Handling

As soon as Sun Wenxuan followed the Hall Master of the War God Temple outside, he was startled by the scene before him.

The crowd outside was divided into two groups, with one person standing at the very front of each.

One had a simple and calm appearance, yet one could sense a sharp sword intent radiating from his body.

The other was even more eye-catching, possessing a beauty that could topple kingdoms, with jade-like features and long, orange-red hair cascading down to her waist.

The man saw Xie An emerge and immediately stepped forward to salute.

"Greetings, Hall Master. Your subordinate, Long Tianwu, is late. Please do not blame me, Hall Master."

Xie An showed a rare trace of surprise and asked, "Tianwu, why have you come here?"

This man was named Long Tianwu, the Second War God of the War God Temple and a level 98 Super Douluo. Because his martial soul was the Emperor Sword, he became known as the Emperor Sword Douluo after achieving his title.

"Hall Master, the Tang Sect sent word that you were in Eastsea City. After considering the situation, Vice Hall Master Yue Guan sent me here."

"I see."

Xie An nodded, rubbed his chin in thought for a moment, and then issued his orders.

"Tianwu, return. From the Fifth War God downward, conduct a thorough investigation into whether any subordinates under the various War Gods have gone missing in recent years."

"Especially those whose martial souls possess dark characteristics and could potentially develop into Evil Soul Masters; prioritize investigating them and monitor all major cities to see if there are any anomalies."

"The First through Fifth War Gods are to search the continent for traces of Evil Soul Masters. They have been quite rampant lately."

"Understood!"

"All units!"

"At ease, attention!"

"About face! Fly back to the War God Temple!"

The various War Gods of the War God Temple were basically promoted from the military; even graduates from Shrek had to undergo military tempering before they could be promoted to War God.

And the top five War Gods, with the exception of the special case Leng Yulai, had all fought their way out of the Blood God Legion.

"Oh, right, one more thing. Take this person with you. I think he has potential and can be trained as a reserve War God."

Xie An looked back, remembered Sun Wenxuan, and spoke to the Second War God again.

After receiving the order, Long Tianwu took Sun Wenxuan with him. Sensing that the Hall Master did not want him to stay any longer, he led the people of the War God Temple away.

On the other side, the woman saw that the two had finished their conversation and walked slowly toward Xie An.

"Your Excellency Heavenly Phoenix, what brings you to visit me personally?"

Xie An asked with a cold face.

The person who arrived was none other than the Vice Pagoda Master of the Spirit Pagoda, a level 99 Limit Douluo, a four-word Battle Armor Master, and the Heavenly Phoenix, Leng Yaozhu.

"You are still as cold as ever. I have come to apologize to you."

"I have already killed all those Spirit Pagoda soul masters from before."

"I will return to conduct a thorough investigation of the Spirit Pagoda. I apologize for the great losses caused to the Eastsea City Xie Family. Someone will arrive shortly to deliver compensation to the Xie Family and assist in rebuilding it."

Hearing this, Xie An's expression softened slightly as he replied, "The Spirit Pagoda really does need to be managed properly."

The two talked for a long time, exchanging opinions on the governance of their respective organizations.

Xie An explicitly pointed out the need to increase the intensity of the crackdown on Evil Soul Masters.

The Heavenly Phoenix Douluo agreed and promised to effectively implement the crackdown on Evil Soul Masters, adding that the Spirit Pagoda would conduct a profound self-inspection from the top down.

The two had a pleasant conversation and remarked that with the joint efforts of the two major organizations, the Douluo Continent would have a brighter future.

At the end, as the Heavenly Phoenix Douluo was about to leave, she suddenly asked, "Xie An, how is my younger sister, Yulai?"

"Is she doing well?"

Xie An was stunned for a moment, then thought, "Rest assured, she is fine. With me here, I won't let her walk down that old path again."

"Also, be careful of the Qiangu Family."

Xie An added one final sentence.

"Thank you."

A pair of red lips kissed Xie An's cheek without warning, leaving the onlookers nearby shocked and terrified.

Xie An was dazed for a moment, and by the time he reacted, he found that the Heavenly Phoenix Douluo had already disappeared.

Shaking his head, Xie An turned to look at his clansmen.

"Now that the outsiders are gone, it is time to close the doors and speak our own words."

Xie An turned to face the members of the Xie Family.

The leading members of the Xie Family plopped onto their knees, and those behind them followed suit, forming a massive, dark crowd.

The leaders wailed, "Hall Master, we have been wronged! This matter was entirely the work of the Family Head alone; we knew nothing of it."

"Whether you knew or not, a single investigation will reveal the truth."

As Xie An spoke, he established a Spirit Gate.

"Everyone, pass through this gate one by one. I am, after all, from the Xie Family; those who have done nothing wrong will be forgiven for their past actions."

The few people at the front exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and braced themselves as they walked toward the gate.

One, two, three—people passed through the Spirit Gate one after another.

Suddenly, one person in the line lunged violently toward Xie An, shouting, "Avenge the family head!"

Pfft! With a soft sound, a hole was pierced through the top of the man's head, and his body slumped limply to the ground.

"Continue. Those with a guilty conscience may step forward and surrender now. In consideration of our shared family ties, I will spare your lives."

The line fell into a state of chaos, and eventually, a few people stepped out.

The crowd was soon checked, and relying on his powerful Spirit Origin Realm spiritual power, Xie An identified several more who were guilty and deserved to be executed.

Xie An kept his promise; those who had voluntarily surrendered earlier merely had their cultivation crippled and were given a sum of money to live out their retirement, while those discovered later were executed on the spot.

Finally, looking at the clansmen who had passed the inspection, Xie An said in a deep voice, "The Xie Family head colluded with Evil Soul Masters and has been executed by me on the spot."

"From this day forward, the Xie Family's soul master and Mecha Master factions will compete peacefully and develop together."

"Those with the potential to be soul masters will be trained as soul masters, and those with talent for mecha will become Mecha Masters."

"If there are other special talents, such as forging or battle armor, you may also choose to cultivate them after applying to the family."

"Furthermore, I will leave behind measures to ensure that everyone must undergo a spiritual examination every five years to prevent similar incidents from happening within the clan again."

"..."

After a full day, Xie An felt somewhat exhausted. He walked out of the Xie Family estate and strolled aimlessly through the streets.

"Son, what are you doing? Come home and eat; Mom knew you hadn't left yet."

Xie An was suddenly called out. He turned back to see his mother.

"Your father kept saying you were the Hall Master of the War God Temple and that you were busy, telling me not to cook or wait for you."

"I didn't believe it, though. I figured you might be somewhere nearby, and sure enough, I found you."

"Alright, Mom, let's go home and eat. I'll talk to Dad for you when we get back."

Xie An replied happily.

"My son is the best."

Back home, the family gathered together for a meal.

"Let me tell you, Dad, I ran into a very pretty Evil Soul Master today. She even said she wanted to make me suffer a little."

"And who is your son? The Hall Master of the War God Temple! With a few quick moves, I took care of her."

"There was also someone who tried to ambush me, and with just a flick of my finger like this, I wiped him out."

"How pretty was she?"

"Dear!"

"What's wrong with me showing concern for our son? You won't even let me ask? Honestly."

"Listen patiently and don't ask."

"Fine, fine, I won't ask, okay? I won't ask."

Xie An drank a few glasses of wine with his father without using his soul power to neutralize the alcohol. Watching his family bicker and laugh, he felt an indescribable sense of peace, and the exhaustion of the day vanished.

The next day, before the rooster even crowed, Xie An climbed out of bed and returned to the War God Temple.

"..."

"Has our son left?"

"Mm, he should have left."

"Our son really has made something of himself."

The voices were intermittent, and after a while, the sound of snoring drifted from the room.