If They Couldn't Be Used... Then Not One Would Be Spared!

Nangong Wan remained quiet, but his fingers had already tapped lightly twice against his knee.

An Litong, however, turned his head, his gaze lingering on Xu Jingyao for a moment before shifting away.

Shangguan Wei'er fell silent for several breaths, then picked up the teapot and poured Xu Jingyao another cup.

"Your Highness, what about the profits?"

"What split do you think would be appropriate?" Xu Jingyao interrupted her, lifting his teacup with the corners of his mouth raised. "Shangguan Family Head, you're a clever woman. You should know that His Majesty stands behind this business of mine, as does the Crown Prince. Its future prospects are nothing to worry about. Of course, if you're unwilling, I can always find someone else."

What seemed like a deal was actually a test as well.

Shangguan Wei'er immediately smiled.

"You jest, Your Highness. How about we split the gross profits sixty-forty? Sixty for you, forty for me."

"Shangguan Family Head, surely a matter this important shouldn't be decided by your Ordinary Alliance alone!" Nangong Wan's sinister voice rang out.

"Your Highness, are you satisfied with the Ordinary Alliance's proposal?" came An Litong's distinctly masculine voice.

Xu Jingyao nodded, finished his tea, and stood.

"Then it's settled. Send someone to my residence later to discuss the details." Clearly, he had not answered directly.

He glanced at Tang Wulin, signaling him to follow, then gave the other two parties a slight nod in greeting before turning to leave.

Behind him, Shangguan Wei'er rose to see him off. Her smile remained, but a measure of gravity had entered her eyes.

Nangong Wan's gaze followed Xu Jingyao's retreating figure until the door closed. Only then did he slowly look away, his eyes filled with cold malice.

An Litong leaned back in his chair again and closed his eyes, his fingers tapping soundlessly against the armrest.

The three underground giants each harbored their own thoughts.

Yet the youth who worked his fan as he strolled leisurely out of the Underground Trade Association had never truly thought much of any of the three factions.

What he wanted had only ever been the hub that could set all of Mingdu's underworld in motion.

As for those three factions, he would use them if they could be used. If they couldn't...

Then not one would be spared!

After all, Kong Deming's meridians had now recovered, and his cultivation had broken through to rank ninety-seven. Together with his Soul Tools, which were on the verge of breaking through to Class 10, dealing with a Limit Douluo would be no problem.

Of course, what worried him least among all this was

Xu Jingyao stepped outside and looked up at Mingdu's night sky, which the Soul Guidance Lamps had dyed a riot of colors.

It could be called the place most like real-world modern society.

"Your Highness, are we really going to work with the Ordinary Alliance?" Tang Wulin asked quietly beside him.

"We'll give it a try first." Xu Jingyao tucked his fan into his waistband and walked onward. "None of these three factions is easy to handle. Shangguan Wei'er is the easiest to deal with, though mainly because the Ordinary Alliance is the weakest of the three. The Aodu Chamber of Commerce isn't actually difficult to deal with either, but the military behind it is rather troublesome. As for the Xishui Alliance, it claims to have imperial support, but it's actually made up of Evil Soul Masters. Keep your distance from its people whenever possible."

After taking two steps, he suddenly turned his head to glance at Tang Wulin.

"Also, don't speak out of turn on an occasion like that again. Not a single person in the Underground Trade Association is clean, ourselves included. Even if those people died, that was their fate. Of course, if you become one of the strongest people on the Douluo Continent in the future, then whatever you do will be right. But if you lack the ability? Even if you're a dragon, you'd better pretend to be a maggot and blend into that environment where you don't belong!"

Sigh, I shouldn't have brought Tang Wulin. But his Invincible Golden Body and teleportation really are useful.

Tang Wulin froze for a moment, then nodded earnestly.

Xu Jingyao withdrew his gaze and continued forward.

Mingdu's night breeze blew from the far end of the street, gently stirring the hem of his clothes. The token of the Carefree King’s Residence at his waist knocked against him with a faint sound.

The three underground giants, the Holy Spirit Cult, the military, the nobility...

Xu Jingyao boarded his Imperial Carriage, while Tang Wulin and the others walked outside in perfect formation.

"Evil Soul Masters!" A young woman's sharp cry came from nearby. Golden light suddenly blazed, a golden longsword left its sheath, and four Soul Rings rose from beneath the girl's feet.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple.

Xu Jingyao lifted the window curtain with his fan, swept his gaze over, and ordered softly, "Stop."

The Imperial Carriage settled steadily onto the ground.

He leaned at ease beside the window, his fan half covering his face as he watched what lay ahead with interest.

The girl was about seventeen or eighteen. Her golden hair gleamed coldly beneath the Soul Guidance Lamps. The Angel Holy Sword in her hand pointed diagonally toward the ground, holy light flowing along its blade like a living thing.

Ye Guyi?

Looks like it. So this was when the Ordinary Alliance picked her up.

Opposite her stood four or five Evil Soul Masters reeking of blood, their robes still stained with blood that had yet to dry. They looked as though they had just emerged from some alley after slaughtering its occupants.

The Evil Soul Masters had initially looked disdainful. Seeing that she was alone, they could not even be bothered to reveal all their Soul Rings. One tall, thin man sneered and raised a hand, intending to casually dispose of her. But when that golden holy light shone across his face, his pupils abruptly contracted.

"An angel martial soul?"

The one with the blood mantis martial soul erupted into action first. A blood-colored scythe condensed out of nothing and slashed toward Ye Guyi, carrying a pungent, bloody wind.

Immediately afterward, the Evil Soul Master with the soul puppet martial soul fluttered all ten fingers. Several black threads shot from his sleeves, twining toward her limbs.

The others released their martial souls simultaneously. Dark purple Soul Power surged like a tide, surrounding Ye Guyi.

"Third Soul Skill, Angel Slash!"

With a clear cry from Ye Guyi, a massive sword of holy light cleaved downward through the air, shattering most of the incoming blood scythes. But the soul puppet's black threads seized the opportunity to coil around her left arm.

The holy light scorched the black threads with a sizzling sound, but the others' evil Soul Skills were already bearing down on her.

Gritting her teeth, she brought forth her second Soul Skill. Holy Spirit Slash swept outward, forcing two of them back, but the drain on her Soul Power visibly accelerated.

Clearly, Ye Guyi's cultivation was too low. Even though an angel martial soul naturally countered evil martial souls, when the gap in rank became too great, that advantage ceased to exist altogether.

The Evil Soul Masters could tell she would not last much longer, and their attacks grew increasingly vicious. The blood mantis's scythe scored a bloody gash across her shoulder, while the soul puppet's black threads wound around her right leg as well.

Xu Jingyao watched from the window, lightly tapping his fan against the frame. Tang Wulin stood beside the Imperial Carriage, his fists already clenched.

But His Highness had not spoken, so he could not move.

Clearly, that rule had already been carved into his bones.

Ye Guyi's Soul Power was clearly nearing exhaustion. Her holy light began to thin, and the four Soul Rings beneath her feet dimmed as well. An Evil Soul Master closed in with a savage grin, the blood mantis's scythe raised high and aimed at her throat.

"Blossoms fill the hall, intoxicating three thousand guests; one sword's frost chills fourteen provinces."

A clear, resonant voice rang out, as though casually reciting a line of poetry.

Xu Jingyao closed his fan and quietly released his martial soul. Four black Soul Rings slowly rose beneath his feet.

Black as ink, they revolved silently in the night.

He propped his chin on one hand and swept the other forward with all five fingers pressed together. A translucent blue longsword of ice silently stirred.