In front of the City Lord's Mansion's main hall.
Three figures clashed.
After Su Yan had sent Lord Xiao flying for the seventh time, Lord Xiao finally couldn't take it anymore.
"You can't keep picking on the same person when you beat people up!" he roared, and all three of his Soul Rings lit up.
First Soul Skill: Wolf Soul.
Second Soul Skill: Wolf Fist.
Third Soul Skill: Bloodlust!
Lord Xiao's eyes turned scarlet, and his body swelled several times over. His fists burst with immense energy as he charged straight for Su Yan's face.
Su Yan's eyes narrowed. He lightly stepped on the roof's eaves and flipped away. The flames abruptly vanished, then flared up again in an instant.
"Blazing Spirit Cat, possession!"
In that split second, Su Yan had switched Martial Souls. His wolf claws became cat claws, and his wolf ears became cat ears.
Time passed, and most of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum battle suit on him had already fallen away.
The white-robed man seized his chance. He leaped high into the air and flipped over, swinging his thick tail down toward Su Yan's head.
Fourth Soul Skill: Giant Lizard Fall.
A smug smile tugged at the white-robed man's lips.
Got him!
Outside the woodshed in the rear courtyard, over a dozen Two-Ring Soul Grandmasters had surrounded it so completely that not even a drop of water could escape.
"Move! His Lordship orders us to transfer the Soul Materials!"
At a shout, several Soul Grandmasters lit up their Soul Rings and charged inside, only to be blasted back by a burst of golden light. They flew dozens of meters through the air.
Several more Soul Grandmasters charged in right after them, only to be sent flying back as well. This time, they flew over twenty meters.
"Quick, keep charging!"
Inside the woodshed, Zhu Zhuqing sat cross-legged, gripping the stem of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum tightly with both hands and pouring all her Soul Power into it.
The chrysanthemum bloomed. Its stamens released a pale golden barrier that protected all the children inside the woodshed.
"Zhuqing, hang in there." A jade-like little girl beside her was frantic with worry. She wanted to help, but once the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum bloomed, it could only receive Soul Power from the person who had made it bloom.
The barrier was strong enough to withstand attacks from an ordinary Soul Ancestor. The children inside were completely safe.
But Zhu Zhuqing was too tense, supplying Soul Power without holding anything back. Her Soul Power was draining too quickly, and she was running out of strength.
As the Soul Masters outside charged again and again, the barrier grew dimmer, and the area it protected slowly shrank. The children all crowded around Zhu Zhuqing, and fear closed in on them once more.
"I can't hold on. The barrier's going to disappear."
"Has the rescue still not arrived?"
"Mom, I want to go home!"
One child began to cry, and soon many more joined in.
"Don't worry, everyone. My grandparents will be here soon," the jade-like little girl said. "The fireworks in the sky just now were signal flares. They're already on their way!"
But all the children could see was the fear right in front of them. Their cries grew louder, and sorrow filled the room.
"Everyone, shut up!" the dirty-faced boy suddenly stepped forward and shouted.
He stood at the very front of the barrier, his fists clenched tight. "You want to go home? If you do, then release your Martial Souls! If the barrier disappears, we'll still have the woodshed walls. If the walls are smashed, we'll still have our Martial Souls and our bodies. As long as we draw breath, there's still hope."
"We dared to face Soul Beasts a hundred times more vicious than these in the forest. Are we really afraid of a bunch of Soul Masters with only two rings?"
"Everyone, listen up! Beast Martial Souls in front, weapon Martial Souls in the middle, and support Martial Souls at the back."
"For freedom! There is no turning back!"
"Awaken, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon!"
Blue-white lightning crackled and burst forth. The dirty-faced boy raised his right arm high. Lightning coiled around it, transforming into a dragon's claw, and a yellow Soul Ring slowly rose into the air.
The children stopped crying and began to form up in order.
"Well said!" The jade-like little girl also went to the front and held her Serpent Cane across her body. A yellow Soul Ring rose around her, too.
Then, one after another—
"Spotted Snake, possession!"
"Fierce Bull, possession!"
"Hunting Hound, possession!"
"Firewood Knife!"
"Army-breaking Spear!"
"Evergreen Ivy!"
The Martial Souls of over twenty children were released almost simultaneously.
Zhu Zhuqing was surrounded in the middle. Her lips had turned pale, and her arms had begun to tremble uncontrollably. "Yiran, Tianxin, I... I can't hold on much longer."
"Zhuqing, take a rest. Leave the rest to us!" Meng Yiran said, fixing a sharp gaze on the people outside.
Outside, a Mansion Guard holding a long staff gathered Soul Power at its tip and swung it at the barrier.
In the end, Zhu Zhuqing used up her last wisp of Soul Power, and the pale golden barrier shattered with a crack.
Yu Tianxin roared and charged forward, his right fist, transformed into a dragon's claw, landing squarely in the staff-wielding Mansion Guard's stomach.
"B-Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon!"
The Mansion Guard was taken aback. He spat out a mouthful of blood and flew away like a kite with its strings cut.
The other Mansion Guards in the City Lord's Mansion hesitated when they saw the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was one of the Upper Three Sects of the Heaven Dou Empire, a powerful sect with real authority. If they found out about this, not every Soul Master would dare face their fury.
"If you want trouble with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, then come and get it!" Yu Tianxin let out all the anger he had been holding in for days. He glanced around, his eyes seeming to blaze with fire.
"Don't listen to that brat's nonsense," someone suddenly said. "The moment we kidnapped him and brought him here, we were already enemies. If we don't want the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan to find out, then we can only send them away as Soul Materials!"
Those words snapped everyone out of their daze.
Could any of the City Lord's Mansion Guards escape?
If they let the child go home, then none of them would escape.
A murderous glint appeared in the eyes of many City Lord's Mansion Guards.
Better to kill them than let them go!
The two sides clashed again in an instant.
The over twenty children all had decent talent, but they were still young. Their potential had yet to be realized, and they were weak and inexperienced. They were soon defeated one after another.
The Mansion Guards tried to focus on subduing them. Killing them was only a last resort when they had no other choice.
Only Yu Tianxin and Meng Yiran put up the strongest resistance.
For every child the guards subdued, the pressure on the two of them increased.
Yu Tianxin clenched his teeth. He didn't want to fail again, not like this.
But the odds were against him. Two fists were no match for four hands, especially when all four hands were stronger than his two fists.
Just as he was about to give up, the cries of thousands of birds rang out abruptly, and a hammer dropped from the sky.
"First Soul Skill: Thunderquake Wave!"
The Mansion Guards had thought victory was within their grasp and had just let down their guard. The sudden lightning left them dazed and numb. The paralysis was so effective that none of them could move.
"Su Yan, we're here to save you!" Tang Chi shouted. He landed with a hammer on his shoulder and looked around, but couldn't find Su Yan anywhere.
"Where'd this brat come from?"
"Grab him too!"
"My legs are numb, my legs are numb, my legs are numb!"
The guards turned their attention to Tang Chi and charged at him all at once.
Tang Chi didn't so much as flinch. He raised his hammer and slammed it into the ground.
"First Soul Skill: Thunderquake Wave!"
"Jump!" someone shouted. All the Mansion Guards heard him and jumped, barely evading the lightning.
"Brat, let's see what else you've got!"
Tang Chi looked up and smiled innocently, then suddenly leaped aside.
"Ink Dyes Ten Thousand Waters, third style: Bind!"
As a powerful voice rang out, a pool of ink suddenly appeared beneath the Mansion Guards' feet, pinning them firmly in place.
"Ink Paints a Thousand Mountains, first style: Suppress!"
Several ink mountains dropped from the sky, crushing the Mansion Guards who were already unable to move beneath them and making it even harder for them to budge.
A man in black leaped out from the side. When he saw the children, he froze for a moment, then quickly scanned them, his heart sinking.
He went up to one of the Mansion Guards and demanded sharply, "Tell me, where is Su Yan?"
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