Six-Ring Soul Emperor? Exchange for Vermilion Fruit!

The man's figure was as straight as a pine, clad in black silk brocade. He appeared to be around forty, his beard trimmed with meticulous, unwavering precision... Looking at his appearance, he seemed like a butler from some noble estate, didn't he?

It was just...

It was just that the tattered money bag he kept weighing in his hand felt entirely out of place with the rest of his attire.

"Strange..."

Li Jingzhe muttered to himself.

At this moment, almost everyone in Heaven Dou City was flooding toward the Great Soul Arena. Those who hadn't bought tickets were watching the broadcast through projection screens at various relay points, placing dark bets and gambling, yet this man was running toward his Scripture Depository.

The man seemed to sense the gaze behind him; he turned his head, glanced at Li Jingzhe with a hint of surprise, and then smiled, nodding slightly at him.

One does not strike a smiling face!

Li Jingzhe nodded back, acknowledging the greeting.

Unexpectedly, the man walked straight toward him and stopped three paces away: "I observed you heading straight for this pavilion. Could it be that you know what this Scripture Depository is for?"

A potential customer?

Li Jingzhe raised an eyebrow, about to speak, when suddenly...

"Swish!"

The tattered money bag in the man's hand came to life, like a Demon Whale leaping from the water to hunt, opening its massive maw as it descended from the sky.

Li Jingzhe felt his vision go black as his entire body was engulfed by a massive sack. Immediately after, he felt weightless, as if he were inside a cloth bag, being hoisted up by the man.

"Hey..."

Li Jingzhe hurriedly reached out to tear it open, but to his surprise, the tattered bag was exceptionally tough. No matter how he channeled his Dragon-Elephant Prajna Technique or exerted his strength, it remained completely unmoved!

"Stop struggling! As long as you cooperate with me, I won't hurt you!"

The man's voice drifted in.

Li Jingzhe's expression darkened, his voice turning colder: "I don't recall having any enemies. Who are you? Why are you kidnapping me?"

By now, he realized he had been set up. The reason that tattered bag looked so out of place with the man's attire was because it was his Martial Soul!

However, the voice offered no further response.

Li Jingzhe naturally refused to sit and wait for death, continuing to struggle, but ropes seemed to emerge from nowhere inside the bag. They moved with the agility of snakes, coiling around him all at once and binding him tight. The more he struggled, the tighter the ropes became, digging straight into his flesh...

Furthermore...

These strange ropes seemed to have the effect of draining soul power. Before long, Li Jingzhe felt his internal soul power being completely sucked away. The cup was still that same level-twenty cup, but the water inside was gone...

As his soul power was continuously drained, Li Jingzhe's spirit and body grew increasingly exhausted, and he gradually drifted into unconsciousness.

He didn't know how much time had passed!

"Thud!"

He seemed to have been slammed hard onto the ground... Instinctively, he tried to struggle, only to find that the ropes were still binding him, impossible to break free from, tightening further.

"Ugh..."

Li Jingzhe managed to shift his body and sit up, surveying his surroundings. It appeared to be a sealed space with no light. The air circulation was as thin as a thread, and he could only barely make out his surroundings thanks to the Night-Shining Stone on the wall.

On the stone steps not far away, the man sat there, silent, just watching him.

He looked at Li Jingzhe, and Li Jingzhe looked back at him.

"Hahahaha..."

Li Jingzhe suddenly burst into laughter, and the man followed suit, laughing along.

Until Li Jingzhe stopped, his tone shifting: "You really know how to play, don't you... Acting like a tourist at the door, even coming over to ask for directions, and then—bam—you drag me here. Fine, not bad, well played!"

The man's laughter gradually faded, and he said: "Pavilion Master, don't you think this hindsight of yours comes a bit too late? Recounting my plan back to me—is this what you call... saving face by force?"

Li Jingzhe didn't take the bait, instead asking: "Let's talk. Why bring me here? And who are you? We shouldn't have met before, right?"

Though he said this, in reality, Li Jingzhe already had the answer in his heart.

Only those who had entered the Scripture Depository knew he was the Pavilion Master: Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling, Huo Wu, the members of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team, as well as Xue Feng and his lackeys.

Huo Wu had left in a huff because she thought it was too expensive, and she had already guessed that he had a good relationship with Dugu Yan and the others; she or the Fire Clan wouldn't dare touch him.

Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling had neither the reason nor the necessity to move against him.

The members of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team had been brought and taken away by Dugu Yan, with no time to contact anyone else; it wasn't them either.

Since they had been to the Scripture Depository, knew he was the Pavilion Master, had the time to leave and make arrangements, and held a grudge against him, it could only be Xue Feng!

So, this guy must be a retainer of Xue Feng? Or a death soldier?

Seeing this, the man said indifferently: "The Pavilion Master is a smart man; you should understand the principle that a man who flaunts his wealth invites trouble... Hand over the formula for the Greater Restoration Pill, and I will spare your life."

Li Jingzhe nodded: "Hmm... the Greater Restoration Pill formula in exchange for my life... and what if I don't?"

"It seems the Pavilion Master isn't smart enough after all... You should understand the ways of the Royal family... If you can't have it, destroy it."

The man's eyes narrowed slightly, his tone turning abruptly frigid.

Li Jingzhe said, as if casually: "The Royal family... hmm, let me guess. Your master... is Xue Feng, right?"

The man remained calm, chuckling lightly, "Haven't you guessed it already?"

Li Jingzhe nodded, "That I have!"

He immediately shifted his tone, as if savoring the meaning behind those words, "If you can't have it, destroy it... if you can't have it, destroy it... tsk, then by all means, give it a try. I imagine if you destroy me but fail to bring the pill formula back, your master won't be able to sit still either, right?"

The man nodded, replying with complete seriousness, "Indeed!"

He then pivoted, "That is why I must obtain it. Since the Pavilion Master is unwilling to cooperate, I have no choice but to resort to some methods!"

As his voice fell, spirit rings appeared!

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, purple, black—six spirit rings pulsed around his body. With the Tattered Sack martial soul hovering in his palm, this man was clearly a six-ringed Spirit Emperor.

"Snap!"

Holding the sack in one hand, the man snapped his fingers with the other. Without a single specific ring lighting up, the ropes binding Li Jingzhe suddenly tightened, constricting with such lethal force that it felt as if they were trying to tear him into chunks of flesh!

As the ropes tightened further, the pain amplified, feeling as if saws and blades were being driven into his body.

"How is it?"

"Are you willing to cooperate now?"

The man's eyes were icy... this spirit skill carried a torture effect, meant to make this foul-mouthed brat understand what it meant to wish for death but be unable to die!

Li Jingzhe gritted his teeth against the agony, beads of sweat the size of peas pouring down, yet he sneered, "Did you not eat today?"

"You!"

The man choked, a flash of ferocity crossing his cold eyes. He splayed his fingers and then suddenly clenched them, causing the ropes on Li Jingzhe to tighten even further.

It was at this very moment!

'System, redeem Vermilion Fruit!'