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Chapter 51: The Wolf Pack
Han Lingyi looked at Bai Chen's cute face and recalled the story he had just told. Her heart softened.
"I think it wouldn't hurt to protect him for a while. For us, it's just a small effort, isn't it?"
"You two… sigh, fine."
With two votes against one, the boy still looked somewhat dissatisfied, but he no longer had any grounds to object.
He walked over to Bai Chen and crouched down, asking bluntly,
"Kid, your name is Tang Wulin, right? What's your martial soul and soul skill? Don't tell me you entered the Spirit Ascension Platform without even having a spirit ring."
Bai Chen blinked and replied,
"My martial soul is the Dark Demon Tiger. My first soul skill is Scorpion Tiger Hook. It summons a hooked tail to assist me in battle."
"Oh? That's a pretty unusual soul skill."
The boy raised an eyebrow but didn't doubt him.
"My name is Li Shaohan. Their names are Gu Qingyu and Han Lingyi."
"Since they both insisted on bringing you along, I won't object. But if you cause trouble, I'll personally take you out. Got it?"
"Shaohan."
Gu Qingyu interrupted him helplessly and coughed lightly before turning to Bai Chen.
"Don't mind him. Even though he sounds harsh, he's actually a very good person. Don't be afraid of him."
"Mm, I know."
Bai Chen nodded and smiled.
"Big brother is just looking out for the sisters. I think that's really cool."
Hearing this response, Gu Qingyu's eyes widened slightly.
She blinked and then looked at Li Shaohan with a playful smile.
"Tch."
Li Shaohan turned his head away awkwardly.
"Brat… your mouth sure is sweet."
Gu Qingyu chuckled.
"Since it's decided, let's get going. We need to protect this child."
"Mm."
"Hmph."
Han Lingyi nodded softly, while Li Shaohan simply responded with a snort.
Bai Chen sighed inwardly.
It seemed his luck wasn't bad.
The first group of people he encountered inside the Spirit Ascension Platform turned out to be rather kind-hearted.
Unfortunately, their kindness didn't really help him.
If anything, their presence created extra complications for him.
His efficiency would be far higher acting alone than traveling with them.
And as it turned out, his assumption was correct.
Soon after, the four of them encountered several more soul beasts.
Each time, the three older teens worked together to defeat the creatures, leaving one for Bai Chen to finish.
Among them, Gu Qingyu was a Soul Elder, while the other two were Grand Soul Masters.
Considering their age, their strength was already quite impressive.
After killing another hundred-year porcupine, Gu Qingyu let out a breath and said to the others,
"If the next soul beast we encounter is only a ten-year one, let's give it to Wulin, alright?"
The other two nodded.
For them, killing ten-year soul beasts required almost no effort, and the gains were minimal anyway.
But what they didn't realize was that the next thing they encountered would not be an easy ten-year soul beast.
Instead, it would be a powerful enemy capable of pushing them to the brink.
"Awoooo—!"
A long howl echoed through the forest.
Moments later, wolves began charging toward them from the distance.
"This is…!"
Gu Qingyu's expression immediately tightened.
"Quick! We have to run!"
Even a rough estimate showed that the pack contained around a hundred wolves.
Even if they were all ten-year soul beasts, such overwhelming numbers were enough to place them in grave danger.
Moreover, Gu Qingyu recognized the species from her textbooks.
They were called Wind Demon Wolves.
The size of their pack was closely tied to the cultivation level of the wolf king.
A pack of this scale meant the wolf king might already possess a thousand years of cultivation.
Even if the three of them fought together, defeating a thousand-year soul beast would not be easy.
And that was without considering the hundreds of subordinate wolves.
Unfortunately, it was already too late.
By the time they noticed the pack, the wolves had already spotted them.
Blades of wind rapidly condensed in the air.
Then they shot forward in a massive barrage.
Hundreds of wind blades tore through the air, their power rivaling the ten-thousand-year soul skill of a Soul King.
"Damn…"
Despair rose in Gu Qingyu's eyes.
It seemed their trip into the Spirit Ascension Platform would end here.
What she regretted most was the young boy named Tang Wulin.
He was still so young.
She hoped this experience wouldn't leave him with lasting trauma.
Just as that thought crossed her mind—
She suddenly felt her body grow light.
An arm wrapped around her waist, lifting her into the air.
"Ah! W-What's happening?!"
She heard Han Lingyi cry out in shock.
Turning her head, Gu Qingyu saw that Han Lingyi had also been lifted into the air.
Below them, hundreds of wind blades sliced through the place where they had been standing moments earlier.
The ground was instantly carved with dozens of deep scars, and even several nearby trees were cut down and collapsed.
The one who had saved them could only be Bai Chen.
Although the three of them had unintentionally hindered him along the way, their intentions had been good.
Bai Chen simply couldn't stand by and watch three kind people die in front of him.
Besides, even for him, dealing with such a large number of soul beasts alone wouldn't be easy.
At times like this, a few helpers were still useful.
Bai Chen spoke calmly,
"We can't stay in the air for long. Prepare yourselves for battle."
At the moment, he was holding the two girls in his arms, while the Evil God Hook wrapped around Li Shaohan.
This meant all of his attack methods were effectively sealed.
He definitely couldn't stay airborne like this for too long.
If they were spotted by a flying-type soul beast, they would be finished.
"Wulin, you…"
Gu Qingyu was about to speak when Bai Chen suddenly flapped his wings and dived downward, landing on the ground.
He set them down and said calmly,
"We can talk later. Right now, our priority is dealing with the danger in front of us."
"He's right, Sister Qingyu."
The one who spoke up in agreement was surprisingly Li Shaohan, who had previously disliked Bai Chen the most.
He took a deep breath and forced a stiff smile.
"We paid a lot to get into this place. We can't leave this quickly."
"…You're right."
Gu Qingyu glanced at the two spirit rings circling Bai Chen's body, then asked seriously,
"Tang Wulin… can we entrust you with command in this battle?"
Under normal circumstances, she would never allow a six- or seven-year-old child to lead them.
But this was no ordinary situation.
Based on everything that had just happened, Bai Chen was clearly the most suitable person to take command.
Gu Qingyu was kind—but she wasn't foolish.
After witnessing Bai Chen's performance, how could she still fail to realize that he had been pretending earlier?
Bai Chen nodded calmly.
"Alright. Leave it to me."