Just like that, five pairs of eyes shifted back and forth through the air, and the scene descended into an extremely awkward situation.
Then Xu Tianzhen came running out of the bushes.
"Princess!"
Seeing Xu Tianzhen there too, Xu Yan hurriedly pulled the Level 9 Fixed Soul Cannonball out from under his butt, lest he accidentally blow their own princess to smithereens.
"Big brother, why is that little princess here? Could it be that Third Brother..."
Seeing Xu Tianzhen standing before them unharmed, Zhongli Tian and Zhongli Di couldn't help but show a trace of worry.
Fortunately, Qian Yuhan had always been "considerate." He couldn't stand watching people worry for nothing, so he promptly made Zhongli Di and Zhongli Tian's worries a reality.
"Ahem, ahem..." Qian Yuhan cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention to himself.
Then he pointed at the Evil Soul Master brothers and kicked Zhongli Ren's head away like a soccer ball.
"That's... Third Brother!"
Recognizing the strange sphere rolling across the ground, Zhongli Di let out a wail and hurried to catch it. That was exactly the opening Qian Yuhan needed.
"Don't worry. I'll send you down to join it in just a moment!"
Before his words had even faded, a streak of golden light shot from Qian Yuhan's hand, heading straight for Zhongli Di, whom Xu Yan and Xu Yu had already given some "special attention."
"That's... No, wait!" Zhongli Di shrieked. The terror bursting from deep within him was already twisting his features.
His trembling hands let go of his younger brother's head, whose eyes were still open in death, and clutched the Soul Guidance Staff tightly. He waved it about, desperately driving every Blood-Colored Beast Soul he could control and ordering them to shield him.
It was as if only that could give him even the faintest sense of security.
What happened next made Zhongli Di's teeth chatter rapidly, while his eyes brimmed with the terror of someone staring into the abyss:
The Blood-Colored Beast Souls protecting him not only failed to offer the slightest protection against the streak of golden light; they crumbled into nothingness amid shrill screams, like snowflakes exposed to the blazing sun.
The Blood-Colored Beast Souls that weren't directly struck by the golden light did not disappear, but those exposed to its radiance still lost nearly seventy percent of their soul power.
At that moment, even his most precious and powerful life-bound Beast Soul could muster less than half its usual strength.
"Damn it! What the hell is that thing?"
Sensing the terrifying aura carried by the golden light streaking straight toward him, Zhongli Di thought, I'm done for.
He no longer cared about his trembling life-bound Beast Soul or his pitiful dignity. Like an old dog, he scrambled and rolled toward the other side, hoping to escape this calamity.
"Run? Where do you think you can run from me?"
Seeing Zhongli Di abandon every shred of dignity and roll toward the ground like an ugly old maggot wriggling through a vegetable patch, Qian Yuhan gave a cold laugh. His second Soul Ring appeared and immediately blazed with light.
He merely raised his right hand and crooked his index finger at the golden streak, which seemed capable only of flying in a straight line.
Yet in that fleeting moment, the high-speed streak of golden light seemed to come alive at Qian Yuhan's touch. It twisted like a nimble viper and continued after Zhongli Di.
"Second Brother, watch out! Explode!"
At the critical moment, Zhongli Tian proved the more responsible big brother. He sacrificed the Soul Guidance Staff in his hand, shattering the bizarre golden streak completely just one second before it could hit Zhongli Di.
"Hey, why's that old geezer cowering like a mouse that's just spotted a cat? Not long ago, they were using their heads to tank my Soul Cannons."
"No idea, but... I don't think this is as simple as it looks."
To normal Soul Masters and Soul Engineers like Xu Yan and Xu Yu, the golden streak that had shot from Qian Yuhan's hand and could change direction at will looked impressive.
But its truly remarkable qualities were just its speed—far beyond that of a Four- or Five-Ring Soul Master, and enough to surprise even a Seven-Ring Soul Sage.
Its power was nowhere near terrifying enough to make anyone gape.
If that streak struck an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo like him head-on, so long as it didn't hit a vital spot, at worst... it might barely break the skin, draw a little blood, and leave him sore for a while.
So why had that Evil Soul Master old-timer looked as if he'd eaten something awful the moment he saw it?
He'd even tried to flee, scrambling and rolling!
Xu Yan didn't understand, but Xu Yan was deeply shaken!
"Roar—"
Suddenly, another flash of crimson-gold light appeared, and a massive Crimson Gold Lion roared as it pounced out of the gray haze.
Sure enough, it was Zhongli Tian's life-bound Beast Soul, the Crimson Gold Lion.
Roar—
Having lost the Soul Guidance Staff it had relied on for shelter, the Crimson Gold Lion's eyes blazed with undisguised fury. The moment it appeared, it threw back its head and let out a majestic roar. Its sturdy, almost-real body showed how powerful it was compared to ordinary Beast Souls.
Oh, a Crimson Gold Lion! You didn't see those very often.
Qian Yuhan glanced sidelong at the golden lion and rubbed his forehead impassively. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. A dead thing dares come out and scare people? You deserve to die!"
Sensing Qian Yuhan's heartfelt contempt, the Crimson Gold Lion clearly felt its already worthless pride had been wounded. It roared and shook its head, sending a huge, round shadow of light expanding from its head before ramming it forcefully toward Qian Yuhan.
"Clang!"
A violent clash rang out three meters away from Qian Yuhan.
A long-handled scythe, shrouded in layers of black smoke and purple mist, was gripped by a mass of sinister, terrifying black energy in elemental form.
With a plain, unadorned downward slash of the scythe, the nearly ten-meter-wide beast-head pattern was smashed to pieces, scattering into countless golden shards.
Roar—
Its attack thwarted, the light radiating from the Crimson Gold Lion dimmed rapidly for a moment, but soon returned to normal. Then it let out another defiant roar. A cloud of gray mist separated from its body and transformed into a figure that mounted the Crimson Gold Lion's back.
This was none other than the eldest of the three brothers, Zhongli Tian, who had been waiting for a chance to launch a sneak attack.
"Boy, you're so young, yet you have such strange abilities. I can't let you live past today!" Zhongli Tian's face darkened. With a sweep of his arm, hundreds of Beast Souls charged forward and clashed across the clearing with the black figure wielding the scythe.
Before you continue