However, Feng Qingluan and Feng Baiyu had arrived too late.
By the time they got there, the 760-year-old Blazing Spirit Kite had already been slain by a boy who looked about eight or nine.
"You dared to kill it!" The aura of a Titled Douluo burst from Feng Qingluan, bearing down on the boy who had slain the Blazing Spirit Kite and the teacher leading his group.
"Didn't you see the mark I put on it?" Feng Qingluan pointed to the Qingluan Token hanging from the Blazing Spirit Kite's foot and said coldly, "You must have had a bear's heart and a leopard's gall to steal a Soul Beast I'd already claimed!"
"Y-Your Excellency..."
Crushed by Feng Qingluan's aura, the Soul Emperor leading the group and the boy who had killed the Blazing Spirit Kite dropped to their knees.
"Your Excellency, please calm down! Please, Your Excellency!" The teacher leading the group regretted it bitterly.
Of course he'd seen the token on the Blazing Spirit Kite's foot. He knew it had already been claimed. But he hadn't known who had marked it, so he'd let greed get the better of him.
After all, it wasn't just one of his students who needed a Soul Ring this time. It was his own nephew.
He'd planned to leave as soon as his nephew had absorbed the Soul Ring, so there'd be no witnesses and no evidence. He just hadn't expected the owner of the marked Soul Beast to show up right after they killed it.
And the other party was a Titled Douluo!
They were doomed.
The teacher, Yin Qi, knelt on the ground, trembling. He kowtowed as he begged for mercy. "Your Excellency, I'm willing to make amends. Please spare me!"
As for his nephew, he'd already passed out under the pressure of the other party's aura.
Feng Qingluan wasn't bloodthirsty.
If the other party had only offended him, he would have simply killed him.
But the other party had gone and stolen his grandson's Soul Ring. Nothing short of killing his entire family could dispel the fury in his heart.
"Grandpa, wait." Seeing his grandfather about to kill the two men, Feng Baiyu spoke up. "The Blazing Spirit Kite is already dead, and I can't use its Soul Ring now. In that case, let's just give it to him."
"Baiyu." Feng Qingluan disagreed with his grandson's words. "Don't be so softhearted!"
Feng Qingluan had no objection to his grandson being kind. In his eyes, kindness was a fine quality.
But these two nobodies had offended them. If he let them go just like that, people would think he was easy to bully!
"Grandpa, didn't he say he'd make amends?" Feng Baiyu soothed his grandfather, then turned to the kneeling Soul Emperor. "Today's a good day for me to get a Soul Ring, and I don't want to kill anyone. But you stole my Soul Ring, so you'll have to pay me back with another one."
"Thank you, Young Master! Thank you for sparing me!" Yin Qi thanked him profusely. No matter what the compensation was, it was better than losing his life here.
As for whether the compensation would be difficult?
Could it be harder than dying?
"Go catch me a Phoenix." Feng Baiyu looked at Yin Qi and said indifferently, "An Ice Phoenix, Radiant Phoenix, Dark Phoenix... any of them will do! Remember, within three years, you must bring me a pure-blooded Phoenix that's at least five thousand years old! If it's just some other Soul Beast with a trace of Phoenix blood, I won't accept it."
"Huh?" Hearing Feng Baiyu make such an outrageous demand, Yin Qi was stunned.
I only killed your seven-hundred-something-year-old Blazing Spirit Kite, and you want me to compensate you with a pure-blooded Phoenix?
Even loan sharks don't rob people this brazenly!
Pure-blooded Phoenixes were top-tier Soul Beasts. No matter their element, they were far stronger than Soul Beasts of the same rank!
Even a five-thousand-year-old Phoenix was far more powerful than an ordinary Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. In a fight, Yin Qi, a Soul Emperor, wasn't sure he could beat one.
And this young master wasn't merely asking him to kill a Phoenix. He wanted him to capture one alive!
That made the task several times harder. If anything went wrong, Yin Qi could end up on the Phoenix's menu.
Yin Qi looked troubled. "Young Master, this pure-blooded Phoenix..."
"Agree, and you and your students can leave today," Feng Baiyu said coolly. "Refuse, and you'll be staying here."
"I agree, I agree! I'll do it." Yin Qi nodded again and again. "Don't worry, Young Master. Even if it costs me my life, I'll bring you a Phoenix."
If he agreed, he could live for another three years, and he'd still have a chance to escape in that time.
As long as he used the excuse of hunting Soul Beasts to run away, he'd be free as a bird in the open sky!
He knew which choice to make.
Feng Baiyu could see what the other man was thinking, but he didn't care. He said lightly, "Give me your name and personal details. While your parents are alive, don't travel far; if you do, make sure they know where you're going."
"If you die while hunting the Phoenix within these three years, our debt dies with you. But if you run away, there'll be no need for your friends and relatives to exist anymore!"
Yin Qi had no choice but to give him his information.
He was an ordinary teacher at Spirit Hall Academy, and there was nothing suspicious about his identity. But when he mentioned that the unconscious boy beside him was his nephew, Yan, Feng Baiyu's expression changed.
"Yan?" Feng Baiyu realized.
With such a powerful Martial Soul as the Flame Lord, no wonder he'd reached level twenty at around nine years old.
Yan was a pretty good genius, all things considered.
It was a shame that, like Feng Xiaotian, he was a simp and never managed to draw out his full potential.
Well... he was even worse than Feng Xiaotian!
At least Feng Xiaotian had finally won the girl over. Yan had chased her to the bitter end and still wound up with nothing.
"Your nephew has pretty good talent." Feng Baiyu glanced at Yan and said, "Wake him up first."
As he spoke, Feng Baiyu tossed the other man a porcelain bottle.
Yin Qi didn't think much of it. He tipped out a pill and fed it to his nephew.
In a moment, Yan woke from his faint.
Still somewhat dazed, he murmured, "What happened to me?"
"Awake now?" Feng Baiyu looked at Yan, then pointed to the Soul Ring beside him. "It hasn't dissipated yet. Do you want to absorb it?"
"Huh?" At the voice beside him, Yan grew more alert. He glanced at the Soul Ring with burning eyes, then looked at his uncle.
Yin Qi didn't dare go against the other party's wishes. Now that the Soul Ring had been returned to them, he hurriedly said, "Yan, since Your Excellency and Young Master have no objections, go ahead and absorb it."
"All right." Yan wasn't stupid. From his uncle's attitude, he could tell the two people before him were important figures.
He said to them, "Thank you, Your Excellency. Thank you, Your—Young Master."
After a few simple preparations, Yan began absorbing the Soul Ring.
Feng Qingluan watched everything without saying a word. He would wait to see what his grandson did next.
As the only bloodline left in the Feng Family, Feng Baiyu would inherit the entire family's assets sooner or later. He'd protected his grandson too well before. Today, he wanted to see how well Feng Baiyu handled things.
As Yan began absorbing the Soul Ring, Feng Baiyu turned to Yin Qi. "How about you two join the Feng Family?"
"You don't have a problem serving under a Titled Douluo, do you?"
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