Although slightly surprised by Ender's response, Ye Qingyun's reaction stopped at mere curiosity.
She did not lower her guard nor truly believe he would change his ways.
Suddenly remembering something important, she asked:
"What is your soul skill?"
"Can I choose not to tell you?"
Clearly, he wanted to keep this information a secret. While he didn't know how long he could keep it hidden, the longer, the better.
But would she allow it? Was this even a question? The answer was obviously no.
"I've already told you about my soul skill. If you don't share yours as an exchange, it would truly be impolite."
Though her tone was calm, Ender could hear the underlying meaning—you're obligated to tell me.
Those in a weaker position had no choice but to bow their heads. While he could try resisting, he didn't currently have the strength to back it up.
"Fine, fine, I'll tell you. My soul skill is a buff. It increases the conversion rate of my own soul power into the suction force of my martial soul."
Hearing this, she frowned. She knew what suction force was, of course, but this wasn't what she had anticipated. She thought to herself:
"I assumed it would be an offensive or defensive skill related to wind, but instead, it's suction force. Since he didn't mention a vortex, it must be pure suction, unrelated to wind."
"Is your martial soul something that manipulates gravity? Why can't I see it?" she asked, firing off a series of questions.
Ender began contemplating how to make his martial soul more visually apparent.
After some fiddling, he came up with an idea—enlarging his martial soul.
Of course, this didn't enhance his actual strength in the slightest. It was purely for visual clarity.
What appeared before her was a pitch-black sphere surrounded by a glowing halo.
This peculiar sight caught her attention, she had never seen anything like it before. Curious, she asked:
"What is that? I've never seen anything like it."
Sensing the perfect opportunity to show off... no, to educate. Ender began:
"This is called a black hole. My black hole is merely a martial soul, essentially a knockoff. A real black hole would undoubtedly be more powerful than anything you've ever seen."
Ye Qingyun was slightly surprised, but upon seeing the form of his martial soul, she thought of something. She asked:
"Isn't this a celestial object?"
Though she had never studied black holes and knew nothing of their existence, she was still familiar with some celestial bodies in the universe.
The appearance of this martial soul reminded her of them. Though not entirely similar, she trusted her intuition.
Ender was also taken aback by her guess and replied:
"You can say that if you want. But isn't soul power the most important thing? After all, my black hole is just a fake—it doesn't have that immense power."
Ye Qingyun nodded and responded:
"You're not wrong. No matter how remarkable a martial soul's origin might be, it's hard to defeat someone at a significantly higher level."
The two of them continued walking for quite some time, though their pace was much slower than before.
Although Ye Qingyun's weight didn't severely affect Ender's injuries, it didn't mean his speed wasn't reduced.
Suddenly, Ender stopped abruptly. He had heard some noises coming from nearby.
Ye Qingyun immediately jumped off his back, cracking her knuckles as she said:
"We're surrounded, but it doesn't seem like there are too many enemies. I just don't know how strong they are."
Swish!
Four figures quickly appeared, surrounding them from all sides.
Ender's expression turned grim. He knew he couldn't beat any of them.
All four were cultivators, and their speed alone was enough to show they were far stronger than him.
Such an encounter wasn't surprising. After all, Ender was at the bottom rung of this world's cultivation hierarchy.
"What do you want?" he asked.
Though the question was almost pointless—as long as one wasn't a fool, it was obvious that no one with good intentions would suddenly surround others in the forest like this.
Moreover, since they were all wearing masks, it was a 100% guarantee that their intentions weren't good.
A tall, middle-aged man with a booming voice that immediately gave off a menacing vibe spoke up:
"Hand over all your valuables. We only want the money—you'll live if you cooperate."
The promise to let them go wasn't due to the bandits being kind-hearted—it was the result of careful calculation.
At a glance, they could tell Ye Qingyun was likely from a wealthy family.
For someone like her, losing a bit of money wasn't worth the trouble of chasing down the culprits.
However, if they truly harmed her, they'd be forced to live out their days hiding in the forest.
They weren't foolish, having money but no way to spend it was pointless.
So, while their actions were unscrupulous, they always left themselves an escape route.
Ender's expression grew more serious as he glanced at Ye Qingyun for guidance.
Without strength, there was little he could do. If he had the power, he'd have already stepped forward to beat them to a pulp.
Ye Qingyun, however, didn't even look at him. Instead, her eyes swept over the four bandits, as though assessing something.
Seeing that neither of them showed any intention of complying, the leader decided it was time to showcase his power.
The man tensed his muscles, which swelled visibly. Soul power surged around him, and the image of a ferocious tiger appeared, merging with his body.
In an instant, he transformed into a fearsome humanoid tiger, radiating an imposing aura.
The mask covering his face fell off, revealing sharp fangs that gleamed with a savage glint.
"Grrrr! Soul Knight, Level 40! Martial soul: Ferocious Tiger!"
His roar was powerful and intimidating, and he relished the increasingly grim look on Ender's face.
Earlier, he had quietly approached to observe them. Seeing Ender's tortoise-like pace and Ye Qingyun riding on his back, he concluded that their strength wasn't significant.
He reasoned: Why would a powerful person let someone so slow carry them?
It was a perfectly logical assumption, as Ye Qingyun could easily move several times faster than Ender under normal circumstances.
The leader's subordinates, emboldened by his transformation, summoned their own martial souls.
Although their strength was far below his, all of them were above Level 20. Any one of them could easily defeat Ender on their own.
But what happened next completely shattered their expectations.
Ye Qingyun cracked her neck joint and turned to face the towering tiger-man. Her voice was calm, almost icy, as she said:
"Done showing off? Good. Then go die."