Sure enough, before long, five people came up to the two of them.
Judging by their attire, all five were probably Soul Masters. There were four men and one woman. The man in the lead was older, probably in his fifties, while the other three men were in their early forties. The woman was in her early thirties and looked younger than all the others.
The older man was short and thin, but looked extremely tough and capable, with a shrewd glint in his eyes. The three middle-aged men were dressed somewhat alike. One was enormous, standing over two meters tall. The other two had rather ordinary faces, but their exposed muscles also showed considerable strength. The last member, the woman, wore revealing clothes and looked rather sultry. Her figure and looks were both excellent, no worse than those celebrities from his previous life.
Yang Podi could not help grumbling inwardly: This is my first trip to a Soul Beast forest with Grandpa, and I actually run into robbers?
The five seemed to be surrounding Yang Wudi. The old man in the lead spoke. "Brother, the five of us belong to the Blood Mantis Mercenary Group. May I ask what Soul Beast you two came to Sunset Forest to hunt? If you need anything, we can do it for you."
Yang Wudi did not even seem to look at them. "No need. We can manage ourselves."
"Brother, the five of us are only after money. Hand over all your money and valuables, and we guarantee we'll help you hunt a Soul Beast that satisfies you. We have one Soul King and four Soul Ancestors. Hunting Soul Beasts is as easy as lifting a finger."
With that, all five revealed their Martial Souls and Soul Rings. Sure enough, there was one Soul King and four Soul Ancestors. The old man's Martial Soul was actually a mantis. The three middle-aged men's Martial Souls were a bear, a rat, and a curved saber, respectively, while the only woman's Martial Soul was a snake. However, only the old man had two yellow and three purple Soul Rings. The other four all had one white, one yellow, and two purple Soul Rings.
Yang Wudi gave a cold laugh. "I already said there's no need. If you want to make a fortune, find someone else. Don't come to me."
The little old man did not seem surprised at all and continued, "Brother, this is no longer a question of whether you want to or not. We're determined to make this deal."
"Oh? So you're saying you intend to force this sale on us?"
"Not at all. I imagine you're quite strong, brother, but with a child to look after, I'm afraid you're no match for the five of us."
Yang Wudi seemed to ignore the threats from the five people opposite him. Instead, he turned to Yang Podi. "Podi, I'm going to teach you a lesson now. Watch closely."
As soon as Yang Wudi finished speaking, a Soul Breaking Spear appeared in his hand, and two yellow, two purple, and three black Soul Rings lit up around him. Immediately afterward, he thrust his spear straight at the old man in the lead.
At the sight of Yang Wudi's Soul Rings, those opposite him were all somewhat stunned.
But in that instant, the Soul Breaking Spear had already reached the old man. A purple Soul Ring lit up around him as he hurriedly used his fifth Soul Skill. A pair of enormous mantis legs slashed like sickles at Yang Wudi's attack.
The old man's attack might as well not have existed. The Soul Breaking Spear pierced straight through the entire mantis, skewering the old man's own body as well.
Seeing this, the other four knew they had run into a tough opponent today and tried to turn and leave.
With a jab of the Soul Breaking Spear in his hand, Yang Wudi wounded one of the middle-aged men, then whipped the spear around at lightning speed, sending another middle-aged man flying.
At the sight, the remaining two were scared out of their wits and fled behind them at full speed. But how could Yang Wudi let them escape? He immediately sprang forward, swiftly pursuing one of the middle-aged men. The Soul Breaking Spear disregarded the man's Soul Skill and pierced through his body once again, while the last woman had already run several dozen meters away.
Holding the Soul Breaking Spear, Yang Wudi hurled it like a javelin. Swift as lightning, it pinned the last woman to the ground.
In that brief instant, Yang Wudi had wiped out all five of them. They had not even been able to escape.
Yang Podi watched his grandfather kill five people in succession, his movements flowing like drifting clouds and running water. The other side had not had the slightest ability to resist, and his grandfather had not even used a Soul Skill.
The five had met seemingly horrific ends. Three had been pierced straight through by the Soul Breaking Spear, while another middle-aged man had been burst apart by a thrust. The only middle-aged man who had not been killed instantly had been struck by the spear's shaft and lay on the ground, barely breathing. Clearly, he would not survive either.
Yang Wudi paid little heed to any of that. He walked over and swiftly finished him with a thrust.
All five had now been killed, and their deaths had been extremely gruesome. Blood flowed everywhere, and there were even fragments of shattered internal organs on the ground.
This was the first time in either of Yang Podi's lives that he had witnessed someone being killed, and also the first time he had seen such a bloody scene. He could not help feeling a little sick.
Yet Yang Wudi ignored the expression on his grandson's face and said instead, "Podi, go check the five bodies. Bring back anything valuable on them."
At this, Yang Podi fought back the urge to vomit and began walking toward the five bodies.
He went first to the body of the old man who had led them. The Soul Breaking Spear had pierced straight through him, leaving an enormous wound in his chest. Blood still poured from the wound in torrents, and even his entire body had been dyed red.
After groping through the blood for a while, he finally found a Soul Tool. He then searched the other four in succession, ultimately taking quite some time to finish searching all five.
By the time he finished searching and returned to Yang Wudi's side, he was covered in blood. Yang Podi could no longer hold back and vomited, as though he were about to throw up everything he had eaten over the past few days.
Yang Wudi paid no attention to this. Instead, he took a large waterskin and a fresh set of clothes from his Soul Tool. "Wash the blood off yourself and change into fresh clothes. We're leaving here right away."
Faced with this, Yang Podi fought to control the trembling of his hands, took the water from his grandfather, carefully washed himself, and changed into fresh clothes.
Once he had finished washing and changing, Yang Wudi took his grandson's hand and quickly left, as though everything were perfectly ordinary.
Yang Podi felt that ever since they had encountered those five enemies, his grandfather seemed to have become a different person. All his former kindness was gone, replaced by a stern, murderous air.
Even his attitude toward his own grandson had changed dramatically. It was as though he were facing a stranger rather than his grandson.
About half an hour later, the two reached another clearing, and Yang Wudi pitched the tent again.
The two sat down together once more. Just then, Yang Wudi suddenly spoke. "Podi, tell me, after everything that happened just now, what questions do you have? What else can you discern?"
Clearly, Yang Wudi intended to use this opportunity to teach his grandson a lesson.