Emotion

However, no matter how Butler Lauren begged, the gates of the City Lord's Estate slammed shut.

After that, Butler Lauren's miserable screams came to an abrupt halt.

Clearly, Butler Lauren knew that Lord Gask was serious this time.

He had truly cast him aside over those eighty thousand gold coins.

But Butler Lauren no longer had the spare energy to care about anything else.

Because the other merchants from the merchant association had already surrounded him.

"Butler Lauren, right?"

"You really have quite the appetite!"

Looking at the merchants surrounding him, Butler Lauren's eyes filled with despair.

These merchants traveled far and wide, and all of them were trained warriors.

Even the weakest among them possessed the strength of an intermediate warrior.

As the butler of Viscount Gask's estate, Butler Lauren had to manage such a vast estate every day. Where would he find the time to train?

Even if he had possessed some strength in the past, he had let it go to waste over the past several decades.

"Wait, I still have money..."

"Huh? Butler Lauren, do you think we care about that little bit of money?"

"Wait!"

Just as the merchants cracked their knuckles and prepared to make a move against Butler Lauren, the white-haired old man spoke.

While the merchants surrounded Butler Lauren, the white-haired old man had already picked up all the gold coins Gask had thrown onto the ground and placed them into the gray money pouch in his hand.

"This is Lord Gask's estate. We can't make a move here."

"Take him with us. Once we leave this place, we'll properly seek justice for President Nitrang."

"Mm."

The merchants all nodded at his words.

Indeed, no matter what, Lauren was Viscount Gask's butler. Although Viscount Gask had thrown him out, if they attacked Butler Lauren right in front of the Viscount's estate, it would be far too disrespectful toward Viscount Gask.

At the white-haired old man's suggestion, two sturdier merchants walked over to Butler Lauren. Each grabbed one of his arms and hauled him up.

"Please, Butler Lauren."

Inside the Viscount's estate, Gask, who had entered the manor, did not leave. He simply stood behind the gates, listening to the conversation outside.

After the merchants took Butler Lauren away, Gask waved his hand. At once, a squad of guards hurried over to stand before Viscount Gask.

"Lord Gask."

"Mm. Lyle, Butler Lauren has just gone missing. Along with him, twenty thousand gold coins from the treasury have also disappeared."

"I suspect that Butler Lauren colluded with people outside the Viscount's estate to steal the estate's property."

"Lead a squad and bring Butler Lauren and all his accomplices back to me."

"Remember, I don't want them alive."

"Yes, Lord Gask."

"So that was it. The mysteries of the soul truly are intoxicating."

In the seclusion chamber of the Grand Duke's estate in Locke City, Locke opened his eyes. The joy in his gaze seemed ready to spill from his eye sockets.

With the emotion of "sorrow" as a guide, he had sensed other emotions within his own soul.

This meant that Locke's attainments in the soul had risen by another great step.

The most obvious change was that Locke felt his control over Soul Power had undergone another qualitative leap.

After entering the state of Unity of Heaven and Man, Locke could now clearly sense the emotions of everyone within the estate through the rudimentary Spiritual Sense's perception of his surroundings.

That maid was rather anxious, that guard was angry, and the children in the courtyard were having so much fun...

Through such perception, although Locke could not achieve the effect of "mind reading," he could easily determine a person's current state from the emotions their soul revealed outwardly.

What delighted Locke even more was that his perception of "emotions" was even stronger than his perception in the state of Unity of Heaven and Man.

This meant that, in some respect, Locke's soul strength had already surpassed the rudimentary Spiritual Sense of the Saint Domain.

Suddenly, Locke froze for a moment.

Exiting the state of Unity of Heaven and Man, Locke opened the door to the training chamber.

This time, Locke did not conceal himself.

Thus, the guard stationed outside the training chamber immediately noticed Locke.

"Lord Locke, you've emerged from seclusion?"

"I'll report to Lord Cole right away. Please..."

When the two guards saw Locke, they hurried forward to salute him. Before one of them could finish blurting out his words, the other guard immediately jabbed him with an elbow, cutting him off.

"Lord Locke, please forgive him. This fellow only arrived in recent years..."

Upon hearing the second guard's words, the first guard's face turned pale, and boundless terror rose in his heart.

He dropped to his knees at once, kowtowing to Locke as he cried, "This lowly one deserves death, this lowly one deserves death..."

Although Cole had managed Locke City for decades.

This territory was called "Locke Territory."

This city was called "Locke City."

This residence was also called "Locke Mansion."

And the master here was "Grand Duke Locke"!

Yet that guard had just told Grand Duke Locke that he needed to report to Lord Cole, and had even intended to make Lord Locke wait for Lord Cole's summons...

Had he mistaken Lord Cole for the master of Locke City?

Because they were so close, even without entering the state of Unity of Heaven and Man, Locke could sense the guard's fear through his mastery of the soul.

"Alright, get up."

Locke had never cared much about such things. To him, only strength was the greatest guarantee of survival.

Power and status were merely byproducts of strength.

With sufficient strength, power and status could be obtained with ease.

But if one became immersed in the pleasures of power and status while neglecting to improve one's strength, then everything would be nothing but an illusion.

Once one encountered someone stronger, and that person happened to choose them as part of their own amusement, everything they possessed would vanish like bubbles in an instant.

Locke could not be bothered with the little schemes in these guards' hearts.

Thus, after telling the kneeling guard to rise, Locke paid him no further attention and walked down the corridor toward the direction where he had previously sensed Cole.

This time, Locke did not conceal his aura. Therefore, before he even reached the reception hall, Cole, who had sensed Locke's aura, was already coming toward him.

"Big Brother, you've come out of seclusion."

Cole greeted him with a delighted expression, as though he were truly happy that Locke had emerged from seclusion.

However, Locke did not sense any emotions of "happiness" or "joy" within Cole's soul.

Instead, there was more "panic," "fear," and "worry."