An Unexpected Assassin

Meng Xuanji, who happened to be passing by, froze slightly.

The two prodigies they mentioned seemed to be Hu Liena and himself, didn't they?

An assassin had infiltrated Spirit Hall?

"Sure enough, people fear fame as pigs fear growing fat. The other two great empires have set their sights on us."

Meng Xuanji stood motionless, listening to the two men's conversation from their hiding place in the grass. By now, he had completely held his breath, lying silently in wait in the bushes on the other side.

"There's no time to lose. We should set off now. Once Bibi Dong returns, we'll never get another chance like this."

"Mm."

Two people dressed in Spirit Hall's azure senior deacon robes emerged from the bushes and headed toward Yangxin Palace, where Hu Liena lived.

"Azure-robed senior deacons? Could they be two Soul Sovereigns? Damn, this is going to be troublesome."

Meng Xuanji stepped out of the bushes and raised his head, gazing at the bright moon as he pondered.

"Should I save Hu Liena or not? Even if I don't go, it might not change anything, but I can't shake this uneasy feeling."

If Hu Liena's martial soul were still the Bewitching Demon Fox, Meng Xuanji absolutely would not risk himself. He knew that nothing could possibly happen to Hu Liena.

But things were different now. For some reason, Hu Liena's martial soul had mutated, and this year, there was also the unexpected variable of himself, a person born with full soul power. The plot from the book had very likely already changed.

If those two death warriors had not existed in the original book, then Hu Liena really might die in Yangxin Palace.

A girl who had not even obtained her first soul ring was about to face two Soul Sovereigns with at least three rings. It was practically a certain death situation.

"If Hu Liena is killed tonight, the later developments in Spirit Hall will definitely undergo a massive reversal. Bibi Dong might even carry out some mad act of revenge because of it."

"By then, the two great empires will certainly send stronger soul masters to try and kill me, the fish that slipped through the net. That old angel Qian Daoliu probably won't care whether I live or die either. Living every day under the threat of assassination is not what I want."

Meng Xuanji was not someone who liked unexpected changes. If Hu Liena's death really would drastically alter the worldline, then he had to save her.

"I can't wait any longer. If I wait, someone's going to die."

Meng Xuanji immediately headed for Yangxin Palace. He desperately hoped to encounter patrolling guards from Papal Hall along the way, but unfortunately, his luck was rather poor tonight. He did not encounter a single adult.

Of course, it was also possible that the two senior deacons had lured them away.

Meng Xuanji arrived at Yangxin Lake outside Yangxin Palace. Beneath the circular imperial water park lay a soul tool formation capable of withstanding the strongest strike of a Soul Douluo.

Yet Meng Xuanji did not spot the two deacons. Even Yangxin Palace, whose lights were still on, was unnaturally quiet. No silhouettes had passed behind the windows for a long time.

"Could they have already gotten inside? Damn it, they must know about the formation buried underground, so they didn't choose to force their way in. They must have infiltrated in secret using their identities as senior deacons."

As Meng Xuanji pondered, the sound of a vase shattering suddenly came from inside Yangxin Palace!

Crash!

The explosive sound was like a drop of red ink falling into still water. A violent aura instantly burst through the ceiling of Yangxin Palace and spilled outward.

"Catch her! Leave no survivors!"

Crash!

The window shattered, and Meng Xuanji even caught sight of Hu Liena desperately fleeing behind it.

Dazzling soul skills exploded within Yangxin Palace, yet the blasts were not enough to draw the distant patrols. The two senior deacons had clearly made thorough preparations for this assassination.

In his desperation, a bold idea suddenly came to Meng Xuanji's mind.

"Got it!"

Meng Xuanji summoned the Dark Blue Silver Emperor and had it crawl to the bottom of Yangxin Lake, continuously releasing blood qi into the clear waters.

"Since they don't want to trigger the soul tool formation, I'll trigger it myself. I refuse to believe such a huge disturbance won't draw other people over!"

Buzz!

A cyan-blue soul power barrier rose from the ground!

With a bang, it sent Meng Xuanji flying!

Pfft!

Meng Xuanji slammed into the tree behind him and spat out a mouthful of blood. It seemed he had misjudged the defensive range of the soul tool formation.

The entire Yangxin Lake, along with an area one hundred meters beyond it, was enveloped in a brilliant light. The solid soul power shield stood a hundred meters high, and the towering cyan-blue pillar of light instantly caused a commotion in Papal Hall!

"Enemy attack!"

"Quick! It's in the direction of the Pope's residence! There's an assassin!"

"Protect the Pope! Follow me and kill the enemy!"

Large numbers of armored guards rushed over.

This was Spirit Hall's sacred land, the dream of countless soul masters. High-level soul masters were the one thing it never lacked. Killing someone openly here was no different from courting death.

Meng Xuanji saw signal flares light up in the sky and angel martial souls beating their wings. At that moment, he knew those two assassins were finished.

"Heh, it hurts a little, but at least I drew people over. I just don't know whether Hu Liena is still alive."

Meng Xuanji secretly felt fortunate that this was a defensive soul tool formation. If it had been an offensive one, he would undoubtedly have been reduced to nothing but ashes.

"Catch the assassin!"

A noble four-winged angel descended from the sky. Powerful soul power fluctuations radiated from his dazzling golden armor. He was clearly a Soul Sage from the Angel Legion!

"Great, it's someone from the Angel Legion. Now it's safe."

Just as Meng Xuanji felt victory was assured, the four-winged angel suddenly pointed the holy sword in his hand at him.

"Assassin! You dare attack Yangxin Palace! You've got some nerve!"

"???"

Question marks filled Meng Xuanji's forehead.

"Wait, I'm not the assassin! The assassins are inside Yangxin Palace!" Meng Xuanji hurriedly explained.

Yangxin Palace had once again fallen deathly silent. Only a few rooms with shattered chandeliers looked somewhat dim. From outside, it instead looked more like Meng Xuanji had smashed them.

"Then tell me, who triggered the soul tool grand formation?"

"Me."

"Then tell me, where are the assassins you speak of?"

"Inside the formation."

Veins bulged across the four-winged angel's forehead.

"You dare toy with me!"

With that, the holy sword representing divine judgment was raised high, about to slash down at Meng Xuanji's forehead!

"Stop!"

A terrifying pressure suddenly descended. Bibi Dong flashed to Meng Xuanji's side in an instant, staring coldly and arrogantly at the four-winged angel.

"Your Holiness the Pope!"

The four-winged angel, crushed to the ground by the pressure of a Titled Douluo, lowered his head in terror.

"Your subordinate, Qian He, captain of the Angel Legion's Fourth Squad, greets Your Holiness the Pope."

In response to Qian He's salute, Bibi Dong's face held only killing intent cold enough to seep into one's bones.

Just as Bibi Dong was about to strike, the other reinforcements swiftly arrived at the scene. In the end, Bibi Dong could only lower her already raised right hand.

"He is not an assassin."

"But, but he personally admitted that he attacked the soul tool grand formation."

Slap!

Bibi Dong swung her hand.

The crisp slap echoed endlessly through the night.

"I said my student is not an assassin."

Qian He's helmet was knocked off by the slap, and his head plunged straight into the floor. He fainted on the spot.

Although Bibi Dong could not kill him, that slap was enough to cripple his martial soul.

She had always hated people named Qian, especially those from the angel family. His arguing with her had given Bibi Dong the perfect opportunity for revenge.

"Men with the surname Qian truly aren't worth a damn."