Right in front of everyone’s startled eyes, the Prisma Lantern shot off like a shooting star toward the sh.o.r.e!

“Whoos.h.!.+”

Just ten meters after the Prisma Lantern was sent flying, a golden rope immediately looped around it with the dexterity of a snake. Tightening, the rope then stretched taut against the chain. The lantern was now suspended in mid-air.

On top of the tower, Bai Yunfei’s left hand held the Compliant Rope as he looked down at the bridge. “Friend, what is the meaning of this?”

By now, everyone was already looking to the other end of the chain. They saw a dark-skinned man standing by the sh.o.r.es. He was extremely muscular, like a boulder almost, and his skin gave a dark bronze gleam as he held onto the chain with his hands. Like everyone else, this man was surprised to see what had happened.

Another twenty-four or twenty-five-year-old man stood beside this person. In his right hand was a fan and in his left hand was the hand of a pretty young woman. He too was surprised to see the deadlock that was happening up above.

For two seconds, the male did nothing, but then his face hardened as he demanded, “Tie Nu, what’s the holdup? Didn’t you hear what I said? Hurry up and bring that lantern to me at once!”

“Yes, young master!”

The one called ‘Tie Nu’ responded. His muscles bulged out from exertion as he glared balefully at Bai Yunfei. With a mighty pull of his right hand, soulforce began to blaze out of his body, causing everyone else around him to step ten meters back.

“Late-stage Soul Ancestor!!”

Bai Yunfei and the other two cried out loud. When Bai Yunfei felt the drag from the Compliant Rope, his heart skipped a beat. He couldn’t exactly resist; if he were to pull back on the rope, the Prisma Lantern would shatter under the pressure.

Relaxing the grip of his left hand, Bai Yunfei had the Compliant Rope slacken so that it’d let go of the chain. It returned to wrap around his arm.

With the lantern successfully taken by the other man, he untied it from the chain and gave it to the young man with a smile. A faint green light started to pick up around the lantern as it then descended to the young man’s hands.

Giving the lantern to the woman leaning on his shoulder, the young man smiled, “How about it? Didn’t I say that I’d win it for you? Take it, it’s yours!”

“Heehee, I just knew master Luo is amazing!” The woman squealed in joy as she accepted the lantern before snuggling up close to him.

The young man smiled as he hooked his left hand around the woman’s waist. “Well then, there’s nothing else to this festival, let’s go back to the inn.”

“Master Luo wishes to rest? Then, when we go back, allow this servant serve you well…”

Disregarding everyone else, he and the two others turned away to leave.

“Hey! You’re being far too c.o.c.ky! You think you can leave just like that after stealing the lantern!?”

No sooner did he turn around than someone’s angry voice called out. Turning his head, the man could see that Bai Yunfei and the other two had returned to the sh.o.r.e by now and were walking toward him. It had been Fei Nian who had called out.

The young man cast a glance over to Fei Nian, “What? You got a problem?”

“No kidding!” Fei Nian spat. “This lantern was a prize for the compet.i.tion. What right have you to steal it like that!?”

“It was just a lantern, and it was a compet.i.tion of skill to begin with. You were weak, so I took the lantern. What problem is there for me to take it?”

“What an unreasonable person you are. You didn’t even comply with the rules of the argument, so how can you say you followed the rules of the compet.i.tion!?”

Snorting, the man glared at first Fei Nian and then the others, “I took it now, and you still have a problem?”

“You!!”

Fei Nian had been speechless by how illogical this person was that he didn’t even know how to even start to talk to the man.

By Fei Nian’s side was Bai Yunfei. He stared at the young man with a questioning gaze. The young man wasn’t weak by any means; he was an early-stage Soul Ancestor, and the burly man next to him was a late-stage Soul Ancestor. With strength like that, he surely had to belong to some major household.

Everyone was silent, but it was Huangfu Rui who spoke up first in anger. Pointing the tanghulu bamboo skewer at the young man, she spouted in anger, “You ugly idiot! You didn’t even fight in the compet.i.tion but you took the lantern! That was supposed to brother strawhat’s gift to sis Yun!!”

“Uh…” The young man took a step back to glare at Huangfu Rui, “Who let this feral little girl in? What reason is there for a little girl to try and tell me what to do?”

Growing even more angry, Huangfu Rui yelled, “I’m not a feral little girl! My name is Huangfu Rui, and I’ll be seventeen this year! Mother said that people should be polite; otherwise, people will say you had no upbringing!”

“…” Though everyone was quiet, they couldn’t help but smile in secret to themselves. Was this girl implying that the other person had no upbringing?

“You!!” The young man snarled at first, but when he managed to get a better view of Huangfu Rui, he started to sneer. “Seventeen years old? Haha! So you really are some feral little girl then! Not only that, but you’ve got a problem with your head, what a stu—”

“Shut your mouth!!” Fei Nian snarled, interrupting the man in anger. Soulforce began to slough off his body as he dove toward the man, but even before he could get close, Bai Yunfei’s hand stopped him.

Even Bai Yunfei looked grim by this point, but he managed to level a calm glare at the young man, “We won’t argue about the lantern, but apologize for what you just said at once.”

The young man was surprised to see that there was such an uproar over what he said, but that didn’t stop him from letting out a final jeer, “Who do you all think you are? How dare you speak to me that way! Was I wrong? This girl is not only cheap, she’s a s—”

“Bang!!”

There was a m.u.f.fled sound that resonated through the area as the young man was sent flying back like a cannon ball. With a boom, he slammed into the stone railings of the bridge several meters away. There was another cracking sound as the railings gave way, and he slammed into the next set of railings on the other side of the bridge, rendering him safe from falling into the water.

The entire area grew dead silent as the events of what happened registered in their minds. Bai Yunfei and Fei Nian had been ready to take action, so was the one named Tie Nu. However, even they were surprised by what happened.

“Clack.”

A small red figure dropped down onto the stone-tiled ground. The sound wasn’t too loud in reality, but the echo was loud enough to send shockwaves through everyone’s hearts.

Its entire body was glowing the bright red flames of elemental fire. On its head were two large ears as it stood up on its hind two legs like a human. Its forelimbs bulged as if they contained some sort of explosive power. It was Huangfu Rui’s soulbeast partner, Xiao Rourou!

No.

It’d be unfitting to call it by this name.

It was the… red magiboar!!

The red magiboar looked wrathful as it stared at the mess that was the young man… there was even a slight tint of killing intent in its eyes!

“Young master!”

Finally realizing the situation at hand, Tie Nu let out a cry before flying to his master’s side in a flash of golden light. A vacant look of shock was on the injured man’s face as blood started to leak out of his mouth, and his complexion was draining of color.

“Young master! Are you alright!?” Tie Nu grabbed onto his arm and began to transmit his soulforce to alleviate some of his wounds.

“Hak! Hahh… bast—b.a.s.t.a.r.d!!” He spat out in between coughs. Glaring at the red magiboar in front of Bai Yunfei’s group, he snarled, “A soulbeast… kill it! Kill it! Tie Nu, I order you to kill it!!”

“Young master… we shouldn’t be…”Seeing that his charge wasn’t in serious danger, Tie Nu let a sigh escape from him in secret, but even as he spoke, something came at them suddenly, causing him to cry out in surprise, “Watch out!!”

At the same time, Tie Nu pushed the young master out of the way right as the aura of a late-stage Soul Exalt came cras.h.i.+ng down onto them. The black chain wrapped around his right arm began to crackle as it glittered with light.

With a final invocation, the chain flew forward!

The red magiboar was charging straight toward him with the speed of a red lightning bolt!

As the chain unfurled, it formed a giant drill-shaped point at the very front. With a shake of his right hand, the chain flew at the charging Red Magiboar. With a burst of golden light, the chain started to radiate light; this was a desperate move done against a being of the late-stage Soul Exalt level!

Leaping up, the red magiboar made no move to dodge the chain’s path. Its right hind leg (or hoof?) exploded into a burst of red light as elemental fire started to manifest on its fist (hoof?). In no weak display of strength, it clashed with the golden chain!

“Clang!!”

As the two ‘points’ of each opposing force collided, there was an ear-piercing sound of metal hitting metal. Then, as the golden light started to disperse, the chain behind it started to crumble and shatter into countless of pieces!!

Under Tie Nu’s shocked eyes, the red magiboar’s hoof smashed into his fist.

There was a cracking sound before Tie Nu’s arm began to distort and bend heavily in on itself. In the next second, Tie Nu’s face went red as blood came spurting out of his mouth.

Shock filled his eyes, but before he could do anything, the red magiboar suddenly disappeared from his sight!

In a flash of red, the red magiboar then appeared right in front of the young man Tie Nu was protecting. Whirling around in mid-air, the red magiboar’s hind leg then smashed onto the man’s back!

“Bang!”

There was another m.u.f.fled sound as the man spat out a large mouthful of blood. Following the momentum of the blow, he was sent spiraling into the air before landing ruthlessly right in front of Bai Yunfei and the others!