Spirit Eagle Douluo: I Admit I Was Surprised!

Spirit Hall's mission required Zhao Wuji to be apprehended and brought to justice, dead or alive.

To prevent any accidents during the escort, Tuoba Yan removed Zhao Wuji's head.

After killing Zhao Wuji, Tuoba Yan walked over to a roadside stall, picked up a white tablecloth, and tossed the stall owner a Gold Soul Coin. He wrapped Zhao Wuji's head in the tablecloth before storing it in his Storage Soul Guide Device.

Afterward, Tuoba Yan removed Zhao Wuji's belt.

With its owner dead, the bear-head-shaped buckle emitted faint Soul Power fluctuations.

This Soul Tool had become an ownerless Storage Soul Guide Device.

Only after a Soul Tool recognized an owner would its Soul Power fluctuations be concealed. Ordinary people found it difficult to distinguish such items from regular objects.

Dai Mubai, among the crowd of onlookers, had barely participated from start to finish.

Even after Zhao Wuji's death, the sight of the headless corpse on the ground left Dai Mubai shaken for a long time.

"Dead?"

"Teacher Zhao actually died?"

"He killed him!"

"How old is he?!"

"And I... I even sparred with him before!"

Dai Mubai shifted his gaze toward Tuoba Yan.

At that moment, Tuoba Yan had just put away Zhao Wuji's head. He stood up and swept his gaze across the surroundings. His eyes lingered on Dai Mubai slightly longer than they did on everyone else.

Dai Mubai grew tense.

His heart began pounding wildly in his chest.

Wasn't Dai Mubai a person just because he was a prince?

Dai Mubai admitted that he had panicked.

When his eyes met Tuoba Yan's, fear rose within him.

He was not stupid. He had not forgotten that, in order to present a decadent, self-destructive image to the people his elder brother Dai Weisi had sent to secretly watch him, he had deliberately picked a fight with Tuoba Yan.

Dai Mubai had not known Tuoba Yan before. Today was the first time they had met.

There was no blood feud between them. They could not even be said to hold a grudge.

While walking, he had been talking to his twin female companions and had not noticed Tuoba Yan approaching from ahead. Tuoba Yan had not noticed Dai Mubai either, and the two had collided head-on.

Such a minor matter did not count as a grudge, much less a blood feud.

But Dai Mubai had not forgotten that he had deliberately provoked him afterward.

Nor had Dai Mubai forgotten that Tuoba Yan came from Spirit Hall, or Spirit Hall's domineering and forceful style of conduct.

For a moment, Dai Mubai saw a trace of killing intent in Tuoba Yan's eyes.

That was right. After killing Zhao Wuji, Tuoba Yan had wondered whether he should kill Dai Mubai on the spot as well.

The instant that thought surfaced, Tuoba Yan immediately rejected it.

Dai Mubai was different from Zhao Wuji.

Zhao Wuji was a wanted fugitive of Spirit Hall, a criminal who had brought harm to Douluo Continent and fled after committing his crimes.

Zhao Wuji was an evil man.

To almost everyone, Zhao Wuji had earned his death. He deserved to die!

But Dai Mubai was different.

Dai Mubai would one day become one of the Shrek Seven Devils and an enemy of Spirit Hall. But the future had not yet happened.

Moreover, because of Tuoba Yan himself, many storylines across Douluo Continent had already undergone major changes.

For example, Zhao Wuji, who had already been killed, could no longer interfere with the course of the future.

Whether Dai Mubai would become an enemy of Spirit Hall in the future remained uncertain.

Killing someone who might be innocent and who had not currently caused trouble for Spirit Hall was clearly wrong.

More importantly, leaving aside the fact that killing Dai Mubai now would bring Tuoba Yan no benefit, it would instead bring harm.

No matter what, Dai Mubai was still the third prince of the Xingluo Empire.

Killing Dai Mubai at this time would be equivalent to slapping the Xingluo Empire's imperial family in the face.

Dai Mubai was a pawn White Tiger Douluo had sacrificed. He could die at Dai Weisi's hands, but if he died at Tuoba Yan's hands, White Tiger Douluo would certainly go to Spirit Hall to demand an explanation.

That would instead bring trouble upon him, his grandfather Tuoba Xi, and the entire clan.

"Forget it. Keep hopping around for now!"

After weighing it for a while, Tuoba Yan ultimately decided not to kill Dai Mubai yet.

Looking across Douluo Continent, if he wanted to break the curse of Spirit Hall's destruction and preserve the Tuoba Clan, he believed there were only two people he truly needed to guard against: Bibi Dong and Tang San.

The former was wholeheartedly determined to destroy Spirit Hall's fortune and ruin the Qian Clan's foundation.

The latter would be wholeheartedly determined to avenge his mother and destroy Spirit Hall.

Both Bibi Dong and Tang San shared one common goal—destroying Spirit Hall.

They would also share one common achievement in the future—becoming first-class gods.

As for Dai Mubai, without Tang San, even if Dai Mubai's future fate did not change at all, Tuoba Yan was confident he could easily keep him in check in the future.

Tuoba Yan walked over to the Cardinal of Spirit Hall in Suotuo City and said, "I'll have to trouble you with what comes next. Compensate the damaged items on this street at their full value. I'm staying in room 1001 of the Rose Hotel. I'll remain in Suotuo City for the next three days. Calculate the costs, then come find me!"

There was a saying in the outside world: where there were people, there was Spirit Hall.

Wherever people lived, there would be a branch of Spirit Hall.

Suotuo City was a major economic city, and the highest-ranking Spirit Hall official responsible for assisting the kingdom in managing Soul Masters was a Cardinal.

The Cardinal of Suotuo City furrowed his brow slightly and looked Tuoba Yan up and down.

He was, after all, a Cardinal with Soul Power above level sixty, a Soul Emperor.

On ordinary days, even the city lord had to respectfully address him as "Lord Bishop."

Yet Tuoba Yan, a mere child, was directly giving him orders.

After observing Tuoba Yan for a while, the Cardinal sensed an air about him that had been cultivated by nobility.

It was the sort of bearing developed through long experience in official circles, something even ordinary adults did not possess.

For the moment, he could not identify whose child Tuoba Yan was.

"May I ask who you are?"

"Tuoba Yan."

"Grandson of Lord Tuoba Xi, the Platinum Bishop?"

"That's right."

"So it is Young Master Tuoba. Rest assured, I will compensate them at full value and absolutely will not let them suffer any losses!"

The Cardinal smiled and bent slightly at the waist.

Tuoba Yan was not only the grandson of a Platinum Bishop, but also a collateral member of the Qian Clan. Within Spirit Hall, the Tuoba Clan was regarded as imperial relatives.

The esteemed Cardinal did not dare offend such an important figure. Instead, he deliberately sought to curry favor with Tuoba Yan.

Tuoba Yan was no ordinary child of nearly nine. After thinking it over, he understood that the Cardinal intended to pay out of his own pocket for the losses the battle had caused the local residents.

Looking over the street, some shop walls had been smashed through, some people had suffered minor injuries from the battle, and some had had their business equipment destroyed.

By rough estimate, the economic losses caused by apprehending Zhao Wuji did not exceed fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins.

But how could a favor from Tuoba Yan be worth only fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins?

Tuoba Yan asked, "What is your name?"

"Mu Jianjun!"

"I'll remember your name!" Tuoba Yan then added, "I damaged these things. My grandfather taught me from a young age that one must take responsibility. Have someone tally the damaged items and deliver the prices to me. No one must be shortchanged!"

The Cardinal froze.

He had intended to curry favor with Tuoba Yan, and he did not understand why Tuoba Yan insisted on paying himself.

After thinking for a while, the Cardinal suddenly understood.

No matter what Tuoba Yan's original intention was, whether he sincerely wanted to compensate them or was merely putting on a show, this was now an opportunity to build himself a good reputation.

But then the Cardinal froze again.

How old was Tuoba Yan? Not even nine, perhaps.

A nine-year-old child already knew how to build a good reputation for himself at such a young age?

After understanding the deeper meaning, the Cardinal looked at Tuoba Yan with a trace of awe in his eyes. "Very well, Young Master Tuoba. Please await my news!"

Nearby, Spirit Eagle Douluo, whose foot was pressed against Flender's chest, clearly heard the conversation between Tuoba Yan and the Cardinal. She looked at Tuoba Yan with a hint of surprise in her eyes.