The Princess Meets the Demon King's Protection, Saying It's No Difficulty to Hit the Eight Rings

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

It was a gust of wind!

A sudden, violent gale!

The fierce wind howled as it swept through the dense forest of the core zone, lifting leaves, withered grass, gravel, and dust from their resting places and scouring the exposed grass of the mixed zone without mercy.

"!"

With dust blinding her, Xu Tianzhen instinctively raised her free hand, and this minor movement caused the hand holding the soul guidance ray gun to shift slightly.

A perfect opportunity!

Realizing the moment he had been waiting for was right before him, Zhongli Ren turned his palm into a claw and lunged forward. His target was none other than the soul guidance ray gun in Xu Tianzhen's hand.

If he could seize that ray gun, not only would the situation instantly reverse, but the fixed-shell soul guidance cannonball on the ground would also become his for the taking.

Oh no!

Seeing Zhongli Ren's demonic claws mere inches away, Xu Tianzhen could no longer worry about whether hitting the fixed-shell high-explosive soul guidance cannonball with a third-grade soul guidance ray would successfully detonate the terrifying weapon.

Gritting her teeth and hardening her heart, she pulled the trigger, firing the white energy beam from the silver barrel.

Clang—this was the harsh metallic sound of Zhongli Ren's withered, wood-like claws striking the Angel Holy Sword.

Whoosh—snap—this was the crisp sound of Qian Yuhan backhanding the Rakshasa Demon Scythe, using the solid blade to deflect the ray that might have detonated the cannonball toward another direction.

With these two sharp sounds echoing between Xu Tianzhen, the eighth-grade fixed-shell high-explosive soul guidance cannonball, and Zhongli Ren, the stalemate that threatened mutual destruction collapsed due to the sudden appearance of a single figure.

Zhongli Ren: (◎_◎;), what is this thing that makes my martial soul tremble? This is definitely not just a simple light attribute! Could it be the legendary holy attribute!

Seeing that his long-planned strike hadn't even scratched the paint on that shimmering golden sword, and that his own martial soul was emitting whimpers of fear under that faint, ethereal holy radiance, the cowardly Zhongli Ren dared not press the attack.

Cold sweat dripping, he thought for a brief moment before erupting with protective soul power to shield himself from the golden sword. He leaped high, flipping in mid-air, and after landing, scrambled away toward the direction behind Qian Yuhan.

His target was not the seemingly vulnerable Xu Tianzhen, but the two maidservants he had knocked down from the sky earlier, who had yet to regain consciousness.

"Hoo—"

Dashing behind Qian Yuhan in a few blinks, Zhongli Ren grabbed one unconscious maidservant in each hand, holding them in front of him.

Clearly, he was using the two unconscious women as his hostages.

Zhongli Ren panted heavily, his voice trembling with feigned confidence: "Kid, if you don't want them to die, drop that disgusting weapon and let me go! If you dare make a single move, I'll snap their necks right now."

With that, Zhongli Ren shook the two maidservants in his hands at Qian Yuhan and Xu Tianzhen as a show of force.

"?"

Faced with this seemingly disadvantageous situation, Qian Yuhan didn't hesitate for even a second; in fact, he almost wanted to laugh.

Yes, in those few short seconds, he had already calculated the stakes.

First, evil soul masters were a scourge that everyone had a duty to eradicate. If this eight-ring evil soul master escaped today, at least three digits of innocent people would suffer miserable deaths at his hands in the future.

It was true that the evil soul master held two hostages, but compared to hundreds or thousands of lives, one or two hostages didn't seem like much of a bargaining chip.

Second, his own cultivation was not yet high, and he had not fully matured. If he let this creature spread the word that he possessed the Angel Holy Sword, he would never have a day of peace until he was truly powerful.

Third, he hadn't even masked his face when he appeared, because he had never intended to let these evil soul masters leave alive.

Fourth, the Rakshasa Phantom had yet to reveal itself, so the current situation was in his, Qian Yuhan's, favor.

No matter how you looked at it, it was a two-on-one fight; the advantage was his.

Fifth... Angel Holy Sword, activate!

Finally, under Zhongli Ren's terrified yet 'still hopeful' gaze, Qian Yuhan raised his sword and uttered words that shattered the worldview and mental state of the evil soul master.

Qian Yuhan hoisted the Angel Holy Sword onto his shoulder and said dismissively: "You're the one holding them, why should I let you go?"

"Since you like playing this hostage game so much, let's have a contest to see whose sword is faster!"

Zhongli Ren: (ಥ⌣ಥ), ah!?

No, that's not how this works!

Brother, the sword in your hand likely possesses the legendary holy attribute!

The person holding this sword should be a kind-hearted soul who cannot bear to hurt the innocent, someone with noble morals and a spirit of self-sacrifice!

(⸅⸟⸄) You're supposed to lecture me on morality, get trapped by your own noble virtues, and eventually be forced to negotiate with me, let me go, ransom the hostages, and shed tears of painful helplessness as you watch me escape!

It's not supposed to be like this! Those who wield holy power shouldn't be like this!

I don't accept this! (⩺_⩹)!

Xu Tianzhen, who was being shielded behind him, was equally shocked.

Regarding the surprise in her eyes and the visible hesitation on her face, Qian Yuhan said this:

"These evil soul masters are all ruthless, wicked wretches who deserve to die. Even if just one of them escapes, it will lead to the suffering of countless living beings!"

"When the time comes and the land is littered with corpses, will you take responsibility? Or will I? Put away your indecision, don't say another word, and certainly don't hold me back."

"I wasn't..."

Without saying a single word, Xu Tianzhen was berated by Qian Yuhan, and having never suffered any grievances since she was young, nor even heard many harsh words, her eyes couldn't help but turn red.

She clasped her hands behind her back, dragging the tips of her shoes back and forth across the grass:

"I was trying to say, you just need to make your move and kill that old dog; as for the compensation for Xiao Yun and Xiao Yu, I will have people issue it to their families at three times the standard amount."

"Oh, so you're quite wealthy then."

Realizing that he seemed to have 'wronged someone,' Qian Yuhan wiped his nose with the back of his hand and said sheepishly.

"That goes without saying, I am a princess of the Sun Moon Empire, after all! How could I not have some money on me?" Xu Tianzhen walked slowly behind Qian Yuhan, retrieved the Level 8 High-Explosive Soul Tool shell from the ground back into her storage soul tool ring, and added:

"You clearly look about the same age as me, so why was that old dog so afraid of you?"