An Unexpected Turn

Spirit Hall's second floor.

After a round of pointless chatter, the clone, wearing a mask, successfully proved his identity and received the manuscript fee, totaling five thousand Gold Soul Coins.

Just as the clone was about to leave, Spirit Hall's Purple Clothed Bishop stopped him.

"Please wait. His Holiness the Pope greatly appreciates clever people like you and has specially awarded you ten thousand Gold Coins."

The fifty-year-old Purple Clothed Bishop took out a Bearer Gold Card, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward Gula's Clone.

"Thank His Holiness the Pope for me."

Gula was not about to be polite. He picked up the Gold Card and put it together with the previous one, then smoothly said:

"In the future, whenever I have a new thesis, I'll mail it to you through different methods. Just convert the manuscript fee directly into Bearer Gold Cards and keep them for me. I'll come collect them when I have time."

Bearer Gold Cards were backed by the Two Great Empires and jointly issued by the Major Merchant Guilds. They could be used or cashed out at any merchant guild on the continent, which made them far more convenient than heavy Gold Coins.

"Your request is very simple. I can agree on behalf of Spirit Hall." The Purple Clothed Bishop nodded, then changed the subject. "Would you like to join Spirit Hall? A talent like you, staying outside with a lack of resources and books—how could you properly conduct Martial Soul Research? Only within Spirit Hall can your learning and ability be fully put to use."

The Purple Clothed Bishop extended the invitation, though seeing how tightly Gula had covered himself, he guessed this mission was probably hopeless.

Just as he expected, Gula rejected him outright and turned to leave.

He left behind one sentence: "Do not try to investigate me. Otherwise, future theses will only be delivered to the Upper Three Sects."

After the clone left the room, the Purple Clothed Bishop sneered. "He got lucky and wrote one thesis, received a word of praise from His Holiness the Pope, and really thinks he's someone important now."

He picked up the thesis Gula had left behind and slammed it onto the table to vent his displeasure.

"Quite bold, daring to threaten Spirit Hall. Just from that sentence, I know you're no good. Acting all mysterious—let me see what you've written this time."

The Purple Clothed Bishop was already the highest-ranking position within Spirit Hall below the Main City Level. Having grown used to absolute authority in a small city, how could he tolerate Gula's refusal?

He opened the thesis and skimmed the introduction. When he saw the effects of the Body Strengthening and Bone Tempering Paste, he fell silent all at once.

He very much wanted to mock the author for lying, but the data was written right there in the thesis and could not be faked. If it did not match reality, it would be easy to expose.

He flipped further back, and his arms began to tremble. His page-turning grew slower and slower, and by the time he reached the middle, he could no longer continue.

He abruptly stood and shouted:

"Someone! I'm going to Spirit City personally. After I leave, Yellow Clothed Bishop Gao Jielun will manage the hall's affairs."

He carefully put away the thesis, walked out of the room, gave a series of instructions, then mounted a horse and rushed at full speed toward Spirit City.

Strictly speaking, the Purple Clothed Bishop's superior was the Black Clothed Bishop of the main city, with Red Clothed Bishops and Platinum Bishops above that. He did not have the qualifications to go to Spirit City and report past his superiors.

But he was terrified the thesis would leak. If that happened, no matter how many heads he had, they would not be enough to cut off. In his urgency, he could no longer care about the rules and decisively chose to report it.

Besides, how was this not also his opportunity? Reporting past his superiors was wrong, but if the thesis was genuine, it would greatly increase Spirit Hall's strength, and he would become a meritorious official of Spirit Hall!

On the street, the Shadow Clone left Spirit Hall, turned this way and that, and walked into a remote alley. He dropped the Gold Cards and vanished.

A short while later, an arm emerged from a moss-covered corner of the wall, picked up the Gold Cards, and disappeared in the blink of an eye. The alley was silent, as if nothing had happened.

"He's gone!"

Two Spirit Hall Soul Masters entered the alley and looked left and right, but could not find how Gula had disappeared. They searched carefully and found no tunnels nearby, so they had no choice but to return to Spirit Hall.

Of course, once they returned and learned that their own bishop had run off, that was another matter.

Meanwhile, Gula arrived at the busiest commercial district in Xinya City. Around the outskirts were many large warehouses, storing goods to be transported to the surrounding cities.

He released his Psychic Power and sensed briefly, quickly detecting Tang San and Xiao Wu's location. Gula followed the direction and found the two of them in front of a warehouse.

Dust hung over the street as horse carriages came and went, busy and lively.

Tang San was speaking with a plump merchant. Seeing Gula, his eyes lit up, and he said, "Boss, our elder has arrived. You can talk to him."

Gula had changed his attire: a gray robe and a silver mask, without a single bit of skin exposed. His voice was cold. "You haven't reached an agreement?"

Tang San cooperated by showing an indignant expression. "These people saw that I was young, so all their quotes were inflated. This Boss Sun at least seemed somewhat sincere."

Hearing this, Boss Sun cupped his hands and said with a smile, "Might I ask what Your Excellency wants Bone Jade Bamboo for? This thing falls a little short of being a medicinal herb, and it is difficult for it to become a Soul Beast. It can only serve as building material because of its hard texture. If Your Excellency does not explain clearly, we cannot casually transfer stock either."

Gula knew it was a lie the moment he heard it. The nearby warehouse was only a few steps away, and the medicinal fragrance could still be smelled here. Where would they need to transfer stock from Other Places?

"Is this Boss Sun's first time doing business? You don't even understand the rules."

Gula's voice grew colder, paired with Psychic Power simulating pressure, forcing Boss Sun, who was only an ordinary person, to take a step back.

The Soul Master guards behind him immediately stepped forward. They were two two-ring Soul Grand Masters, both with one white and one yellow Soul Ring.

Gula laughed disdainfully and increased gravity to three times normal. The two Soul Masters could not help bending at the waist, and only managed to remain standing by forcefully holding themselves up.

Just as Gula was about to continue increasing the gravity, Boss Sun spoke from behind them. "Lord Soul Master, please forgive me. This Sun overstepped. Please spare me this once on account of the Seven Treasures Merchant Guild."

Boss Sun smiled bitterly, not having expected to kick an iron plate.

Earlier, he had seen Tang San bargaining with other medicinal herb merchants. At first, he had only wanted to tease the two children, but then he keenly realized that the thing the two of them wanted seemed to be tied to some sort of medicinal formula, and some thoughts arose in his mind.

After pretending to agree, he tried to stall for time, wanting to learn the specific formula and its medicinal effect.

After all, it was worth taking a swing whether there were dates on the tree or not. He stocked goods in the area, so regardless of whether the formula was useful, if he could earn a sum on the side, he would not lose out.

He just hadn't expected the Soul Master behind those two children to be so powerful. Though he hadn't seen any Soul Rings, someone who could suppress a Soul Grandmaster with pressure alone had to be at least a five-ring Soul King. He just didn't know why someone like that would personally come to buy medicinal herbs.

"You're with the Seven Treasures Merchant Guild?"

Gula said in surprise, looking at Tang San. What kind of luck was this? As expected of the protagonist, perhaps—he could run into an unexpected development just by going out.

Boss Sun cupped his hands and lowered his brows. "I wouldn't dare claim that. I'm merely registered under the guild. When you're out doing business, you won't last long without someone backing you."

"I am willing to apologize for the misunderstanding just now and give you one hundred sets of medicinal herbs for free. I hope to clear up the misunderstanding between us, and I can supply medicinal herbs at cost price from now on. Harmony brings wealth for everyone."