A Young Lady with an Advanced Mental State

"You're too young to have a broken brain?" The Evil Emperor grabbed Jiang Mian's head and shook it vigorously. "You're asking me to kill my own followers for you?"

"That is a bit of a tall order," Jiang Mian chuckled. "Aren't you supposed to be the epitome of brutality and power?"

"Kid, you're joking, right?" the Evil Emperor said, looking at Jiang Mian in disbelief. "Would you show any mercy to ants you could crush with a flick of your wrist?"

"Would you show them any emotion at all?" the Evil Emperor continued, a look of speechlessness on his face. "Those are just the eyes of the common folk looking at me."

"Makes sense." Jiang Mian gave him a thumbs-up. He had been worried before coming that the Evil Emperor would be difficult to deal with and that he'd have to keep him locked in the Spirit Ball the whole time. Now, it seemed his worries were unfounded.

"This kid gives off a scent I really like. You, a young one, are also a dragon among men," the Evil Emperor said, looking at Xie Yue with a smile. "Di Tian showed considerable sincerity this time, though it's laughable that the future of the Spirit Beasts should rely on ants like humans for their revival."

"As the saying goes, a king will rise every five hundred years," Jiang Mian replied. "We humans reached our peak by absorbing Spirit Beast Soul Rings. If Spirit Beasts are revived by us humans, what's so wrong with that?"

"That does have some merit." The Evil Emperor nodded thoughtfully. He pointed at Xie Yue. "Little one, what's your name?"

"This junior is Xie Yue," Xie Yue replied respectfully, cupping his fists. "Greetings, senior."

"We share the same surname, that's interesting," the Evil Emperor said, resting his chin on his hand with a smile. "Then I must properly discipline you, little one."

"What are you saying?" Xie Yue's body trembled. He cast an incredulous glance at Jiang Mian, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

Jiang Mian subtly shifted closer to Xie Yue, positioning himself in front of him. He smiled and said, "Senior Evil Emperor, perhaps you could show us the customs and traditions of the Sun Moon Continent first?"

"You two youngsters are quite strange," the Evil Emperor frowned. "Many Spirit Beasts would beg for me to discipline them, yet you both seem to turn pale at the thought."

"Ah, well…" A bead of sweat trickled down Jiang Mian's forehead. He chuckled, "Let's wait until we reach the Douluo Continent for your discipline, Senior. After all, this kid's master is Bear Lord, and he wouldn't dare overstep his bounds."

"Bear Lord is but a junior. If I say the word, would he dare oppose me?" The Evil Emperor's brow furrowed slightly. He felt as though these two youngsters were looking down on him.

"Achoo!"

Over the sea, Bear Lord sneezed violently. He rubbed his nose with a hint of annoyance and grumbled, "It must be that little brat Xie Yue thinking of me."

"You really know how to flatter yourself," Crimson King laughed heartily, mocking him without hesitation.

"You mongrel, do you want to get beaten again?"

"Bear, if you've got the guts, let's just have a proper fight right here!"

Inside the Sun Moon Imperial City, people bustled about, creating a lively scene.

Most of the Spirit Masters here traveled lightly, carrying only a small storage Soul Tool. It was clear that the Sun Moon Continent's Soul Tool research level far surpassed that of the Douluo Continent, as even ordinary Spirit Masters could be equipped with storage Soul Tools.

Although the common folk here didn't yet enjoy such privileges, Jiang Mian was certain that when war eventually broke out between the two continents, the Douluo Continent would pay a steep price to conquer the Sun Moon Continent.

Because Jiang Mian had keenly spotted a pistol-like Soul Tool on a Spirit Master earlier, if ordinary Spirit Masters could possess such Soul Tools, then the Soul Tools wielded by their top Spirit Masters would undoubtedly possess immense destructive power.

According to the Soul Tool classification system of ten thousand years later, a single Rank 5 Soul Tool could withstand the attacks of a Soul Douluo, let alone the fact that Soul Tools theoretically had twelve ranks.

However, at their current stage, the Sun Moon Continent would definitely not reach that level; even achieving Rank 8 would likely be difficult for them.

After all, a Rank 9 Fixed Soul Cannon could destroy a small city, and Jiang Mian was confident they couldn't create anything of that caliber at their current level.

"You little ones have been looking around strangely ever since we entered the Imperial City," the Evil Emperor said with a smile. "What's the matter, are you interested in these little toys?"

"These are not little toys," Jiang Mian said with a serious expression. "These are the crystallization of human intellect. Looking down on these little toys will come at a terrible cost."

"Then we'll talk when they've developed toys that can make me pay a terrible cost," the Evil Emperor hummed a tune, completely disregarding Jiang Mian's words.

Jiang Mian sneered and said nothing further. Walking behind the Evil Emperor, he quietly asked, "Evil Emperor, do you know where I can buy Soul Tools?"

"You want to buy toys?" the Evil Emperor raised an eyebrow. "I don't know, but I can ask around."

"We don't speak the same language," Jiang Mian and Xie Yue exchanged a smile and said with a wry grin, "and what is the currency on the Sun Moon Continent? Can we get some?"

"There's no need for that." The Evil Emperor casually tossed two storage Soul Tools with beautiful patterns to Jiang Mian. They looked like high-level goods of no small caliber.

These two storage Soul Tools appeared to be a pair, one blue and one red, shaped like small jade fish, and they could fit together perfectly.

"These were left behind by Spirit Masters who came to the Evil Eye Forest to hunt Spirit Beasts and ultimately died by my hand," the Evil Emperor said nonchalantly. "There's quite a bit of currency inside, and these Soul Tools should be quite valuable too."

"What were their ranks?" Jiang Mian probed the interior of the storage Soul Tools with his spiritual power and was instantly rendered speechless with shock.

The space within these storage Soul Tools was at least a hundred cubic meters, filled with mountains of currency and precious treasures, even several high-rank offensive Soul Tools.

With these two storage Soul Tools, Jiang Mian lost all desire to visit a Soul Tool shop. This was like an airdrop, incredibly abundant.

"Two Titled Douluo," the Evil Emperor said dismissively. "They were hunting Spirit Beasts in my Evil Eye Forest for their Soul Bones. My son discovered them and killed them. These two storage Soul Tools were left behind; I thought they looked pleasing and kept them."

"That's so cool." Jiang Mian tossed the blue jade fish storage Soul Tool to Xie Yue. He smiled and said, "It's perfect, one for each of us. Consider it a welcome gift from Senior Evil Emperor."

"This counts as a welcome gift?" The Evil Emperor frowned, slightly displeased. "If Di Tian hears this, he'll think I can't afford to give gifts. I'll properly give you two some good items later."

"Oh my, oh my." Jiang Mian quickly flattered him. "Then we must greatly thank Senior Evil Emperor for broadening our horizons. After all, we're from the poor backwaters of the Douluo Continent and haven't seen many good things. You certainly can't lose face, can you?"

"Kid, are you trying to butter me up?" the Evil Emperor chuckled, proudly stating, "Indeed. What treasures could that pauper Di Tian possibly have? Only Soul Bones and Immortal Herbs. The welcome gifts I give you will absolutely be unique in this world."

"I'm looking forward to it." Jiang Mian laughed heartily. He patted Xie Yue on the shoulder and said, "Aren't you going to thank Senior?"

The Evil Emperor raised his hand, interrupting Jiang Mian, and said, "Didn't you want to visit a Soul Tool shop? Let's go."

"You know where it is?" Jiang Mian asked in surprise. "Didn't you just say you didn't know?"

"I just scanned the memories of the passing Spirit Masters," the Evil Emperor said smugly. "If it weren't for this ability, do you think I'd know your continent's language? This is the power of the Evil Eye Tyrant Overlord."

"Truly remarkable." Jiang Mian and Xie Yue, one on each side, lavished praise upon the Evil Eye Tyrant Overlord.

The Evil Emperor quite enjoyed this feeling. With his hands behind his back, he walked between the two of them. The trio strolled along, stopping and starting, all the way to the entrance of the Soul Tool shop.

"This is it," Xie Di said, pointing to the store filled with technological marvels before them. "The biggest soul tool store in the entire Sun Moon Empire."

Jiang Mian walked into the store first. It was incredibly vast; in Jiang Mian's opinion, it rivaled even the Pope's Palace in size.

Furthermore, it was packed with people, all of them Spirit Masters who were either there to repair or purchase soul tools.

Jiang Mian barged his way through to the display counter, admiring the dazzling array of soul tools.

Defensive, offensive, storage – they had everything, and the descriptions were clear. At this time, soul tools weren't divided into the grade system that would emerge ten thousand years later.

Instead, they were categorized according to Spirit Master cultivation levels. Jiang Mian scanned the area and only found one Soul Douluo-level soul tool. Even Soul Saint-level soul tools were exceptionally rare.

As Jiang Mian hesitated, he wondered if that one Soul Douluo-level soul tool was perhaps the shop's prized possession.

"Esteemed guest, I noticed you've been looking around. Haven't you found the soul tool you're looking for?" a scantily clad young lady suddenly approached Jiang Mian. She had a warm smile, and her long legs were astonishing.

Jiang Mian sized up the curvaceous young lady before him and after a moment, asked, "Are Soul Douluo-level soul tools the highest grade you have here?"

"We have higher-grade ones, of course, but you'll need an Imperial Token to purchase them," the young lady replied, her smile unwavering as she patiently explained.

"May I see them?" Jiang Mian inquired.

"You wish to see the Titled Douluo-level super soul tools?" the young lady's expression held a hint of surprise. However, she didn't hesitate for long and said, "Certainly, but we'll need you to pay a viewing fee first."

"Alright." Jiang Mian took out his soul tool and asked, "How much will it be?"

The young lady's pupils constricted, but she regained her composure almost instantly. An ordinary person likely wouldn't have noticed her subtle shift, but the three individuals before her were renowned for their vigilance. Not to mention Xie Di, the most powerful psychic of the current era, even Xie Yue's Mind's Eye could meticulously detect the young lady's subtle changes.

It could only be said that in front of these three, even the slightest stir would not escape their sharp eyes.

"The three of you, please follow me." The young lady turned around and secretly swallowed. She said, "I can give you a tour first. If you feel it's worth the price, you can pay then."

"Thank you," Xie Di nodded. The three followed the young lady into a room deeper within the store.

Jiang Mian quietly slipped beside Xie Yue and wrote on his palm, "Something's wrong, be careful."

Xie Yue grabbed Jiang Mian's hand, signaling that he had already noticed and was proceeding with caution.

"This is our shop's prized possession," the young lady said, pointing to a cannonball, about a bowl's width in diameter, lying peacefully in the deepest display case. "This soul tool needs to be fired by a specific offensive soul tool and can heavily injure a Titled Douluo below level ninety-four."

"Quite interesting," Jiang Mian hadn't expected a soul tool to be so strictly limited by level. However, it was already terrifying enough. A level ninety-four Titled Douluo – there were only a few dozen Titled Douluo on the entire Douluo Continent.

If such destructive power could be mass-produced, it would be a world-ending disaster for the Douluo Continent.

"Is this the only one?" Jiang Mian asked curiously.

"That's classified information, I'm afraid I cannot disclose it," the young lady's defensive awareness was quite strong. Her smile gradually faded as she introduced all the great weapons to Jiang Mian.

Among them, there were as many as three soul tools capable of heavily injuring Titled Douluo. The rest, while unable to contend with Titled Douluo, were more than enough to deal with Soul Douluo.

Jiang Mian's attention remained fixed on the soul tool cannonball. If possible, he even wanted to take all the soul tools here back to the Douluo Continent for Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue to study with their people.

However, having soul tools without blueprints was also a major problem. Even if they tried to replicate them, some extremely crucial parts would definitely be impossible to copy.

After the young lady finished introducing all the soul tools, she abruptly changed the subject and questioned, "So, who exactly are you people!"

"What does it matter who we are?" Jiang Mian said impatiently. "Do you need to know who every Spirit Master who comes here to buy soul tools is?"

The young lady's lips curled upwards, her expression turning somewhat grim. "Others don't need to be investigated, but you are different."

"Not to mention that the two storage soul tools you are holding were custom-made by our shop for two Titled Douluo Venerables of the Sun Moon Imperial Family. Just the fact that you wanted to see our shop's prized soul tool makes me think you are not good people!"

"What can you do even if you know?" Xie Di sneered dismissively. "Just you and those ants you're going to call?"

"Arrogant." The young lady laughed maniacally. "Do you think we became the biggest soul tool store in the entire Sun Moon Empire based on what?"

"Based on what?" Xie Yue asked. "Perhaps by selling your bodies, ladies?"

"Insolent!" The young lady roared. "We have the entire Sun Moon Imperial Family backing us. I've already notified a Prince of the Sun Moon Imperial Family, and he will be here soon with Titled Douluo to apprehend you. I'll be greatly rewarded, hahahaha."

"Are they crazy?" Jiang Mian exclaimed in surprise. "Are the mental states of people in the Sun Moon Empire this advanced?"

"I've gained some insight," Xie Yue nodded blankly. His body suddenly moved without any hesitation. The Moon Blade in his hand flashed with cold light, heading straight for the young lady's neck.

"Stop!"

With a clang, Xie Yue was sent flying back. Jiang Mian quickly caught him, barely managing to stabilize his form.

"Who goes there?"

"This is Luo Shan, the Sixth Venerable of the Sun Moon Imperial Family. I am here on orders to apprehend suspicious elements gathering intelligence!"