Baiting the Hook

Upon hearing the leader's command, a young guard at the rear fumbled frantically to pull a firecracker fuse from his bosom, even dropping it in his nervousness. He glanced at Hals, saw no movement, forced himself to calm down, picked up the fuse with trembling hands, and fumbled for a long while before finally lighting it.

Whoosh

A sharp, piercing sound rang out as a streak of fire shot into the sky, exploding into a blaze of light. The dazzling fire was especially conspicuous in the faint light of early morning.

Ning Songxi was the captain of the Star Luo City guard, and a 69th-level assault-type battle Soul Emperor. His martial soul was the Blood Tiger, and it was said he even shared a faint bloodline connection with the Star Luo Empire's royal family.

The position of Star Luo City guard captain was an extremely relaxed one, but also a barren post. On ordinary days, he only needed to stay stationed at the garrison. Only when a soul master caused trouble that the ordinary guards at the gate couldn't handle would he need to step in.

As usual, Ning Songxi was idling at the garrison, drinking tea and basking lazily in the sun, when he suddenly froze. He looked up at the sky above the city gate—that spark of fire was so glaring.

Someone was stirring up trouble!

Ning Songxi wasn't alarmed; instead, he was delighted. On normal days, he and his brothers were stuck here with nothing to do, their bones practically rusting. Finally encountering a chance to stretch their limbs, he was naturally overjoyed.

Ning Songxi sprang up from his lounge chair with a carp-like flip, his face beaming as he shouted loudly, "Quick, quick, quick, brothers, get up! We've got work! Hurry up, let's go loosen up our joints."

Beside him, a muscular man with a bare upper body, who had been lifting a stone lock half a man's height and a man's width wide, slammed the lock to the ground with a crash, kicking up a cloud of dust. He casually grabbed a sweat-soaked shirt draped nearby and threw it on haphazardly, while kicking a frail, scholarly-looking youth lying on the blue brick floor. "Quick, quick, quick, Lao Liu, get up! Didn't you hear what Big Brother said? Still lying there? Get up and come out with us to move around. Look how skinny you've gotten."

The frail youth wobbled from the kick, raised the book he had been using to cover his face, and sat up effortlessly using his waist strength instead of his hands. He looked helplessly at the rough-and-tumble muscular man. "I said, Second Brother, this body of mine was born this way. My parents gave it to me. No matter what I eat, I don't gain weight, and I can't grow muscles. I can't help it. And last night, I finally managed to get home, and my wife was nagging me to 'pay the grain tax.'"

Muttering to himself, the youth called Lao Liu stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and scanned around for a place to sit. "Seriously, all you ever think about is fighting and killing. Can't you be a little refined and easygoing like me?"

The burly man curled his lip and slapped Lao Six on the back, sending him stumbling. His voice could probably carry ten miles. "Pah! I'd have to think twice if anyone else said that. You, that mad scholar Yan Xiaoliu, have the nerve to say that? The lives on your hands are probably more than mine by a long shot."

Lao Liu, clutching his waist with his left hand, coughed incessantly. That slap had nearly knocked the breath out of him. Hearing the "culprit" say that, he angrily punched the burly man in the side. Not only did it not hurt the man, but it actually left him breathless again.

Ning Songxi watched his brothers fooling around from the side, unconcerned. Instead, he squinted and smiled, an "impartial observer."

"Alright, alright, you're all grown men, still no sense of decorum. Hurry up, pack up, and let's get going." Ning Songxi swept his gaze and asked with a puzzled look, "Where's Lao Si? Why haven't I seen him?"

The burly man, who had been laughing while locking Lao Liu in a headlock, looked up and grinned. "Hey, boss, you know what Lao Si is like. If he's not here at this hour, he's definitely gone to that Rain Pavilion again. I heard there's a new girl there. Lao Si has a taste for that sort of thing, so he must have gone to check out the new arrival."

"Nonsense." Ning Songxi's face stiffened, and he cursed, "Damn it. That bastard, going to a place like that during work hours. Just wait till I get back—I'll beat him to death. Forget it, it's just the three of us. Let's go first, before something really happens. Move out."

With that, he took the lead, sprinting toward the city gate.

At the city gate, the guards were still locked in a standoff with Hals. The guards dared not move, and Hals couldn't be bothered to. The guard leader, who had been pulled up by his colleagues, was trembling and cowering behind the line of guards, his eyes full of venom. Hals ignored him—he wouldn't let such a small fry ruin his grand plan.

Just as the guards were shaking in their boots, a thunderous roar rang out. The man arrived before his voice faded. With a crash, a burly figure descended from the sky, smashing a half-meter-wide crater into the ground.

"Let your grandpa see which bastard dares to act up on my turf, huh!" The burly man swept his gaze arrogantly, finally locking onto the robed Hals.

"Kid, you're the one causing trouble on my turf?"

The guard leader, seeing that reinforcements had arrived, quickly poked his head out and wailed, "Second Master, it's this bas—" He stopped mid-sentence, cut off. Because he saw the Second Master, whom they revered as a god, get sent flying by a sleeve swipe from the mysterious figure who had appeared in an instant. He crashed heavily to the side, his head lolling as he passed out.

This scene was witnessed by Ning Songxi and Yan Xiaoliu, who arrived right after. Both of their eyes turned bloodshot. Ning Songxi let out a furious roar as crimson fur erupted all over his body, a bloody aura surging forth.

"ROAR!" An inhuman howl tore from Ning Songxi's throat. Behind him, six soul rings—white, yellow, yellow, purple, purple, purple—materialized. The first, second, and third rings flashed in succession. His hands transformed into tiger claws, swelling half an inch and coating themselves in a layer of blood red.

Just as Ning Songxi was about to charge, someone else reached Hals even faster.

Yan Xiaoliu's five soul rings—yellow, yellow, yellow, purple, purple—all flashed simultaneously. Two daggers reversed in his hands, he slid along the ground, aiming a slash at Hals's groin.

Under his hood, Hals's lips curled upward. In an instant, his hand shot out and seized Yan Xiaoliu's head.

"Xiaoliu!" Ning Songxi cried out in alarm, halting his charge. He glared at Hals with fury, his blood-red eyes seeming ready to drip blood.

Even in Hals's grip, Yan Xiaoliu didn't stop. He reversed his dagger and swung it at Hals's shoulder.

"Hmph." A muffled grunt came from Hals's throat. An inexplicable ripple traveled down his left arm to Yan Xiaoliu's head.

Yan Xiaoliu's body stiffened. The dagger stopped just before Hals's shoulder, then drooped limply. His feet also went slack, dangling uselessly.

"XIAOLIU!!!!" Ning Songxi finally lost all reason. With a thunderous roar, he lunged at Hals.

"Give me back my brother's life!!!"

In his blind rage, Ning Songxi's reason deserted him. A faint phantom of a blood tiger appeared behind him.

Hals casually tossed the unconscious Yan Xiaoliu aside, then kicked off the ground and charged at Ning Songxi.

"Boom!" A transparent fist of force punched through Ning Songxi's abdomen from the other side.

"Hah—hah—"

Ning Songxi's eyes bulged. His body curled up like a shrimp. A jet of black blood shot from his mouth like a sword, and he flew backward.

Hals didn't stop. He tapped the ground, following Ning Songxi's flying body. He pressed his left hand against Ning Songxi's face and slammed him viciously into the ground.

"Sir, spare him!!!" A shout came from afar, but it was half a beat too late. Hals had already driven him into the earth, kicking up a cloud of dust.

It's over.

That was the first thought of the newcomer. But when the dust settled, Ning Songxi lay on the ground unconscious, completely unharmed except for the external wound on his abdomen.

A thin film of soul power had wrapped around Ning Songxi, saving his life...