"Oh, you're a Soul Master?" Ma Hongjun leered at Xiao Wu. Remembering his impressive track record, he'd never been able to get his fill of ordinary women. Cuihua was nearly at the end of her rope from his rough treatment and was planning to break up with him.
Now that he'd spotted the beautiful Soul Master Xiao Wu, Ma Hongjun's lust flared at once.
Seeing that Xiao Wu was only eleven or twelve, Ma Hongjun was even more excited.
"Little miss, let big brother conquer you with his strength." Ma Hongjun completely ignored Qian Yu.
Qian Yu stood quietly to one side, not saying a word.
But he already had the Desert Eagle ready in his hand, prepared to back Xiao Wu up at any moment.
After all, Ma Hongjun was a level 27 Soul Grandmaster, while Xiao Wu was only level 25.
No matter what, Xiao Wu was one of his people. He was counting on her hundred-thousand-year essence to keep making him stronger.
"Come forth, Evil Fire Phoenix." Ma Hongjun released his Martial Soul. A somewhat scruffy phoenix, its body wreathed in lurid flames and missing feathers, rose behind him.
Two optimal yellow Spirit Rings appeared with it.
"I'm Ma Hongjun, twelve years old, a Power Attack System Soul Grandmaster. Martial Soul: Evil Fire Phoenix."
Ma Hongjun announced his information first.
Qian Yu could tell at a glance that he meant to fight Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu had been feeling stifled for years, too.
She didn't want to offend Tang San, and she couldn't afford to offend Qian Yu.
Now, at last, she had a suitable opponent.
"I'm Xiao Wu, twelve years old, an Agility Attack System Soul Grandmaster. Martial Soul: Soft Bone Charm Rabbit."
Gritting her teeth, Xiao Wu released her Martial Soul. Two optimal yellow Spirit Rings lit up around her as well.
"Second Spirit Skill: Phoenix Bathing in Fire (Flame Shield)."
Ma Hongjun used his Second Spirit Skill first, shielding himself to keep Xiao Wu from ambushing him with her Waist Bow Spirit Skill again.
Xiao Wu's Waist Bow hadn't been lethal, but it had left Ma Hongjun with an impression of searing pain.
"Second Spirit Skill: Charm."
Faced with the terrifying flames of Ma Hongjun's Evil Fire Phoenix, Xiao Wu felt a shiver deep in her soul.
Spirit Beasts feared fire, and the phoenix was one of the most powerful Beast Martial Souls.
The Soft Bone Charm Rabbit sat at the very bottom of the Spirit Beast food chain. This was a fear that came from the depths of her soul.
Even so, Xiao Wu was a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast in human form.
In an instant, she used her Second Spirit Skill, Charm, on Ma Hongjun.
Ma Hongjun was immobilized for three seconds.
But faced with the terrifying phoenix flames, Xiao Wu could only stare helplessly. Using Charm had drained a great deal of her Soul Power.
When Ma Hongjun came to, he was frightened at first. But then he saw Xiao Wu standing there helplessly.
Ma Hongjun seized his chance at once.
"First Spirit Skill: Phoenix Fireline (single-target blast)!" Terrifying flames shot from the mouth of Ma Hongjun's Evil Fire Phoenix like a venomous snake, racing toward Xiao Wu.
"Hmph, you asked for this, little girl." Afraid of ruining Xiao Wu's face, Ma Hongjun deliberately aimed his Phoenix Fireline a little to the side.
"Ah!" Faced with the terrifying beam from the Evil Fire Phoenix,
Xiao Wu felt the fear of death for the first time.
Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes without her realizing it.
Her eyelids slowly closed, her heart aching. "Mom, I won't be able to avenge you."
Just as Ma Hongjun was about to win and Xiao Wu had resigned herself to her fate,
Qian Yu moved.
Spirit Detection watched every movement on the field.
His Second Spirit Skill—Sky Full of Dancing Bullets. A purple Spirit Ring lit up, and the 98K appeared in his hands. A bullet shot out with a twitch of the barrel, racing straight toward Xiao Wu.
"Huh?" Ma Hongjun was dumbfounded.
He couldn't understand why Qian Yu would attack Xiao Wu, his own ally, instead of Ma Hongjun, the outsider.
But the bullet flew too fast, giving Ma Hongjun no time to react.
Qian Yu silently thought, "Explode."
A terrifying blast sent a shock wave roaring through the air, knocking Xiao Wu away and blasting Ma Hongjun back just as he was about to close in.
"Mm. Am I dead? Mom, I'm coming. My body hurts so much."
Xiao Wu lay weakly on the ground, slowly opening her eyes, her heart heavy with grief.
"If you're not dead, get up."
Qian Yu stepped over, helped Xiao Wu up, and pulled her into his arms.
Only then did Xiao Wu come to her senses. Seeing Qian Yu holding her, her face flushed red as an apple in an instant.
"You..."
How could Xiao Wu not understand? Qian Yu had saved her.
Qian Yu put away the 98K, and his Martial Soul changed back into the Desert Eagle.
He held the Desert Eagle in one hand, pointing it at Ma Hongjun, while cradling Xiao Wu in the other.
Lying in Qian Yu's arms, Xiao Wu suddenly lifted her head. Looking up, she saw his handsome face, brimming with masculine charm.
Before she knew it, her heart was pounding.
Seeing Xiao Wu awake, Qian Yu coolly set her aside.
Feeling the warmth of his body suddenly gone, Xiao Wu flared up a little. "What a blockhead. He has no idea how to treat a girl."
As for Ma Hongjun, Qian Yu's sudden attack had sent him stumbling backward. It took him quite a while to steady himself.
He stared at the Desert Eagle Martial Soul in Qian Yu's hand.
Ma Hongjun was deeply wary of him.
But he still put on a tough front and shouted, "Kid, state your name! I, Ma Hongjun, don't fight nameless nobodies."
"I'm Qian Yu, fifteen years old, a level 39 Battle Soul Elder. Martial Soul: Desert Eagle."
Qian Yu reluctantly announced his Martial Soul information.
"What? A level 39 Battle Soul Elder at fifteen?" Now it was Ma Hongjun's turn to be shocked.
"You, you, you..." Ma Hongjun's face reddened.
He glanced at the little girl in the corner, then at Xiao Wu beside him.
In the end, lust got the better of him.
He actually wanted to challenge Qian Yu despite the gap in their levels.
"Second Spirit Skill (yellow): Phoenix Bathing in Fire (Flame Shield)."
Not daring to be careless, Ma Hongjun immediately released his Second Spirit Skill.
Then he released his First Spirit Skill—Phoenix Fireline.
He hoped to defeat Qian Yu with the phoenix flames.
But Ma Hongjun had clearly misjudged the situation.
Qian Yu was a Soul Master who could attack at long, medium, and close range.
Spirit Detection surveyed the whole field. The Desert Eagle fired a few shots first, just to scare Ma Hongjun. Though even the phoenix flames could melt this level of attack on contact, Qian Yu used his level 39 Soul Elder speed to quickly open up the distance.
Then he released his Third Spirit Skill: "Metal Storm." The AK47 fired bullets.
The blade-edged bullets swept forward like a storm, carrying the phoenix flames toward Ma Hongjun.
Ma Hongjun assumed they were about as powerful as the Desert Eagle bullets.
He didn't know that the Third Spirit Skill came with an armor-piercing effect.
The terrifying bullets easily tore through Ma Hongjun's flame armor.
Just as the bullets were about to hit him, Ma Hongjun used the recoil from his First Spirit Skill striking the ground to deftly dodge Qian Yu's attack.
"Hmm."
Even Qian Yu was rather surprised by that.
But only for an instant. Qian Yu switched his Martial Soul form again. His Second Spirit Skill lit up with a purple Spirit Ring, and the 98K appeared in his hands.
Precision Sniping.
The bullet shot out. Ma Hongjun assumed it was just like the bullets from the AK47 and Desert Eagle, and dodged again using his First Spirit Skill.
Qian Yu only smiled faintly.
"Explode." At a thought from Qian Yu, a massive explosion erupted at the spot the 98K bullet had reached just before hitting Ma Hongjun.
The explosion sent a wave of hot air surging outward.
Though Ma Hongjun dodged the bullet's direct hit,
the blast wave from its explosion still left him feeling awful.
Seeing Qian Yu raise his gun to fire again,
Ma Hongjun immediately used the Evil Fire Phoenix's ability to fly, using the momentum from Qian Yu's earlier attack to shoot toward the horizon.
As he fled, he didn't forget to taunt Qian Yu. "Kid, you've offended someone from Shrek. You've got a death wish."
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