"Xiao Yan?"
(⊙_⊙;)
When Yu Yan jogged out from behind the carriage to ask anxiously if he was all right, Yu Qingfeng felt as if his brain had short-circuited.
Why was Yu Yan here?
Why did it look as though Yu Yan had just resolved the crisis in front of him?
But wasn't Yu Yan only a First Ring Spirit Master?
Then what was that chain of ice just now?
A string of questions swirled in Yu Qingfeng's head, leaving him at a loss for words when Yu Yan voiced his concern.
"Brother Yu, what's wrong?"
Seeing Yu Qingfeng staring blankly without answering, Yu Yan—afraid something had happened to him—waved a hand back and forth in front of his face, urgency creeping into his tone.
"I'm fine." Collected again, Yu Qingfeng looked Yu Yan up and down and asked the key question behind all his bewilderment: "Did you break through to level twenty?"
Answering that would solve most of the other riddles.
"I was lucky enough to stumble onto an Opportunity, so I broke through."
Yu Yan gave a vague reply; he couldn't possibly explain in detail why he cultivated so fast—the two of them weren't that close.
"I see. You're really fortunate, Xiao Yan."
Knowing Yu Yan's real age, Yu Qingfeng felt a strange pang to realize this youth was already a Two-Ring Great Soul Master just like himself.
Still, he had the tact not to press further about what kind of Opportunity it had been; their relationship simply wasn't that familiar.
Leaving the topic alone and preserving that small debt was the wiser choice.
"Just luck."
Yu Yan maintained his usual modesty, making Xiao Wu roll her eyes; the same Yu Yan who called himself the second-greatest Genius of the age was now humbly claiming it was "just luck."
"Xiao Yan, thank you so much. If you hadn't stepped in, Qingfeng and I would've been done for."
Li Rong—who had been applying support system spirit abilities from the rear while Yu Qingfeng fought the two bandits—walked up and thanked Yu Yan sincerely.
It had been so close; just a hair more and her husband would have died before her eyes.
"Grandpa Yu has always looked after me, and you two even helped me get my first spirit ring. Saying thanks is far too polite."
Yu Yan had come to save Yu Qingfeng's life, not to collect gratitude.
While they talked, Xiao Wu stood quietly to the side, speaking only when the conversation turned to her.
Mainly, she didn't know what to say—she barely knew the couple, and all her spirit rings had condensed on their own.
From Yu Qingfeng, Yu Yan learned that the two bandits robbing the caravan were actually Fallen Soul Masters.
Fallen Soul Masters were rare in this era.
He remembered the thick regulations issued by Spirit Hall stating that handing over a Fallen Soul Master would earn a reward.
Across Douluo Continent, few people liked to read, let alone dense legalistic documents.
So, even though Spirit Hall's regulations mentioned Fallen Soul Masters, hardly anyone on the continent really knew about them.
With the caravan badly damaged and its escorting Great Soul Master seriously injured, the group needed to return to Suotuo City to recuperate before deciding what to do next.
Fortunately they weren't far from Suotuo City and could reach it before dark—one of the few bits of good news.
Just as they finished clearing up and were about to head back, a Sturdy Man appeared ahead of the caravan, blocking their way.
Spotting that the man's clothes resembled those of the one-eyed, one-armed bandits, Yu Yan quietly tugged Xiao Wu's sleeve and gave her a warning signal.
Seeing the gesture, Xiao Wu studied the newcomer and realized he wore the same outfit as the robbers.
If Yu Yan and Xiao Wu could notice, so could Yu Qingfeng, Li Rong, and the caravan guards; without needing a reminder, they readied for battle.
As they sized him up, the Sturdy Man did the same. After confirming no expert travelled with the caravan, he frowned. "So the wastes Blood Two and Blood Three lost to you lot. Are they dead?"
His tone showed he cared nothing for the fate of the one-eyed or one-armed man.
"Blood Two? Blood Three? There's no one by those names in our caravan, and we've never met them,"
the caravan boss spoke up, hoping to play dumb and bluff his way out.
"No point acting clever. Blood Two and Blood Three were the two Great Soul Master bandits who attacked you. I can smell them on you."
Clearly not one for chatter, the Sturdy Man released a huge blood-red wolf behind him, its fur like clotted blood, eyes scarlet, fangs and claws gleaming like metal. Two yellow and one purple spirit rings appeared with it.
"A Soul Elder!"
"A Soul Elder!!"
"A Soul Elder!!!"
Gasps rippled through the caravan as they saw the three rings.
Yu Qingfeng, whose emotions had already swung up and down, gave up all thought of resisting; before a Three-Ring Soul Venerable, he simply couldn't muster the will to fight.
"He's a Three-Ring Soul Venerable. Beating him will probably require my Second Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Let's lure him into the woods nearby and finish him there."
Confident, Yu Yan leaned close to Xiao Wu and whispered his plan.
"Mm." Xiao Wu nodded, stroking the fur of Spirit Cat Wu Xue in her arms. "Wu Xue, wait here for us; we'll be right back."
After telling Wu Xue, she set the cat on a cart, never mind whether it understood.
Yu Yan likewise set down his luggage. The two exchanged a glance, then shot from the caravan like arrows, straight at the Sturdy Man blocking the road.
Just like a two-man Spirit Duel in the arena, Yu Yan activated Martial Soul Possession, cast Frost Scale Armor, and punched head-on, while Xiao Wu, also possessed, used her First Soul Skill for Comprehensive Amplification and flanked him, looking for an opening.
"Two reckless brats who don't know their limits."
Having slain who-knew-how-many Great Soul Masters, the Sturdy Man looked relaxed and arrogant, not taking Yu Yan and Xiao Wu seriously at all.