Two-Man Beatdown! Hurry Up and Thank Me!

Seeing Qian Xunzong at the entrance with a shoe sole in hand and an icy aura around him, Su Jian, who was kneeling on the ground, shuddered violently. His face instantly turned pale as paper, and most of his previous grievance and confidence vanished. He instinctively shrank backward.

Why had he come so quickly?!

Qian Daoliu's eye twitched slightly as he watched his younger son barge in. He had long since grown used to it, but he still maintained the Pope's dignity on the surface and spoke in a deep voice:

"Xunzong, do not fool around. This is the main hall; do not behave recklessly."

Though his words sounded like an attempt to stop him, Qian Daoliu remained motionless on his throne. He even slowly lowered his head and picked up a memorial again, as though he were diligently handling official business. He plainly pretended not to hear the commotion below and simply played dead with his eyes closed.

At the same time, an imperceptible wisp of highly condensed pale golden Soul Power silently slipped from his sleeve. Like a breeze sweeping over the floor, it instantly sealed every Soul Power meridian within Su Jian's body.

It completely cut off any possibility of Su Jian defending himself or circulating Soul Power to protect himself.

Since that old fellow insisted on complaining and making trouble for himself, Qian Daoliu might as well go along with it and let his son vent properly. After all, Su Jian was in the wrong, so he deserved the beating.

The moment Su Jian's Soul Power was sealed, the chase below began.

"You still dared to come to the Papal Palace to complain? Didn't you get enough of a lesson last night?!"

Qian Xunzong's gaze turned cold. Carrying the shoe sole, he strode forward and, without another word, raised his hand and launched into a furious flurry of strikes. The shoe sole landed precisely on Su Jian's other, still-uninjured cheek.

The sharp slaps echoed especially harshly through the solemn, silent Papal Palace.

Su Jian convulsed in pain and tried to circulate his Soul Power to dodge and resist, only to find it completely frozen inside him. He could not stir even the slightest trace of it. Like an ordinary man awaiting slaughter, he cried out in despair:

"His Holiness the Pope! Save me! Stop the Second Young Master!"

Qian Daoliu turned a deaf ear. He lowered his head and reviewed memorials even faster, practically wishing he could bury his head in the documents. Out of sight, out of mind—he had completely given up on dealing with it.

Seeing that Su Jian was about to be struck again, Qian Xunji immediately rose to his feet and hurried forward in feigned panic. He even shouted loudly as he tried to stop them, thoroughly playing the role of a good elder brother.

"Brother, stop! You mustn't fight in the Papal Palace! Talk things out properly; don't be impulsive!"

Hope flickered in Su Jian's eyes when he saw Qian Xunji step forward to intervene. He thought someone was finally breaking up the fight and that he might escape disaster.

But the next second, Qian Xunji rushed close. He appeared to reach for Qian Xunzong's wrist, but his foot quietly stepped down hard on the hem of Su Jian's robe, leaving him unable to retreat or dodge at all.

"Ah!"

Then, taking advantage of the opening as he turned sideways to intervene, he viciously drove his elbow into Su Jian's ribs. Another concealed heavy punch landed squarely on Su Jian's back.

"Urgh..."

"Don't fight! Talk things out properly!"

Bang!

Every punch and kick landed on Su Jian, yet the angles were so tricky that they looked entirely accidental, without the slightest sign that Qian Xunji was failing to stop the fight.

The two brothers worked together flawlessly. One whipped him head-on with the shoe sole, while the other secretly added blows from the side. Attacking from both directions, they pinned Su Jian firmly in place, leaving him nowhere to run.

Su Jian was in so much pain that tears and snot streamed down his face. It felt as though every bone in his body had fallen apart, and he cried out in collapse:

"First Young Master! Weren't you here to stop the fight?! Why are you hitting me too?!"

Qian Xunji blinked in feigned surprise. Then he bent down with a kindly expression, leaned close to Su Jian's ear, and lowered his voice. His tone was sincere yet cruel, perfectly twisting the knife.

"I'm helping you here. Don't you know how to be grateful?"

"If I hadn't stepped on you, my brother's next strike would have hit your eye. I blocked a fatal injury and even helped you take a couple of blows. Instead of thanking me, you're blaming me?"

"Hurry up and say, 'Thank you, First Young Master.' Otherwise, I won't stop my brother anymore."

After hearing that, Su Jian nearly spat out blood. He was utterly devastated inside.

This counted as helping? The two brothers were clearly ganging up on him!

And they were even forcing him to thank them? How could there be anything so absurd in this world?!

But his Soul Power had been sealed, and the two of them had him completely under control. He had no room to resist. Enduring the agonizing pain, he could only choke out miserably:

"Th... thank you, First Young Master..."

Hearing his thanks, Qian Xunji nodded in satisfaction. Only then did he pretend to have finally caught hold of Qian Xunzong's arm and shout:

"All right, Brother! Calm down! If you keep hitting him, someone will die. Stop now!"

Qian Xunzong stopped accordingly. Holding the shoe sole, he looked down coldly at Su Jian, who lay on the ground barely alive. There was not the slightest pity in his eyes.

"I already gave you a chance last night. You were to resume work and submit the spirit plants before dawn, but you ignored the order, refused to comply, and then came before the hall to falsely accuse me."

"I told you before that if there was even the slightest delay or concealment, I would cripple your Soul Power and throw you into the mines to dig stone for the rest of your life. I always keep my word."

As his words fell, a wisp of incomparably pure golden Judgment Divine Flame ignited at Qian Xunzong's fingertip. Sacred yet domineering energy instantly enveloped Su Jian's entire body.

"No!! Save me, Your Holiness!!"

Su Jian's face turned deathly pale as he desperately begged Qian Daoliu on the throne for help.

Only then did Qian Daoliu finally set down his memorial and rise in feigned haste to stop him. Yet his movements were slow and leisurely, deliberately half a beat late.

By the time he took a step forward, the golden divine flame had already surged into Su Jian's dantian, instantly shredding all of his Soul Power origin and completely destroying the foundation of his martial soul.

"Ahhhhh!!"

A shrill, despairing scream rang through the hall. Su Jian rolled his eyes back as all strength drained from his body in an instant. He became a completely ordinary person without any Soul Power and collapsed limply to the floor, no longer possessing the slightest ability to resist.

Qian Daoliu sighed helplessly and waved a hand, instructing the guards outside the hall:

"Men, drag Su Jian away and send him to the mines for hard labor."

The guards immediately stepped forward and dragged the limp, unconscious Su Jian out of the Papal Palace like a dead dog.

The hall finally returned to silence. Looking at the empty floor of the great hall, Qian Daoliu shook his head helplessly. He looked at his two sons with regret in his expression and sighed:

"Xunzong, you are still too impulsive in your actions."

"Su Jian was skilled in spirit plant cultivation and array repair. He was an irreplaceable talent in the Engineering Division. Now that you have crippled his Soul Power, no one can take over the later repairs to Martial Soul Academy's simulated training grounds, the preparation of high-grade spirit plants, or the re-engraving of arrays. The schedule can only be delayed again. This is quite troublesome."

"You should have waited until he finished the work before crippling him!"

Qian Xunji immediately lost his smile as well, suddenly realizing it. That was right—Su Jian was the only person in the Engineering Division proficient in repairing high-grade Spirit Gathering Arrays and tending rare spirit plants. Now that he was crippled, there was truly no one left for the worksite.

But the instant Qian Daoliu finished speaking, Qian Xunzong directly raised a hand to stop his next words. A calm, confident smile curled across his lips.

"Delayed? There's no need."

Qian Xunzong spoke calmly, his eyes full of confidence. "The repairs to a mere simulated training ground and the missing spirit plants and arrays are no difficulty at all for me. Without Su Jian, not only will the project not be delayed, it can even be completed ahead of schedule."

Qian Daoliu paused slightly and looked at Qian Xunzong in confusion. "You have a solution? Re-engraving top-tier Spirit Gathering Arrays, repairing depleted earth veins, and cultivating spirit plants specifically suited to training grounds are not things a few craftsmen can replace."

Qian Xunzong only smiled without answering. Looking at Qian Daoliu, he spoke lightly:

"Relax~, just leave it to me!"

"Oh, right. Su Jian is crippled, so as for the people under him, Dad, you can handle them yourself! I'm off~"

After saying that, Qian Xunzong picked up Xiaojing and turned to leave the hall. Watching his younger son's departing back, Qian Daoliu laughed and scolded, "Brat, you're even giving orders to your father now!"

A smile of satisfaction returned to Qian Daoliu's lips. After a while, he spoke:

"Anyone connected to Su Jian that day—no need to investigate. Cripple them all and exile them!"

"Yes, Your Holiness!"