Mo Lan's pupils constricted. She forced herself to stay calm and raised her hand in a gesture. "I agree to your terms, just don't hurt the hostages!"
She dropped the Soul tool pistol in her hand, raised both hands above her head, and walked step by step into the depths of the carriage.
Behind her, the Security Captain was sweating profusely with anxiety, but due to the thugs' threats, he didn't dare to act rashly.
At that moment, Tang Wulin burst in.
Instantly, the thugs' muzzles were all aimed at him.
Tang Wulin froze.
It wasn't out of fear, but because he saw a reassuring head of yellow hair.
The hostage the thugs were aiming at was none other than Arthur.
"What are you doing?!" Mo Lan was both shocked and anxious, her voice trembling. She hadn't expected Tang Wulin to suddenly burst in; this was undoubtedly walking right into the line of fire.
"Go back, quickly!"
Tang Wulin let out a strange laugh. "Sister, come back. There's no need to go over there."
He pulled Mo Lan back.
The thugs were provoked by this turn of events. Their leader said harshly, "I told you not to play tricks. You can't blame me for this. Heh, let's kill one first."
Then, he pulled the trigger, aiming at Arthur.
"Bang!"
But the expected splash of blood did not occur.
The Soul tool ray gun hit Arthur's head, only causing a ripple of pale golden light to shimmer before vanishing.
Under the terrified gazes of everyone except Tang Wulin, Arthur scratched his head nonchalantly.
He even let out a yawn, his tone then turning ice-cold. "You beasts of the Holy Spirit Cult, I haven't even come looking for you yet, and you dare to disturb my peaceful sleep first?"
Carrying out terrorist attacks just to kill as many people as possible—if that's not being a beast of the Holy Spirit Cult, what is?
Arthur had waited until now just to observe further and see if there were any Evil Soul Masters hiding in the shadows.
Heh, he really did find one.
With one sentence, the thugs' expressions changed drastically. Just as they were about to react, the Arthur in their eyes turned into a beam of light.
An afterimage composed of light.
In an instant, the light and shadow flickered past all the thugs like Teleportation. Golden sharp edges drew streaks of afterimages within the carriage.
The thugs only saw a flash of light before losing consciousness.
Tang Wulin cheered, "Brother Arthur is amazing!"
Mo Lan also snapped out of it and was about to step forward to thank him.
She saw a large spear wrapped in beams of light appear in Arthur's hand. With a flick toward her, the Holy Spear struck straight out.
"Puchi—"
The Holy Spear flew past Mo Lan's ear, accurately piercing the "air" behind her.
A dark shadow appeared out of nowhere, letting out a shrill scream. The sinister aura on its body sizzled under the burning light, dissipating into wisps of black smoke.
"What is this thing!"
While roaring, six spirit rings—two yellow, two purple, and two black—emerged behind the Evil Soul Master.
He struggled violently, but couldn't break free even an inch.
"Damn it, I am the Plague Messenger!"
He raised the scepter in his hand, and as his spirit rings flashed, a vast cloud of green mist surged out.
But in the next second, the Holy Spear erupted with light.
The mist churned, trying to spread outward, but it was firmly anchored within a tiny space.
The Evil Soul Master wanted to make another move.
But Arthur wouldn't give him any chance to breathe.
The Four elements emerged together, weaving into a net.
The moment it swept through the green plague mist, it purified it completely.
The mist dissipated into wisps of blue smoke, without even a hint of foul odor remaining.
Just as the Evil Soul Master was about to activate his sixth Spirit Ability for a desperate counterattack, he found his body suddenly twisting uncontrollably.
Spatial power, like an invisible noose, surged from all directions, tightly Binding his limbs, torso, and even his spirit rings.
His body curled and twisted at a speed visible to the naked eye. The crisp sound of bones shattering intertwined with the hiss of his evil Martial Soul Origin collapsing.
Finally, he was completely annihilated within the Void Realm, leaving not even a speck of ash or a trace behind.
The Spatial power slowly receded, and the Holy Spear also vanished into golden light.
Arthur stretched. "Only a Spirit Emperor. Boring."
There was a dead silence in the carriage.
Mo Lan's whole body was stiff, her back already soaked in cold sweat.
There was relief that the crisis had passed, but also shock.
As the daughter of the Heaven Dou City Governor, she had seen many Soul Masters, but she had never seen such terrifying methods.
This youth's strength was simply unfathomable.
The Security Captain and the staff didn't even dare to breathe loudly, looking at Arthur as if they were looking at a Divinity.
Arthur turned to look at Mo Lan and blinked, appearing just like a simple, innocent youth.
"Sister, it's safe now." He spoke lightheartedly, as if talking about an ordinary trivial matter. "I'll leave the cleanup to you. I still have an exam to take."
Looking at his drastically different demeanor, Mo Lan was momentarily speechless.
Then she noticed the word "exam."
It seemed Tang Wulin had also mentioned he was taking an exam.
She immediately looked at Tang Wulin.
"Ah, he is our First Year class monitor, Arthur." Tang Wulin explained, sensing her confusion.
"We are currently undergoing our Final exams."
"First Year... Final exams?" Mo Lan's eyes widened, her gaze at Arthur full of disbelief.
Wait, are students in the Spirit Master's world this fierce nowadays?
Arthur patted Tang Wulin's shoulder. "I didn't expect you'd be the first to run into me, and..."
Tang Wulin, Mo Lan, the train, Evil Soul Masters.
He recalled Tang Wulin's title as the "Soul Tool Train Killer" from the original work.
A flash of inspiration struck. What if he used Destiny to intertwine his fate with that of the Evil Soul Masters?
At that time, wouldn't they just keep delivering themselves to his doorstep without him having to actively search for them?
Well, he had to experiment slowly; for now, he needed to maintain a proper balance.
Otherwise, if he lured in someone too powerful, he might not be able to handle it.
Snapping back to reality, he turned to Mo Lan. "I also took the liberty of disabling the bombs planted on the train. I'll leave the follow-up matters to you, Sister."
"No, it's no trouble at all!" Mo Lan waved her hands hurriedly. "Student Arthur, Student Tang Wulin, thank you so much this time! If not for you, the consequences would have been unthinkable. Once you arrive in Heaven Dou City, if you need anything, you can contact me!"
As she spoke, she quickly took out two specially made Communication badges from her pocket and handed them to Arthur and Tang Wulin. "These are exclusive badges of the Heaven Dou City Governor's Office. With them, whether you're calling for resources or seeking help, you'll get the fastest response."
Arthur took the badge, tucked it casually into his pocket, and thanked her with a smile.
Tang Wulin fiddled with the badge curiously, his eyes sparkling. "Wow, thank you, Sister! With this, our exams will definitely go much more smoothly!"
...They arrived at Heaven Dou City.
"Brother Arthur, I'm so hungry." Tang Wulin patted his stomach. "How about we go to the Blacksmith Association here first to make some money?"
"Hmm?" Arthur turned his head in confusion. "Didn't you receive it?"
"Receive what?" Tang Wulin looked bewildered.
"I had Gu Yue distribute money. Didn't you get yours?"
"What!" Tang Wulin was shocked. "I... I left in such a hurry, I didn't know!"
He beat his chest and stomped his feet, looking heartbroken. "If I had known there was such a good thing, why would I have gone through the trouble of fare dodging!"
"It's fine, I'll treat you." Arthur led Tang Wulin into a random shop by the roadside.
Just as they found a window seat and sat down, they heard a familiar shout from the entrance.
"Boss, bring out all of your shop's signature dishes!"
Arthur and Tang Wulin glanced at each other, then turned their heads toward the door simultaneously.
Xu Lizhi was walking in with large strides.
The gears of fate began to turn.
Under countless coincidences, the First Year students would eventually converge in Heaven Dou City.
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