They were both veteran soul masters, and they channeled their soul power subconsciously at the same time.
Something strange happened next. Two silver streaks of light burst out from their left legs, and then intertwined together as they enveloped their bodies. They both disappeared at the same time for an instant, and their bodies instantly switched positions in the next moment.
“This…” Huo Yuhao stared at Wang Qiu’er with an astonished look on his face.
Wang Qiu’er said decisively, “Let’s try again further away.” She raced out as she spoke, and ran about a hundred meters away as she gestured toward Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao released his soul power and activated his left leg bone as he attempted to establish a connection with Wang Qiu’er on the other side. However, he realized that he couldn’t feel anything at all, and nothing changed.
Wang Qiu’er came ten meters closer, and Huo Yuhao continued to try. Nothing was different from before.
Wang Qiu’er wasn’t hasty either, and she slowly shifted forward bit by bit.
Finally, when she was about fifty meters away from him, silver light exploded from their bodies at the same time, and Wang Qiu’er immediately appeared before Huo Yuhao. This wasn’t the Instant Shift carried by their left leg bones anymore, as Instant Shift only had a range of ten meters. This magnet-like force between them increased its range by by five hundred percent, and this was achieved with just Huo Yuhao pulling Wang Qiu’er to his side. This effect was similar to Xu Sanshi’s Mysterious Netherworld Displacement after his Shield of the Xuanming Turtle evolved into the Xuanwu Shield, except Xu Sanshi’s Mysterious Netherworld Displacement could target opponents weaker than he was. Huo Yuhao could only use this with Wang Qiu’er.
They exchanged a look, and they thought about the countless possibilities. They already had a martial soul fusion skill, and this special effect carried by their left leg bones was a cherry on the cake for them. In addition to their new Instant Shift ability… both of them felt as if they had struck a jackpot.
Wang Qiu’er said, “This ability probably originates from the three Wolf-Apes’ triple martial soul fusion skill. Even though that triple martial soul fusion cannot be passed down through their soul bones, this ability is still quite impressive. I don’t want the last soul bone, but you can’t give it to the wrong person. This is very important for the both of us.”
Huo Yuhao didn’t conceal his intentions. “If you don’t mind, I want to give it to Dong’er.”
Wang Qiu’er shot him a glare and grunted as she said, “Whatever. I don’t want it. Just make sure she doesn’t cause me any trouble.”
A sorrowful look flashed across Huo Yuhao’s face. Cause you any trouble? Dong’er has to live for that to happen.
“Let’s go. We’re going to the Setting Sun Forest.” It was nearly noon at this point.
The sun was high in the sky, and it radiated scorching warmth.
“Let’s go, then.” Wang Qiu’er agreed. Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief when she began to cooperate, and they activated their flying-type soul tools before they soared into the sky once more.
Huo Yuhao wasn’t acting hastily anymore, and he flew together with Wang Qiu’er as they followed the map’s markings and traveled towards the Setting Sun Forest.
They hadn’t flown for long, however, before Huo Yuhao suddenly felt something and gazed into the horizon, while he slowed down at the same time.
“What’s wrong?” Wang Qiu’er asked confusedly.
“Someone’s coming here.” Huo Yuhao answered.
Wang Qiu’er followed his gaze. Indeed, there was a group of people flying towards them in the distance from where Heaven Dou City was located.
They were in a fan-like formation, and their formation gradually changed in the sky and formed a semicircle that wrapped toward the two of them.
“Enemies?” Wang Qiu’er asked confusedly.
Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, “Perhaps not. They should be from the Heavenly Soul Empire. This is my fault for being so careless. We’re very close to Heaven Dou City, and we are just flying through the air without attempting to conceal our movements. I think we have attracted the sentries’ attention.”
Wang Qiu’er’s mouth twitched, and she said, “We’re just flying in the sky. What does that have to do with them?”
Huo Yuhao was a little speechless. “Ever since we’ve had flying-type soul tools, every nation’s laws and control has become a lot stricter than before, and this is especially so for the airspace above or around cities. Heaven Dou City is the Heavenly Soul Empire’s capital city. Think about it, if someone flew over the royal palace and tossed down a powerful stationary soul cannon shell, what would happen?”
Wang Qiu’er said, “Is that actually preventable? If we fly high enough, to a height where they can’t see us anymore before we toss the bomb, they can’t do anything about it.”
This was the first time a smile had appeared on Huo Yuhao’s face ever since they left Shrek Academy. “This proves how little you know about soul tools! It’s not as easy as you make it seem. Let’s not talk about how difficult it is to be precise when we’re too high in the sky. With current soul tool technology, flying-type soul tools have a limit to how high they can fly, rarely can one fly higher than one kilometer above the ground at this point. Any telescopic soul tool on the ground that’s watching the skies will be able to discover someone flying around, and night-vision telescopic soul tools can monitor the airspace at night.”
The group had surrounded them while they talked. There were ten soul engineers, and everyone wore standardized flying-type soul tools. They weren’t flying very fast, so it wouldn’t be impossible if Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu’er wanted to shake them off. He wanted to get to the Setting Sun Forest as fast as possible, but he also didn’t want to bring unnecessary trouble upon himself. If they were suspected to be spying upon Heaven Dou City, and thus attracted the attention of powerful individuals in the Heavenly Soul Empire, then there would be real trouble for him. The Heavenly Soul Empire’s national strength couldn’t compare to the Star Luo Empire, but they were still a nation with a long history, and solid foundations.
The soul engineers didn’t attack as they came up, they just surrounded the two of them. Huo Yuhao didn’t unleash any offensive soul tools, and he raised both hands to show that he meant no ill.
These soul engineers from the Heavenly Soul Empire were all wearing leather armor, which was clearly intended to lessen the weight they had to carry. The person leading the group was a girl with a cold look on her face, appearing both elegant and noble. The flying-type soul tool behind her released pale blue light.
“Who are you? How dare you fly around inside our capital city’s airspace? You’re looking down on my country. Follow me.” Her cold voice felt extremely charming and nice to hear, but the contents were a little unpleasant.
Huo Yuhao was slightly taken aback as he stared at the young girl before him confusedly. “You… are you Mu Xue?”
The ice-cold young girl was also momentarily stunned. She stared at Huo Yuhao with the same doubtful look and asked, “How do you know my name?”
Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief once she confirmed his speculation. “Have you forgotten, Mu Xue? We’ve met before inside the Great Star Dou Forest. Back then, Uncle Mo was the one leading the group, and you guys were inside the Great Star Dou Forest to hunt soul beasts. My name is Huo Yuhao.”
Mu Xue scrutinized Huo Yuhao for a moment longer. A look of revelation came over her face as she said, “Oh, yes, I remember now. You’re that student from the Star Luo National Academy, Huo Yuhao, am I right?”
“Yes! That’s me.” Huo Yuhao hurriedly nodded his head. Back then, he, Wang Dong’er and Xiao Xiao, had entered the Great Star Dou Forest under Elder Xuan’s protection when they met Mo Feiyun and his company. This girl, Mu Xue, had also been part of the company, along with another pretty girl named Wei Na. The two of them had left a fairly strong impression in Huo Yuhao’s mind.
Mu Xue’s face suddenly turned cold. “That’s enough. Stop trying to worm your way through into being friends with me. Follow me.”
Huo Yuhao was shocked. “Follow you? For what?”
Mu Xue’s voice was ice-cold. “You have trespassed into my capital city’s airspace. You know that, so why do you still ask me that question? Even though we’ve met before, today’s situation is very different, and our private relationship cannot interfere with my duty. Let’s go.” She came up with the other soul engineers as she spoke.
She turned towards Wang Qiu’er as they moved up.
It wasn’t just her; all the other soul engineers were also focused on Wang Qiu’er. This wasn’t because they had realized how powerful Wang Qiu’er was, it was because Wang Qiu’er was simply too beautiful.
Wang Qiu’er looked more like the Goddess of Light than Wang Dong’er did. There wasn’t any cover in the sky at this moment, and sunlight shone upon her body and made her flowing blue hair shine with pale golden light. Her enchanting beauty was nearly suffocating.
Mu Xue had always been confident about her looks, and this was especially so because her martial soul’s unique quality was different from normal people. However, she felt a little inferior before Wang Qiu’er. She paled in comparison in terms of looks and aura, and even in terms of her figure.
Huo Yuhao frowned as he lowered his voice and said, “I’m sorry, Mu Xue. I’m in a hurry, and today’s matter is just a misunderstanding. I have somewhere I need to be, and I accidentally trespassed in the Heaven Dou City’s airspace. I am sincerely sorry that this happened, but time is of the essence. I can’t delay any longer.”
Mu Xue also lowered her voice. “You don’t get to make that decision. Are you resisting arrest? You have to know that we have the authority to shoot you down since you’ve trespassed over our airspace. I’ll bring you back to the city because we have been acquainted, and we’ll investigate to make sure that there’s nothing wrong with the two of you, and then we’ll let you go. Don’t worry, we’ll be just and follow official procedures.”
Huo Yuhao was a little exasperated as he shook his head. “I’m sorry, I really don’t have the time.”
Mu Xue’s face turned black as she shouted angrily, “Take them down!” The nine other soul engineers immediately began to move upon hearing her orders, and each of them took out a soul tool from behind their backs.
These soul tools were about half a meter long, and there was a thick cannon barrel at the front with an opening that was roughly thirty centimeters in diameter. Nine cannon barrels were trained on Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu’er at the same time.
As a Class 6 soul engineer, Huo Yuhao couldn’t be more familiar with this soul tool. These were soul paralysis rays, and they were enhanced versions. Even five-ringed or six-ringed soul masters would be immediately paralyzed and immobilized if these rays hit them. Of course, that meant these paralysis rays had to hit them first!