Mother Ye was named Ye Jiaolong. After searching the bodies, she rode away with Liu Feng and Ye Guyi.
The Grand Auction House was a powerful organization with influence across the Douluo Continent.
The mother and daughter had dared to rob the convoy to rescue the children, but they didn't want to invite further trouble.
Ye Guyi rode alongside Liu Feng, chatting with him curiously.
"Little Brother Liu Feng, you're actually worth four million Gold Soul Coins?"
"Who sold you? Uh... sorry."
Ye Guyi realized she'd put her foot in her mouth and patted her lips.
Liu Feng shook his head. "It's nothing. Just a... bad woman!"
When he thought of what Zi JI had done, all the goodwill he'd built up toward Underworld Thunder Douluo vanished in an instant.
Normally, even if Zi JI sold him, she would surely have stolen him back afterward and wouldn't have let him get hurt.
But when you expected nothing to go wrong, that was when things did.
Besides, being sold off was hard to forgive, no matter the reason or what safeguards had been in place.
He wasn't going to meet up with Zi JI again. Let that bad woman stew for a while!
When he got back, he'd make sure to give her a good telling-off!
"Little Brother Liu Feng, do you have any plans? If you have nowhere to go, why not come with us?"
"Punishing evil and upholding justice, roaming the world with our swords! Just like when we rescued you—that was so much fun!"
Ye Guyi said eagerly.
Hearing that, Liu Feng couldn't help feeling a little tempted. Still, he thought safety mattered more.
To him, there was no place safer than the Star Dou Great Forest.
The Grand Auction House's sky-high offer of four million Gold Soul Coins proved just how dangerous his situation was.
"Guyi, don't try to talk Liu Feng into it."
Ye Jiaolong smiled faintly. "Our cultivation improves by punishing evil and upholding justice, especially when we fight Evil Soul Masters."
"For Liu Feng, it would be far too dangerous."
"And a thousand years ago, with the Spirit Hall holding them in check, the nobles still didn't dare go too far..."
Ye Jiaolong glanced at Liu Feng's pointed ears and shook her head slightly.
Ye Guyi snorted and began to complain.
"It's all Sea God Tang San and the others' fault! They destroyed the Spirit Hall. Otherwise, how could those nobles be so arrogant now? We Soul Masters would definitely have more freedom!"
Liu Feng looked at Ye Guyi in surprise. Come to think of it, a thousand years ago, the Spirit Hall had launched a war that swept across the land.
Though Bibi Dong's ambition had been the immediate cause, at its core it had been a conflict between the Soul Master faction and the nobility.
The Spirit Hall had lost, and that was why ordinary Soul Masters had it so rough now.
The clearest sign was that every major empire now had more than one Titled Douluo!
Even talented students needed the nobles' approval to enter Shrek Academy.
A thousand years ago, the Spirit Hall had pressured the empires and kingdoms into giving ordinary Soul Masters subsidies.
Now, only a few top powers like Shrek Academy could get anything out of the empires, and even then, it wasn't much.
Otherwise, Huo Yuhao wouldn't have had to sell grilled fish for a few Copper Soul Coins.
And there was no need to mention all the weird and sinister figures emerging from the woodwork, like Evil Soul Masters.
Ye Guyi chattered on and on. She had only just made a friend in Liu Feng, and she had so much to tell him.
"Tens of thousands of years ago, our Angel Clan swept away almost all the Evil Soul Masters. Even those with Evil Martial Souls didn't dare fall into depravity, or they'd be locked up in the Capital of Slaughter."
"And now? They might not show their faces in broad daylight, but they're like toads, croaking now and then just to disgust people!"
"We came here to investigate the whereabouts of a group of Evil Soul Masters, too."
At that, Liu Feng's heart gave a jolt. Evil Soul Masters?
The Underworld Thunder Douluo he and Zi JI had encountered was definitely an Evil Soul Master, and quite possibly a Titled Douluo!
Ye Jiaolong was only a Soul Saint. If she ran into him, she'd be doomed!
He liked and appreciated her for taking the risk to save him. He didn't want to see her get hurt.
"Big Sister Guyi, why don't you go somewhere else? When I was with that bad woman, I saw an Evil Soul Master. He might be a Titled Douluo, and he was terrifying..."
Liu Feng warned them, deep in thought.
In the original story, Ye Guyi had appeared on her own. That meant something must have happened to Ye Jiaolong.
Given the current situation, Ye Jiaolong was likely to be in danger.
Ye Jiaolong and Ye Guyi both froze, staring at Liu Feng in surprise.
How could a six-year-old child know about Titled Douluo?
Ye Guyi gave a smug smile. A golden Holy Sword suddenly appeared in her hand. She tapped the blade lightly, and it rang out with a clear, melodious note.
"Little Brother Liu Feng, you're worrying for nothing. In front of our Angel Clan, every Evil Soul Master is just another corpse beneath our swords!"
Ye Jiaolong glanced at Liu Feng in surprise, growing even more curious about his identity.
"Liu Feng, don't worry. The group we're tracking is called the Six Ghosts of Cangshan. As for the one you mentioned, the one who might be a Titled Douluo, we'll steer clear of him."
Liu Feng frowned. "It's still dangerous..."
Ye Jiaolong continued, "Evil Soul Masters are loners and rarely gather in groups. Don't worry, we won't act rashly. We'll make sure there's no stronger enemy around before we decide what to do. Does that put your mind at ease?"
"Liu Feng, where's your home? Or is there somewhere you can stay? Should we take you back first?"
At Ye Jiaolong's words, Ye Guyi's little face stiffened. She looked at Liu Feng with reluctance.
Liu Feng fell silent for a moment. They weren't too far from the Star Dou Great Forest.
If they left him in the forest, then with Breath of Nature, he would hardly run into danger.
But it would probably take three to five days there and back. Ye Jiaolong and her daughter would return, and if they ran into Underworld Thunder Douluo then, what would happen to them?
Liu Feng's gaze hardened. He didn't want this mother and daughter to die!
Besides, this would make Zi JI worry a little longer!
With his ability to sense auras, he could definitely detect which way Underworld Thunder Douluo was coming from.
The evil aura clinging to him was like a massive source of pollution. There was no way Liu Feng would fail to sense it.
And with Breath of Nature, he could surely avoid him in advance.
"I'll go with you for now and help you deal with the Six Ghosts of Cangshan!"
Liu Feng said seriously.
Ye Guyi's face lit up with delight. "Yay!"
"But... this is dangerous. Liu Feng, you're still young. Even with your talent, you're only a One-Ring Soul Master,"
Ye Jiaolong said, troubled.
Liu Feng said nothing. He simply activated Breath of Nature.
Then, right before the mother and daughter's eyes, he quietly "vanished."
They stared in astonishment.
From their perspective, it was as if Liu Feng had truly disappeared from the world!
Meanwhile, at the Kaiyan City Grand Auction House.
Every senior executive had been pinned to the ground by Zi JI. Around the edge of the plaza stood a crowd of soldiers and Soul Masters, while the bodies of several powerful Soul Masters lay on the ground.
They had tried to surround Zi JI, but she had killed them all with ease.
Zi JI glared coldly at the remaining executives, her teeth clenched.
"Tell me! Where did you take Little Liu Feng?!"
"..."
The executives exchanged looks. Many were so terrified they could barely think.
Zi JI's aura was far too terrifying. She was brutal and savage when she killed, and it was rare for her victims to be left in one piece!
But Zi JI was now more panicked than anyone.
For the sake of those glittering Gold Soul Coins, she had lost Liu Feng!
At that moment, she was filled with regret, her heart twisting in anguish.
Worse, she had lost her connection to her Protective Reverse Scale and had no idea what had happened.
"That child... should have been sent to Suotuo City..."
One of the executives stammered.
Zi JI flashed away, transforming in midair into the enormous Hell Demon Dragon. She beat her wings and flew off, spewing a huge mouthful of black flames down like an erupting volcano.
"Ah...!!!"
A chorus of screams rose from the ground.
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