Any thoughts of continuing to conceal their identities were now abandoned. A pair of wings several meters long, fully unfurled from Elder Song's back, their cyan radiance seeming bright enough to illuminate the entire Mingdu.
"Shree—!"
With a sharp eagle cry, the soul engineers who had just arrived felt a wave of dizziness. When their vision cleared, Elder Song and Yan Shaozhe were nowhere to be seen.
"Chase them!"
Nangong Wan's face was somewhat pale; it was clear that consecutively blocking Elder Song's attacks had taken its toll on him.
Seeing Elder Song about to carry Yan Shaozhe away, he glanced left and right before shouting.
Dark Lightning Douluo and Netherworld Douluo exchanged a look. Seeing Nangong Wan already flying out of Mingdu, they said nothing more and immediately gave chase.
"Elder Song, put me down first. That attack just now wasn't deep; I can leave on my own."
Hearing this, Elder Song released the right hand gripping Yan Shaozhe's arm. Yan Shaozhe let out a muffled groan but still closely followed behind Elder Song.
"They're catching up. You go ahead."
Elder Song glanced back.
Yan Shaozhe paused for a moment, but knowing few could stop someone with Elder Song's speed, he no longer insisted.
From behind, seeing Elder Song's speed slow, Dark Lightning Douluo raised both hands, sending another large net crackling with thunder toward her.
Netherworld Douluo's first, second, and third soul rings lit up simultaneously. The Netherworld Sword in his hand instantly split into several sharp blades that pierced through space toward Elder Song.
"Second Brother, now!"
Dark Lightning Douluo's expression brightened as he saw his and Netherworld Douluo's attacks blocking Elder Song's path.
Even a Super Douluo would not necessarily find it easy to deal with three Titled Douluos at once, especially with the Sun Moon Empire's forces rapidly approaching from behind.
Yet after his shout, Nangong Wan made no move. Turning to look, he realized Nangong Wan had long since fled without a trace.
He had never been a stubborn man. Seeing Elder Song intent on staying to hold the rear only strengthened his desire to retreat; he had no intention of continuing the fight.
Before Netherworld Douluo could react, Elder Song had already appeared before him, reaching out to grasp the seemingly intangible long sword.
Netherworld Douluo yanked twice, but Elder Song's palm had fully transformed into an eagle claw, gripping the sword without budging.
Netherworld Douluo sensed the danger and released the sword to retreat backward, but in the eyes of Elder Song, exerting full power, his speed was still too slow. In the next instant, a cyan blade had already plunged into his chest.
"Fourth Brother!"
Dark Lightning Douluo shouted and flew toward Netherworld Douluo. Only when he drew near did he see clearly: what pierced Netherworld Douluo's chest was not some blade; it was Elder Song's entire arm.
A level 97 Super Douluo was now revealing the true terror of an agility-attack system soul master.
Having landed a hit, Elder Song's figure flashed and vanished once more. Dark Lightning Douluo looked left and right but could not see her anywhere; only an invisible sense of crisis continued to envelop the surroundings.
Seeing Netherworld Douluo's aura rapidly weakening and glancing at the approaching Sun Moon Empire soul engineers in the distance, Dark Lightning Douluo's expression hardened. The large net in his hand expanded with the wind before exploding with a boom.
Detonating his life-bound soul tool left Dark Lightning Douluo's face pale, but he bought himself a brief moment. Carrying Netherworld Douluo, he descended toward the ground.
Elder Song turned to pursue again, but several beams of light from soul tools in the distance had already fully enveloped her.
A faint sense of danger made her abruptly halt. After scanning her surroundings, she flapped her cyan wings once more and vanished.
When she reappeared beside Yan Shaozhe, she saw his complexion had worsened further.
"Shaozhe, are you alright?"
Yan Shaozhe shook his head and glanced down at the wound on his arm.
Though the wound was extremely deep, for a Titled Douluo of his cultivation, it was merely a physical injury and not a serious concern. What was truly troublesome was what Netherworld Douluo had left inside the wound.
Not only did it block the flow of Yan Shaozhe's light-attribute soul power near the injury, but another force continuously tore at his flesh, preventing the wound from healing for the time being.
"Let's leave this area first."
"Very well."
Elder Song grabbed Yan Shaozhe once more. They had not flown far when another figure approached from ahead.
Elder Song's eyes sharpened, but relaxed upon recognizing the newcomer. Glancing back at the pursuing Sun Moon Empire forces, she urgently called, "Le Xuan, hurry and leave—get out of here quickly."
The person approaching the two was Zhang Lexuan, who had just returned from outside the city. Seeing Yan Shaozhe's somewhat pale face, her expression changed slightly. She nodded and immediately turned to depart.
"Escaping like this isn't sustainable. We should find a place to hide for a while."
Elder Song's group of three had already flown out of Mingdu, yet the soul engineers behind showed no intention of stopping. The glow of flight soul tools on their backs brightened, and their speed seemed to increase further.
If the pursuers were still those few evil soul masters, Elder Song would not mind striking again. But facing the Sun Moon Empire's soul engineers, she had no justification to act.
Trespassing into the Sun Moon Empire's capital was already unjustifiable; injuring their soul engineers on top of that would carry the suspicion of provoking a continental war.
Although border skirmishes had grown more frequent in recent years and the Sun Moon Empire appeared eager for conflict, no formal war had yet been declared. Shrek Academy could not bear such responsibility.
Hearing Elder Song's words, Zhang Lexuan looked up at the surroundings. As if suddenly thinking of something, she raised her hand and pointed south. "That direction should lead to a mountain range, one of the Sun Moon Empire's well-known soul beast gathering areas. If we head there, even the Sun Moon Empire's people won't pursue too deeply."
"How do you…" Elder Song paused, then continued, "Never mind. We'll follow your suggestion and head there for now."
The speed of Titled Douluo was naturally swift, especially for someone renowned for speed like Elder Song. Despite the Sun Moon Empire pursuers being aided by flight soul tools, the distance between them continued to widen.
Until Elder Song's group plunged into the Jingyang Mountain Range, after which they vanished completely from sight.
The soul beasts in the Jingyang Mountain Range did not possess particularly high cultivation years; traces of a hundred-thousand-year soul beasts were almost nonexistent. With Elder Song's cultivation, she could finally relax.
Yan Shaozhe was already seated to one side in meditation. The wound on his arm had visibly healed considerably. On the other side, Zhang Lexuan leaned against a tree, lost in thought.
Only Elder Song stood on high ground. After a long while, she let out a deep sigh. "We were wrong. The evil soul master forces in the Sun Moon Empire are far more powerful than we imagined."
"What we previously learned was merely the tip of the iceberg."
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