder, then slipped limply from his hand. His legs sagged as well.
"Xiaoliu!!!!" Ning Songxi finally lost control. With a furious roar, she launched herself at Hals.
"Give me back my brother's life!!!"
In her fury, Ning Songxi had lost all reason. The indistinct shadow of a Blood Tiger appeared behind her.
Hals casually tossed Yan Xiaoliu's unconscious body aside, then pushed off the ground and charged at Ning Songxi.
"Boom!" A transparent burst of force punched through Ning Songxi's abdomen.
"Ugh..."
Ning Songxi's eyes bulged as she doubled over like a shrimp. A mouthful of black blood shot from her lips like an arrow, and her body flew backward.
Hals didn't stop. He tapped the ground with his toe and caught up with Ning Songxi as she flew back, then pressed his left hand against her face and slammed her into the ground.
"Sir, please spare her!" someone shouted from afar, but he was too late. Hals had already driven Ning Songxi into the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
It's over.
That was the newcomer's first thought. But when the dust settled, Ning Songxi was lying unconscious on the ground, unharmed aside from an external wound on her abdomen.
A thin film of Soul Power had wrapped around Ning Songxi, saving her life...
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