No wonder the clan head valued him so highly—even making a deal with the Holy Spirit Cult just to bring the kid back.
The scorn in Qiangu Juechen's heart vanished completely, replaced by deep respect. "I see. You're quite something, little guy.
"Once you join the Spirit Pagoda, work hard at your cultivation. Our Spirit Pagoda is a powerful organization. You're sure to receive special treatment after you join."
"Got it, Lord Soul Master. I will.
"Are we heading back now, sir?"
At that, Qiangu Juechen immediately nodded. "The Evil Soul Masters have already been wiped out. It's time to head back!"
After speaking, Lin Tian obediently followed Qiangu Juechen onto the deck, boarded the large Soul Guidance Ship, and set off for home.
In truth, he wanted to go see his island and the Blood Slaves. After all, he'd traded a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone for them!
Damn, that hurt. It really hurt.
Just then, two formidable auras came rushing from the distant horizon and landed on the deck in an instant. They were Han Tianyi and Leng Yaozhu.
Han Tianyi wore silver Battle Armor, his spiritual power as solid as ice, his sharp gaze sweeping over the deck. Leng Yaozhu, meanwhile, wore a red dress and had an elegant bearing, a scorching aura radiating from her.
Seeing that Lin Tian was safe and sound, the two finally relaxed a little. Leng Yaozhu then turned to Qiangu Juechen.
"Qiangu Juechen, you moved pretty fast."
Qiangu Juechen's expression changed abruptly. His eyes filled with surprise and confusion.
The Signal Jammer and Cloaking Device had clearly been set up on Blood Island to keep Leng Yaozhu and Han Tianyi away. So why had the two of them found the place so quickly?
Qiangu Juechen had no idea that it had all been Leng Yulai's doing.
As soon as Leng Yulai left Blood Island, she immediately deactivated the Signal Jammer and Cloaking Device she'd set up.
The moment the Cloaking Device disappeared, Han Tianyi and the others locked onto Blood Island's coordinates, while Leng Yulai went on her way.
Leng Yulai didn't want Lin Tian to join the Qiangu Lineage.
Once he entered the Qiangu Lineage, all he could look forward to was being exploited over and over, endlessly—because she knew exactly what the Qiangu Clan was like. What kind of decent people would collude with the Holy Spirit Cult?
She'd dealt with them all her life. Even before she betrayed the Spirit Pagoda, back when she was with the Leng Family, she'd crossed paths with the Qiangu Clan. Now that she'd become an Evil Soul Master, she still had dealings with them.
So she understood the Qiangu Clan better than anyone except Qiangu Dongfeng. That was why she wanted to place Lin Tian in her sister Leng Yaozhu's hands, not Qiangu Dongfeng's.
Lin Tian was already an Evil Soul Master. That was an unchangeable fact.
If her sister took Lin Tian in and carefully nurtured him, then once he grew strong enough, Leng Yulai could incite him to stab Leng Yaozhu in the back—that was her goal.
Her sister was already at her wits' end trying to cultivate talent to oppose the Qiangu Clan. Her obsession with geniuses was practically more frenzied than an Evil Soul Master's bloodlust.
Leng Yaozhu would never pass up Lin Tian. She might even take him as her disciple.
When the time came, Leng Yulai really wanted to see what happened when her sister's disciple turned into a Demon Pill and stabbed his master in the back. It ought to be quite entertaining.
Though Qiangu Juechen couldn't make head nor tail of it, this wasn't the time to dwell on it. How was he supposed to deal with Han Tianyi and Leng Yaozhu and bring Lin Tian back to the Qiangu Lineage?
One was a Level 98 Super Douluo and a Body Soul Master, whose Second Awakening made him no weaker than a Limit Douluo. The other was a Limit Douluo.
How could a mere Super Douluo like him possibly stand against them?
But all he could do now was steel himself and try.
He put on a calm front. "Tower Master Leng, you jest. We just happened to be following a mission here, which is how we found the kid before you did.
"We paid a hefty price to save him.
"Since he's joining the Spirit Pagoda, it makes no difference which lineage he joins. We found him first, so he should rightfully join the Qiangu Lineage."
"Join your Qiangu Lineage?"
Leng Yaozhu scoffed, her red dress fluttering in a windless air. "Qiangu Juechen, do you think Elder Han and I came all this way just to watch you take him away?"
The atmosphere on the deck instantly grew charged. The Soul Power of the two sides intertwined, and the air seemed ready to freeze.
Lin Tian stood there, watching the show. Leng Yaozhu, Han Tianyi, and Qiangu Juechen represented the Spirit Pagoda's two major factions. He didn't care whose hands he ended up in.
Still, he leaned toward Qiangu Dongfeng. Qiangu Dongfeng was the anti-Shrek warrior in Legend of the Dragon King. He'd do anything that harmed Shrek, and Lin Tian admired him greatly.
By comparison, Leng Yaozhu was a complete oddball, a perfect demonstration of just how powerful the romance-addled continent was.
Leng Yulai and Leng Yaozhu could both claim second place among simps, and no one would dare call themselves first.
She'd fallen for Yun Ming after meeting him once?
Was Yun Ming so devastatingly handsome that he could make someone swoon with just one glance? Did he have a vacuum cleaner on his face, sucking out all their brains?
Lin Tian didn't really like Leng Yaozhu and didn't want to join her, but now he felt the odds weren't in his favor.
Leng Yaozhu was a Limit Douluo, and with a Level 98 Han Tianyi beside her, she was far stronger than Qiangu Juechen. Today, he was probably going to "lose his chastity"—get "put on a pony ride" by an old cow.
Damn, that hurt. It really hurt.
"To put it simply, this kid was found in Aolai City, near Eastsea City. This area's under our jurisdiction, and the person who found him was a subordinate of Elder Han's junior. We were the first to discover this talent.
"Besides, we spent a great deal of manpower and resources tracking him down. We paid no less than you did; we were just a step behind. What gives you the right to take him away?"
"We found him first, and we rescued him from the Evil Soul Masters first! Besides, I've already spoken with him, and he agreed to join the Qiangu Clan!"
Qiangu Juechen stood his ground and argued back.
But as soon as the words left his mouth, a vast pressure suddenly erupted from Leng Yaozhu. It was the terrifying aura of a Limit Douluo.
Leng Yaozhu wasn't even wearing her Battle Armor. She was simply releasing the pressure of her Soul Power.
Qiangu Juechen was pinned down by that pressure. Without releasing his Martial Soul, he couldn't move at all. This was the absolute dominance of a Limit Douluo over a Super Douluo; the three-level gap was a chasm.
"You... You've gone too far!"
Qiangu Juechen's face flushed red.
Leng Yaozhu didn't care one bit. With her fiery temper, she simply blurred forward right in front of Qiangu Juechen, moved to Lin Tian's side, and snatched him up. "This kid is ours. You're still too green to snatch anything from me."
Since when did I become a thing?
Damn, could you at least show me some respect?