Enemies on a Narrow Road, The Master's Vicious Gaze

Deep in the alley.

Xiao Wu leaned listlessly against the cold wall.

The final words Xue Yao had spoken were like a ray of light tearing through the darkness for her.

The fear in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by an unprecedented clarity and extreme vigilance toward Tang San and his father.

He doesn't covet my soul ring... he was simply warning me...

Xiao Wu muttered to herself.

In this human world filled with those who would kill her to harvest her bones, this noble and mysterious youth before her had shown her such rare kindness.

For Xiao Wu, who had just experienced a mental collapse, it was as if she had grasped a lifeline.

"Xue Yao..."

Xiao Wu bit her lip hard, carving the name deep into the depths of her soul.

To her, this youth who had laid bare the secrets of heaven had become an unfathomable, even somewhat sacred, benefactor.

After leaving the alley, Xue Yao returned directly to the assembled team by the street.

"Viscount, the supplies have all been loaded. We are ready to depart at any time," the captain of the knights reported respectfully.

Xue Yao glanced at the purple-gold carriage parked on the side of the road and frowned slightly.

Having been stifled in the carriage for several hours, combined with the mental exertion of using wind element perception to scan the entire city, he felt the carriage was now somewhat suffocating.

"Bring me a horse," Xue Yao commanded.

"Yes!"

The captain of the knights dared not delay, immediately ordering the finest spare mount in the troop to be brought forward.

It was a pure white steed with the faint bloodline of a wind-type soul beast; tall and powerful, its coat was without a single stray hair.

Xue Yao vaulted onto the horse, his movements fluid and natural, fully displaying his aristocratic bearing.

He sat upright on the tall steed, dressed in moon-white brocade, his peerlessly handsome face glowing brilliantly under the sunlight.

Fifty Heaven Dou Royal Knights in heavy silver armor guarded him in the center, like stars surrounding the moon.

An indescribable aura of nobility and murderous intent instantly permeated the air.

"Depart. Leave the city."

Xue Yao's cold, clear voice carried across the street.

The fifty heavy-armored knights responded in unison, their iron hooves striking the bluestone pavement with a rhythmic, thunderous roar.

Civilians and merchants along the way retreated to both sides of the street, watching the luxurious convoy head toward the city gate with looks of extreme awe.

Meanwhile.

Outside the gates of Nuoding City, two disheveled figures were limping toward the entrance, supporting each other.

It was none other than Tang San and Yu Xiaogang, who had just returned from the Soul Hunting Forest after obtaining their first soul ring.

At this moment, the master and disciple were in a truly wretched state.

To protect Tang San, Yu Xiaogang had summoned his mutated martial soul, Luo Sanpao—which was worse than a pig—only to be viciously attacked by a Datura Snake.

Not only was he poisoned by the snake, but due to the side effect of Luo Sanpao's "farting like thunder," he had ended up in a miserable state.

Yu Xiaogang's robe was torn to shreds by thorns, barely covering his body.

His face and body were stained with dark brown mud and dried blood, and he even emitted a nauseating, fishy stench.

His hair was as messy as a bird's nest, his complexion sallow, and if not for Tang San supporting him firmly, he likely wouldn't have been able to stand.

Tang San's condition was no better.

His clothes were tattered and his face was filled with exhaustion; his already ordinary features were now caked in grime, making him look like a little beggar who had just escaped from a refugee camp.

"Teacher, hold on a little longer, we'll be in the city soon. Once we reach the academy, I will brew medicine to detoxify you immediately," Tang San said softly, supporting Yu Xiaogang with filial care.

Yu Xiaogang gasped for air weakly, a flash of arrogance appearing in his clouded eyes.

"San, what is this little bit of suffering? You successfully absorbed a century-old Datura Snake soul ring, proving that my Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul are absolutely correct! Cough, cough... As long as you grow, the entire continent will have to bow to me!"

The two of them walked to the city gate entrance, reeking of a foul odor.

Merchants and civilians entering and leaving the city pinched their noses and dodged away in disgust, terrified of being contaminated by the stench clinging to the pair.

Just then.

A rapid and heavy sound of horse hooves suddenly erupted from inside the city gate.

Accompanying it was the cold, sharp shout of a royal knight driving away the crowd: "The Heaven Dou Royal Knights are passing through! All idlers, move aside immediately!"

Hearing the thunderous sound of iron hooves, Tang San was startled. His keen alertness caused him to immediately pull Yu Xiaogang to the side of the gutter at the edge of the gate.

"Teacher, a great personage is leaving the city; let us avoid them," Tang San whispered, secretly circulating his Mysterious Heaven Skill while watching the city with a vigilant gaze.

The next second.

A silver-clad heavy cavalry unit, radiating a murderous aura, appeared at the city gate like a torrent of steel.

In the very center of the cavalry formation.

A youth, looking like an exiled immortal, sat upright upon a magnificent, pure white steed.

The fifty elite knights surrounding him like stars guarding the moon served only to accentuate his status to the extreme.

At this very moment.

The city gate seemed to form two extreme portraits.

In the center was Xue Yao, high and mighty, radiating brilliance like a scion of royalty.

By the gutter on the side of the road were Yu Xiaogang and Tang San, covered in mud, dressed in rags, and reeking of filth like beggars.

It was a stark, intense contrast of status and image, like the difference between clouds and mud!

Tang San, having retreated to the roadside, looked at Xue Yao on horseback, a sense of intense shock and inferiority rising in his heart.

Having lived two lifetimes, he had never seen a peer with such outstanding temperament and such an extravagant display.

Yu Xiaogang, leaning against the wall, also subconsciously raised his head.

When his gaze pierced through the crowd and landed on the face of the youth on horseback.

Yu Xiaogang's sallow, weak face froze instantly.

Following that, his pupils contracted sharply, and a surge of uncontrollable, violent blood rushed straight to his brain!

He recognized him!

Even if Xue Yao were reduced to ashes, Yu Xiaogang would still recognize that face!

It was just two years ago, at the entrance of the city lord's mansion in Falake!

It was this brat who, in front of everyone, had trampled his prideful theories underfoot and cursed him, a master from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family, as a complete and utter "waste"!

He even clearly remembered the vicious mockery Xue Yao had delivered back then:

"Break through level thirty before you come talking to me!"

That was the most extreme humiliation Yu Xiaogang had ever suffered in his life; it was a deep disgrace that had ground his already fragile and sensitive self-esteem into the cesspit!

At this moment, old grudges and new hatreds erupted like a volcano within Yu Xiaogang's chest.

Looking at Xue Yao's high and mighty, noble appearance surrounded by the crowd, and then looking at his own foul-smelling, shunned beggar-like state, a twisted, extreme jealousy and humiliation completely devoured Yu Xiaogang's reason.

"It's you... it's you, you disrespectful, foul-mouthed little beast!!!"

Yu Xiaogang found a burst of strength from somewhere and violently broke free from Tang San's support.

His eyes instantly bloodshot, he pointed a trembling finger at Xue Yao on horseback.

"Stop! Stop right there!"

"You little bastard, you've finally fallen into my hands!"

This shout instantly shattered the solemnity at the city gate.

All the commoners looked in terror at the "beggar" who had lost his mind.

Tang San was even more horrified; he did not understand why his teacher, who always prided himself on being aloof, would suddenly lose his composure so completely, but he still subconsciously reached for the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges at his waist.

In the center of the formation.

Hearing this venomous curse, Xue Yao gently pulled on his reins.

He lowered his head, his gaze sweeping coldly over the foul-smelling man by the roadside.

A narrow road for enemies.

A cold, bone-chilling sneer slowly curled the corners of Xue Yao's lips.