The Law Enforcement Team Appears

Qian Jun and Jiang Mo flew to Qian Zong's side, bowed slightly, and said respectfully:

"Young Master, the enemy has been slain! Is there anything else you need us brothers to do?"

Even as members of the Worship Hall, Qian Jun and Jiang Mo observed every courtesy before Qian Zong, treating him with absolute respect.

They respected Qian Zong not only because Qian Family blood ran through his veins.

More importantly, he had taught them the Soul Core Cultivation Method and Spirit Tempering Method, explained the essence of the Coiling Dragon Staff Martial Soul, and passed on the core principles and cultivation methods of the Unyielding Staff Technique.

The brothers were grateful to Qian Zong from the bottom of their hearts.

They had been stuck at level 96 for years. Their Soul Power had long since reached a bottleneck, yet they could not break through to level 97.

They could not even see the path to level 97.

And yet...

The Soul Core Cultivation Method and Spirit Tempering Method Qian Zong had taught them could strengthen their foundations and raise their power.

His explanation of the Coiling Dragon Staff Martial Soul's essence and his teachings on the Unyielding Staff Technique had not only shown them the direction of their cultivation, but paved the road ahead.

If they fully grasped the Unyielding Staff Technique, they could reach level 97 and become Peak Douluo.

They could never repay Qian Zong for what he had done.

Qian Zong stood on no ceremony with Qian Jun and Jiang Mo. He waved them away.

"Thanks for the effort. You may go."

With Qian Zong's return, the Worship Hall had become the greatest beneficiary.

Aside from the Battle Armor Master cultivation system, which he had not introduced to the Worship Hall, Qian Zong had taught its members every other cultivation method.

In just one year, the members of the Worship Hall would see their combat strength rise by at least thirty percent on average, with endurance to spare. They would no longer have to fear being chased down and beaten by the Tang family.

Of all the Worship Hall members, Qian Jun and Jiang Mo had gained the most. That was why the brothers treated Qian Zong with particular respect.

"As you command!"

Qian Jun and Jiang Mo bowed once more, then flew back to the third floor and disappeared from view.

Qian Zong glanced at their retreating figures and sighed inwardly.

He did understand the essence of the Coiling Dragon Staff Martial Soul. It came down to two things: defiance and fighting spirit.

Qian Zong also knew the moves of the Unyielding Staff Technique, but beyond those moves, he knew little else.

The so-called core principles were merely what Qian Zong had pieced together from the technique's moves and the traits of the Coiling Dragon Staff Martial Soul. The overall direction was sound, but he had none of the finer details.

As for why he had not laid out how to cultivate each move of the Unyielding Staff Technique, Qian Zong did not possess the Coiling Dragon Staff Martial Soul. He could not speak to the details.

I hope you two grasp the essence of the Unyielding Staff Technique before my meridians recover. Perhaps I'll have a way to help you advance even further, Qian Zong thought.

The heart of the Unyielding Staff Technique was the same as the essence of its Martial Soul: it relied on soaring fighting spirit and a will that would never yield.

Without outside pressure, Qian Zong honestly did not believe Qian Jun and Jiang Mo could break through to level 97 just by sitting in meditation.

Yet in this era, the experts capable of threatening these two Super Douluo could be counted on one hand. There was scarcely any outside pressure to draw on.

Tang San was the exception, of course. A Soul Douluo taking on Super Douluo was beyond all reason.

Qian Zong looked away and walked toward the Star Luo Empire group with Ling Yuan at his side.

The farce was over. It was time to bring it to a close.

"Young Hall Master!"

Ci Xue and Snake Lance bowed slightly and took up positions beside Qian Zong to protect him.

Yue Guan stepped forward and saluted. "Greetings, Young Hall Master!"

Seeing two Worship Hall members act at once had given Yue Guan quite a fright.

Only now did he realize that the experts guarding the Martial Soul Library were not Ci Xue and Snake Lance, but two members of the Worship Hall.

Beyond his shock, Yue Guan's respect for Qian Zong rose another notch.

Worship Hall members who might not show their faces once in decades were treating a Qian Family descendant who had suddenly appeared in Spirit City with utmost deference. There had to be more to it.

And Qian Zong was no ordinary man if he could win over two Worship Hall members in such a short time.

Qian Zong nodded lightly in acknowledgment of the three men.

He stopped before the Star Luo Empire group, turned his head, and called out:

"Law Enforcement Team, report!"

In the blink of an eye, twenty people emerged from the crowd.

They wore gleaming gold regulation uniforms, with standard-issue longswords at their left hips and small rectangular pouches at their right. Every part of their attire was immaculate and imposing.

At Qian Zong's command, they marched neatly before him, placed their left hands over their chests, and saluted in unison:

"Library Law Enforcement Squad Six reporting to the Library Master!"

"Library Law Enforcement Squad Seven reporting to the Library Master!"

"Library Law Enforcement Squad Eight reporting to the Library Master!"

"Library Law Enforcement Squad Nine reporting to the Library Master!"

The Martial Soul Library had three security forces: stationary guards, patrol guards, and the Law Enforcement Team. All were drawn from the Angel Legion.

Stationary guards held fixed posts. They were Soul Masters of Soul Ancestor rank or higher and worked six-hour shifts, with four shifts covering the full day.

Patrol guards worked in pairs, ten pairs in all. They made scheduled rounds of the Library's first and second floors to deal with disturbances, book theft, and other minor matters.

The Law Enforcement Team, meanwhile, was led by Soul Kings and patrolled the Library at irregular intervals.

It had twenty squads of five. Each consisted of a Soul King captain and four members whose Soul Power had reached at least Soul Ancestor rank. They also worked six-hour shifts, four shifts a day.

"Shackle the criminals and take them to Spirit Hall Prison. In half a month, execute them before Spirit Hall Plaza!"

Spirit Hall Plaza was the largest square in Spirit City. It was where orphans taken in by Spirit Hall's main temple awakened their Martial Souls and where the Pope's succession ceremony was held. It could hold more than ten thousand people.

Spirit Hall Prison, meanwhile, was where Spirit City held Soul Master criminals. It was heavily guarded year-round. Once someone went in, they almost never came out.

"Yes, Library Master!"

The four Law Enforcement Team captains kept watch over Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun.

The other members split into pairs, opened the pouches at their right hips, and took out gleaming silver cuffs. They pulled each imperial group member's arms behind their back and shackled them.

Dai Weisi watched helplessly as the people beside him were roughly hauled up and fitted with those unfamiliar, bright-silver metal rings. His face went from livid to pale.

When he saw the Law Enforcement Team move toward the empire's Soul Douluo, Dai Weisi steeled himself and stepped in front of the three of them.

Then he pointed at Dai Yan and called to Qian Zong:

"Wait, Young Hall Master. I am a prince of the Star Luo Empire.

"The empire and Spirit Hall have always been on good terms. Please don't let that fool ruin the relationship between us."

Dai Weisi could no longer keep Qian Zong's identities straight. Some called him Young Master, some called him Young Hall Master, and others called him Library Master.

Which title was the real one?

Or were they all real?

None of that mattered. What mattered was saving the empire's three Soul Douluo.

They were pillars of the empire. They could not be lost here, least of all on his watch.

Zhu Zhuyun looked at the imperial group lying unconscious on the floor. In the midst of this extreme danger, she had grown unexpectedly calm.

She looked around and saw that only a few bookshelves had fallen and some floor tiles had cracked on the Library's first floor. It had suffered no substantial damage.

More frightening still, many Soul Masters in the first-floor crowd had their eyes fixed on the three Titled Douluo, their gazes full of admiration and longing.

Her gaze settled on Zhu Chen for a moment, shifted to Dai Yan, and finally turned to Qian Zong and the Law Enforcement Team.

At that moment, she seemed to understand something.