No Longer Hiding

The bald man lay on the ground, his lower leg pierced through by a rock spike, blood running down his trouser leg and pooling around him. The man with the longsword had crashed into the rock wall. The blood he had spat out was still on his face as he leaned on his sword and struggled to stand. The short-haired woman stood in front of the bald man, the skin between her thumb and forefinger split, her knife hand trembling. The remaining young men circled the frenzied lead wolf from different sides, but none dared approach. They could only dodge and harass it to buy time.

The lead wolf was completely enraged. It clawed at the ground with all four paws, earth-yellow Soul Power rippling outward in circles and shaking the loose stones beneath it into the air. Its rock tail swept across, smashing a millstone-sized rock to pieces. Every step it took made the ground tremble, as though the entire low rocky hill were quaking beneath its feet.

Ning Buhui gritted his teeth.

He had not wanted to expose himself. He knew nothing of the people in this team or where they came from; showing too much would only invite trouble. But in the current situation, if he kept hiding, the bald man's leg would be ruined, and the others would lose their lives here too. He could see that the lead wolf was far from exhausting its stamina, while half the people on their side were already injured. If this dragged on another quarter of an hour, they would be torn apart one by one.

He pressed his right hand downward, and the tower abruptly sank.

His Third Soul Ring lit up. The Thousand-Transformation Illusory Mask concealed the Soul Ring's true color, making it appear purple, but pale enough to look as though it had only just reached the thousand-year level. Ning Buhui paid it little mind. He poured Soul Power into the tower, and the yin fish spun sharply through a narrow arc. A flash of dark purple lightning burst from the tower's base and spread toward the lead wolf along the ground.

"Thunder Prison Imprisons Wind."

Lightning covered an area twenty meters across. Six pillars of lightning rose from the ground, each half a person's height, purple light flowing over them. They formed a complete cage, drawing every person and beast into this prison of lightning. The Rock Wolf leader sensed something was wrong at once and pushed off with all four paws, trying to charge out. But the moment it lifted a paw, its body seemed to be pulled back by something, and its movements slowed by half a beat. Under the wind's influence, its movement speed had fallen by forty percent. With a body that large, every step now felt like wading through mud.

"This-" The bald man's eyes widened, and he struggled to lift his head toward Ning Buhui.

Ning Buhui ignored him. His First Soul Ring and Second Soul Ring lit up at the same time.

"Butterfly Dance Flowing Radiance."

"Vine Armor Spring Life."

"Wind Thunder Wing Shadow."

Three rays of light slipped silently out of the tower and into his body. The Thousand-Transformation Illusory Mask suppressed their glow until it was so faint that others could barely see it. The illusion of dark green vine armor wrapped around him, its color likewise mostly concealed by the mask. He had given himself the full set of enhancements. He felt the Soul Power circulating through his body nearly twice as fast, his feet light and his muscles burning.

Trapped in Thunder Prison Imprisons Wind, the lead wolf was slower, and its attacks had weakened. It furiously struck the ground, sending a rock spike jutting up beneath Ning Buhui's feet. But he was prepared. With a tap of his toe, he sidestepped it, moving as swiftly as a gray shadow. Seeing its attack miss, the lead wolf turned to charge at the short-haired woman.

Ning Buhui would not give it the chance.

Three breaths had passed. Thunder Prison Imprisons Wind sent down an arc of lightning every three seconds, and the Rock Wolf, caught off guard, was struck squarely and paralyzed. This was the moment Ning Buhui had been waiting for. He slashed his right arm sharply through the air.

Void Rending Slash.

A nearly invisible streak of silver flew from his fingertip, tracing an arc just above the ground. It passed through a gap in Thunder Prison Imprisons Wind and sliced precisely into the softest seam between the scales on the lead wolf's belly. The wolf's charging body abruptly stiffened. The silver light sank into its belly and emerged from the other side, bringing with it a spray of dark red blood. The enormous wolf's body seemed to lose its support; its front legs buckled, and it crashed heavily to the ground. Purple lightning reflected in its dark crimson vertical pupils. Half a whimper rumbled from its throat, and then it moved no more.

From the moment Thunder Prison Imprisons Wind unfolded to the instant Void Rending Slash struck, no more than ten breaths had passed.

The whole rocky hill fell silent again.

Ning Buhui withdrew Thunder Prison Imprisons Wind. The six pillars of lightning slowly dissipated, while the scorch marks on the ground still smoked. He stood at the center of the vanished cage, the tower hovering over his palm, three Soul Rings revolving quietly around him.

Yellow, yellow, purple.

The three Soul Rings stood out clearly in the shadow of the rocky hill. His true level could no longer be hidden: a level thirty-four Soul Elder, with two yellow rings and one purple.

The bald man half-knelt on the ground, looking up at him. His lips moved, but no words came out. The short-haired woman held her chipped curved knife, blood still dripping from its tip, her gaze fixed on the three Soul Rings. The man with the longsword leaned against the rock wall, one hand pressed to his chest, his eyes unblinking. The other young men stood at a distance. Each swallowed and subconsciously took half a step back.

Not one of them spoke.

Ning Buhui recalled his Martial Soul, and the Soul Rings vanished. He calmly raised his head and met everyone's eyes, offering no explanation and putting on no further disguise. Things had come to this; keeping up the act would only look ridiculous.

The bald man was the first to recover. With the short-haired woman's help, he got to his feet. The lower leg pierced by the rock spike was still trembling, but he forced himself to stand steady. He stared at Ning Buhui for several breaths before finally asking in a hoarse voice, "Just who are you?"

"A passerby," Ning Buhui said.

The bald man asked no further. Of course he did not believe him, but he was not stupid enough to dig for answers now. A "level twenty-eight Soul Grandmaster" who could control the entire battlefield alone, trap a six-thousand-year-old lead wolf, and break through its rocky scales in one strike, with a mysterious, unfathomable concealment ability and an offensive Soul Bone. Someone like that either had an unfathomable background or unfathomable strength. The bald man could not afford to offend him either way.

"How do we split the spoils?" Ning Buhui asked.

The bald man froze for a moment, then smiled wryly. The lad had offered him a way to keep things from turning awkward, and he took it. He turned and nodded to the short-haired woman, who began processing the lead wolf's carcass. She stripped off the hide, fangs, rock spikes, and stone spike at the tip of its tail, sorting them by type. Ning Buhui watched from the side and took his agreed share of the hide and fangs. He took no more and no less. The bald man's people did not argue either, each silently setting to work on their own share.

Once everything was ready, the seven retraced their route. The bald man's leg was badly injured, so the short-haired woman and the man with the longsword took turns supporting him. Ning Buhui walked at the back, five or six paces behind the others. No one turned around to speak to him, and he did not start a conversation either. The mood in the group was completely different from when they had come. Then, they had been cool and businesslike; now, there was something more, something hard to put into words. Wariness, curiosity, and a faint trace of unease.

Ning Buhui paid it no mind.

Ten days later.

Outside Star Luo City's north gate, the group naturally went their separate ways. The bald man was taken to a medical clinic, while the short-haired woman and two young men each went their own way. Before leaving, the man with the longsword looked back at Ning Buhui. He seemed to want to say something, but in the end he said nothing. He merely cupped his fists, then turned and entered the city gate.

Ning Buhui stood outside the gate, watching their backs disappear into the streets and alleys. He touched the ring on his finger; the wolf hide and fangs were already safely put away. On this trip, his main purpose had been to familiarize himself with the role his control skills played in teamwork, and to experience mercenary life and have some fun along the way. The payment was secondary.

He turned and walked through the city gate, returning to the small inn and asking for a room. After closing the door, he sat by the bed for a while, reflecting on what he had learned from the outing. Thunder Prison Imprisons Wind had performed well on its debut. The skill was indeed extremely useful, but it consumed a little too much Soul Power. He still could not afford to slack off; he needed to keep raising his Soul Power Level so he could sustain it longer.

He then entered the third floor of the tower and began that night's meditation.