The female Soul Sage retracted her seventh-rank defensive soul tool, her gaze flicking once toward the badly injured Xu Tiannan and the five formidable assassins—then she bolted without hesitation.
A husband and wife may be like birds sharing the same forest, but when disaster strikes, they fly apart. She and Xu Tiannan weren't even married—they had only been together half a month. There was no true affection between them.
She craved Xu Tiannan's power and status; he craved her body. But in the face of life and death, what did it matter if he was the Crown Prince?
The other maids, seeing her flee, followed suit.
Only one remained—a girl of fifteen or sixteen named Juzi.
Juzi had long, slender legs and a graceful figure. Her features were delicate, framed by flowing black hair, with large, expressive eyes and fair, flawless skin that seemed to glisten with vitality.
She had been born in an ordinary town. After losing both parents, she left her hometown, consumed by a singular purpose: to one day take revenge on the White Tiger Duke of the Star Luo Empire.
By chance, she encountered Xu Tiannan, who, seeing her talent as a soul master, had taken her in and arranged for her to study at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
Now, with the academy on break, Juzi was serving Xu Tiannan as a maid.
Looking at the crippled prince, she thought grimly:
Where could I even run? If the Crown Prince dies at the hands of assassins here, everyone present will be buried with him. Better to gamble on survival than prolong a doomed escape. If I can protect Xu Tiannan until reinforcements arrive, the rewards will be immense.
Her thoughts swirled, a mix of fear and excitement. While the others fled, she instead turned in the opposite direction—toward the assassins.
Clutching a fifth-rank Invincible Barrier, Juzi's eyes burned with resolve.
I'll gamble. If I lose, it's only death. But if I win, I'll gain the chance to avenge Father and Mother against the White Tiger Duke. Please, bless me from the heavens…
As the smoke of the two stationary soul-guided shells dissipated—
Wang Yan, Song Zhan, and the others saw Xu Tiannan, gravely injured yet still alive. Without a word, they raised their ranged soul tools to finish him.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Five deadly beams tore through the air toward the legless prince.
Xu Tiannan's eyes blazed red. His overwhelming will to survive and thirst for revenge refused to let him die here.
Even crippled—even stripped of his manhood—he would claw his way to the throne!
Ignoring the agony tearing through his ruined body, he burned his soul power, even his very essence, forcing his battered frame into flight. As a Soul Sage, he could still just barely lift himself, frantically dodging.
But his injuries were too severe. He avoided some strikes, but two attacks were unavoidable.
One searing blade of soul power pierced straight through his chest, leaving a hole only an inch from his heart—nearly killing him outright.
The other hurtled straight for his head. If it landed, Xu Tiannan would surely die.
Despair and fury warred in his eyes. He was already Crown Prince, a single step from the throne—how could he die here?!
At that instant, a slender figure interposed itself before him.
Juzi.
Both hands clutched the fifth-rank Invincible Barrier, channeling all her power. A faint golden glow flared up around her body.
The deadly beam slammed into the barrier, sparks and screeches erupting.
A fifth-rank Invincible Barrier could withstand a Contra-level strike for three seconds. Against an average Soul Douluo's attack, it would have held.
But this attack came from Song Zhan—the Second Prince's grandfather, a veteran whose power far exceeded ordinary Soul Douluo.
The barrier shattered after just one second. The diminished beam still tore through and struck Juzi's body.
She was hurled backward like a kite with its string cut, trailing a crimson arc of blood through the air.
"Pu!" She spat a great mouthful of blood, spraying scarlet mist.
Her frail body crashed heavily to the ground, curling in pain. Her eyes grew dim—she was mortally wounded.
Even weakened, an attack from a powerhouse of that level was not something a young maid could withstand.
But because of her intervention, the strike meant for Xu Tiannan's head missed.
The prince collapsed onto the cold earth, gasping for breath—alive by a thread.
Wang Yan, Song Zhan, and the others were surprised at Juzi's courage, but it mattered little. Their mission outweighed sentiment. If they dared strike down the Crown Prince, what was one maid?
Their soul tools flared once more. Lances of energy and blasts of soul-guided artillery streaked toward Xu Tiannan.
He was surely finished—
Suddenly, a streak of golden light tore down from the sky like a meteor.
It was Xu Tianyuan, commander of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Regiment.
A blazing crimson wall of heat erupted before Xu Tiannan.
The assassins' attacks vanished on contact, swallowed whole by the inferno.
Xu Tianyuan hovered in midair, his gaze falling on the devastation below. His expression darkened.
The Crown Prince… so grievously wounded. These assassins were audacious beyond reason.
"You dare attempt to assassinate the Crown Prince?!" Xu Tianyuan's furious roar echoed through the heavens, laden with the oppressive might of a Titled Douluo. The air itself seemed to tremble.
Wang Yan, Song Zhan, and the others felt their hearts sink. To face the commander of the Imperial Dragon Regiment—an imperial prince in his own right—was certain death if they lingered.
Without hesitation, the agility-type Soul Douluo Li Fei unleashed his full speed, carrying the five assassins away in a blur.
Dust filled the air as they vanished.
On the ground, Xu Tiannan lay broken and bloodied, gazing up at Xu Tianyuan's majestic figure in the blue sky. Tears welled in his eyes.
He had survived.