Jing Shanshan raised his head, the distant Spirit Hall headquarters reflected in his golden pupils, and revealed a measure of genuine, eager delight.
"First, remember one thing, Qian Renxue: this king wasn't moved by that garbage you mentioned.
As for why? Isn't it simple? You, Qian Renxue, came from the future, then returned to the past for some reason, and now you want to confront Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined."
Jing Shanshan paused, anticipation flickering in his eyes, like the satisfaction of drawing closer to the king within his heart.
"What will happen afterward? Just thinking about it is delightful, never mind what changes might follow. Wouldn't you agree?"
Qian Renxue listened in a daze, then remained silent for a long time.
At that moment, she finally understood a little of how this child Jing Shanshan's mind worked.
As long as Jing Shanshan thought something would delight him, he would do it.
But once he considered something boring, he wouldn't spare it another glance, no matter how others threatened or tempted him. He was like a willful monarch who did whatever he pleased.
Finally, in a voice somewhere between resignation and admiration, she murmured a single remark.
"What a strange personality for a child your age."
Jing Shanshan thought nothing of it and strode forward.
At the very heart of Spirit City, Spirit Hall's headquarters towered majestically.
Its main gates, cast from refined gold, stood several dozen feet high, their surfaces engraved with intricate, exquisite patterns that radiated solemn grandeur in the sunlight.
Jing Shanshan stopped before the gates, looked up at them for a moment, then stepped forward.
"Halt!"
A guard stretched out his arm to block the way, looked him up and down, and knitted his brows.
"This is Spirit Hall's headquarters. Unauthorized people who don't belong to Spirit Hall aren't allowed near it. Whose child are you? Where are your parents? Leave at once."
Jing Shanshan kept both hands in his pockets, his tone as casual as if he were commenting on the fine weather.
"This king wishes to see the Great Enshrined. Go announce me."
The guard froze, then burst out laughing, as though he had heard some enormous joke.
"The Great Enshrined? You?"
He waved his hand as though shooing away a fly that didn't know how high the heavens were or how deep the earth was.
"Little brat, go home and play in the mud. This isn't a place for you to make trouble."
Jing Shanshan didn't argue.
Even his expression remained unchanged; only the smile at the corner of his lips seemed to deepen slightly.
Deep within his mind, Qian Renxue's voice rang out with a trace of anxiety.
"See? I told you coming straight here wouldn't work. You're a child who only just awakened his Martial Soul, and you're speaking so arrogantly. Who would announce you? Just do what I said before..."
Jing Shanshan laughed silently to himself.
There was no anger in that laugh. Through thoughts only Qian Renxue could hear, he unhurriedly tossed out a remark.
"That method you said would 'get us an audience with the Great Enshrined'? Wait while they report up through every level, then wait until that Great Enshrined 'has time to receive us'? How long do you think that would take? Three days? Five? Or a month?"
Qian Renxue was at a loss for words.
Was an important figure someone a child who had just awakened his Martial Soul could see whenever he pleased?
She understood that principle, but in her earlier impatience, she had unconsciously overlooked it.
"Then... there's another way."
Qian Renxue's voice grew quieter, and she sounded somewhat unsure herself.
"I remember finding a drainage opening toward the back on one side when I used to sneak out of Spirit Hall's headquarters to play. It's well hidden. An adult couldn't squeeze through, but with your build, it should be fine."
Jing Shanshan replied briefly.
"Lead the way."
Qian Renxue guided him through two alleys and around to a weed-choked corner toward the rear of Spirit Hall's headquarters.
At the base of the wall was an opening blocked by rusty iron bars, just large enough for a six- or seven-year-old child to crawl through on his belly.
Jing Shanshan lowered his head and glanced at the entrance, which was the size of a dog hole.
Then he turned and walked away.
Qian Renxue froze, then hurriedly asked.
"Where are you going? The entrance is right..."
"This king wishes to confirm something."
Jing Shanshan didn't look back, his voice carrying a calm that made Qian Renxue inexplicably uneasy.
"Qian Renxue, were you just trying to make this king crawl through a dog hole?"
Qian Renxue hesitated, but still said slowly, "It's only a temporary expedient. You're small and slender enough. You won't get stuck..."
"Oh?"
Jing Shanshan stopped, his golden eyes narrowing slightly as a hint of dangerous delight entered his voice.
"You're saying this king should crawl through that hole like a dog?"
Jing Shanshan didn't need to read books to understand that a king could never read books!
The barbs in his words stung Qian Renxue.
"That's not what I meant. It's just that there's no other way right now..."
"Tempting this king won't work either."
Jing Shanshan interrupted her, his tone returning to its languid composure.
"Even if it were a secret passage paved with gold, so long as it means 'crawling' through a dog hole, this king wouldn't spare it a second glance."
Qian Renxue grew anxious, a slight tremor in her words.
"Then what do you want to do? You can't get through the front gates, and you won't take the secret passage. Didn't you want to see me confront the Great Enshrined?"
Jing Shanshan nodded and looked toward the conspicuous Supreme Pontiff Hall, the corner of his mouth lifting.
"Who said walking through the front gates and sneaking inside were the only two ways into the Worship Hall?"
The Angel Martial Soul withdrew, leaving Qian Renxue blind to the outside world. She could only call out to Jing Shanshan, who merely told her to wait patiently.
Jing Shanshan's sudden action made Qian Renxue deeply uneasy, and an ominous suspicion arose in her heart.
Jing Shanshan walked back to the Worship Hall's main gates.
Seeing Jing Shanshan return, the guard was about to drive him away when the child held out a hand.
Layers upon layers of golden ripples spread behind Jing Shanshan, like a stone dropped onto the surface of water.
Countless archaically styled tool Martial Souls slowly emerged from the ripples, instantly taking aim at every guard at the main gates.
The guard's smile froze, then gave way to horror and furious alarm.
In an instant, the four guards stationed at the main gates unleashed the presence of Soul Kings.
Two yellow, two purple, and one black Soul Ring revolved around each of them as they prepared to use force to remove this arrogant child who dared challenge Spirit Hall's dignity.
But gradually, they discovered something.
Every single object emerging behind this child was actually a Martial Soul, and quite a few gave off fluctuations of attributes that countered their own Martial Souls.
"Watch closely."
Jing Shanshan spoke softly, whether to Qian Renxue, the dumbstruck guard, or the empty air.
"This is another way to enter Spirit Hall's headquarters."
Countless archaically styled Martial Souls carried terrifying kinetic force as they became streaks of golden thunderbolts that tore through the sky and shot savagely toward the guards.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!!!
Within a few breaths, the four Soul King guards were already retreating step by step, showing faint signs of defeat.
The protagonist looked toward the Supreme Pontiff Hall and raised his right hand. Golden ripples spread, and a Martial Soul slowly rose from the depths of the void.
It was a giant sword that should not have existed in this world.
Pitch-black throughout, its blade was as broad as a city wall. The edges of its twin blades shone with a cold, hard metallic luster beneath the moonlight, giving the impression that it could sever everything in the world.
The greatsword fell straight down, its target the Supreme Pontiff Hall.
The blast of air from the descending giant sword hurled the guards to the ground. They looked as though they had seen a ghost, their mouths hanging open wide enough to fit a fist.
"Hahaha!"
Jing Shanshan laughed at the top of his lungs, the hems of his clothes snapping in the wind, increasingly eager to see what would happen next.
The next instant, a terrifying pressure that made even the air turn viscous erupted from the depths of the Worship Hall.
An aged figure appeared in midair, his robes stirring without wind. With just one punch, he forcibly broke the giant sword Martial Soul in two in midair!
At that moment, the golden ripples around Jing Shanshan disappeared, and gold-and-white wings unfurled behind him once more.
"See? Wasn't that much simpler than your dog hole?"
Through the wings, Qian Renxue saw the giant sword, broken in two, gradually dissipating in the air. She instantly understood what Jing Shanshan's third method was, yet now she couldn't utter a single word.
The aged figure hovered in the air, his mind swiftly locking onto the being who dared challenge Spirit Hall's dignity, and was about to demand an explanation.
His gaze fell upon the small figure at the entrance, and that aged figure... froze.
A... six-year-old child?