Meanwhile, Elsewhere

It was still that small city near Heaven Dou City.

After Qian Renxue's men dragged him into the city lord's residence and threw him into prison, Flender had thought the sky was falling.

But unexpectedly, only a few days later, the city lord came to see him under cover of night.

He said that the distinguished person who had ordered Flender imprisoned had recently vanished for some unknown reason.

Realizing that something was amiss, the city lord, whose Soul Power was only around level 50, wanted to form a good relationship with Flender, a Soul Saint.

For Flender, this was an unexpected delight. He barely hesitated before replying with a smile:

"Brother! As long as you let me go today, our friendship will be forged. If you ever need help in the future, just send word. I guarantee on my honor that I will never refuse!"

However, the old city lord was no fool.

Words alone were no proof. Afraid that Flender would deny it afterward, he demanded that Flender first give him either a sufficiently valuable treasure or a substantial sum of Gold Soul Coins before he would release them.

That way, if the old city lord ever needed Flender's help in the future, he could use those things as leverage to invite Flender to act.

Even if everything went smoothly for him in the future and he never needed to trouble Flender, he still would not lose out with that sum of Gold Soul Coins or treasure as insurance.

Given Flender's miserly nature, trying to get even the slightest advantage from him was no different from asking for his life.

But in this situation, he could still tell which was more important: freedom or wealth.

Thus, he could only agree to the old city lord's terms with great reluctance. However, he did not have a single coin on him right now. If the old city lord wanted Gold Soul Coins, he would have to accompany Flender to retrieve them.

But the old city lord remained cautious.

Although murdering a city lord within the Heaven Dou Empire was an unforgivable capital crime, and ordinary people did not have the nerve to do such a thing.

The older one became, the more one feared death.

For his own safety, the old city lord directly told Flender to give him the location so he could send someone to retrieve the money. The moment they obtained the Gold Soul Coins, he would release them!

But this displeased Flender.

How could he let outsiders know the exact location of his private treasure vault?

Therefore, he firmly refused the old city lord's proposal.

And so, the negotiations between the two fell into a deadlock, neither willing to give an inch.

However, at that moment, Dai Mubai, who had remained silent in the neighboring cell, suddenly spoke:

"Hey, you just said that as long as we gave you a valuable enough treasure, you'd be willing to let us go, right?"

Hearing this, the old city lord immediately turned his gaze toward him. Seeing that it was merely a young brat speaking, his attitude worsened somewhat.

"That is indeed what I said. Don't tell me you think some treasure on your person is enough to tempt this old man?"

"Young man, you'd best not—"

Before he could finish his attempt at lecturing him, the old city lord's eyes suddenly widened.

That was because Dai Mubai pulled a ring set with a dazzling gemstone from his pocket right before his eyes.

Clutching the ring in his palm, Dai Mubai's eyes showed a trace of reluctance. But at this moment, worrying over worldly possessions was meaningless to him.

And as long as he could get out, he believed that with his talent and strength, he would sooner or later be able to redeem this ring, which symbolized his identity as a prince of Star Luo, from the old man.

With that thought, Dai Mubai felt much more at ease. He then extended his hand through the gap in the cell and passed over the ring.

"I wonder if this ring is enough to exchange for the freedom of the three of us?"

Though he did not know the ring's origins, the moment it landed in his hand, the old city lord knew that it was absolutely no ordinary treasure!

After swallowing unconsciously, the old city lord's voice became somewhat hoarse.

"This ring... may I ask where you got it, little brother?"

Dai Mubai gave a disdainful snort.

"Old man, haven't you heard the saying? Don't ask about things you shouldn't know! Knowing too much might not be a good thing for you!"

Although his tone was filled with disrespect, the old city lord did not dare lose his temper.

"Look at this brain of mine. The older I get, the muddler I become. I nearly forgot the rules of the trade... Fine, fine, I won't ask any more. This ring is valuable enough. I'll let you out right away!"

With that, the old city lord removed a ring of keys from his waist, opened the two cell doors, and removed the shackles suppressing the three men's Soul Power.

Having regained his freedom, Flender let out a heavy breath. Without saying much, he directly pulled Dai Mubai and his precious disciple Ma Hongjun outside.

This place was simply too cursed. He did not want to remain for even one more second.

Only after the three silently left the prison and inhaled the fresh air carried by the night breeze did they feel slightly better.

They were alive!

After greedily taking several deep breaths of fresh air, Flender's mind cleared considerably. He immediately looked at Dai Mubai beside him with a complicated expression.

"Kid, that ring must have been very important to you, right?"

Ma Hongjun came to his senses as well and nodded repeatedly.

"That's right, Boss Dai. That ring must have been very important to you, right?"

After saying that, he turned to Flender.

"Master, can't you think of a way to help Boss Dai redeem that ring?"

Hearing this, Flender shot him an irritated glance and raised his hand to smack Ma Hongjun across the forehead.

"You sure do talk a lot! What, you think you're the only one with loyalty and righteousness? You think your master has no heart?"

After scolding Ma Hongjun, Flender sighed, then patted Dai Mubai on the shoulder.

"Kid, go wander around the city with my disciple for now and relax. At most three days. This old man will definitely get your ring back!"

Dai Mubai froze at those words.

In a foreign land, he had thought he would never again feel genuine warmth in this world.

Yet unexpectedly...

Dai Mubai's eyes immediately stung, but he forced himself not to let the tears fall and smiled through it.

"It's nothing particularly rare. Senior, there's no need for you to trouble yourself."

Seeing Dai Mubai's current state, Flender knew his act had worked.

Exchanging one of his own treasures for that ring would certainly cost him a great deal, but winning the sincere loyalty of a genius student was an entirely different matter.

Treasures and wealth could be earned again after they were gone, but the sincere loyalty of a genius student was something money could never buy.

This was no loss!

"Kid, there's no room for discussion. Listen to me. Because of my disciple, you were dragged into prison as well. If I make you pay for it now, my old friends would laugh me to death!"

After saying that, Flender gave Ma Hongjun a few simple instructions. Then he summoned his martial soul, beat his wings, and swiftly departed from the city.