Chapter Sixty-eight: Conflict

Yu Bao recognized these young men and women. In the entire Soul District, Three Soul City was not considered a large city, and these few often appeared there—Yu Bao naturally knew who they were. Each of them hailed from families with powerful backgrounds, and when these young masters joined forces, no one in Three Soul City dared provoke them.

“It truly is a Bronze Mechanical Ostrich!” A youth dressed in white eyed the ostrich with great interest, a note of admiration in his voice. “I've read about it in books—the Bronze Mechanical Ostrich is one of the most famous mounts of the Southern Cross Battalion. I never imagined I’d see a real one today.”

Just then, a girl in purple rushed up to the young man in white, tugging incessantly at his sleeve. “Brother Wei, I want the big bird! I want the big bird!”

Yu Bao’s expression changed, then quickly turned strange. The other young people also looked odd, barely suppressing their laughter.

Lin Wei, the young man in white, turned to Tang Tian with a helpless smile. “My friend, would you be willing to part with this Bronze Mechanical Ostrich?”

Tang Tian shook his head. “No.”

“Hey, kid, don’t be so stubborn!” Luo Yi, who had initially wanted to see Lin Wei make a fool of himself, could no longer hold back at Tang Tian’s reply. “Name your price. Don’t refuse a good offer!”

The smile vanished from Tang Tian’s face—the hostility in Luo Yi’s tone was obvious to even a fool. These young men were notorious school tyrants; hearing such words, Tang Tian’s mood soured. He narrowed his eyes. “You sure have a big mouth.”

“Oh? Looks like we’ve run into a tough one!” Luo Yi’s face darkened.

Perched high atop his mount, Tang Tian suddenly grinned. Beneath him, the Bronze Mechanical Ostrich surged forward with a thunderous charge straight at Luo Yi.

“Careful!” Lin Wei’s face changed dramatically.

The Bronze Mechanical Ostrich stood taller than Tang Tian himself—about two meters—entirely cast in bronze, immensely heavy. Its stellar performance was why it became standard issue for new recruits in the Southern Cross Battalion, able to travel long distances at the average speed of fifth-level lightness skills. But its true strength was its full-on charge.

As Bing watched Tang Tian drive the ostrich into a charge, nostalgia flickered through his mind—once, the ostrich charges of the Southern Cross Battalion’s recruit camp had been famous far and wide.

Weighing several tons, the ostrich’s explosive power in a sprint was unmatched; the impact it produced was overwhelming.

Luo Yi felt the world go dark, as if a mountain was crashing toward him. In that instant, he was so stunned he could barely breathe.

His Soul General reacted instantly, flashing into place beside Tang Tian.

But as if Tang Tian had anticipated this, he threw out a fist!

Bang!

They crossed paths in a blur, and the Soul General was sent flying far away.

The ostrich’s speed was already astounding, combined with the Soul General’s forward momentum, even though Tang Tian’s punch was only a third-level Small Collapse Fist, the Soul General took it like a sledgehammer to the chest and was flung away.

Bing watched, his thoughts in turmoil. Tang Tian’s movements showed no sign of hesitation—his punch was executed with remarkable finesse.

He truly had the air of a Southern Cross Battalion recruit!

Bing was impressed.

Tang Tian didn’t slow down in the least. He bent low, lowering his body as the Bronze Mechanical Ostrich’s eyes flashed with a cold gleam. Its talons slammed forward, and its head leveled like a charging knight’s lance.

Annihilated ages, an ancient bronze bird, charging once more!

The target: Luo Yi!

A fierce aura engulfed Luo Yi at once.

Lin Wei’s face turned ashen, his heart sinking. Luo Yi’s own face went gray; completely cowed by his opponent’s presence, he stood frozen, unable even to dodge.

At that moment, a snow-white hand appeared without warning behind Luo Yi, seized him, and darted aside.

As they were just about to brush past the ostrich, Tang Tian snorted coldly. His right leg snapped out like a viper, silent and swift.

His opponent reacted instantly, her other hand snapping out to block Tang Tian’s kick.

But she underestimated the power behind it—the force of the Crane Body Skill combined with the ostrich’s charge. She let out a muffled grunt as she flung Luo Yi away to safety.

“Not bad!” Tang Tian’s eyes flashed with excitement as the ostrich screeched to a halt, skidding twin trails of sparks into the dirt, carving deep furrows as it smoothly pivoted. Above, the girl carrying Luo Yi was still airborne.

“Wah wah wah! You won’t get away!” Tang Tian called out, and before his words had finished, the ostrich shot forward again, aiming straight for the girl and Luo Yi.

It was only now that Lin Wei collected himself, his expression twisting in fury. “Ba Fan! Take him down!”

The Soul General hovering beside Lin Wei—a burly, savage figure—snapped his eyes open, bent his knees, and shot toward Tang Tian like a cannonball.

Whoosh!

A shadow suddenly appeared before Ba Fan.

Ghost Claw stared coldly at him.

Ba Fan’s body was like a mountain—solid and imposing, his face blank, exuding an aura of raw violence. In contrast, Ghost Claw seemed small and frail, his body thin and stooped, resembling a starving old man.

Yet Ba Fan shrank back ever so slightly.

Hm? Lin Wei was surprised, but then flew into a rage. “Ba Fan, what are you standing there for!”

The girl who had wanted the big bird—Hua Ling, the youngest of the group—grew fearful as the situation escalated. In a panic, she ordered her Soul General, “Pink Feather, Pink Feather, save Sister Yu Xi!”

Her Soul General was a fully armored woman, who drew her sword with a metallic ring, body and blade as one, ready to pounce on Tang Tian.

But just then, Bing appeared with a long spear, its tip leveled at the female Soul General from afar.

She froze in place.

In midair, Yu Xi saw Tang Tian charging at her, but showed no panic. She shouted, “King Blade!”

A flash of steel blossomed above Tang Tian’s head.

A chill swept over Tang Tian’s scalp, his hair standing on end. Without hesitation, he ducked his head sharply.

The blade’s glow skimmed his scalp.

Tang Tian quickly maneuvered the ostrich aside. In the air, a Soul General wielding a blade hovered, hands hanging low, exuding an intimidating presence.

Clearly, not someone to be trifled with...

“Ba Fan!” Lin Wei was now utterly furious. Ba Fan dared not attack, and with everyone watching, Lin Wei felt utterly humiliated.

Yu Xi, carrying Luo Yi, landed beside Lin Wei. She whispered, “Call Ba Fan back.”

“Call him back?” Lin Wei was stunned, his face extremely ugly.

“The difference in strength is too great!” Yu Xi’s face was still tinged with fear, though she managed to keep calm.

“Too great a difference?” Lin Wei didn’t believe her. “Impossible! Ba Fan is fifth rank!”

“The other side is sixth rank—and not an ordinary sixth rank, either,” Yu Xi said quietly. “I’m afraid we’ve provoked someone we shouldn’t have.”

Not an ordinary sixth rank...

Lin Wei stared in shock, then blurted, “Impossible!”

“King Blade told me,” Yu Xi replied softly.

Lin Wei fell silent. Among their Soul Generals, King Blade was Yu Xi’s, and by far the strongest—sixth rank, the pride of the group.

Ghost Claw’s gaze shifted to King Blade in the distance. King Blade could no longer maintain his earlier composure, gripping his blade tightly, ready for a deadly clash.

Ghost Claw had once been seventh rank, though owing to his soul core’s limits, now he could only reach sixth. But his masterful claw skills made him far superior to ordinary sixth-rank Soul Generals. The sensitivity between Soul Generals was acute, which explained Ba Fan’s hesitation.

Under Bing’s threat, Hua Ling’s Soul General, Pink Feather, dared not move at all.

Tang Tian was in a foul mood. He glared at King Blade in the sky—the slash just now had been dangerously close. Only now did Tang Tian realize he was actually the weakest among them, and it left him deeply frustrated; he hated feeling powerless.

With his mood so black, Tang Tian’s expression grew even worse.

“My friend acted rashly,” Yu Xi steadied herself and said in a low voice, “I hope, for the sake of her youth, you can forgive her recklessness this time.”

“So arrogant just moments ago, and now it’s all about childish recklessness?” Tang Tian sneered, unmoved by her plea.

Lin Wei still tried to act tough. “Sir, to err is human; surely you don’t think our Lin family is easy to push around?”

Tang Tian burst out laughing. “It seems every guy I beat up says the same thing!”

Lin Wei flushed with anger. “You...”

Yu Xi stopped him, then turned to Tang Tian. “Since it’s happened, it must be resolved. Whatever you want, we’ll accept.”

Now that was a forthright girl. Tang Tian’s expression eased a little, though he had no idea how to proceed. He lowered his voice to ask Bing, “Uncle Bing, what did you do in situations like this?”

“Either they serve as slaves, or they redeem themselves,” Bing replied simply.

Slaves? Tang Tian shook his head. These people were too used to being masters—forcing them to serve would be more trouble than it was worth. Self-redemption was a better idea. He looked up. “Since you admit defeat, redeem yourselves. You’re all people of status—if someone’s payment is lacking, well, that wouldn’t look good for anyone.”

Yu Xi nodded. “Agreed.”

She produced a delicate pouch and tossed it to Tang Tian. “Ten fifth-rank soul cores. I believe that’s a fair price.”

Tang Tian’s heart pounded—ten fifth-rank soul cores! This woman was astonishingly wealthy.

Luo Yi and Lin Wei also tossed over their money pouches. In an instant, Tang Tian had received thirty fifth-rank soul cores, leaving Yu Bao drooling with envy. The value of a fifth-rank soul core far exceeded that of a fourth; thirty of them was a small fortune!

Hua Ling’s eyes brimmed with tears. “I didn’t bring any soul cores,” she whimpered.

The other three were taken aback; they hadn’t brought extras, either.

“Then pay with something else,” Tang Tian said, glancing at the sword at Hua Ling’s waist. “Hmm, that sword looks good. I’ll take it.”

Hua Ling’s face twisted in pain, but she gritted her teeth, unbuckled her treasured sword, and hurled it toward Tang Tian.

Bing stepped in front of Tang Tian, caught the sword, and said coldly, “I dislike captives who don’t understand proper etiquette. Don’t you even know how to offer tribute correctly?”

He turned and hung the sword from the ostrich’s saddle.

Hua Ling burst out crying, while the other two looked on, bewildered.

Yu Xi’s expression, however, changed slightly.