**Chapter 38: Xuan Lao Covers His Face and Cries (2800 words)**
The scene of the students' lives hanging by a thread and Xuan Lao not appearing was replayed.
Zhang Lexuan's heart was extremely complicated. She had said a thousand words to everyone, quickly warning them: "My fellow students, Master Xuan, have accidentally separated from the team again."
"Now is not the time for us to indulge in sadness. It is useless to be sad. Everyone should protect themselves and fight this soul beast with all their strength!"
Following the emotional impact on some inner court disciples, they were feeling a little collapsed. After hearing Zhang Lexuan's words, they quickly adjusted their states. They knew it was too late to mourn Wang Chen. What they had to face next was a soul beast nearly 100,000 years old.
The disciples stared with red eyes at the huge mantis that had suddenly broken in.
This mantis soul beast was nearly ten meters tall, and its glowing shell was a deep dark green color.
Its head was triangular, with two huge compound eyes emitting a cold and cruel light. Its sickle-like forelimbs were covered with fine serrations that flashed cold light, and the sharp serrations dripped with blood, terrifying everyone present.
In just one encounter, the Three Souls Ghost Mantis had caused the team to lose a disciple.
Zhang Lexuan had already released the Moon Martial Soul, and her whole body was covered with a layer of clear light. She shouted coldly: "Soul Saints, follow me to attack head-on, and all Soul Emperors, protect the students with lower cultivation levels beside you, especially the two Soul Kings and Quasi-Soul Kings from the outer courtyard."
"Students who can attack remotely, assist us remotely. Those who can't attack remotely, do your best to avoid the forelimbs of the Three Souls Ghost Mantis and ensure your safety."
Zhang Lexuan's cultivation level had reached Soul Douluo. There were two Soul Saints in the team. In addition to Tang Ya and Bei Bei, the rest were Soul Kings and Soul Emperors.
Hiss!
The Three Souls Ghost Mantis rushed out from the darkness at an astonishing speed, locking its compound eyes on the two low-level Soul Kings on the flanks of the team. It immediately swung its two huge sickle-like forelimbs.
"Silver Moon True Body, Moonlight!"
Zhang Lexuan reacted immediately and released her martial soul's true body instantaneously. The light of the silver moon appeared in the sky, and the incandescent light illuminated the entire team. The power of her soul skills was suitable for both long and short distances.
An incandescent barrier temporarily blocked the sickle blade of the Three Souls Ghost Mantis. The other two Soul Saints, both of whom were strong attack types, also released their martial soul true bodies and launched a fierce attack on the three pairs of legs behind the mantis that seemed fragile and slender.
The Three Souls Ghost Mantis failed in its attack and saw the two Soul Saints attacking its abdomen. It swung its sickle-like forelimbs, creating a gust of wind and quickly jumped to change positions.
The power of the strong wind raised by the front limbs of the sickle was not lethal, but the strong aftermath of the impact blew away several Soul Kings. With the help of the less affected disciples on the inside of the team, they managed to stand firmly and spit out several mouthfuls of blood.
The Three Souls Ghost Mantis jumped through the jungle, causing the surrounding tall trees to rustle.
In the dim night, it seemed to merge with the shadows of the dense forest, jumping in the darkness, and the extremely oppressive black shadows kept flickering around.
Everyone did not dare to be distracted for a moment; every nerve was in a state of extreme alertness. Any slight movement made the disciples tremble in their hearts, fearing that the next moment, the Three Souls Ghost Mantis would rush out of the darkness with its sickle-like forelimbs raised high.
The speed of the Three Souls Ghost Mantis at this cultivation level was higher than that of all the inner court disciples present.
Zhang Lexuan was afraid that the team would suffer more casualties, so she concentrated her mind highly. Fine beads of sweat oozed from her fair forehead, glancing with a crystal-like color under the light of the silver moon. She was concentrating on every subtle sound around her.
The figure of the Hissing Three Souls Ghost Mantis continuously flickered in the surrounding shadows.
It was looking for an entry opportunity.
The elongated black shadows jumped in and out, stimulating the nerve centers of every student.
At this moment, Zhang Lexuan suddenly received a refreshing mental power fluctuation and "access request."
She could feel that this mental power had no ill intentions, so she allowed it to connect with her mind.
It was Huo Yuhao's spiritual detection sharing.
Huo Yuhao used simulation to conceal himself and Dugu Luo in the surrounding environment, hiding at the edge of the battlefield.
The Tianmeng Ice Silkworm was a little overwhelmed by the power of the Angry Buddha Lotus Flame: "Yuhao, take a few soul-restoring pills, and continue to rub the Angry Buddha Lotus Flame under the cover of simulation."
"Let's rub it in advance so that we can have the upper hand in the field battle!"
After receiving the mental signal, Zhang Lexuan in the field instantly had a scene that shocked her.
Within a radius of nearly 300 meters, every detail of the surroundings was visible, as if she were seeing the entire battlefield from a special perspective.
The Three Souls Ghost Mantis, which had been flickering in the darkness, now had all its whereabouts displayed on the detection map in her mind.
"Oh, thank you." Zhang Lexuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief and sincerely thanked the person who was helping her.
The Three Souls Ghost Mantis had no idea that its whereabouts had been exposed and was still flashing in the shadows of the woods, looking for a weakness in the team that would allow it to kill with one strike.
Whoosh——
Suddenly, a dark shadow appeared, and the Three Souls Ghost Mantis swiftly rushed out, swinging its sickle forelimbs, ready to cut the target in half as it had done before.
"Be careful!" Zhang Lexuan knew in advance who the target student of the Three Souls Ghost Mantis was through the detection map.
The student received the warning and used his soul skill to dodge immediately, but he was still hit on one arm by the tip of the sawtooth forelimb. Blood gushed out, and his tendons were completely severed, connected only by a few strands of flesh on his shoulder.
With this level of injury, the arm was completely broken. The student arched his arm to the ground, struggling violently, and howled in agony.
After the Three Souls Ghost Mantis attacked, it instantly hid in the shadows of the surrounding dense woods.
The students around him quickly bandaged the injured student and stuffed painkillers into his mouth. Fortunately, he had hidden in time and saved his life.
The exposure of the Three-Soul Ghost Mantis allowed Zhang Lexuan to find the pattern of its jumping trajectory in secret within just a few seconds.
Zhang Lexuan predicted the landing point of the Three-Soul Ghost Mantis in advance and took decisive action; her sixth soul ring suddenly lit up.
The blazing white moonlight that enveloped her suddenly rose into the air and merged into the full moon, with clear light rippling above her head.
The next moment, the full moon changed. The clear light originally contained within it suddenly became dim, and then the interior of the full moon turned completely black, leaving only the outermost layer of a silver-white halo.
"Sixth soul skill, Moon Ring Confinement!"
Zhang Lexuan's mind moved, and the silver halo descended on the landing point of the Three-Soul Ghost Mantis in advance. The halo flashed with strong white light, temporarily confining the Three-Soul Ghost Mantis.
The location of the Three Souls Ghost Mantis was exposed, and the two Soul Saints of the Strong Attack Department took this opportunity to organize another fierce attack.
The other inner court disciples' long-tense nerves finally felt a bit relieved, and the question "Why hasn't Master Xuan come yet?" spread among the team again.
However, Zhang Lexuan's control over the actions of the Three Souls Ghost Mantis made everyone feel a little reassured and less panicked. The senior sister was still reliable.
"Eighth soul skill, Corrosion of Blood Moon." Zhang Lexuan's strongest red soul ring lit up.
The silver moon ring imprisoning the body of the Three-Soul Ghost Mantis was gradually stained by a layer of blood and turned into a blood moon, strengthening the control and imprisoning its soul.
At this time, the triangular head of the Three-Soul Ghost Mantis flickered with faint light, and three wisps of soul energy were shaking in its huge compound eyes.
This was a sign that it was issuing orders to the ten-thousand-year soul beast it controlled.
Through the three-dimensional detection map in her mind, Zhang Lexuan could see that a ten-thousand-year-old mantis-like soul beast was rushing towards her from the other side of the grass.
The target of this thousand-year-old mantis was Tang Ya and Bei Bei, who had the weakest cultivation in the team.
The two were protected in the middle of the team. The thousand-year-old mantis jumped directly from the grass, and its sickle-like forelimbs stabbed directly at Tang Ya and Bei Bei's position.
"Beibei, Tang Ya, get out of the way!"
Zhang Lexuan's face changed, and she was about to remind the several defensive Soul Kings next to Tang Ya and Bei Bei to release their soul skills in advance for defense.
However, the others did not have shared spirit detection, so they could not make accurate predictions and obviously could not release their soul skills in advance.
When the Ten Thousand Year Mantis leaped out of the jungle, the inner court disciples who had already released their martial souls began to use their soul skills at their fastest reaction speed.
The dangerous warning made Tang Ya and Bei Bei shudder.
One of them was a Soul King, and the other was a Quasi-Soul King, so their reaction speed was slower than the attack speed of the Ten Thousand-Year Mantis.
A fiery arc flashed across the sky, changing from invisible to white and purple.
It was the Angry Buddha Lotus Flame that Huo Yuhao had released in advance. After it flew out of the simulation range, it turned back into the image of a white and purple flaming lotus seat.
The Ten Thousand Year Mantis successfully caught the Buddha's Angry Lotus with its face.
With a huge "boom" explosion, the mantis's triangular head was blown off, spewing out a strange liquid, and it made a sharp scream before falling to the ground.
Then the attacks from the inner court disciples arrived.
After a series of fancy soul-skills special effects, a black soul ring emerged from the body of the Ten Thousand Year Mantis.
Under the effect of simulation, part of the flight trajectory of the Angry Buddha Lotus Flame was hidden and could not be seen by outsiders.
However, the inner court disciples were able to determine the approximate direction through the visible flight trajectory and all looked in Huo Yuhao's direction.
Huo Yuhao removed the invisibility effect from himself and Dugu Luo.
Tang Ya and Bei Bei were a little stunned, looking at the handsome little boy with delicate and fair skin and a handsome face in front of them. They felt like they had seen him somewhere, but they couldn't remember where.
The bright and lively eyes of the other person gave Tang Ya and Bei Bei a sense of familiarity.
Huo Yuhao had a warm smile on his face: "Sister Tang Ya, Brother Bei Bei, it's been less than a month since we last met, and you don't recognize me?"
Tang Ya's eyes suddenly lit up, "You are Xiao Yuhao!"
Huo Yuhao smiled and nodded slightly.
When the inner court disciples saw that Huo Yuhao had a superior appearance and temperament, they began discussing his identity, wondering if he was a genius trained by a certain aristocratic family and had come out to gain experience.
Although Tang Ya and Bei Bei had many questions in their hearts, they knew that now was not the time to ask.
So Tang Ya happily talked about other topics, "That's great, Yuhao! I finally see you again. I missed your barbecue so much."
Beibei's mood was also relieved, and he joked, "Yuhao, are you interested in opening a barbecue restaurant in Shrek City? I'll provide the funds."
He said this because he wanted to use this method to keep Huo Yuhao in Shrek City for the time being.
After all, he clearly remembered what level Huo Yuhao was at a month ago: to kill the Hundred-Year Wind Baboon, he had at least used the illusion and a self-created boxing method.
And now, it could deliver a head-on blow to a ten-thousand-year soul beast.
This kind of talent simply astonished Beibei. He was indeed someone who wanted to establish a sect. Uh... it seemed that Xiaoya was also someone who wanted to rebuild the sect.
Huo Yuhao still had a warm smile on his face: "Brother Beibei, when I make the barbecue restaurant bigger and stronger, I will consider opening a chain store in Shrek City."
At this time, a flash of moonlight appeared in front of the three people, and Zhang Lexuan approached Huo Yuhao with a question.
"Hello, little brother." Zhang Lexuan greeted him with a smile.
"Did you send the request signal for spiritual access in my mind just now?"
Zhang Lexuan liked this soul skill very much. As long as she had this detection map in her mind, she would not be ambushed again.
Huo Yuhao nodded, scratched his hair, and smiled: "Well, the effect you just showed in your mind is one of my auxiliary soul skills."
Zhang Lexuan rarely smiled softly when she heard this: "Little brother, thank you for this time; otherwise, I couldn't restrict the actions of the Three Souls Ghost Mantis."
If there had been no detection map, Zhang Lexuan knew very well that their damage would have been even more serious. The Three Souls Ghost Mantis had been hiding in the dark and attacking them, and they were completely helpless.
And her sixth soul skill would also have been unable to hit the target. After all, mantis-type soul beasts were good at speed, and it was difficult to capture their trace if the opponent did not actively attack.
After Zhang Lexuan successfully imprisoned the Three Souls Ghost Mantis, Xuan Zi appeared.
Everyone saw a yellowish-brown light flying toward them at great speed in the sky not far away. Not long after, it stopped above their heads.
"Big sister, Master Xuan is back."
The student who was speaking was obviously in low spirits, suffocating with the feeling that he had a lot to say but couldn't get it out of his throat.
Zhang Lexuan's expression returned to being cold and indifferent, showing no sign of joy or anger.
Huo Yuhao was secretly shocked. As expected, this was the real main mission of Xuanzi's team in hunting soul rings—to avoid becoming the prey of soul beasts.
When the ochre-colored light gradually dissipated, the figure of Master Xuan was revealed.
The old man took a sip of wine happily and slowly descended from the sky, dragging a chicken as big as half a carriage in his hand.
After landing, under the emotionless gazes of the students, Master Xuan threw the chicken to the ground.
The drunken Mr. Xuan looked around and was startled, slightly awakening.
"Wang Chen, how did he get so badly injured?"
"Dead? Dead?"
Old Xuan's mind was blank after being soaked in alcohol. His lips trembled, and he muttered absentmindedly.
"And why did he lose an arm?"
Zhang Lexuan's cold face showed no expression, and the male student next to her instantly had red eyes as tears welled up.
"Master Xuan, Wang Chen died unjustly; he believed in you so much before."
Master Xuan instantly fell into dead silence, and a few drops of turbid tears fell from the corners of his eyes.
He covered his face and cried.
He closed his eyes in pain, with extremely strong feelings of regret and guilt filling his heart.
A female student couldn't bear to watch it any longer and raised her head abruptly to stare at Xuanzi.
"Is this what you call tempering? We are facing a soul beast that is nearly 100,000 years old. Why didn't you show up and go catch chickens?"
"I heard from my Senior Sister that it was the same last time. Do you often get separated from the team when you lead the team?!"
"Or is it that there are so many talented and outstanding students in the academy that one or two people like this are not a big deal?"
(End of this chapter)