Ferocious.
The young man gripped his Ice Staff tightly and took a step back, keeping his little sister firmly behind him. Although the boy before him had saved him, anyone could absorb the energy released by slain soul beasts in the Life Platform during its rampage period.
"Who are you?" Wariness filled the young man's face as his gaze kept sweeping the surroundings, searching for any companions the boy before him might have.
Since Xie Xie had already made his move, there was no need for them to stay hidden. Jiang Mingyuan and the others emerged from the bushes.
The young man with the Ice Staff watched them warily, muttering under his breath, "Four with two rings, one with one ring." He relaxed a little. If there were only these five, he could handle them. Even if he couldn't win, he was confident he could escape with his sister.
Jiang Mingyuan's fingers deftly scratched Tang Wulin's palm, and Tang Wulin nodded in understanding. They had discussed this on their way here: Jiang Mingyuan would still call the shots within the team. Suddenly switching to Tang Wulin as their commander would probably raise doubts among the others. Tang Wulin could handle dealings with outsiders.
"Hello. We've had our eye on this troop of Wind Baboons for a while, too. One of our people also helped kill their leader, so how about..."
Before Tang Wulin could finish, the young man pointed his Ice Staff forward, sending a volley of Ice Spikes shooting out.
"How about my ass! This is all mine!"
The Ice Spikes crossed several meters in an instant, hurtling toward Tang Wulin. Yet Tang Wulin remained perfectly composed, showing no intention of dodging.
Sizzle!
A golden shield suddenly spread around Tang Wulin, with the faint phantom of a phoenix flowing across its surface.
This was a defensive skill Jiang Mingyuan had developed himself. Any elemental attack would be blocked by this shield.
It was especially effective against water, ice, and fire. In the world of the Douluo Continent, elements strengthened or countered one another, but once an element reached a sufficiently high level, it could ignore those relationships.
Wind and lightning might still penetrate its defenses thanks to their powerful piercing ability. But unless those three elements surpassed Jiang Mingyuan's Phoenix Flame in level, they could forget about harming anyone under its protection before the shield's energy ran out.
The young man with the Ice Staff furrowed his brow.
He raised his Ice Staff high and unleashed a soul skill. Countless tiny hailstones came pelting down from the sky.
Jiang Mingyuan waved his small hand, and little phantom phoenixes flew out of his body. Flapping their wings, they scrambled to soar into the sky. Any hailstones that passed through their bodies instantly melted and evaporated. At most, a few tiny droplets fell through.
The young man summoned one final hailstorm, then used the white mist produced as the intense heat melted it to cover his retreat. He immediately grabbed his sister's hand and ran for his life in the opposite direction.
Standing at the very front, Tang Wulin and Xie Xie couldn't help freezing at the sight.
That was far too decisive.
Still, it was just as well that they had run. Absorbing this energy quickly was what mattered.
Just then, Jiang Mingyuan extended his hand, pointed in the direction the siblings had fled, and shouted, "Kill them!"
"Huh?" Xie Xie whipped his head around, astonishment on his face. He hadn't expected Jiang Mingyuan to say that. "They've already run away. There's no need to hunt them down to the last, is there?"
While Xie Xie was still puzzling over it, Tang Wulin had already given chase. All he needed to do was listen to Brother Yuan.
Tang Wulin activated the golden dragon king bloodline within him, strengthening his body once more as his speed soared in an instant. Zhang Yangzi immediately took flight as well, shooting toward the pair like an arrow.
Zhang Yangzi's martial soul was an eagle, after all. Its flying speed was beyond question.
The siblings with the Ice Staff had already reached the dense forest. Zhang Yangzi immediately unleashed Dark Curtain, but had to slow down to avoid crashing into trees.
Tang Wulin seized the opportunity and charged straight ahead. Even trees in his path were no obstacle-with a swipe of his Golden Dragon Claw, their trunks were easily severed.
At last, the gap between them shrank to less than five meters. Tang Wulin thrust out his left hand, and two blue silver vines shot forth.
Blue silver grass wrapped around the siblings' ankles. Losing their footing, they both fell flat on the ground.
The young man still wanted to fight back, but the Phoenix Protective Shield was a hurdle he could never overcome in his lifetime.
By the time Jiang Mingyuan, Xie Xie, and Wang Jinxi arrived, Tang Wulin had already bound the pair to a tree trunk with blue silver grass and was watching them alongside Zhang Yangzi.
Xie Xie still looked somewhat astonished. Although Jiang Mingyuan liked fooling around and sometimes tricked them, he was a good person most of the time.
Apart from that incident at Uncle Li's shop, he had never seen Jiang Mingyuan act so ruthlessly.
Jiang Mingyuan looked at Xie Xie with the frustration of someone who wished iron would turn to steel. "Inside the Life Platform, we're competitors. Besides, he attacked first. If that had been an ordinary One-Ring Soul Master instead of Wulin, that attack would have killed them outright. You can't gamble on him not tripping us up from the shadows after he escapes."
"He's a three-ring soul master. Three rings is the admission limit for the Spirit Ascension Platform."
Tang Wulin, Zhang Yangzi, and Wang Jinxi silently nodded. They hadn't grasped it at first, but during the chase, they had figured it out.
They weren't like everyone else, who could simply die and leave the Spirit Ascension Platform as usual. If they died, they wouldn't be able to complete their final exam.
"Let my sister and me go. I'll join your team and help you kill soul beasts. Just give us twenty percent of the energy."
Jiang Mingyuan ignored his proposal.
Why didn't you do that earlier?
Wulin spoke to you perfectly politely just now, and you turned around and ambushed him.
"Wulin, Zhang Yangzi, take one each. Do it."
Capturing enemies was one thing, but they had never killed anyone, even inside the Spirit Ascension Platform.
Tang Wulin knew Jiang Mingyuan was doing the right thing, but he still couldn't cross that hurdle in his heart. Suddenly, he felt warmth against his back as something pressed close.
From behind, Jiang Mingyuan held Tang Wulin's left hand. He straightened the palm and aimed the sharp Golden Dragon Claw at the young man's heart.
"Wulin, close your eyes if you're scared."
In this fucking world, what renowned powerhouse didn't have the blood of their own kind on their hands? Even support soul masters couldn't possibly be completely clean.
With Jiang Mingyuan's help, Tang Wulin finally steeled his heart and ended the young man's life with a single strike. Unlike a soul beast, the young man didn't spray blood. Instead, he slowly dissolved into motes of soul power and vanished.
His sister beside him was already terrified out of her wits. Large tears rolled down her face, and she trembled so badly that she couldn't say a word. Without her brother's protection, she had no way of surviving here on her own.
Zhang Yangzi looked at his hands. He figured they probably couldn't pierce straight through a body, and neither of his two soul skills was offensive.
He turned and walked up to Xie Xie.
"Lend me your dagger."
Xie Xie stood there in a daze. It wasn't as though he had never seen other people vanish inside the Spirit Ascension Platform, but Tang Wulin's strike had still shaken him.
He really killed someone.
Xie Xie took a deep breath. He stepped around Zhang Yangzi, walked straight up to the girl, and decisively slit her throat with his dagger.
Zhang Yangzi said, "Huh?"
Jiang Mingyuan spread his hands. It didn't matter who did it.