Zhao Linchuan looked at Yue Shen, whose face said, "I don't know anything. I'm completely innocent," then at Yan Fei, who looked mortified and aggrieved enough to burst into tears. He knew the score.
With Yan Fei's Soul Power cultivation and control over her own body, she could precisely regulate everything from sweating to—well, wetting the bed.
This was obviously Yue Shen's doing. After breaking through, her strength had soared, and she'd used her hard-to-detect mental techniques to trip Yan Fei up with a "little" prank.
Yue Shen... She's petty, holds a grudge, and plays dirty. Zhao Linchuan chuckled inwardly, but kept his face impassive.
"Enough, enough. I know what happened." He waved a hand, giving Yan Fei a reassuring look before turning to Yue Shen. His tone carried a note of warning. "Yue Shen, keep your 'jokes' within reason from now on. Yan Fei is one of us."
The serene smile on Yue Shen's face faded slightly. She lowered her head deferentially. "Yes. Yue Shen will remember your lesson, Young Master."
Yet her lowered eyes flashed with a sly glint of triumph. When Zhao Linchuan wasn't looking, she even gave Yan Fei the faintest, most provocative raise of an eyebrow.
See? The Young Master only gave me a mild scolding. He didn't 'stand up for you,' did he? Her look seemed to say.
Yan Fei's chest heaved with fury, and she nearly ground her teeth to dust. But Zhao Linchuan didn't seem inclined to pursue the matter, so she couldn't make another scene. She shot Yue Shen a vicious glare and ground out, "Yue Shen, just you wait!"
"Enough." Zhao Linchuan cut through their silent battle of daggers. "Yue Shen, come with me. We have something to take care of."
At once, Yue Shen's deferential expression softened. "Yes." As she passed Yan Fei, she even dipped her head slightly and added in an elegant whisper only the two of them could hear, "Rest well, Sister. And try not to 'catch cold' again."
A ghostly blue moonlight surged around her, gently enveloping her and Zhao Linchuan.
A flash of light, and the two had transformed into a streak of light and slipped into the sky, disappearing without a trace.
All that remained in the courtyard was Yanfei, trembling with rage yet helpless. She shook her fist at the sky. "Moon God! If I don't avenge this, I'll write my name, Yanfei, backward!"
Above Notting City, the clouds rolled and unfurled.
The Moon God hovered in midair. Beneath her feet, a halo of ghostly blue moonlight, condensed from pure soul power and almost solid in appearance, steadily supported Zhao Linchuan.
The high-altitude wind stirred their robes. Below, Notting City's streets and houses looked like an exquisite chessboard, and the pedestrians like ants.
"Moon God, can you sense how many auras at the Title Douluo level are in Notting City right now?" Zhao Linchuan asked, looking down over the city.
At his words, the Moon God's eyes narrowed slightly.
In an instant, an intangible yet terrifyingly vast and pure mental power spread silently, like quicksilver pouring over the earth, like moonlight bathing all beneath it. It gently yet thoroughly swept over every corner of Notting City.
This mental power was controlled with consummate precision and caused no soul-power fluctuations. Even a Title Douluo would find it extremely difficult to detect unless they had specifically cultivated the spiritual domain.
A few breaths later, she opened her eyes. A ghostly blue gleam flashed and vanished from them as she reported softly, "Young Master, there are currently five Title Douluos in the city, belonging to three different factions."
"Two of them have auras that lean toward the sinister and mysterious. They're staying at the Spirit Hall branch in the eastern part of the city."
"The other two have fierce, heavy auras. They're in the same area as the Clear Sky Sect spies who left earlier, so they should be from the Clear Sky Sect."
"The last one is staying with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's spy at a trading house in the western part of the city."
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect sent someone too? Zhao Linchuan's thoughts raced, and a plan took shape in his mind in an instant.
"Moon God, draw them out. Let's find some excitement." A playful curve lifted Zhao Linchuan's lips. With a flip of his wrist, he took the left leg bone he had obtained from Tang Hao out of his system space.
He picked out a stream that ran through the city below, raised his hand, and tossed the priceless soul bone straight into it!
With a soft plop, the soul bone dropped into the stream, splashing a little water before the current swept it away.
"Understood!" The Moon God caught his meaning. She closed her eyes again and formed an intricate hand seal with her fingertips.
A powerful mental suggestion, like invisible threads, precisely connected with the perceptions of the five Title Douluos in the city.
The five Title Douluos, each discussing matters at their lodging or watching the movements inside and outside the city, felt their hearts suddenly skip a beat at almost the same time. A powerful premonition surged through them!
It was as if something incredibly important, something intimately connected to them, had suddenly appeared somewhere in the city!
The pull was like a beacon in the night, impossible to ignore.
Five powerful auras burst forth from different parts of Notting City like sharks catching the scent of blood, hurtling toward the stream in the west at astonishing speed!
Gu Rong was the fastest, reaching the stream first.
At a glance, he spotted the leg bone in the water, bobbing with the waves and radiating an enticing soul-light!
"Hahaha! It really is a soul bone! And from its aura... it's at least fifty thousand years old!"
Gu Rong was overjoyed. "This treasure must be fated to be mine!"
He laughed heartily and reached out with his palm. His powerful soul power formed an invisible giant hand, instantly scooping up the soul bone from the stream and drawing it into his grasp.
However, the moment he got his hands on it, four terrifying auras no weaker than his came crashing down, locking onto him!
"Gu Rong! Put down the soul bone!" Two furious shouts rang out like thunderclaps. Two streaks of black light, wrapped in a wild hammer intent, hurtled toward Gu Rong, who had just turned around, from both sides!
On the other side, Yue Guan and Gui Mei appeared like ghosts. Yue Guan's soft, feminine voice carried a hint of surprise and amusement. "Oh? The Clear Sky Sect's rats and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's 'friends'?"
Gui Mei remained silent, but black mist curled around him as he locked onto the battlefield as well.
Gu Rong's expression changed. Feeling the grim killing intent of four Title Douluos closing in from every direction, he knew he absolutely couldn't let himself be surrounded.
He acted decisively, stuffing the soul bone into his arms. Brilliant soul power erupted from his whole body as he forcibly withstood an enraged hammer strike from a Clear Sky Sect elder, then used the impact to fly backward, shouting:
"This treasure was unclaimed. I got to it first, so it's mine! If you want it, come and take it by force!" With that, he turned into a streak of light and sped toward a desolate place outside the city.
"After him!"
"Don't let him get away!"
The four figures pursued without hesitation.
The temptation of the soul bone, along with their respective allegiances and missions, sent the chase into a white-hot frenzy.
From beginning to end, Zhao Linchuan and the Moon God had hovered quietly in midair not far above them.
The Moon God's powerful mental strength distorted the light and auras, perfectly concealing the group from sight and sense.
"Come on. Let's follow and watch this show."
Before you continue