Nine-Heart Begonia Family

Upon hearing this, Golden Crocodile had no more reservations. Earlier, he had feared these people were from Spirit Hall, but now that he knew their origins, things were much simpler.

"Boy, I didn't like that tone of yours just now." As Golden Crocodile spoke, soul rings emerged around him one by one. With every step he took forward, another soul ring appeared.

"Hmph." The Spirit Douluo snorted disdainfully. But when he looked again, his gaze suddenly froze, his eyes widening as a chill rose from the soles of his feet to his spine.

Seeing the nine soul rings around the old man, especially the blood-red hundred-thousand-year soul ring at the end, cold sweat instantly soaked the Spirit Douluo's entire body, making him feel as though he had fallen into an ice cellar.

"Ah, boy, you were talking pretty arrogantly just now. I'm very unhappy!" Golden Crocodile Douluo repeated.

Under the vast, abyssal pressure radiating from Golden Crocodile Douluo, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Spirit Douluo bent so low that his body nearly touched the ground, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.

"Se... Senior, I was... I was only joking."

Golden Crocodile sneered. "Where's that arrogant look you had just now? This old man preferred how you looked then. Why don't you go back to that?"

The moment those words came out, the Spirit Douluo dropped to his knees in terror.

"My lord, I... I wouldn't dare."

"Hmph, wouldn't dare? I think you've got plenty of nerve."

As he spoke, the enormous Golden Crocodile King martial soul emerged. A thick crocodile tail grew from behind Golden Crocodile, while dense golden scales spread across his body.

Golden Crocodile had already lost patience with their nonsense. The Golden Crocodile King's massive tail swept forward, encompassing every enemy soul master at once.

The Spirit Douluo was horrified, but his reaction was swift. The phantom of a dark humanoid martial soul merged into his body, and his black eighth soul ring lit up.

"Eighth Soul Skill, Evasion!"

His body immediately transformed into a pitch-black ghostly shadow, sinking into the ground and fleeing into the distance.

"Senior, that man is vicious and cunning. You must not let him escape!" Patriarch Ye, who had been standing nearby in a daze, finally came to her senses and shouted urgently.

"Hmph!" Golden Crocodile Douluo snorted. "If this old man takes action, how could I possibly let you escape?"

His voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached the fleeing Spirit Douluo's ears. The man was terrified beyond measure, having no idea what sort of existence he had provoked.

With a loud bang, the black shadow speeding away suddenly came to a halt. Several seconds later, the Spirit Douluo's body reappeared out of thin air, but his head had already burst apart like a watermelon, leaving barely any trace of its original form.

At the same time, the remaining insignificant lackeys were all instantly killed by Golden Crocodile's attack.

"Hm?" After the Spirit Douluo died, Golden Crocodile Douluo looked startled for a moment. Then, without restraint, he used soul power to draw the Spirit Douluo's corpse over from afar. Narrowing his eyes, he extended his right claw covered in fine scales and pierced through the corpse's left leg. Ignoring the crack of breaking bone, he calmly tore out a piece of bone the size of an arm.

"A Soul Bone!" The two Spirit Saints following Patriarch Ye could barely contain themselves and cried out in shock.

"Hm?" Golden Crocodile Douluo swept them with a glance, and the two immediately fell silent.

By then, Jin Yan had finished searching the corpses and returned to Golden Crocodile's side. He held several Soul Tools, most of them storage Soul Tools. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was famously wealthy and extravagantly rich; even their ordinary stewards were loaded with money.

"This should be the assassination organization of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect that that boy Gu Rong set up," Golden Crocodile explained to Jin Yan.

"Every major power has an organization like this. Crows are black the world over. Any power that has established itself on the continent stands atop piles of bones."

Golden Crocodile never missed an opportunity to teach Jin Yan.

"This junior is Ye Lingsu, current head of the Nine-Heart Begonia Family. Together with my young daughter, Ye Lingling, I thank Golden Crocodile for saving us!"

At this moment, Ye Lingsu, the head of the Nine-Heart Begonia Family, approached and bowed to Golden Crocodile Douluo.

"It was nothing. Back then, when the Pope of Spirit Hall was severely injured, it was thanks to you keeping their vital signs intact that they survived long enough to return to Spirit Hall. No matter the outcome, Spirit Hall owes you this favor!" Golden Crocodile waved a hand and spoke casually.

The moment Jin Yan heard the name Nine-Heart Begonia Family, his gaze had already fallen on the little girl beside her.

The Nine-Heart Begonia Family... so this was Ye Lingling, the famous support-type soul master of the Heaven Dou Royal Team from the original story. Judging by the original timeline, she should be around nine years old now. And with Nine Heart Begonia's terrifying healing ability, capable of bringing back the dead and regenerating flesh and bone, wasn't she exactly the top-tier healer I was looking for?

If I could lure her over—no, invite her to my side—wouldn't I be able to run wild without worry?

The more Jin Yan thought about it, the more promising it seemed. His gaze toward Ye Lingling grew increasingly fervent.

Ye Lingling felt Jin Yan's gaze and instinctively sensed that he meant no good. Standing before him made her feel like a little lamb facing a big bad wolf. She unconsciously moved closer behind her mother and clutched the hem of her mother's dress.

Golden Crocodile Douluo also noticed his grandson's utterly undisguised stare and felt somewhat embarrassed. He slapped Jin Yan on the back of the head and snapped, "Brat, where are you looking? Get to the back!"

Jin Yan naturally knew that he had frightened Ye Lingling. He could only offer her an apologetic smile, then sensibly moved to the back to study the Soul Tools stripped from those dead men.

Ye Lingsu had also brought Ye Lingling here to obtain her second soul ring. Nine-year-old Ye Lingling was already a Soul Grandmaster, so there was nothing to question about her talent. (Her age differed slightly from the original story.)

"Senior, since that is the case, we shall not disturb you further. I, Lingsu, will forever remember today's lifesaving grace. When the opportunity arises, I will personally visit Spirit Hall to repay it. Please take care, Senior."

With that, Ye Lingsu prepared to take Ye Lingling and the few attendants behind her away from this dangerous place.

But before she had taken two steps, Jin Yan's voice called out to her from behind.

"Patriarch Ye, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect failed to achieve their goal this time. They won't let this rest. Where do you intend to take your daughter?"

Ye Lingsu turned around at his words, her brows deeply furrowed. It was not that she had not considered the matter, but she truly had no solution. The only thing she could think of was joining the Heaven Dou Empire and becoming one of its retainers.

Then she could find a way to send her daughter into Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Surely Ning Fengzhi would spare mother and daughter out of respect for Xue Ye.

But how could she dare say such words in front of Golden Crocodile? Wouldn't that be like an old man eating arsenic—courting death?