Li Chen and Huo Yuhao exchanged a glance,
then walked outside.
At the entrance to the Sun Moon Artifact Refining Workshop,
several guards rushed in, flustered and wounded.
"What's going on? What happened?"
Li Chen asked with a frown.
"Young Master Li, Young Master Huo, something terrible has happened! The shipment of Soul Guidance Milk Bottles our Sun Moon Sect sent to Blue Tyrant Academy yesterday was robbed on the road!"
Li Chen and Huo Yuhao froze for a moment.
Li Chen hurriedly asked, "What? Who robbed you? What happened?"
The other guards beside the speaker hurried to chime in.
"We were taking the Soul Guidance Milk Bottles to Blue Tyrant Academy, but when we reached a trail out in the wilderness, a masked thug suddenly appeared and snatched our Storage Soul Tool!"
"There were two thousand Soul Guidance Milk Bottles inside. Blue Tyrant Academy ordered them from us."
"Hall Master Jing said it was a small order, so he sent us to deliver it directly. But... who could have imagined we'd get robbed halfway there..."
The guards' voices grew quieter as they spoke.
They were local Soul Masters from Heaven Dou City hired by the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.
Most had three or four soul rings.
Some even had only two.
This had been Li Chen's suggestion, intended to let local Soul Masters earn a little money from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy's smaller transactions.
The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy now had an enormous number of orders.
Besides major orders like Xue Ye's, there were private clients as well, such as the academy orders Huo Yuhao had mentioned before.
There were also small orders from local families and factions.
The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had hired over a thousand local Soul Masters to escort shipments, easing its manpower shortage while giving them an additional source of income.
They called it escort work, but it was really low-level labor like loading and delivering goods. After all, they couldn't have members of the two great soul engineer legions doing such odd jobs, could they?
Li Chen figured
Jing Hongchen had probably never imagined anyone would dare rob the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, especially in Heaven Dou City, right under Xue Ye's nose!
"Tell us exactly what happened."
Huo Yuhao frowned.
"Well, a week ago, Dean Liu Erlong from Blue Tyrant Academy told Hall Master Jing she wanted two thousand Soul Guidance Milk Bottles, and she paid a deposit."
"Then, after Hall Master Jing had them made, he sent us to deliver them."
"Blue Tyrant Academy is right in the city. We followed the route Dean Liu Erlong gave us. She said it was a shortcut and would be faster. But as soon as we turned onto the trail, a masked person appeared and knocked us unconscious with a couple of blows. When we woke up, the goods were gone..."
After listening, Huo Yuhao and Li Chen fell into thought.
"Young Master Li, we really weren't slacking off! We didn't steal the goods entrusted to us, either! That masked person was probably a Soul King or higher. They struck so fast that we couldn't react at all!"
Li Chen thought for a moment, then immediately activated the screen of his Computer Spirit and searched the satellite footage of the ground at the time.
Then he suddenly chuckled.
"Of course you couldn't react. Right, Yuhao?"
Huo Yuhao laughed after watching it, too. "Of course. The person who robbed you was Liu Erlong herself."
"What?!"
The Soul Master guards looked at one another in shock.
Li Chen sneered. "Blue Tyrant Academy is dirt-poor. Since when did they have enough money to buy two thousand Soul Guidance Milk Bottles in one go?"
"Liu Erlong even specifically told you to follow her route. Clearly, she never intended to pay the balance. She was planning to rob you."
The guards were furious. "But... Dean Liu Erlong is a Soul Sage, and an academy dean, too! How could she do something like this?!"
"Then... we'd better tell Hall Master Jing right away! Two thousand Soul Guidance Milk Bottles! If we don't recover them quickly, we couldn't repay that even if we sold ourselves!"
Li Chen waved a hand. "No need. Yuhao and I can handle it."
"Let's go, Yuhao. Looks like we need to pay Blue Tyrant Academy a visit."
The two walked out of the shop and were just about to head to Blue Tyrant Academy
when a thirty-year-old woman in fiery-red combat attire came charging over.
"What the hell is your Sun Moon Sect doing? How could you lose the two thousand Soul Guidance Milk Bottles my Blue Tyrant Academy ordered during delivery?"
"I demand that your Sun Moon Sect refund my deposit! And pay damages for breaching the contract!"
Liu Erlong's tone was fierce. She slapped the reception desk inside the shop so hard that even the roof beams rattled, drawing passing pedestrians over to watch.
"A robbery? Someone robbed the Sun Moon Sect?"
"Damn, who's got the guts to rob the Sun Moon Sect? And it was an order for that shrew Liu Erlong, too!"
"Just watch. Whoever did it has guts big enough to swallow the sky. The Sun Moon Sect has a Titled Douluo backing it. If they get caught, they're in for a world of pain."
The crowd buzzed with discussion.
Faced with this,
Li Chen's expression remained unchanged.
Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes.
"You're Liu Erlong, the dean of Blue Tyrant Academy?"
"Damn right I am! Where's the person in charge of your Sun Moon Sect? Why are there only two children here? Is anyone else still breathing?!"
Liu Erlong looked around, apparently searching for Jing Hongchen, who had signed the contract with her.
At that moment,
Li Chen spoke. "I'm in charge. Dean Liu, I really never imagined you'd be this bold. Not only did you stage the whole thing yourself, you even dared to come back for your deposit?!"
For a moment, both Li Chen and Huo Yuhao were driven to laughter by this fierce shrew, Liu Erlong.
Was she fucking trying to copy those black guys' zero-dollar shopping sprees?!
"What?!"
Liu Erlong felt a stab of guilt, but answered stubbornly, "What nonsense are you two children talking about? Why would I rob my own goods?! I paid for them!"
"Heh."
Huo Yuhao sneered. "You only paid a ten-percent deposit. Robbing the goods wasn't enough for you-you actually dared to come back and demand your deposit, and compensation for breach of contract, too..."
Huo Yuhao pointed at Liu Erlong. "You've got some seriously oversized guts!"
At those words,
the crowd began talking.
"What? Liu Erlong staged it herself?"
"My heavens, what's going on? I'm completely lost."
Panic crossed Liu Erlong's face, but she quickly regained her composure.
"What nonsense are you two little brats spouting?! I, Liu Erlong, have always acted openly and honorably! Why would I steal anything?!"
"Where are your elders? Bring them out! I demand an apology from your Sun Moon Sect!"
Li Chen took a deep breath.
"Dean Liu, I'll give you one last chance. Pay the balance right now, and our Sun Moon Sect can pretend this never happened."
"If you don't hurry up and pay, and keep spouting nonsense here, don't blame us for taking you down right now!"
Liu Erlong froze at his words.
Doubts began stirring in her mind.
Her Blue Tyrant Academy was full of commoner Soul Masters and so poor that its empty pockets jingled.
Indeed, she only had enough money for the deposit. She couldn't afford the goods at all.
But Soul Guidance Milk Bottles were extremely important, especially with the Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament starting in a year.
Soul Masters with Soul Guidance Milk Bottles had a much greater chance of winning.
That was why Liu Erlong had resorted to this desperate measure.
If she couldn't afford them, she'd simply steal them!
But,
judging by these two brats' attitudes, had Li Chen and Huo Yuhao seen through what she'd done?
Impossible!
Liu Erlong rejected the idea. She was a Soul Sage, and before acting, she had made certain no one had seen her.
How could they have seen through it?
Oh, she got it!
These two brats were bluffing!
Hmph, I'm not that easy to fool!
"Your Sun Moon Sect lost my Soul Guidance Milk Bottles and refuses to compensate me, and you two brats even dare to insult me! I'll teach you how to behave on your elders' behalf!"
Liu Erlong snorted, unleashed her Fire Dragon Martial Soul, and reached out to seize Huo Yuhao.
In response,
Huo Yuhao merely sneered.
"Wonderful. She even attacked first."
The next instant, the aura of Ultimate Ice erupted from Huo Yuhao, instantly suppressing Liu Erlong's Fire Dragon Martial Soul as he caught her hand.
Liu Erlong stared at Huo Yuhao in shock.
Huo Yuhao grinned savagely. "If you're still standing after one minute, count that as a busted order!"
"Ice Emperor's Pincer!"
The next instant,
a ferocious burst of blue-white Ultimate Ice power erupted and blasted straight toward Liu Erlong!
Before you continue