In the Old Warehouse Path, Tang San's Final Door

The wind at the academy gate turned cold in an instant.

The Deacon knelt on the ground, the wax-sealed urgent report still clutched in his hand.

Xiao Wu was the first to react.

"Old Warehouse Passage? What kind of place is that?"

The Deacon kept his head bowed.

"Replying to Miss Xiao Wu, it is an old tunnel left behind before the Soul Hunting Warrant Repository outside the city was decommissioned."

"Years ago, when the branch hall relocated, the old repository was sealed, and the tunnel was blocked off as well."

"No one goes there usually."

Su Chen took the report and glanced over it.

The edges of the paper still bore creases from being jostled on horseback.

"Who saw them?"

"The West Suburb Patrol."

The Deacon replied quickly.

"They followed them halfway, but found traces of medicinal powder and traps on the ground. Fearing they might alert the enemy, they didn't dare force their way in and returned to report first."

Shen Zhi stood to the side, not interrupting.

His gaze, however, remained fixed on the report in Su Chen's hand.

He had originally come to deliver an invitation.

Yet, no sooner had he arrived in Nuoding City than he ran into this mess.

Su Chen folded the report and handed it back to the Deacon.

"Have you sealed the roads?"

"The three outer roads have already been blocked."

"And the warehouse passage exit?"

"The Old Warehouse Passage has two exits in total. The one in plain sight is being guarded, and the other, a wastewater channel, is currently being investigated."

Xiao Wu frowned.

"Is he trying to steal a Soul Hunting Warrant?"

"Not just that."

Su Chen raised his eyes to look at the Deacon.

"What is still usable inside the old repository?"

The Deacon answered immediately.

"Discarded shelving, old sealing wax, obsolete printing plates, and some blank-format documents that weren't thoroughly destroyed in time."

Xiao Wu understood at once.

"He isn't trying to steal a real one."

"He wants to forge one himself."

Su Chen gave a hum of agreement.

"What Tang San lacks right now isn't a path."

"It's the qualification."

"If he can't get a real warrant, he will make one himself."

Shen Zhi finally spoke up.

"A child, capable of forging something from Martial Soul Hall?"

Su Chen glanced at him.

"Do not treat him like an ordinary child."

"He is dexterous, and his courage is sufficient."

"If you really give him an old printing plate, an old format, and find a guard who doesn't know any better, he might just be able to slip through."

Xiao Wu took a step forward.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go directly."

Su Chen nodded.

"You are coming with me."

Upon hearing this, the Dean's forehead began to sweat again.

"Your Highness Holy Son, should the academy also send some people—"

"No need."

Su Chen cut him off.

"Guard the school gate well, and don't let any rumors spread."

"Especially regarding today's events—not a single word is to leak outside."

The Dean nodded repeatedly.

"Understood, understood."

Shen Zhi raised a hand to adjust the edge of his cloak.

"I'm going too."

Xiao Wu tilted her head to look at him.

"Aren't you a teacher from Suotuo City? Why are you getting involved in this?"

Shen Zhi's tone was flat.

"Since I've stumbled upon this, I should see it through to the end."

"Besides, I also want to know exactly how much weight someone who can make the Martial Soul Hall Holy Son pursue them personally really carries."

Su Chen did not object.

"Fine."

"Follow behind, and don't move recklessly."

A quarter of an hour later.

The western outskirts of Nuoding City.

The entrance to the Old Warehouse Passage was hidden behind a half-collapsed stone wall.

The base of the wall was covered in wet mud.

The blades of grass were coated in dust.

Two Martial Soul Hall Deacons were guarding the outside; seeing Su Chen arrive, they immediately stepped aside.

"Your Highness, Holy Son."

"What is the situation inside?"

One of them lowered his voice.

"The entrance lock was pried open, and there are two traps inside."

"One is at the corner, firing needles tipped with anesthetic."

"The other is a tripwire; if triggered, it will drop the buckets of ash stored above."

Xiao Wu crouched down, examining the faint marks of the wire on the ground.

"This person is really capable of making a mess."

Su Chen took the lantern handed to him by the Deacon.

The edge of the lamp shade was ice-cold.

He held the lantern and stepped inside first.

The passage was very narrow.

Chunks of plaster were falling off the walls, and the air smelled of damp mold and old paper.

As they stepped forward, the crisp sound of wood splintering occasionally echoed underfoot.

Xiao Wu followed on his right, her rabbit ears twitching slightly.

"This place smells even worse than the Black Market."

Su Chen pushed the lantern forward.

The dim, yellow light crawled along the ground.

"Bear with it for a while."

"Someone has been here before; the layer of dust is broken."

Shen Zhi walked at the very back, his gaze sweeping over the carvings on the walls and the footprints on the ground.

"The footsteps are unsteady."

"His injuries haven't healed yet."

"It's not that they haven't healed."

Su Chen said calmly.

"It's that he is too anxious."

They turned the first corner.

Three thin needles were embedded in the corner of the wall.

The tips of the needles were blackened.

Xiao Wu looked down and immediately frowned in disgust.

"Poison again."

"Can he not be upright even once?"

Su Chen did not respond.

He simply raised his hand and flicked his finger.

Three thin needles embedded themselves into the wooden board opposite.

Further ahead, there was indeed a taut thin string stretched across the ground.

The end of the string was connected to a broken wooden bucket above.

Inside the bucket was wet mud mixed with lime.

Seeing this, Shen Zhi's expression finally shifted slightly.

"His mind is twisted enough."

"If a person like this were let into Suotuo City, he would cause quite a bit of trouble."

Xiao Wu turned her head back.

"Now you know, don't you?"

"This person is full of devious tricks."

They walked to the end of the passageway.

Ahead was a half-open old iron door.

Behind the door lay the abandoned warehouse.

Inside were piled collapsed wooden racks, moldy cardboard boxes, and dozens of discarded cabinets.

Wind poured in through broken windows, causing scraps of paper to rustle loudly.

The light was a bit brighter than in the passageway.

And precisely because it was brighter, the traces on the ground were clearer.

Three cabinet doors had been pried open.

On the floor lay discarded wax seals, broken watches, and torn old documents.

Xiao Wu walked over quickly and crouched before an overturned box.

"Things are missing here."

The Deacon followed up, his expression changing.

"Two stacks of blank documents are gone."

"An old seal mold is missing as well."

Su Chen scanned the room, his gaze finally settling behind the row of cabinets in the very back.

It was too quiet there.

Even the sound of the wind seemed to be blocked out.

"Come out."

Su Chen spoke.

The warehouse was silent for two breaths.

Then, a person slowly walked out from behind the cabinet rack.

It was Tang San.

His complexion was worse than it had been a few days ago; his lips were pale, his hands were wrapped in freshly changed bandages, and he wore thin leather gloves over them.

He held a wooden box in his arms.

Protruding from the corner of the wooden box were a roll of blank documents and half of an old seal mold.

The moment Xiao Wu saw him, her brows knitted together.

"It really is you."

Tang San did not look at Xiao Wu.

He stared at Su Chen, his eyes dark and heavy.

"You move truly fast."

Su Chen placed the lantern on a broken cabinet nearby.

"It is you who move too slowly."

"Taking these scraps, do you intend to forge a warrant yourself?"

Tang San did not deny it.

"I need to survive."

"Taking a spirit ring, becoming stronger—is there something wrong with that?"

Xiao Wu retorted directly.

"You think you're justified in stealing?"

Tang San's chest heaved.

"Rules are prepared for those who have a path."

"You have blocked every road, so I have no choice but to find my own door."

Su Chen looked at the wooden box in his arms.

"A door?"

"What you've obtained isn't a door; it's a pile of old paper and broken seals."

Tang San's gaze sharpened.

"What do you mean?"

Su Chen took two steps forward.

"Starting from last night, all Soul Hunting Warrants in Fasinuo Province have been updated."

"The old format is void."

"The old seal molds are void."

"The old wax seal serial numbers are void."

"Everything you spent all night crafting wouldn't even fool the menial laborers guarding the gate."

The warehouse fell silent, save for the sound of the wind.

Tang San's grip on the wooden box tightened abruptly.

The bandages on the back of his hands pulled taut.

Xiao Wu looked at him, her tone turning somewhat lighthearted.

"All that work for nothing."

Tang San acted as if he hadn't heard.

He simply stared fixedly at Su Chen.

"You knew I would come all along."

"Correct."

Su Chen answered crisply.

"I was waiting for you to come."

"You always thought you could find a way out, didn't you?"

"I let you walk."

"And then, one by one, I watched as every path closed right in front of you."

Shen Zhi stood in the back; hearing this, his eyebrows twitched slightly.

For the first time, he truly saw Su Chen's way of doing things.

It wasn't a frontal assault.

It was forcing a person into a corner where every step was calculated with absolute precision.

Tang San's breathing grew heavier with each passing moment.

"What exactly do you want?"

"I want you to remember one thing clearly."

Su Chen looked at him.

"You have no qualifications to touch the affairs of Martial Soul Hall right now."

"Stealing, cheating, forging—none of it is useful."

"What you lack isn't a warrant."

"It is strength."

Tang San gritted his teeth, his voice raspy.

"You are merely relying on your power."

"If you have the ability, dismiss all these people and face me fairly."

Xiao Wu laughed.

"Why do you always say things like that?"

"You're the one who stole, you're the one who forged the warrant, and now you want to talk about fairness?"

Tang San's face turned ashen.

Su Chen was not angry.

He simply reached out a hand.

"Give me the wooden box."

Tang San did not move.

He even took half a step back.

Not far behind him lay another drainage tunnel that had partially collapsed.

Su Chen glanced at it, his smile faint.

"Still thinking of running?"

Tang San suddenly raised his hand.

It was not a hidden weapon.

It was a handful of gray powder.

As the powder scattered, a pungent, spicy odor instantly filled the warehouse.

Xiao Wu instinctively held her breath and sidestepped away.

Shen Zhi raised his sleeve to cover his nose and mouth.

Tang San turned and bolted toward the tunnel entrance.

His movements were faster than they had been a few days ago; clearly, he had been pushing himself hard in his training.

But just as he reached the mouth of the tunnel, the air in front of him suddenly flared with light.

A golden sword beam slashed down diagonally from the side.

It did not strike at him.

It only struck the path.

With a hiss, the already loose stone lintel above the tunnel entrance was severed on the spot and came crashing down.

Debris and dust instantly sealed the exit shut.

Tang San slammed on the brakes, coming to a dead stop.

He turned back.

A golden longsword had appeared in Su Chen's right hand.

The blade was brilliant, and the floating gray powder in the warehouse was silently vaporized the moment it drew near.

Xiao Wu's eyes lit up as she watched.

"That move is truly beautiful."

Su Chen did not reply to her.

He stepped forward with his sword, his pace unhurried.

"I said it before."

"You aren't leaving today."

Tang San stood before the collapse, his chest heaving violently.

To his left was a blocked wall, to his right was Su Chen, and behind him were Shen Zhi and the Deacon.

The road had truly ended here.

He looked down at the wooden box in his arms.

Suddenly, he threw the box onto the ground.

The lid popped open.

The blank documents, old seal molds, and half a bottle of prepared sealing wax rolled everywhere.

"Take it."

Tang San's voice was tight.

"Are you satisfied now?"

Su Chen walked up to him and stopped.

"Not enough."

Tang San looked up.

"What else do you want?"

"One thing."

Su Chen looked at him.

"From now on, stay away from Xiao Wu."

The warehouse suddenly fell silent.

Xiao Wu stood behind, originally looking at the old documents on the floor, but her movements froze the moment she heard that sentence.

Tang San stared at Su Chen, the suppressed emotions in the depths of his eyes surging up once more.

"I can't even speak to her?"

"No."

"By what right?"

"By the right that you are unclean."

Su Chen's tone was very flat.

"Your methods are unclean, and your intentions are unclean as well."

"Whoever you approach, I find it troublesome."

Xiao Wu did not refute this time.

She only wrinkled her nose and nodded.

"I agree with that."

Tang San stood where he was, his face shifting between shades of green and white.

After a few breaths, he finally spoke slowly.

"Fine."

"I will remember this."

Su Chen glanced at him, then turned to instruct the Deacon.

"Clear these things away."

"Also, pass down the order."

"Starting today, all Soul Hunting Warrants in the vicinity of Nuoding City must utilize dual seals and dual signatures."

"Without the seals of both the Branch Hall Chief and the Hunting Inspector, they shall be considered invalid."

The Deacon immediately bowed his head.

"Understood."

Shen Zhi looked at the old seal molds on the ground and suddenly chuckled.

"With this change, let alone him, even those in Suotuo City looking to exploit loopholes will have to behave."

Su Chen put away the Judgment Holy Sword.

"That is why I say, old rules should be changed when they need to be."

Xiao Wu walked over and kicked the empty wooden box on the floor.

"What now? Send him back?"

Su Chen looked at Tang San.

"Send him back to the academy."

"Keep a close watch."

"Without my word, he is not allowed to approach any warehouses, pharmacies, blacksmith shops, or the city gates."

Tang San snapped his head up.

"How long do you intend to lock me up?"

Su Chen said indifferently.

"Until you recognize who you are."

Having said that, he turned and walked outside.

Xiao Wu followed immediately.

As they stepped out of the warehouse, the wind from outside rushed in, diluting the scent of old paper and poison powder within.

Xiao Wu glanced back at Tang San inside the warehouse.

"He looks like a fish that fell into a dry well right now."

Su Chen did not look back.

"That is the place he chose for himself."

Xiao Wu blinked.

"Do you think Zhou Ling in Suotuo City would still dare to continue setting up his arena if he knew you were busy blocking people in Nuoding City?"

Su Chen walked forward, his boot crushing a withered branch.

"He had better dare."

Just as the two stepped outside the stone wall, another Martial Soul Hall Deacon hurried up to meet them.

He held a freshly arrived urgent letter in his hand, the seal still bearing the wax stamp of the Suotuo City branch.

"Your Highness, Holy Son."

"New intelligence has just arrived from Suotuo City."

"Zhou Ling has changed the rules of the assessment."

The Deacon paused, his voice dropping to a low murmur.

"He specifically named Xiao Wu, stating that if she dares not step onto the arena in three days' time, it will be considered an automatic forfeit by Nuoding Academy."