Train Killer Lives Up to Its Name

The midsummer heat, mixed with the smell of sweat, instant noodles, and leather suitcases in the carriage, made it so stifling that people could barely breathe.

This soul-guided train from Aolai City to Eastsea City was packed to the brim in nearly every carriage.

Even the aisles were filled with passengers carrying bags, shoulder to shoulder and back to back, with barely anywhere to place their feet.

Tang Wulin was wedged between two middle-aged men carrying huge snakeskin bags, his back pressed tightly against the cold metal wall of the carriage.

His left arm was squeezed so tightly he could not raise it, while his right hand gripped the plastic handrail overhead so hard that his knuckles had turned white.

"Stop pushing, stop pushing!"

He shouted hoarsely at the people around him.

But the moment his voice left his mouth, it was drowned out by the noisy crowd without causing the slightest ripple.

He truly felt that if this continued, he would be squeezed into a thin meat patty.

Huang Feng'er, standing diagonally in front of him, was in a much better situation.

Within half a meter around her, there was actually a small, precious circle of empty space.

The surrounding passengers instinctively kept far away from her, preferring to squeeze against others rather than move even half a step closer to her.

No one knew the exact reason. They only felt that standing beside her made their entire bodies burn, as though they were next to a blazing furnace, scorching their faces painfully.

Only Tang Wulin could see clearly.

Huang Feng'er had silently released the aura of her Sacred Flame Phoenix martial soul, forming an invisible high-temperature barrier around herself.

The temperature of that barrier was well over one hundred degrees. The scorching sensation was extremely restrained, and no one would notice it without sensing carefully.

Yet it was enough to make ordinary people, who feared the heat, instinctively stay far away.

Seeing Huang Feng'er's method, Tang Wulin's eyes lit up, and an idea instantly came to him.

With a thought, he silently summoned his own Blue Silver Grass martial soul as well.

A pale white Ten-Year Soul Ring slowly rose from beneath his feet, inconspicuous amid the crowded, dimly lit carriage.

It flashed only once before disappearing into the shadows cast by the crowd.

Countless slender strands of Blue Silver Grass extended from his wrists, winding around his entire body layer after layer like a dense suit of vine armor.

First soul skill, Hardening.

He shouted inwardly and activated the first soul skill granted by the Lone Bamboo Soul Spirit.

The originally soft, green Blue Silver Grass instantly became incomparably hard, its surface gleaming with a faint bamboo-green luster.

It was as hard as a husband's mouth that could only last three seconds yet stubbornly refused to admit it, easily blocking even the force of the middle-aged men pressing in from beside him.

Tang Wulin immediately felt much more comfortable. At last, he no longer had to be jostled about.

The only problem was that the Hardening state could not last long. Given his current soul power, even without fighting an enemy, he could only sustain it for around ten minutes at most.

Yet he stubbornly held his head high, pretending to be completely at ease and refusing to show even the slightest weakness.

"Wulin, don't force yourself."

Jin Qiu's voice suddenly rang out in his mind, his tone unchanged from before.

"The tracks ahead have been severed, and there are three Soul Elder-level Evil Soul Masters nearby. Be careful."

His spiritual power extended along the train's direction of travel, and he had already clearly grasped the situation several kilometers ahead.

At the end, he silently sighed to himself.

"As expected of a train killer. Every time Yuan Zhuzhuang takes a train, something happens. There's really no one else like him."

He quickly swept his senses across the soul power fluctuations throughout the carriage.

He found that aside from Tang Wulin and Huang Feng'er, everyone in the carriage was either an unarmed ordinary person or a low-level Soul Warrior who had only just awakened a martial soul. There was not even a single Soul Master with a soul ring.

In other words, the only ones on the entire train capable of fighting were these two half-grown children.

Still, he was not too worried.

Tang Wulin had the Golden Dragon King bloodline as his foundation, and his physical strength was comparable to that of a soul beast. Huang Feng'er's Phoenix martial soul and Phoenix bloodline were no joke either.

Even if they faced three Soul Elders and had a rough time of it, they should still be able to hold on until the city defense team arrived. No one would die.

The ease on Tang Wulin's face instantly vanished.

Using the swaying crowd as cover, he moved two steps forward and gently patted Huang Feng'er on the shoulder.

Huang Feng'er turned around, a trace of confusion in her golden eyes.

Tang Wulin leaned close to her ear and spoke in a hushed whisper.

"Big Sister, I sensed three evil auras ahead. They feel like Evil Soul Masters."

Huang Feng'er's pupils contracted slightly, and she was clearly startled.

She did not ask how Tang Wulin had sensed them, nor did she question whether the information was true.

After all, they had been together for four years. She had long grown used to the strange perceptive abilities her little brother displayed from time to time, and she trusted that he would not joke about something like this.

She merely lowered her voice as well and quickly asked, "How strong are they?"

"Three Soul Elders."

Tang Wulin answered concisely.

Huang Feng'er's expression instantly darkened.

She remained outwardly calm, but she had already begun mobilizing the soul power within her body.

A nearly imperceptible thread of crimson flame curled around her fingertips, while soul power rapidly circulated through her meridians, ready to unleash a soul skill at any moment.

Just then, an ear-piercing screech of metal grinding rang out.

The entire soul-guided train suddenly began to slow down violently without warning.

The enormous inertia instantly swept through the whole carriage like an invisible hand, shoving everyone forward.

"Ah...!"

A chorus of startled cries immediately erupted throughout the carriage.

Those passengers who had not held onto the handrails properly had no time to react.

One after another, they fell forward with the momentum, crashing into each other in a chaotic heap.

Luggage and parcels scattered across the floor. Crying, shouting, cursing, and children's wails mixed together, turning the carriage into complete chaos.

Only Tang Wulin and Huang Feng'er had anticipated it. They gripped the handrails in advance, while Tang Wulin wrapped Blue Silver Grass around both their feet to keep them from flying away.

The two of them forcibly withstood the enormous inertia and did not fall in an embarrassing heap like everyone else.

The lights in the carriage flickered twice, brightening and dimming as the train slowed further and further.

Finally, amid one last piercing shriek of friction, it came to a complete stop on the tracks.

The next moment, the broadcast system overhead suddenly came on.

The conductor's clear female voice came through, deliberately trying to remain calm, though a faint, imperceptible tremble lingered at the end of her words.

"Dear passengers, a sudden fault has occurred on the tracks ahead, preventing the train from continuing normally."

"Please do not panic. Remain where you are for now. We have already contacted the Eastsea City defense team, and rescue will arrive soon."

The instant her words fell.

BOOM—!!

A deafening explosion suddenly came from the front of the train.

The massive shockwave made the entire carriage shake violently, and the windows buzzed from the impact.

Dust fell from the ceiling in streams, landing on the passengers' hair and shoulders.

The cries of alarm inside the carriage instantly grew even louder.