I Am—The Magnetic Rod!

Unfortunately, fate rarely bends to one's will so easily.

Just as the two were nearing the halfway point of their soul ring absorption, Xu Yu keenly sensed several powerful auras approaching, and they soon appeared within her line of sight.

The moment Xu Yu laid eyes on these three individuals, her eyelids twitched instinctively, and a strong sense of unease and crisis instantly coiled around her heart.

They were three elderly men, appearing to be at least seventy years of age.

Surprisingly, these three old fellows looked exactly the same, down to their identical attire.

They were all thin, their faces deeply wrinkled, with graying hair simply draped behind their heads. Their eyes were dim and yellow, giving off a morose, deathly air. Notably, all three possessed hooked noses and thin lips.

The three elders were dressed in long gray robes, each leaning on a staff. The staves were pitch-black and a full zhang in length, each topped with a gray gemstone the size of a human head.

As soon as the three elders appeared, their gazes fell upon Xu Yu and the others. With perfectly synchronized movements, they tapped their staves against the ground and drifted forward, stepping and landing in unison. In just two strides, they had arrived before Xu Yu.

"An elder bringing three young girls," the central elder murmured, his brow furrowed. His voice was as raspy as a broken bellows, unpleasant to the extreme.

"Hmm, two of the girls are absorbing soul rings," the elder on the left noted, his dim eyes fixed intently on the two who were currently absorbing their rings.

The elder on the right spoke directly to Xu Yu: "Who are you people? Where do you come from?"

"We are from the Mingyu Sect of the Sun Moon Empire."

Xu Yu casually fabricated the name of a local sect from the Sun Moon Empire to report back.

"So, you are from the Mingyu Sect," the middle elder frowned, seemingly pondering the background of the Mingyu Sect, while the elder on the left chuckled dryly to build rapport: "We three brothers are also from the Sun Moon Empire; strictly speaking, we are fellow countrymen."

The elder on the right gave a sly laugh and said: "Since we are fellow countrymen meeting in a foreign land, we shouldn't hide too much. Therefore, please show us your respective martial souls and soul rings."

Xu Yu smiled indifferently. "You want me to reveal my martial soul upon our first meeting? Hmph! That depends on whether you have the qualifications to see it."

As she spoke, this eight-ringed Soul Master of royal descent raised her right hand and pushed forward gently, while her left hand hoisted a Soul Tool cannon.

The elder on the right glanced downward, subconsciously eyeing the Soul Tool cannon in Xu Yu's hand, before likewise raising his right hand to meet hers.

"Bang!"

Amidst a low, muffled thud, a powerful blast of air erupted, surging toward the sky and shaking the canopy above, causing a flurry of leaves to rain down.

"Oh! To have eight-ring cultivation—truly worthy of the Mingyu Sect."

The elder on the right looked at Xu Yu with some surprise. Clearly, despite both being at the eight-ring level, his strength was a notch below hers, but fortunately, he was not alone; he was traveling with his two brothers.

Regardless, three against one—the advantage was his.

Xu Yu's expression remained calm. "Isn't your Excellency also at the eight-ring level? Since you are a Soul Douluo-level powerhouse, why bother bullying the few with the many? I am merely bringing these children to acquire soul rings. The Star Dou Great Forest is vast; we aren't in your way."

The elder on the left twisted his mouth into a grin and cackled:

"Whether you are in the way or not is not for you to decide. How about this: once those two little girls finish absorbing their rings, you will all come with us. As long as you can help us three with a task, I will let you go. You should understand that as a single Soul Douluo, it is absolutely impossible for you to contend with the three of us."

"Indeed!"

The central elder nodded repeatedly in agreement with his brother, then added: "Once you help us finish this matter, you may leave."

Facing the ill-intentioned, encroaching pressure of the three brothers, Xu Yu stepped back calmly and said in a deep voice: "A task that requires the help of three such experts is likely not easy to accomplish. Furthermore, we came in a hurry and didn't bring many supplies. If we stay in the Star Dou Great Forest for too long, I fear..."

"Hmph!"

Before Xu Yu could finish, the elder on the right snorted in dissatisfaction, cutting her off. He said with a cold face:

"That is not for you to decide. If you intend to stay here forever, we three don't mind wasting a little more effort on you. Besides, the place where you will help us is not far—just an hour or two away."

The central elder nodded. "Correct. Remember, even if you could use your own skills to escape from us three brothers, these disciples and descendants of yours would not be able to get away."

As he spoke, the three elders released their soul rings in perfect unison.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black—the optimal soul ring configuration for a standard Soul Master.

Xu Yu hesitated for a moment, seemingly weighing whether to pull out the heavy-duty weapon from her storage Soul Tool and blow these three old bastards to pieces. But after catching a glimpse of her princess out of the corner of her eye, she suppressed the thought of a "mutually destructive" outcome for the time being.

After a long silence, Xu Yu sighed, forced to compromise in the face of the current unfavorable situation.

She said: "Very well. Since the three of you have made up your minds, we shall accompany you!"

"That's more like it."

Seeing Xu Yu's pragmatism, the elder on the left nodded in satisfaction. He exchanged a look with the elder on the right and slowly paced to a position ten meters behind Xu Yu.

On the surface, they appeared to be circling behind her to observe the surroundings, but in reality, they were using this opportunity to seal off the retreat path for Xu Yu and her group.

Having been born into the royal clan, Xu Yu had long forgotten how many years it had been since she suffered such an unprovoked grievance. Gritting her teeth, she sat cross-legged beside her princess, intending to call Xu Yan back the moment the princess finished absorbing her soul ring.

As soon as the princess was out of the range of a Soul Douluo-level battle, she would immediately transform into a "walking magnetic rod" and let those three old immortals know exactly what it meant to insult the royal family.

Time ticked by second by second. Seeing that her princess's soul ring absorption had reached its final stage, Xu Yu flicked her finger, sending a strand of soul power into the jade bracelet hanging on the girl's wrist.