The middle-aged man stood there blankly, without reacting.

One of the Dark Soul Guards frowned and secretly flicked a burst of soul power from his fingertip, striking the middle-aged man's shoulder.

Hey kid, the Holy Maiden is asking you a question!

The middle-aged man, who had been in pain, finally came to his senses. Upon hearing the price and conditions offered by Qian Yuelong, his pupils contracted, and his lips trembled. He seemed somewhat incredulous at this unexpected windfall and asked uncertainly, "Are you... are you serious?"

Qian Yuelong nodded patiently, "We'll offer you a soul beast with a cultivation level of around 5,000 years that's suitable for you at a full price of 4,000 gold soul coins. We're honest and fair."

Facing Qian Yuelong's slightly amused gaze, devoid of any disdain or calculation, the middle-aged man's eyes reddened slightly. He withdrew his martial spirit and outward aura, forcing an awkward yet sincere smile: "Alright! I'll hire him!"

Anyway, he has nothing left to lose except his life.

Qian Yuelong looked at the Dark Soul Guard closest to him, raised her chin slightly and said, "Help him set his arm. His arm is probably broken in the struggle just now."

"yes."

The Dark Soul Guard nodded, stepped over the corpse on the ground, and walked to the middle-aged man's side. After two muffled groans of pain, the middle-aged man's arms trembled slightly. He clasped his hands together, bowed to the Dark Soul Guards and Qian Yuelong around him, and said gratefully, "My name is Yu Yongsi. Thank you all for saving my life!"

Qian Yuelong smiled. "It's just a matter of mutual benefit. Loot their belongings, don't waste a single soul coin. After you're done, prepare to move to another location. Since it's thundering, this place is no longer suitable for sheltering from the rain."

The Dark Soul Guard, having received the order, nodded and, without changing his expression, squatted down to begin looting the corpse.

Although their faces were covered with black cloths, no emotion could be discerned.

The middle-aged man, Yu Yongsi, with great tact, stepped aside and, watching the four people searching the body, thoughtfully told them where the gold soul coins were hidden.

Lu Ming, who had become a member of the corpse-hunting team, glanced at the middle-aged man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, but said nothing.

Yun Yi and Fang Yi, who were guarding Qian Yuelong on either side, exchanged a glance and acted as their doorkeepers. After they finished looting the corpse, Yun Yi bent down and picked up Qian Yuelong.

When she touched Qian Yuelong's dry black robe, her movements stiffened almost imperceptibly. When Qian Yuelong glanced at her, Yun Yi lowered her head, concealing the look of horror in her eyes.

Finally, the group continued on in the dark, and along the way they encountered a thousand-year-old soul beast that was foraging for food amidst the darkness and torrential rain.

Before Yu Yongsi could even shout "Be careful!", a dark figure swiftly brought down a blade, and eight brilliantly colored spirit rings exploded in his field of vision like fireworks. The spirit beast that attacked them was instantly cleaved in two and killed.

This person was actually a Soul Douluo powerhouse!

Yu Yongsi stared in shock at Yun Yi, who coldly said "Keep going," and quickly lowered his head, afraid of seeing any other information he shouldn't see. He then followed the others to a higher place to set up camp.

Inside the large tent, two small campfires burned on the left and right sides.

The soul power evaporated the rainwater from the clothes, and the burning flames brought dryness and warmth.

Yu Yongsi sat somewhat reservedly not far from Qian Yuelong, sharing a fire with Yun Yi and Fang Yi, while the other four roasted another fire nearby.

The raindrops kept hitting the tent. It should have been noisy, but Yu Yongsi felt uneasy because of the quiet atmosphere.

He cautiously glanced at Yun Yi and Fang Yi, whose faces were still covered, then his gaze fell on Qian Yuelong, who was fiddling with the dry rations. After thinking for a moment, he finally asked:

"Excuse me, are you also a Soul Hunter team?"

"No, these are all sent by my family to protect me." Qian Yuelong raised her head.

Yu Yongsi's pupils contracted slightly.

Qian Yuelong smiled at him and said, "You don't need to be so reserved. Since we saved you and made a verbal agreement with you, we naturally won't break the agreement like those pests. After all, Soul Masters value agreements."

Qian Yuelong's words eased Yu Yongsi's tension slightly, but he still cautiously asked in a polite tone, "May I ask how I should address you, Miss?"

"My name is Yuelong."

Qian Yuelong looked at Yu Yongsi, making no attempt to hide her curiosity, and asked, "I overheard some of your conversation from the tree. I'm curious, since you're from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and a direct disciple, why would you hire a Soul Hunting Team to hunt for Soul Rings in the Soul Beast Forest? Doesn't your sect care about these things?"

Meeting those pale purple eyes that sparkled with curiosity, Yu Yongsi's face showed bitterness, and he said in a slightly low voice, "It is necessary to manage. But, I am just an illegitimate child who has no talent and was picked up halfway through life."

Wow, another illegitimate child.

Qian Yuelong wore an expression that said, "The major sect circles are really chaotic." Yu Yongsi said self-deprecatingly, "The reason I hired Luo Jin and his group, that Soul Hunting Team from earlier, was because I only had the title of direct disciple. I thought that the title of being from one of the three major sects might intimidate some people and help me obtain a Soul Ring. Who knew?"

Yu Yongsi's eyes darkened slightly as he began to speak: "As you have seen before, my martial soul is quite different from that of the ordinary Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. I also have a mutated martial soul, and it's a low-grade Earth Fire Dragon martial soul. Therefore, even if I were brought back to the sect, I wouldn't be valued. I'm only able to survive thanks to the monthly subsidy that the Spirit Hall provides to soul masters."

"But, the Earth Fire Dragon Martial Soul also means poor talent, and coupled with my status as an illegitimate child, I suffered a lot of exclusion and contempt within the sect." At this point, a hint of hatred flashed in Yu Yongsi's eyes. "But who would willingly be born an illegitimate child? My mother was deceived back then, and in the end, she died without ever seeing the man she longed for come to marry her! After being found and brought back to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, I vowed that I would make those people regret it!"

His name, "Yu Yongsi," means that he will always miss the unfaithful man from the past!

If he could, he would rather not be found by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

However, these large sects with profound heritage value bloodlines and will not allow even illegitimate children to wander outside.

Others looked over because of Yu Yongsi's unusual statement about "betraying the sect".

Qian Yuelong let out a soft "hmm" in her heart, and looking at Yu Yongsi who had suddenly confided in her, she said meaningfully, "Then do you think that after you advance to the Soul Sect and return to the sect, you can change your current predicament?"

"cannot."

Yu Yongsi gave a resolute answer, and then, under everyone's gaze, suddenly stood up. While Yun Yi, Fang Yi, and Qian Yuelong stared at him, he knelt down on both knees with a "plop" and bowed firmly, saying:

"If you need me, Miss, I am willing to become your servant! I will go through fire and water for you and the Spirit Hall!"

Upon hearing this, the air inside the tent seemed to freeze instantly.

—A side note—

Regarding updates, normally it's a single update, but if there are extra updates and I'm not busy, I'll update twice or more, even if I still owe some updates.

I still have dozens of chapters to update, lol.