The man stood as straight as a pine, dressed head to toe in black brocade. He looked to be around forty, and the beard on his chin was neatly trimmed, without a hair out of place... Judging by his appearance, he was probably a steward from some noble's manor.
Only...
The worn money pouch he kept weighing in his hand looked completely out of place with the rest of his outfit.
"Strange..."
Li Jingzhe murmured.
By now, almost everyone in Heaven Dou City had rushed to the Great Soul Arena. Those who hadn't gotten tickets were watching the broadcast on screens at various viewing spots, while placing bets under the table. Yet this man was heading for his Scripture Depository.
The man seemed to notice the gaze on his back. He turned around and glanced at Li Jingzhe in surprise, then smiled and gave him a slight nod.
You didn't hit someone who greeted you with a smile!
Li Jingzhe nodded back, returning the greeting.
Unexpectedly, the man walked straight toward him and stopped three paces away. "I saw you head straight for this building. Could it be that you know what this Scripture Depository is for?"
A potential customer?
Li Jingzhe raised an eyebrow and was about to answer, when—
"Whoosh!"
The worn money pouch in the man's hand suddenly came alive. Like a Demon Whale leaping out of the water to feed, it opened its enormous mouth and dropped down from above.
Li Jingzhe's vision went black. A huge sack had swallowed him whole, and a moment later he was hanging in midair, seemingly trapped inside a cloth bag that the man had hoisted up.
"Hey..."
Li Jingzhe hurriedly reached out to tear at it, but the ragged bag proved astonishingly tough. No matter how he urged the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Technique and channeled his strength, it didn't budge in the slightest.
"Stop struggling! As long as you cooperate, I won't hurt you!"
The man's voice came from outside.
Li Jingzhe's expression darkened, and his voice turned colder. "I've never had a grudge against anyone. Who are you, and why did you capture me?"
By now, how could he not know he'd been set up? The reason the ragged bag clashed so badly with the man's outfit was that it was his Martial Soul!
Yet the man didn't reply.
Li Jingzhe naturally wasn't willing to sit back and wait for death. He kept struggling, but ropes appeared from somewhere inside the bag, writhing like snakes as they swarmed around him and bound him tight. The more he fought, the tighter they cinched, digging into his flesh...
And besides...
Those strange ropes seemed to drain Soul Power, too. Before long, Li Jingzhe felt the Soul Power in his body had been sucked dry. The cup was still a level-twenty cup, but there was no water left in it...
As his Soul Power continued to drain, Li Jingzhe grew more and more exhausted in both body and mind, and his consciousness gradually clouded.
Who knew how long had passed!
"Bang!"
It seemed someone had hurled him hard onto the ground... He instinctively tried to struggle, only to find that the ropes were still binding him, impossible to escape. They just grew tighter and tighter.
"Ugh..."
Li Jingzhe managed to shift himself into a sitting position and look around. It seemed to be an enclosed space with no light, and the air barely circulated. He could only make out his surroundings by the faint glow of Night-Shining Stones set into the walls.
On the stone steps not far away, the man sat in silence, simply watching him.
He watched Li Jingzhe, and Li Jingzhe watched him.
"Hahahaha..."
Li Jingzhe suddenly burst into laughter, and the man joined him, laughing along.
Only when Li Jingzhe stopped did he change the subject. "You're quite the showman... You acted like a tourist at the entrance, then came over to ask for directions, and next thing I knew, you'd whisked me off here. Fine, not bad. You did a nice job!"
The man gradually stopped laughing, too. "Pavilion Master, don't you think this bit of hindsight comes too late? Repeating my plan back to me—is that your way of saving face?"
Li Jingzhe ignored the remark and asked, "Let's hear it. Why bring me here? And who are you? We haven't met before, have we?"
That was what he said, but in truth, Li Jingzhe already had his answer.
The only people who knew he was the Pavilion Master were those who had entered the Scripture Depository: Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling, Huo Wu, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team, Xue Feng, and a few of his lackeys.
Huo Wu had left in embarrassment because she thought the price was too high. She'd already guessed that he was on good terms with Dugu Yan and the others. Neither she nor the Fire Clan would dare lay a hand on him.
Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling had no reason or need to target him.
The Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team had been brought there by Dugu Yan and then taken away by her. They'd had no time to interact with anyone else, so it wasn't them, either.
Of those who had visited the Scripture Depository and knew he was the Pavilion Master, had time to leave and make arrangements, and had a grudge against him, only Xue Feng fit the bill!
So this man was probably Xue Feng's retainer—or his death warrior.
Seeing this, the man said evenly, "Pavilion Master, you're a clever man. You should understand the principle that a man's wealth can bring about his ruin... Hand over the Greater Restoration Pill formula, and I'll spare your life."
Li Jingzhe nodded. "Mm... The Greater Restoration Pill formula in exchange for my life... What if I refuse?"
"Seems you're not clever enough after all... You should understand how the royal family operates. If they can't have it, they'll destroy it."
The man's eyes narrowed, and his voice suddenly turned icy.
Li Jingzhe asked as if it had just occurred to him, "The royal family... Right, let me guess. Your master is Xue Feng?"
The man remained composed and chuckled. "Hadn't you already guessed?"
Li Jingzhe nodded. "I have!"
Then he changed tack, as though savoring the meaning of those words. "If they can't have it, they'll destroy it... If they can't have it, they'll destroy it... Tsk. Then by all means, give it a try. I doubt your master will sit still if you destroy me and fail to bring back the formula."
The man nodded solemnly. "That's true!"
Then he changed the subject. "So I have to get it. Since the Pavilion Master won't cooperate, I'll just have to use a little force!"
As soon as he finished speaking, his Soul Rings appeared!
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, purple, black—six Soul Rings revolved around him. The Tattered Sack Martial Soul stood in his palm. This man was unmistakably a Six-Ring Soul Emperor.
"Snap!"
Holding the cloth bag in one hand, the man snapped his fingers with the other. No one could tell which Soul Ring had lit up, but the ropes around Li Jingzhe suddenly tightened, squeezing him as if they meant to crush him into chunks of flesh!
As the ropes cinched tighter and tighter, the pain grew more and more intense. For a moment, it felt as though he were being sawn apart by knives.
"How about it?"
"Are you willing to cooperate now?"
The man's eyes were icy... This Soul Skill inflicted torturous pain. It would teach this silver-tongued brat what it meant to wish he were dead but be unable to die!
Li Jingzhe gritted his teeth against the pain. Beads of sweat, as big as beans, poured from him, yet he sneered. "What, you haven't eaten?"
"You!"
The man choked on his words. A vicious glint flashed in his icy eyes. He spread his fingers, then abruptly clenched them. The ropes around Li Jingzhe tightened even more.
And at that very moment!
System, redeem a Vermilion Fruit!
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