Three-Eyed Golden Lion

What a joke, Xuanming Sect.

He hadn't asked for a share of the profits. All he wanted was for Xuanming Sect to put him in touch with someone. If the introduction worked out, he might even be willing to give them a third of the profits.

He hadn't expected Xuanming Sect to be so stupid. Though, that made sense. What kind of brains could you expect from a romance novel world?

His brother Xu Tianran's intelligence was already among the best on Douluo Continent.

After all, on Douluo Continent, someone had accused Spirit Hall of burning the grain stores—and the scheme had been so brilliant that every great general had applauded it...

Xu Yanli looked at the letter, rubbed his temples, and let out a soft sigh.

Then he left the dormitory and headed for Yan Shaozhe's office to ask for leave.

Some things simply had to be dealt with. He might as well take care of something useful instead of sitting around at the academy.

He had already recorded about a third of the books. He could take advantage of the competition to deal with the rest.

There was also a little less than a fifth of the material that he didn't think was worth recording...

That fifth turned out to be basic theoretical knowledge about Soul Tools, taken from their Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy.

Xu Yanli arrived at Yan Shaozhe's office, knocked, and said apologetically, "Dean, sorry to bother you."

"Come in." Yan Shaozhe set down the file in his hand. "What is it?"

"Teacher, something's come up at Xiaoyao Pavilion. I may need to take leave to deal with it." Xu Yanli lowered his head.

He didn't know what expression to wear about this matter. And, on top of that, lowering his head was simply instinctive.

"All right. Can you be back in two weeks? The freshman exam is in another month." Yan Shaozhe spoke calmly.

He hadn't intended to let Xu Yanli go at first. Who knew whether the boy would get killed if he ran off? Or...

After all, that princess of the Xu Clan had suddenly disappeared back then. Shrek Academy was desperately short of young talents these days.

But...

Yan Shaozhe sighed. This boy also held the position of Pavilion Master of Xiaoyao Pavilion. If he needed to take care of the pavilion's affairs, they couldn't very well stop him. If something serious came of it, they'd turn a connection into an enemy.

They didn't know that Xiaoyao Pavilion had never had any chance of siding with Shrek Academy. What they hoped for was never going to happen.

After taking the leave slip Yan Shaozhe had written, Xu Yanli immediately headed to Mu Jin's office.

Xu Yanli handed the leave slip to Mu Jin. They exchanged only a few words, and Mu Jin especially reminded him to stay safe...

Xu Yanli felt as if his life were especially precious. Why did every other person keep telling him to be careful?

They'd better not make him jinx himself.

Xu Yanli didn't bother with anything else and immediately went to Xiaoyao Pavilion to prepare for departure.

When Kong Deming saw Xu Yanli return, he smiled. "You got leave? Are you planning to handle this yourself?"

Xu Yanli nodded, his voice turning cold. "Since they refused the toast only to drink the forfeit, don't blame us for being ruthless."

"But we can't get involved directly. My Martial Soul is too conspicuous." Kong Deming sighed.

"Don't worry. Have you told Big Brother about this?" Xu Yanli rubbed his temples and asked.

"As soon as the letter arrived, I followed your instructions and informed the Crown Prince." Kong Deming nodded.

Xu Yanli laughed boldly. "Don't worry. We won't need to get involved. My good big brother has a fine blade at his disposal. It's a shame that blade can't be seen in the light of day."

"Prince Xiaoyao, those people aren't easy to deal with. If you get involved with them, you may never be able to wash the filth off." Kong Deming looked deeply worried.

Xu Yanli gave a cold laugh. "It doesn't matter. They'll make the finest sacrifices in the future. Do you know why there were almost no Evil Soul Masters during Spirit Hall's era ten thousand years ago?"

Xu Yanli didn't wait for Kong Deming to answer. He continued on his own, "The Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul could grow stronger by executing evil Soul Masters. You once told me that my mother had the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul..."

"What perfect Soul Ascension Pills. And with no side effects, too. But we'll have to raise these people first. You can't drain the pond to catch the fish." A hint of eerily calm madness glimmered in Xu Yanli's eyes.

Xu Yanli didn't consider the members of the Original Three Kingdoms human at all. In his eyes, anyone who wasn't on his side was nothing but expendable material.

There were only useful and useless people.

Xu Yanli had never claimed to be a good person. Even though he had once received nine years of compulsory education, the years he'd spent in the Cold Palace had nearly ground all of that away.

Besides, Xu Tianran had raised him from childhood.

Xu Yanli and Kong Deming set out for the Heaven Dou Empire, bringing Huo Yuhao along as well. What if they ran into someone from the Body Sect?

They could also use the journey to build their relationship. For now, Xu Yanli could sense that Huo Yuhao's feelings toward him lay somewhere between admiration and reverence.

There might even have been a hint of an affection he couldn't quite put into words.

Xu Yanli wasn't sure whether Huo Yuhao would betray him in the future, but he wouldn't for now. That made this chess piece worth putting into play.

"Are you sure? You want to use this as bait for the Body Sect?" Kong Deming asked from inside the Soul Guidance Carriage.

"Mm." Xu Yanli glanced at Huo Yuhao without drawing attention to it and chuckled. "If we can bring the Body Sect under our wing—even if it's only as a partner—Xiaoyao Pavilion will have enough strength to establish itself on Douluo Continent."

"Many of our forces operating in the shadows can't be brought into the open. But if we gain the Body Sect's cooperation, at least we won't run into another situation like the one with Xuanming Sect." Kong Deming sighed. "Let's go."

However, they had to pass through Star Dou Great Forest to reach the Heaven Dou Empire.

Xu Yanli drove the Soul Guidance Carriage at full speed toward Star Dou Great Forest.

Xu Yanli truly hadn't expected them to encounter a three-hundred-thousand-year Ferocious Beast and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

Weren't they supposed to be deep inside Star Dou Great Forest under normal circumstances?

Their convoy was only heading out through the outer regions...

Xu Yanli suddenly felt that something on the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was constantly drawing him in. She seemed to feel the same way.

After hesitating, Xu Yanli slowly got out of the carriage and met the Scarlet King's gaze. The Scarlet King had been about to attack, but the Three-Eyed Golden Lion stopped him.

"Human, what is it about you that's drawing me in?" The Three-Eyed Golden Lion asked in a childish voice.

Xu Yanli slowly approached the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. When he saw that the Scarlet King wasn't attacking, he reached out and gently stroked her fur.

"I don't know either. Do you? Every time I cultivate, I feel as if something mysterious and profound is flowing into my body." Xu Yanli lowered his head and spoke gently.