For some unknown reason, Zhang Lexuan suddenly wanted to come here and take a look. It wasn't that she wanted to meet someone or say something; she just wanted to glance at this place from afar.
After a long while, the night wind around her had already carried a slight chill, yet no one had entered or exited the gates of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy.
She suddenly felt a bit disappointed, though she didn't know what she was disappointed about. She simply let out a soft sigh and turned to leave.
The illumination soul tools cast the shadows of pedestrians onto the ground on both sides of the street. Zhang Lexuan slightly lowered her head, watching the hurried shadow on the ground as she walked quickly forward, soon about to leave the city.
However, two figures appeared before her eyes, coming from outside the city. Even before they approached, a thick and fresh bloody scent emanated from them, mixed with the smell of something charred.
Zhang Lexuan slightly raised her head and glanced over. Just this one glance caused her footsteps to unconsciously stop.
On the other side of the road, Nangong Wan sensed the aura from the person beside him. He slightly turned his head to look, then quickly averted his gaze.
Although the current Ma Xiaotao only had eight rings, the power she had displayed just moments ago made even him, a Titled Douluo, vaguely sense a trace of unease.
The power of near-ultimate fire, or rather, although mixed with some dark attributes, she already possessed the strength of ultimate fire. Nangong Wan secretly compared in his heart, thinking that the next time he met the Holy Maiden, he should perhaps improve his attitude a bit.
At that moment, he suddenly sensed something. His expression turned cold as he raised his head and scanned the surroundings.
There seemed to be nothing unusual around, except for a person on the other side of the road who appeared to be leaving the city but had suddenly stopped for some reason.
Nangong Wan was always cautious in his actions. Although he hadn't detected anything specific, the faint unease in his heart still made him heighten his vigilance.
Zhang Lexuan slightly bit her lip. She could vaguely sense that Nangong Wan's strength was above her own. But now, she was only a few steps away from Ma Xiaotao, and it seemed that leaving Mingdu was just a blink away.
"Sorry for making you wait. Let's go."
A familiar voice suddenly sounded in her ear. Zhang Lexuan could feel a hand grasping her arm. Her body instinctively stiffened for a moment but quickly relaxed.
Just now, her attention had been entirely on Ma Xiaotao. Unnoticed, a figure clad in a gray cloak had appeared beside her. The wide cloak not only concealed the person's face but even made their figure hard to discern. Yet she still knew who was beneath the cloak.
Seeing that Zhang Lexuan remained silent for a moment, Lin Xiao slightly lifted his head, revealing half his face to her. "You just came to the academy looking for me. Isn't it because you were waiting to leave the city with me?"
Then, he slightly lowered his voice. "You weren't really planning to take Ma Xiaotao away right here in Mingdu, were you?"
As the words fell, Zhang Lexuan finally stepped forward, naturally walking toward the outside of the city.
On the other side, Nangong Wan watched Lin Xiao and Zhang Lexuan gradually walk away before slowly relaxing, letting out a sigh of relief.
But when he turned back to look at Ma Xiaotao, he saw her still staring at the two departing figures in the distance, a few traces of pain flashing in her eyes.
"Holy Maiden, let's go."
Nangong Wan spoke softly, but Ma Xiaotao remained motionless.
"Holy Maiden?"
Nangong Wan frowned. He carefully observed Ma Xiaotao, then followed her gaze toward the direction outside the city. His expression suddenly turned cold.
He was timid, but he was never stupid. Seeing Ma Xiaotao's somewhat strange demeanor, he instantly pieced together the whole story.
Ma Xiaotao had clearly seen someone who could affect her memories, and the reason that person had stopped earlier was definitely not to wait for anyone.
"Quick, come! The attackers of Mingdu are back!"
A loud voice, amplified by soul power, spread far and wide. Several beams of light instantly shone toward Nangong Wan's direction, then quickly swept toward the outside of the city.
Not far away, Lin Xiao's figure paused. Then he tightened his grip, and under the cloak, the light of a soul thruster ignited. The two figures vanished into the night in an instant.
Nangong Wan was still hesitating whether to pursue when a phoenix cry already rang out from beside him.
Ma Xiaotao flapped her wings once, her figure shooting forward. That speed was actually a notch faster than Nangong Wan, a Titled Douluo.
Dark red flames continuously rose from around Ma Xiaotao. The surrounding buildings were instantly left with patches of scorch marks. Some houses were even ignited in an instant, and the fire spread rapidly with the night wind. Yet she paid no heed, her eyes fixed only on the figure ahead.
Seeing this, Nangong Wan hesitated briefly before following. The two had chosen to flee, clearly indicating their strength was not high; otherwise, they would have attacked long ago.
Several streaks of light flew into the sky. The piercing alarm sounded once more. In just a few short days, this was the third time the people of Mingdu had heard the alarm, as if foretelling that the future would no longer be peaceful.
Zhang Lexuan felt the scenery constantly retreating around her, the whistling wind in her ears. The backward airflow seemed to isolate her and the person beside her in a small world, almost making one forget everything else outside.
However, she quickly came back to her senses and looked back. A mass of dark red flames was rapidly pursuing them.
"Xiaotao..."
Zhang Lexuan spoke softly. Hearing this, Lin Xiao also turned to look. Besides Ma Xiaotao, he saw the alarm colors rising in Mingdu.
Thoughts flashing through his mind, Lin Xiao suddenly glanced at Zhang Lexuan. "Hold on tight to me."
Zhang Lexuan subconsciously gripped Lin Xiao's arm. Then, she saw a gray mist rising from behind Lin Xiao, as if forming a huge silhouette. Their speed increased once again.
However, even with the aid of an eighth-level soul thruster, their flying speed was still somewhat inferior compared to a Titled Douluo. As time passed, Nangong Wan's figure remained far behind them.
Normally, Lin Xiao wasn't too afraid of Nangong Wan, but behind him was the full power of Mingdu.
Without daring to stop, he waved his right hand. The silhouette of Electrolux behind him seemed to grasp a long staff. Gray mist similarly condensed in Lin Xiao's hand. The pale gray soul rings around him gently pulsed, light flashing as a miserable green beam shot straight toward Nangong Wan.
Nangong Wan's reaction was quick; his figure flickered left and right. But the beam seemed to have eyes of its own, precisely landing on him.
The next moment, he felt his body become incredibly heavy, as if his internal soul power had been ignited and was rapidly dissipating.
"Ho—ho—"
Nangong Wan's figure suddenly halted, falling toward the ground. The painful sensation in his body caused him to involuntarily emit ugly sounds. The feeling of soul power draining filled him with instinctive fear.
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