Xu Yanli slowly reached his right hand behind his back, and the golden Angel Holy Sword appeared in his grasp.
At the same time, he put the Jade Fan back into his Storage Soul Tool.
Gripping the Holy Sword, Xu Yanli slipped out of the shadows and pressed the blade against the other man's neck. With his other hand, he clamped it over the man's mouth and slammed him hard against the wall.
"Tsk, you've been following me all this way, brother. Aren't you tired?" Xu Yanli smiled at him as the pressure of his hand steadily increased.
But the next moment, a group of men in black emerged from the darkness.
Xu Yanli looked up and sucked in a breath. Seriously, what idiot would dare try to assassinate someone inside Shrek Academy?
Had Mu En's reputation already become completely useless?
Could it be that bunch of idiots at home—his brothers?
That didn't make sense. Even if they had tried, Xu Tianran should have stopped them.
A hint of ruthlessness slowly flashed through Xu Yanli's eyes. No matter. He'd capture a couple of them alive, and then he'd find out who was behind this.
"Sister-in-law, you're clever. Too bad clever people die faster," one of the men in black said softly.
Xu Yanli glanced around. It really was a good place to strike: there was no one around, it wasn't a residential area, and all the shops were closed for the night.
Xu Yanli ran his tongue over his lips, raised the Angel Holy Sword, and dashed toward them.
Seeing that they still hadn't released their Martial Souls, Xu Yanli quickly thrust his sword into the wrist of the man in front and twisted.
A shrill scream tore through the night sky. Xu Yanli snatched the man's knife, then swung his sword backhanded and cut down the attacker rushing at him from the side.
Clutching the sword tightly, Xu Yanli quickly knocked away a dagger coming from behind, but still got nicked.
Xu Yanli drew a sharp breath, then quickly flipped to one side and slowly released his Martial Soul.
Two purple and three black Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet.
Xu Yanli beckoned them over, taunting them.
Xu Yanli felt his heartbeat speeding up. He hadn't expected anything to actually happen this time—this was beyond anything he'd imagined.
As far as he could tell, he hadn't offended anyone. Besides, who could've known he'd sneak out for a late-night snack?
Tsk.
Xu Yanli's gaze grew increasingly wild, and a flash of gray passed through his eyes.
Xu Yanli raised his sword. "Third Soul Skill, Solar Flame: Holy Judgment."
Blinding flames burst from his sword and instantly engulfed them. Even though the men opposite had possessed their Martial Souls, they were still a step too late.
Worried that they might die, Xu Yanli casually released his first Soul Skill as well, making sure they stayed alive.
But would Shrek's patrol have seen all that commotion? Forget it. He'd take them back first.
Xu Yanli slowly approached the group of assassins sprawled motionless on the ground and lifted their faces with his foot.
"Tsk, boring." Xu Yanli yawned, then took a level-five Soul Tool from his Storage Soul Tool, tied them all up, and put them into a Soul Tool that could store living creatures.
As Xu Yanli walked away, he suddenly felt a pain in his back. He remembered that he'd been wounded, then snapped his fingers and healed the cut.
So who had tried to assassinate him?
Even after dealing with the assassins, Xu Yanli still hadn't figured out who was behind it. As far as he knew, aside from the Xuanming Sect, he hadn't offended anyone.
And the Xuanming Sect knew that a Limit Douluo was protecting him. They would never send someone to assassinate him.
More importantly, they wouldn't send such weak people—unless they knew absolutely nothing about him.
There weren't many enemies who fit the bill. It had to be one of his seven Imperial Brothers, or someone under his command.
Xu Yanli reluctantly put away the Holy Sword and headed toward Xiaoyao Pavilion.
When Xu Yanli returned to Xiaoyao Pavilion, he found that all the lights were on.
"You're back?" Kong Deming looked at Xu Yanli with some exasperation.
Xu Yanli coughed awkwardly twice, then slowly let the prisoners out and tossed them onto the floor.
"Your Excellency, Shadow Douluo, I'll leave the rest to you," Xu Yanli said with a smile to the Titled Douluo standing nearby, who had been hiding in the shadows.
"Yes, Pavilion Master." Shadow Douluo slowly emerged from the shadows, looked at the group on the floor, casually strung them all together, and dragged them toward the basement.
Xu Yanli hesitated, then followed with his fan in hand. He was curious who had wanted him dead.
Xu Yanli followed the group of men in black into the dungeon and watched Shadow Douluo tie them up.
Xu Yanli found a spot where he thought the blood wouldn't splatter, set down a luxurious armchair, and sat in it. He took out his Jade Fan and leisurely fanned himself.
"Your Excellency, Shadow Douluo, find out who sent them," Xu Yanli said with a smile, propping his cheek on his hand.
As he watched the blood fly again and again, a flicker of distaste crossed Xu Yanli's face, mingled with a touch of madness.
When the interrogation was halfway through and he saw that they were still refusing to talk, Xu Yanli called Shadow Douluo over and quietly told him about a few methods. In essence, they were the various forms of torture Xu Yanli had read about in his previous life.
Xu Yanli put away his fan, gave him a few more questions to ask, put away the chair, then turned and left.
He couldn't stomach watching such a bloody scene.
Xu Yanli returned to his study. Clearly, he probably wouldn't get any sleep that night, so he had a guard brew him a pot of tea.
Xu Yanli held a book in one hand, drinking tea as he waited for the results.
Long Xiaoyao slowly entered the room and patted him on the shoulder. "Aren't you curious who tried to assassinate you?"
"I am, but there's no point rushing." Xu Yanli set down his book and smiled. "To be honest, I don't think that bunch of idiots in the Sun Moon Empire could manage to send people to assassinate me."
"So confident?" Kong Deming also pushed open the door and came in.
"Of course. If they had that kind of ability, how would Xu Tianran have kept them so thoroughly under his thumb? You have to remember, my dear eldest brother is paralyzed in both legs." Xu Yanli chuckled.
"Losing the right to inherit the throne so clearly, and still ending up being named Crown Prince—that just goes to show how laughably useless my other brothers are." Xu Yanli spoke coldly, then drained his tea.
After that, the three of them fell silent, sitting quietly in the study as they waited for the results.
At last, as dawn began to break, Shadow Douluo brought Xu Yanli several statements still stained with blood.
Xu Yanli accepted them slowly as though he hadn't even noticed.
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