dawn, a carriage bearing the royal insignia of the Heaven Dou Empire, escorted by seven or eight Soul Masters and one Soul Sect Master, slowly emerged from Heaven Dou City.
After leaving Heaven Dou City, the carriage headed towards the Lin Family Manor.
The Heaven Dou royal carriage was quite impressive, arriving at the entrance of the Lin Family Manor in less than half an hour.
The Lin family servants, having received prior instructions, did not obstruct the carriage, which proceeded directly into the manor.
Lin Zhan, along with Lin Yu, greeted Prince Xue Qinghe. After some pleasantries, Lin Zhan ordered his men to take care of the Heaven Dou royal carriage, while he, along with Lin Yu, Xue Qinghe, and the royal guards, left the Lin family manor and headed directly towards the Sunset Forest, located west of Heaven Dou City.
At this time, the Sunset Forest was sparsely populated with powerful soul beasts over 50,000 years old, and devoid of soul beasts at the 100,000-year level, yet it remained a gathering place for top-tier soul beasts in the Heaven Dou Empire and even the Douluo Continent.
Although the overall strength of spirit beasts cannot compare to that of the Star Dou Great Forest, the Far North, and some forests in the southern part of the Star Luo Empire,
their numbers and varieties are quite considerable, making the prosperity of spirit beast species second only to the Star Dou Great Forest.
After traveling for more than two hours, Lin Yu and his group arrived at an entrance
to the Sunset Forest in the northwest of Tian Dou City. At this moment, several royal guards quickly formed a crude, battle-like formation, protecting Prince Xue Qinghe in the center.
Lin Yu followed behind Lin Zhan, leading a group of about ten people. They were about to enter the Sunset Forest when an unexpected event occurred.
A flash of cold light appeared, and dozens of icy arrows came directly towards Lin Zhan and his group.
The attack came too suddenly; in the blink of an eye, five of the royal guards protecting Xue Qinghe had already died or been wounded.
As a Soul Saint, Lin Zhan reacted quickly, catching all the arrows aimed at him and Lin Yu.
With a slight exertion, all the arrows instantly transformed into a pale yellow soul force, gradually dissipating.
"Haha, as expected of Marquis Chengyang, your skills are truly remarkable. However, compared to us, the Divine Archers, you are nothing!"
A burst of laughter rang out, and two slender figures appeared before Lin Zhan and the others.
Although they appeared thin, they were tall, each wielding a pale yellow longbow carved with some kind of eagle-like soul beast.
"Ying Zuo, Ying You, so it's you two!"
Lin Zhan's expression hardened. Ying Zuo and Ying You were both outstanding Soul Masters in the Heaven Dou Empire, both brothers reaching the level of Soul Saint at level seventy-two. Lin Zhan had heard of their fame before.
However, he never expected that these two would be sent to assassinate him, and he didn't understand who would have such a grand scheme.
Ying Zuo's expression was sinister as he pointed at Xue Qinghe and cackled, "Lin Zhan, before you die, I'll let you die knowing why. You owe your current position to this Second Prince. If it weren't for him, we brothers wouldn't bother with you."
Seeing that things couldn't end peacefully, Lin Zhan planned to buy time for Lin Yu and Xue Qinghe to escape.
However, things weren't as simple as Lin Zhan imagined. Suddenly,
a deafening tiger's roar echoed. From the source of the roar, a burly man with several scars that pierced his entire face walked coldly towards the two groups.
The man was very strong, and Lin Zhan immediately felt considerable pressure.
Lin Zhan, with his keen observation, immediately noticed that the man before him had heterochromia and blurted out, "You're from the Dai family!"
"Dai Yunhao, a level 79 Soul Saint, greets you all!"
With Dai Yunhao's appearance, the situation immediately reached a stalemate. Lin Zhan also intended to try and buy time.
However, Dai Yunhao's words plunged Lin Zhan from the clouds of hope into the abyss of despair. "Ying Zuo and Ying You, presumably your master also wants you to deal with Xue Qinghe and his group. We have no conflict in this regard."
Ying You chuckled maliciously. "That's true. We'll just have to trouble you to help us restrain Lin Zhan."
Before Dai Yunhao could refuse, Ying You immediately drew his bow and nocked an arrow. As arrows condensed from soul power were fired, the guards standing beside Xue Qinghe were completely terrified. They all tried to escape, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't move. Their feet seemed to be fixed to the ground.
They couldn't even use their martial souls. They could only watch helplessly as the arrows pierced their bodies and they lost their lives.
Suddenly, an old man wielding a serpent spear appeared before Xue Qinghe; it was none other than the Serpent Spear Douluo, She Long, who had been guarding her.
She Long's appearance caused Ying Zuo, Ying You, and Dai Yunhao's expressions to change instantly.
With their Soul Saint strength, they couldn't even detect She Long's power, which was why they were wary.
When Lin Zhan saw She Long, he immediately understood many things. He turned around and smiled gently at Lin Yu, who was hiding behind him, "Yu'er, I'll have to have a good talk with you later!"
Hearing his father's words, Lin Yu felt a chill run down his spine for no reason, thinking to himself: Trouble, this is going to be difficult to fool.
While the father and son were chatting, She Long had already made his move. He easily captured the three men and stood respectfully beside Xue Qinghe. "Reporting to Young Master, what should be done with these three?"
"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Xiao Yu taught me that, and I've remembered it. Since we've become the oriole, there's no reason for us to let the mantis go."
Understanding, She Long took his leave, taking the Ying brothers and Dai Yunhao with him. What to do with them was up to She Long.
Watching She Long leave, Lin Zhan immediately knelt beside Xue Qinghe. "Lin Zhan greets Young Master!"
Xue Qinghe helped Lin Zhan up. "Uncle Lin, please rise. Not only are you Xiao Yu's father, but you're also an elder of my Spirit Hall. I can only mobilize a limited number of people in Heaven Dou City; I'll still need your support in the future."
Although she had a good relationship with Lin Yu, Qian Renxue still acted as the young master of the Spirit Hall when facing Lin Zhan.
Although his attitude was mild, it still gave off an air of aloofness and coldness, keeping people at arm's length.
Lin Zhan understood this; having spent years in the Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire, he had long since found his place and wouldn't lose himself to a few kind words.
After exchanging pleasantries, Lin Zhan, along with Lin Yu and Xue Qinghe, finally entered the Sunset Forest.
When they emerged and returned to Heaven Dou, it would be time to reap the lives of Xue Luochuan and Xue Haicang, the two princes of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Otherwise, the disappearance of the three Soul Saints would surely attract the attention of Xue Luochuan, Xue Haicang, and even Xue Ye, who would pay attention to the previously unknown, unnoticed prince Xue Qinghe.
While Emperor Xue Ye couldn't handle it for the time being, the two princes were beyond his control.
(End of Chapter)