Jeweled Gauntlet!

In the distance.

At the top of an ancient tree dozens of meters tall.

A slender figure hid within the dense canopy, taking in everything that had just happened.

Zhu Zhuqing wore a fitted black combat outfit.

The fabric outlined her slim waist and long legs. Her jet-black hair draped over her shoulders, and her pale cheeks looked even paler from blood loss.

One hand pressed against her waist.

Blood had already stained the gaps between her fingers.

The black fabric had been sliced open by a sharp blade, leaving a long, narrow wound at her waist.

Blood dripped down along the hem of her clothes, leaving dark red spots on the branches.

Zhu Zhuqing had no time to treat her injuries.

She watched the direction Tang Feng had left in, shock still lingering in her eyes.

From the moment the Wind Wolf appeared until its death, Tang Feng had not revealed a Spirit Ring.

That seven-hundred-year Wind Wolf had not even managed to get close to him.

The timing of the vines' appearance had been exceptionally precise.

Every one of them had sealed off the points where the Wind Wolf could exert force in advance.

Even the Wind Wolf's struggles and bursts of Soul Power had never escaped Tang Feng's control.

"Such powerful control..."

Zhu Zhuqing lowered her head and looked at the Wind Wolf's corpse in the distance.

"A vine Martial Soul?"

"Why are its strength, speed, and lethality all this absurd?"

She had seen plant-type Spirit Masters before.

Ordinary vine Martial Souls mainly relied on toughness to restrain their opponents and feared blades, swords, and strength-type Spirit Masters the most.

Yet Tang Feng's deep-blue vines were completely different.

After breaking, the vines could immediately replenish themselves.

The dark purple patterns on the grass blades also carried intense corrosive power.

If she had faced those vines instead, her outcome might not have been much better than the Wind Wolf's.

Zhu Zhuqing wanted to keep watching.

Suddenly, footsteps came from the forest behind her.

There was more than one person.

Several auras were rapidly closing in along the blood trail she had left behind.

The pursuers had arrived!

Zhu Zhuqing's expression changed.

She planted her toes on a branch, and her slender body lightly leaped out from the canopy.

Her black figure passed over several ancient trees in succession.

The wound at her waist was pulled open, and even more blood seeped out.

Zhu Zhuqing frowned tightly but did not stop.

She had to keep running.

Once she fell into those people's hands, she would undoubtedly die.

The scenery in the forest rapidly retreated behind her.

Zhu Zhuqing kept changing directions, trying to use the complicated terrain to shake off her pursuers.

But her injuries had already severely affected her speed.

The Soul Power in her body was also nearing exhaustion after the long chase.

A quarter of an hour later.

Zhu Zhuqing landed in a clearing within the forest.

Just as she was about to leap again, a short blade flew at her from behind.

The blade grazed her arm and embedded itself in the tree trunk ahead.

Another tear opened in her black combat outfit.

Zhu Zhuqing staggered two steps upon landing and could only reach out to brace herself against a nearby ancient tree.

A black shadow followed close behind.

The newcomer wore a black mask and held a curved blade in his hand.

White, yellow, and yellow—three Spirit Rings rose beneath his feet.

A three-ring Soul Elder!

Zhu Zhuqing turned to look to the other side.

Behind her stood a steep stone wall covered in moss.

Both sides were packed with dense thorns.

She had nowhere left to retreat.

The black-clad pursuer slowly raised his curved blade.

Blood still stained its edge.

"Run."

"Why aren't you running anymore?"

Zhu Zhuqing released the tree trunk.

Martial Soul Possession.

A pair of black cat ears appeared atop her head, while sharp cat claws extended from her fingertips.

Two yellow Spirit Rings circled beside her long legs.

She did not have much Soul Power left in her body.

The black-clad pursuer, however, was in perfect condition.

The difference in Soul Power Level and injuries left her with little chance of winning this battle.

Zhu Zhuqing did not retract her Martial Soul.

Even if she could not escape, she would never wait helplessly for death.

The black-clad pursuer took a step forward.

The first Spirit Ring on his curved blade gradually lit up.

"Second Miss, it's time to end this."

Just as he prepared to strike.

Soft footsteps came from the woods nearby.

Tang Feng pushed aside the hanging vines and emerged from between two ancient trees.

He had sensed the aura of battle through the surrounding Blue Silver Grass, which was why he had changed direction.

What appeared before him, however, was an injured girl in black and a three-ring Soul Elder.

The black-clad pursuer turned his head.

After seeing Tang Feng's age, disdain appeared in his eyes.

A child who had not even revealed his Spirit Rings was not worth wasting time on.

"Brat, get lost."

"Stay out of this!"

Tang Feng did not answer.

His gaze fell on Zhu Zhuqing's waist.

Her black combat outfit had already been soaked through with blood.

If this dragged on any longer, she would likely collapse from excessive blood loss.

Tang Feng pressed both hands against the ground at once.

A dark-blue radiance rapidly spread through the soil.

The ground beneath the black-clad pursuer suddenly bulged.

Boom!

A mass of Ruination Blue Silver Emperor burst from the ground.

Dozens of deep-blue vines grew in an interwoven mass, sealing off every direction in the blink of an eye.

The black-clad pursuer reacted quickly.

He swept his curved blade sideways, cutting apart every vine rushing toward him.

"Just Blue Silver Grass, and you dare act so presumptuously before me!"

The moment his words fell.

The severed ends of those vines simultaneously swelled.

Thinner dark-blue vines split from each broken end.

One vine became three.

The three intertwined again.

The area the curved blade had just cleared was instantly filled with even more vines.

The black-clad pursuer's expression changed drastically.

He swung his blade, intending to keep cutting, but the thin vines had already wrapped around his wrist along the blade.

Several other vines bypassed his attacks and locked down his shoulders, waist, abdomen, and legs.

Serrated grass blades pierced through his black clothes.

Ruination power began corroding his protective Soul Power.

Tiny wounds continuously appeared.

Strands of life force returned to Tang Feng through the Martial Soul.

[Vampiric Habit triggered!]

The last traces of Soul Power Tang Feng had expended while hunting the Wind Wolf were rapidly replenished.

Supplied with Soul Power, the Ruination vines began growing even faster.

The black-clad pursuer swung his curved blade.

Blade light flashed repeatedly, severing dozens of vines and sending them falling to the ground.

But the more he cut, the denser the thin vines splitting from the broken ends became.

Within just a few breaths, his feet had been completely covered by dark-blue vines.

"First Soul Skill!"

The white Spirit Ring beneath the black-clad pursuer's feet abruptly lit up.

Powerful Soul Power erupted from his body.

Boom!

The mass of vines wrapped around him shattered under the force of his Soul Power.

Dark purple sap splashed in every direction.

The black-clad pursuer immediately charged forward, his curved blade slashing directly at Tang Feng's head and neck.

He had barely taken two steps when the ground split open once more.

More Ruination Blue Silver Emperor surged up from deep within the soil.

There were far more vines than before.

Layer upon layer, they first coiled around the curved blade before climbing up his arm.

The black-clad pursuer tried to pull back his weapon.

But dozens of vines exerted force from different directions at once, pinning the curved blade in midair.

Just as his second Spirit Ring was about to light up.

Dark purple patterns flowed across every vine.

[Jeweled Gauntlet triggered!]

[Tenfold Soul Skill Critical Hit!]

Ruination power erupted all at once!

The protective Soul Power around the black-clad pursuer's body shook violently.

Several points of defense were torn open directly.

Dark purple corrosive power surged through the wounds into his meridians, briefly stalling the circulation of his Soul Power.

His second Soul Skill, which had not yet fully activated, was interrupted on the spot.

"Impossible!"

The black-clad pursuer desperately urged his Soul Power.

His third Spirit Ring also began flickering.

The Soul Power in his body was rapidly being depleted.

Yet the number of Ruination vines continued to increase.

Every wound caused by the vines would transform into life force and stamina, returning to Tang Feng.

The longer the stalemate continued, the more advantageous it became for Tang Feng.