"Attention, all departments! The main course has arrived. The vegetables and salt have successfully infiltrated the premises and are ready to go into the pot at any moment!"
"Reporting to the head chef: Holy Soul Village's pot is preheated."
"Reporting to the head chef: Black Market Street's pot is preheated."
"Reporting to the head chef: Notting City's pot is preheated."
"I didn't expect you to be from Holy Soul Village," Bule said. "I still remember the village chief, Old Jack. If not for him, I wouldn't be here today."
"Grandpa Jack?" Su Yan asked, puzzled. Why would Bule know Grandpa Jack? Had Grandpa Jack done that too?
"A hero doesn't boast about his past glories." Bule waved a hand and said no more, continuing deeper into Black Market Street.
Su Yuntao looked rather uneasy. "Are we there yet?"
"Little girl, being too impatient isn't good. It'll hurt." Bule smiled broadly, but his pace did quicken.
The three of them stopped in front of a thatched hut on Black Market Street.
Bule tapped lightly on the wooden door. A deep voice came from inside. "The king of heaven covers the earth tiger!"
"Bule suppresses the fox demon."
Creak.
A hunched middle-aged man opened the door. He gave them a look with his dead-fish eyes, then let the three of them in.
Su Yan was horrified.
He'd never seen this man before.
But the white robe he wore looked very familiar.
He was the white-robed man who had colluded with Lord Xiao.
He was still at large to this day.
Su Yan suddenly felt a little worried. After all, he'd interacted with that man back then, so there was a chance he'd be recognized.
Bule led them to the middle of the room. Suddenly, a group of people rushed out from all around and surrounded the three of them.
"Brother, what's the meaning of this?" Bule asked loudly.
A white-robed man emerged from behind them, glaring viciously at Su Yan. "Kid, the road to heaven was open, but you refused to take it. Instead, you came straight to hell!"
Su Yan's eyes trembled. Speak of the devil.
The white-robed man before him was the very one who had colluded with Lord Xiao.
Bule hurriedly bowed. "Lord Mo, what's going on?"
Smiling, Lord Mo slowly approached Su Yan. "This kid is the culprit who got me demoted."
With that, he kicked Su Yan. The latter clenched his teeth and didn't make a sound.
Su Yuntao hurriedly stepped between them. "Sir, are you sure you haven't mistaken him for someone else?"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Lord Mo waved his hand. "I'd remember him even if he turned to ash!"
Bule glanced at Su Yuntao from the corner of his eye. His heart itched, but he steeled himself and said, "Lord Mo, this brat doesn't look like he could be a match for you."
Lord Mo glared at him. "Xiao Chenyu, Xiao Rumei, come out and see if this is the kid."
A young man and a young woman stepped out from behind him.
The moment Xiao Chenyu saw Su Yan, he shook with rage. The air suddenly grew much more pungent. "Godfather, it's him! He ruined my family!"
Xiao Rumei covered her nose, turned away, and said angrily, "It's him! He bullied my brother and me because we had no one to rely on and no power or influence!"
For a moment, Su Yan didn't know what to say.
The two of them had probably been so badly traumatized that they'd lost their minds.
He stood up and raised his right hand, gripping the Dragon-Slaying Blade. "I've never met you before, but I'm not someone you can bully, either."
With that, he swung his blade at the Xiao siblings, ready to bring it down on them.
"Stop!" Lord Mo suddenly appeared and grabbed Su Yan's hand. "Is this your Martial Soul?"
"What are you doing?" Su Yan tried to break free, but Lord Mo flung him away.
"It's not the same person." Lord Mo snorted and paid him no more attention.
The Xiao siblings didn't care about any of that. They had a bellyful of anger with nowhere to vent it, so they poured it all onto Su Yan.
Su Yan's lips curled slightly. The important figures had already been fooled. The remaining three nobodies couldn't hurt him much, especially since he could use the Dragon-Slaying Blade to block them now and then.
I've passed this hurdle. The infiltration's a success.
"Stop!"
A childish voice came from the roof. A child of about eight held a long saber and pointed it at the Xiao siblings.
A white Soul Ring floated above the saber.
"In broad daylight, under a clear sky, bullying the weak—what kind of conduct is that?"
With that, he leaped down and shielded Su Yan from the two of them.
"Who are you?" Xiao Chenyu asked.
"I'm just a wandering swordsman." The child said, holding his saber horizontally as the white Soul Ring glimmered. "When I see injustice, I must draw my blade!"
The saber was about three feet three inches long, its entire blade snow-white, with a faint chill emanating from it. An eight-petaled flower-shaped guard rested against the child's hand, and a crescent moon hung from the end of the chain dangling from the pommel.
Su Yan's pupils contracted.
This blade, this chill—it was just like the strongest ice-type Zanpakuto, Ice Ring!
It was the weapon wielded by Tōshirō Hitsugaya, captain of the Soul Reapers' Tenth Division.
It possessed the power to control the weather. Every water molecule between heaven and earth would be under its command.
Su Yan suddenly found the white First Soul Ring rather annoying. A Ten-Year Soul Ring couldn't possibly bring out Ice Ring's full power.
Xiao Rumei took half a step back. Xiao Chenyu curled his lip. "You've got some nerve showing off with a Ten-Year Soul Ring! Wolf, possess me!"
Xiao Chenyu's body grew enormous. A yellow Century Soul Ring hovered at his waist as he roared, "I'll show you the difference between us!"
The child didn't panic at all. He crouched slightly, concentrating all his Soul Power on the blade.
Su Yan's palm was sweating too.
Ice Ring could freeze anything. Now that it had become a Martial Soul, the stronger its user's Soul Power, the stronger its abilities would be.
Its most iconic Shikai ability was to create an ice dragon out of thin air, capable of changing the very color of the heavens and earth.
Su Yan reckoned that with just one Soul Ring, it should at least be able to summon a little ice dragon. Xiao Chenyu was as good as beaten!
Xiao Chenyu took three rapid steps forward, his wolf claws reaching for the child's head. He was about to land a hit.
The child's white Soul Ring suddenly blazed with dazzling light as he swung forward.
Su Yan clenched both fists. Come on, ice dragon!
A flash of white light streaked past as Ice Ring slashed into Xiao Chenyu.
"First Soul Skill, White Slash!" the child shouted fiercely.
But Xiao Chenyu neither dodged nor retreated. He crossed his arms and smashed the wave of energy from the slash to pieces. Then he clamped his wolf claws around the child's neck. Remembering the fury of being instantly defeated that day, he sneered, "That's it?"
Su Yan's eyes grew as round as giant bells.
He could almost see Ice Ring trembling. It had to be trembling with rage.
Where was the release phrase?
Where was the ice?
Where was the dragon?
Where was the ice dragon?
How could anyone treat Ice Ring like this?
He could almost hear Ice Ring crying, loud enough to shake the heavens.
Xiao Chenyu laughed viciously, venting all the humiliation he'd suffered a year ago.
The child's face turned bright red as he was choked.
Su Yuntao's hand clenched tightly beneath her sleeve. Just as she was about to step in and save him, the Dragon-Slaying Blade struck Xiao Chenyu's hand first.
Xiao Chenyu cried out in pain and let go. Seeing that his hand had been cut by a blade without a Soul Ring, he grew even angrier. "Another one without a Soul Ring! Who do you think you're looking down on?"
With a furious roar, he pounced on Su Yan.
At that moment, Su Yan had only two options.
Beat Xiao Chenyu senseless, then team up with Su Yuntao to break out.
Or get beaten senseless by Xiao Chenyu, then infiltrate according to plan.
He glanced at Su Yuntao and saw her suddenly step forward to shield the two children.
Bule was startled. He rushed forward, his hands turning indistinct as he pinned Xiao Chenyu to the ground.
"That's enough, Young Master Xiao," Bule said. He had three Soul Rings on his hand. "I don't want trouble, but this affects my business."
Xiao Chenyu was furious, but he could only swallow his anger.
Bule turned around and said, "Little girl, you saw it, right? That was Xiao Chenyu after taking a Strength Pill. Now you believe me, don't you?"
"Now I believe you." Su Yuntao asked again, "Was that man just now in charge here?"
"That's right." Bule nodded, his eyes roaming over Su Yuntao without a hint of restraint. "Since you've seen him, it's time to pay."
Before you continue