Lin Chen: "I Can Be Loyal to the Hall of Souls Too!"
"Of course, this is a trivial matter, why would I need to get involved?"
The Ghost-Faced Man sneered and said in a disdainful tone.
"Yes, sir!"
The Black-Robed Man was overjoyed. He clasped his hands in a fist salute and chased after the direction Lin Chen had just left in.
"My lord, why didn't you take action yourself? Such a feat..."
"Fool, let this piece of trash test the waters first. If we can catch him, all the better."
"If we fail, I'll just consider it a sacrifice during the capture mission in Gu He. I'll issue him a note, and that'll be it!"
"Your Excellency is wise!"
"Which idiot sent you? A mere Seven-Star Dou Wang dares to come here to die?"
Near an unnamed hill, countless icy blue ice spikes covered the ground, and the air was filled with a chilling aura. At the center of the ice spikes was a huge, deep pit.
Inside the deep pit was a half-dead figure in black robes, covered in blood, with each of his limbs pierced by a thick ice spike. He was breathing rapidly, and his eyes were filled with grief and indignation.
Lin Chen squatted down in front of the Black-Robed Man, removed his mask, and saw a pale young face beneath it, quite ordinary, far less handsome than himself.
"You won't get any information out of me! Lord Gui Li will not let you get away with this!"
The young man looked pale and spoke with a rather tragic tone.
"Gui Li?"
Lin Chen raised an eyebrow and took a Storage Ring from the Black-Robed Man. Inside the Storage Ring lay a black token, along with several scrolls and pills.
The token has a rather peculiar design, depicting a solemn palace with the two large characters "Hall of Souls" above it.
On the back of the token, there is also a line of numbers, "7962", Low-Rank Soul Envoy.
"So you're from the Hall of Souls, Low-Rank Soul Envoy. No wonder you're so weak."
Lin Chen examined the token in his hand, a look of sudden realization appearing in his eyes.
As the largest power on the continent, the Hall of Souls has a strict hierarchy, generally divided into several levels: Soul Envoy, Guardian, Venerable Elder, Heavenly Venerable, and Hall Master.
The lowest-ranking position, Soul Envoy, is held only by Dou Wang and Dou Huang expert. After reaching the Dou Zong, if they make enough contributions, they can be promoted to Guardian and placed in some remote places, where they can be considered powerful figures who can wield influence.
As for Venerable Elder, a Dou Zun expert would have a place even in the Central Plains, and would hardly appear in a poor and remote place like the Northwest Continent.
"Why are you chasing me? Has your Hall of Souls already set its sights on the Jia Nan Academy? Did Han Feng send you?"
Lin Chen's expression was solemn as he sized up the Black-Robed Man before him, and he frowned as he asked.
"What Han Feng? I don't know him, kid. I'm warning you, you can't afford to offend the organization we belong to. You'd better..."
Before the Black-Robed Man could finish speaking, he let out a scream. The ice spikes piercing his limbs, with eerie blue flames surging on their surface, suddenly sprouted countless tiny ice spikes that instantly penetrated deep into his body, causing him unbearable pain.
"So that's not it. Then why did you leave the pass? Could it be to assassinate Jia Xingtian?"
Lin Chen stroked his chin, a thoughtful look in his eyes, and subconsciously activated the ice spikes.
"Stop! Stop! I'll tell you everything!"
The Black-Robed Man screamed repeatedly and couldn't help but beg for mercy.
"Oh, you should have said so earlier. Tell me first, who is Gui Li? Has your Hall of Souls recently added any new members? Do you know about the Woeful Poison Body?"
Lin Chen smiled, his eyes narrowed slightly, and a dark blue Ice Blade appeared in his hand. He held it to the man's neck and asked in a rather amiable manner.
Half an hour later,
Lin Chen wiped the blood from his hands, examined the corpse of the Black-Robed Man, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes. He thought to himself:
"I see. The Hall of Souls has its sights set on the Jia Ma Empire. A guy named Heavenly Poison has joined forces with the Alchemist Guild of the Chu Yun Empire, planning to make a move at the Jia Ma Empire's Alchemist Grand Meeting and wipe out Jia Xingtian and all the Alchemist of the Jia Ma Empire in one fell swoop."
"A guy named Gui Li is preparing to attack Gu He. Has Gu He actually fallen out with the Misty Cloud Sect?"
"Wouldn't that wipe out all the Alchemist in the Jia Ma Empire? The Chu Yun Empire already has many poison masters; without the help of Alchemist, how could they possibly resist the poison arts of the Chu Yun Empire? What a clever scheme..."
Lin Chen stroked his chin, pondering the information he had obtained. His brows furrowed slightly as he said, "According to this person, that guy named Heavenly Poison is already Half-Step Dou Zong. Even with Jia Xingtian, she probably can't beat him. Is it her?"
"Otherwise, Zi Yan and Qing Lin were just sent to the Imperial Capital by me, which would be troublesome..."
After a long silence, Lin Chen frowned, momentarily hesitant.
If they go to the Imperial Capital and make a wrong judgment, they will undoubtedly miss the best opportunity to find Xian'er.
If I don't go, wouldn't my precious Zi Yan and Qing Lin be in danger?
He then glanced at the Black-Robed Man corpse beside him, his gaze sharpening, his eyes narrowing as he pondered:
"According to this person, Soul Envoy of the Hall of Souls are not worthy of their own names, only code names. Therefore, Soul Envoy are not actually important; they are only remembered when they reach the level of Guardian. So why can't I be 7962?"
"I can also be loyal to the Hall of Souls!"
A glint flashed in Lin Chen's eyes. Openly confronting the Hall of Souls was something he couldn't do with his current strength.
However, secretly joining the Hall of Souls, searching for Xiao Yi Xian, and incidentally sabotaging the Hall of Souls's plans is not difficult.
After all, he really didn't know where Xiao Yi Xian was, and searching for her was like looking for a needle in a haystack. But if he could climb to a high enough position in the Hall of Souls, he would eventually be able to find that girl.
With this thought in mind, Lin Chen flicked his sleeve, picked up the black Storage Ring, took off the Jade-Green Ring, and put it on himself. At the same time, he took off his Alchemist's robe.
In just a moment,
A masked man in a black robe appeared on the spot, flicked his finger, and a ball of eerie blue flame shot out, landing on the naked corpse on the ground and instantly burning it to ashes.
"From today onwards, I am 7962."
The Black-Robed Man's hoarse voice rang out. This was Voice-Changing Technique from the Hall of Souls, Profound Tier Low Grade Dou Technique that everyone was required to learn, and it was recorded in the scroll in the Storage Ring.
The Jia Ma Empire, the Jia Ma Holy City.
A colossal city stood before the Misty Cloud Mountain Range, its clamor rising into the sky. The streets were teeming with people, many of whom were Alchemist dressed in black robes, heading to the city center to register.
At this moment, on the west side of the Imperial Capital, near the Alchemist Guild, in a quiet courtyard.
"Sir, you wanted to see me?"
A man in a gray robe stood respectfully with his head bowed, speaking softly to the figure by the window.
Opposite him, a figure in a black robe sat quietly by the window, his hood hanging low, obscuring most of his face, revealing only a section of his fair, jade-like chin.
Through the brim of the hood, a few strands of snow-white hair could be faintly seen fluttering in the air, revealing an ethereal quality.
"Hmm, how did things go?"
A hoarse voice came from within the black robe, carrying a hint of intrigue.
The gray-robed man respectfully handed over a roster, saying, "This is the list of participants for this competition. It has been collected, and they are all the most outstanding Alchemist geniuses in the Jia Ma Empire over the years."
"If you intend to take action, it's best not to let any of them escape."
Are you teaching me how to do things?
The Black-Robed Man frowned slightly, his cold gaze sweeping over the man in gray robes before him. In an instant, an immense pressure emanated from him, carrying the overwhelming force of Mount Tai, instantly filling the entire room!
Thump!
The gray-robed man knelt on the ground, cold sweat pouring down his forehead, and said in fear, "I dare not, please forgive me, Lord Heavenly Poison. I was merely relaying the Guardian Protector's words."
"Hmph, get lost and mind your own business."
"Yes, sir, I'll get out of here right now!"
Having said that, the gray-robed man scrambled out of the room, as if afraid of being a step too slow.
Standing by the window, the Black-Robed Man watched the departing figure, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. He then picked up the register beside him and began to look through it.
A moment later, a ball of grayish-purple flame rose up in his hand and burned it to ashes.
"They're all just good-for-nothings, far inferior to him..."