A Hasty Conclusion

"Your Excellency, allow me to explain." The captured man realized how lucky he was. He had never expected this person by the roadside to be a Titled Douluo. He looked like a good man, so the man silently categorized Ye Qing as lawful good. Of course, that was only his own impression. Ye Qing's true alignment was closer to chaotic neutral.

When humans slaughtered Spirit Beasts, he would intervene. When Spirit Beasts hunted humans, he would intervene as well. His judgment of good and evil no longer depended on public opinion, but on his own heart. That was the benefit brought by strength.

"Go on. I'd like to hear what the snake Martial Soul did to you."

"Your Excellency, please allow me to start from the beginning..."

GOOGLE Search TWKAN

"Keep it short."

"The Branch Hall Master's son died, so they started arresting accomplices."

"That's it?"

"You told me to keep it short."

"...You should start from the beginning after all." As the man recounted the events, the beginning and end of the matter became clear. Ye Qing also realized that the person they were looking for seemed to be Xiao Qing.

Spirit Hall had been built upon a road of blood. Spirit Masters were naturally considered superior to ordinary people, and many were unwilling to submit to others and follow orders. To establish its authority, Spirit Hall employed both coercion and inducement, expanding its influence day by day. All of this gradually became tied to the current Hall Master of Spirit Hall.

He had originally been the clan head of a nearby family. When Spirit Hall recruited him, he chose to accept. After that, his family steadily grew, and its influence gradually expanded as well. But there was no such thing as a free lunch. While enjoying power, he also had to pay a price. Thus, under his leadership, the stubborn smaller factions were gradually annexed. Yet casualties inevitably arose during those annexations.

The doctor's older sister had died in that turmoil. Since the doctor did not possess even a trace of Soul Power, he had escaped disaster.

"That kid was a ruthless person. He hid his identity outside Star Dou Forest for years. No one knew which Spirit Master had given him a kind of snake poison. He put the venom sac in his mouth and went to Spirit Hall to die. He deliberately provoked the Hall Master's son, luring him over to kill him, then spat poisonous blood onto that kid's face."

"We don't know what kind of poison it was. Even a healing-type Soul Saint couldn't keep him alive. That's why his father went mad searching for the culprit."

"...Didn't the culprit perish together with his son?"

"Exactly. So he started looking for the Spirit Master who supplied the poison. He had never seen such poison before, only knowing that it was snake poison. So every snake-type Spirit Master became a target of their manhunt. They didn't care about right or wrong. If you had a snake Martial Soul, you were arrested. Those people never stopped to think—if my Martial Soul had that kind of power, would I need to run?" As he spoke, he spat a bloody gob at the Spirit Hall Spirit Masters.

"Go back. I'll protect these two."

"Your Excellency... that will make it difficult for us to report back. Besides, you are a Titled Douluo. There is no need to make an enemy of Spirit Hall for two strangers, is there?"

"Tsk, you have a point. But this matter really does have something to do with me. If I'm not mistaken, I should know the person you're looking for."

The moment he said that, the Spirit Master leading the Spirit Hall group had a bad feeling. This man was clearly displeased with what they were doing, and judging by his words, he seemed to be close to the person he knew.

"Dragging innocent people into this mess is something even the Main Hall wouldn't permit if it found out. I'm in a good mood today. Leave now, and I can pretend none of this happened. Don't make me change my mind."

"Understood. Thank you, Your Excellency, for your mercy. We will leave at once." Ye Qing was right. Spirit Hall had only been established in recent years. While it did demand action against forces resisting Spirit Hall, indiscriminately targeting an entire type of Spirit Master was not an order from above. Moreover, the person before him was not someone his squad could possibly resist. Putting himself in that Titled Douluo's position, he felt that he would never have let them leave. At a time like this, silencing witnesses would have been the best choice, rather than telling them that he knew the person they were seeking. He felt that the other party was being overconfident, but regardless, since the other party had offered them a way out, retreating was the wisest choice.

No one in his group was foolish enough to provoke Ye Qing. They had appeared suddenly and vanished just as suddenly, leaving the father and daughter to witness everything that had happened.

"Hall Master, that was what happened. In my humble opinion, the culprit is already dead, so we should let this matter go. That man is a Titled Douluo."

The subordinate advised him as such. In his view, a life had been paid for a life, and the matter was already over. Providing Venom had merely been an ordinary transaction. After all, some Venom could also be used as medicine.

Besides, one could not arrest the seller and maker of a blade as murderers simply because someone had used that blade to kill. Under the Hall Master's orders, quite a few Spirit Masters had already been wrongly killed these past days.

Now that they had found the actual person involved, he was clearly not someone who would surrender without resistance. As a Titled Douluo, Spirit Hall would try its best to maintain friendly relations with him. That meant it would be exceptionally difficult for the Hall Master to seek aid from the Main Hall. And with this Branch Hall alone, they likely were not enough for the other party to defeat with one hand.

"Leave. I will consider it myself."

"Yes." It was obvious that the Hall Master before him had not listened to his advice. However, the affairs of great figures no longer concerned him. He had already decided to find an assignment elsewhere and leave this place as soon as possible. He had no desire to become cannon fodder.

At that moment, powder slipped from the Hall Master's hand. It had once been the teacup he was holding, but he had crushed it into dust in his rage. Looking at the bottle his subordinate had brought back, he spoke toward the corner. "Check whether it is this. If it is, stop the search order."

"Hall Master, if the other party is a Titled Douluo..."

"Say no more. Even if that boy was useless, even if he acted recklessly, he was still my son. He died by another's hand, yet I cannot avenge him. What kind of father would that make me?"

"But the Main Hall will not support this. The order from above is to befriend the Titled Douluo of major factions whenever possible..."

"Isn't there a second clause? A lone Titled Douluo who refuses recruitment may be handled according to the circumstances. Besides, you said this poison could not be endured even by a Titled Douluo, correct?"

"Yes. If it truly is that lethal poison, no one can resist it once it enters the body."

"Then that will do."

Gang Zong's enormous body walked along the forest path. Ahead, the corner of the marketplace had already come into view. Beyond it lay Star Dou Great Forest.

"Hah, we're back. You father and daughter should leave here. The road ahead is no place for you. Go to Star Luo, the Eastern Sea, or the Northern Polar Region. Spirit Hall's reach does not extend that far."

"Thank you, my lord, but there is no need. Spirit Hall probably will not keep pursuing us. You, however, should be careful. That Hall Master is not a generous man..."

"Haha, and here you are worrying about me."

"Your Excellency should still be cautious. Though I have never seen Spirit Hall's true foundation, I have heard that it is connected to the legendary gods. I shall take my leave now. If fate permits, I will host Your Excellency another day."

Hearing that, Ye Qing thought of the connection between Spirit Hall and the Angel God. It seemed the Angel God had begun laying out plans across the continent long ago. I wonder whether the Sea God and the Asura God have left behind their inheritances yet.