Guard

Back then, even before Lu Quan awakened his martial soul, he had already displayed a natural gift for strength. Countless people praised him as possessing innate divine strength.

But when Lu Quan went to Spirit Hall full of hope to awaken his martial soul, reality dealt him a cruel blow.

He had failed to awaken a martial soul.

"What? How could this happen?! No, that's impossible! How could I not have a martial soul?!"

"A worthless loser without even a martial soul. What a waste of time. Next."

"No, please give me another chance. Maybe the awakening crystal made a mistake?"

"Get down! Stop making trouble here. The awakening crystal has never been wrong. If you can't do it, you can't do it. Move aside now, or I'll have the guards drag you away."

It was as though a bolt from the blue had struck Lu Quan's world. In the blink of an eye, he went from a gifted youth burdened with great expectations to an obscure good-for-nothing.

Afterward, Lu Quan accepted his mediocre reality. Once he had established himself, he married an ordinary woman from town who had likewise failed to awaken a martial soul. He began selling fruit and making deliveries in Heavenly Spring Town.

"Uncle, you have four sons? Then why are you the only one here?"

"They all went out to make deliveries for me. They won't be back until next week. Maybe I really am useless. I couldn't even give my children martial souls."

When the four Lu brothers learned that they had not awakened martial souls, they truly found it hard to accept at first. But so Lu Quan would not blame himself, the four brothers said nothing after returning home and continued obediently helping their old father make deliveries.

Now, Meng Xuanji's question instead tore open the scars and guilt buried deep within Lu Quan's heart.

"You should leave quickly. If you don't, I'm afraid it'll be too late."

"If that's the case, all right. Uncle, please take this."

Meng Xuanji placed his martial soul token on the table.

"When your four sons return, please pass along a message for me. I may have a way to help them awaken their martial souls."

"If they still cling to the desire to grow stronger, have them bring this token to the Papal Hall library to find me. We'll be leaving now, Uncle. Until we meet again."

Meng Xuanji was also somewhat worried about the mayor's retaliation, so after calculating the time limit, he took Hu Liena and left the street.

Lu Quan looked at the token gleaming with dazzling light and subconsciously picked it up to examine it closely.

"It's so exquisite. This must be very valuable, right? I'd better return it. Since he said he could help those brats awaken their martial souls, I'll have them deliver it."

Just as Lu Quan was preparing to go back and pack up, he suddenly noticed something strange.

"Huh? Where did the newspaper I put on the table go? It's not on the ground either. Did it get blown to ashes?"

"Meng Xuanji, you just gave away your martial soul token? How are you going to explain that to Teacher when we get back?"

"Don't worry, Teacher will understand. Besides, I'd wager that they'll definitely come back to find me with that token." Meng Xuanji held out his hand to Hu Liena.

"Want to make a bet? The prize is random."

"No way." Hu Liena slapped Meng Xuanji's hand aside.

"I'd definitely get the short end of the stick betting with you. Instead of gambling with you, we should plan how to continue the investigation. Although Teacher said this mission wouldn't be difficult, she certainly didn't send us out just to play."

"Don't worry about that. I've already found what I wanted."

As he spoke, Meng Xuanji took a brand-new newspaper from his soul tool.

"This probably has what we need."

With that, Meng Xuanji and Hu Liena crouched in a corner and began reading the news.

At nine last night, the owner of Cherry Tavern was found dead in the roadside grass by a hunter returning late. His body bore marks of being torn apart by wild wolves.

At noon, wolf howls rang out in the village. Many witnesses claimed to have seen wolf beasts wandering through the streets. They charged into sheep pens, cattle sheds, and other places where livestock were kept, wreaking havoc and causing enormous losses for the townspeople.

Half an hour later, an alpha wolf clearly larger than the other wolf beasts let out a gathering call, and the wolf pack began roaming the streets in neat formation.

Meng Xuanji's gaze sharpened as he looked at the photograph attached to the article.

"What the hell? Wolf beasts made it into the village, and the mayor of Heavenly Spring Town didn't come out to handle it?"

Meng Xuanji continued reading.

Led by the Wolf King, the wolf beasts entered Cherry Tavern, whose doors had been left unlocked. At that moment, the mayor arrived with his men and engaged the wolf beasts in a fierce battle inside the tavern.

The battle lasted roughly twenty minutes. By the time Spirit Hall's deacon corps arrived, the wolf beasts had already been driven back. Once again, the mayor had protected the safety of Heavenly Spring Town.

We are immensely fortunate to have such a powerful and responsible mayor, one willing to risk his life to help us resist the invasion of soul beasts. May the gods bless this great figure.

The lengthy content that followed was almost entirely flattery directed at the mayor. The useful information ended there.

"Hu Liena, did you notice anything?"

"What do you mean?" Hu Liena hesitated before voicing her judgment. "That the wolf beasts entered the village to plunder without triggering any warning? If I remember correctly, these villages should have dedicated guard teams responsible for patrols."

"Could those guard teams have run away after seeing the wolf beasts?" Hu Liena boldly voiced her guess.

The wolf pack mentioned in the newspaper numbered over a hundred. Ordinary people would probably struggle to summon the courage to resist after seeing them. If they had not run away, Hu Liena found it hard to believe that not a single person had returned to report the news.

"Or maybe the wolf beasts ate them. Look, the newspaper even has a recruitment notice for the guard team."

Meng Xuanji pointed at a job advertisement in the newspaper.

Heavenly Complete Town Guard. Food and lodging provided. Work three days, rest four. Daily pay. Eight silver soul coins per day, with an additional reward of five gold soul coins upon completing one month.

Soul Masters with cultivation at the two-ring level may negotiate their wages in person. Minimum requirement: soul power level 15. Those skilled at fleeing and reconnaissance will be given priority.

"It seems they really are desperate for people. These wages and benefits are far higher than those of ordinary jobs." Meng Xuanji stroked his chin.

"Maybe we can start from this angle."

"Huh? But we're wanted right now! And we're still children. Are you sure they'll hire us?"

Meng Xuanji grinned.

"That's easy. We just need to change our appearance."

The Ice Soul Ghost Shadow behind Meng Xuanji suddenly enveloped the two of them. Before Hu Liena could react, she was already wrapped inside it.

"Mm!"

When Hu Liena opened her eyes again, she and Meng Xuanji had become young adults. Even their voices had grown much more mature.

Hu Liena stared at her body in disbelief. "We... grew up?!"

"Don't worry, it's only temporary. We'll automatically change back after seventy-two hours. Now, we don't have to worry about them refusing to take us."