Chapter 35: Ambushed
"Tiger, are you sure it's a fat sheep? Don't make us waste our trip."
The middle-aged man, nicknamed Tiger, had returned to the town after spotting Ning Bei leaving. He found some familiar faces, hoping to rob Ning Bei.
However, one of the men, with a single eye, doubted the validity of his information.
"Don't worry. I've been tailing that kid since he was eating. Do you know how much his clothes cost?"
The one-eyed man became interested upon hearing this.
"How much?"
"At least a few thousand gold soul coins, maybe even more. He even left a few gold soul coins as a tip while eating, and his carriage is the most luxurious. How could he not have money?"
"Really? If that's the case, this is indeed a big deal. It's much more profitable than robbing mercenaries. But I wonder what his strength is like."
Tiger sneered.
"Eyepatch, when did you get so timid? That kid's only about ten years old. How strong could he be?"
The one-eyed man blushed with embarrassment.
"I'm just being cautious. But since you're so sure, let's go for it."
With that, they gathered some underlings and set off after Ning Bei.
A luxurious carriage rolled down the dilapidated road. Since this area was so close to the Star Dou Forest, there were hardly any people around, just dense vegetation. The air was fresh and clean.
This was Ning Bei's first time traveling this far alone. From time to time, he opened the small curtain of the carriage window and peered out at the surrounding scenery.
"By now, father and my two grandfathers must be worried sick. I wonder what their faces will look like when they see the soul bones in my bracelet."
Ning Bei grinned mischievously as he imagined their reactions when they reunited. A hint of excitement flowed through him.
Half a day passed quietly, and as Ning Bei and the coachman were about to continue their journey after finishing some dry rations, a loud, rough shout echoed in their ears.
"Hey, kid! My brothers are a bit tight on cash lately, how about lending us some?"
Looking in the direction of the voice, Ning Bei saw seven or eight figures appearing before him. At the front were Tiger and the one-eyed man.
Seeing these desperadoes, the coachman trembled and quickly retreated to the back of the carriage.
Ning Bei looked at the group with amusement. Had he just encountered a robbery? How fresh! He was a little excited and decided to have some fun with these fools.
"Oh, really? Is 10,000 gold soul coins enough?"
Upon hearing this, the men's eyes immediately gleamed with greed.
"Oh? Do you really have that much? Show it to us."
Ning Bei sneered.
"10,000 gold soul coins should be enough to buy you all a coffin. You guys are so easy to satisfy, you scumbags."
The men immediately grew furious.
"You little bastard, daring to mock us, you're asking for death! Brothers, attack!"
The men immediately released their martial souls, and in an instant, the road was illuminated by multicolored soul rings.
Tiger and the one-eyed man were both Soul Sect, with their martial souls being the Black Tiger and the Jackal, respectively.
The other five men were all Soul Masters, most of them with 10-year-old white first soul rings.
"Why are there white soul rings? How many years is that? I've never seen them before."
Ning Bei teased the soul masters, further angering them.
"Kid, after we knock your teeth out, let's see how you talk."
Seeing the others preparing to attack, Ning Bei stopped teasing. His expression grew colder.
With a flash of the Dan Tower in his hand, Ah Bao, Ah Zhu , Chang´e, and Yao Yao instantly appeared in front of the group.
Chang´e and Yao Yao were the Emerald Swan and the Demon Eye Magic Tree, respectively, and Ah Zhu was the Man-Faced Demon Spider. Ning Bei had named them, but hadn't named the Man-Faced Demon Spider before, which felt a little unfair, so he immediately took care of it.
The appearance of the four soul beasts blinded the eyes of the eight men.
"Soul beasts?"
"How could there be soul beasts?"
"This kid is suspicious."
Before anyone could react, Ning Bei pulled out several types of pills, including Beast Power Pills, Energy Pills, Wind Walking Pills, and Vitality Pills, and stuffed them into the mouths of the soul beasts.
"Let's go, brothers and sisters. Show them what cruelty is!"
With that, Ah Bao and Ah Zhu rushed forward, Yao Yao rooted itself in the ground, and its branches burrowed deep into the earth, while Chang´e circled above to protect the beasts from injury.
Ah Bao and Ah Zhu already had strength comparable to ten-thousand-year soul beasts. After consuming the various combat-enhancing pills, their power became even more terrifying. The group of desperados immediately started crying for mercy.
"Please spare me! I won't do it again!"
"Let me go! Ah! My burning biceps!"
"Ah! My delicate hands!"
Screams rang out one after another. The Demon Eye Magic Tree mercilessly bound them, and with its poisonous branches and the deadly venom of the Man-Faced Demon Spider, they were driven to the brink of ecstasy and agony. Ah Bao then rushed forward, swiping a claw at each of them, sweeping the battlefield.
In less than five minutes, all eight men lay on the ground, motionless. The scene was extremely gruesome, and Ning Bei lost interest in collecting the spoils. These poor souls didn't seem to have any valuable possessions.
He hurriedly called the trembling coachman to get the carriage moving, leaving the area.
With two more days of travel to Seven Treasure City, Ning Bei realized just how far it was when traveling on foot. Though Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo could fly him around in just a few hours, he found it much farther on his own journey.
In the following days, Ning Bei didn't encounter any more troublemakers and successfully arrived at Seven Treasure City.
Looking at the familiar city ahead, a smile spread across Ning Bei's face.
"Your emperor has returned."
After tipping the coachman generously, the man smiled broadly and left after expressing his thanks. Ning Bei, familiar with the routine, headed straight to the sect's entrance, where he handed the carriage over to the guards and walked inside.
When he reached the council hall, he found his parents, along with Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo, all present. However, their expressions were very somber. His mother was wiping her tears, likely still worried about him.
Feeling touched, Ning Bei greeted everyone.
"Father, Mother, and Grandpa Sword and Grandpa Bone, your fatty is here."
The others looked up in surprise, and upon recognizing the familiar figure, they rushed toward him, overjoyed.
Notably, Ning Bei's mother, filled with worry for his safety, reached him faster than even the Title Douluos. She grabbed his shoulders, examined him carefully, and upon confirming he was uninjured, pulled him into her embrace.
"Bei'er, you scared me to death."
"Sorry for making everyone worry."
After some small talk, Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo, as well as Bone Douluo, began asking their own questions.
"Bei'er, who exactly took you? Why couldn't I or Old Sword figure it out?"
Upon hearing Gu Yong's question, Ning Bei thought for a moment and decided to answer truthfully.
"Father, Grandpa, and Grandpa Sword, it was the Soul Beast Overlord, the Black Dragon King Di Tian, with a cultivation of 800,000 years."
"Black Dragon King?"
"800,000 years of cultivation?"
"Bei'er, is this true?"
As expected, upon hearing Ning Bei's words, the others were shocked, expressing their disbelief.
In their minds, a 100,000-year cultivation was already at the pinnacle of soul beasts, and 800,000 years was a number they couldn't even fathom.
Ning Bei nodded, indicating that he wasn't lying.
(END CHAPTER)
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