Lin Yan smiled at the sight of the Zhu Family Matriarch.
She really had gone from arrogance to deference. The thought was laughable.
"If you knew it would come to this, why act that way earlier?"
"Heh!"
The Zhu Family Matriarch snorted inwardly.
If I'd known beforehand that you were a Titled Douluo, and such a badass one at that, perhaps even a Limit Douluo, I would have obediently paid up ages ago. Why would I have opposed you?
She immediately spoke in a fawning tone.
"Then, sir, I'll go raise the money right now. Please wait here a moment."
"Sure. I'm in no hurry. You're the ones who should be anxious."
With that, Lin Yan sat directly in the seat of honor in the ruined hall.
Zhu Zhuqing knew what to do and followed behind him, holding Zhu Zhuyou's hand. At that moment, her admiration for Lin Yan had reached its peak.
At the same time, she felt miserable, because Lin Yan had now truly revealed his Martial Soul, so he really did not have any dragon Martial Soul.
Lin Yan, the child's father, really was such a disappointment.
After all, her boss was so outstanding and so powerful, and he seemed young too. Even though she could not see his face clearly, Lin Yan's manner of speaking and acting were both very youthful.
If only the child were her boss's.
Unfortunately, it wasn't!
"What, you've vented your anger, but you're still unhappy?"
Noticing that something was off with Zhu Zhuqing's mood, Lin Yan asked.
"Ah, no, I'm not. I was just thinking about something else.
"But, boss, this isn't really anything worth celebrating, is it?"
"How so?"
"Think about it. Your shop has already become popular. They only need to ask around a little to find out about it, so they'll soon learn your shop's rules too.
"Then they'll know I was just a fox borrowing a tiger's might from beginning to end. I'll be in trouble then."
"That's true. Even if you hire an escort, they can only protect the child, not you."
"Yes, but boss, you said things could be handled at your discretion. Under what circumstances? Is there any standard?"
"No. It depends on the situation. The criteria are vague."
Lin Yan could hardly say that if he had time, he could serve as the escort himself and handle things at his discretion;
if several people needed escorts at the same time, the system could only send the custom-made escort guards. Lin Yan could only help one person at random, so it would depend on Zhu Zhuqing's luck.
As Lin Yan chatted intermittently with Zhu Zhuqing, Zhu Wei and Zhu Zhuyun woke up one after the other.
The moment Zhu Wei woke up, he flew into a rage:
"You're finished! I'm going to fetch our Titled Douluo ancestor right now and have him kill you!"
"Who are you going to get to kill him?"
A cold, weak voice soon came from behind Zhu Wei. The familiar voice frightened him into turning around immediately, only to discover that it was actually the ancestor.
"Ancestor, why are you lying here too?"
"You don't know why I'm lying here?"
"I passed out! I don't know!"
"You bastard! You actually dared to provoke someone this powerful! You nearly destroyed our Zhu Family!"
After roaring at Zhu Wei, he immediately turned toward Lin Yan.
"Sir, we were in the wrong. Please spare the Zhu Family."
After waking up, this Titled Douluo ancestor humbly begged Lin Yan for mercy, leaving Zhu Wei and Zhu Zhuyun dumbfounded.
A dignified Titled Douluo was actually kneeling and begging someone else for mercy. This was simply...
"It's fine. I only came to collect a debt. I don't want anyone dying and making things difficult to wrap up.
"I've already accepted the money to buy your lives."
"Money to buy our lives? How much is that?"
"Not much. Five million each, ten million in total.
"What? You think your lives aren't worth that much?"
"No, no, no! They are, they are! Absolutely!"
Before Zhu Wei could speak, the Zhu Family ancestor immediately declared:
"The original debt plus the money for our lives comes to twenty million.
"We'll present it to you with both hands, without a coin missing."
Zhu Wei, meanwhile, looked utterly miserable.
Originally, he would only have needed to pay ten million, and he could have gained an exceptional granddaughter.
But now, he probably would not get the granddaughter either, and he had thrown away another ten million Gold Soul Coins for nothing. This was maximizing his losses.
Ah, at least my wife managed to keep this fellow calm and save our lives.
Truthfully, although it hurt terribly to part with the money, five million each for his life and the life of a Titled Douluo ancestor really was not expensive. It just stung a little.
Soon, the Zhu Family Matriarch returned.
Accompanying her was a powerful man with a terrifying aura.
He wore a brocade robe patterned with white tigers. He stood tall and was extremely muscular, clearly a strength-type Soul Master.
He followed behind the Zhu Family Matriarch as they entered the ruined hall together.
When Lin Yan saw the newcomer, surprise immediately appeared on his face, followed by delight.
To think this Zhu Family Matriarch really was an old fool who could not see things clearly. Beat the young, and the old came; beat the old, and someone stronger came. He had actually encountered that routine.
If his guess was right, this was the reinforcement the Zhu Family Matriarch had brought.
Lin Yan's cultivation was currently that of a rank-ninety Titled Douluo. He could sense that the other man's cultivation was powerful, at least at the Super Douluo level.
As it happened, he had not had his fill yet.
Since the Zhu Family Matriarch was continuing to act stupidly, he could reap another good harvest.
However, just as Lin Yan prepared to act, the newcomer showed no intention of fighting. Instead, he cupped his hands toward him and said:
"I am Dai Zhenghua, sect master of the White Tiger Sect, a rank-ninety-six Power Attack System Battle Soul Master.
"Xiaoya just told me what happened. I haven't come to provoke you, but to help resolve this."
Dai Zhenghua, sect master of the White Tiger Sect.
Lin Yan remembered that the Star Luo Empire did indeed have a White Tiger Sect, and it had top-tier experts too.
He had not expected this Dai Zhenghua before him today to be one of them. A rank-ninety-six Super Douluo was already fairly decent.
As far as he knew, the Star Luo Empire did not have any particularly powerful figures. Rank ninety-six was probably already its ceiling.
As for this Xiaoya, she was probably the Zhu Family Matriarch.
For him to address her so intimately, and for her to be able to summon Dai Zhenghua, who possessed the White Tiger Martial Soul, it seemed the Star Luo Empire liked marrying close relatives.
This Zhu Family Matriarch was either an imperial princess or a princess of a lesser rank.
Heh, they really knew how to get creative.
The Zhu Family's daughters became crown princesses and empresses generation after generation.
The Dai Family's princesses, imperial or otherwise, married the Zhu Family heads generation after generation. They really were purifying their bloodlines here.
No wonder they had to die until only one remained. So it was to keep too much inbreeding from affecting the bloodline.
Mm, that makes perfect sense.
Still, seeing a villain grow a brain for the first time left Lin Yan feeling a little unaccustomed to it.
The man actually had not come to fight. Somewhat disappointed, he said:
"What is it?"
"Would you allow me to see the nine Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings Xiaoya spoke of?"
"What if I show you, and what if I don't?"
"If you don't have nine Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings, perhaps I'll risk a fight with you. But if, as Xiaoya said, you really do possess nine hundred-thousand-year-level Soul Rings, then I probably won't have even the slightest thought of attacking."
"Oh?" Seeing the White Tiger Sect's master act so reasonably actually left Lin Yan feeling rather unaccustomed to it.
"You're certainly frank. In that case, I'll let you see."
The instant Lin Yan finished speaking, he stopped suppressing his aura, and his Soul Power erupted.
Humm-
Nine blood-red Soul Rings rose into the air behind him, carrying the terrifying might of hundred-thousand-year Ferocious Beasts.
Dai Zhenghua stared at the Soul Rings in shock. His eyes remained fixed on those nine Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings, and he could not recover his senses for a long time.
These were Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings. Obtaining one required killing a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast.
It was impossible for a Soul Douluo to defeat a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast and obtain a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. To get one, you first needed a powerful faction behind you.
Before you continue