The problem was huge!
Rubbing his forehead, Xue Mingqing felt a headache coming on. Deep down, he had never wanted to get too entangled with characters from the original story.
What if he disrupted the timeline?
What if he changed the course of the world?
That was why Xue Mingqing had never wanted to involve himself too deeply in the original plot. Even when heading to Shrek, his reasoning had been that so many people entered Shrek anyway, so one more would not matter.
But reality proved that he had greatly underestimated his own knack for attracting trouble.
He had encountered a thirty-thousand-year soul beast right after leaving Blizzard City, and only a week after leaving the city, he had run into Zhang Lexuan, a female character from the original story.
What was next? Was he going to run into Mu En too?
The corner of Xue Mingqing's mouth twitched, but he did not leave Zhang Lexuan kneeling there.
He stepped forward, helped her up, and shook his head gently.
"I don't need your loyalty. Killing Evil Soul Masters is what ordinary soul masters like us should be doing anyway. It's no different from helping an old lady cross the street."
"You don't need to take it to heart. Just be yourself."
Patting Zhang Lexuan's arm, Xue Mingqing said no more. He had said enough.
Zhang Lexuan alone remained frozen where she stood, staring blankly at his back, like that of a divine child beneath the moon...
Turning around, Xue Mingqing shouted toward Wang Chao in the distance.
"Uncle Wang Chao! Remember to finish him off! Stand far away and blast the hell out of him with some big moves for half an hour!"
At those words, Wang Chao stumbled. He turned to look at Xue Mingqing's wickedly mischievous smile, and the corner of his eye twitched uncontrollably.
He understood finishing an enemy off. That was perfectly normal.
But!
What did he mean, bombard him with ultimate moves for half an hour? Did they have unlimited Soul Power or something?
Rubbing his forehead and closing his eyes, Wang Chao did not want to look at Xue Mingqing for the moment. He massaged his brow and looked toward the team's only long-range attacker—the five-ring Ice Bow Soul King.
"Lao Liu, you go. Shoot him with your arrows for half an hour!"
Lao Liu said nothing. Having received Wang Chao's order, he silently raised the Ice Bow in his hand and prepared to nock an arrow.
And what about the fallen Demon Bear?
The moment he heard Wang Chao and the others talking, his body gave an almost imperceptible tremor.
He was not dead.
That was right. He had not died at all!
He had originally planned to play dead, then viciously spring up and kill someone when they came to finish him off, taking the chance to devour flesh and blood to recover.
But now—
Hearing the sound of a bowstring being drawn, Demon Bear knew that he could no longer keep pretending to be dead!
"Roar!!!"
Demon Bear suddenly sprang up and rolled to his feet, the seven rings beneath him shining once more!
With a savage gleam in his eyes and wind gathering around his four claws, he charged straight at Wang Chao, the closest person to him, intending to unleash a fatal strike!
"Watch out—!"
At that sight, among everyone present, only Zhang Lexuan cried out in alarm!
It was not because she lacked courage. After all, she looked only eleven or twelve, and she truly was the youngest among them.
Take the mercenaries present, for example. Every one of them was over thirty. As an old saying from his previous life went, they had eaten more salt than Zhang Lexuan had eaten rice.
Having seen through countless schemes and deceptions, they had long realized that Demon Bear was playing dead.
As for Xue Mingqing, there was even less need to mention him. He had lived two lives. His younger age had merely made his mindset more youthful; he had not truly become a clueless six-year-old brat again.
If they were talking about his mental age, he might even be from Zhang Lexuan's father's generation.
And Wang Chao, whom Demon Bear had chosen as his point of breakthrough?
He had anticipated this long ago. Almost the instant Demon Bear rose, he leapt backward, immediately widening the distance between them!
Seeing this, Demon Bear's gaze darkened. These mercenaries were too troublesome. If they fought head-on, not one of them would be his match, yet they simply refused to fight him head-on!
The good news was that none of them could beat him in a direct fight.
The bad news was that they were smart and would not let him touch them at all.
Realizing this infuriating point, Demon Bear frowned. After feinting at Wang Chao, he turned and fled!
He might not be able to catch those annoying flies, but—
Could he not run away?
He had already seen that they possessed the ability to kill him. But if he avoided battle, it would not be easy for them to keep him here!
If those mercenaries truly lost their heads and rushed in to kill him regardless of everything...
Heh... then who was the hunter and who was the prey would still be uncertain!
Clearly, Wang Chao and the others realized this as well. Everyone's faces turned livid.
They all turned to look at Xue Mingqing, waiting for his decision.
And Xue Mingqing?
His expression changed the most noticeably, going from green to purple, then from purple back to green.
After a moment of silence, he closed his eyes.
"Do not pursue a desperate enemy..."
As soon as he spoke, Wang Chao and the other five all breathed sighs of relief. They had feared that Xue Mingqing would get carried away and insist on chasing down Demon Bear at all costs.
Letting out a heavy breath, Xue Mingqing turned around and looked at Zhang Lexuan behind him, his voice apologetic.
"I'm sorry..."
Zhang Lexuan shook her head. Her eyes were red as she bit down hard on her pink lips, staring fixedly at Demon Bear's fleeing back. Her voice trembled as she spoke.
"Lexuan doesn't blame Young Master Xue... One day, I will cultivate until I'm stronger than him, then personally take his life..."
Hearing that, Xue Mingqing nodded.
He said nothing more, merely silently clenching his fists...
He was still not strong enough. If he had been strong enough, perhaps none of this would have happened.
Closing his eyes, Xue Mingqing let out a long sigh.
But just as Xue Mingqing closed his eyes—
Clap, clap, clap.
Clear applause rang out, accompanied by an aged yet kindly voice.
"Young man, you're quite impressive..."
Hearing this, Xue Mingqing raised an eyebrow and looked up. Not far ahead of him stood an elderly white-haired man in plain clothing, severely hunched over, who had appeared out of nowhere and was watching him.
When his eyes met those aged eyes, weathered by time yet unable to conceal their peerless golden radiance, Xue Mingqing's heart skipped a beat.
This time, this place, this appearance—he could guess who this was with his toes!
One of the three Limit Douluo of Douluo: The Unrivaled, the Bright Holy Dragon, the Dragon God Douluo, Mu En!
Frowning, Xue Mingqing spoke.
"You are...?"
Although he had recognized Mu En inwardly, Xue Mingqing could not say it outright. If he did, explaining how he knew would be a problem.
At the same time, Wang Chao and the others gathered around, standing in front of Mu En and shielding Xue Mingqing behind them.
"Senior, may I ask who you are...?"
Someone who could appear silently before Xue Mingqing was certainly no ordinary old man in the eyes of Wang Chao and the others.
Faced with Wang Chao and the others' vigilance, Mu En merely smiled.
"Mu En, commander of the Shrek Inspection Team."
Hearing that, Wang Chao and the others merely nodded quietly. There was no melodramatic scene of, "What? You're the legendary commander of the Shrek Inspection Team?"
After all, who Mu En was had nothing to do with them. As long as they confirmed that he would not harm Xue Mingqing, that was enough.
As for why they believed Mu En would not attack Xue Mingqing—
What a joke. He had already been standing in front of Xue Mingqing. If he had truly wanted to kill Xue Mingqing, how could he have waited for them to react?
They were sharp. Their questioning of Mu En now was merely the routine inquiry expected of mercenaries protecting their employer.
Looking at Mu En before him, Xue Mingqing coughed.
He pointed in the direction Demon Bear had fled and spoke.
"Um, Senior Mu En, that guy is getting away. Aren't you going to do something about it?"
Before you continue