The pursuers behind them didn't fall for the ruse and shouted loudly, their voices amplified by soul power to carry for several miles: "Friends ahead, please help stop that thief! The Shadow Mo Family will reward you handsomely!"
Flender's eyes flickered slightly, but he made no move to intervene. He led the group away, avoiding involvement.
Yu Xiaogang explained to everyone: "The Shadow Mo Family is one of the families backing the Shadow Academy. Due to the nature of their martial souls, they've always maintained a semi-reclusive existence."
"The Mo Family's hereditary martial soul, Shadow, is a top-tier dark-attributed martial soul, but its inheritance is unstable. It may not appear in every few generations, and most clan members can only awaken dark-attributed martial souls."
"I never expected them to appear in the Great Star Forest. It seems Oak's emergence has stirred even these reclusive families into action."
Yu Xiaogang seemed to let out this remark unintentionally.
Behind the three Mo Family members were five others—a man accompanied by four exceptionally poised women. They remained silent, silently tracking.
Yu Xiaogang recognized their martial souls and explained: "Their martial soul is the Ice Phoenix, belonging to the Shui Family of Sky Shui City. The Ice Phoenix often awakens in female soul masters, so the Shui Family is typically led by women. However, this generation's patriarch, Shui Qianqiu, is a rare male leader who became a seven-ring Soul Sage in his forties."
As Flender listened to his friend's explanations, he grew increasingly irritated. If he had come alone, he could have interfered and attempted to seize the soul bone.
But with students and friends present, he couldn't fully unleash his strength without risking their safety. There was no way he could secure the soul bone.
"Let's go. Step aside. We can't compete with them."
Even if they managed to obtain the soul bone, they wouldn't be able to hold onto it. The relentless assassins would make even a Soul Sage struggle, and death would likely follow.
No one objected, and they moved to the side.
However, the three soul masters being chased by the Mo Family, seeing their plan fail, gritted their teeth and hurled a soul-guiding device toward Flender.
The soul-guiding device shot forward like an arrow, landing on Flender's chest.
Flender's pupils dilated as greed took over, and instinctively, he caught the soul-guiding device.
"Not good!"
By the time he realized he'd been tricked, it was too late. He quickly tossed the storage soul-guiding device away, but the damage was done.
"Hand over the soul bone!"
A thunderous voice exploded through the forest, shaking the leaves. The Mo Family Soul Sage's throat bobbed violently. The soul bone they sought had been obtained by them initially.
But because one of their companions needed to fuse a soul ring, they became distracted and allowed someone to steal it. Now, they were furious.
Before Flender could fully retract his motion of tossing the soul-guiding device, his fingers tightened abruptly. Dark crow feathers transformed into blades, slicing through the air in eerie arcs.
The three Mo Family members' eyes turned bloodshot as they attacked without hesitation or explanation.
"Bastard! The soul bone is still on that person. If it were you, would you really have thrown it away?"
Flender clenched his molars so hard they creaked. His wings whipped up a hurricane, spinning wildly around him.
His fourth soul ring flashed, and dozens of green wind shields spiraled into formation, shielding the Shrek group at the center.
When the dark feather blades collided with the wind shields, they emitted sharp cutting sounds before shattering into fragments, dissipating back into the atmosphere.
Mo Wushuang picked up the storage soul-guiding device, inspected it, and found only some clothes and dried rations inside. Realizing he'd been played, he became enraged. His eyes glinted with cold fury as his right hand twisted unnaturally into a claw-like shape, black mist oozing from between his fingers.
"Don't pretend to be noble!"
His voice grated like rusted metal scraping against stone. "It was your action of catching the soul-guiding device that caused the misunderstanding."
Mo Wushuang shifted the blame, infuriating Flender. Seven soul rings pulsed around his body as he prepared to confront Mo Wushuang.
Mo Wushuang didn't back down. With the soul bone stolen, he was desperate enough to kill!
In the delay, the three fugitives had widened the gap, making it even less likely for them to catch up.
Just as tensions escalated, a burst of icy blue light erupted 300 meters away, interrupting the standoff.
It was the middle-aged male soul master from the Shui Family. His martial soul was pure ice element, of high quality, and within a hundred-meter radius, the temperature began to drop noticeably. At his feet were also seven soul rings.
"Fifth Soul Skill—Heavenly Frost Descent!"
Countless frost-covered ice crystals floated down, significantly slowing the trio ahead. Their movements became sluggish.
Mo Wushuang frowned internally. "An ice-element martial soul… So it's Shui Qianqiu, the patriarch of the Shui Family. Why would he personally step in?"
His gaze swept over the scene, settling thoughtfully on the young woman protected at the center of the Shui Family group.
But the focus now was the soul bone. Even if the Spirit Hall intervened, as long as their opponent was a seven-ring Soul Sage, he wouldn't retreat.
Mo Wushuang called out loudly: "Your little tricks are useless. Hand over the soul bone, and I might spare your life."
"Hmph! You think I'm afraid of you?!"
With a roar like that of a leopard, the leading soul master unleashed his true martial soul form. Flames engulfed his body—it was a Soul Sage from the Fire Leopard Clan. The other two also transformed into flame leopard figures, standing in opposition.
Under the burning flames, the black cloths covering their faces burned away, revealing their true identities.
Mo Wushuang recognized them, his eyes flashing dangerously. "So it's you, Gao Baicai! How dare you, a rotten cabbage, steal a soul bone from my Mo Family? Are you declaring war?!"
(T/N: His name 'Baicai' means Chinese Cabbage lol)
For the sake of a soul bone, wars between dukedoms were common. A conflict between two major families could escalate into a full-blown war, inviting allies from both sides. This was why Gao Baicai had concealed his identity.
"Enough talk. Whoever sees the soul bone gets a share."
Shui Qianqiu's right hand formed a loose grip, and the ice crystal core floating above his palm rapidly expanded. His silver-white hair danced wildly in the freezing wind like a living entity.
When his fifth soul ring lit up for the second time, the air within a hundred-meter radius cracked like shattering glass.
This was a twice-triggered soul skill. The earlier frost descent was merely a setup, while the real killing blow came next.
Caught off guard, Gao Baicai and his companions' surrounding flames dimmed to a dull red. His bloodshot eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets:
"Shui Qianqiu! Since when did your Shui Family start siding with the Mo Family?"
In response, a clear, phoenix-like cry rang out. Beside Shui Qianqiu stood an elegant woman whose fingertips gathered icicles that refracted rainbows in the sunlight.
Her ice spears pointed precisely at the Fire Leopard Soul Sage's forehead. The ice crystal pendants dangling from her ears chimed softly, adding a touch of desolation to the already chilling air.
Taking advantage of the moment, Mo Wushuang closed in. His figure split into three afterimages amidst the frost, each wielding a dagger forged from shadowy feathers.
As the daggers swung, they blended seamlessly into the darkness, making it impossible to distinguish reality from illusion.
Flender's eyes flickered as greed and reason clashed within him. Ultimately, reason prevailed, and he refrained from intervening rashly.
Seeing that he made no move, the graceful woman from the Shui Family remained vigilant, keeping an eye on Flender out of the corner of her vision.
Gu La watched the battle unfold in the forest, observing the intricate web of alliances and rivalries. He keenly felt the changes he had brought about and the scarcity of soul bones.
"What a pity," he thought. "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."
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