Soto City

At this moment, Lin Ze'an turned to look at Hu Liena, frowning slightly as he asked, "By the way, Senior Sister, what did His Holiness the Pope send you all to do just now?"

Hu Liena had just recovered from her shock. Hearing Lin Ze'an's inquiry, she straightened her expression and said, "Although the previous trials shook the continent and made those evil spirit masters afraid to show their faces for a time..."

"But over the past year, evil spirit masters have been popping up to cause trouble in some remote villages and towns from time to time."

She sighed, a hint of gravity flashing in her eyes: "That is why Teacher dispatched us to assist the Spirit Branch Hall in clearing out those evil spirit masters hiding in the shadows."

Hearing this, Lin Ze'an raised an eyebrow, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes.

Evil spirit masters? Was the deterrence from two years ago not enough? They actually still dared to come out and stir up trouble.

Besides, could a dignified Spirit Branch Hall really not handle a few evil spirit masters hiding in the dark?

If the gap in strength were truly that vast, would the bishop of the Spirit Branch Hall even be alive right now?

Thinking of this, he turned to Hu Liena and said, "Senior Sister, please report to His Holiness the Pope that I will take on this mission."

Hu Liena was slightly stunned, clearly not expecting Lin Ze'an to volunteer.

She hesitated, her gaze lingering on Lin Ze'an for a moment, before finally nodding: "Very well, I will report it to Teacher."

The little junior brother of today was no longer the child who had first entered Spirit Hall.

Whether in terms of strength, ability, or status, she had no grounds to refuse.

Just then, Golden Crocodile walked over slowly and said with concern, "Gaining more experience is a good thing, but those evil spirit masters are the most cunning and vicious."

As he spoke, he turned to look at Ghost Leopard and Spirit Kite in the distance: "Let those two follow you. They will not interfere with your actions; they will only protect you from the shadows."

Hearing this, Lin Ze'an nodded, smiling as he hugged Golden Crocodile: "Don't worry, Great-Grandfather. I'm not a child anymore; I know my limits."

Afterward, he turned to Hu Liena and smiled slightly: "Senior Sister, give me the intelligence."

Hu Liena handed a sealed scroll to Lin Ze'an and said softly, "The detailed intelligence for this trip is inside. Examine it carefully on the road... stay safe."

Lin Ze'an gave a hum, took the intelligence, scanned it quickly, and then tucked the scroll into his soul tool.

Immediately following, a pale green life force surged around his body, and he lifted into the air.

In the next second, Lin Ze'an's figure transformed into a verdant stream of light, flying toward the distant horizon at an astonishing speed.

Seeing this, Ghost Leopard and Spirit Kite, who had been standing by, exchanged a glance, both of their faces showing grave expressions.

They straightened their robes and hurriedly bowed to Golden Crocodile Douluo: "Second Elder, we are following him now."

As the words fell, soul power surged around them, and they also took flight, turning into two streams of light as they chased after Lin Ze'an.

It was truly exhausting. Ever since their Elder reached level 50, he could not only hover or fly without restriction, but his speed was also incredibly fast.

Every time they were caught off guard, he would disappear to who knew where.

A few days later, Lin Ze'an landed slowly in front of a relatively remote small city.

He looked up slightly, his gaze falling on the somewhat weathered plaque above the city gate.

Soto City?

It seemed that at this time, the Shrek Academy where Tang San was located was near Soto City, right?

Seeing is believing; if the opportunity arose, he would actually like to see this so-called master of theory, Yu Xiaogang.

But that wasn't important; he should solve the matter of the evil spirit masters first.

However... not to mention the Spirit Branch Hall, with two Spirit Saints in this small city alone, how could these evil spirit masters still be so unscrupulous?

Thinking of this, Lin Ze'an withdrew his thoughts and walked straight into the city.

The moment he stepped through the gate, air mixed with all sorts of scents rushed toward him.

He took a deep breath, suppressed the discomfort in his heart, and walked toward a street stall not far away.

It was a bustling barbecue stall. Several plump rabbits were set up over charcoal, and as the fat dripped onto the coals, it made a sizzling sound, filling the air with a rich aroma.

"Hello." Lin Ze'an walked up to the stall and said softly to the owner, "Two roasted Soft Bone Rabbits."

The stall owner saw Lin Ze'an's luxurious attire, and his eyes lit up as he greeted him enthusiastically: "Oh, my, distinguished guest! You've come to the right place!"

"Our roasted Soft Bone Rabbit is seasoned with top-quality spices; it's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and it smells divine! I guarantee you'll want more after the first bite!"

As he spoke, the owner skillfully took two golden, glistening roasted Soft Bone Rabbits off the charcoal.

Then, he carefully wrapped the roasted rabbits in clean oil paper and handed them to Lin Ze'an.

However, if things were going to go wrong, they would go wrong.

Just as Lin Ze'an was about to take the roasted Soft Bone Rabbits, he suddenly frowned, his body instinctively leaning backward while he shoved the owner away with a violent push.

"Watch out!"

"Bang!"

The next moment, a black shadow shrouded in fierce momentum descended from the sky like a cannonball, smashing directly into the charcoal grill of the barbecue stall!

Charcoal splattered, the grill collapsed, grease and sparks flew everywhere, and the roasted Soft Bone Rabbits fell to the ground, rolling into the ash.

Lin Ze'an landed steadily and turned to look in the direction from which the figure had flown.

Not far away, several Spirit Hall spirit masters were chasing a woman wearing a veil.

A heavy scent of blood radiated from the woman, but it wasn't something she had merely been stained with; it was clearly...

An evil spirit master?

He turned his head to glance at the figure lying on the ground nearby, his brows furrowing instantly as a flicker of coldness crossed his eyes.

That woman was at most a Spirit King. With such a group surrounding and suppressing her, they were still being beaten like this? They were clearly going easy on her.

Thinking of this, Lin Ze'an let out a cold snort. "Since I've run into this, there's naturally no reason to let it slide."

His figure flashed, spirit power surging beneath his feet. In just a few breaths, he overtook the panicked, fleeing veiled woman and appeared directly in her path.

However, the veiled woman was fleeing for her life and hadn't noticed the obstruction ahead at all.

It wasn't until Lin Ze'an's figure suddenly appeared before her eyes that she widened her eyes in terror, wanting to stop, but it was already too late.

"Bang!"

Without the slightest hesitation, a palm strike gathered with the power of life slammed fiercely into the veiled woman's chest.

"Ah--!"

The veiled woman let out a shrill, miserable scream. Her entire body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily onto the ground.

She struggled to climb back up, but the excruciating pain from her chest made her whole body tremble. A mouthful of blood sprayed violently from her mouth, splattering onto the ground.

"Who... who are you?!" She raised her head, her veil soaked through with blood, her eyes filled with terror.

Everything had happened so quickly that none of the others had even managed to react.

The Spirit Hall spirit masters following closely behind came to a sudden halt, looking toward Lin Ze'an with expressions of vigilance.