The wind billowed up beneath her, tugging at the hem of her clothes.
Ye Lingling flew on her sword, heading toward Spirit City. Along the way, she happened upon the remnants of the army that had been routed from the Heaven Dou Empire.
She didn't want any trouble, so she lowered her altitude and prepared to slip past quietly.
"Bam—!"
A dull thud burst from ahead on her left, followed by the sharp, dense clatter of metal striking metal in a chaotic flurry.
Someone was fighting.
Ye Lingling paused, hovering above the crown of a dead old oak.
She had to hurry. Better not get involved.
That was the first thought that came to mind.
The Celestial Master's orders were to go to Spirit City and find Hu Liena, then deliver a message exactly as given—not a word could be wrong. The longer she delayed, the more variables could arise.
But the very next second—
"Help—!"
A scream came from deep within the bushes, its voice cracked and tinged with the stench of blood.
Then came a second cry.
"Hold on! Don't let them surround us!"
Ye Lingling's foot hovered above the treetop, unmoving.
After her cultivation had surged to Level 90, her range of perception had expanded beyond measure.
She didn't even need to probe. The presence of every living thing within a hundred zhang poured into her awareness on its own—
Three people, relatively weak, with Soul Power fluctuations between Level 40 and Level 50. All injured. The smell of blood was strong.
Surrounding them—more than thirty people. No Soul Power fluctuations; ordinary soldiers. But there were many of them, and they were brimming with killing intent.
Three Soul Masters surrounded by more than thirty ordinary soldiers?
Something was off.
Only when Ye Lingling swept closer did she see clearly: the three Soul Masters wore the standard patrol uniforms of Spirit Hall.
Dark purple with silver trim, the Spirit Hall insignia embroidered over their chests.
The Heaven Dou remnants surrounding them were numerous, but their formation was loose, and their equipment was in terrible shape. Half of them couldn't even scrape together a complete suit of armor, and the weapons in their hands were a hodgepodge—spears, short blades, even a few hoes.
A defeated army. A rout.
They were probably scattered troops who'd retreated from the front lines, stumbled upon a lone Spirit Hall patrol in the wilderness, and decided to kill them.
They couldn't beat the Spirit Hall Empire's army on the battlefield, so they took their anger out on three isolated Soul Masters instead. A routed army was capable of that sort of thing.
Ye Lingling lay across the treetop and watched for three breaths.
The oldest Soul Master was kneeling, propping himself up with a broken spear as he conjured a translucent Soul Power shield to protect the two young people behind him.
But the arrow wound in his left leg was still bleeding, and the shield's light was visibly fading.
He wouldn't last much longer.
Ye Lingling bit her lower lip.
Don't get involved. Hurry along. The Celestial Master's mission comes first.
She looked away from the treetop and turned around.
A muffled groan came from behind her.
The young female Soul Master had taken a slash. Her shoulder armor had been split open, and blood was welling through the gap.
She staggered, nearly falling, but the male Soul Master beside her grabbed her arm.
"A-Yue!"
"I'm fine—I can still hold on—"
Ye Lingling's foot stopped on a branch.
Forget it.
--
She jumped straight down from the treetop, a good three zhang above the ground.
The moment she landed, her feet crushed two clods of dry earth.
The Soul Power of a Titled Douluo naturally spilled out the instant she touched down, spreading an invisible pressure in every direction.
Seven or eight of the nearby Heaven Dou remnants stiffened at once.
They hadn't been struck.
It was something more primal: the instinctive fear buried deep in every living creature, the sensation of being suppressed.
Ye Lingling stood where she had landed, her bangs lifted by the rush of air before settling back down. She raised her right hand.
The Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul appeared.
Pale pink light unfurled from her fingertips—one blossom, then another, then a third. Translucent begonia petals slowly opened in midair, spilling out a broad, gentle radiance.
It wasn't an attack.
It was a purge.
The Nine-Heart Begonia clan excelled by nature at healing and nourishment. When it came to offensive abilities, they truly had little to offer.
But infused with a Titled Douluo's Soul Power, even the most basic Soul Skill could unleash a level of intimidation far beyond reason.
Fourth Soul Skill—Begonia Heart Shock.
The petals shattered in midair, turning into a visible pink shock wave that spread in every direction.
Wherever it swept, the bodies of all the Heaven Dou remnants went limp at once.
It wasn't an external injury. Begonia Heart Shock acted directly on the nerves, numbing their hands and feet.
Weapons clattered to the ground.
Short blades, broken spears, hoes—clangs and clatters rang out one after another as they hit the dirt.
More than thirty remnants: those in the front row dropped straight to their knees, those behind them trembled, and the few quick enough to turn and run found their legs no longer obeyed. They managed two steps before collapsing face-first.
From the moment she landed to the end, less than five breaths had passed.
Ye Lingling lowered her right hand.
It had been too easy.
So easy that she was a little dazed herself. Three months ago, she'd struggled even against a Level 30 Soul Master. Now a single casual Soul Skill had knocked down more than thirty people.
The three Spirit Hall patrol Soul Masters stood rooted to the spot.
The translucent Soul Power shield had yet to fade. The oldest Soul Master knelt on the ground, leaning on his broken spear as he stared up at her, mouth hanging open, unable to close it for a long while.
A Titled Douluo.
He wasn't some greenhorn. He'd served in Spirit Hall's patrols for nearly twenty years and had seen Titled Douluo before—he'd watched Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo release their Soul Power from afar.
The Soul Power surging from this young girl was just like those two Lords'.
The girl wore a faded blue cotton dress, its hem spattered with mud and water. Her hair was loosely tied behind her head, and on her forehead... there was even a red mark from bumping into something.
Her whole appearance was more than a hundred thousand li from what anyone would imagine when they heard the words "Titled Douluo."
The older Soul Master lurched half a step forward with a thump, but the young male Soul Master behind him caught him.
The broken arrow shaft in his left leg bumped the ground, making him grit his teeth in pain.
He dropped to his knees with a thud.
"Thank you for saving our lives, Senior!"
The two young people behind him followed suit and knelt.
Ye Lingling jumped, then took half a step back.
"Don't, don't kneel—get up, quick."
She bent down to pull Chen Guangyi up by the arm.
She hadn't controlled her strength properly. With one tug, she lifted him right off the ground, his feet dangling two inches in the air, then hurriedly set him back down.
She rubbed her hands together awkwardly.
She still wasn't very good at controlling her strength.
Chen Guangyi had been lifted up and put down again, and now he was even more bewildered.
Why did this Senior seem even more fidgety than his daughter?
Ye Lingling cleared her throat, forcing down her embarrassment.
"I'm going to Spirit City. Do you know the way?"
Chen Guangyi thumped his chest.
"You're going to Spirit City, Senior? I came from there on patrol! I know the road like the back of my hand! We'll take you there!"
The other two young Soul Masters nodded vigorously.
Ye Lingling gave a quiet "Mm."
They gathered their things and headed south along the dried-up riverbed.
Ye Lingling walked at the front, keeping her pace slow so the three injured people behind her could keep up.
After a while, she looked back and asked, as though making casual conversation,
"Do you know Holy Maiden Hu Liena?"
"I have something important to ask her."
Before you continue