The Princess Meets the Demon King's Guard, Who Says an Eight-Ring Soul Master Is No Challenge

Soon, the opportunity Zhongli Ren had been waiting for arrived.

It came in a gust of wind!

A sudden, violent gust!

Howling through the dense forest of the core region, it swept up leaves, dead grass, broken stones, and dust from where they lay, then blew them without mercy across the completely exposed grassland of the mixed zone.

"!"

Dust flew into Xu Tianzhen's eyes. She instinctively raised her free hand, and that barely perceptible movement happened to shift the hand propping up her Soul Ray Gun.

A perfect opportunity!

Realizing the chance he had been waiting for was right in front of him, Zhongli Ren turned his hand into a claw and lunged forward. His target was none other than the Soul Ray Gun in Xu Tianzhen's hands.

If he could take the ray gun from Xu Tianzhen, not only would the situation instantly turn around, but the Soul Cannonball on the ground would also fall into his hands.

Oh, no!

With Zhongli Ren's demonic claw mere inches away, Xu Tianzhen couldn't afford to worry about whether a Level 3 Soul Ray Gun could successfully detonate the terrifying weapon if she hit some other part of the Fixed Soul Cannon Shell.

She clenched her teeth and steeled herself, then pulled the trigger. A white energy ray shot from the muzzle of the silver-white gun.

Clang—! That was the piercing metallic ring of Zhongli Ren's withered, deadwood-like claw striking the Angel Holy Sword.

Whoosh—smack! That was Qian Yuhan, gripping the Rakshasa Demon Scythe in reverse and using its sturdy blade to deflect the Soul Guidance Ray—which might have detonated the Soul Cannonball—off in another direction.

As those two sharp sounds rang out between Xu Tianzhen, the Level 8 Fixed High-Explosive Soul Cannonball, and Zhongli Ren, the deadlocked standoff crumbled with the sudden appearance of a figure.

Zhongli Ren: (◎_◎;). What could make my Martial Soul tremble like this? This definitely isn't ordinary light attribute power! Could it be the legendary sacred attribute?!

His long-planned claw attack hadn't even managed to scratch the shining golden greatsword, and his Martial Soul was whimpering in fear beneath that faint, holy glow. Zhongli Ren was a coward who valued his life above all else. How could he dare keep fighting?

Breaking into a cold sweat, he briefly thought things over, then abruptly summoned Soul Power to protect himself and dodge the golden longsword. He flipped high into the air, landed in a roll, then scrambled toward the space behind Qian Yuhan.

His target wasn't Xu Tianzhen, who seemed within easy reach. It was the two maids he had previously knocked out of the sky with his elbow, who still hadn't come around.

"Phew—"

After a few quick dashes, Zhongli Ren reached Qian Yuhan's rear flank and grabbed one of the maids lying on the ground, holding her in front of him.

Clearly, he intended to use the two unconscious women as hostages.

Panting hard, Zhongli Ren said nervously, "Kid, if you don't want these two to die, put down that disgusting weapon and let me go! If you make even the slightest move, I'll strangle them both right now."

With that, Zhongli Ren gave the two maids in his hands a threatening shake.

"?"

Faced with this seemingly unfavorable situation, Qian Yuhan didn't hesitate for even a moment. In fact, he almost felt like laughing.

Yes, in the few seconds he had, he'd already done the math.

First, Evil Soul Masters were enemies of everyone, and anyone who encountered them had a duty to kill them. If he let this eight-ring Evil Soul Master escape today, at least a hundred people would die at his hands in the future.

It was true that the Evil Soul Master had two hostages, but compared with hundreds or even thousands of people, one or two hostages hardly counted as much of a bargaining chip.

Second, he wasn't very powerful yet and hadn't fully grown. If the Evil Soul Master spread the word that he was wielding the Angel Holy Sword, then he wouldn't have a single peaceful day until he had fully matured.

Third, he hadn't even covered his face when he showed up, because he'd never intended to let this group of Evil Soul Masters leave alive.

Fourth, the Rakshasa Phantom hadn't appeared yet, so the situation favored Qian Yuhan.

No matter how you looked at it, it was two against one. He had the advantage.

Fifth... the Angel Holy Sword: activate!

Finally, as Zhongli Ren stared in shock, yet still 'clung to hope,' Qian Yuhan raised his sword and said something that shattered the Evil Soul Master's worldview and sent his mind reeling.

Qian Yuhan hoisted the Angel Holy Sword onto his shoulder and said indifferently, "You're the one holding them hostage. Why should I let you go?"

"Since you're so fond of using hostages to threaten me, let's see whose sword is faster!"

Zhongli Ren: "ಥ⌣ಥ, What?!"

Wait, was this right?!

Brother, the sword in your hand might have the legendary sacred attribute!

Shouldn't the person wielding it be kindhearted, unwilling to harm the innocent, noble-minded, and self-sacrificing?!

(⸅⸟⸄) Weren't you supposed to reason with me first, then get trapped by your own high-minded principles, and finally have no choice but to bargain with me and let me go in exchange for the hostages—before watching me flee with tears of helplessness and frustration?!

That's not how this works! Someone who wields sacred power shouldn't be like this!

I won't accept it! (⩺_⩹)!

Xu Tianzhen, who was standing behind him, was just as shocked.

To the surprise in her eyes and the unmistakable hesitation on her face, Qian Yuhan said:

"Every one of these Evil Soul Masters is ruthless and deserves to die. Even if just one of them gets away, they'll bring devastation wherever they go!"

"When the land is strewn with corpses, will you take responsibility, or will I? Put away your indecision. Don't say a word, and don't get in my way."

"I wasn't going to..."

Qian Yuhan had launched into a tirade without letting her get a word in. Xu Tianzhen had hardly suffered any grievances growing up, and had barely ever heard a harsh word, so her eyes couldn't help turning red.

She clasped her hands behind her back and dragged her shoes back and forth across the grass.

"I was going to say, just kill that old dog. I'll have Xiao Yun and Xiao Yu's families paid compensation at three times the standard rate."

"Oh, so you've got money, then."

Realizing he might have 'wronged her,' Qian Yuhan wiped the back of his hand across his nose and said sheepishly.

"Of course I do. I'm the princess of the Sun Moon Empire! How could I not have money?" Xu Tianzhen walked over behind Qian Yuhan and put the Level 8 High-Explosive Soul Cannonball back into the Storage Soul Tool ring on her finger. Then she asked, "You look about my age. Why is that old dog so afraid of you?"