Is It Really Him?

If this was a pursuit to kill her, then stronger people should have been sent after the first group died.

Yet after so many days, they were still only low-level soul masters. Even if their strength varied, the difference was not great.

If this was meant to temper her, then these people had all truly struck to kill.

With the situation unclear and no way to make sense of it, Huo Yuhao could only follow uneasily.

At the very least, he had to make sure Zhu Zhuqing was safe.

Not to mention the care she had shown him when he first ascended to the God Realm—her final act of protecting his mother, Huo Yun'er, was a debt of gratitude he could not ignore.

Zhu Zhuqing's breathing was light. As if sensing something, she looked in one direction, but still discovered nothing.

She had always felt that someone had been following her these past few days, yet she had never found any trace of them. She could only continue meditating to regulate her breathing.

By the time she finished resting, dawn was nearly breaking.

Zhu Zhuqing stopped meditating, ate some dry rations, and looked in that direction again. Still finding nothing, she could only continue toward the Heaven Dou Empire.

Once Huo Yuhao saw her leave, he waited a while before pursuing her in that direction as well.

After traveling for over two hours, Huo Yuhao took a great stride and pressed himself against the trunk of the nearest large tree.

His Spirit Eyes stared intently into the sky. Sure enough, a winged figure circled overhead, as though searching for something.

Judging by that presence, the person was unmistakably a Soul King.

Just as Huo Yuhao was about to give chase, his mind suddenly tensed. He looked in another direction; he could sense an even stronger aura hidden in the shadows!

Zhu Zhuqing had been running at full speed, but before long, she discovered that a powerful aura had locked onto her.

Then several feathered arrows sealed off her path forward.

Looking up, she saw a man flying overhead, looking down at her from above.

Two yellow and three purple soul rings slowly revolved around him.

"Second Miss, why are you being so disobedient?" the man said teasingly, as if he truly felt sorry for Zhu Zhuqing.

Yet his gaze swept the surrounding area with Zhu Zhuqing at its center, searching everywhere.

Even if the pampered young lady of a grand duke's household could steel herself to kill, there was no way she could possess such swift and decisive methods. The only person who could help Zhu Zhuqing near the Heaven Dou Empire was that one man.

How useless he was—not daring to show himself openly, only daring to lurk along the border.

"..." Zhu Zhuqing pressed her lips together, her heart sinking. She had seen this man before. His name was Ling Feng, one of Dai Weisi's men. She had not expected him to break through to Soul King.

If only she had been given a little more time. With a little more time, she could have reached the Heaven Dou Empire. Was her fate truly already set in stone?

No! She did not believe in fate. Even if she died, she would fight for it!

As she thought, Martial Soul Possession was already complete, and everything was ready to erupt.

"Since that is the case, then this subordinate can only offend you. Second Soul Skill—Rending Wind Claw." As Ling Feng spoke, his second soul ring flashed. His right hand transformed into an eagle claw, and he dived down from the sky at Zhu Zhuqing.

Zhu Zhuqing did not dare let down her guard and focused entirely on evading him.

But the gap between two rings and five rings was too vast. In fewer than two exchanges, Zhu Zhuqing had already been wounded—and that was while he was not even taking her seriously.

Like a cat toying with a mouse, Ling Feng occasionally added another wound to Zhu Zhuqing's body. After a while, he lost patience. Zhu Zhuqing had never been his target.

"Third Prince, you have followed us for so many days and killed so many of our people. Are you still going to hide and refuse to show yourself?" Ling Feng flew back into the air, his voice carrying far into the distance.

Pain wracked Zhu Zhuqing's body, but she froze upon hearing those words. She had always felt someone was secretly protecting her these past few days. Could it really not have been her imagination? Was it really Dai Mubai?! Had he truly returned to find her?!

The scene immediately fell into a stalemate. Huo Yuhao was somewhat bewildered. Who was the Third Prince? Although he was that man's third son, he was not the Third Prince. Could the person hidden in the shadows be the so-called Third Prince?

Was he protecting Zhu Zhuqing as well?

And the person in the shadows was also waiting. Just what fortunate encounter had the Third Prince found in the Heaven Dou Empire that had kept them from discovering his trail for so many days?

It seemed the outcome of the battle to come had not yet been decided.

But second after second passed, and not a single figure appeared.

Ling Feng finally could not endure it any longer. Killing Zhu Zhuqing would count as crippling Dai Mubai. With that thought, Ling Feng's third soul ring lit up.

Two streaks of cyan light immediately emerged from the edges of his wings.

They transformed into a cross-shaped blade aura and slashed toward Zhu Zhuqing.

As the powerful blade aura bore down on her, facing the threat of death, Zhu Zhuqing could not help doubting her earlier guess. Her eyes filled with terror.

Then, a blood-red sword shadow flashed past, instantly shattering the cross-shaped blade aura with an invincible momentum.

Zhu Zhuqing's expression was still frozen in fear when she saw the figure of a youth appear before her.

The youth knelt on one knee. His silver-white hair was tied with a rough strip of cloth, a long ponytail hanging down his back. The blood-red sword shadow from before had come from the longsword in his hand.

What shocked Zhu Zhuqing most was... this person was not Dai Mubai, as she had expected.

"So you finally appeared." Ling Feng looked coldly at the figure below, scrutiny in his eyes. Silver hair and blue eyes—he did not possess the Dai family's distinctive evil eyes.

"What a pity. You are not the Third Prince."

"To be able to interrupt my third soul skill, you are someone remarkable. Since you are a genius, I will make my move quick and clean," Ling Feng said regretfully, his words filled with jealousy.

As he spoke, his fourth soul ring lit up. Countless feathers shot from his wings, transforming into a rain of arrows that flew toward the two of them.

Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes. Divine Slaughter's Domain condensed in a single direction and directly enveloped Ling Feng in the sky.

An invisible ripple spread out. Ling Feng, flying in midair, instantly felt a slight sluggishness in the circulation of his Soul Power. Even the activation of his soul skills stuttered.

Seizing the opportunity, several golden threads immediately shot from Huo Yuhao's fingertips, aimed straight at his opponent's vital points.

In the blink of an eye, the golden threads pierced several major acupoints around Ling Feng's body.

Then walnut-sized bulges appeared across the surface of his body.

Ling Feng only felt searing pain erupt from several places where his Soul Power surged most fiercely.

His Soul Power flow was cut off, and Ling Feng fell directly from the sky.

Huo Yuhao charged forward, his longsword pointing straight at Ling Feng's throat.

But at that moment, a black light abruptly appeared, directly stopping Huo Yuhao's sword from descending.

A crushing pressure descended, pinning Zhu Zhuqing so thoroughly that she could not move.

"Kid, you have overstepped."

In that brief instant, Ling Feng had already endured the pain and escaped Huo Yuhao's attack range.

Huo Yuhao looked up to see a two-meter-tall burly man appear before them. Two yellow, two purple, and one black soul ring shone around him.

Shi Yue looked at the youth before him, a trace of admiration flashing through his eyes—but only a trace.

Talent was paramount in a soul master's cultivation. At this age, he did not even have one ring. That was all his future would amount to.