Hard Battle Ahead

Just then, a screeching sound of brakes came from the street outside the warehouse area.

The screeching of tires against the road was particularly clear in the quiet night, followed by the sound of the car door being slammed open.

Xie Xie peeked in the direction of the sound, and then his eyes suddenly lit up.

Two figures strode quickly out of the night. One was sturdy and walked with a steady gait, while the other was slender and followed half a step behind.

As they drew nearer, the scattered firelight in the warehouse area illuminated a face. Tang Wulin walked ahead, his jacket zipped up to the top, his hair disheveled by the night wind, his eyes clear and sharp.

Xu Xiaoyan followed behind him, a coat she'd somehow found draped over her shoulders, making it look like she'd rushed straight out of her house.

Yun Jingheng looked behind them and was taken aback.

taxi?

Tang Wulin felt his gaze. "I paid more. Will the Sea God Pavilion reimburse me?"

"..."

At a time like this, you still care about this?

Tang Wulin blinked, then said seriously, "From the hotel to Xiao Yan's house and then to the warehouse area, including the overnight express fee, negotiating prices at checkpoints, and the driver risking being shot down by Evil Soul Master to drive into the war zone, this trip cost more than three thousand Federal Coin, and I didn't have any cash on me."

Xu Xiaoyan chimed in at the opportune moment, "He really didn't bring any. I put one under his seat in the car, and we agreed he'd return it to me later."

Xie Xie rolled his eyes. "You're a genius, aren't you? The Evil Soul Master was blowing up the bridge over there, and you were haggling with the driver in the car?"

Tang Wulin said matter-of-factly, "If we didn't bargain, it would have been 3,600. We bargained it down to 3,200, and the money we saved is enough for everyone to have extra toppings for breakfast for three days."

Yun Jingheng turned his gaze away from the taxi and let out a long sigh, "Remember this first. Tell me, did you see or hear anything in the taxi?"

Tang Wulin's expression became more serious. "The driver said he came from the north of the city. The main roads are all closed, but there are still cars running on the coastal highway to the north."

"He overheard a broadcast on the security communications channel halfway there, saying there were more Evil Soul Master on the bridge than we had seen."

"Besides the three leaders above the bridgehead, there are at least seven or eight other people lurking on the approach sections on the east and west sides of the bridge, responsible for blocking rescue forces approaching from both ends."

Ye Xinglan said calmly, "In other words, if we want to get close to the Core Area of the broken bridge, the approach bridge section is the first hurdle."

"Right."

Tang Wulin looked at her, "And the broadcast mentioned something: the three leading Evil Soul Master have hardly moved from their positions since the beginning, hovering above the broken bridge doing the same thing. It's like some kind of... ritualistic arrangement."

"Ceremony..." Yun Jingheng repeated the word in a low voice.

Xu Xiaoyan stuffed the compressed biscuits back into her pocket and patted the crumbs off her hands. "Whether it's a ceremony or not, the longer it drags on, the better for them. We're all here, let's go."

Xie Xie stood up, dusted off his knees, and gestured with his chin toward the brightly lit area at the end of the warehouse district. "Go through these warehouses, climb over that flood control embankment, and you'll find the side entrance to the bridge approach."

"When I visited this warehouse area before, there was a maintenance passage at the side entrance, which was usually unlocked and allowed direct access to the bridge."

Tang Wulin followed, and as he passed Yun Jingheng, he turned his head and said, "By the way, regarding reimbursement, I was just thinking about it. The Sea God Pavilion does indeed have a rule regarding the reimbursement of trainees' travel expenses during missions, listed in the supplementary clauses on page seven of the handbook."

Yun Jingheng walked beside Tang Wulin, turning his head to look at him. "You actually flipped through that booklet?"

"Xie Xie translated it, and then he told me."

Xie Xie, without turning his head, raised his middle finger.

Gu Yue chuckled from the back of the group.

Yun Jingheng quickened his pace to catch up with Xie Xie and Tang Wulin, who were walking ahead.

The night wind pushed the heat waves from the direction of the bridgehead in intermittently, mixed with the salty smell of the sea and the aftershocks of some inexplicable, eerie Soul Power.

The outline of the flood control dike gradually became clear in the firelight. The huge gray walls were covered with sea vines, and the surface was covered with intersecting patterns of moisture and wind erosion over the years.

Most of the streetlights on the top of the embankment were out, except for one at the east end, which was still lit, with flying insects dancing in its dim yellow light.

Xie Xie indeed found a small maintenance door on the west side of the dam that was sealed with rust. The chain was loose, and he tried to pull it open but failed. Tang Wulin went up and directly slapped the lock, deforming it.

The iron gate creaked open, revealing a narrow maintenance passage behind it. Stone steps led upwards, ending at a section of railing shadows on the side of the bridge.

Seven people filed in.

The moment I stepped onto the bridge, the sea breeze suddenly became fierce.

The entire bridge trembled slightly beneath my feet, and a deep, continuous humming sound came from deep within the bridge, as if something was being repeatedly torn and squeezed.

The purplish-black light at the broken bridge was much more intense than it appeared from a distance. The halo spread from the edge of the fracture surface toward both sides of the bridge, wriggling and climbing like a living thing.

Above the bridge, the three figures hanging high were very close.

Yun Jingheng looked up and saw that the closest one was no more than a hundred meters away from them.

The Soul Ring slowly rotated around the man, with one black ring standing out particularly.

The man turned his head slightly, as if sensing something, and slowly swept his gaze toward the maintenance passage.

The seven people stopped in their tracks at the same time.

The air froze for about two seconds.

Then Tang Wulin whispered, "He's discovered it."

"Then let's get him!"

Yun Jingheng instantly released his Martial Soul and ascended into the air, his fifth and sixth Soul Ring exploding with red light.

Fifth Soul Skill: Nine Sword Heavenly Prison!

Sixth Soul Skill: Moonlight Fills the Sky!

The Moonlight poured down like a waterfall, and the small patch of sky above the bridge seemed to be opened up from the inside by something. Nine silver-white sword shadows fell from the void, each carrying an extremely cold chill. The sword blades trembled slightly and emitted a deep, almost resonant hum.

The three Evil Soul Master hovering directly above the broken bridge changed their expressions almost simultaneously.

The most burly of the group suddenly raised his hand, his Soul Power surging around him, and a ring of purplish-black light tried to expand outwards, but it was too late.

The moment the nine sword shadows landed, an invisible ripple expanded outward from Yun Jingheng, and the air seemed to freeze wherever it passed. The three Evil Soul Master froze abruptly, and the flow of their Soul Power was abruptly cut off for a moment.

Freeze time for two seconds.

Immediately afterwards, countless crescent-shaped light blades condensed from the river of light, each as thin as a cicada's wing, with crimson flowing light at the edges, covered with the silvery-white Lunar Yin Cold Force.

The three Evil Soul Master saw the entire sky filled with Moon Blade reflected in their pupils, but they didn't even have time to utter a single word.

All the Moon Blade fell simultaneously, engulfing them completely.

Yun Jingheng hovered in mid-air, the Full Moon behind him shining brightly, his gaze serious as he looked at the person opposite him.

"Get ready, it's going to be a tough battle. I'll hold off the Titled Douluo."