Since you sincerely asked

"I—I don't know."

That soldier trembled in terror.

He saw the brush in the black-clothed man's hand, bearing a full four soul rings.

Soul Ancestor!

When had Notting City gained another Soul Ancestor?

He didn't know.

The next instant, the brush came down, and he fell into a deep sleep.

"Su Yan, I know." Yu Tianxin, utterly exhausted, dismissed his martial soul and sat on the ground gasping for breath. "He went out to find the Martial Soul Hall people to come rescue us."

"Martial Soul Hall?" The black-clothed man pulled off his mask, revealing flowing whiskers. "I didn't see him come by."

"Grandpa Ma Xiunuo!" Yu Tianxin was startled.

He recognized this spirited old man. When he first arrived at Notting City Martial Soul Hall, starving and hungry, Grandpa Ma Xiunuo had treated him to a meal.

"Children, all of you stay here. Don't leave. Soon, Enforcers from the Enforcement Hall will come to take you to Martial Soul Hall." Ma Xiunuo said, then turned to look at the little fellow carrying a hammer. "Tang Chi, you stay here too. Keep everyone safe."

"Alright." Tang Chi stood to the side, hammer on his shoulder, looking every bit like a little guardian.

Just as Ma Xiunuo was about to go find Su Yan, a fireball appeared in the sky, hurtling toward them.

The fireball traced a perfect arc through the air, crashed into the ground, blasted out a large crater, and churned up thick smoke and dust.

From within the smoke came a pained groan, along with a helpless sigh of someone who had given their all but still failed.

"Su Yan!" Tang Chi called out, jogging over to the edge of the crater and carefully climbing down.

Ma Xiunuo raised his brush, channeled his soul power with a sweep, and blew away all the smoke and dust, revealing Su Yan, covered in blood and grime.

"Sorry, I couldn't stop them." Su Yan grabbed Tang Chi's hand and, with the latter's help, barely managed to stand.

The pursuers had already landed on the rooftop.

Yu Tianxin stared at the four soul rings on the White-Robed Man, too shocked to speak.

Unbelievable. Had Su Yan been fighting a Soul Ancestor?

Not long ago, while Yu Tianxin and the others were locked in a bitter struggle, Su Yan had used the Blazing Spirit Cat's supple nature to dodge the White-Robed Man's fourth soul skill midair and land steadily on the ground.

"I didn't expect you to last this long." The White-Robed Man looked at another piece of the Chrysanthemum Battle Armor that had shattered, and said darkly, "But how much longer can you hold out?"

He noticed that Su Yan always avoided his attacks and instead went to brutally beat down the weaker Lord Xiao, all to protect the armor on his body and extend its usage time.

With that in mind, the White-Robed Man stamped his foot, charged at Su Yan, and locked into a fierce close-quarters brawl with him.

For Su Yan, escape was out of the question. Even dodging alone took everything he had.

If only he had two more levels of soul power, after using Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, he would never have been so passive.

The relentless strikes caused the armor to disintegrate at a geometrically accelerating rate.

Finally, the White-Robed Man kicked Su Yan square in the abdomen. The Chrysanthemum Battle Armor shattered on impact, and Su Yan was sent flying like a cannonball, arcing across the sky.

The White-Robed Man followed Lord Xiao to the back courtyard. The woodshed that had once held the soul materials was now a pile of rubble from the battle.

More than twenty soul materials sat casually on the ground.

And in the crater—there was only a child who looked six years old.

The White-Robed Man clenched his fists, his blood boiling with rage.

A mere child had stopped him, ruined his plans.

Beneath him were over twenty soul materials, enough to keep the White-Robed Man living comfortably for a long time.

But now? Forget comfort. If he delayed any longer and the Overlord Dragon Snake couple arrived, even escaping with his life would be a problem.

"Who are you?" Ma Xiunuo asked, gripping his brush tightly.

The White-Robed Man said nothing. He suddenly exploded into motion, his attack fierce and swift, as if venting his fury, aiming straight for Ma Xiunuo's face.

Ma Xiunuo could only barely block with his brush. Such intense close combat was not his forte, and he was soon sent flying.

"Stop!" Ye Tangtang shouted. Her martial soul, the Begonia Blade, was pressed against a young boy's neck. "Don't do anything rash, or I can't guarantee this brat stays alive."

Lord Xiao looked closely and saw his precious son, Xiao Chenyu, captured in Ye Tangtang's hands. His heart was thrown into chaos.

"Master, Master, stop fighting. My son is over there." Lord Xiao sidled up to the White-Robed Man, pleading.

But the White-Robed Man only glanced at him, then punched him hard in the stomach, sending him to the ground. In another flash, he was beside Su Yan, his fourth soul ring blazing with light.

He was going to kill this brat who had ruined his plans!

At that critical moment, a dragon staff tore through the air and embedded itself in the ground. A robust man stepped onto the tail of the staff, hands behind his back, looking down at the White-Robed Man.

"Overlord Dragon Snake!" the White-Robed Man muttered instinctively, already retreating to the rooftop.

Right after, a snake lance also pierced through the air and stabbed into the earth. A graceful woman alighted lightly on the tail of the lance.

"Hmph. I'll let you off this time!" The White-Robed Man turned and fled, vanishing without a trace in just a few breaths.

"Grandpa! Grandma!" Meng Yiran ran over, threw herself into Uncle Long and Aunt Snake's arms, and burst into tears.

After a long while, when her tears had finally dried, she asked, "Grandpa, why isn't Grandma going after that person?"

Uncle Long smiled. "If we both went, what if he doubled back? Since the people are already rescued, leave catching the criminal to the Enforcers."

Aunt Snake nodded and hugged Meng Yiran tightly. "You and your mother have suffered."

Ye Tangtang, on the other hand, shoved Xiao Chenyu to the ground with great disgust.

The stench was simply too much; she had reached her limit of tolerance.

Su Yan breathed a sigh of relief and, with Tang Chi's help, climbed out of the pit. He leaned against the wall, gasping for air.

Just now, he had really been a hair's breadth away from meeting his end.

Thankfully, heaven had favored him, and the Overlord Dragon Snake couple had arrived just in time.

Out of danger, the children's moods lightened. Yu Tianxin clasped his hands and bowed. "You two must be Uncle Long and Aunt Snake of the Overlord Dragon Snake."

Meng Shu's movements suddenly stopped. The demon etched into his soul began to stir. "Since you've sincerely asked..."

"Then I'll graciously tell you!" Chao Tianxiang stood beside Meng Shu, arms crossed, at a forty-five-degree angle.

"To prevent the destruction of the Douluo Continent."

"To protect the peace of the Douluo Continent."

"To uphold the Gold Soul Coin and true evil."

"The handsome and beautiful merchant guild characters."

"Meng Shu!"

"Chao Tianxiang!"

"We are the Overlord Dragon Snake, shuttling across the Douluo Continent."

"Gold Soul Coin, a golden tomorrow awaits us!"

"That's right, charge!" Meng Yiran raised both hands and declared loudly.

Ye Tangtang's vision went dark, and she helplessly slapped her forehead.

So embarrassing. It was just too embarrassing.

Ever since her in-laws had read that passage from a book called Musashi and Kojiro's Work Log, they had been unable to stop, starting every encounter with this spiel.

Su Yan couldn't help but laugh, but it pulled at his wound, and he sucked in a sharp breath.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zhu Zhuqing collapsed on the floor of the woodshed. He walked over and helped her up. Zhu Zhuqing had just regained consciousness, so the two of them sat down against the outer wall, leaning back to rest.

Ma Xiunuo got up and stretched his old bones. Fighting and killing really weren't for the elderly; he hadn't even done much, and already his waist felt like it was about to break.

Tang Chi, meanwhile, went to lead the Enforcers.

Several squads of Enforcers entered and took Lord Xiao, Xiao Chenyu, and all the mansion guards back to the Enforcement Hall.

Waiting for them would be the judgment of Soul Master law.

Before long, Meng Shu walked over and said, "Hall Master Ma Xiunuo, there's something we'd like to discuss with you in private."