Sudden Encounter

Xu Tianming did not want to trouble Ye Yulin over this matter.

Aside from not wanting to linger in the Evil Demon Forest, the main reason was that this man seemed to be one of his second brother Xu Tianran's people.

Although Xu Tianran had always maintained a friendly attitude toward him over the years, Xu Tianming, who knew his inner nature, had no choice but to remain properly wary of his blood-related second brother.

After all, Xu Tianran's greatest wish in life was to ascend the throne and then unify the entire Douluo Continent. Whoever dared stand in his way would become an enemy he would fight to the death.

In Xu Tianming's view, the reason Xu Tianran treated him so amiably was most likely because he valued the potential within him and wanted to nurture him into a sharp blade he could hold in his hand, so that he could more easily fulfill his long-cherished ambition.

Xu Tianming did not oppose matters such as unifying the Douluo Continent, but he was deeply repulsed by the idea of being used.

However, the power he possessed was not yet strong enough. Although he had the support of his uncle Kong Deming behind him, rashly tearing apart all pretenses with Xu Tianran now would only result in mutual destruction. Therefore, before his strength became sufficient, Xu Tianming chose to wear a mask before others and conceal his true nature, so that Xu Tianran would be less guarded against him.

That was also why Ye Yulin could not be allowed to see the external soul bone, the Eight Spider Spears. Otherwise, it would be equivalent to Xu Tianran learning of it as well. Xu Tianming hardly dared imagine how much trouble that would cause later on.

"Brother Tianming, was there something over there just now?" Meng Hongchen casually asked when Xu Tianming returned to the motorcycle. She had not followed him earlier.

"It was nothing. I saw wrong."

Xu Tianming knew that Meng Hongchen had already fallen for him, but considering that he was still caught in the whirlpool of imperial power struggles, it was better to be cautious in all things.

However, it turned out that his worries were unnecessary, because Meng Hongchen had not thought that much about it at all.

"Oh, then let's hurry back. Grandpa might already be getting impatient waiting for us. And I have to let Xiao Hongchen see how amazing my new soul skill is. From today onward, he definitely won't dare look down on me again!"

As the soul tool formation rumbled to life, the motorcycle started. Meng Hongchen once again wrapped her arms tightly around Xu Tianming's waist, but unlike on the way there, this time she did so with complete ease. Not only was she not blushing, her expression even revealed her happiness.

Turning the vehicle around and twisting the throttle, Xu Tianming swiftly drove the motorcycle away from the Evil Demon Forest.

If nothing unexpected happened, at their current speed, they would leave the Evil Demon Forest in ten minutes at most and return to Mingdu within half an hour.

However, only two minutes after the motorcycle set off, Xu Tianming heard the sounds of fighting coming from afar. As he gradually moved forward, the sounds grew louder, while the violent soul power spreading through the surroundings also became increasingly clear to his senses.

The sudden abnormality immediately made Xu Tianming frown. After slowing the motorcycle to a stop, he considered it briefly before preparing to take a detour.

After all, Meng Hongchen, who only possessed two soul rings at present, was sitting behind him. If he could avoid trouble, he naturally had no desire to invite it upon himself.

Meng Hongchen naturally noticed the anomaly as well, but she did not speak.

Though her curiosity was stirring, she did not want to cause Xu Tianming trouble.

Thus, she merely tightened her arms around him.

Taking a detour would delay them somewhat, but it was safer.

Yet just as Xu Tianming had gone around for a while and was preparing to speed up and leave the Evil Demon Forest, the sounds of fighting, which had been fading as they moved farther away, suddenly grew louder again. Violent soul power fluctuations also reappeared within his senses.

This turn of events made Xu Tianming curse, "Damn it," before hurriedly contacting Columbina within his spiritual sea and asking her to use Moon-Matrix Power to see what was happening.

"Mm... A group of people whose auras disgust me are chasing down a woman whose aura feels somewhat familiar to me. And that woman is rapidly approaching our location."

Upon hearing that, Xu Tianming immediately pieced together the rough course of events.

A group had originally been surrounding and killing a woman. Then he happened to drive his motorcycle past nearby. Though he sensed that something was wrong and promptly turned around, the woman had perhaps heard the roar of the soul tool motorcycle. In order to survive a desperate situation, she had rushed toward his location without regard for anything else.

"At that woman's speed, she'll reach somewhere near us in about a minute."

Columbina's assessment immediately left Xu Tianming with a face full of dark lines.

His specially modified soul tool motorcycle, when traveling at full speed, could even rival a Soul Sage in speed!

For that woman to catch up with his motorcycle meant that her strength was at least that of a Soul Sage. And for a group to hunt a Soul Sage into such a desperate, reckless state, anyone could tell that they were no ordinary foes!

Forced to face a group of powerful enemies of unknown origins for no reason at all, Xu Tianming's mood sank to the extreme. However, the situation was urgent. To ensure his and Meng Hongchen's safety, he cautiously took out the soul tool communicator he carried with him.

"Elder Ye, I've run into trouble here."

"Understood, Your Highness. I'll be there immediately."

Only after hearing Ye Yulin's reply did Xu Tianming feel somewhat reassured.

Although this man belonged to his second brother Xu Tianran's side, his strength was not to be underestimated.

Within the Sun Moon Empire, when it came solely to the level of soul tools, only his uncle Kong Deming could surpass him. Anyone else, even Jing Hongchen, could only fight him to a draw.

Zhang Lexuan was in an extremely foul mood at the moment.

As the senior disciple of Shrek Academy's inner court, she had accepted a mission several days ago to eliminate evil soul masters together with several junior brothers and sisters who had invited her along.

According to the intelligence, this group of evil soul masters operated along the border between the Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire. Their movements were elusive, and every time they appeared, they would slaughter at least half the ordinary people in a village. Their methods could only be described as brutally cruel.

After reading the intelligence, Zhang Lexuan attached great importance to the matter. She invited Xuanzi, an elder of the Sea God Pavilion, to serve as the supervising teacher leading the expedition, ensuring the group's safety.

After receiving Xuanzi's approval, she, with her soul power at Rank 72, became the captain of the mission. The remaining two Soul Emperors and three Soul Kings, her junior brothers and sisters, served as team members under her command.

After arriving at their destination, Zhang Lexuan's group happened to catch the evil soul masters in the act. Their force actually consisted of one Soul Sage, one Soul Emperor, two Soul Kings, and several dozen Soul Elders.

Although the evil soul masters were not weak, they were facing Shrek Academy's core elite, after all.

In the life-and-death battle, most of the weaker evil soul masters were quickly slain.

The remaining Soul Sage and Soul Emperor knew they were outmatched, so they decisively used a secret technique to flee.

Upholding the principle of eradicating evil completely, Zhang Lexuan and the others naturally chose to pursue and kill them.

However, their supervising teacher Xuanzi suddenly became hungry. Moreover, he had confidence in Zhang Lexuan and the others' strength, so he contentedly chose not to follow them. Instead, he found a nearby restaurant and began feasting heartily...