24: Chapter 24 Zhu Zhuqing

"Ah? Save who?"

Xiao Wu replied, looking bewildered.

Just as Bai Qi was about to explain the situation to Xiao Wu,

a young woman dressed in leather, with several wounds on her body, burst out from the bushes in front of them and crashed into Bai Qi's arms.

She was still muttering,

"Run."

After saying this, she lost consciousness.

Just as she passed out,

four figures in black appeared around Bai Qi and Xiao Wu.

The leader was also a woman, similar in figure and appearance to the one in Bai Qi's arms, only more developed.

Bai Qi glanced around, roughly assessing that the strongest among this group was only level 55, while the weakest, the leader, was only level 42.

Although Bai Qi had thought it absurd while reading the original work—that Zhu Zhuyun would send people to hunt someone down, and at the very least they should be at the level of a three-ring Spirit Elder, yet she actually let Zhu Zhuqing run all the way from Star Luo Empire to Heaven Dou Empire—it was quite abstract.

While Bai Qi was thinking, the leading woman spoke.

"The two of you, hand her over, and I can leave your corpses intact."

Hearing this, Bai Qi passed the unconscious Zhu Zhuqing in his arms to Xiao Wu, who took her.

"Be careful."

Because Xiao Wu knew that they couldn't escape now and had to fight, she didn't say anything else, just cautioned Bai Qi.

After handing Zhu Zhuqing to Xiao Wu, Bai Qi said to them,

"So it's just a fight then? Then why would I hand her over to you?"

Zhu Zhuyun sneered upon hearing this.

"Heh, choosing the hard way, are we? Attack."

Following Zhu Zhuyun's order, a Spirit Ancestor, who appeared to be of the attack system, standing beside her, charged directly at Bai Qi.

Not knowing if it was because he saw Bai Qi as a child or for some other reason, he didn't even activate his Spirit, simply throwing a punch straight at Bai Qi's face.

Bai Qi was speechless at his behavior; he didn't know if the man wanted to show off or if he was letting Bai Qi show off, but regardless, Bai Qi reached out and blocked the punch without taking a single step back.

Just kidding. Compared to the fist of a Titan Giant Ape, this level didn't even count as a tickle.

"What?"

The Spirit Ancestor exclaimed upon seeing this, trying to pull his hand back, only to find it wouldn't budge.

Just as he was about to use his Soul Power to pull his hand back, Bai Qi moved, pulling the Spirit Ancestor toward him and using the same move, punching him in the face.

The Spirit Ancestor was sent flying instantly, crashing directly beside the leading woman.

Seeing this, the woman glanced at the Spirit King, and finding that the Spirit King was also looking at her, the two exchanged a look, and the woman nodded.

Upon seeing this, the Spirit King immediately activated his Spirit, which was a Ghost Wolf, with spirit rings of Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Purple, Purple—a combination of two Yellow and three Purple spirit rings.

After activating his Spirit, he shouted,

"Second Spirit Ability, Shadow Lurk."

After shouting, he dove into the shadows.

Bai Qi found this troublesome; after all, if you want to fight, then fight—hiding makes it very annoying.

However, Bai Qi still shielded Xiao Wu behind him, watching his surroundings vigilantly.

Just then, he emerged from the shadows; without using any other Spirit Ability, his target was Zhu Zhuqing in Xiao Wu's arms.

Bai Qi reacted, immediately using Martial Soul Possession, scales appearing on his arms, and grabbed his arm, flinging him away.

After being thrown, he flipped in the air and landed on the ground in a wolf-like stance.

Seeing that the situation was not right, Zhu Zhuyun signaled to the person Bai Qi had punched away and another Spirit Master.

The two quickly stood behind the Spirit King and activated their Spirits—two Leopard Spirits—and their spirit rings rose beneath their feet: Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Purple, all the optimal combination of two Yellow and two Purple spirit rings.

After they had taken their positions, the Spirit King, who led the three, stood up, crossed his arms, and said to Bai Qi,

"Kid, say any last words you have; don't wait until later and say I didn't give you a chance."

As if they had already won.

Hearing this, Bai Qi just sneered at them and immediately released his own spirit rings: Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black, Black—five spirit rings.

"Ten-thousand-year... fourth ring?"

When the second one appeared, the three of them, including Zhu Zhuyun, were already shocked; by the time they saw the fourth spirit ring, all four were completely dumbfounded.

At this moment, Bai Qi smiled and said to them,

"I'm not naturally fond of saying things like last words, so you'd better think of some for yourselves."

The Spirit King knew this matter wouldn't end well, but he couldn't let Bai Qi attack first. He gestured to the two underlings behind him, then his muscles bulged as he charged at Bai Qi, shouting in a low voice,

"Fifth Spirit Ability, Shadow Wolf Rending Sky Claw."

Then his figure vanished, and his whole body turned into a giant wolf claw striking at Bai Qi.

The two underlings, having received the order, also used their strongest moves.

"Fourth Spirit Ability, Shadow Pounce."

They also attacked Bai Qi.

On the other hand, Bai Qi stood there motionless as if scared silly, but the smile on his lips proved this was not simple.

"Xiao Qi!"

When the three attacks were close at hand, even Xiao Wu couldn't help but call out to Bai Qi. Perhaps because of Xiao Wu's call or the noise outside, Zhu Zhuqing, in Xiao Wu's arms, frowned, opened one eye slightly, and looked at Bai Qi's back.

It was unknown how Zhu Zhuqing had woken up, but Bai Qi began to act upon hearing Xiao Wu's call.

Watching the three attacks drawing nearer, the smile on Bai Qi's lips remained, and he simply mobilized his Soul Power, whispering,

"Third Spirit Ability, Torch Dragon Armor."

As his voice fell, Bai Qi's third spirit ring lit up with light, and subsequently, a suit of armor appeared on his body that was more exquisite and had stronger defensive power than when he had used this Spirit Ability before.

As the three attacks arrived on schedule, an explosion swept through the scene, and along with the explosion came thick smoke and dust.

Just then, a dark shadow mixed into the smoke and dust, rushing straight past Bai Qi toward Xiao Wu, or perhaps toward the now-awake Zhu Zhuqing in Xiao Wu's arms. However, this same sneak attack method was thwarted by Bai Qi, who was already prepared; without even turning his head, he grabbed her ankle and flung her back.

This person was none other than Zhu Zhuyun. It turned out that when she saw Bai Qi's spirit rings, she had already felt uneasy, but she still wanted to test him. Only after the three attacks hit Bai Qi did she decisively take action, rushing toward Zhu Zhuqing on the other side of the smoke.

In fact, she was caught on the spot by Bai Qi, but Bai Qi must have guessed Zhu Zhuyun's intentions and simply flung her back.

The three people in front of Bai Qi were not so lucky.

After flinging Zhu Zhuyun back, Bai Qi said to the three,

"Your attacks are over, so now it's my turn. Second Spirit Ability, Slow Dragon Domain; Fourth Spirit Ability, Bursting Torch Dragon Bullet."

Bai Qi's second and fourth spirit rings lit up simultaneously. The pupils of the three people in front of him widened instantly. Just as they wanted to retreat, they discovered their movements were extremely slow; this was the credit of Bai Qi's second Spirit Ability.

The three could only watch helplessly as the dragon-head-shaped chest armor on Bai Qi's armor opened its dragon mouth and began to charge the dragon bullet.

Until the charging was complete, the dragon bullet was fired directly at the three people who were still slowly running backward.

Accompanied by a loud bang and the retraction of the second Spirit Ability, the three, now charred black, were sent flying.

"Useless, three pieces of trash."

Zhu Zhuyun, who was keeping up appearances, looked at the three people flying away, cursed, then turned and glanced at Bai Qi, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing before quickly running away.

After everything was over, Bai Qi retracted the Torch Dragon Armor and turned back to look at Zhu Zhuqing, who had already woken up and was being supported by Xiao Wu.