Douluo Continent: My name is Lu Mingfei, and my martial soul is Lu Mingze.

Lu Mingfei frowned.

The Starry Sky Forest is not a place for spring outings, and leaving the group without permission is a big no-no. Zhang Lexuan repeatedly emphasized this point before the trip.

But now, three living people have vanished without a trace.

A faint, almost imperceptible smell of blood wafted through the air.

It was very faint, so faint that it could almost be ignored, but Lu Mingfei caught it.

Zhang Lexuan also captured it.

The two exchanged a glance, and their expressions changed simultaneously.

Lu Mingfei did not hesitate.

Word of Power: Moment, activated at four times speed.

The bronze luster of the throne flowed across the skin, the muscles tensed instantly, and two shallow pits were etched into the ground beneath his feet.

He drew his Tang sword from his storage soul tool.

Zhang Lexuan reacted faster than him.

She was already shouting—"Everyone, gather around me! Prepare for battle!"

But that 100,000-year-old soul beast was even faster.

A deafening roar echoed from the depths of the dense forest, a sound that seemed to tear an entire mountain in two. The sonic waves, carrying a stench of blood, poured down through the gaps in the tree canopy, making one's eardrums ache.

Immediately afterwards, a huge black shadow pounced out of the woods.

It was an exaggeratedly large soul beast. Lu Mingfei didn't have time to look closely at what it looked like. He only saw a dark shadow descending from the sky, like a small mountain falling from the sky.

The two students standing on the outermost edge were the first to be affected.

They didn't even have time to unleash their martial spirits before being struck by the giant beast's front paws.

The sound of bones shattering mingled with the roar, creating a muffled, chilling effect.

The two people were thrown out, crashed into a tree trunk, and then slid down, where they remained motionless.

Lu Mingfei's pupils suddenly contracted.

This was the first time he had ever actually seen a dead person in person.

Zhang Lexuan's eyes reddened, but she gritted her teeth.

She had no time to grieve.

"Everyone retreat!"

She shouted, and her martial spirit was suddenly released. Eight spirit rings lit up one after another, with the top red spirit ring emitting a heart-palpitating light.

Her body stood in front of everyone, facing the enormous creature directly.

"Run towards the edge of the forest! Don't look back! Hurry!"

Without any hesitation, the remaining trainees turned and ran.

It's not that they lack loyalty, but when facing a 100,000-year-old soul beast, anyone who isn't at the Soul Douluo level doesn't even qualify to be cannon fodder.

Staying here would only get in the way and distract Zhang Lexuan.

Yao Haoxuan took a couple of steps, looked back, and found that Lu Mingfei was still standing in the same spot.

"Lu Mingfei! Run!" he roared.

Xixi turned around, her dimples disappearing in her anxiety: "What are you standing there for, you idiot!"

Lu Mingfei didn't move.

In his mind, the image of the Kamaitachi had been expanded to its extreme.

But the voice he wanted to hear wasn't there.

There was no trace of Xuan Lao's presence.

It lacked the air of that old man who always carried a gourd of wine, gnawed on chicken legs, and seemed carefree but was actually quite capable.

Lu Mingfei's heart skipped a beat.

He expanded the range of the Kamaitachi again, to the limit that his mental strength could sustain.

He searched every patch of grass, every tree canopy, and behind every rock within a radius of several kilometers.

No.

Master Xuan was not nearby.

"Senior Sister!" Lu Mingfei called out.

Zhang Lexuan, her eyes fixed on the movements of the 100,000-year-old soul beast, replied without turning her head, "Why aren't you leaving yet!"

"Master Xuan is not here!"

Zhang Lexuan's body stiffened for a moment, but her gaze did not leave the soul beast.

Are you sure?

"Sure."

Zhang Lexuan took a deep breath, her expression grim.

Elder Xuan is indeed powerful, but he has a bad habit—he loves to drink. Every time he goes out on a mission, he carries several gourds of wine with him and drinks wherever he goes.

In the past few days, when they were on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, Elder Xuan would occasionally appear in everyone's sight and take a stroll, but in the past two days, he has appeared much less often.

The reason was simple: he had almost finished drinking the few jugs of wine he carried with him, so he started looking everywhere for ingredients to brew wine.

Now, within a radius of several thousand meters, Elder Xuan's aura has completely disappeared.

That old drunkard must have run far away.

Zhang Lexuan's lips were pressed into a thin line.

She is indeed a Soul Douluo, but compared to a 100,000-year-old Soul Beast, she is no match.

A 100,000-year-old soul beast is an existence that can go head-to-head with a titled Douluo, and she doesn't even know what abilities this one in front of her has.

But she cannot back down.

If she retreats, all those people behind her will die.

"Mingfei, you should leave quickly."

Zhang Lexuan's voice was very low, so low that only Lu Mingfei behind her could hear it.

"I'll hold it off, you lead them and run, the farther the better."

Yao Haoxuan rushed over from behind, grabbed Lu Mingfei's arm, and tried to drag him out.

"Lu Mingfei, are you crazy! Get out of here!"

Xixi also grabbed his sleeve from the other side.

But Lu Mingfei's feet seemed to be nailed to the ground, not moving an inch.

He turned around and smiled at Yao Haoxuan and Xixi.

That smile was incredibly irritating, but for some reason, Yao Haoxuan loosened his grip a little when he saw it.

"You guys run first," Lu Mingfei said.

"you--"

"I have a way to deal with it."

"What could a level 30 character like you possibly have—"

"I told you I had a way."

This time, Lu Mingfei's tone carried an undeniable certainty.

Yao Haoxuan was stunned for a moment, then, without paying attention to Lu Mingfei, he grabbed Xixi and ran away.

"You'd better not die."

"Don't worry, you won't die."

Xixi was dragged several meters by Yao Haoxuan, and then looked back at Lu Mingfei one last time.

The boy's silhouette was stretched long in the dim light of the campfire.

Seeing that Lu Mingfei was still standing there, Zhang Lexuan turned around anxiously.

"Why aren't you leaving—"

Her voice stopped abruptly.

Because she saw Lu Mingfei walking towards her, stretching his neck as he walked, as if he were doing warm-up exercises.

"Senior sister."

Lu Mingfei walked up to her and stopped, turning to look at her with a smug smile on his face.

"You care about me that much?"

Zhang Lexuan was stunned.

Before she could speak, the giant claw of the 100,000-year-old soul beast slammed down.

Almost instinctively, Zhang Lexuan pushed her martial spirit to its limit, raising her hands upwards to create a barrier of soul power above her head.

The giant claw slammed onto the barrier.

A deafening roar erupted.

The barrier shattered into countless fragments. Zhang Lexuan let out a muffled groan and was thrown back more than ten meters by the shock, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of her mouth.

She supported herself on one arm, looked up, and saw that Lu Mingfei was still standing there, the smile on his face not yet completely gone.

Zhang Lexuan felt her temples throbbing, and she wished she could pick Lu Mingfei up and shake the water out of his brain.

Then she felt a chill.

The temperature dropped sharply.

The ground began to freeze, and white frost flowers spread outwards from Lu Mingfei. The dew on the grass instantly turned into ice beads, and tiny snowflakes began to fall from the air.

The 100,000-year-old soul beast suddenly froze for a moment.

It sensed something.

Zhang Lexuan suddenly looked at Lu Mingfei.

Two more people appeared behind Lu Mingfei without him noticing.

Two women.

One of them looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, with long, snow-white hair that reached her waist, the ends of which swayed slightly in the cold wind.

Her features were so exquisite that they seemed unreal, and her eyes and brows carried a cool and indifferent air, like a goddess who had emerged from the snow and wind of the far north.

She wore a long white dress, the hem of which swayed gently in the frost, giving her an air of nobility and aloofness.

The other one looked to be only eight or nine years old. She was a little girl with pigtails and very light ice-blue hair. Each pigtail had a ribbon tied to it.

Her eyes were big and bright, but they were filled with an unruly arrogance. She crossed her arms over her chest, raised her chin slightly, and had an expression that said, "I am second to none in the world."

Zhang Lexuan considered herself one of the most beautiful women in the inner courtyard, but seeing these two women, she suddenly felt that her usually proud appearance was nothing special.

This isn't a question of whether it's pretty or not.

It's about temperament.

It's that innate, otherworldly quality.

What alarmed Zhang Lexuan even more was the soul power fluctuation emanating from these two people.

This sense of oppression was even stronger than that of Elder Xuan.

Hyotei spoke first.

She ignored the 100,000-year-old soul beast and Zhang Lexuan, instead turning around and staring at Lu Mingfei with her head tilted back, chattering away.

"I knew it! It's never a good thing they call us out!"

"Last time you made me your classmate's bodyguard, this time it's even better, you want me to fight a 100,000-year-old soul beast for you? Am I your summoned beast?"

Aren't you just a summoned beast? Don't you have any self-awareness?

Lu Mingfei rolled his eyes.

"You've been living and eating for free in my mental paradise for so long, snacking every day and eating better than me. What's wrong with letting you come out and get a job?"

"Besides, you can taste the flavors of the outside world while you're in my sea of ​​consciousness. You've enjoyed countless delicacies. What's wrong with you working for your lord? Is that a problem?"

"You—" Hyotei's cheeks puffed up, and her two ponytails trembled with anger.

"What do you mean, 'you'?" Lu Mingfei retorted, sticking out his neck.

"Besides, didn't you say you were bored before? Now that you have work to do, why are you unhappy again?"

That's because—

"Alright."

The Snow Empress spoke.

Her voice was very soft, like the wind gliding across ice, but when she finished speaking, even the air seemed to go silent for a moment.

Hyotei snorted and turned his head to the side.

Xue Di looked at Lu Mingfei, his face reflected in her calm eyes.

"That big guy, should we kill him or spare him?"

Lu Mingfei thought for a moment, then gave a bright smile.

"Take off half his health first, then I'll finish him off."

"clear."

Although Hyotei was still sulking, the corners of their mouths turned up after hearing those words.

She turned around and stood side by side with Xue Di, looking at the 100,000-year-old soul beast that was readjusting its posture.

"It's been a long time since I've done anything."

Hyotei flexed his slender fingers, his knuckles making a soft cracking sound.

"Indeed." Xue Di's voice remained calm, but ice crystals had already begun to form on her fingertips.

"Let's see who can knock it down first!"

"it is good."

The moment the words left their mouths, the two of them vanished from the spot.

The 100,000-year-old soul beast felt uneasy the moment the Ice Emperor and Snow Emperor appeared.

It is also considered one of the overlords of this forest, running rampant in this area, and nothing has ever frightened it.

But the two women who suddenly appeared made all the fur on its body stand on end.

That was an instinctive warning from the depths of one's blood.

It turned and tried to run away.

Hyotei appeared on its left.

With a wave of her small hand, a huge ice spike materialized out of thin air and smashed into the head of the soul beast from the side.

The soul beast instinctively turned its head to dodge.

But just as it dodged the ice spikes, Snow Emperor appeared directly in front of it.

Xue Di gently pushed her palm forward.

snowstorm.

Countless ice crystals and snowflakes poured from her palm, turning into a white torrent that crashed into the soul beast's chest.

The impact sound was so muffled, like the beating of a drum as big as a mountain.

The soul beast's massive body was knocked back more than ten meters, its four claws carving four deep furrows in the ground.

Its chest fur was frozen white, and the cold air seeped into its body through its blood vessels, causing it to roar in pain.

It swung its huge claws and slapped at the Snow Emperor.

The claws slammed down where Xue Di was standing, creating a large crater in the ground, with dirt and gravel flying everywhere.

But Xue Di is no longer there.

She stood atop the soul beast's head, her toes lightly touching its forehead.

The soul beast's eyes rolled upwards, and the snow emperor's white figure was reflected in its huge pupils.

Xue Di looked down at it, then lifted her foot and stomped it lightly.

It wasn't the kind of stomping with all your might; it was just a casual stomp, like stepping on an ant on the ground.

But with that stomp, the soul beast's head was completely stomped into the ground.

Lu Mingfei stood at the back watching this one-sided battle, his lips twitching.

He thought to himself, "This isn't a fight, it's clearly two old ladies playing around."

It's clear that Hyotei and Yukitei haven't made a move in a long time.

They had several opportunities to kill the soul beast with one blow, but they didn't go for it. Instead, they took turns striking and kicking the big guy, making him stagger and howl.

It's like two cats teasing a half-dead mouse.

Ice Emperor dodged the soul beast's tail attack from the side, and with a backhand, conjured a row of ice spikes that pierced its tail. The soul beast, in pain, circled around and chased after its own tail, looking just like a dog whose tail had been stepped on.

"Its tail is quite flexible."

Ice Emperor landed next to Snow Emperor, crossed his arms, and watched the comical sight of the soul beast chasing its tail in circles.

"It's thick-skinned and feels good to the touch."

"But he doesn't have any special abilities; he just relies on strength and speed to overpower others."

Zhang Lexuan, clutching her injured arm, walked to Lu Mingfei's side and looked at the two women who were teasing the 100,000-year-old soul beast with a very complicated expression.

She opened her mouth, but it took her a long time to utter a single sentence.

"Who...are they?"

Lu Mingfei scratched his head, trying to appear calm.

"Hmm... how should I put it?" He thought for a moment, then made up a few things off the cuff.

"They're kind of my... um... how should I put it... friends? The kind of friends who are really close, who have lived together for a long time, who bicker with each other all the time but will definitely help you when something really happens."

Zhang Lexuan looked at the craters, tens of meters wide, that had been smashed out during the battle, and the large swath of trees frozen into ice sculptures. Then she looked at the 100,000-year-old soul beast that was being played with like a toy by the two women.

friend?

What kind of friend could have such cultivation?

This level of cultivation is even stronger than that of Elder Xuan.

But Lu Mingfei didn't continue speaking; instead, he scratched his head and chuckled.

"Senior sister, everyone has their own secrets."

Zhang Lexuan was silent for a few seconds, then looked away.

"Um."