After Yang Wushuang returned to the Yang Family residence, he had barely stepped through the door when he saw Yang Quji and Yang Xue already waiting in the main hall. Both wore traces of worry between their brows, clearly waiting for him to bring back Spirit Hall's answer.
Seeing Yang Wushuang return, Yang Xue was the first to rise and ask, "Second Brother, what did Spirit Hall say? Will they let Chang'an leave the city?"
Yang Wushuang walked over to the seat of honor and sat down. Setting the token on the table, he said gravely, "They will. Not only that, Demon Subduing Douluo met with me personally and gave us a month and a half. This token is our proof of authorization. With it, we can enter and leave Spirit City freely, and the branch halls along the way will also look after us."
At those words, the main hall fell a little quieter. Yang Quji's hand abruptly stopped stroking his beard, while the worry on Yang Xue's face deepened.
"Demon Subduing Douluo intervened personally? And gave us a month and a half?" Yang Quji murmured, unable to conceal his astonishment.
"This is far too unusual. Wushuang, your status has always been sensitive, and they've restricted our Yang Family at every turn all these years. Why would they suddenly be so generous?"
Yang Xue nodded as well, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing her sleeve.
"Spirit Hall has never been an easy lot to deal with. There must be some scheme hidden behind such unusual behavior. We simply can't fathom what they're after."
"But what good will worrying about all that do?" Yang Xue shifted her tone and looked up at the two men, a trace of sorrow flitting through her eyes.
"The three of us are merely Soul Saints, and Soul Saints living right under their noses at that. Every move we make is watched."
"If they truly want to do something, could we stop them?"
Indeed, they could not.
At her words, Yang Wushuang wearily closed his eyes for a moment and slowly nodded. The Yang Family was now effectively under house arrest in Spirit City, like birds in a cage.
Others held the knife and chopping block; they were the fish laid out to be butchered. They could only let themselves be manipulated. Any so-called resistance was nothing but a joke that would lead them to their deaths.
None of the three considered the possibility that Demon Subduing Douluo had taken an interest in Yang Chang'an.
It was not that they thought Yang Chang'an lacked talent. On the contrary, his talent was enough to place him among the foremost of Spirit City's younger generation. He could rightly be called a heaven-blessed prodigy.
But Yang Chang'an's status was far too sensitive. With such a background, gaining the favor of Spirit Hall's higher-ups was simply impossible. The chances of Spirit Hall snuffing him out were considerably greater.
Spend their own resources nurturing a genius who might well turn around and bite them? Spirit Hall was not a pack of idiots. Why would they undertake such a thankless task?
Thinking along those lines only deepened their doubts, but ultimately, they could find no answer.
Yang Wushuang rubbed his throbbing temples, pushed the distracting thoughts from his mind, and said gravely:
"Enough. If we can't figure it out, there's no point dwelling on it. What matters most right now is finding a suitable Soul Ring for Chang'an. Since Spirit Hall has given us this chance, we'll seize it."
"Then that's settled for now. Tomorrow, I'll take Chang'an to... to a Soul Beast forest in the Heaven Dou Empire to hunt for a Soul Ring."
In fact, the Soul Beast forests in the Star Luo Empire were somewhat closer. However, the Breaking Clan was currently in the Star Luo Empire, so to avoid unnecessary trouble, Yang Wushuang chose the more distant forests of the Heaven Dou Empire instead.
Yang Quji and Yang Xue both nodded slightly. With matters as they stood, this was the most suitable arrangement. They said no more, merely reminding Yang Wushuang to take extra care on the road and keep Yang Chang'an safe.
At first light the next morning, Yang Chang'an changed into a lightweight, close-fitting outfit and followed Yang Wushuang toward Spirit City's gates.
On the raised platform above the gate, a man in silver armor sat cross-legged, his aura steady. He was Fels, the commander of the guards stationed at this gate.
Fels was a captain in the Holy Emperor Warriors Corps, one of Spirit Hall's three great military corps. His cultivation had long since broken through to the Soul Douluo level. Even in the Holy Emperor Warriors Corps, where experts gathered like clouds, he ranked among the top twenty, his strength far surpassing Yang Wushuang's.
Seeing Yang Wushuang approach with a child, Fels abruptly opened his eyes atop the platform, sending two sharp, icy gleams shooting down.
The next instant, his figure flickered, and he appeared before Yang Wushuang and Yang Chang'an like a phantom. The pressure of a Soul Douluo quietly spread from him.
"Hold a moment, Bishop Yang." Fels's voice was indifferent, a faint hint of mockery lingering at the corners of his mouth. He asked blandly, "Have you sought permission from the Worship Hall for this outing, Bishop Yang? Without written authorization, I'm afraid I cannot let either of you leave."
He knew perfectly well that Yang Wushuang's special status required authorization from the Worship Hall before he could leave the city, yet he insisted on asking this way. Clearly, he was deliberately making things difficult.
Although he might not be certain of defeating a Soul Saint like Yang Wushuang, who had honed the Soul Breaking Spear to its utmost, in an actual fight, he had Spirit Hall's backing and held the authority to monitor him. As such, he had never thought much of Yang Wushuang.
Looking at Fels before him, Yang Wushuang's gaze remained calm, without the slightest ripple, as though he had long grown accustomed to such harassment.
"Captain Fels. I'm taking my grandson to a Soul Beast forest to hunt for a Soul Ring. The Worship Hall has authorized this journey."
As his words fell, he reached into the Soul Tool at his waist, took out the pitch-black Elder Token, and held it out before Fels.
Fels raised an eyebrow and accepted the token. The moment his fingertips touched it, the fierce dragon pattern carved into its surface seemed vividly lifelike. It was indeed a token reserved for Spirit Hall's elders, and the soul power imprint upon it clearly belonged to the Seventh Elder, Demon Subduing Douluo.
He inspected it repeatedly, and only after confirming that it was genuine did he reluctantly return it to Yang Wushuang, a trace of resentment flashing through his eyes.
He had intended to use this opportunity to give Yang Wushuang a hard time. He had never expected him to have actually obtained authorization from the Worship Hall, much less one personally bestowed by Elder Jiang Mo.
Fels swept a contemptuous glance over Yang Chang'an beside him, then looked back at Yang Wushuang and asked gravely, "Just you and your grandson?"
In the past, whenever members of the Yang and Niu families were permitted to leave the city, Spirit Hall always assigned someone to accompany them and watch them throughout the journey to prevent any unforeseen developments. Yet today, there were only the grandfather and grandson, which inevitably aroused his suspicions.
"That's right." Yang Wushuang's expression remained indifferent. Without offering any further explanation, he simply asked in return:
"Captain Fels, now that you've finished your inspection, may we leave?"
Though Fels had many doubts, he did not dare defy the Worship Hall's orders. He asked several more inconsequential questions, such as which Soul Beast forest in Heaven Dou they intended to visit and when they would return. Yang Wushuang answered each one briefly.
After dragging things out for quite some time, Fels finally stepped aside reluctantly and waved a hand. "Go. Remember to return on time."
Yang Wushuang nodded slightly and led Yang Chang'an toward the world beyond the city.
As they passed Fels, Yang Chang'an could not help looking up at him, meeting the gaze Fels directed his way. It held undisguised contempt, and the curl of his lips made it seem as though he were looking at an ant that did not know its own limits.
Yang Chang'an quietly clenched his fists inside his sleeves. He knew something of how the Yang Family was treated in Spirit City, but there was an immense difference between experiencing it himself and hearing about it from his older clan brothers and sisters.
The instant they stepped through the city gate, Yang Wushuang's voice sounded softly beside Yang Chang'an's ear. "This is the Douluo Continent. The weak are meat for the strong, and only the fittest survive. The resentment of the weak means nothing. No one cares about an ant's indignation."
"Only by becoming strong enough can you keep others from trampling you at will."
"An ant?"
Yang Chang'an murmured under his breath, his fingertips digging into his palms and sending a sharp sting through them.
The grandfather and grandson gradually disappeared into the morning mist, heading toward the Heaven Dou Empire.
Meanwhile, atop a tall building on the eastern side of Spirit City, two figures stood by the railing. Their gazes followed the pair's every step until they vanished entirely from sight.
Fifth Uncle and the burly man exchanged a glance, then silently set off in pursuit of the grandfather and grandson.