After repeatedly confirming the other party's identity, Dugu Shangshan gave a cold smile. He stopped searching for the boy who had offended him and shifted his target.
Noble households had eyes and ears everywhere and were far better informed than ordinary people. For instance, he had learned about Dai Yueheng's early return to the academy before anyone else.
Back then, fearing the power of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, he had been forced to hand over the top courtesan. Dugu Shangshan had nursed that grudge ever since, and now his enemy had crossed his path on this narrow road. If he did not avenge himself now, when would he?
With nowhere to vent the vicious anger stirred up by being bumped into, he instantly lost his reason and ignored all the suspicious details.
Only after his subordinates caught up did Dugu Shangshan shout, "Follow me!"
Dai Huabin had been admiring the street scenery when someone abruptly blocked his way. Once he got a clear look, his expression instantly changed from confusion to contempt. "Oh, it's you... the loser I beat~"
He certainly had a way with words. A single sentence escalated the situation without anyone else needing to fan the flames, saving Xiao Zi plenty of trouble.
Had he not mentioned it, things might have been fine. But those words enraged Dugu Shangshan, burning away his last scraps of reason and filling the void with fury. "Dai Huabin, back then you were nothing but a two-ring Soul Master. I only yielded out of respect for the White Tiger Duke. We haven't seen each other in years, and now I hear someone at Shrek Academy beat you so badly you were crawling around looking for your teeth?"
As soon as he finished, Dugu Shangshan's subordinates obligingly burst into laughter.
Everyone at the Duke's Mansion knew that Huo Yuhao was a forbidden subject for Dai Huabin. No one normally dared mention him.
Now that someone had torn open that scar, and in public no less, Dai Huabin's fury rose as well. "Dugu Shangshan, I think you're tired of living... Get him!"
In just a few exchanges, the argument turned into a brawl. What Dai Yueheng had feared most had finally happened.
The man he had sent to keep watch over his younger brother was a Soul Saint, but he had no time to stop it. Dugu Shangshan's strongest subordinate tied him down, leaving him unable to get over there anytime soon.
Overall, Dugu Shangshan's side was slightly weaker, but the gap was not large. Holding their opponents back was no problem.
With only the two of them left facing each other, Dai Huabin thought of his own strength as a three-ring Soul Elder and involuntarily shrank back.
Dugu Shangshan, a Soul King, loosened his wrists and gave a wicked smile. "Keep shouting! Why have you suddenly gone mute?"
As his opponent pressed closer, Dai Huabin retreated again and again, his words tumbling out incoherently. "Don't do anything rash... I'm the White Tiger Duke's second son... stop!"
Dugu Shangshan possessed himself with his Netherworld Mad Lion, and a dark aura surged forth. With a Soul Power gap of twenty or thirty levels, he did not even need to use a Soul Skill. Relying solely on his Martial Soul's strength, he sent Dai Huabin flying with one blow, smashing him heavily into the ground.
Thud, thud, thud...
Several more dull impacts followed. Dugu Shangshan's punches and kicks landed precisely, deftly avoiding vital areas. He drove Dai Huabin's head into the ground like planting a flag, then spat viciously at him.
Mindful of the Duke's Mansion's influence, Dugu Shangshan was willing to teach him a lesson but did not dare actually kill him. Dai Huabin was bleeding freely and looked miserable, but at most, these were only superficial wounds. One move from a healing-type Soul Master would fix him up. No arms or legs had been broken.
After that savage beating, the injuries were secondary. The greatest humiliation was psychological. His earlier defeat at Huo Yuhao's hands had merely left him drained of Soul Power and lightly injured. How could it compare to being publicly humiliated like this?
Dai Huabin said nothing. The mounting humiliation enraged him so badly that he nearly passed out.
"I'll spare you this time. Next time won't be so simple. I'll break your arms and legs for sure!"
Casting a meaningful glance toward someone nearby, Dugu Shangshan turned and swiftly left the scene. Dai Huabin was, after all, the duke's legitimate son. Even with Dai Hao absent, there was still the Netherworld Zhu Family. If he fled home now and sought his family's protection, everything would be fine once the storm blew over.
Dugu Shangshan left, leaving Dai Huabin sprawled on the ground, barely breathing and occasionally letting out agonized groans. It was hard to tell whether they came from pain or rage.
Xiao Zi had watched it all. Only after the others had gone far away did he emerge.
To be precise, Dugu Shangshan bore a grudge against him just as he did against Dai Huabin. If he was discovered and the man beat him up too, wouldn't the fellow on the ground have taken that beating for nothing?
Ultimately, Dai Huabin was just the scapegoat. When it was time to act, he had to act!
"Young master, are you all right?"
A cool yet gentle voice sounded beside his ear. Dai Huabin looked over through a haze and saw a handsome boy dressed in purple crouching beside him, calling softly.
"You... who are you?"
A strange sensation made Dai Huabin forget the pain in his body. He stared unblinkingly at the boy before him.
He was now terribly vulnerable in both body and mind. His Sea of Consciousness, in particular, was in utter turmoil after the impact of such immense humiliation. This was the perfect moment to slip through his defenses.
"I'm Xiao Zi, your own brother from a different father and mother."
As soon as those words fell, eerie runes wove themselves into a diamond shape and slowly emerged from the depths of Xiao Zi's eyes. Reflected into Dai Huabin's eyes, they reached straight into his soul and planted a profound brand.
This was the "Enslavement Soul Seal," a technique belonging to the path of Soul Control. It had been created by Hu Yanbo, an Immortal Expert from Swallowed Star and Luo Feng's first master. In principle, such secret arts had stringent cultivation requirements. One first had to master the "Ten Thousand Sword Soul Seal" before being qualified to condense an Enslavement Soul Seal.
However, this was Douluo Continent, the sewer of fantasy worlds renowned far and wide. Fearing that a high-level cultivation art would shatter the plane, Luo Feng had deliberately given it a drastic cut before passing it to Xiao Zi to cultivate his Spiritual Force, preparing him to go to Swallowed Star in the future.
Although Xiao Zi's mental injuries were severe, handling Dai Huabin, a Soul Elder in his thirties, was still more than easy enough. Once their eyes met, he immediately unleashed the Enslavement Soul Seal and ordered him not to resist!
Just like that, Xiao Zi planted the Enslavement Soul Seal in Dai Huabin's Sea of Consciousness and fused it with his soul. From that moment onward, Dai Huabin became his most loyal slave, a loyalty rooted in the deepest essence of his soul!
Hu Yanbo had once used this to control nine soul slaves. Not counting Dai Huabin, he could still take eight more.
"Second young master!"
A servant from the Duke's Mansion called out from afar. Clearly, Dugu Shangshan's men had withdrawn.
Xiao Zi hurriedly took out the Healing Pills he had bought at the pharmacy and stuffed a handful into Dai Huabin's mouth, positioning himself just right for the guards to see.
The Soul Saint sent by Dai Yueheng was the first to notice and shouted, "Stop!"
Xiao Zi's initial prediction had been right. The people from the Duke's Mansion did not care about anything else. They uniformly assumed that anyone approaching Dai Huabin had ulterior motives.
Just as the Soul Saint was about to act, the mentally enslaved Dai Huabin suddenly stood up and shielded Xiao Zi behind him. "You're the one who needs to stop! He saved my life!"
Hearing this, the guards who arrived afterward were all bewildered and no longer dared act on their own.
To gain everyone's trust and have the Duke's Mansion accept his presence, Xiao Zi secretly controlled Dai Huabin. Together, they put on a performance that seemed moving enough to touch heaven and earth, but was actually utterly clichéd.
Only after declining three times and being urged three times did Xiao Zi reluctantly accept the invitation to join them.