The VIP room.
The fragrance of tea curled through the air.
Dai Weisi sat across from an old man, the two conversing quietly. Zhu Zhuyun sat silently beside Dai Weisi, raising her delicate hand to pour the freshly brewed tea.
"First Prince, is this boy truly... so extraordinarily gifted?"
"Rest assured, Third Offering. I saw it with my own eyes. Innate Soul Power of rank twenty, beyond any doubt!"
Delight appeared on the Third Offering's face. He sipped his tea, gazing at the froth floating in his cup.
"Excellent tea!"
"Only our Star Luo Empire deserves tea like this!"
"Of course. I will be relying on you this time, Third Offering. Once we return, I will petition Father to open the Star Luo Treasury... and let you choose any one item."
The Star Luo Treasury!
It held over two thousand years of the Star Luo Empire's accumulated wealth, with gold and silver piled like mountains and rare treasures vast as the sea. There were bound to be Soul Bones among them.
If he could obtain one...
His cultivation, stagnant for years, would finally have a way forward!
A flash of greed flickered through the old man's eyes.
The two exchanged smiles, raised their teacups, and clinked them lightly together.
Bang!
Suddenly, a tremendous force shoved the door open. Lou Gao strode in with Si Long, his expression dark as still water.
"You brought soldiers to surround my Blacksmith Association and even injured our people."
"What an impressive display of power, Your Highness!"
Lou Gao glared at Dai Weisi, his icy voice carrying an undisguised demand for answers.
Dai Weisi showed no anger. He slowly set down his teacup, an amused curl at his lips.
"You exaggerate, President Lou. Our Star Luo Empire has always cherished talent. Hearing that your grandson was exceptionally gifted, I came to invite him personally. These soldiers are all here to escort him."
"They're rough military men who know nothing of etiquette. It's only natural that they might inadvertently offend your people."
"Natural, my ass!"
Lou Gao cursed furiously, and the Sacred Forging Pen appeared in his hand.
Behind him, Si Long also summoned his Martial Soul, gripping the heavy Diamond Chisel with both hands.
"You surrounded us with soldiers for three days and injured forty-one of my blacksmiths. If you don't give me an explanation today..."
"An explanation?"
At that moment, the Third Offering set down his teacup. Its base tapped softly against the table as he interrupted Lou Gao and slowly rose.
Flying Sky Tiger Martial Soul Possession!
The character for "king" slowly appeared on his forehead. Eight Soul Rings lit up behind him one after another, and an immense pressure of Soul Power instantly enveloped the entire room. The air froze.
Si Long grunted, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.
Lou Gao's face instantly flushed crimson. He was only a Soul Saint, after all. Under the pressure of a rank eighty-seven Soul Douluo, his blood surged violently, leaving him no better off.
"President Lou," the Third Offering said gently.
"I have no wish to make things difficult for you. Hand over the child, and everything at the Blacksmith Association will continue as usual. The empire will even allocate two hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins to support your association's forging."
Lou Gao gritted his teeth and spoke each word distinctly.
"Heh. You blockade our doors, injure our people, bully my Blacksmith Association, and now you want to buy my own grandson's life? You... can dream on!"
Before his words had faded, his Seventh Soul Ring blazed to life!
"Tool Martial Soul Avatar!"
A Sacred Forging Pen appeared out of thin air, gilded from end to end, its tip spewing golden light.
A terrifying shock wave exploded outward from him, instantly reducing the tables and chairs to dust.
Before the fragments of the teacups could hit the ground, scattered points of golden light pierced them and pulverized them!
The Third Offering swept his sleeve, raising a Soul Power barrier to shelter the alarmed Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun behind him. His eyes grew grave.
"To think a Seven-Ring Soul Sage could manifest such a powerful Tool Martial Soul Avatar. Lou Gao, I underestimated you."
"Today, I'll show you the price of enraging the Blacksmith Association!"
Lou Gao held the Sacred Forging Pen, its entire length blazing with golden light, his hair and beard bristling.
"Flying Tiger Avatar!"
The Third Offering transformed into an enormous jet-black tiger with white wings and unleashed an earth-shaking roar. Inside the room, the floor shattered, and chandeliers crashed to the ground.
Just as their Martial Soul Avatars were about to collide...
"Old man, keep fighting and you'll tear our home apart."
Lou Xu's voice came from the doorway, pressing clearly upon everyone's hearts.
Everyone turned toward the sound. A boy stood there with his hands at his sides, a faint smile on his handsome, delicate face.
Beside him stood a burly man over two meters tall with golden hair and a golden beard. His broad shoulders and back were like a city wall, and his dark-gold eyes struck terror into the heart.
With just one glance, the Third Offering felt a chill shoot from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head.
That was the look of a predator sizing up its prey!
"Little Xu, Senior Xiong Jun!" Lou Gao dispelled his Martial Soul Avatar and let out a long breath.
"Boy, you've got some nerve, delivering yourself right to our door." Dai Weisi narrowed his eyes at him.
"Delivering myself?" Lou Xu smiled. "You mean me?"
"Big Bear, sorry for the trouble."
"Kill them all?"
Xiong Jun grinned, exposing a mouthful of eerily white teeth.
"Leave the young ones alive."
Lou Xu considered it for a moment, his tone so calm it bordered on indifference.
"Enough of this bluffing!" Dai Weisi shouted angrily.
"Third Offering, seize them!"
The Third Offering did not move.
He stared fixedly at Xiong Jun, his pupils contracting violently.
Beast Martial Souls possessed a certain ability to sense danger. From the moment Lou Xu had entered the room with Xiong Jun, his Martial Soul had been frantically warning him.
Run! Run now!
The person before him was no Soul Master at all. Beneath that shell lurked a savage fiend ready to devour anyone in his path!
"Your Highness... we must leave!" the Third Offering said, his voice trembling.
"What?!" Dai Weisi could not believe it. "Third Offering, you're a mighty Soul Douluo..."
"A Soul Douluo?" Xiong Jun sneered and took a step forward.
Behind him, the phantom of a colossal dark-gold bear that blotted out the sky flashed into view and vanished.
A terrifying, savage pressure swept outward. The entire building groaned beneath the unbearable weight, and everything within ten li fell utterly silent!
"A little winged kitten dares call himself mighty?"
Xiong Jun looked down at the Third Offering, a trace of cruel amusement flashing through his dark-gold slit pupils.
"Let your Grandpa Bear see just what you are!"
He closed in, thrusting his huge hand down directly over the head of the Third Offering's Martial Soul Avatar.
Boom!
The enormous flying tiger was seized by the head and slammed into the ground, sending up a thick cloud of dust.
When the dust cleared, the Third Offering lay on the floor.
His Martial Soul Avatar had already dissipated. Groans kept spilling from his mouth, and blood covered his entire body.
Xiong Jun still had not had enough. He bent down and grabbed the old man, clamping five fingers around his shoulder and lifting him clear off the ground like a chick.
"Too old."
Xiong Jun leaned closer and sniffed, then curled his lip in distaste. The Third Offering's pale, horrified face was reflected in his dark-gold eyes.
"Please... Your Eminence... Aaagh!!"
A piercing scream instantly rang through the entire building.
Xiong Jun tightened his fingers and tore the Third Offering's right arm clean from his shoulder!
Blood gushed like a spring. Blood vessels writhed at the torn stump, and the Third Offering shook violently, releasing a dying wail.
"You dared set your sights on the Lou boy?"
Grinning savagely, Xiong Jun shot one hand forward like lightning and plunged it into the Third Offering's chest.
Dark-gold bear claws pierced straight through his body. When Xiong Jun withdrew them, his palm clutched something that was still slowly beating...
A heart.
"No...!!" the Third Offering howled hoarsely, but his voice grew fainter and fainter until it fell silent.
Xiong Jun swung his arm, sending the Third Offering's mangled body flying into the VIP room's wall. It lodged there in a deep, human-shaped crater, blood dripping down the wall onto the floor.
Drip! Drip!
The lingering glow of the Soul Power barrier slowly faded.
Xiong Jun turned around, blood spattered across his body, his eyes radiating a fierce dark-gold gleam. He grinned silently, exposing clean white teeth.
That savage dark-gold gleam extinguished the remaining barrier and stabbed into the pair's eyes like a sharp sword.
Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun were bloodlessly pale, trembling like chaff in a sieve.
"Dai Weisi."
Lou Xu raised a hand to stop Xiong Jun, then slowly stepped forward and crouched down. Looking straight into Dai Weisi's eyes, which had been utterly swallowed by terror, he spoke with a cheerful smile.
"Your Highness, First Prince."
"Now, shall we discuss the three-day siege of the Blacksmith Association, along with the medical expenses for my forty-one people?"
Before you continue