Spirit Hall Envoy Arrives

"The welcome banquet is ready. Miss Ye, won't you stay for a simple meal before leaving?" Though Xiao Jifeng did not quite believe her, his years of experience in dealing with people made him trust her a little. Seeing that she was leaving, he hurriedly called out.

Ye Xinyu paused slightly and said casually.

"No. With that time, I'd rather go back and meditate earlier." Before her words had even faded, she had already walked out.

Only after she had left did Xiao Chenyu timidly speak up.

"Dad, I'm hungry."

Hearing this, Xiao Jifeng finally withdrew his gaze. Looking again at his unfortunate son, already twelve years old and only just having obtained his first soul ring, anger immediately surged within him.

"Eat, eat, eat! All you know is eating all day! Can't you learn from her?"

After Ye Xinyu left the City Lord's Manor, the Rakshasa God's voice slowly sounded beside her ear.

"I truly do not understand you. Devouring soul beasts does not mean making you devour people. Why would you rather spend so much time meditating? With your foundation, absorbing a Hundred-Year Soul Beast would take no more than a few days to fully refine. And there would be no side effects, either."

"You don't understand." Ye Xinyu's steps paused faintly.

"I only want to cultivate through my own abilities, not by plundering everywhere. The cultivation gained that way makes me feel uneasy."

"What does a junior like you know?" The Rakshasa God did not grow angry, but laughed instead.

"A soul master's cultivation is inherently an act of plunder, a battle where the strong prey on the weak. Only by becoming strong enough can one cultivate to the very peak. Otherwise, one can only become nourishment for others' cultivation."

"That so-called absorption of soul rings of yours—doesn't it look like devouring to me as well? Devour without end, then walk toward the strongest. That is the path of a soul master, and the truest path!"

Ye Xinyu was briefly stunned by those words, but her expression did not change.

"Perhaps you're right. But right now, I don't need to go to such extremes. If that day truly comes in the future, I'll consider what you said."

Naturally, she understood the Rakshasa God's words. But once she truly set foot on that path and became addicted to the feeling of her strength soaring... would she really remain satisfied with merely devouring soul beasts bit by bit?

She simply did not want to descend into darkness one step at a time.

As the saying went, the prejudices in one's heart were a Mother Shiji—no matter what one did, one could never break free.

The forbidden flower of desire might be beautiful, but once tainted by it, she could not guarantee that she would remain pure.

After leaving the City Lord's Manor, she headed straight back toward the academy.

It would probably take Xiao Jifeng several days to reply. That thing was, after all, the essence of a Hundred-Year Soul Beast. Though the refined energy looked like only a tiny amount, it would still be impossible for a level-ten soul master to completely absorb it in less than a day.

When absorbing a soul ring, the energy resided within the soul ring. Now, however, it would enter the body completely. The two were entirely different.

She was not worried that Nuoding City's City Lord might have designs on her. A man like him was smarter than she had imagined. Unless he was an idiot, he would never consider making a move against her before fully understanding her identity.

Besides, she had no need to fear a mere Soul King. Although she did not know what level her mother stood at within Spirit Hall, someone at Xiao Chenyu's father's level was probably no more than a slap away from her mother. That was the confidence her mother had given her.

Just as she returned to the school entrance, she saw a familiar figure pacing back and forth outside the gates.

"Oh? Isn't this Grandmaster Su Yuntao? Why aren't you out strolling with that older sister? What are you doing wandering around here alone?"

The moment Su Yuntao saw Ye Xinyu, he jolted upright, and a flash of delight appeared on his face.

"I've been looking for you forever. You finally came back."

"Uh..." Ye Xinyu could not help but freeze.

"No, Grandmaster Su Yuntao, why are you looking for me? We don't seem to be familiar, do we?"

Who knew what level of big shot had arrived at the branch hall today? Even Grandmaster Ma Xiunuo, an old man who had worked at Spirit Hall for decades, had been utterly respectful toward them. And that person had specifically wanted to find a little girl—it was absurd.

"Enough nonsense. Hurry up and come back to Spirit Hall with me."

As he spoke, he grabbed her and ran outside.

At the mention of Spirit Hall, Ye Xinyu understood. It seemed that someone from Spirit Hall's upper ranks had arrived. She just did not know who it was.

It would be great if it were someone like Yue Guan. He could take in disciples even among his enemies. Someone like her, who could barely count as having a proper Spirit Hall background, would surely receive incredible treatment.

More importantly, Yue Guan had one advantage: he recognized immortal herbs. With his help, obtaining immortal herbs from Dugu Bo should be more reliable.

Before she could let her thoughts run wild, Su Yuntao had soon dragged her to Spirit Hall. After winding through several corridors, they entered a somewhat larger room.

Two men sat inside. One was a lean man with his face covered. She did not dare stare at him too openly, but she was certain she did not know him. There was nothing distinctive about him; too many people dressed like that for her to identify him.

The other was a handsome youth of fifteen or sixteen. His skin, in particular, was better than that of many girls.

She had practically no resistance to boys with that kind of appearance, and she lowered her head shyly for a moment.

The stunningly beautiful youth did not mind her covert glances. Instead, he calmly gave Su Yuntao a light wave of his hand.

"Alright, there's nothing more for you to do here. You may leave."

Being around people like them had already made Su Yuntao nervous. Hearing that, he hurriedly left the room.

After he was gone, the stunningly beautiful youth lowered his eyes slightly.

"Tell me. Where did you get your token?" His voice was gentle, yet for some reason, it filled Ye Xinyu with fear from the depths of her heart. With her head lowered, she answered softly.

"I already said it. My mother gave it to me."

Before the youth could speak, the masked man beside him snorted coldly.

"You're still lying. We investigated before coming here. There has been no one matching the person you described recently. And you can't even give us your mother's name, yet you still claim you're not toying with us."

How could they believe such a story full of holes? If someone had truly joined Spirit Hall, how could they possibly send her to such a remote backwater? Even if they did not want to send her to Spirit Hall, with her talent, what academy could she not enter?

Hearing this, Ye Xinyu was stunned as well. They could not find her? Her mother had no reason to lie to her.

"That's impossible. That's what my mother told me." As she spoke, she took out the dark token.

After only one glance, the two of them were certain without a doubt that it belonged to Spirit Hall.

The man wanted to ask more questions, but the stunningly beautiful youth waved his hand.

"Enough. Release your martial soul first and let me take a look."

Ye Xinyu did not think much of it. As a snow-white wing slowly appeared, a pale purple soul ring rose and circled around her. For a moment, the entire room was dyed a faint purple.