Li Chang'an lounged at the back of the wagon, idly chewing on a blade of grass. Beneath his feet was a crate full of jewels, but he still couldn't help sighing out of boredom.
Had he miscalculated? Did the other side not go after merchant convoys? Or maybe... maybe they took weekends off?
You had to know, the old drivers of Qiumingshan were notorious for their speed—less than ten minutes in and they'd already made it halfway through the mountain pass. Give it another ten minutes and they'd be out of Qiumingshan entirely.
In fact, it wasn't just Li Chang'an who was on edge—Xie Yue, Yan, and Hu Liena were all keeping a close eye on the mountaintop, worried they might miss something…
Just as the four of them were about to give up and write it off as a wasted day, a sudden whistle echoed down from the mountain!
"Wooo-la-la-la!!!"
In full view, over a dozen burly men suddenly appeared halfway up the mountainside. Some of them picked up boulder-sized rocks and hurled them straight down, blocking the convoy's path in an instant!
"Woo-la-la! Boys, we've got business!"
A large, pockmarked man—standing only about 1.6 meters tall—shouted to the others.
In perfect unison, the surrounding bandits responded: "Coming!"
Then, three Spirit Masters descended behind Zhang Mazi, leaping swiftly down from the mountainside. A few regular bandits with machetes charged down a smaller trail, yelling as they came.
Li Chang'an narrowed his eyes at the bandit leader making his way down, comparing the man to the intelligence he had in his mind. A cold sweat broke out on his back.
Zhang Mazi! That was him—the Spirit King with five spirit rings!
'Damn it!'
He never imagined he'd actually lure out the bandit leader himself!
Truth be told, Zhang Mazi hadn't come out for anything serious—he was just looking to spice up his personal life with something new. That was the whole reason he personally showed up today!
"Chang'an, what now? Should we fall back?" Xie Yue asked in a low voice, his expression just as grim—he'd recognized Zhang Mazi too.
"No need," Li Chang'an replied in a hushed tone. "If we can take care of the others, four-on-one isn't necessarily a losing bet. Let's give it a shot."
He wasn't being reckless. As he'd said, this was a Spirit King—powerful, but still just one person. And the four of them? Each one of them was an elite Spirit Master with exceptional talent.
What's more, Li Chang'an knew Vice-Dean Duolong must have followed them when they left the academy. That man was their biggest trump card.
"Hey boss, heading off to strike it rich?" Zhang Mazi said with a friendly slap to the merchant leader's face, acting overly familiar.
"We... we're just hauling some rough jade, my lord," the merchant stammered humbly. "If you'd like, we can gift you a crate of it—what do you think?"
But Zhang Mazi wasn't interested in haggling. He looked over the caravan, scoffing. "I'll be taking the lot. Now beat it, or I'll kill you all."
Staring at the wagons loaded with treasure, Zhang Mazi was already fantasizing about what his night would look like—he could practically see that young lady back in his room, already tied and waiting…
"My lord, this isn't right! How about half?" the merchant protested, face darkening. This was daylight robbery!
"No!" Zhang Mazi shook his head. If he took it all, then tonight wouldn't just be about ropes—maybe even some pet play. No way was he giving that up.
"Then we've got no choice but to fight!" The moment the merchant said that, three hired Spirit Masters from the convoy sprang into action.
One of them was a Spirit Elder with three rings; the other two had two rings each. That was already a fairly decent team.
At the same time, the other guards in the caravan also drew their weapons and rushed to meet the bandits in battle.
Zhang Mazi didn't move himself. Instead, with a casual wave, the three Spirit Masters behind him activated their spirit rings and martial souls. One had three rings, the other two had two rings each—an even match.
The two groups quickly clashed, evenly matched and locked in fierce combat.
Li Chang'an and his group didn't join the fight right away. Instead, they circled the battlefield, waiting for an opening.
That was Li Chang'an's plan—to look for the perfect moment to strike a fatal blow and isolate Zhang Mazi completely!
"The one with three rings is mine and Senior Sister's. You two handle the other two. Remember, strike at the same time!" Li Chang'an's voice came through clearly via a soul power transmission, even though it cost him some energy.
"Senior Sister, Charm!" Li Chang'an shouted to Hu Liena. At the same moment, his purple soul ring flared to life.
In his hand appeared the ancient black Pangu Axe, glowing with the deep violet light that marked a thousand-year soul ring. He didn't hold back—he launched his first soul skill right away: Heavenly Cleave!
A flash of violet light burst forth. The Spirit Elder—briefly stunned by Hu Liena's charm—had barely two seconds to react before Li Chang'an's axe cleaved clean through him.
A fully alert and guarded Spirit Elder might be a tough kill, but one caught off guard? For Li Chang'an, it only took one strike.
At the same time—
Yan's body lit up in red flames as he activated his Flame Lord Martial Soul. His first and second spirit rings flared as he charged head-on into the opposing Spirit Master with two rings.
Xie Yue's twin moon blades flashed out, his technique sharp and methodical. His attacks looked downright terrifying.
"You bastards are dead!"
By the time Zhang Mazi realized what was happening, all three of his Spirit Master subordinates had fallen. He nearly passed out from the shock. Spirit Masters were rare and invaluable—losing three in one day? His whole mountain stronghold's strength just plummeted.
From beneath him, five spirit rings slowly rose—white, yellow, yellow, purple, purple!
And that's when his body began to change. His frame expanded slightly, but the real shocker was his mouth—it grew wide as a soup bowl and emitted an eerie black aura!
'What kind of Martial Soul is that?'
Li Chang'an couldn't make it out at first. But then, one of the Spirit Masters from the convoy suddenly froze, as if under some kind of control. In the next instant, Zhang Mazi's massive, blackened mouth clamped down on the man's neck!
Li Chang'an and the others could clearly sense it: that Spirit Master's soul power was steadily being drained. Worse still, his Martial Soul was being consumed!
A Devouring Martial Soul?!
Li Chang'an didn't have time to worry about his own exhaustion. "Everyone attack—now! Or we'll all end up like that!"
With that, he poured the last of his soul power into the Pangu Axe and charged straight ahead!
The others didn't hesitate. Zhang Mazi's Martial Soul was too bizarre—retreat was not an option.
"Hmph!"
Zhang Mazi let out a cold laugh.
Trying to stop him was like a ant trying to block a chariot!
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