Advantage Is Mine

Xue Beng's subordinates looked at each other, unsure whether Jiang Li was telling the truth, but they did not dare step forward again.

Seeing this, Xue Beng shouted angrily, "You believe him just because he says so?! Don't forget whose men you are! Besides, this is Heaven Dou City!"

The third prince of the Star Luo Imperial Family? Xue Beng had heard of him before—a fellow who had mysteriously vanished several years ago.

He had thought that third prince had been assassinated by Dai Weisi, the eldest prince of the Star Luo Imperial Family. He had not expected that he had fled because he did not dare compete with Dai Weisi for the throne.

He had even hidden away in Soto City within the Heaven Dou Empire. What a useless coward.

However, regardless of whether Jiang Li was telling the truth, Xue Beng could not possibly let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip away.

Thus, while directing several of his subordinates to attack Jiang Li, he quietly retreated behind the others.

If his men won, everyone would be happy. If they could not take down Jiang Li, he could flee at the first opportunity.

Jiang Li curled his lips into a smile. This was more like it. If they did not fight, the hero-saving-the-beauty act would lose its value.

"Here, this is for you." Jiang Li handed the freshly bought candied hawthorn skewer to Ye Lingling.

"Ah?"

Ye Lingling accepted the candied hawthorn skewer in surprise and looked at Jiang Li in confusion.

"I don't want to see such a beautiful face covered in sorrow." Jiang Li smiled. "So I want to trade this skewer of candied hawthorn for a smile from you. Is that okay?"

As the inheritor of the Nine-Heart Begonia Martial Soul, ever since she was young, even her family had often told her to cultivate diligently, surpass the Seven Treasure Glazed Pagoda, and make the Nine-Heart Begonia the number one support Martial Soul in the world.

This was the first time she had heard words like Jiang Li's.

At that moment, Ye Lingling felt as though something had instantly pierced through her heart.

"Mm."

Ye Lingling stared at Jiang Li's face as if she wanted to etch his appearance into her heart.

Then she nodded heavily. Though it was somewhat stiff, she still gave Jiang Li a dazzling smile.

Ye Lingling had always been exceptionally beautiful. Combined with the icy expression she usually wore, her smile now was like a radiant begonia blooming amid bitter cold.

Under such a powerful contrast, Jiang Li was momentarily stunned.

After a pause, Jiang Li regained his composure and said to Ye Lingling, "Don't worry. Even if it's only for the sake of that smile, I'll protect you."

After saying that, Jiang Li ignored Ye Lingling's reaction, turned around, and looked toward the subordinates Xue Beng had brought.

There were four of them in total, all between twenty-five and thirty years old.

Two were Soul Masters with weapon Martial Souls, while the other two had beast Martial Souls.

Their Soul Power levels were generally no higher than level thirty-five. They might have been decent in a small city like Notting City.

But in the prosperous Heaven Dou City, they did not even count as ordinary talents. They were not even qualified to participate in the Soul Master Tournament.

They were like the third-rate Tang Sect in a martial arts world—nameless background extras no one cared about.

"Heavenly Origin Civet, Spirit Avatar!"

Among the women Jiang Li had contracted with, the Dark Six-Winged Angel was his strongest trump card. Using it against this bunch of worthless trash would be overkill.

The Soft-Boned Rabbit was a more utility-oriented Martial Soul, so there was no need to use it in a situation like this.

The Earthly Origin Civet was the most standard agility-attack Martial Soul, suitable for ambushes and quickly ending battles.

Therefore, Jiang Li chose Zhu Zhuyun's Heavenly Origin Civet Martial Soul this time.

After Zhu Zhuyun's Netherworld Civet Martial Soul evolved into the Heavenly Origin Civet, it had shifted from an agility-attack type toward a strength-attack type, yet it had not lost the agility of the original pre-evolution Netherworld Civet.

Using a Martial Soul like this to pull off a stylish hero-saving-the-beauty act could not have been more fitting.

With a thought from Jiang Li, three Soul Rings rose beneath his feet—two yellow and one purple, the optimal configuration.

Xue Beng took one look. Not even level forty?

Then he glanced at the subordinates he had brought. Three were three-ring Soul Venerable-level Soul Masters.

The last, who looked the youngest, was also a support-type Soul Master in her twenties.

They could win!

He immediately urged his subordinates again, "What are you standing around for? He's only a Soul Venerable! Get him!"

The subordinates exchanged looks and nodded.

That was right. They were all Soul Venerables, and they had numbers on their side, plus a support-type Soul Master to assist them.

Could he possibly defeat them in an instant?

"First Soul Skill, Heavenly Origin Thrust!"

Jiang Li snorted coldly, and the yellow Soul Ring beneath his feet that belonged to his First Soul Skill lit up.

In an instant, a faint layer of white light surrounded Jiang Li. Then, as if he had transformed into a streak of white light, he vanished from where he stood.

"Urgh..."

Suddenly, one of the people closing in widened his eyes, clutched his abdomen, and fell to his knees in agony, letting out meaningless groans.

It was the support-type Soul Master standing at the very back, the lowest-level member of the group!

The others hurriedly looked over, only to discover that Jiang Li had appeared right in front of the support-type Soul Master under their very eyes.

His right hand was clenched into a fist, held not far from the support-type Soul Master's lower abdomen.

How could they not realize now that the support-type Soul Master in their group had been attacked by Jiang Li?

But wasn't that speed far too fast?

They were all Soul Venerable-level Soul Masters, yet none of them had reacted before the support-type Soul Master standing behind them—the one farthest from Jiang Li—had already been struck.

Jiang Li stretched out his hand, pressed his palm against the support-type Soul Master's face, and gave a light push.

Thud!

The other person lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.

At the sight, the others felt their scalps go numb.

They had kicked an iron plate this time. One after another, they turned their gazes toward Xue Beng at the back, hoping he would step forward and say something.

But Xue Beng was even more panicked than they were.

He had originally thought that dealing with a Ye Lingling who had no combat ability would require little effort, so he had only casually brought a few subordinates.

Had he known that Jiang Li, this roadblock, would suddenly appear, he should have brought all of his men.

Xue Beng was already considering retreating and hurriedly said to them, "Three against one, the advantage is—"

As he spoke, Xue Beng quietly backed away.

However, before he could finish, Jiang Li's First Soul Ring lit up once more.

One flash, two flashes, three flashes.

In the blink of an eye, every subordinate he had brought had fallen to the ground.

Jiang Li flashed before Xue Beng and looked at him teasingly. "Go on! Why did you stop? What advantage?"

"I... I..."

Xue Beng forced out a smile uglier than crying. "Would you believe me if I said this was a misunderstanding?"

"What do you think?" Jiang Li grabbed Xue Beng by the collar and pulled him over, asking in return.

"I'm the fourth prince of the Heaven Dou Empire. Do you really dare lay a hand on me?" Seeing that Jiang Li had caught him and that escape was no longer possible, Xue Beng could only force himself to speak.

"If you're willing to let me go, I can pretend this never happened and offer you a priceless Soul Bone. How about it?"