Raking in the Dough!

"Wait a moment!" Yao Lao suddenly called out.

Shancheng's movements halted. His expression shifted slightly as he forced a smile and looked toward Yao Lao.

"Does the senior have any further instructions?"

Yao Lao chuckled and said, "You may take the person, but that thing must be left behind as compensation!"

Shancheng was stunned.

This was a Black-Grade Mecha! There was only one such mecha in the entire East Sea City, and even within the entire Federation, such items were rare.

Shancheng swallowed hard. "Could the senior consider a different form of compensation? Rare metals, high-level spirit souls—as long as it is something I can afford, I will not refuse!"

Yao Lao let out a cold snort. "Do you think you still have room to bargain? If you refuse, I can simply take it myself!"

Shancheng fell silent once more. A large part of his reason for stepping in to save Guang Biao had been to protect this Black-Grade Mecha, but faced with Yao Lao's strength, he truly had no room to negotiate.

"In that case, let this Black-Grade Mecha serve as Guang Biao's compensation to these three children. I hope the senior will not hold a grudge."

There was no other choice; Shancheng had to bow his head. A Black-Grade Mecha could be rebuilt, but if his life were lost, it would be gone for good. This was the meaning of knowing when to yield to circumstances.

"Furthermore, give me your storage spirit tool. They do not possess a storage tool with such capacity."

Since the Black-Grade Mecha had already been given away, a storage spirit tool was of little consequence, so he tossed it directly to Yao Lao.

This storage spirit tool was an exquisite ring with several hundred cubic meters of space—more than enough to contain the Black-Grade Mecha—and it already held several other spirit tools inside.

Yao Lao smiled faintly, caught the storage ring, stowed the Black-Grade Mecha inside, and placed it on Tang Wulin's left hand.

"Then... Senior, may I take my leave now?" Shancheng asked cautiously.

"Of course, but you had best not trouble these three children in the future. Do not think that I can only act by possessing this child. If you provoke me into coming here in my true form, all of you will die. You may take my words as a threat!"

Yao Lao felt it was necessary to threaten this Title Douluo; as long as he was intimidated, no one in East Sea City should dare to trouble Tang Wulin and his friends.

Shancheng supported Guang Biao and bowed to Yao Lao. "As long as I remain the commander of the East Sea City Soul Master Legion, I will never allow anyone to trouble these three children. If necessary, I will clear away their enemies myself, without needing the senior to act."

"You are sensible. If we have the chance to meet again in the future, there will be rewards for you!"

Since he had already issued a threat, Yao Lao did not mind offering a small benefit. Although it was unlikely they would meet again, it was better than nothing.

"Many thanks, Senior!"

Yao Lao waved his hand lightly, and Shancheng quickly departed with Guang Biao.

Yao Lao did not linger, vanishing from the spot in an instant.

The next moment, Yao Lao appeared back at the snack street.

"Hmm?"

Yao Lao's eyes narrowed as he discovered that the spirit masters he had frozen earlier were gone, and even the puddles of molten iron had vanished.

He figured that Shancheng must have sent people to clear them away.

However, Yao Lao's gaze shifted toward the interior of the snack street, where he sensed a formidable presence.

Wu Zhangkong stood before the Braised Beef Pot shop, his brows furrowed.

Not long ago, he had received a communication from Xie Xie, but it had cut off just as he answered, and no matter how many times he tried to call back, he could not get through.

A sense of foreboding rose in Wu Zhangkong's heart. He immediately left the academy and sought out the department responsible for spirit communication in East Sea City. After revealing his identity as a member of the Spirit Master Academy, he requested that the staff trace the last known location of Xie Xie's communication signal.

Although such information was not supposed to be disclosed, the staff provided the location out of concern for Xie Xie's safety, given that Wu Zhangkong was his teacher.

That was what had brought Wu Zhangkong to this snack street.

Upon arriving, Wu Zhangkong realized that a battle had definitely taken place. He questioned a civilian hiding in a nearby shop and learned that three children had fought a second-ring spirit master at the Braised Beef Pot shop, and that a mecha squad had arrived later to take everyone away. The civilian had only been lucky enough to avoid detection.

Three children? A mecha squad?

Wu Zhangkong immediately understood that the children must be Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue.

Soon, Wu Zhangkong arrived in front of the Braised Beef Pot shop.

He searched everywhere but only found the unconscious Xie Xie and Gu Yue; Tang Wulin was nowhere to be seen.

After a brief check of Xie Xie and Gu Yue's injuries, he found nothing critical. He prepared to take them back to the academy first before heading out again to search for Tang Wulin.

Just then, Wu Zhangkong's eyes darted to his surroundings; he felt the space around him fluctuating.

The next instant, a small spatial rift appeared before Wu Zhangkong. To his astonishment, Tang Wulin stepped out from the rift. One had to realize that tearing through space was a feat reserved for at least a Limit Douluo.

"You are not Tang Wulin!"

Wu Zhangkong's martial soul manifested instantly. Two yellow, two purple, and two black spirit rings appeared at his feet, and the Sky Frost Sword was already in his hand.

"Heh!" Yao Lao smiled faintly. "No need to be so agitated! I am not a bad person; I suppose I could be considered a friend of Tang Wulin."

"A friend?" Wu Zhangkong's expression remained cold as he said in a low voice, "Is the senior joking? A nine-year-old child can be friends with a powerhouse of your level? He is just a child; why must you entangle yourself with him?"

"If you do not believe me, there is nothing I can do. You can ask Tang Wulin yourself later. Very well, I am leaving. Take this child back and ensure he recovers properly; my possession of him this time has caused no small amount of damage to his body."

With that, Yao Lao returned to the spirit ring, though he deliberately concealed the movement so that Wu Zhangkong could not detect it.

Wu Zhangkong did not retract his martial soul. He stared at the unconscious Tang Wulin for a long while, confirming that the mysterious powerhouse had indeed left the boy's body before walking over to lift him up.

"His body is severely depleted, some organs have sustained significant damage, and traces of violent energy remain in his meridians. He must receive treatment immediately."

Wu Zhangkong retracted his spirit rings and martial soul. He cradled Tang Wulin in his arms while using a gentle wave of spirit power to lift Xie Xie and Gu Yue, flying toward the academy.