A Special Town

The burly man at the front entered Martial Soul Possession, transforming into a massive gorilla over three meters tall. His clothes were instantly torn apart by his enormous frame.

He had suffered a minor loss beneath Tie Li's Thunder Hammer just moments ago.

A scorched patch had appeared on his chest, with faint arcs of electricity still crackling over it.

Tie Li leaped up again and launched another attack at the burly man.

Looking at the two Hundred-Year Soul Rings on Tie Li, he knew he could not afford to be careless.

His third Soul Ring suddenly lit up. A white ball of light gathered in his mouth before shooting fiercely toward Tie Li.

Tie Li abruptly canceled his Thunder Hammer form, and his second Soul Ring lit up.

Second Soul Skill, Thunderclap Break!

He aimed his Forging Hammer at the incoming white light and swung with all his strength.

Thunderclap Break possessed a knockback effect. It worked not only against physical attacks, but energy-based ones as well, especially when combined with Tie Li's considerable strength.

To the burly man's horror, Tie Li actually struck his Third Soul Skill straight back at him.

"What?"

Boom!

Forced to take his own Third Soul Skill head-on, the burly man rolled aside amid a cloud of smoke.

Tie Li naturally had no intention of letting this opportunity pass.

He charged forward after gathering strength, his first and second Soul Rings lighting up at the same time.

Terrifying lightning gathered around the Thunder Hammer, signaling a pure single-target attack.

His Soul Power Level had already reached level twenty-seven. Although his opponent was a Three-Ring Soul Elder, the gap between their Soul Power could not exceed five levels.

In terms of Soul Rings, the opponent only had one more Ten-Year Soul Ring than him. But in terms of quality, the combined age of the opponent's three Soul Rings might not even compare to his own.

Besides, his two Soul Rings came from the same species. How could their perfectly matched attribute stacking possibly be inferior to the other man's?

Rumble!

With a tremendous crash, the burly man's chest caved in, and his internal organs suffered devastating damage.

"You... Pfft!"

"I'll send you on your final journey." Tie Li brought his raised Thunder Hammer crashing down. The man's head burst like a watermelon, red and white splattering in every direction.

Without changing expression, Tie Li took the man's money pouch and turned to help Mason and the others deal with the four One-Ring Soul Masters.

Mason was the only Soul Master among them; everyone else was an ordinary person. Facing four One-Ring Soul Masters, they were in constant danger.

With Tie Li joining the battle, the situation instantly reversed.

The four were dealt with in no time. Only the two Soul Grandmasters remained. They could do nothing against the caravan's Soul Grandmasters. Their Soul Power Levels were about the same, and their opponents had no intention of fighting to the death, merely holding them back.

"You dare kill members of the Black Armor Sect? Aren't you afraid of our retaliation?" At the final moment, they tried to use the Black Armor Sect's name to threaten Tie Li and the others. But that was the stupidest thing they could have done. The situation made it obvious that they would not be allowed to leave alive.

They still tried to threaten them with the Black Armor Sect? Were they trying to provoke everyone's anger?

Tie Li did not give them time to keep talking nonsense. With a single stride, he appeared before one of them and smashed his Thunder Hammer down viciously at the man's body.

Buzz!

His Martial Soul was a longsword. Faced with Tie Li's sudden attack, he immediately raised the blade to defend himself. A piercing clash rang out as a tiny crack appeared on the blade and began spreading under Tie Li's force.

Squelch!

The Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster who had originally been fighting him seized the chance to strike. Sharp wolf claws pierced through his chest.

Pfft! Blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

Tie Li and the other man exerted force together, immediately sending this Black Armor Sect Soul Master to his death in an extremely gruesome state.

Mason, meanwhile, fought the other Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster. Mason entered Martial Soul Possession, flames rising over the longsword in his hand and significantly boosting his combat strength.

That was also why he had been able to lead the caravan's men in holding back the four One-Ring Soul Masters.

Mason's first Soul Ring lit up, flames surging over his body. The longsword he held seemed to become an extension of his body, and the enhancement from his First Soul Skill could also cover the blade.

Mason and the other man wasted a little more time, but they still killed the Black Armor Sect Soul Master as expected.

The members of the Black Armor Sect definitely had money pouches on them.

Tie Li had contributed the most, so he naturally deserved the largest share of the spoils.

Short on money, Tie Li had no intention of being polite. Aside from the Three-Ring Soul Elder's money pouch, he took an additional twenty Gold Soul Coins.

The six men carried only a little over eighty Gold Soul Coins in total, along with thirty or forty Silver Soul Coins and Copper Soul Coins.

As for the seven corpses, Mason selected six people from the caravan, assigning each one a body to drag farther away. They planned to add some dry firewood and destroy the evidence by burning the bodies.

They were more experienced in handling such matters, so Tie Li had no intention of getting involved. He returned to the carriage to rest.

He also took out the Three-Ring Soul Elder's money pouch. When he opened it, he found a full one hundred and twenty Gold Soul Coins and twenty-seven Silver Soul Coins inside.

Not bad. His shriveled money pouch had filled out a little more.

When a faint glow appeared in the sky, the caravan set out again.

"We've finally arrived. Here is your payment." Upon reaching Hadrian City, Mason immediately paid him ten Gold Soul Coins.

"I also need your seal. Is that alright?" Tie Li took out his record booklet. It looked rather lonely, bearing only the seal of the Snowwind Trading House.

"Of course."

This time, they had been able to protect the shipment from the Black Armor Sect mainly because of Tie Li. Naturally, Mason would not be stingy with his seal.

"Thank you."

Seeing the Feather Weave Trading House's seal added to his record booklet, Tie Li could not help but smile.

After bidding farewell to the Feather Weave Trading House, Tie Li planned to head to Gengxin City alone.

Mainly because Hadrian City was too close to Gengxin City. Almost no trading house had escort missions going there.

Rent a carriage?

Forget it. It cost too much and was not worth it.

There was a small town between Hadrian City and Gengxin City. The trip from Hadrian City to Gengxin City would take him more than a day, and he would pass through the town along the way. He could rest there for a night before setting off again the next day.

With a plan in mind, Tie Li immediately got moving.

He had entered the city through the north gate and left through the south gate.

With Tie Li's physique, he could easily sustain a long run.

Setting out from the south gate at noon, he successfully reached the small town before nightfall.

He found an inn with fairly reasonable prices. After receiving his key, Tie Li headed back to his room for a good rest.

Lying on the bed, Tie Li soon began to feel sleepy.

Then he heard light footsteps outside the door. At first, he thought another guest was merely passing by his room.

But the footsteps clearly paused outside his door.

Sensing that something was wrong, Tie Li got up and saw a slip of paper beneath the gap in the door.

Soon, the footsteps outside moved away.

Tie Li picked up the paper from beneath the door and found that its contents differed somewhat from what he had expected.

In the shadows of this small town, there was an Underground Trading Market.