"Little Sha, you have to get used to being struck by lightning."
Medusa: "..."
"Thanks a lot."
However, Medusa did not speak up to refute her.
Because she also knew that Xiao Xue could now perfectly refine Peak Sixth Grade Medicinal Pills.
It probably wouldn't be long before she could refine seventh-grade pills and attract Pill Lightning.
Therefore, enduring lightning strikes would be something she, as an employee, would frequently have to do in the future.
There was no harm in getting familiar with the job beforehand.
Moreover, for their Snake-People Clan, the heavenly soul blood bone pill—a pill required to nourish through that Advanced Secret Technique for prenatal care—was also a seventh-grade Advanced pill... On the other hand, Xiao Xue also felt that doing this was a bit unkind.
So, she planned to start collecting Materials for refining Puppets right now.
Once she obtained the refining method for the Heavenly Demon Puppet, she could start refining it immediately.
As it happened, one of the Materials for the Puppet—a Dou Zong-level body—delivered itself to her doorstep—
"Jie jie jie."
Amidst a roiling mass of black mist, an unnamed Protector from the Hall of Souls branch in the Black-Corner Region appeared before Medusa and Xiao Xue, carrying his laughter characteristic of their corporate culture.
"Jie jie jie, Yao Chen, you've certainly made it hard for our Hall of Souls to find you."
Protector Liu's eyes, flickering with a crimson light, glanced at Yao Lao.
In the Black-Corner Region, the most powerful faction was actually the Hall of Souls.
The Protectors here were the highest-ranking Heaven-Grade Protectors, possessing High-Tier Dou Zong strength.
For example, the one before Xiao Xue and Medusa, Protector Liu, was an Eight-Star Dou Zong.
This Protector Liu was known in the original work as the Protector with the shortest screen time.
When Xiao Yan went to rescue Yao Lao, he was right there, but Xiao Yan didn't even look at him and slapped him to death.
At that time, Xiao Yan had just subdued the Three Thousand Burning Flame and possessed Peak Dou Zong strength; anyone below Dou Venerate could be dealt with in a single slap.
However, the Eight-Star Dou Zong appearing now still carried quite a bit of pressure.
Seeing Protector Liu appear in a mass of black mist, Yao Lao, who hadn't had time to dive back into the ring, had a drastic change in expression.
Medusa also realized the other party's hostility and stepped forward, shielding Xiao Xue.
While blocking Protector Liu's pressure for Xiao Xue, she unhesitatingly thrust her spear directly at Protector Liu.
This was Medusa's personality; she preferred action over words.
Protector Liu also failed to react in time; Medusa didn't follow the usual script, catching him off guard.
He hurriedly manipulated the black iron chains in his hand to block. "A mere newcomer to Seven-Star who just exhausted a lot of Dou Qi..."
Before Protector Liu could finish his inner monologue, an unrivaled spear force directly sent the chains in his hand flying and grazed his arm.
"A transformed Demonic Beast?!"
Greatly shocked, Protector Liu quickly pulled back to open some distance.
A Seventh-Tier Demonic Beast that had consumed a Transformation Pill could unleash combat power in close quarters far exceeding that of a human in the same Realm.
Because a Demonic Beast's Physique was Innately several times stronger than that of human experts.
Within the same major Realm, it was not difficult at all for a Demonic Beast to fight across one or two stars in close combat.
Medusa had previously consumed a Transformation Pill, so her aura was naturally no different from an ordinary human's.
That was why Protector Liu had initially treated her as an ordinary Dou Zong.
In fact, Protector Liu had already arrived as soon as the Pill Lightning began to fall.
He hadn't acted then because he wanted to capture all three of them in one fell swoop afterward.
Yao Lao's Soul body went without saying, and Xiao Xue's Soul Power had already reached the seventh-grade level, despite her being only a Dou Wang.
One Early Stage Dou Zong, one Late Stage Dou Wang, and both with Mortal Realm Great Perfection Soul strength.
Protector Liu naturally had no reason not to take such high-quality and easily handled Souls.
Medusa's Soul was at the Dou Zong level anyway, so he would gladly take it as well.
In Protector Liu's view, suppressing Yao Lao's Soul and Xiao Xue would be effortless.
And after enduring the lightning, he estimated Medusa's strength would drop further, likely to only Peak Six-Star combat power.
As an Eight-Star Peak, the advantage was his.
Besides, Pill Lightning didn't recognize people; it struck anyone who entered its range.
When Protector Liu arrived, the Pill Lightning had already started falling.
Therefore, he waited until the Pill Lightning ended before showing himself.
As a result, upon their first encounter, his defenses were breached by the Dou Zong he had previously looked down upon.
Furthermore, even if he was one star higher in strength, once drawn into close combat, he likely wouldn't fare well.
"Who are you?"
Medusa held the spear across her body in a defensive posture, staring warily at Protector Liu.
The opponent's strength was clearly superior to hers, and he harbored obvious malice, forcing her to be cautious.
While Medusa was sizing up Protector Liu, he was also sizing up the trio.
Compared to Medusa, whose Soul was only slightly stronger than normal, Yao Lao's Soul naturally had a higher priority.
It would be even better if he could also get his hands on the Soul of that little girl, who was only a Dou Wang but had seventh-grade Soul Power.
The value of that Dou Wang's Soul was no less than that of a Dou Zong.
However, since this Dou Zong was so protective of her, capturing that Dou Wang's Soul would likely require a fierce battle.
The Protector didn't really want to fight Medusa right now.
After all, she wasn't as easy to handle as he had thought.
A transformed Seventh-Tier Demonic Beast with the strength of a Seven-Star Dou Zong.
Even Protector Liu didn't dare say he could easily defeat Medusa.
After all, the Hall of Souls had plenty of ways to deal with Soul bodies.
But Soul Dou Techniques that directly attacked the Soul were high-end goods even within the Hall of Souls, and he didn't have the clearance to access them.
Unable to attack on a spiritual level, he might not gain an advantage by simply competing in Dou Techniques with Medusa.
If Yao Lao's Soul body escaped or if he himself got injured in the battle, the losses would outweigh the gains.
Protector Liu looked at Medusa and slightly softened his tone, clearly not wanting to make an enemy of her:
"Your Excellency has misunderstood. I have come this time specifically for that Soul body."
"As long as you are willing to hand him over to me, I will leave immediately and not bother you two."
Medusa thought for a moment and knew who Protector Liu was referring to.
By this time, Yao Lao had already retreated back into the ring.
Having just recovered to the Dou Zong level, he was of no help in a fight and might even be a hindrance.
Xiao Xue was somewhat surprised. Could a Hall of Souls Protector, who usually only knew how to laugh "jie jie jie," actually be reasoned with?
Since when were the people from the Hall of Souls so easy to talk to?
However, since her cheap father Xiao Zhan didn't need to go to the Hun Clan to be fast-tracked to Dou Huang, there was also no need for Yao Lao to go to the Hall of Souls for "further studies."
Medusa and Xiao Xue exchanged a glance, and Medusa understood her intention.
She spun the spear in her hand; it was no longer held across her body but pointed directly at Protector Liu, signaling her stance.
This posture clearly indicated an intent to strike if things didn't go her way.
Seeing this, Protector Liu gave a cold snort and said chillingly, "Is Your Excellency planning to oppose my Hall of Souls?"
"I don't care about any Hall of Souls; I only follow... the orders of the Alliance Leader."
Medusa hesitated for a moment, her mind racing, and finally decided against using a word like "Master," settling on the more appropriate "Alliance Leader."
Working for a boss wasn't embarrassing.
Protector Liu was momentarily speechless; with his knowledge, he really couldn't think of any Alliance that could compare to the Hall of Souls.
Could it be that she didn't know how powerful the Hall of Souls was, or perhaps she had a backing that made her fearless?
After all, before his fall, Yao Chen was also a Peak Eighth-grade Alchemist.
Using such a background to pressure a strange Eight-Star Dou Zong with an unknown background did have some effect.
It seemed that if he didn't act today, he wouldn't be able to retrieve Yao Chen's remnant soul.
Protector Liu sighed softly and suddenly flicked his hand, sending a pitch-black chain stabbing out.
The target of his sudden strike was none other than Xiao Xue, who was behind Medusa.
Although Medusa was shielding Xiao Xue, chains could curve.
By attacking what the enemy must save, Protector Liu's move forced Medusa to turn back to defend Xiao Xue.
Then, in that opening, he could seize Medusa's weakness and deal her a heavy blow in one go.
However, what he didn't know was that the strongest among them wasn't Medusa, but... Ahri, who was with Xiao Xue!
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