"What?!"
His pupils contracted sharply. Just as Demon Bear was about to charge in with his spear, he heard that righteous roar. His body trembled, and he instantly went limp!
Realizing this, Demon Bear's face turned green, then white. He turned toward the source of the voice, determined to see who was bold enough to ruin his good deed!
Zhang Lexuan, pinned beneath him, also turned toward the sound at that instant.
With a single glance, they saw—
A flash of azure light!
Then, a young man wielding a wildly spinning Hurricane Sword slashed directly at Demon Bear!
The attack was so violently fast that even Demon Bear failed to react in time, taking the Hurricane Sword's blow squarely across the chest!
"Not good, I'm done for!"
Only after the hurricane-like slash struck him did Demon Bear belatedly realize what had happened!
But it was useless now. Too late...
The next moment, the green hurricane wrapped around the Hurricane Sword poured out in full, enveloping Demon Bear's body and turning him into a figure of green wind.
Then Demon Bear's entire body truly shot away like a hurricane!
Only after the green wind figure had flown over a hundred meters away did the young man raise a hand and leisurely snap his fingers.
Snap—
Boom—!!
The snap fell, and the hurricane rose!
The green hurricane enveloping Demon Bear exploded in an instant, transforming into a spinning sphere of wind more than ten meters wide, intent on shredding him to pieces!
"Y-you are...?"
Her body trembling, Zhang Lexuan knelt on the ground and stared at the young man—
Draped in a plain white cloak and holding a pure white Snow Sword, he was like a ray of dawn tearing through the darkness. In Zhang Lexuan's eyes, he was even more dazzling than the sun in the night.
Hearing the female voice behind him, still thick with tears, Xue Mingqing closed his eyes. A trace of irrepressible anger showed on his face.
Even the gentle smile he usually wore had vanished without a trace.
Look at everything around them. How could he possibly smile?!
A quarter of an hour ago, he had still been discussing with Wang Chao and the other five how they would find lodging and relax after entering Tianbei City.
But now...
Looking at everything around him, how could he not understand?
He...
Had arrived too late...
Turning around and crouching down, Xue Mingqing removed his cloak and draped it over Zhang Lexuan's delicate body, covering the exposed skin.
His voice was calm, carrying a hint of gentleness.
"Xue Mingqing of Blizzard City."
At that moment, the wind swept away the clouds, revealing the pale silver moon. A beam of moonlight fell upon Xue Mingqing.
It made his entire body seem as though it were glowing, every strand of his gray-black hair reflecting the moon's silver radiance.
His gaze lowered. Zhang Lexuan, however, saw only turbulent waves within those eyes, along with...
An inescapable compassion.
Meeting Xue Mingqing's eyes, Zhang Lexuan's gaze trembled. For a moment...
She found herself entranced.
Just what kind of person... was he?
Doubts had only begun to rise in her heart, but the moment did not allow them to say anything more.
In the distance, the green spinning hurricane sphere that had been shredding everything around it suddenly shook!
"Seventh Soul Skill, Demon Bear Avatar!"
"Who the hell... are you, brat?!"
Along with a furious roar piercing through the hurricane, a pair of bloody bear claws slowly broke through the hurricane sphere. Grasping the unstable walls of wind from either side, they suddenly exerted force!
Boom!
The hurricane sphere instantly collapsed and was torn to pieces!
Having activated his Martial Soul Avatar, the blood-soaked Demon Bear had grown to over seven meters tall. He stepped through the ruins and slowly emerged...
Turning around, Xue Mingqing remained calm. He had known from the start that his sword strike would not be enough to injure him.
To Demon Bear, it probably had not even counted as a scratch.
But—
As long as he had saved the girl behind him, that was enough.
Xue Mingqing did not know that the girl behind him was Zhang Lexuan, the future senior disciple of Shrek's inner court.
But even if he had known, he would not have cared. At most, he would have sighed over fate.
After all, in the original story, when Zhang Lexuan had been in danger, the one who saved her had been Shrek's Dragon God Douluo, Mu En.
Brushing the dust from his clothes, Xue Mingqing faced Demon Bear's bloodthirsty eyes. A disdainful sneer curled at the corner of his lips.
"Too lazy to speak to the likes of you. Wang Chao, Ma Han, where are you!"
"Here!"
The moment Xue Mingqing's words fell, Wang Chao, Ma Han, and the other four mercenaries finally arrived.
They stepped forward together, shielding Xue Mingqing and Zhang Lexuan behind them.
Killing intent radiated from their bodies as they stared coldly at Demon Bear. Beneath them, their Soul Rings blossomed one after another.
A perfect Soul Ring configuration across the board: five Soul Kings and one Soul Emperor!
At this sight, Demon Bear furrowed his brow. He had only recently fought Tianbei City's lord, and his body had yet to fully recover.
Even with the cultivation of a Soul Saint, he did not dare claim he could certainly defeat this group of mercenaries.
With his brow tightly furrowed, Demon Bear restrained his killing intent.
"Gentlemen, could we perhaps stay out of each other's way? I have no grudge against you. Could you let me leave...?"
At that, Wang Chao and the others grinned.
Yet their smiles were ice-cold.
"What do you think?"
Scum like Evil Soul Masters would basically be cleared out like common mobs whenever they encountered ordinary Soul Masters.
This rule was no exception for mercenaries like Wang Chao and Ma Han, who lived with their lives on the line.
Wang Chao and the others still had the patience to respond to Demon Bear's plea for mercy, but Xue Mingqing truly could not be bothered to say another word.
Things like Evil Soul Masters deserved to go to hell...
He raised the Snow Sword in his hand and pointed it at Demon Bear. His voice was as cold as an ancient frozen spring.
"Kill him for me!!!"
"Yes!"
The mercenaries answered in unison. Activating their Martial Souls, they charged toward Demon Bear!
Demon Bear's face darkened further at the sight. He had known all along that Wang Chao and the other five would most likely not let him go.
More than anyone, he understood that he had merely wanted to gamble—gamble that Wang Chao and the others might suddenly lose their minds and spare him.
But clearly, he had lost that bet!
Gritting his teeth, Demon Bear slammed both claws into the ground. Beneath him, his sixth Soul Ring instantly erupted with dazzling black light!
"Sixth Soul Skill! Blood Frenzy Earth Split!"
Crack crack crack crack—!
The ground split apart. Thick earthen spikes, crimson as blood and gleaming with deadly light, burst from the earth and stabbed toward Wang Chao and the others!
Facing those deadly earth spikes, Wang Chao and the others did not change expression. Having worked together countless times, their coordination needed no words.
Before the attack even arrived, the Ice Crystal Rhino Soul King at the very rear of the group—the bulkiest among them—had already acted.
The fifth Soul Ring beneath his feet suddenly lit up!
In an instant, countless gusts of snow howled in from every direction, swirling around the group before forming a shield around them as hard as ten-thousand-year ice from the Extreme North, protecting everyone, including Zhang Lexuan!
Feeling the ice shield envelop them, mocking amusement appeared on Wang Chao and the others' faces.
With a flick of both hands, sharp ice claws sprang from Wang Chao's fingertips. Scarlet bloodlust flashed through his eyes.
"Brothers, time to hunt a bear!!!"
Before you continue