Chapter 105: Ningguang and Jiang Nannan

"Run!" Huo Yuhao roared without hesitation, grabbing Wang Dong and turning to flee desperately. At the same time, a delicate soul tool unfolded on his back, emitting dazzling white flames. The powerful thrust propelled the two of them, like a white meteor streaking across the night sky, speeding towards Shrek City.

"Trying to run? Too late!" From the dark shadows, a figure darted out like a ghost. It was a black-clad individual wearing a mask inscribed with the number "Fourteen". Their hands instantly transformed into inky black spider blades, radiating chilling killing intent, as they ruthlessly slashed towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

The two yellow, two purple, and two black soul rings, a total of six, shimmering around the black-clad figure instantly sent shockwaves through Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong's hearts. A Soul Emperor level expert! And one with the optimal soul ring configuration at that. Such strength was on par with the outer court teachers of Shrek Academy, something two inexperienced youths like them simply couldn't withstand.

Facing Black Fourteen's powerful interception, Wang Dong reacted swiftly. His blue-gold butterfly wings instantly unfurled behind him, and he pushed Huo Yuhao away with a strong backward shove, narrowly dodging the fatal blow. Huo Yuhao's reaction was equally quick. As he created distance, a dazzling red light suddenly appeared in his hand. The red light shot out like an arrow from a bowstring, instantly soaring into the sky, then exploding high above into a brilliant and magnificent fireworks display. In an instant, the entire Shrek City could clearly see this striking signal.

"Quickly, kill!" A cold, crisp command suddenly rang out, breaking the surrounding silence. The speaker, clad in snow-white robes, wore a white mask that exuded a chilling aura. On the mask, a prominent "Thirteen" seemed to carry endless solemnity. Upon seeing the red signal, White Thirteen's beautiful eyes flashed with cold light, and she gave the order to attack without hesitation.

This cold voice was identical to the one that had detected Huo Yuhao's spiritual detection earlier. From the six optimally configured soul rings neatly arranged around her, one could tell her strength was extraordinary. Even rarer, she was also a spiritual-type Soul Master, a rarity in the world of Soul Masters. A spiritual-type Soul Emperor of such power was even more scarce. And judging by her commanding posture throughout, she was the true orchestrator of this assassination, not Black Fourteen.

As White Thirteen's short and sharp command fell, four ghostly figures seemed to silently emerge from the crevices of darkness. They swiftly launched attacks towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, their movements clean and precise, without a single superfluous sound. These four, dressed in black and white attire with masks identical to White Thirteen and Black Fourteen, differed only in the numbers inscribed on their masks: White Seventeen, White Eighteen, Black Sixteen, and Black Seventeen. However, compared to White Thirteen and Black Fourteen, they only had five soul rings, indicating they were Soul Kings, not Soul Emperors.

Such a powerful lineup, used against a Soul Venerable and a Great Soul Master, seemed like using a cannon to kill a mosquito, an overkill. However, such a luxurious lineup was merely to justify the exorbitant appearance fee of 200,000 gold soul coins. After all, in the world of Soul Masters, killing Soul Venerables and Great Soul Masters usually wouldn't warrant the personal involvement of Soul Kings and Soul Emperors.

"Yuhao, let me!" Just at this critical juncture, the Ice Empress's clear voice suddenly resounded in Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea. The Ice Empress had also awakened at this moment, keenly sensing Huo Yuhao's dire situation. In her urgency, she immediately intended to take over Huo Yuhao's body, planning to personally intervene and turn the tide.

"No, Bingbing, Yuhao can't withstand your power right now!" The Skydream Iceworm's anxious voice followed. It knew very well that the Ice Empress's power was too immense. If the Ice Empress forcefully took over Huo Yuhao's body at this moment, Huo Yuhao's body might explode from the Ice Empress's vast power before the assassins even laid a hand on him.

"Then what do we do? Do we just watch Yuhao get killed?" The Ice Empress glared fiercely at the Skydream Iceworm, her eyes filled with anger. She had finally made up her mind to believe the Skydream Iceworm's words, choosing to stake everything on Huo Yuhao. How could she just watch her efforts go to waste and turn into nothing?

"Don't worry, this is very close to Shrek City. As long as Yuhao and the others can hold on a little longer, they'll be fine. Only if it truly becomes absolutely necessary should you act." The Skydream Iceworm quickly explained, his voice soothing, trying to calm the Ice Empress down.

"Fine!" The Ice Empress gritted her teeth. At this critical moment, she also put away her usual temper and became serious, concentrating and preparing to take over Huo Yuhao's body at any moment and personally engage in combat. Even though she knew doing so might cause damage to Huo Yuhao's body, in her opinion, it was far better than Huo Yuhao losing his life.

While the Ice Empress and Skydream Iceworm were fiercely debating, above Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea, within the grey light sphere, a figure quietly and slowly opened its eyes.

The four figures, like hungry wolves pouncing on prey, simultaneously charged fiercely towards Huo Yuhao. From the very beginning, their target was only Huo Yuhao; Wang Dong was not on the assassination list, so they ignored Wang Dong, pouring all their attacks unreservedly onto Huo Yuhao.

Although Huo Yuhao was shocked, there was no panic on his face. He quickly activated his Spiritual Detection, firmly locking onto the enemy's every move. Then, a small, fixed soul tool suddenly appeared in his hand. In the inky blackness of the night, several dark crossbow bolts, like fleeting meteors across the night sky, were barely visible yet carried deadly danger, as they simultaneously shot towards the four pursuing figures.

Almost at the same moment, Wang Dong's blue-gold butterfly wings flapped violently, bringing him closer to Huo Yuhao with dazzling light. He continuously poured his soul power into Huo Yuhao's body; the tacit understanding between the two was displayed vividly at this moment of life and death. Huo Yuhao understood perfectly. With the addition of Wang Dong's soul power, his eyes spun with crazy purple-gold light, like two burning suns. Then, he glared fiercely at Black Fourteen, whose hands had already transformed into black spider blades.

This spiritual shock, Huo Yuhao held nothing back, putting all his strength into it. Black Fourteen felt a deafening roar in his mind, as if thousands of thunderbolts exploded within his head. He couldn't help but grunt, his entire body flying backward like a kite with a broken string.

"Wang Dong, ascend!" Huo Yuhao roared. He was very glad that there were no flying Soul Masters or Soul Saints among their opponents. Ascending into the air was their only chance, their only hope at this moment. At the same time, his two soul rings subtly converted into one under the cover of his clothes, revealing a giant, emerald-green tattoo beneath, mysterious and eerie.

Wang Dong, relying on the information Huo Yuhao shared through spiritual detection, had already clearly felt the rapidly approaching enemies. The powerful oppressive feeling washing over him filled his heart with deep despair. The disparity in strength between the two sides was too great. Escaping seemed impossible, and fighting offered no chance of victory.

But even so, he unhesitatingly obeyed Huo Yuhao's command, enduring the fear in his heart, and pulled Huo Yuhao, rapidly ascending into the sky.

"Hmph, Mist Blade Thousand Strikes!" White Thirteen snorted coldly when she saw Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong trying to escape by ascending. In an instant, mist surged behind her, and a phantom figure slowly emerged. It was her martial soul—Phantom Mist Specter, an extremely rare spiritual-type mutated martial soul. As her fourth soul ring shone, the grey mist seemed to come alive, rapidly condensing and instantly forming thousands of sharp mist blades, like a sky-obscuring storm of death, overwhelming Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong in the air.

"Yuhao!" Wang Dong shouted in fear while continuing to ascend. He had already felt the rapidly approaching deadly killing intent. The mist blades rushing towards him made his hairs stand on end, and all his nerves were sounding alarms.

"Emperor Ice's Fury!" Just at this critical, life-and-death moment, Wang Dong suddenly felt his soul power being frantically absorbed by Huo Yuhao. The next moment, Huo Yuhao's body suddenly lit up, appearing exceptionally dazzling in the dark night sky. Emerald-green light shone, outlining an emerald-green torso bone form on Huo Yuhao's body. Then, a dazzling emerald-green light pillar, like a divine sword piercing through heaven and earth, surged out from Huo Yuhao's chest.

Extreme coldness, like surging tides, instantly permeated the area. Wherever it reached, the air froze, and time seemed to stand still. In just an instant, all of White Thirteen's immensely powerful Mist Blade Thousand Strikes were frozen solid, and even the mist containing White Thirteen's spiritual power did not escape.

"This is...?!" White Thirteen couldn't help but groan the moment her spiritual power was damaged. Traces of blood flowed from her nose and mouth, appearing particularly horrifying under the pale moonlight. Her eyes were filled with horror. She had once felt this extreme cold aura from Lord Jingliu. Although the coldness on Huo Yuhao's body was still far inferior to Lord Jingliu's, it was enough to leave her stunned on the spot. What made it even harder for her to believe was that her spiritual power had been severely damaged by the impact of this coldness. In past battles, the soul skills of ordinary attribute Soul Masters could not harm her spiritual power, which was why she usually dared to spread her spiritual power without restraint. However, it was this carelessness that caused her to suffer a great loss today, tasting the bitter fruit of underestimating her opponent.

After unleashing the Emperor Ice's Fury, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong's faces simultaneously turned ashen pale, their soul power almost completely depleted. At this moment, Wang Dong could only barely keep Huo Yuhao afloat in the air, his body so weak that he could barely lift a finger, let alone continue flying. Although they had temporarily repelled Black Fourteen and White Thirteen, there were still four menacing Soul King-level assassins before them. For a moment, the two seemed to be in a desperate situation, unable to see any glimmer of hope.

Just at this critical, life-threatening moment, three figures appeared on the battlefield almost simultaneously. Seeing Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong in dire straits, they acted without the slightest hesitation. In an instant, thunder roared, and a massive lightning dragon soared into the sky. Then, a Black Tortoise phantom slowly emerged, and a giant shield firmly blocked Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

Another figure, upon seeing the enemy's attire, her pupils sharply contracted, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes, causing her movements to slow by half a beat. But in the end, she still transformed into an afterimage, leaping back and forth using several large trees, her posture as nimble as a spirited bird. She quickly rushed into the air, her beautiful legs in high heels tracing an elegant arc as she delivered a fierce kick.

Time rewound to a few minutes earlier. When the red signal flare soared into the sky, Beibei and Xu Sanshi, who were at the Treasure Pavilion, instantly changed expressions. They recognized it at a glance as the distress signal exclusive to outer court core disciples. At this particular time, and with a distress signal from an outer court core disciple outside Shrek City, they simultaneously thought of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, who had just left.

"Oh no, it's Yuhao and Wang Dong!" The next moment, their eyes met, and they spoke almost in unison. Before their words faded, they rushed out of the city at their fastest speed, like two arrows released from a bow, their hearts filled with anxiety and worry.

At the same time, on the top floor of a seven-story luxurious pavilion, Ningguang stood quietly, also seeing the distress signal.

"Is this a distress signal from an outer court core disciple? How can this be? This is Shrek City!" Behind Ningguang, a girl who looked about fourteen or fifteen years old said with surprise. The girl had a tall and well-proportioned figure, with long golden hair cascading over her shoulders like a waterfall. Her skin was as white and smooth as snow, and her face was exquisitely beautiful, like a fairy stepping out of a painting, truly captivating.

"Could it be Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong?" The girl frowned slightly, then said after a moment of thought. There weren't many core disciples who came to the Treasure Pavilion tonight, and she had happened to see Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong's retreating figures before she left. Now, with a sudden distress signal from a core disciple outside the city, she couldn't help but make this guess.

"Oh? Do you know them?" Ningguang turned slightly to look at the girl, gently asking.

"They should be two junior schoolmates I know. One of them sells grilled fish at the academy, the kind I brought back for you last time, Sister Ningguang." The girl answered truthfully, then a hesitant expression appeared on her face, as if she had something to say but was holding back.

"If you want to go, then go. I told you, you are free. Although I saved your mother, that was because I saw potential in your talent and future; it was an investment, not a chain to bind you." Ningguang seemed to see through the girl's thoughts, chuckling softly and speaking gently.

"Thank you, Sister Ningguang." The girl's eyes filled with gratitude. She gave Ningguang a thankful glance, then took a step and leaped from the seven-story building. Using the buildings below, the girl was like a nimble rabbit, quickly shuttling between structures, leaping and speeding towards the outside of the city at an extremely fast pace.

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