Ambushed Again Mid-Journey!

With the spirit bone in hand, they set out once more, leaving Blizzard City behind.

Unlike the previous journey, this time, Xue Mingqing was mounted on horseback.

As he galloped on a white steed, his long grey hair and cyan robes fluttered in the wind, trailing behind him with an ethereal, immortal grace.

Watching this scene, Zhang Lexuan rested her chin in her hand, her beautiful dark eyes harboring a girl's unspoken secrets.

Noticing Zhang Lexuan's unusual behavior, Lu Xiaoxiao, who was sitting in the carriage with her eyes closed to rest, spoke softly in a teasing tone.

"If you like him, just tell him. If you don't say it out loud, aren't you afraid someone else will snatch him away?"

Hearing this, Zhang Lexuan instinctively froze. Once she realized what Lu Xiaoxiao meant, her fair, delicate face was instantly stained with a deep, indelible blush.

Instinctively pulling back her gaze, Zhang Lexuan lowered her head.

Though the tips of her ears turned red, she offered no defense, such as saying, "I don't like him."

Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's hum as she stammered, "Mingqing... cough cough... is still too young... I am a full eleven years older than him..."

Raising an eyebrow, Lu Xiaoxiao opened her long, narrow black eyes and cast a faint glance at Zhang Lexuan—a single look that seemed to see right through her.

Instinctively lowering her head even further, Zhang Lexuan felt like a thief caught in the act, not daring to meet Lu Xiaoxiao's gaze.

Just as she sat there, shy and head-bowed, not knowing what else to say, Lu Xiaoxiao's voice sounded again.

"Fine, suit yourself... Just don't come crying to me when someone else snatches him away."

After hearing Lu Xiaoxiao's words, Zhang Lexuan bit her lip. In her mind's eye, the figure of a stunningly beautiful girl gradually emerged...

At the thought of the relationship between Xue Mingqing and that girl, and the way she treated him, a pang of bitterness pierced Zhang Lexuan's heart.

Biting her lip, Zhang Lexuan lifted her gaze and looked through the carriage window at the young man's silhouette.

After a long silence, it seemed she had made a decision in her heart...

However, just as she secretly steeled her resolve, the sound of hooves and carriage wheels outside came to a sudden halt.

Immediately following, Xue Mingqing's vigilant voice rang out.

"Who are you people? What do you want...?"

Hearing this, the two women in the carriage startled. After exchanging a glance, they leaned out to look.

At a single glance, they saw that their carriage was surrounded by six mercenaries—Wang Chao, Ma Han, Bing Gong, Bing Xi, and the others—who were guarding them on horseback.

At the very front of the cavalcade, Xue Mingqing, radiating the heroic spirit of a young knight, sat proudly on his white steed.

Not far ahead of him stood three figures in black robes, arms crossed.

The one on the left was tall and slender.

The one in the middle was of average height.

The one on the right was like a short, stout dumpling, possessing a rather impressive horizontal girth.

They stood right in the middle of the road, blocking the group's path.

Looking at these three black-robed figures, Xue Mingqing frowned, a faint, lingering sense of unease rising within him.

He had keenly sensed it...

The people opposite them did not seem to have come with good intentions...?

Sure enough, after Xue Mingqing asked his question, the three figures opposite them lit up with soul rings without a word of explanation...

Seeing the number of their soul rings, Xue Mingqing's pupils constricted.

Because...

The two figures on the left and right of the black-robed trio each had seven rings beneath their feet...

And the black-robed figure in the center, taking the lead, had no fewer than eight!

Two Soul Saints... and one, a Soul Douluo!

Seeing this, Wang Chao and Ma Han, who were half a horse-length behind Xue Mingqing, drove their mounts forward.

Their brows were locked in a deep furrow, and their muscles were taut. The sixth sense of a powerhouse was screaming of impending danger, yet...

They still moved to block the left and right sides in front of Xue Mingqing!

After risking their lives to escort Xue Mingqing half a year ago, they had all been officially recruited as soul masters under Xue Ningxian.

With the resources provided by Xue Ningxian, Wang Chao had already become a level 71 Soul Saint.

Ma Han, Bing Gong, Bing Xi, and the other five had all stepped from the realm of Soul Kings into that of Soul Emperors.

They had originally assumed that this escort mission for Xue Mingqing would be as easy as weeding a garden or catching bugs.

But...

Looking at the three hostile powerhouses ahead, Wang Chao felt speechless.

Was their young master some kind of magnet for trouble?

Why does trouble follow us everywhere...?

Closing his eyes for a moment, Wang Chao cupped his fists toward the three figures, his attitude humble: "May I ask, why do you three block our path?"

As his words fell, the three remained silent for a moment before the tall figure in black robes on the left spoke up.

It was a frivolous, playful female voice.

"Hehehe... nothing much, we just wanted to borrow something from you all..."

Hearing this woman's voice, Xue Mingqing's brows furrowed instinctively. It wasn't just him; Wang Chao, Ma Han, and the others who had caught up—Zhang Lexuan and Lu Xiaoxiao—all frowned.

Because...

Within this woman's voice, there was a faint, indescribable, and sinister aura...

This was clearly an Evil Soul Master!

Realizing this, Wang Chao and Ma Han exchanged a glance, and a decision was made in their hearts instantly.

The tacit understanding built over long years of cooperation meant that even without a word, the other mercenaries proactively spurred their horses forward, shielding Xue Mingqing and the others behind them.

After assuming a stance ready to protect those behind him at any moment, Wang Chao raised his hands in a salute once more.

"May I ask... what is it you seek...?"

"Hehehehehe..."

A bewitching and seductive laugh rang out. The Evil Soul Master woman sneered, raising a hand to let her jade fingers, painted with blood-red nails, lightly brush against her blood-red lips beneath her hood.

"I want to borrow..."

"Your young master's head!"

With that, the Evil Soul Master woman tapped her foot, and her entire body moved like a ghost, trailing afterimages that were impossible to distinguish from reality as she charged toward Wang Chao and his men.

Seeing this, Wang Chao's expression darkened. With a burst of strength from his legs, seven rings lit up beneath him, and he leaped straight from his horse, charging toward the three figures!

"Brothers, hold the line!"

"Seventh Soul Skill, Ice Wolf Avatar!"

With a loud shout, the seventh soul ring beneath Wang Chao, who was mid-air, suddenly flared!

Under that deep, abyssal light, his burly, sturdy body rapidly transformed into a three-meter-tall Ice Wolf, covered in ice spikes and possessing a fierce, ferocious expression!

With a boom, kicking up countless snowflakes and dust, the massive Ice Wolf slammed into the ground!

Following the Ice Wolf's landing, Ma Han and the other four summoned their martial souls one after another. With their soul rings shining, they dismounted without a hint of fear, ready to charge alongside Wang Chao in his avatar form toward the three enemies!

They were joking, right? Half a year ago, the six of them—one Soul Emperor and five Soul Kings—dared to charge at a Soul Saint.

Now that they were one Soul Saint and five Soul Emperors, what did it matter if they were charging at two Soul Saints and one Soul Douluo?

They might not be able to win, but—

They had to project the attitude that the advantage was theirs; that was the style of a real man from the Far North!

Digging his four claws into the ground, the massive Ice Wolf's blood-red eyes flashed with sharp, cold light. Within his jagged maw, rows of wolf fangs glinted with a frigid luster...

Staring fixedly at the ghostly woman who was charging straight at them, fearless and undaunted, Wang Chao let out a cold snort.

"Brothers... charge!!!"