A guardian on the path

If she really is that woman, she's known as the inner court's living volcano. Won't the two of us get beaten up if we go over?

Doing the math, she should be exactly twenty now. She must already be a Soul King.

Even among Soul Kings, there were differences in strength.

Jiang Ming had no idea what Jiang Dongjun was thinking at that moment, but he knew his son's mind was full of schemes.

Now that his curiosity had been stirred, even if he did not ask on the spot, he would probe indirectly afterward. So Jiang Ming quickly gave him a brief account of their old grievances.

"He's from the Wu Golden Crow Family, while your maternal grandfather belongs to the Golden Feather Crow Family. You should know that those two martial souls have a higher-and-lower relationship. The latter is a subspecies, naturally drawn to the former. That so-called marriage alliance was really your grandfather's single-minded attempt to send your mother, his daughter by a concubine, to become their concubine. Naturally, your mother refused. Once she caught wind of it, she didn't wait for the family to summon her back. She dragged me along, dropped out, and eloped."

"We hid away and continued our studies elsewhere until your mother broke through to Soul King. We decided to have you, so we settled in Shrek City. Once, while helping the academy with enrollment registration, we ran into your mother's intended marriage partner again. He was a competent heir to his family. Maybe he was wary of Shrek Academy, or maybe he really was broad-minded, but he immediately offered to bury the hatchet with a smile and asked us to take good care of his daughter. That's the blonde girl up ahead-Wu Ming!"

"I can tell you outright that I do have some designs on her."

Jiang Dongjun froze.

It felt as though his head had been rammed by a hundred-ton truck.

Huh?

Dad, is this really okay?

Holding Jiang Dongjun, Jiang Ming could not see his expression and continued transmitting his voice as he pleased.

"Hmph, that old bird asked me to look after his daughter, so naturally, I've paid her plenty of attention. That girl of his has an explosive temper. She's famous for it in both the inner and outer courts. No male Soul Master her age is willing-or even dares-to approach her. If she's still all alone at thirty, your chance will come."

"Huh? Dad, is this really okay?"

Jiang Dongjun finally could not keep his thoughts to himself.

Who sends his own son into a fire pit?

"What's wrong with it?"

Utterly convinced of his own righteousness, Jiang Ming continued, "Your fortune is extraordinary. You managed to obtain what seems to be a god's relic. If you have a chance to ascend to godhood in the future, I promise I won't interfere with your marriage. But if you spend your whole life unable to cross the level-one-hundred threshold, you'd better obediently find yourself a Soul Master with a top-tier fire-attribute martial soul and improve and carry on the Jiang Family's bloodline. Don't be like certain elders at the academy, who either spend their lives alone or drag their spouses into a lifetime of childless solitude, wasting perfectly good bloodlines."

After that stern lecture, Jiang Ming switched to gentle persuasion.

"Dongjun, for male and female Soul Masters with the potential to become Titled Douluos, a little age difference means nothing, as long as she has no romantic entanglements from the past.

"Besides, your mother and I are approaching our limits. Little by little, our strength won't be enough. We won't be able to keep helping you much longer with things like hunting Evil Soul Masters, as we've been doing these past few years.

"As your strength grows and you crave more 'cultivation resources,' you'll naturally have to hunt stronger Evil Soul Masters. The risks will be enormous.

"If you don't want to take a master, you'll need a few good brothers to help you, or a powerful guardian to protect you on your path.

"You've always been mature, kid. I'm sure you can understand the reasoning. Someone who's both your guardian and your future wife would be utterly reliable-a person you could entrust your life to."

Jiang Dongjun immediately shot back, "Dad, after all those lofty arguments, why don't you mention your selfish motives? I think you're still holding a grudge and want revenge on that old bird!"

"Bullshit! Stay out of it!"

Jiang Ming flew into a humiliated rage, like an old cat whose tail had been stepped on.

Jiang Dongjun pressed the attack. "Oh, you're so noble, so amazing! You're actually using your son as bait to get revenge over your old grudges!"

"Shut up already! You can't transmit your voice with soul power. Stop shouting, or they'll hear you!"

"No! Let them hear! Worst case, we both get beaten up. I'm dragging you down with me, you old fart! Mmph-"

As hard to hold down as a pig awaiting slaughter for the New Year, Jiang Dongjun suffered the indignity of having his father manually mute him.

The Flying Soul Tool lurched and stumbled down in front of the two young women.

At first, seeing a Soul Engineer charge straight toward them, both young women were highly alert and had already begun secretly gathering their soul power.

As he approached, the Flying Soul Tool's erratic movements made them wonder whether he was injured and coming to seek help.

Once he drew closer, Wu Ming recognized him as an instructor from the academy's Soul Tool Department. Only then did she stop Han Ruoruo beside her from sending out her Gourd Binding Rope to tie up the father and son.

Blunt and easygoing, Wu Ming asked directly, "Instructor Jiang, what are you two doing?"

As soon as they landed, Jiang Ming kicked Jiang Dongjun away and shot him a fierce glare before turning to the two young women.

"Haha, hello, you two. I took my son out to hunt for a soul ring and cleared out an Evil Soul King in Old Dragon Ravine while I was at it. We were just heading back to Shrek Academy when I spotted some academy students, so I came down to say hello."

Jiang Ming appeared approachable and loose-lipped, freely revealing his movements, but there was a needle hidden beneath that soft cotton.

Maintaining his enthusiastic demeanor, he asked with concern, "Why are talents like you out and about instead of cultivating in the inner court? Are you carrying out an Inspection Corps mission?"

"Evil Soul Masters have always been bizarre and powerful. Why not bring us along? I'm a high-ranking Soul King and a Class Five Soul Engineer, so I could offer some support. You could also set an example for this good-for-nothing son of mine, who's only just become a Soul Master."

Jiang Ming had his own calculations. If they were not heading to Old Dragon Ravine but hunting other Evil Soul Masters, getting his son a share of the spoils would certainly be worthwhile.

A little dazed by Jiang Ming's barrage of information, the two young women exchanged a glance and addressed the most urgent matter first.

The young woman with the restrained, steady aura spoke.

"Hello, Instructor Jiang. I'm Han Ruoruo from the inner court's Martial Soul Department."

"Hello, Student Han." Jiang Ming greeted her with a smile.

"Instructor, we do have an Inspection Corps mission. Normally, we shouldn't disclose it, but from what you've said, this mission may have something to do with you. We'll need to verify a few things with you."

"Go ahead, Student Han. Eliminating Evil Soul Masters is a matter of utmost importance. I'll cooperate fully."

"It's like this, Instructor. While hunting for soul rings, some students from the academy encountered an Evil Soul King who was hunting for his fifth soul ring..."

Jiang Dongjun pricked up his ears, listened for a moment, and understood what had happened.

The Bandage Monster had gone to hunt a ten-thousand-year soul beast, only to be spotted by Shrek Academy students. They had failed to take him down after a clash and returned to report the information to the academy.

After compiling various reports and making some deductions, the academy had concluded that the person the students encountered was most likely the Evil Soul Ancestor entrenched in Old Dragon Ravine. Thus, it had dispatched two inner court students to kill him.

Jiang Dongjun's eyes flashed as he worked out how events would have unfolded along the normal timeline.

It probably would have gone like this-

After becoming a Soul King, the Bandage Monster would have remained in Old Dragon Ravine and happened upon the Immortal Spirit Fungus as it broke through the soil. He would have swallowed it like an ox chewing a peony. Then Han Ruoruo and Wu Ming would have arrived and killed him, leaving Old Dragon Ravine's secret buried once more.

Incredible.

There had been only a ripple in his fortune.

Yet he had slipped through that tiny opening, reaped the benefits, and run into Han Ruoruo and Wu Ming on the way back, keeping his lucky opportunity safe.

Fortune really is an interesting thing...

Jiang Dongjun was still somewhat dissatisfied. Compared with Huo Yuhao's heaven-defying fortune, his own was far inferior.

And then there was that freak, God King Tang, who could tame the children of fortune.

This damned Douluo World!

"Little fellow, why are you frowning so much at your age? Instructor Jiang brought you out to hunt for a soul ring this early? Tell big sister, do you have innate full soul power?"

The restless blonde girl had set her sights on Jiang Dongjun. She deliberately put on a gentle manner, like a big bad wolf luring a little white rabbit into a trap.

On every inspection mission, she served as the muscle, while Han Ruoruo beside her handled the thinking. She did not have to think about anything; she only had to set things on fire.