Rescue Arrives Fashionably Late

In front of the City Lord's Mains Hall.

Three figures clashed against each other.

After Su Yan sent Lord Xiao flying for the seventh time, Lord Xiao finally couldn't take it anymore.

"You can't just keep beating the same person!" he roared, all three of his soul rings lighting up at once.

First Soul Skill, Wolf Soul.

Second Soul Skill, Wolf Fist.

Third Soul Skill, Bloodlust!

Lord Xiao's eyes turned bloodshot, his body swelling several times over, and his fists erupted with immense energy as he charged straight at Su Yan's face.

Su Yan's eyes narrowed. He lightly stepped off the eaves, flipping over to dodge. The flames vanished abruptly, then surged back to life in an instant.

"Blazing Spirit Cat, possess!"

In that single moment, Su Yan completed the switch of his martial soul. Wolf claws became cat claws, wolf ears became cat ears.

As time passed, the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum battle armor on his body had already scattered for the most part.

The White-Robed Man seized the opportunity, leaping high into the air and twisting his body mid-flight. The thick tail behind him came crashing down toward Su Yan's head.

Fourth Soul Skill, Giant Lizard Fall.

A smug smile curled at the corner of the White-Robed Man's lips.

Got him!

Outside the firewood shed in the back courtyard, over a dozen two-ring Soul Grand Masters surrounded the shed in an impenetrable formation.

"Go! The City Lord orders the transfer of soul materials!"

With a shout, several Soul Grand Masters lit up their soul rings and charged inside. They were blasted back by a golden light, sent flying dozens of meters.

Then several more Soul Grand Masters charged in, only to be blasted out again—this time even farther, flying over twenty meters.

"Hurry, keep charging!"

Inside the firewood shed, Zhu Zhuqing sat cross-legged, both hands tightly gripping the stem of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. She poured her soul power into it all at once.

The chrysanthemum bloomed, and the pistils within emitted a pale golden light barrier, shielding all the children inside the shed.

"Zhuqing, hold on." Beside her, a Jade-like Little Girl paced anxiously. She wanted to help, but once the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum bloomed, it could only accept the soul power of the person who had activated it at that moment.

The light barrier was enough to withstand attacks from ordinary Soul Ancestors. The children were absolutely safe inside.

But Zhu Zhuqing was too tense. She poured out her soul power without reservation, causing her reserves to drain rapidly, leaving her unable to sustain it.

As the Soul Grand Masters outside kept charging, the light barrier visibly dimmed. Its protective range shrank little by little. The children all huddled around Zhu Zhuqing, fear once again closing in.

"It's no good. The light barrier is about to disappear."

"Hasn't help arrived yet?"

"Mom, I want to go home!"

One child started crying, and soon a wave of children followed.

"Everyone, don't worry. My grandparents will be here soon," the Jade-like Little Girl said. "That firework in the sky just now was a signal flare. They're already on their way!"

But the children could only see the fear right in front of them. The crying grew louder, and the scene was filled with sorrow.

"All of you, shut up!" The Dirty-faced Boy suddenly stepped forward and shouted angrily.

He stood at the very front of the light barrier, fists clenched tightly. "Do you want to go back? If you do, then release your martial souls! If the light barrier disappears, there's still the walls of the shed. If the walls are broken, there's still our martial souls, our bodies. As long as there's even a breath left in us, there's still hope."

"We dared to face soul beasts a hundred times fiercer in the forest—are we really afraid of these two-ring Soul Grand Masters?"

"Everyone, listen up! Beast martial souls to the front, weapon martial souls in the middle, support martial souls at the back."

"For freedom! There's no turning back!"

"Awaken, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon!"

Blue-white lightning intertwined and erupted. The Dirty-faced Boy raised his right arm high, lightning coiling around his hand and transforming into a dragon claw. A single yellow soul ring slowly rose.

The children stopped crying and began to line up in an orderly fashion.

"Well said!" The Jade-like Little Girl also stepped to the front, extending her Serpent Cane horizontally before her. A yellow soul ring rose as well.

Then came—

"Spotted Snake, possess!"

"Fierce Bull, possess!"

"Hunting Hound, possess!"

"Firewood Knife!"

"Army-breaking Spear!"

"Evergreen Ivy!"

More than twenty children released their martial souls almost simultaneously.

Zhu Zhuqing was trapped in the very center, her lips pale, her arms already beginning to tremble uncontrollably. "Yiran, Tianxin, I... I can't hold on much longer."

"Zhuqing, rest now. Leave the rest to us!" Meng Yiran said, her gaze sharp as she looked outward.

Outside, a Mansion Guard holding a long staff gathered soul power at its tip and smashed it against the light barrier.

Zhu Zhuqing finally exhausted the last trace of her soul power, and the pale golden light barrier shattered with a crack.

Yu Tianxin let out a fierce roar, stepped forward in a charge, and drove his right fist, transformed into a dragon claw, squarely into the abdomen of the long-staffed Mansion Guard.

"B-Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon!"

The guard was startled, spat out a mouthful of blood, and flew backward like a kite with a broken string.

The other Mansion Guards in the City Lord's Mansion hesitated for a moment upon seeing the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.

As one of the three upper sects of the Heaven Dou Empire, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was a true power-holding sect. If they learned of this matter, their wrath was not something every Soul Master dared to bear.

"If anyone wants to oppose the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, then come at me!" Yu Tianxin released the anger he had bottled up for days in that instant, sweeping his gaze around as if flames were about to shoot from his eyes.

"Don't listen to this brat's nonsense," someone suddenly said. "From the day we kidnapped him here, the enmity was already set. If we don't want the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan to find out, our only choice is to send them off as soul materials!"

Those words woke the dreamers.

Every single one of the Mansion Guards—could they really escape?

Letting this child go back was what would truly make escape impossible.

A murderous glint appeared in the eyes of many Mansion Guards.

Better to kill than to release!

The two sides clashed together once more.

The more than twenty children all possessed no weak talent, but they were still young, their potential yet to be realized, their strength lacking and experience insufficient. They were quickly defeated.

The Mansion Guards did their best to focus on restraint; killing was only a last resort.

Yu Tianxin and Meng Yiran offered the fiercest resistance.

Every time another child was subdued, the pressure on these two increased.

Yu Tianxin gritted his silver teeth. He didn't want to fail like this again.

But circumstances overpowered will; two fists were no match for four hands, especially when those four hands were stronger than his two.

Just as he was about to give up, the cries of thousands of birds suddenly rang out, and a hammer descended from the sky.

"First Soul Skill, Thunderquake Wave!"

The Mansion Guards, who had thought victory was in their grasp, had just let their guard down. The sudden lightning struck them senseless, its paralysis effect perfect, leaving them all unable to move.

"Su Yan, we've come to save you!" Tang Chi shouted loudly, landing on the ground with his hammer on his shoulder. He looked around but found no trace of Su Yan.

"Where did these brats come from!"

"Capture them all together!"

"Leg's numb, leg's numb, leg's numb!"

A group of Mansion Guards turned their spears and charged at Tang Chi.

Tang Chi's expression didn't change. He raised his hammer and slammed it into the ground.

"First Soul Skill, Thunderquake Wave!"

"Jump!" someone yelled. Hearing this, all the Mansion Guards leaped into the air, barely dodging the lightning.

"Kid, let's see what else you've got!"

Tang Chi looked up, smiling innocently, then suddenly jumped aside.

"Ink Dyes Ten Thousand Waters, Third Verse: Bind!"

With a resounding voice, a circle of ink suddenly appeared beneath the Mansion Guards' feet, firmly locking them in place.

"Ink Paints a Thousand Mountains, First Verse: Suppress!"

Several ink mountains descended from the sky, pressing down on the already immobilized Mansion Guards, making it even harder for them to move.

A man in black leaped out from the side. When he saw the group of children, he froze for a moment, then swept his gaze quickly over them, his heart sinking. He walked up to one of the Mansion Guards and barked, "Speak! Where is Su Yan?"