First Inspection Corps Mission, Mingdou Mountains

Two days later, on Sea God Island.

Dai Yueheng took several rings from his storage soul tool and handed them to Ye Ming, the other two, and the seven members of the reserve team.

"Keep these safe. They're the insignia exclusive to us Shrek Inspectors."

Dai Yueheng looked at the rings in his hand, his expression solemn.

"Later, you'll need to drip a drop of blood onto the rings. That will bind them to your bloodline."

"As long as they're one of us, we can use our Inspector rings to determine whether the other person belongs to the Shrek Inspection Corps."

"These rings are also storage soul tools. Inside are exclusive uniforms, masks, cloaks, and distress signal flares..."

After introducing the rings, Dai Yueheng turned his gaze toward Xuan Zi.

"Now I'll explain the mission." Xuan Zi took a bite of his chicken leg, swept his gaze over Ye Ming and the other new members, and slowly spoke.

"Our inspection mission this time is to head to a mountain region bordering the Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire, where we will find and eliminate a group of bandits."

"The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament is drawing near."

"Therefore, we must complete this mission within four to five days!"

Bandits...

Ye Ming remembered. Wasn't this the battle where Xuan Zi, the Holy Spirit Cult's Grand Elder, had slaughtered the Shrek Seven Monsters?

Some had been crippled, while others had died.

It was precisely this battle that established Grand Elder Xuan Zi's infamous reputation.

However, Ma Xiaotao had already fallen to darkness ahead of time, Yao Haoxuan had died in battle, and Xixi had been completely crippled.

The Shrek Seven Monsters' lineup and strength had also changed dramatically compared to the original timeline.

With their strength on paper, this mission should have been easy.

But...

Ye Ming still felt uneasy.

It couldn't be helped. Xuan Zi's reputation was simply too terrifying.

He had truly ruined two generations of Shrek Seven Monsters.

Be careful, careful, and even more careful!

If things go south, I'll have Gu Yuena flip the table with me!

If the Holy Spirit Cult really tried anything, he wouldn't mind having Uncle Di Tian bring Uncle Xiong Jun and the others over for a little talk with Zhongli Wu.

As Ye Ming pondered this inwardly, Xuan Zi continued, "These bandits are extremely vicious and cunning!"

"They specialize in intercepting and killing traveling merchants passing between the two countries, leaving no survivors."

"They burn, kill, plunder, and commit every imaginable evil."

"This bandit group calls itself the Death Messengers. Rumor has it that their leader is an exceptionally powerful evil soul master."

"So none of you can let your guard down!"

Xuan Zi swept his gaze over Ye Ming and the members of the reserve team, a smile appearing on his face. "Most of you have never killed anyone before, have you?"

"This time, you'll have a brand-new experience."

Without waiting for anyone to react, Xuan Zi waved his hand and declared, "Move out!"

Streams of light shot into the sky from Sea God Island, streaking toward the Star Dou Empire.

Before leaving, Xuan Zi looked in the direction of the Golden Tree and said in a low voice,

"Mu Lao, we're leaving."

The Golden Tree swayed gently, as though responding.

Western border of the Star Luo Empire.

As the morning light emerged, a streak of white light cut across the sky, leaving behind a dazzling trail of flame.

The next moment, Xuan Zi crashed to the ground, smashing up a fierce wave of air.

"Blergh..."

A chorus of vomiting rose one after another.

More than a dozen figures staggered about. Some crouched on the ground, while others clung to tree trunks and vomited violently.

Even stars flashed before Ye Ming's eyes.

Fast—too fast!

All the way here, Xuan Zi had tied them together with a massive iron chain and dragged them from Shrek Academy to the Star Luo Empire's border at breakneck speed, like kites.

After a full day and night of that dizzying, spinning sensation, even Dai Yueheng could barely suppress the churning bile in his stomach.

"Look at how pathetic you all are." Xuan Zi leisurely took a swig of wine, a mischievous grin appearing on his face.

"Little Dai, I made quite a commotion when I landed just now. The military should have noticed."

"People from the Star Luo Empire should be here soon. You handle it. I'm going to get some sleep first."

Xuan Zi muttered and vanished from sight.

Before long, streaks of light descended from the sky and landed near the group.

As the eldest son of the White Tiger Duke, Dai Yueheng was completely at home here.

After a brief handover, the group followed the newcomers to the White Tiger military camp.

After resting in the White Tiger military camp for several hours, Dai Yueheng successfully obtained information regarding the bandits.

According to the intelligence, the bandit group known as Death's Hand was mainly active in the central region of the Mingdou Mountains.

Only when they had a specific target would they descend the mountain at top speed to pillage.

The entire bandit group had more than three hundred members, including thirty to forty soul masters.

As for the bandit leader, all they knew was that his cultivation was at least at the Soul Emperor level. There was not a shred of information beyond that.

If those were the only enemies, Ye Ming's team would be more than enough to crush them.

But what worried Ye Ming was that this might be bait laid out by the Holy Spirit Cult.

Over the past year, under the large-scale purges by Shrek Academy and the major empires, the Holy Spirit Cult and evil soul masters had begun to hide and restrain themselves.

Yet just as the Soul Dueling Tournament approached, this bandit group had begun plundering and committing crimes on a grand scale.

It was difficult to say there was nothing suspicious about it.

"We're already here. Worrying about anything else is useless."

After thinking it over, Ye Ming still told Gu Yuena about it through their spiritual link.

After confirming the intelligence, the group immediately set off and entered the Mingdou Mountains through the entrance indicated in the report.

Maintaining a vigilant formation, the group traveled through the Mingdou Mountains for an entire day. It was only after night fell that they entered the heart of the mountain range.

As they passed through a forest filled with Wenlan Trees, they discovered something unusual.

"There are a great many scattered footprints here. Clearly, this is the area where that bandit group operates."

As the strongest person on the surface and the most experienced among them, Dai Yueheng temporarily became the team leader when Xuan Zi said nothing.

Everyone had their specialty.

During a mission, Ye Ming had no intention of fighting Dai Yueheng for the leadership position.

There was no need.

"Let's follow this path. Everyone, be careful!"

Dai Yueheng led the group several hundred meters farther until they reached a hillside.

He discovered that the footprints led down the slope.

After investigating, Dai Yueheng looked at everyone and said bluntly, "The cave where these bandits are hiding should be below this slope!"

"When we make our move, we'll first confirm their identities. Once we confirm they're Death's Hand, we'll eliminate them as quickly as possible!"

"We'll be responsible for the main assault. Everyone in the reserve team will remain outside the cave and be ready to provide support at any time."

"Di Ruiqiu and Gu Yuena..." Dai Yueheng paused, then turned to Ye Ming, his gaze full of inquiry.

He had witnessed Ye Ming's formidable strength, so he naturally wasn't worried about Ye Ming.

But in his mind, Di Ruiqiu and Gu Yuena were merely accessories for Ye Ming to use the trinity martial soul fusion skill.

Both were three-ring Soul Elders. It was still somewhat dangerous for them to rashly enter the cave as part of the main assault.

"We'll act together." Ye Ming patted Dai Yueheng on the shoulder. "Don't worry. They're strong too. They won't hold us back!"

Dai Yueheng choked for a moment before nodding. "In that case, everyone, change into your gear!"

"Shrek Inspectors, move out!"