Qiu Wanxi's departing figure

Xiao Wu's anger was within Xiao Yao's expectations, but he also sincerely hoped she would forgive him.

She did not care how many women he had, and was even willing to cooperate actively, helping him raise other women's affection for him. Where else could he find a girl like that?

"No, Heaven and earth can bear witness to my feelings for you. A temporary parting is only for a better reunion. If my plan goes smoothly, I'll get Bing'er's affection above eighty on this trip, and then I can come back."

Xiao Wu was still rather unhappy, but she was willing to make sacrifices for her man:

"All right, but I'm going too."

Xiao Yao pulled her back into his arms. "Don't be willful. It's dangerous there. If you go, I'll get distracted."

"Fine. But you have to spend these next two days with me."

Xiao Yao suddenly felt that Xiao Wu had grown a head taller in his arms. Looking down, he saw that she had already changed into a bunny girl outfit.

Not only that, a red light had begun to glow in her eyes.

Charm-after her Martial Soul Evolution, it could capture what the other person was thinking and conjure what they most wanted to see. Its power of seduction had increased far more than severalfold.

What Xiao Yao saw at that moment was-was Xiao Wu in a battle-damaged outfit.

Her figure and face were more mature, looking to be in her twenties, and she wore a suit of pink skirt armor.

There were small wounds in several places on her body, and the skirt armor had cracked across her chest, waist, thighs, and elsewhere, revealing tantalizing glimpses of flesh.

"Brother Xiao Yao, so this is what you like."

"You're the one who seduced me. Do you know how badly I've been holding it in at Skywater Academy?"

"Not here! This is the training ground. Someone might pass by. Ah~"

"It's fine. I learned illusion techniques at Skywater Academy. They can't see us."

Two days later, at the gates of Skywater Academy.

Qiu Wanxi and Shui Bing'er looked in surprise at Xiao Yao as he approached with a hand supporting his lower back:

"Lingji, what happened to you?"

"Nothing. I helped out with some work at home and overexerted myself."

"Then get some proper rest in the carriage. Bing'er, take good care of her." Qiu Wanxi suspected nothing and instead urged the two to set off quickly.

Fortunately, the Douluo Continent did have some level of technology. Shock-absorbing Soul Tools were installed beneath the carriage, allowing Xiao Yao's lower back to get some proper rest.

"Thank you."

Lying in the comfortable carriage, Xiao Yao felt himself almost falling asleep when an ethereal, melodious voice suddenly sounded beside his ear.

He opened his eyes to see Shui Bing'er sitting by the window, sunlight brushing past the melancholy shadows around her eyes and spilling across the floor.

"Huh? What are you thanking me for?"

Shui Bing'er smiled. Though it was not the sort of breathtaking beauty that shook the soul, it was all the more intoxicating:

"I've always known what burdens I carry. Luckily, you appeared, and those things seem to have all shifted onto your shoulders. I'm truly sorry."

Her thanks and apologies left Xiao Yao utterly confused. "Could you explain a little more clearly? Don't speak in riddles."

Shui Bing'er pursed her lips in a smile. "I'm thanking you for giving me a chance to choose my own Soul Ring and Soul Skill. My teacher chose all my previous Soul Rings for me, but I don't really like them."

"Oh, so that's it." Xiao Yao suspected nothing.

After all, how could a gentle, lovely girl like Shui Bing'er enjoy playing such an obnoxious strategy as an infinite crowd-control build?

Tacticians all had dirty hearts.

"Then what sort of Soul Skill do you want? Healing? Defense?"

"No, I like blasting enemies to death. The kind that blasts them into a splash of water."

Xiao Yao nearly spat out a mouthful of salty soda. "You? Blasting enemies to death?"

He stared at Shui Bing'er in disbelief. How could such a delicate little girl enjoy such a violent way of fighting?

"Yes. Rather than tormenting them as they slowly lose their ability to fight, it's better to give them a quick end."

Mm, fine. You really do have the heart of a bodhisattva.

For a moment, Xiao Yao did not know how to describe that mindset of hers.

"Come down. Night has fallen. We'll camp here." Qiu Wanxi's voice interrupted their conversation.

After about five days, the three reached the western fringes of the Heaven Dou Empire. Xiao Yao did not know what breed the horses Qiu Wanxi drove were, but they seemed a little better even than Qian Renxue's blood-sweating steeds.

Not only could they travel a thousand li a day, but after so much travel, they showed no sign of fatigue whatsoever. Instead, they were brimming with spirit.

Qiu Wanxi noticed his puzzlement. "These are Snow Dust Horses. They carry some of the bloodline of the king among horse-type Soul Beasts-the Holy Unicorn. This amount of travel is no challenge for them."

Understanding dawned on Xiao Yao. So it was the Holy Unicorn.

According to Xiao Wu, this kind of Soul Beast had once served as the Angel God's mount. There were none even in the Star Dou Great Forest. Only Spirit Hall maintained a stud farm specifically for them to live and breed.

He had not expected Spirit Hall to breed and sell horses too.

The carriage stopped outside a village, and Qiu Wanxi said, "Stay here and don't wander off. I'll go buy you some dry rations."

Watching her departing figure, Xiao Yao was speechless. Couldn't you use a different line?

Before long, Qiu Wanxi hurried back. "Go, quickly! There are dead people everywhere in the village, and the houses, doors, and windows all show signs of damage."

Xiao Yao frowned. "We're far from Heaven Dou City, with the emperor beyond distant mountains. Could it be bandits?"

"It would be better if it were."

Before Qiu Wanxi had finished speaking, a group of figures that did not look human charged out of the village.

There were roughly fifty-odd figures, their bodies extremely brawny, each standing over two meters tall.

Strangely, their hair was gray and extremely long, and two fangs protruded past their lips.

Had that been all, Xiao Yao would only have taken them for savages.

But the gruesome part was that their bodies were covered in blood, and their hands still clutched arms or lower legs they had just twisted off.

Blood was even seeping from the mouths of several of the savages as they chewed incessantly.

"Urgh."

Not only Shui Bing'er, but even Xiao Yao could not help vomiting. When had they ever seen such a savage scene?

Shui Bing'er was even worse off, her face as pale as paper, her chest heaving continuously, and her hand trembling as it gripped the edge of the doorway.

Qiu Wanxi said gravely, "They're Wolf Bandits, a cross between humans and a kind of Soul Beast called the Gale Demon Wolf."

"They possess the physique, speed, and certain innate abilities of Gale Demon Wolves, along with a measure of human intelligence. But what's more terrifying is that they also possess the nature of Gale Demon Wolves: bloodthirsty and lustful."

"Those male villagers have either already become their food or been stored away as reserve rations."

"The women are kept alive for a while to be raped. Those who become pregnant can live a little longer. Those who can't will become their food as well."

As he listened to Qiu Wanxi's account, the fire in Xiao Yao's heart burned ever fiercer. Perhaps because he had always lived among humans, he had never imagined such creatures could exist in the world.

That fire seared his heart, and finally erupted.