Douluo Continent: Starting with the Tiger Emperor Template

"Ye Guyi, the owner of the Holy Angel Martial Soul, is also our future ally."

Lu Ren spoke concisely and walked straight into the courtyard without pausing.

"Find a clean room to settle her in, and have someone keep an eye on her to prevent her from running around when she wakes up. Also, prepare some food; she'll probably be hungry when she wakes up."

"Yes, Master."

Nana quickly agreed and immediately turned to make the arrangements.

Her efficiency was as decisive as ever, and in no time she had prepared a south-facing room. Sunlight streamed through the window and fell on the bed, making the plain bedding warm and cozy.

Lu Ren entered the room and gently put Ye Guyi off his shoulder.

His movements were very gentle. He supported the back of her head with one hand and held her waist and back with the other, slowly laying her flat on the bed.

Golden hair was scattered on the plain white pillow.

As Ye Guyi slept, she lost some of the vigilance and sharpness she displayed when awake. Her delicate face appeared soft and serene in the sunlight, and her thick eyelashes cast two light shadows on her eyelids, trembling slightly with her even breathing.

Lu Ren straightened up, glanced at her, turned and walked out of the room. He said to Ji Juechen, who was standing at the door:

"You stay here, I'll go find out the latest situation from Nana."

Ji Juechen nodded and stood by the door, holding his silver-white longsword.

His posture was casual yet exuded a sense of ease, as if he could draw his sword at any moment, his gaze calmly sweeping over every corner of the courtyard.

Lu Ren had only taken a few steps when a commotion suddenly came from the direction of the courtyard gate. Then he heard the muffled sound of soul power colliding, the heavy thud of bodies falling to the ground, and Nana's suppressed cry of surprise.

These sounds exploded almost simultaneously, causing Lu Ren and Ji Juechen, who were not far away, to shudder at the same time.

The two exchanged a glance, without saying a word, and then their figures shot off towards the courtyard gate like arrows.

Lu Ren was even faster; the floor beneath his feet cracked open the moment he exerted his strength, and he disappeared into the end of the corridor, leaving a trail of afterimages.

Ji Juechen followed closely behind, his right hand already on the hilt of his sword.

The courtyard entrance was in complete disarray.

Nana and several Soul Kings fell to the ground. Some clutched their chests and coughed violently, while others struggled to get up, blood trickling from their mouths.

Their soul power fluctuations were chaotic, clearly indicating that they had been completely overwhelmed in the brief exchange just now.

A faint, malevolent aura lingered in the air, its chilling scent utterly out of place on this bright, sunny afternoon.

Standing in the center of the courtyard gate were two men dressed in black robes.

Neither of them wore hoods, revealing the faces of two middle-aged men.

A man with a thin face, high cheekbones, deep-set eyes, and a ghostly green light shimmering in his pupils.

The other was burly, with a face full of scars, a neck thicker than his head, and small eyes filled with violence and excitement.

Seven spirit rings rose from beneath their feet.

Two yellow, two purple, and three black – the standard Soul Saint configuration.

However, the light of that spirit ring was not the bright color of a normal spirit master, but was shrouded in a layer of lingering gray-black mist, like polluted muddy water.

They are evil spirit masters, and there are two of them at once.

The gaunt Soul Saint's gaze swept over Nana and the others, his dark green pupils narrowing slightly.

"These are all people who would be well-suited to be recruited into the Holy Spirit Cult, so why are they all here?"

His voice was high-pitched, like fingernails scratching metal, making people feel uncomfortable.

The burly Soul Saint, however, seemed much more excited. He licked his thick lips, his small eyes gleaming with greed:

"It seems they escaped after the stronghold was destroyed. Although I don't know how they did it, the fact that they survived that massacre means they had contact with the enemies who destroyed our stronghold. Perhaps they were accomplices."

His breathing became heavy.

"In that case, that guy with the Divine Attribute Martial Soul is very likely here too. We've struck gold!"

As he spoke, he stepped into the courtyard. The seven spirit rings around him began to spin faster, and dark gray evil energy surged from his body, condensing into a distorted phantom behind him.

Just then, a hand blocked his way.

It was that gaunt Soul Saint.

He placed his arm across his companion's chest:

"No, we should retreat first."

Seeing his companions blocking his way, the burly Soul Saint was stunned.

"Retreat? Are you crazy? This might be the hiding place of that holy attribute soul master. If we capture him and bring him back, the elders will surely reward us handsomely..."

"Have you forgotten that guy was able to destroy eight of my sect's branch altars in a single day?"

Before he could finish speaking, the gaunt Soul Saint interrupted him, his voice as cold as ice, his eerie green pupils staring straight into his companion's eyes.

"Eight Soul Saints, more than twenty Soul Emperors, and hundreds of Soul Kings all died at his hands. With such strength, he is at least at the Soul Douluo level, and may even be a Title Douluo."

He paused, then said, word by word:

"If that monster is in this courtyard right now, and there are only two of us Soul Saints, we'll die. We must go back and get reinforcements immediately."

The burly Soul Saint opened his mouth, but the excitement on his face quickly faded as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water.

He may be reckless, but he is not stupid.

He knew of the destruction of the eight branch altars, but he was momentarily blinded by greed for credit.

Awakened by his companion's words, a cold sweat immediately broke out on his back.

"You're smarter than me. Let's retreat first, report the situation to our superiors, and let the elders deal with this person!"

The two turned around at the same time, about to rush out of the courtyard gate.

"You can't leave."

A voice came from behind them.

The pupils of both Soul Saints contracted sharply at the same instant.

Their bodies suddenly froze, the hairs on the back of their necks stood on end, and a chill ran from their tailbone straight to the top of their heads.

When did this person get behind them?

While their perception wasn't top-tier among their peers, it was certainly not weak either.

But just now, they hadn't noticed anyone approaching at all.

There were no footsteps, no fluctuations in soul power, and not even a change in the flow of air.

It was as if that person had been standing behind them from the very beginning, but they hadn't noticed.

What a great speed!

The two turned around at the same time, their soul power surging wildly as they prepared to unleash their true martial soul forms.

Then they saw Lu Ren's face.

To be precise, they saw the snake-eye curse marks that appeared on both sides of Lu Ren's mouth, and the fang curse mark in the center of his open mouth.

"Go take a dump!"

The moment Lu Ren uttered those three words and they reached the ears of the two Soul Saints, an irresistible force acted directly on their bodies.

In just a moment, the two evil soul masters were stunned.

"What did you say?"

"What is this guy talking about?"