The Advantage Is Mine

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

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

The third prince of the Star Luo Imperial Family? Xue Beng had heard of him before, someone who had mysteriously vanished a few 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 in Suotuo City within the Heaven Dou Empire. What a useless coward.

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

Thus, while ordering his men to attack Jiang Li, he quietly retreated behind the group.

If his men won, everyone would be happy. If they failed to take down Jiang Li, he could make his escape at once.

Jiang Li curled his lips. Now that was more like it. If they did not fight, this hero-saving-the-beauty act would lack value.

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

"Ah?"

Ye Lingling accepted the candied hawthorn 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'd like to trade this candied hawthorn skewer for a smile from you. Is that all right?"

As the inheritor of the Nine-Heart Begonia Martial Soul, ever since she was young, even her family had constantly urged her to cultivate hard, surpass the Seven Treasure Glazed Pagoda, and make the Nine-Heart Begonia the strongest 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 engrave his appearance into her heart.

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

Ye Lingling was already exceptionally beautiful, and her face was usually cold and expressionless. Now that she smiled, she was like a radiant begonia blooming amid bitter cold.

Faced with such a powerful contrast, Jiang Li was briefly left staring in a daze.

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 did not wait to see Ye Lingling's reaction. He turned around and looked toward the men Xue Beng had brought.

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

Two were Tool Martial Soul Masters, while the other two were Beast Martial Soul Masters.

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

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

"Heavenly Origin Civet, Martial Soul Possession!"

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

The Soft Bone 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, suited for sneak attacks and ending battles quickly.

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

After Zhu Zhuyun's Hell Spirit Cat Martial Soul had undergone Martial Soul Evolution into the Heavenly Origin Civet, it had shifted from an agility-attack type toward a strength-attack type, while still retaining the speed of the Hell Spirit Cat before its evolution.

Using such a Martial Soul 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 men he had brought. Three were three-ring Soul Elder-level Soul Masters.

The youngest-looking one was also a support-type Soul Master in his twenties.

They could win!

He immediately urged his men again. "What are you standing around for? He's only a Soul Elder! Get him!"

The men exchanged glances and nodded.

That was right. They were all Soul Elders, they had the numbers, and they even had a support-type Soul Master assisting them.

Could he really defeat them in an instant?

"First Soul Skill, Heavenly Origin Thrust!"

Jiang Li snorted coldly as the yellow Soul Ring belonging to his First Soul Skill lit up beneath his feet.

In an instant, a faint layer of white light enveloped 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 men closing in widened his eyes, clutched his abdomen, and dropped to his knees in pain, letting out meaningless groans.

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

Everyone hurriedly looked over, only to discover that Jiang Li had appeared before the support-type Soul Master right under their noses.

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

How could they not understand now? The support-type Soul Master in their group had been attacked by Jiang Li.

But was that speed not a little too fast?

They were all Soul Elder-level Soul Masters, yet they had not reacted at all before the support-type Soul Master standing behind them, farthest from Jiang Li, had already been hit.

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

Thud!

The man lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.

Seeing this, the others felt their scalps go numb.

They had kicked an iron plate this time. They all turned to look at 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 little combat ability would not require much effort, so he had only brought a few men.

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

Xue Beng was already thinking of retreating. He hurriedly said to them, "Three against one, the advantage is..."

As he spoke, Xue Beng quietly backed away.

Before he could finish, however, Jiang Li's first Soul Ring lit up again.

One flash, two flashes, three flashes.

In the blink of an eye, every one of the men Xue Beng had brought was lying on the ground.

With a flash, Jiang Li appeared before Xue Beng and looked at him teasingly. "Go on! Why did you stop? The advantage is what?"

"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 yanked him closer.

"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 none of this ever happened. I'll even give you a priceless Soul Bone. How about it?"