Lu Chen paused, silently adding misuse of public resources for private ends to his mental tally.
Lu Chen, Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, and Xie Xie slowly followed the others toward the academy gates.
At a glance, Lu Chen spotted the burly men at the gates, who thought they had nothing to fear. Judging by appearances, though, they probably had not gone to trouble Uncle Li.
Otherwise, they probably would not still have been here.
Last night, Long Tianwu had stationed people at Uncle Li's place precisely to prevent Guang Biao from taking revenge on him.
After all, Uncle Li was just an ordinary person.
But their arrival suited him perfectly. Long Tianwu should already have reached the vicinity anyway.
Even without him, Lu Chen could use his recorder to capture everything and send Guang Biao to stand trial.
Lu Chen quietly fastened the insignia of his inspector status somewhere that could record all of Guang Biao's movements, yet was very difficult to notice.
"What business do you have with your young master?" Lu Chen swaggered toward them.
Standing nearby, Long Hengxu tugged at Lu Chen, but unfortunately, Lu Chen felt no fear at all.
After all, Wu Zhangkong was here, and in the instant he had lowered his head just now, he had also seen Long Tianwu's reply: look up.
Then he raised his head slightly, looked at the black speck in the sky, and instantly smiled.
With something to bolster his confidence, Lu Chen naturally became even more arrogant.
"My name is Guang Biao. The one lying there is my younger brother," the burly man in the lead said coldly.
"Really? Looks like he committed so many evil deeds that he got burned. Then why don't you go visit the ordinary people your brother ruined and left penniless?" Lu Chen said with an extremely astonished expression.
"You're courting death!" Guang Biao instantly released his Martial Soul, and six Soul Rings appeared before everyone.
Long Hengxu pulled Lu Chen back.
"This is an academy, a place for educating students. Which of you didn't come out of an academy? Besides, if what Lu Chen says is true, then your brother was the one at fault. I will not hand him over. If you have the guts, drive your mecha over our teachers' corpses. Otherwise, don't even think about setting one foot inside Eastsea Academy."
Lu Chen had not expected the dean of students, who normally looked so stern, to make such a decision.
Lu Chen patted Long Hengxu's arm and said quietly, "Don't worry, Director. Teacher Wu is here."
"You're the mecha brigade captain, right? I heard you were an orphan. But what your brother has been doing is hardly the conduct of a good person-collecting protection money and injuring ordinary people. They say you, the Eastsea mecha brigade captain, believe by nature that Soul Masters stand above ordinary people, and that even killing ordinary people isn't against the law?" Lu Chen said with a smile.
"So what if I do?" Guang Biao roared angrily.
Although a Soul Master who killed an ordinary person would certainly be fine as long as they had sufficient backing, this was, in fact, already an unspoken rule.
But it absolutely could not be brought into the open, much less spoken aloud by the captain of a mecha brigade.
Lu Chen smiled, then instantly released his Martial Soul.
With Long Tianwu in the sky and Wu Zhangkong nearby, there was no way they would watch him die.
Then he might as well see what was so great about this Soul Emperor.
Guang Biao's Soul Power surged instantly. As his Martial Soul possessed him, a terrifying pressure swept outward.
The Iron Armored Dragon Martial Soul looked extremely formidable. A thick layer of dark gray dragon scales covered the surface of his skin, his arms were as thick as pillars, and his blood-red eyes fixed on Lu Chen with undisguised killing intent.
"Brat, you dared to hit my brother! Today, I'll show you what despair means!"
With a furious roar, Guang Biao pushed off hard and hurled himself at Lu Chen like a cannonball leaving its barrel.
He was incredibly fast, far beyond an ordinary Soul Emperor. His fist tore through the air with a piercing sonic boom.
Lu Chen stood where he was, his expression calm and utterly fearless.
His Soul Power was only rank fifteen. Before a Soul Emperor, he truly was like an ant trying to shake a tree.
Facing Guang Biao's heavy punch, Lu Chen did not dodge. Instead, a cold gleam flashed through his eyes.
"Word Spirit: Earth Movement!"
He gave a low shout, and the ground beneath his feet instantly shook. Cracks spread like a spiderweb as an invisible earth-element force surged from underground, forming a sturdy earthen wall in front of him.
He had actually discovered this Word Spirit himself, realizing that whatever he spoke in the dragon tongue could serve as a key to stirring the elements of heaven and earth.
Bang!
Guang Biao's fist slammed into the earthen wall with a deafening crash.
The sturdy wall instantly shattered into dust that filled the air, but more than half of that terrifying force was also canceled out.
The impact sent Lu Chen staggering backward, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth and his arms tingling slightly.
Yet his gaze grew even firmer.
Guang Biao froze for a moment, clearly not expecting Lu Chen to withstand one of his attacks head-on, let alone with nothing more than a seemingly ordinary Soul Skill.
"Interesting, but that's still not enough!"
Guang Biao exerted himself again, flashing in front of Lu Chen and throwing another punch.
This punch was even more ferocious than the last, carrying the momentum of smashing the cooking pots and sinking the boats, leaving no path of retreat.
"Word Spirit: Bronze Throne!"
Lu Chen spoke again, instantly releasing a Word Spirit from the lineage of the King of Bronze and Fire.
A bronze-green layer, like a tortoise shell, enveloped his entire body.
This armor looked thin, yet it held the toughness of bronze, enough to withstand powerful attacks.
Clang!
The fist struck the armor with a clear metallic clang.
The impact sent Lu Chen's blood churning, yet the power of his bloodline became even more active under this pressure.
His bloodline was raging.
And it was also wailing!
Perhaps because he himself was not angry enough, he could not enter the state he had reached before.
He knew that although his Word Spirits were formidable, they were still inadequate against a Soul Emperor.
Guang Biao had not even used a Soul Skill. Relying solely on the strength of his Martial Soul and the suppression of his Soul Power, he had already made it difficult for Lu Chen to hold his own.
But Lu Chen did not retreat. Instead, he fought with ever-growing valor.
"Word Spirit: Setsuna!"
Lu Chen's figure instantly became an afterimage, evading another attack from Guang Biao.
Under Kshana's enhancement, his speed became incredibly fast, and he moved around Guang Biao like a phantom.
"Word Spirit: Royal Fire!"
He gave a low shout.
A huge hand formed from flames instantly appeared behind Guang Biao and slammed toward his back.
Guang Biao snorted coldly. Without even turning his head, he threw a backhanded punch.
The flames instantly scattered into sparks that filled the air.
But Lu Chen had already achieved his aim.
He wanted to wear down Guang Biao's stamina. He wanted to provoke him.
Sure enough, Lu Chen's relentless harassment left Guang Biao burning with rage.
He, a mighty Soul Emperor, was being toyed with in the palm of a rank-fifteen brat's hand. How could he possibly tolerate that?
The killing intent in his eyes intensified. It was a madness that wanted to tear Lu Chen into ten thousand pieces.
"Brat, you've succeeded in making me angry! Today, you will die!"