Prince Xue Xing

An eighty-third-rank Soul Douluo of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect was now like a helpless infant in Ronan's hands, freely humiliated and ravaged!

Yu Xiaolie's heart was filled with endless humiliation and fear.

He finally realized what a foolish mistake he had made.

How could Ronan possibly be a Soul Saint?

Judging from the terrifying power he had unleashed in that instant and the suppression of his bloodline, Ronan had definitely broken through the bottleneck of rank eighty!

He had become a true Soul Douluo!

Moreover, Ronan's Golden Sacred Dragon martial soul utterly crushed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon in terms of quality.

At the same rank, Yu Xiaolie did not even have the right to fight back before Ronan!

"Stop!"

Just as Ronan was about to teach Yu Xiaolie another profound lesson, an authoritative shout suddenly came from the end of the street.

Accompanied by the uniform clatter of metal armor, a squad of fully armed Royal Knights soldiers from the Heaven Dou Empire swiftly surrounded the scene.

The crowd parted like a tide as an extremely luxurious carriage bearing the emblem of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family slowly approached.

The carriage door opened, and a lean-faced middle-aged man in a magnificent python robe stepped down amid the escort of his guards, his gaze sharp.

This man was Prince Xue Xing, younger brother of Xue Ye, the current emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire!

Prince Xue Xing walked into the center and glanced at Yu Xiaolie, who was being held in midair by Ronan and looked utterly miserable.

Then he looked at Yu Xiaogang in the distance, whose fate was unknown, and his brows furrowed tightly.

"Ronan, you've got some nerve!"

Prince Xue Xing's face darkened as he rebuked him sternly.

"This is Heaven Dou City, beneath the feet of the imperial capital!"

"You dare gather people for a street brawl and beat someone into serious injury!"

"Do you have no regard for the laws of the Heaven Dou Empire, or no regard for the imperial family?!"

Faced with Prince Xue Xing's stern reprimand, the surrounding civilians and soul masters were so frightened that they barely dared breathe.

This was a prince whose influence extended throughout the court. Angering him could cost them their heads!

Yet Ronan merely gave Prince Xue Xing an indifferent glance.

The instant their gazes met, Ronan saw Prince Xue Xing give him several meaningful looks.

Ronan understood at once, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

As though tossing away a dead dog, he casually threw the half-dead Yu Xiaolie to the ground.

"Your Highness, please judge fairly."

Ronan dusted off his hands, put on an innocent expression, and said blandly.

"I did not gather people for a brawl, nor did I disrespect the imperial family."

"It was clearly these two from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect who relied on their sect's power to come to my Moonlight Pavilion and stir up trouble."

"I merely acted in self-defense and defended myself a little."

"There are so many witnesses here watching."

"Self-defense? You call this self-defense?!"

Yu Xiaolie lay sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath. It took him great effort to catch it again.

Hearing Ronan's words, he was so furious he nearly spat out blood on the spot. He was a dignified Soul Douluo, yet Ronan had beaten him into a pig's head—and this was merely a little self-defense?!

But he was utterly terrified now.

He knew that he had struck an iron plate today. If he stayed any longer, he would only humiliate himself further.

Yu Xiaolie glared venomously at Ronan, then struggled to rise from the ground.

He staggered toward the distance and grabbed Yu Xiaogang, who was still unconscious.

Gritting his teeth, he said, "Fine! What a Ronan! What self-defense! My Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect will remember this debt! Just you wait!"

With that, he dragged Yu Xiaogang away without looking back, squeezing out of the crowd in disgrace and fleeing miserably.

Watching Yu Xiaolie's retreating figure, Ronan sneered, his mocking voice echoing through the street:

"So what if you remember it?"

"Go back and tell Yu Yuanzhen that not to mention you two pieces of trash—even if he came himself, he'd be nothing more than a slightly bigger Blue Lightning Tyrant Bug in my eyes!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaolie stumbled sharply in the distance, but he did not dare look back and only ran faster.

"Enough. Stop spouting nonsense here."

Prince Xue Xing looked at Ronan and waved his hand irritably.

"Since it was self-defense, come with me. We'll go to the Prince's Mansion and make a record so you can explain everything clearly."

The Royal Knights quickly dispersed the onlookers, and the carriage, surrounded by guards, headed toward Prince Xue Xing's residence.

Inside the study of the Prince's Mansion.

The moment the door closed, the stern and imposing expression on Prince Xue Xing's face vanished without a trace.

He walked to the wine cabinet, poured two glasses of crimson wine, handed one to Ronan, and sat down on the sofa with a smile.

"You brat, you're still as ruthless as ever."

"That was the elder brother of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect's sect master. You beat him into a pig's head, then called them Blue Lightning Tyrant Bugs in front of so many people."

"This time, you've thoroughly offended one of the Upper Three Sects to the death."

Ronan accepted the wineglass, took a sip, and casually sat down across from Prince Xue Xing.

"Then I offended them. They're just a bunch of arrogant fools."

Ronan smiled without a care.

"I could not be bothered with old grudges from ages ago, but they insisted on coming to seek death."

"But you, Your Highness—why did you have time to go to Moonlight Pavilion today and bail me out?"

"If I hadn't gone, was I supposed to stand by and watch you beat someone from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect to death in the street?"

Prince Xue Xing said irritably.

"You're the sharpest blade in my hand right now. If lives had been lost and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect had hunted you down with everything they had, where would I find another partner as useful as you?"

Ronan smiled noncommittally at that.

The relationship between him and Prince Xue Xing was far more complicated than outsiders imagined.

Years ago, when Ronan had burst onto the scene as a rank-forty Soul Ancestor with his successfully mutated Golden Sacred Dragon martial soul and rapidly gained fame, countless factions had extended olive branches to him.

Among them was Prince Xue Xing.

At the time, Prince Xue Xing desperately needed to recruit a group of powerful soul masters with no background to serve as the foundation of his power and consolidate his influence within the Heaven Dou Empire.

He had taken notice of Ronan's potential and ruthlessness, personally visiting him in hopes of bringing Ronan under his command as his lackey.

But what kind of person was Ronan?

How could he possibly submit to another and become a dog for an imperial prince?

Ronan had decisively refused Prince Xue Xing's recruitment, but at the same time, he had made a proposal: cooperation.

Ronan stated that he would not pledge loyalty to anyone.

But he could serve as a blade hidden in the shadows, helping Prince Xue Xing handle dirty, exhausting work that could not see the light of day.