A Chance Encounter with Zhu Zhuqing! Tang San the Arsonist and Murderer?

Thud!

In an instant, a ghastly white bone claw reached out from the void and flashed past. The Great Soul Master's body suddenly stiffened, and he fell straight to the ground.

After killing one man, Gu Ling did not stop at all. Space rippled faintly once more, and his figure vanished before reappearing again!

Disappear! Reappear!

Void Dragon Assault was a soul skill that combined spatial displacement with close-range bursts of power. Against Great Soul Masters already weaker than Gu Ling, it left them almost no time to react when they were completely unprepared.

"Ah!"

"Damn it! Where is he?!"

In just a few breaths,

the remaining Great Soul Masters fell one after another. Everything happened so quickly that there was no time to react.

"What incredible speed! Could it be a teleportation-type soul skill?"

Zhu Zhuqing stood where she was, and for the first time, obvious shock appeared in her cold eyes. This was so fast that it could no longer be described as mere speed.

In the blink of an eye, only one of the black-clad men who had been besieging Zhu Zhuqing remained: the leading Three-Ring Soul Elder.

At this moment, none of his earlier arrogance remained.

Looking at the yellow and purple Soul Rings beneath Gu Ling's feet, then at the companions who had fallen around him, a layer of cold sweat formed on his forehead.

Two rings?

What kind of joke was this?

How could a two-ring soul master so easily kill several Great Soul Masters in seconds?

And this brat's second Soul Ring was actually a Millennium Soul Ring?! How was that possible? Where had this monster come from?

Just then, Gu Ling slowly turned around. The sharp bone claws on his arms, covered in ghastly white bone armor, still gleamed with a chilling light.

At the sight, the black-clad Soul Elder subconsciously took half a step back and asked in a trembling voice,

"Y-you... who exactly are you?"

"Why are you meddling in this?"

Gu Ling glanced at Zhu Zhuqing in the distance and explained indifferently,

"What kind of men are you, ganging up on a young girl?"

"I don't like the look of it. Got a problem with that?"

"You!" The Soul Elder's expression darkened. Though furious, he did not dare make a move. Gu Ling's strength had utterly frightened him.

If they truly fought, he was not even confident he could leave alive.

With that thought, the black-clad Soul Elder took a deep breath and asked in a low voice,

"Brat, since you dare interfere in this matter, leave your name if you have the guts! Let me know exactly who ruined our plans today!"

"My name?"

Gu Ling froze for a moment, then seemed to ponder seriously. Immediately afterward, he straightened his back and declared with righteous conviction,

"A true man never changes his name standing or sitting!"

"Tang San of Shrek Academy!"

After saying that, Gu Ling narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the Soul Elder again.

"What? Why aren't you getting lost? Do you want to die too?"

The black-clad Soul Elder's body stiffened at once. Shrek Academy... Tang San! He glared at Gu Ling, as though determined to carve that name into his mind.

"Fine!"

"Tang San, is it?"

"You've got guts! I'll remember you!"

After throwing down that threat, how could he dare remain any longer? He immediately turned and fled. Pushing his soul power to the limit, he soon vanished into the depths of the forest in a sorry state.

Watching the man's retreating back, Gu Ling even thoughtfully raised a hand to his mouth like a megaphone and shouted,

"Be sure to come to Shrek Academy and seek revenge on me!"

His voice carried far through the forest. The black-clad Soul Elder, who had not run very far yet, stumbled at the sound and nearly fell flat on his face.

But he did not even dare look back. Instead, he ran even faster.

Only after the Soul Elder's figure had completely disappeared into the depths of the forest did Gu Ling withdraw his gaze. The bone armor on his body slowly faded, and his two Soul Rings vanished as well.

Not far away, Zhu Zhuqing looked at Gu Ling's back with a complicated expression.

Everything that had just happened was simply too fast.

She had thought that even if she escaped this time, she would certainly have to pay a tremendous price. Yet an unfamiliar young man had suddenly appeared midway and saved her.

Moreover, he appeared to be about the same age as her, yet he possessed one yellow and one purple Soul Ring.

Especially that Thousand-Year Second Soul Ring, along with that bizarre soul skill that nearly allowed him to pass through space instantly—even though Zhu Zhuqing came from the Zhu Family of the Star Luo Empire and had seen many young geniuses since childhood, she had never seen Soul Rings or a soul skill so absurd.

At that thought,

though Zhu Zhuqing hesitated briefly, she still walked over and said,

"Thank you."

Her voice was not loud, but it was extremely sincere.

Gu Ling turned around upon hearing her, glanced at her, and waved his hand.

"No need to thank me."

"I was just passing by."

"Besides, those people weren't very strong. It was nothing."

Zhu Zhuqing gently pressed her lips together. It might have been nothing to Gu Ling, but to her, it was a true life-saving debt.

If Gu Ling had not appeared just now... given her condition at the time, it might have been possible for her to escape the encirclement of a Soul Elder and several Great Soul Masters alive, but she would likely have suffered even more severe injuries.

Zhu Zhuqing was just about to say something else when her face suddenly turned pale. Her body, which had barely remained upright, swayed lightly as well.

Gu Ling frowned at the sight and asked in slight surprise,

"What is it?"

Zhu Zhuqing opened her mouth.

"I..."

Before she could finish, the spirit she had forced herself to maintain for so long finally completely gave out. Her vision went black, and she fell forward.

"Hey!"

Gu Ling reacted swiftly. He hurriedly stepped forward and caught her. Zhu Zhuqing collapsed limply into his arms, her eyes completely closed.

"She fainted?"

Gu Ling raised a hand and checked Zhu Zhuqing's breathing. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. Her breathing was somewhat weak, but very steady.

That meant she had not suffered any fatal injury. She had merely exhausted too much soul power and stamina while fleeing, and the blood loss from her shoulder wound, combined with her refusal to relax until now, had taken its toll.

Now that the danger had passed and her taut nerves had finally loosened, she naturally could not hold on any longer.

"This little kitty can really endure."

"Running into me today was your good luck!"

Gu Ling felt somewhat helpless. He could not just leave Zhu Zhuqing alone in a place like this. Besides, although the black-clad men had been scared away, who knew whether they would return?

With that thought, Gu Ling could only temporarily change his plans. He found a relatively hidden spot nearby and settled Zhu Zhuqing beneath a large tree.

He then took out the medicine and clean bandages he had brought in his pack. Most of Zhu Zhuqing's injuries were merely scrapes; the truly noticeable wound was the one on her shoulder.

After simply cleaning the wound, applying hemostatic powder, and wrapping it with bandages, Gu Ling stopped bothering with her.

In his view, it was only a matter of time before Zhu Zhuqing woke up.

And after all that running around, he was hungry too.

Not long after,

a campfire rose among the trees.

Who knew how much time had passed before Zhu Zhuqing's eyelashes trembled lightly.

Then, her tightly shut eyes slowly opened. What greeted her was a dense canopy of leaves. Moonlight filtered through the gaps between branches and leaves, casting mottled shadows across the ground.

A moment of confusion first appeared in Zhu Zhuqing's eyes.

But she quickly snapped awake, and her body tensed instinctively.

"Those people..."

Just as she was about to sit up, a faint pain came from her shoulder.

Frowning slightly, Zhu Zhuqing lowered her head and saw that her injured shoulder had already been treated. A clean white bandage was wrapped around the wound.

She froze briefly before quickly recalling what had happened before she lost consciousness.

That young man had saved her.

The next moment, she looked around.

Not long after,

her gaze landed in the distance.

A campfire burned quietly there. Gu Ling sat beside it, holding a sharpened branch with a cleaned wild rabbit skewered on it.

As he turned the branch from time to time, the rabbit's surface gradually roasted to a golden brown. Grease dripped into the flames, immediately producing a series of sizzling sounds.

The scent of roasted meat drifted through the air.

Watching the scene before her, Zhu Zhuqing was momentarily dazed.

As though sensing her gaze, Gu Ling slowly lifted his head. At that very moment, their eyes met.

"You're awake?"