Outer Court Inter-grade Challenge Tournament!

The sudden voice startled Baldy Zhao, who instinctively looked toward the source, only to see the two people he least wanted to encounter standing expressionless in the corner.

Baldy Zhao's heart tightened violently. Just as he prepared to scramble to his feet, metallic chains flew out of thin air, binding him tight.

Tang Ya was quick-witted; she grabbed a nearby rag and stuffed it straight into Baldy Zhao's mouth.

"Mmmph! Mmmph!"

Watching the figure struggling on the ground, Mu Guiyun slowly crouched down and said calmly, "Now, I ask and you answer. If you say one word of nonsense, I'll send you on your way. Understand?"

"Mmm! Mmm!"

Baldy Zhao nodded repeatedly; he could feel the iron chains draining his soul power.

Pulling the rag from his mouth, Mu Guiyun asked his first question: "What is this so-called protection fee all about?"

Driven by the desire to survive, Baldy Zhao spilled almost everything he knew, making Mu Guiyun's brow furrow deeply.

"Shrek City Defense Army..."

Shrek City possessed its own army, a fixed force of ten thousand, three thousand of whom were soul masters, mostly composed of graduates from the Outer Court who failed to enter the Inner Court.

According to Baldy Zhao, the targets they usually extorted were ordinary people without soul power like Ke En's family, while more upscale shops were handled by others.

In the end, the collected protection fees were pooled and distributed by the higher-ups.

The "higher-ups" Baldy Zhao spoke of were low-ranking officers in the Shrek City Defense Army, acting as the umbrella for their operations.

As for the high-ranking officers in the Defense Army, they didn't even bother with such petty gains.

Good grief, centralized collection and equal distribution—they had practically turned it into an industrial chain!

Mu Guiyun's expression was heavy, and Tang Ya, standing to the side, was dumbfounded.

Not only did people dare to collect protection fees in Shrek City, but the ultimate umbrella was actually from the City Lord's Mansion...

It wasn't that no one had tried to report it to the City Lord's Mansion, but most people were turned away before they even caught a glimpse of an official.

Furthermore, even after paying a portion of their income, they still earned far more than in other cities, not to mention that Shrek City was recognized as the safest city on the continent.

So, everyone chose silence; it was better to avoid trouble.

As for why Ke En's family refused to pay? Because that scumbag Baldy Zhao was greedy and wanted to skim an extra cut for himself...

"What are the names of the officials you mentioned, and which departments do they belong to?"

It wasn't that Mu Guiyun was being a busybody; it was just that if this went on for too long, it would eventually become a ticking time bomb.

Baldy Zhao, who had been relatively cooperative, suddenly became stuttering and evasive, his eyes darting around.

Oh ho, not talking?

Seeing this, Mu Guiyun gave a lopsided grin. The Gold Element danced before his eyes, eventually forming a blade as thin as a cicada's wing.

"You're not going to say it, huh? Do you know what this is?"

Seeing Baldy Zhao shake his head, a cruel glint appeared at the corner of Mu Guiyun's mouth: "It's called a Happy Brand Blade. As for its purpose, you'll find out soon enough!"

"Tang Ya, turn around!"

"Huh? Oh, okay!"

Though she didn't know what Mu Guiyun intended to do, Tang Ya obediently turned her head away.

Seeing Mu Guiyun approaching with a sinister grin, a sense of impending doom rose in Baldy Zhao's heart.

"I told you everything I knew! Don't come over here, ahhhhhhh!"

"Is it really okay to just leave the body there?"

Recalling everything that had just happened, a flush rose on Tang Ya's pretty face. The sweet, bloody scent of gore even made her soul power show faint signs of breaking through.

Hearing this, Mu Guiyun smiled faintly: "Don't worry about it. After this, those parasites should be a lot better behaved."

Before leaving, Mu Guiyun had deliberately dropped a Shrek Inspectorate Wanted Order beside Baldy Zhao's corpse.

If these people dared to stir up trouble under the pressure of the Inspectorate, then Mu Guiyun would certainly give them a thumbs up.

By then, it would be much more than just simple corruption.

"I suppose so. Huh? Candied haws!"

Tang Ya nodded slightly, her gaze sweeping across the street corner. She spotted the candied haws by the roadside and immediately pulled Mu Guiyun toward the vendor.

"Boss, how much for the candied haws?"

"Five Copper Soul Coins a skewer! If they aren't sweet, you don't pay!"

"Five Copper Soul Coins..."

Tang Ya fumbled in her pockets for a long time, eventually pulling out a handful of loose copper coins.

"Five, six, seven..."

After counting them, a look of annoyance appeared on her face. She looked at Mu Guiyun and smiled sheepishly: "Guiyun, can you lend me two more Copper Soul Coins? Hehe!"

Mu Guiyun: ...

Inside the Shrek campus, Tang Ya clung to Mu Guiyun's arm with one hand while happily licking a candied hawthorn with the other.

"Delicious!"

Feeling the refreshing sweetness on the tip of her tongue, Tang Ya narrowed her eyes in delight. "Right, our outer courtyard is holding a cross-grade challenge tournament next week. Do you want to come? Slurp, slurp!"

Glancing at Tang Ya's rather unrefined eating habits, Mu Guiyun pondered for a moment before agreeing.

For some time now, Mu Guiyun's sparring partner had been the Soul Douluo-level Zhang Lexuan, leaving him unsure of the gap between himself and soul masters of his own level. This was the perfect opportunity to test it.

"You're coming? That's fantastic!"

Seeing Mu Guiyun agree, Tang Ya beamed with excitement, her arm subconsciously tightening around his.

However, given Tang Ya's current proportions, she didn't exert much pressure on Mu Guiyun.

"With your strength, I'll bet everything on you winning. Wouldn't I make a fortune? Hehehe!"

Tang Ya chuckled, as if glittering Gold Soul Coin were right before her eyes. Her expression left Mu Guiyun speechless.

The two wandered around the outer courtyard for a while before parting ways.

Now that the Gilded Langxiao was complete, Mu Guiyun no longer needed to spend his time in the Soul Tool Laboratory, so he headed straight home.

As soon as he opened the door, a fiery red figure rushed toward him.

Having experienced this countless times, Mu Guiyun instinctively opened his arms, and a soft, delicate body fell into his embrace.

"You're back!"

Ma Xiaotao nuzzled into Mu Guiyun's chest. Due to her unrestrained cultivation, the evil fire that had been suppressed was once again on the verge of spiraling out of control.

Feeling the softness in his arms, Mu Guiyun smiled. "Yes, the Soul Tool is finished. From today on, I finally have some free time."

Hearing this, Ma Xiaotao's face lit up with joy. Just as she was about to speak, she caught a whiff of an unfamiliar fragrance.

She would swear on her own assets that this scent definitely didn't belong to Zhang Lexuan. Upon closer inspection, she could even detect the unique, fresh scent of Blue Silver Grass.

At this thought, the previously coquettish Ma Xiaotao's expression turned sour in an instant.