Robbers

"Wait." Tang San raised a hand, signaling the people behind him to stop.

Huang Fei and Xiao Wu halted their steps simultaneously.

Huang Fei pulled his hands from his sleeves and narrowed his eyes slightly.

His perception was keener than Tang San's; after all, he possessed twenty levels of soul power. Even before Tang San spoke, he had already sensed something hidden in the poplar grove ahead—not the aura of a soul beast, but people. More than one.

"Something wrong?" Xiao Wu's voice was very low, but she had already begun to loosen her wrists.

Tang San did not answer. His gaze swept across the woods ahead, his Purple Demon Eye quietly activating. Although he had only just touched the threshold of the Micro Realm, at this distance, it was more than enough to observe human auras.

Three people. Hiding behind the trees. Their soul power fluctuations were weak; they must have been soul masters who had awakened their spirits not long ago. However, their breathing was heavy, their heartbeats were rapid, and their body temperatures were significantly higher than those of normal travelers—they weren't just passing through; they were waiting for someone. They were waiting for them.

"Come out." Tang San's voice was not loud, but it carried far across the silent forest path. "Aren't you tired of hiding behind those trees?"

There was silence for three seconds.

Then, three men emerged from behind the poplar trees on both sides of the road.

Three men. All were dressed in dusty, coarse cloth garments with short blades tucked into their waistbands. Their appearances were entirely ordinary, the kind you wouldn't be able to pick out in a crowd. The one in the lead had a scar on his face stretching from his left eyebrow to his right corner of his mouth, looking like a wound that had been stitched poorly, leaving a crooked, centipede-like mark. Of the two behind him, one was fat and the other thin; the fat one had a round belly, while the thin one was like a bamboo pole, forming a stark contrast as they stood in a line.

The scarred man let out a cackle, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

"Three little brats, you've got money on you, right? Hand it over yourselves, and we brothers won't have to get rough. Save yourselves the pain."

Tang San frowned. Bandits. He had read about them in books; bandits on the main roads specialized in targeting lone merchants and travelers. But they usually operated in groups and targeted easy marks; rarely would bandits intercept three children who looked like they had nothing of value.

Unless they weren't here for "money."

Tang San glanced at the shiny object on the scarred man's waist—it was a copper token from Martial Soul Hall, identical to the one he carried. He swept his gaze to the waists of the other two; they also wore copper tokens.

Soul masters. Officially registered soul masters of Martial Soul Hall.

Three first-ring soul masters, out on the main road robbing children?

Tang San's brow furrowed even deeper.

"Big Brother, stop wasting time with them." The thin bamboo pole urged from behind, his voice shrill. "Just take the money and let's go."

The scarred man ignored him, keeping his eyes fixed on Tang San while spinning his short blade between his fingers.

"Well? Have you decided yet?"

Tang San did not move. His gaze shifted from the scarred man to the fat man, then to the thin man, quickly assessing their strength.

The soul power fluctuations of all three were very weak, likely around the eleventh or twelfth level of the first ring. Their physical fitness was average, and their combat techniques—judging by their stance—suggested they were rogue cultivators without systematic training. Against opponents of this level, he could handle two without issue, and Xiao Wu should be more than enough to deal with one.

"Huang Fei." Tang San called out in a low voice without turning his head.

"Yeah." Huang Fei responded from behind, his tone still lazy, but he had already walked to Tang San's side.

"One each." Tang San said.

"Fine." Huang Fei nodded, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the three bandits before landing on the thin bamboo pole on the far left. "I'll take that one."

"The one in the middle is mine." Xiao Wu's voice came from the right. Her ponytail was already undone, and her long hair draped over her shoulders. Her eyes were unnaturally bright, and the corners of her mouth curled up, revealing two small fangs.

That expression didn't look like someone facing a robbery; it looked more like a rabbit that had finally found an opportunity to have a proper fight.

The scarred man stopped spinning his short blade.

He felt a certain change in these three children. It wasn't fear, nor was it panic, but rather—excitement. An excitement of "finally, something to do."

This feeling made his back go cold. But thinking that the three of them were all first-ring soul masters, and the oldest of the three children didn't look over eight years old, how could they possibly have broken through the first ring at this age, no matter how much of a genius they were? He steadied his nerves and decided to stick to the plan.

"If you won't drink the toast, you'll be forced to drink the forfeit." The scarred man sneered. "Attack!"

Before the words had even faded, the three of them released their spirits simultaneously.

Behind the scarred man appeared the phantom of a Gray Wolf, the thin man's arms were covered in a layer of gray Rock skin, and the fat man's hands transformed into a pair of Bear Paws. A single white soul ring rose beneath each of their feet.

First ring. White. Level eleven.

The level was appallingly low.

When Tang San saw those three white soul rings, the last trace of tension in his heart dissipated. A white soul ring was the lowest-tier ten-year soul ring, meaning the first soul rings of these three were less than a hundred years old. With soul power only at the eleventh or twelfth level and the lowest possible configuration of soul rings, he didn't even need to use his full strength against opponents like this.

A purple-gold light flashed across the depths of Tang San's eyes.

His Blue Silver Grass spirit struck first. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass erupted; a vine as thick as an arm shot out from his palm, fast as lightning, and precisely coiled around the scarred man's ankles.

Entangle.

The vine tightened abruptly, and the scarred man's body sank sharply, his feet pinned to the ground as if nailed there. His Gray Wolf spirit roared wildly, and his white soul ring flickered—but he didn't even have time to release his soul skill, because Tang San's vine had already coiled around his throat.

"Don't move." Tang San's voice was calm, as if he were stating a mundane fact. "Move again, and I'll tighten it."

The scarred man froze. His short blade was still raised in mid-air, but his wrist was trembling. Because he could feel it—this vine around his neck was no joke. The tough, vital pressure made him have no doubt that if he truly moved, this vine would crush his larynx without hesitation.

On the other two sides, the battle had ended at almost the same instant.

Xiao Wu was dealing with the fat Bear Paw. Her speed was like a gust of wind; the fat man's Bear Paw spirit had great strength, but his speed was slow, and he couldn't even touch the hem of Xiao Wu's clothes. Xiao Wu circled behind him and kicked him in the back of the knee, causing the fat man to drop to his knees with a thud. Another kick to his back pressed him into the Kitsuchi, his face pressed against the ground, his mouth filled with mud.

"I give up, I give up, I give up!" The fat man lay on the ground, his two bear paws patting the earth as he begged for mercy.