Soul Saint

The Imperial Family Inspection Team normally handled no external affairs. Its main responsibility was overseeing members of the imperial family and matters great and small within the imperial city, reporting directly to the imperial clan.

The captain of the team before them was named Xu Mochén. His father was the prince in charge of the imperial clan, wielding great power, and he belonged to the imperial family's true direct line.

Although his cultivation was merely at the Soul Emperor level, calling in a Soul Saint to hold the fort was child's play for him.

As for a collateral relative like Wang Shaojie, he merely basked in the reflected glory of a little shared blood.

Xu Mochén had not attained his position through family influence alone. He was a Soul Master skilled at using Soul Tools rather than a Soul Engineer. The Martial Soul bestowed by his direct imperial bloodline was enough to place him among the Inspection Team's strongest fighters.

"Let go!"

Meng Hongchen's sharp shout rang out. She stepped forward, her silver ponytail flying in the morning breeze.

"My grandfather is the master of Illustrious Virtue Hall. You dare lay hands on one of his people?"

Everyone's movements halted at once.

Xu Mochén whipped his head around, his gaze cutting into Wang Shaojie behind him.

Cold sweat instantly broke out on Wang Shaojie's forehead as he stammered out an incoherent explanation.

"C-cousin, her name is Meng Hongchen. She really is the Hall Master's granddaughter... but this man has nothing whatsoever to do with the Hall Master! He wasn't even a member of the academy last week!"

Meng Hongchen was about to argue further, but Lu Ren interrupted her.

"You alone won't be able to persuade them. Let me go with them."

Lu Ren sounded far too calm for someone being taken into custody.

"But..."

"No buts." He shook his head. "They can't threaten me. Stick to what we agreed on earlier."

Meng Hongchen froze, then finally let the matter rest.

"Cut the chatter and get moving!"

A Soul Emperor beside him snorted and reached out to shove Lu Ren.

He did not budge an inch.

The hand pressed against Lu Ren's shoulder as though against a stone that had taken root.

The Soul Emperor's expression shifted. He applied more force, yet the other man still did not budge.

Unable to save face, he withdrew his hand sheepishly, inwardly shocked. How is this kid's body as hard as cast iron?

Lu Ren did not look back as he followed Xu Mochén toward the academy gates.

Meng Hongchen stood where she was, watching his figure disappear through the entrance. She bit her lip, then turned and ran.

First, she rushed into Illustrious Virtue Hall and pushed open the door to Jing Hongchen's office.

"Grandpa! The Imperial Family Inspection Team took Lu Ren away!"

Jing Hongchen was sitting behind his desk, looking through Soul Tool blueprints. At her words, he raised his head and gave an unhurried "Oh."

"Oh?!" Meng Hongchen's voice shot up eight octaves. "That's all you have to say? You personally recruited him into the academy! Aren't you worried about him at all?"

Only then did Jing Hongchen raise his head. Seeing his granddaughter's face flushed with anxiety, he set down the blueprints and leaned back in his chair.

"He'll be fine. Just watch."

"How do you know?"

"Because that boy never does anything he isn't confident of." Jing Hongchen spoke mildly. "From the moment he revealed his Soul Rings at Shrek, every step was calculated. The Imperial Family Inspection Team's little show of force won't be enough to trap him."

Meng Hongchen was stunned.

Her grandfather's reaction was exactly what Lu Ren had described a few days earlier.

She puffed out her cheeks and stamped her foot hard.

"Every last one of you is keeping things from me!"

With that, she turned and rushed out of the office, running in another direction.

Looking at the wide-open door, Jing Hongchen shook his head, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

"That brat certainly has his ways. He's only spent a few days with Meng, and he probably already matters more to her than her own grandfather."

"Still..." he murmured to himself, the smile on his lips deepening, "being able to guide Meng's cultivation and bring her to the threshold of rank forty-nine within a few days is quite an impressive ability."

He straightened his clothes and ambled toward the door.

There was no hurry. It was not yet time for him to make his entrance.

"Don't you always look so calm, as though everything is under your control?"

"I'd like to see how you'll solve this problem if I deliberately hold back this time. Can you still keep that maddeningly calm attitude?"

At that thought, Jing Hongchen could not help feeling pleased.

Whenever he recalled the trouble that brat Lu Ren had caused him, he wanted to teach him a lesson. Here was an excellent opportunity.

As long as things did not go too far, he could not be bothered to intervene.

At the academy gates.

Lu Ren had barely stepped outside when he stopped.

He gripped both ends of the golden handcuffs and slowly exerted force.

The metal let out an ear-piercing groan.

Before the surrounding Inspection Team members could react, they heard a sharp crack. The Soul Tool handcuffs, strong enough to restrain a Soul Emperor, were forcibly snapped in two like a dry branch.

Shattered pieces of metal scattered across the ground, reflecting a cold gleam in the morning light.

Everyone froze.

Xu Mochén's pupils contracted slightly.

He knew the restraining power of these handcuffs better than anyone. Even a Soul Emperor-level expert would never be able to break free after putting them on.

Yet this Four-Ring Soul Ancestor before him had broken them with brute strength alone?

"Surprised?"

Lu Ren spoke mildly, shaking out his wrists.

The restraining force had dissipated, and Soul Power surged through his body once more.

Not only that, Lu Ren also sensed a faint, elusive presence quietly watching them.

That old fellow Jing Hongchen really was observing from the shadows.

He was deliberately refraining from intervening, probably wanting to see what other trump cards Lu Ren had yet to reveal.

"So you refuse the toast and insist on drinking the penalty wine." Xu Mochén's expression turned utterly cold. "You think being close to the granddaughter of Illustrious Virtue Hall's master lets you do whatever you please?"

"We don't even know whether the Hall Master actually values you."

He paused, a hint of menace entering his voice.

"Harming a member of the imperial family is a serious crime."

"He only has four rings!" Wang Shaojie poked his head out from behind, glaring viciously at Lu Ren. "You only knocked me down with one punch that day because I was careless! Even if you can defeat Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan, don't dream of escaping today!"

He waved a hand behind him.

The Soul Saint who had remained silent all this time stepped forward and wordlessly released his Martial Soul. Two yellow, three purple, and two black Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet, seven in all, revolving slowly in the morning light.

The presence of a Seven-Ring Soul Sage spread like a tide, weighing down even the air.

Lu Ren merely shrugged.

"But I never intended to run."

With that, he turned his head and lifted his chin toward somewhere behind him.

"You're here too. As we agreed earlier, today's opponent should be enough to give you a thoroughly satisfying fight."

As soon as he finished speaking, two figures emerged from behind him and stood side by side.

Ji Juechen wore his usual stern expression, the silver-white longsword in his hand glinting coldly in the sunlight.

Jing Ziyan stood to his right, holding a long whip Soul Tool.

The two released their Martial Souls at the same time.

Two yellow, two purple, and two black Soul Rings flickered in an interweaving display, six in all.

Their Soul Emperor-level presence clashed head-on with that of the Seven-Ring Soul Sage, stirring up an invisible ring of air.

"Who are you?" Xu Mochén's expression changed slightly.

"His friends."

Ji Juechen spoke mildly, his gaze passing over everyone to lock straight onto the Seven-Ring Soul Sage, his eyes blazing with fervor.

It was as though he had seen a peerless beauty.

"And me!"

Meng Hongchen caught up from behind, her silver ponytail fluttering in the wind. The phantom of a Vermilion Clear Ice Toad flickered behind her, and four Soul Rings encircled her body.

Having run over, Meng Hongchen looked at Lu Ren's utterly calm demeanor and could not help grumbling inwardly.

Is calling these two over really going to be enough? They may be two Soul Emperors, but the other side has a Soul Saint...

And Grandpa is taking his sweet time and still won't intervene. This isn't what we agreed on earlier...

At the sight, Wang Shaojie's face turned deathly pale.

Xu Mochén stared fixedly at the three uninvited guests before him, the veins at his temples throbbing.

The granddaughter of Illustrious Virtue Hall's master and two Soul Emperors-this lineup was already beyond his ability to handle.

He suddenly wanted to leave. That wretched Wang Shaojie had actually dared to drag him into a pit!

He had clearly said they only needed to deal with one Soul Ancestor!

"Leave that Soul Saint to Ziyan and me." Ji Juechen's sword tip was already pointing at the seven-ring expert, his voice carrying fighting spirit he could not suppress.

Xu Mochén stared at Lu Ren, then looked at the three beside him, his expression so dark it could have dripped water.

"Are you sure you want to interfere with the Imperial Family Inspection Team's official duties?"

"We're just here to take our friend back." Jing Ziyan answered with a cheerful grin. "Official duties or not, what does that have to do with us?"

Xu Mochén clenched his fists.

He was beginning to regret it. He should not have waded into these muddy waters after listening to Wang Shaojie's embellished account.

Xu Mochén glanced at the spectators around them.

But now he was riding a tiger and could not get off. If he retreated in front of this crowd, where would the Imperial Family Inspection Team put its face?

The Seven-Ring Soul Sage's gaze passed over Ji Juechen and settled on Lu Ren as he spoke slowly.

"Young man, think carefully. Come with us, and we'll release you once the investigation is complete. If you fight here, that changes the nature of the matter."

Ji Juechen did not want to waste a single word. He drew his sword and charged straight at the Soul Saint.

A chance to fight a Soul Saint was rare. He had no intention of missing it!