The Princess, the Knight, and the Outsider

When sunlight spilled into the cave, Su Yan rubbed his neck as he climbed up from the ground.

Why had he been lying on the floor?

He saw the cave entrance sealed with spiderwebs and snapped fully awake.

"Master?"

Su Yan looked around—not a trace of Bibi Dong anywhere.

Zhu Zhuqing, who had been meditating all night, opened her eyes first and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Master is gone," Su Yan said, pointing at the spiderwebs at the entrance. "She must have left these to keep soul beasts from attacking us, which means she went out."

"Where did the instructor go?" Zhu Zhuqing asked, her cold eyes scanning the cave as well.

Su Yan shook his head and noticed two belts, a roll of parchment, and a dagger left on the ground.

"Su Yan, Tang Chi, Zhu Zhuqing—the Main Martial Soul Hall has recalled me temporarily. I can't accompany you any longer. The three of you must cooperate well and survive in the forest. I estimate I'll come to pick you up in about a year.

"Bibi Dong.

"Friendly reminder: leave the cave as soon as possible. There are traces of bears inside."

The parchment also had a thoughtfully drawn map of the area around the Soul Hunting Forest, marking the territories of most powerful soul beasts. Apart from the route out, the information was fairly complete.

Su Yan understood.

From now on, the real second phase of Bi's Training Method had begun—survival training.

He really wanted to ask if his master's training method was inherited from some great demon king surnamed Bi, or even surpassed it.

That great demon king surnamed Bi had thrown a four-year-old child surnamed Sun into the wilderness to survive alone for half a year before teaching him combat techniques.

His master had thrown the three of them, at six or seven years old, into the wilderness for a whole year. By the time she came back, grass would probably be half a meter tall over their graves.

At least that child surnamed Sun had Saiyan blood—on that garbage planet where even a gun only gave you a battle power of five, he could basically walk all over everyone.

What about the three of them?

One-ring soul masters. That was it.

In the Soul Hunting Forest, hundred-year, thousand-year, even ten-thousand-year soul beasts were countless, and the ones that could kill them were even more numerous.

Unless the master was secretly protecting them from the shadows.

Given the last sentence on the parchment, Su Yan called Tang Chi, who had meditated himself to sleep, up from the ground.

"The Saintess instructor went back?" Tang Chi said, rubbing his sleepy eyes. "The Martial Soul Hall recalled her—nothing we can do about it."

Su Yan and Zhu Zhuqing both looked at him as if he were an idiot.

"We need to move," Su Yan said, putting away the parchment. He handed the belts to the other two, took the dagger, cut through the spiderwebs, and walked out.

Zhu Zhuqing followed behind, on high alert. "Where are we going now?"

Tang Chi yawned, hefted his Thunderclap Hammer, and brought up the rear.

Su Yan pointed at the map. "Water is the source of life. Let's head to the river first, then figure things out."

The three of them crossed through the woods toward the river.

The Soul Hunting Forest was thick with foliage, but because soul masters often entered to hunt, a path had barely formed where many had walked.

As Su Yan, Zhu Zhuqing, and Tang Chi walked along, they passed a small clearing.

Checking the map, it was very close to the river—a decent spot to set up camp.

But before the three could step out, another group had already claimed it.

That group had only two people: a sturdy middle-aged man in silver armor with the words "Heaven Dou" engraved on his chest, pushing a wooden wheelchair. Seated in it was a girl of about six.

The girl was dressed in finery, her hair as white as snow, her complexion as pale as snow.

"A Yao, why are we here?" the girl said, looking around the area with some fear. "It's so gloomy here. Let's go back quickly."

The man suddenly dropped to one knee, bowed his head, and said, "Forgive me, Princess."

Then he stood up, lifted the princess from her seat, and set her on the ground. A long sword appeared in his hand, pointing at her.

Four soul rings revolved around the blade, radiating a killing intent as he advanced toward the princess.

"A Yao, what are you doing?" the princess said, scooting backward with her hands.

The man said nothing. His sword drew closer and closer.

Hidden in the shadows, the three exchanged glances. Their martial souls were already released.

Just then, the middle-aged man named A Yao swept his sword across the hem of the princess's skirt, cutting off a strip of fabric, and tossed it onto the wheelchair.

Then he went into the woods. Before long, he killed a Fire Boar, dug out its heart and liver, placed them in a box, and threw the Fire Boar onto the wooden wheelchair. He took a flint from his pocket and set it ablaze.

The flames slowly consumed the wheelchair and the Fire Boar, and the smell of roasting meat wafted outward.

After a long while, the Fire Boar and the wooden wheelchair had both burned to charcoal. A Yao picked out some ashes and placed them in a new casket.

"Princess, stay here. Don't move," A Yao said. "Someone will come to pick you up soon. Leave the Heaven Dou Empire and never come back."

"A Yao, did Mother order you to do this?" the princess asked, her lips pressed tightly together, turning pale.

"Princess, please stop asking." A Yao shook his head, sighed deeply, and prepared to leave.

The sky suddenly darkened.

"Hehehe, just as the Empress expected, this little guard of yours would let the Princess escape."

A sinister, low voice came from above.

A thin man in a black robe landed on the ground, stepping on leaves, his gloomy eyes like a venomous snake.

Five soul rings swirled around him—he was actually a Soul King.

A Yao gripped his longsword, shielding the Princess behind him, and said in a low voice, "Her Highness the Princess is already crippled in both legs. Why must you show no mercy? Spare her life."

"That won't do." The thin man said, several tentacles already sprouting behind him. "The Empress has decreed that in the Heaven Dou Empire, no one more beautiful than her may exist—not even in the future."

With that, the thin man charged forward. Two tentacles blocked A Yao's longsword, then two more struck him directly, sending him spitting blood.

The final two tentacles aimed straight for the Princess's vital point.

"No!" A Yao shouted.

Just as the tentacles were about to touch the Princess, a fiery red figure shot out, slamming into the tentacles from the side.

A hammer, brimming with immense soul power, smashed into the ground, unleashing countless bolts of lightning that left the thin man momentarily unable to find footing.

A gust of wind passed, and the Princess had vanished.

Before the thin man could react, two hurried figures had already disappeared into the forest.

"Run with everything you've got!" Su Yan stressed, pouring nearly all his soul power into movement.

The trees around them blurred past; only charging forward offered a sliver of hope.

Before long, the four of them burst out of the forest and onto a small clearing. Looking back, they saw no one chasing them and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hehehe, you didn't really think you could escape, did you?" The thin man's voice suddenly echoed in their ears.

Su Yan shuddered all over, finding the thin man standing right before him, grinning grimly.

A Yao propped himself up, stepping in front of Su Yan and the others: "Let them go. They pose no threat to the Empress."

"Cut the weeds and dig up the roots, or they'll grow again when the spring wind blows." The thin man murmured, and instantly several tentacles shot toward each of them.

Zhu Zhuqing shielded the Princess, dodging with her speed, while Tang Chi hurriedly blocked with his hammer. Only Su Yan barely managed to evade at the last moment.

Feeling the pain in his arm, Su Yan glanced down—it had been grazed by a tentacle, blood seeping out.

It seemed his master really wasn't here.

"Don't harm the innocent!" A Yao raised his longsword and swung down, severing two tentacles, but it was futile.

"Hehehe, you're all going to die." The thin man grew two more tentacles. "Give up resisting. Within my martial soul, the Dark Domain, you cannot defeat me."

"Won't know until we try." Su Yan's gaze sharpened.

It seemed he had no choice but to use this.