Green Lotus Sword Song, One Sword to the Ends of the Earth

"Jungle Knife stacks?"

Zhang Lexuan's mouth twitched. The term was completely unfamiliar to her.

At least it was nothing bad. She steadied herself.

"Anyway, we came to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt Soul Beasts. Did you?"

Cai Wenji asked again.

"Yes."

A shadow passed through Zhang Lexuan's eyes.

"But if you came out on a mission, why isn't there a teacher guarding you?"

"This is the mixed zone. A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast could easily show up."

Cai Wenji pointed at the Blood Moon Wolf King, which Li Bai had pinned firmly in place. "It's not very safe here. You should head back soon."

"We'd like to, but that wolf held us up. It's strong."

"It's just a little wolf. No big deal. Leave it to Li Bai."

Cai Wenji spoke as if it were nothing.

Zhang Lexuan froze at her casual words.

Why were the people from the King's Escort Agency so outrageous?

As far as Zhang Lexuan knew, the King's Escort Agency was just a bunch of ordinary people.

Every day, they took the most mundane commissions: finding someone's lost cat, running an errand to deliver a letter, or catching an unfaithful lover in the act.

She had never considered the agency a top-tier force. What could an escort agency with barely a dozen people do?

But looking at them now, she found them unfathomable. One could pin a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in place with a single sword strike; another could instantly heal a group of people on the brink of death until they were back on their feet.

They had to be Super Douluo at the very least.

Zhang Lexuan's mouth twitched. What kind of escort agency was this?

Meanwhile, Li Bai saw from above that the healing was nearly done. It was time to deal with the Blood Moon Wolf King.

Now this was a prize!

The Star Dou Great Forest and Shrek Academy had an agreement: Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts could not be hunted at will, or it would trigger a beast tide.

When in another land, follow its customs. Naturally, they had to abide by it; the two sides had maintained this unspoken understanding for countless years.

But this Blood Moon Wolf King was different. It had attacked Shrek's students first and nearly killed them all. Killing it should count as self-defense, right?

It was worth a shot.

Li Bai was very interested in this Soul Ring.

After all, he was the only person there who needed Soul Rings.

Of the people Zhao Huaizhen had summoned, Li Bai alone possessed Twin Martial Souls. Everyone else arrived with nine Soul Rings automatically, but he still had a few empty slots.

Besides, even if he couldn't absorb the ring, he would kill the wolf. The Soul Bone would be useful, and its corpse could be made into wine.

And killing a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast would send his Jungle Knife stacks soaring.

Though their strength had been converted into the Soul Ring and Martial Soul system of the Douluo Continent when they arrived in this world, Honor Flow had remained with them all along.

As a jungler, he gained Jungle Knife stacks simply by killing Soul Beasts. In battle, those stacks multiplied his combat strength.

In this world, Jungle Knife stacks had a cap of one hundred levels.

But reaching level one hundred was far from easy.

For levels one through ten, he had to kill beasts whose combined ages totaled a hundred thousand years to gain one level. From levels twenty to thirty, that requirement doubled, and it kept rising from there.

His Jungle Knife was only at fourteen stacks now, with another third of a level to go before fifteen. Killing this Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast would put him right at level fifteen.

That was a deal with nothing to lose and everything to gain!

The more Li Bai thought about it, the more tempted he became.

"Um, miss."

Li Bai pointed at the Blood Moon Wolf King. "This Soul Beast is your prey, right?"

"I just wanted to ask: may I kill it?"

Zhang Lexuan was stunned. Was he really that courteous?

He was even asking their permission to kill a Soul Beast.

She didn't know this was actually his way of making sure he bore no responsibility.

Of course he could! This Soul Beast had nearly killed them all. She wanted it dead.

"Yes, of course."

Zhang Lexuan was beside herself with excitement. "Please kill it. I'm begging you."

"As long as you save us, we'll do anything."

"Then don't mind if I do."

That was exactly what Li Bai had been waiting to hear.

In the next instant, his easygoing air vanished, replaced by a sword intent sharp enough to cut.

"Green Lotus Sword, Martial Soul Possession."

Hum!

With a clear ring of steel, nine Soul Rings slowly rose from beneath his feet.

Two yellow, two purple, three black, and two red. When the last two dazzling scarlet rings appeared, they unleashed the pressure of hundred-thousand-year rings, making the entire forest tremble.

Zhang Lexuan sucked in a breath. Two more Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings—and he had absorbed one as his Eighth Soul Ring!

Who besides that person from the Body Sect could do that?

Who were these people from the King's Escort Agency?

Li Bai, meanwhile, had no idea he had stunned someone else. He turned his wrist, and the Green Lotus Sword settled into his palm. Azure lotuses bloomed from its blade, filling the air with fragrance as green light flowed over it.

"Green Lotus Sword Song."

He spoke the four words softly. In the next instant, he moved.

His figure became a string of afterimages as he used his displacement technique, Bring in the Wine, with uncanny mastery.

One step carried him thirty meters away. With the next, he appeared before the Blood Moon Wolf King.

The Blood Moon Wolf King was terrified. All it wanted was to flee. Li Bai's control technique required both him and his target to remain still; once he moved, the restraint naturally broke.

The Blood Moon Wolf King tried to run, but Li Bai had already appeared in front of it.

"Damn you, human. I haven't provoked you. Leave now, and I can pretend none of this happened."

"Hahaha! You've told me the downside. What's in it for me?"

"You're courting death!"

Seeing that only a fight to the death remained, the Blood Moon Wolf King's fear turned to fury. It forced its blood energy to surge and let out a thunderous roar.

Terrifying baleful energy coated its claws as it swiped viciously at Li Bai. At the same time, a devastating beam erupted from its mouth, ready to tear the hateful man before it to shreds and blast him apart.

But Li Bai moved faster.

His sword swept through a shining arc, unleashing Green Lotus Sword Intent. A storm of azure lotus petals shot out like blades, clanging against the Blood Moon Wolf King's claws and scattering sparks.

Wandering Swordsman.

His figure flickered in and out of sight, darting around the Blood Moon Wolf King. Every stroke left a wound deep enough to expose bone.

The hundred-thousand-year defenses it took such pride in were no better than paper before Li Bai's Green Lotus Sword Song.

Roar!

The Blood Moon Wolf King flew into a rage. Blood-red light blazed across its body as it swelled several times over, becoming a crimson wolf vast enough to blot out the sky. It opened its blood-soaked maw to swallow Li Bai, sword and all.

Facing that desperate attack, a cold glint flashed in Li Bai's eyes. He raised the Green Lotus Sword high above his head, and his first Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring finally lit up.

"Eighth Soul Skill: Green Lotus Sword Song!"

He brought his sword down. Countless azure sword lights erupted from him, like a heavenly river pouring from the sky, like green lotuses bursting into bloom. With unstoppable force, they slashed into the Blood Moon Wolf King's swollen body.

"Awooo!"

A shrill scream rang through the entire forest.