You Said You Were Support, But You Shook the Whole Arena with One Move?

The wind caught her robes, billowing upward from the hem.

Ye Lingling flew on her sword, racing toward Martial Soul City, when she happened upon the remnants of an army retreating from the Heaven Dou Empire.

She had no desire for trouble, so she lowered her altitude, intending to bypass them quietly.

"Bang!"

A dull thud erupted from the front left, followed by the sharp, chaotic, and rapid clashing of metal.

Someone was fighting.

Ye Lingling paused, hovering above the crown of a withered old oak tree.

Travel is the priority; don't meddle in other people's business.

That was the first thought that surfaced in her mind.

The mission entrusted to her by the Celestial Master was to find Hu Liena in Martial Soul City and deliver the message without missing a single word; the longer she was delayed on the road, the more variables would arise.

But the next second—

"Help—!"

A scream tore from the depths of the thicket, voice cracking and thick with the scent of blood.

Followed immediately by a second cry.

"Hold on! Don't let them surround us!"

Ye Lingling's feet remained motionless above the canopy.

Since her cultivation had surged to level ninety, her sensory range had expanded exponentially.

Without needing to probe, the presence of every living thing within a hundred yards flooded into her awareness—

Three people, relatively weak, with soul power fluctuations between level forty and fifty. All were wounded. The smell of blood was heavy.

Surrounding them were over thirty people with no soul power fluctuations; they were ordinary soldiers, but they were numerous and reeked of killing intent.

Three soul masters surrounded by thirty-plus common soldiers?

Something was wrong.

Ye Lingling glided closer and finally saw clearly—the three soul masters were wearing the standard patrol uniforms of the Martial Soul Hall.

Dark purple with silver trim, the emblem of the Martial Soul Hall embroidered on their chests.

The Heaven Dou Empire remnants surrounding them were numerous, but their formation was loose and their equipment was in tatters—half of them couldn't even scrape together a complete set of armor, and their weapons were a motley collection of spears, short blades, and even hoes.

Defeated soldiers. Stragglers.

These people were likely scattered troops retreating from the front lines who had stumbled upon a lone Martial Soul Hall patrol in the wilderness and decided to kill.

Unable to defeat the main force of the Spirit Hall Empire on the battlefield, they were taking their frustrations out on three isolated soul masters—this was exactly the kind of thing a routed army would do.

Ye Lingling watched from the canopy for three breaths.

The oldest soul master knelt on the ground, bracing himself with a broken spear, releasing a translucent soul power shield to protect the two young people behind him.

But the arrow wound in his left leg was bleeding incessantly, and the light of his shield was visibly dimming.

He couldn't hold on much longer.

Ye Lingling bit her lower lip.

Don't get involved. The journey is urgent. The Celestial Master's mission is paramount.

She withdrew her gaze from the canopy and turned away.

A muffled groan came from behind her.

The young female soul master had been struck by a blade; her shoulder armor was split open, and blood gushed from the gap.

She stumbled, nearly falling, before the male soul master beside her grabbed her arm.

"A-Yue!"

"I'm fine—I can still hold on—"

Ye Lingling's feet froze on the branch.

Forget it.

She leaped directly from the thirty-foot-high canopy.

The moment she landed, her feet crushed two clods of dry mud.

The soul power of a Titled Douluo leaked out naturally upon impact, spreading an invisible pressure in all directions.

The seven or eight Heaven Dou Empire remnants nearby stiffened simultaneously.

It wasn't that they had been struck.

It was the most primal, biological instinct of fear—they were being suppressed.

Ye Lingling stood at the landing spot, the stray hairs on her forehead lifted by the shockwave before falling back into place. She raised her right hand.

Nine-Heart Begonia martial soul released.

Pale pink light bloomed from her fingertips, one, two, three—translucent begonia petals slowly unfurled in the air, releasing a vast, gentle halo of light.

It was not an attack.

It was a dispersion.

The Nine-Heart Begonia lineage was naturally gifted in healing and nourishment, and indeed lacked any noteworthy offensive means.

Yet, under the infusion of a Title Douluo's soul power, even the most basic soul skill could unleash a deterrent force far beyond common reason.

Fourth soul skill—Begonia Heart Shock.

The petals shattered in mid-air, transforming into a visible pink shockwave that rippled outward in all directions.

Wherever the shockwave swept, the bodies of all the Heaven Dou remnants went limp simultaneously.

It was not a physical injury—Begonia Heart Shock acted directly upon the nerves, numbing everyone's hands and feet.

Weapons clattered to the ground.

Short blades, broken spears, hoes—"clatter, clatter" they fell onto the muddy ground, the sounds rising one after another.

Of the thirty-some remnants, those in the front row knelt instantly, those in the back had trembling legs, and the quick-witted ones on the periphery turned to run—but their legs no longer obeyed them, and they collapsed to the ground after taking only two steps.

From landing to the end, it took less than five breaths.

Ye Lingling withdrew her right hand.

Too easy.

So easy that she felt a bit dazed herself—three months ago, she would have struggled to fight even a level 30 soul master, and now, a casual soul skill had floored over thirty people.

The three Martial Soul Hall patrol soul masters stood frozen in place.

The translucent soul power shield had not yet dissipated; the oldest soul master knelt on the ground, leaning on a broken spear as he looked up at her, his mouth agape, unable to close it for a long time.

Title Douluo.

He was no rookie; he had served in the Martial Soul Hall patrol for nearly twenty years and had seen Title Douluos—he had seen Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo release their soul power from afar.

The soul power fluctuations surging from the young girl before him were identical to those of those two lords.

The young girl wore a faded blue cloth dress, the hem stained with mud and water spots, her hair loosely tied behind her head, and on her forehead... there was even a red mark from a bump.

Her entire appearance was more than a hundred thousand miles away from the words "Title Douluo."

The elder soul master stumbled half a step forward, only to be caught by the young male soul master behind him.

The broken arrow shaft on his left leg hit the ground, making him grit his teeth in pain.

He knelt down with a thud.

"Many thanks to the senior for saving our lives!"

The two young men behind him followed suit and knelt.

Ye Lingling was startled and took half a step back.

"Don't, don't kneel—get up quickly."

She bent down to pull Chen Guangyi's arm.

She didn't control her strength well and lifted him right off the ground; Chen Guangyi's feet hovered two inches in the air before she hurriedly set him back down.

She rubbed her hands in embarrassment.

She still hadn't learned how to control her strength.

Chen Guangyi was lifted and set down, leaving him even more bewildered.

This senior... why did she seem even more impulsive than his own daughter?

Ye Lingling cleared her throat, suppressing that sense of awkwardness.

"I am going to Martial Soul City; do you know the way?"

Chen Guangyi patted his chest.

"The senior wants to go to Martial Soul City? This subordinate just came out from there on patrol! I know the road better than anyone! We will take you!"

The other two young soul masters nodded frantically.

Ye Lingling gave a soft "En."

The group tidied up and walked south along the dried-up riverbed.

Ye Lingling walked at the very front, her pace unhurried, waiting for the three people behind her, whose injuries had not yet fully healed, to catch up.

After walking for a while, she turned her head, as if asking a casual question.

"Do you know Saintess Hu Liena?"

"I have an urgent matter to find her."