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Even after being locked onto at close range by a Soul Saint, Ye Lan wasn't completely helpless.
Although the Soul Saint had broken through the encirclement of his Blue Silver Priests, and the Priests themselves couldn't move, Ye Lan still had one card left—"Ancient Beast's Touch." But under no circumstances would Ye Lan expose his external soul bone.
Self-detonate.
The fanatical Blue Silver Priests instantly vanished from their positions!
Indeed, although the Blue Silver Priests couldn't move, Ye Lan could force them to self-detonate and return to his body, allowing him to resummon them elsewhere.
One after another, Blue Silver Priests grew diagonally out of the soil, directly blocking the Soul Saint's path, trying to obstruct the massive, golden shooting star.
Though the broken Blue Silver Vines were restricted from self-detonating, the shattered Blue Silver Priests could quickly regenerate, and then self-destruct once again.
While these suicidal Priests couldn't truly injure the Soul Saint, they drastically slowed him down—enough that his speed no longer posed a threat to Ye Lan.
The two figures sped across the courtyard, one chasing and one fleeing, separated by a string of sacrificial Blue Silver Priests.
As the Priests shattered, they transformed into green energy that scattered across the lawn, causing the flowers and plants to grow at an astonishing rate.
Blossoms bloomed in the wake of the Soul Saint's golden figure, creating a corridor of flowers in their chase.
These vine-like human walls, as tough as a Soul Sect, increasingly frustrated Zhao Wuji.
The enormous vines seemed endless—every time he smashed one apart, they repaired themselves within seconds.
Once restored, they would vanish in a flash of golden light, only to reappear in front of him again.
Zhao Wuji now fully understood why Tang San and Xiao Wu had been defeated by Ye Lan. In fact, he was beginning to think Ye Lan should be participating in one-versus-seven Spirit Arena battles.
But this high-speed chase lasted only about ten seconds before Ye Lan began to sense danger.
Although the Blue Silver Priests could regenerate and self-detonate endlessly, they consumed an enormous amount of soul power. Even with Ye Lan's 130% soul power efficiency, the drain was becoming unsustainable.
If he were a typical Spirit Grandmaster, his energy would have long been depleted.
Ye Lan originally planned to threaten the Soul Saint using the smaller Spirit Elder as leverage—but when he looked in that direction, the man had vanished.
Indeed, Tang San, ever cautious and strategic, knew he couldn't assist Zhao Wuji after witnessing the overwhelming power of Ye Lan's Blue Silver Priests. Rather than drag Zhao Wuji down, he slipped away.
Tang San had initially wanted to test whether his third soul skill would work on Ye Lan, but seeing Ye Lan's burst of speed instantly killed that thought. Using a soul skill recklessly would only reveal his identity.
Didn't even Zhao Wuji avoid using his Martial Soul? Wasn't it to avoid offending that entire group of "scholar" students?
Meanwhile, after smashing through the final Blue Silver Vine, Zhao Wuji had lost all interest in toying around.
He was debating whether to just activate his Martial Soul and soul skills, crush Ye Lan on the spot, extract the soul bone, and then flee.
But just as Zhao Wuji was hesitating, he sensed an overwhelming soul power surge rapidly approaching.
Their chase had made too much noise—each time a Blue Silver Vine shattered, it generated a massive boom.
It was only a matter of time before others took notice.
Zhao Wuji realized that his soul bone retrieval mission had completely failed. He now only wanted to get out with Tang San.
He glanced over at Tang San's position and spat on the ground.
"This kid… totally unreliable. Ran even faster than me."
Little did Zhao Wuji know, Tang San had already escaped long ago.
With nothing holding him back, Zhao Wuji turned and sprinted toward the back mountain behind the courtyard.
A silver figure spotted someone fleeing.
Unlike Zhao Wuji, the silver figure didn't hold back.
Martial Soul Possession: Moonshadow Wolf. The already-burly silver figure grew even larger.
In the blink of an eye, the silver figure turned into a massive meteor and crashed into Zhao Wuji's back.
Feeling the violent wind behind him, Zhao Wuji cursed inwardly:
Damn it, a Saint Emperor Warrior? And at Soul Douluo level?! Since when did Soto City have such powerful soul masters guarding it?!
Zhao Wuji knew that being struck from behind by a Soul Douluo-level opponent could mean death or at least severe injury.
Experienced as he was, Zhao Wuji adjusted his body at the last second before impact.
He twisted around to face the Saint Emperor Warrior head-on, raising both arms to absorb the blow from the silver meteor.
BOOM!!
Zhao Wuji used energy redirection techniques with both arms, delaying the full force of the blow until he hit the ground.
He was blasted over a hundred meters away, and the moment he crashed into the earth, he activated Martial Soul Possession and used his first and second soul skills—Immovable King Body and Vigorous Vajra Bear.
His body erupted in dazzling golden light as he struck the ground. The bear's palm from his second soul skill slammed into the earth, countering much of the silver meteor's force.
Even so, the remaining shock caused blood to surge up Zhao Wuji's throat.
He had no time to tend to his injuries and used the force of the impact to escape into the dense forest.
Who was that? the Saint Emperor Warrior wondered, only catching a glimpse of the golden figure vanishing into the trees after exploding with intense golden light.
Although the silver warrior had locked onto the golden figure's presence, he gave up the chase out of caution—someone else might still try to attack Ye Lan.
The silver figure reappeared in front of Ye Lan.
He was clad in a fully enclosed suit of heavy armor, with only a narrow slit for vision.
Golden patterns were engraved on the armor, making it look both dignified and majestic.
"May I ask who you are?" Ye Lan asked, staring at the more than two-meter-tall silver knight.
"I have no name—only a codename. You may call me Silver Wolf. I serve as the deputy commander of the Saint Emperor Warriors," the silver knight responded in a deep, steady voice.
"Silver Wolf? As far as I know, the Saint Emperor Warriors are all stationed in Spirit City. Why are you in Soto City?" Ye Lan asked, puzzled.
Even more confusing was the fact that he was the deputy commander of the Saint Emperor Warriors.
He knew that in addition to the clergy, the Spirit Hall also had elite knights:
Such as the Sanctuary Warriors, Saint Emperor Warriors, and Douluo Warriors.
The minimum requirement for a Saint Emperor Warrior was to be a Soul Emperor—and a strong one at that.
The commanders of the Saint Emperor and Douluo Warrior units were even at Titled Douluo level.
Had it been a Sanctuary Warrior who appeared before Ye Lan, he wouldn't have been surprised.
But the Saint Emperor Warriors were a special force under the Pope's personal command. By all rights, they should be stationed in Spirit City awaiting orders.
"Milord, when you registered as a Spirit Grandmaster in Nuoding City, you caught the attention of Her Holiness the Pope. You are now the only individual being closely evaluated by Spirit Hall. I've been assigned to protect you for quite some time now," Silver Wolf said with great respect.
Whether it was because of his position or his admiration for the "scholars," Silver Wolf held Ye Lan in high esteem.
He believed Ye Lan would surely pass the Pope's evaluation, become her disciple, and perhaps even the future Holy Son of Spirit Hall.
That's why he addressed Ye Lan as "Milord." He dared not show any neglect toward the potential future heir of Spirit Hall.
"Bibi Dong…?" Ye Lan muttered to himself, barely audible.
He had already suspected back in Nuoding City that he would attract attention from the higher-ups in Spirit Hall, but he didn't expect Bibi Dong to act so decisively—placing him on the candidate list and even assigning a Soul Douluo to protect him.
Is this what Grandpa Ma Xiunuo meant by having a 'family'?
(End of Chapter)