Trap

Without stopping, the group set out from Maple Leaf Town overnight.

Only after returning to the carriage did Tie Li gradually recover from what had just happened.

Beyond the lingering fear, he also felt a yearning for strength.

This was, after all, a fantasy world. The strong preyed on the weak—that was the norm. Only sufficient strength was the sole hard requirement for survival.

"Eh?"

Tie Li shifted slightly and discovered that he had bumped into something hard.

After getting up to inspect it, he found that the cushioned couch had somehow been slit open, with an iron box hidden inside.

His first thought was that someone had secretly entered the carriage.

Could this iron box be the shipment they had lost?

Tie Li thought of a possibility.

But why put it in my carriage? If they had gotten it, shouldn't they have taken it away directly?

Filled with doubt, Tie Li tried to open the iron box, but no matter how hard he tried, it would not budge.

He wanted to smash it open with a hammer, but he was afraid of damaging whatever was inside and drawing attention.

Through the window, he saw that several merchant caravans that had argued at the inn earlier were also fleeing overnight, unwilling to remain in Maple Leaf Town any longer.

However, their destinations differed, and not long after leaving Maple Leaf Town, they parted ways.

Yet one merchant caravan continued following Snowwind Trading House's caravan.

The group had only just calmed down from the panic at the inn. Having another caravan traveling alongside them brought quite a bit of reassurance.

Holding the iron box, Tie Li had a different thought. His gaze toward the other caravan grew wary.

At that moment, the manager of the other caravan rode a fine horse away from his group and came alongside Manager Ma.

As he chatted with Manager Ma, he kept deliberately—or seemingly inadvertently—bringing up Tie Li in the carriage.

"Manager Bai, you're too polite. Our goods are merely daily necessities. If we really run into trouble, we can just abandon the cargo. It's no great loss.

"But your side has ten carts of grain. Hiring a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster for that seems hardly worthwhile, doesn't it?" Manager Ma's seemingly casual question carried an unspoken implication.

"Lord Kern is a Soul Master raised by our trading house. He is different from a hired Soul Master."

Manager Bai was revealing the relationship between the caravan and the Soul Master, the implied meaning being that their arrangement was more reliable than theirs.

Manager Ma showed a look of understanding and chatted with Manager Bai for a while longer.

Only then did Manager Bai slowly reveal his true purpose.

"Manager Ma, I won't beat around the bush. Hand over the item."

Smash!

Manager Bai suddenly shattered the cup on horseback. His caravan immediately changed demeanor, their faces turning savage as they drew large blades prepared in advance from among the grain supplies and forced the caravan to stop.

"Manager Bai, what do you mean by this?"

"I already said it. Hand over the item."

Manager Ma had already realized what was happening, but they truly had not taken the missing shipment.

"The item isn't with us. We would never steal cargo from a caravan guarded by a Three-Ring Soul Elder."

"Of course I know you didn't steal it."

"Hm?"

"We stole the item, but I put it in your caravan. It's in the carriage. I placed it there myself."

"Stop talking nonsense. Take it back by force."

That Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster leaped onto the roof of the carriage. A layer of gray wolf fur emerged over his exposed skin, his body becoming nimble and powerful. His hunched upper body was exceptionally muscular, while a pair of sharp wolf claws gleamed with a cold light.

One white and one yellow Soul Ring revolved around him.

He spread his fingers, driving his sharp wolf claws into the carriage, intending to tear it open by brute force.

Bang!

Tie Li had been waiting for this chance. Seeing the wolf claws pierce through the carriage, he summoned his Martial Soul, charged up, and smashed the claws with all his strength.

"Argh!"

The Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster let out a miserable cry. The force carried by the Forging Hammer was astonishing; he felt the bones in his right claw shatter.

He immediately withdrew his wolf claws and retreated. His right claw was a bloody mess, and the shattered bones could even be seen.

He had not expected Tie Li to be so bold. A One-Ring Soul Master actually dared attack him, a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster.

At that moment, a sharp dagger appeared in Manager Bai's hand, like the fang of a giant wolf. A white Soul Ring circled around it.

This Manager Bai was a One-Ring Soul Master.

The white Soul Ring shone, and without hesitation, he threw the dagger in his hand. A streak of white light enveloped it.

Tie Li sensed danger and hurriedly rolled out of the carriage, but he was slightly too slow. The dagger was about to pierce his lower abdomen.

Clang!

The dagger only tore through his outer garment before being blocked by his iron inner armor.

"What?"

At that moment, Tie Li locked his sights on Manager Bai.

The Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster would be difficult to deal with, but he could take care of the One-Ring Soul Master first.

The instant Manager Ma noticed something was wrong, he suddenly tossed a packet of white powder at Manager Bai's eyes.

Manager Bai lost his vision. Tie Li gripped the Forging Hammer tightly, leaped before him in one step, and viciously struck him in the head.

The Forging Hammer was a blunt weapon, and its lethal damage to the head was especially obvious.

Bang!

Manager Bai was sent flying by the hammer. A large portion of his head caved in, and more than half of his skull was shattered.

Now that they had started fighting, battle inevitably broke out among the caravans below. In terms of numbers, Tie Li's side held the advantage.

The Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster glanced at his injured right claw, then at Tie Li—especially the Hundred-Year Soul Ring glowing yellow.

Although his Soul Power Level was higher, his right claw had suffered a devastating injury. It was still uncertain who would win.

Just as he hesitated, Tie Li appeared before him without him noticing. The Forging Hammer was covered in a shell of interwoven blue-white lightning.

First Soul Skill, Thunder Hammer!

Strike while he's down and finish him off!

Tie Li's thinking was simple. His right claw had been severely injured, so his combat strength would certainly be greatly reduced. Tie Li might not be unable to defeat him.

The man's second Soul Ring lit up, also a yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring.

White light gathered in his mouth. Tie Li's first thought was that it was an offensive Soul Skill and that the man intended to clash with him head-on, but instead, his Second Soul Skill was defensive.

The white light transformed into a shield of light in front of him.

A Martial Soul of the assault type had a defensive Soul Skill?

Back then, he had only two choices: a Ten-Year Soul Ring that could grant an offensive Soul Skill, or an unknown Hundred-Year Soul Ring, because the Soul Beast he had hunted was a Hundred-Year Mysterious Tortoise.

But this was his second Soul Ring. He was unwilling to choose a Ten-Year Soul Ring. A low-age Soul Ring would limit his future development, and he might remain a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster for the rest of his life.

But if he chose a Hundred-Year Soul Ring, he would have a chance to break through to Soul Elder in the future. Perhaps he could even obtain a Thousand-Year Soul Ring that would change his fate.

Comparing the two, he chose the Hundred-Year Mysterious Tortoise.

However, the Soul Skill was clearly mismatched. It was a defensive Soul Skill, and due to the characteristics of his Martial Soul, the effect of this Hundred-Year defensive Soul Skill was extremely mediocre.

Tie Li shattered the light shield with a single hammer strike, leaving even Tie Li himself stunned.