Pausing briefly, the light of the flight soul tool behind Lin Xiao flashed, and his figure darted forward again, catching the falling Juzi in his arms.
Zhongli Wu had already taken action. According to Lin Xiao's memories from his past life, this second assassination attempt wouldn't claim Xu Tianran's life. However, he couldn't just stand by and watch Juzi plummet to her death. With Xu Tianran's temperament, allowing that to happen would surely earn his resentment.
Only after picking up Juzi did Lin Xiao realize her condition was dire.
The dagger that was meant to pierce Xu Tianran's body was far from clean. In just a short moment, the poison had already spread throughout Juzi's body.
Moments ago, Xu Tianran had been protecting her heart meridian, allowing her to hold on for a while. But now, with Xu Tianran himself in critical condition, he could no longer attend to her, and the poison was creeping toward her vital organs.
"Mmm…"
Perhaps the changes in her body brought some pain, as Juzi let out a muffled groan. Lin Xiao glanced down upon hearing the sound, just in time to see her slowly open her eyes.
The wound on her chest wasn't particularly painful; instead, it felt numb. Her limbs were cold, and she lacked the strength to move. What she saw wasn't the expected Xu Tianran but a familiar masked face.
It was still that pair of calm eyes, though for some reason, they lacked the icy coldness from the previous night.
She wanted to say something, but in the next moment, Lin Xiao's figure swayed, interrupting her words. After the ordeal, she could no longer hold on. Her head tilted to the side, and she fell unconscious again.
Lin Xiao hadn't intentionally silenced her. Rather, he had sensed a sharp pain from behind—not actual pain, but a warning from his keen mental perception of hidden danger.
Slightly shifting his body, a streak of cold light grazed past him.
In the air, the battle between Titled Douluo continued, and it seemed another figure had joined the fray, keeping Zhongli Wu occupied for the moment.
Lin Xiao could tell that, aside from Xu Tianran, these attackers had no intention of letting anyone else escape—not even him, a mere Soul King.
Fortunately, his low cultivation meant that the one sent after him was only a Soul Sage.
Glancing around, Lin Xiao surged his soul power. The light of the flight soul tool behind him flickered, carrying him straight toward the ground.
Although his pursuer was only a Soul Sage, they could briefly linger in the air, while Lin Xiao had to constantly guard against attacks on his flight soul tool. The air was clearly not a battlefield in his favor.
The assassin, surprised that Lin Xiao had dodged his strike, felt a flicker of astonishment. Nonetheless, his body moved instinctively, chasing after him.
The two figures, one in front and one behind, hurtled toward the ground. The assassin saw his weapon nearing Lin Xiao, but in the next moment, branches and leaves sprouted from the earth, stabbing toward various parts of his body.
The assassin's heart jolted with alarm. He quickly adjusted his stance, and when he looked at Lin Xiao again, his pupils constricted.
He saw five ten-thousand-year soul rings emanating from Lin Xiao. Though he appeared to be only a Soul King, the number of ten-thousand-year soul rings surpassed even those of the Soul Sage himself.
On the other side, Lin Xiao wasn't idle. His feet touched solid ground, and a sense of reassurance settled in his heart. Then, his second soul ring lit up with black light.
Second soul skill: Sprout.
After the Spirit Ascension Ceremony, not only had the color of his soul rings changed, but the power of his soul skills had also transformed. The difference between a ten-thousand-year soul skill and a hundred-year soul skill was no small matter.
As his second soul ring flickered, the surrounding area was instantly covered with deep green branches and leaves. The slender leaves bore blood-red veins, resembling human blood vessels.
Each branch and leaf seemed to possess a mind of its own, coiling toward the assassin. Even before they got close, the assassin sensed the danger within them. Though he didn't know what it was, his instincts screamed that he must not come into contact with those leaves.
Even with his caution, completely evading a ten-thousand-year soul skill was no easy feat. The ground around Lin Xiao had turned a lush green, with dense foliage completely encircling him.
Seeing this, the assassin let out a soft chuckle. After all, Lin Xiao was only a Soul King. Despite his inexplicable number of ten-thousand-year soul rings, the gap in cultivation and experience meant he couldn't fully unleash the true power of such skills.
With a step, the assassin's figure appeared in the air, a faint smile on his face.
"Kid, let me teach you today that when a soul master's cultivation reaches a certain level, the battlefield is no longer just the ground."
Urging his soul power, his soul rings gleamed, and the assassin's figure vanished instantly.
As the distance closed, the mask on Lin Xiao's face became clearer. What unsettled the assassin was that there wasn't much panic in Lin Xiao's eyes.
Then, he saw Lin Xiao raise both hands, as if something had just passed by him.
Had he been prepared all along? What was that attack just now?
The thought had barely formed when the assassin's figure suddenly froze.
Contrary to the assassin's expectations, Lin Xiao wasn't defenseless against attacks from the air. On the contrary, while he didn't feel the same oppressive pressure from this assassin as he had from the Titled Douluo earlier, he hadn't let his guard down in the slightest.
From childhood to now, Lin Xiao had experienced more real combat than even this assassin. He had encountered countless unexpected tactics, not just from the air but even from underground—he was prepared for it all.
The reason he had spread his second soul skill across the ground was to lure the assassin into the air.
Combat wasn't just a contest of strength; it was also a game of strategy. Against an assassin skilled in ambushes, rather than guarding against every possible move, it was better to deliberately reveal a weakness and entice the opponent to attack.
If Lin Xiao's strength were also at the Soul Sage level, the assassin wouldn't have been so careless. But the gap in soul power levels had made him somewhat negligent.
For Lin Xiao, that moment of negligence was enough.
His first and second soul rings lit up simultaneously. Though he couldn't see the assassin's figure, Lin Xiao could sense that his Seed of Soul had already burrowed into the assassin's mental sea.
As he unleashed his second soul skill again, fragments of past memories surged forth, causing the assassin's mind to falter, and his figure reappeared.
In the next instant, countless branches and leaves shot up, tightly enveloping the assassin's body. It was as if a gentle breeze rustled through the foliage, or perhaps something was swallowing. The blood-red veins on the leaves glowed even brighter, casting a rosy hue on Lin Xiao's skin.
His chest heaved as Lin Xiao panted slightly. Though his martial soul could absorb an opponent's strength to reduce his own consumption, after such a long journey and repeatedly using ten-thousand-year soul skills with only a Soul King's strength, his soul power was considerably depleted.
However—
Lin Xiao raised his hand slightly, gazing at the Higanbana in his palm. To kill a Soul Sage so effortlessly, this consumption was well worth it.