"Jiang Jue!"
Behind the gold-rimmed glasses, astonishment flickered in Jing Hongchen's eyes. That figure — wasn't it Jiang Jue, the Holy Son of the Holy Spirit Cult who had been abducted during the last All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament, the very one his granddaughter had been longing for?
Jiang Jue stood not far away, dressed in a black robe. He gave Jing Hongchen a slight smile — his robe hem swaying — and then instantly melted into the darkness.
"Wait!"
Jing Hongchen frowned, his figure flashing as he rushed after the disappearing Jiang Jue.
"Was Jiang Jue rescued by the Holy Spirit Cult, or did he come with the Body Sect?"
Jing Hongchen's thoughts were thrown into disorder again. His eyes flickered, but the answer would soon reveal itself.
Yet very quickly, Jing Hongchen realized something was wrong.
He couldn't keep up with Jiang Jue at all.
Every time he closed the distance, a pair of dark crimson wings would faintly appear behind Jiang Jue, wind and thunder surging as he accelerated again.
Since they were inside Mingdu, Jing Hongchen hadn't used any acceleration soul tools. He was only relying on his vast soul power to chase, and since his martial soul wasn't speed-type, he truly couldn't catch up.
"Whoosh!"
Just as Jing Hongchen was losing patience and about to take out an acceleration soul tool, Jiang Jue suddenly turned, his figure flickered, and he entered the Sun-Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
"Huh? What does this kid mean by that?"
Jing Hongchen adjusted his glasses and followed Jiang Jue's aura to a building — his own hall master's office.
"Click!"
As the door opened, Jing Hongchen walked in and saw Jiang Jue sitting in his chair. His gaze moved slightly; he was about to speak when Jiang Jue beat him to it.
"Hall Master Hongchen, please, have a seat."
Jiang Jue put down the golden carving knife in his hand, looked at Jing Hongchen, pointed to the chair in front of the desk, and smiled.
"Jiang Jue, how did you come back?"
Jing Hongchen looked at Jiang Jue, who had taken over his seat, feeling both amused and annoyed. He no longer cared about such trivialities and simply sat down across from him.
"I came back openly and legitimately."
Jiang Jue picked up the teapot, poured a cup, and slid it toward Jing Hongchen.
"Hall Master Hongchen, calm yourself first. Your aura is in disorder."
"That's because of you! If you hadn't run, would I be like this?"
Jing Hongchen suddenly realized how irritating Jiang Jue was — and this definitely had nothing to do with the fact that Jiang Jue had taken his precious granddaughter away. Definitely not.
Jiang Jue leisurely poured himself a cup as well.
Du Busi had already taken part of his people and withdrawn from Mingdu, making a great commotion on the way out. The rest of the Body Sect would leave later in batches.
When Mingde Hall was attacked, the city's linked defensive soul tools had activated. Although Mingdu had no city walls, it was surrounded by dense arrays of linked soul tools — far stronger than walls — instantly sealing the city.
So Du Busi had first broken out with one group to reduce casualties. Since Mingdu was the capital with huge population flow, once things calmed down the others could withdraw safely.
"So are you with the Body Sect now, or with the Holy Spirit Cult?"
Jing Hongchen stared at Jiang Jue and asked in a deep voice.
The Body Sect had just attacked Mingde Hall, and Jiang Jue appeared immediately afterward — of course Jing Hongchen was suspicious.
Jiang Jue slowly shook his head.
"Hall Master Hongchen, that isn't important. What's important is — what were you in such a hurry to do?"
Jing Hongchen looked at him deeply, hesitated, then sighed.
"Go to the palace to see Crown Prince Xu Tianran. Something major happened at Mingde Hall, and as hall master I can't escape responsibility. Besides…"
"Besides what?"
Jing Hongchen shook his head.
"This involves state secrets. I can't tell you."
Jiang Jue raised an eyebrow. Blue light flashed in his hand, and a huge chunk of Starlight Blue Sapphire appeared.
"Is it because of this?"
Jing Hongchen's body trembled. He stood up abruptly, staring at the sapphire — wasn't this the very one stored in the same chamber as Experimental Subject No. 1?
"Little friend Jiang… Subject No. 1 is with you?"
His tone instantly turned gentle.
That was the crystallization of a thousand years of Sun-Moon Empire soul-engineering. Mingde Hall could be rebuilt — they weren't short of money — but losing Subject No. 1 was unacceptable.
"Aren't you curious how I got it?" Jiang Jue asked calmly.
After a long silence, Jing Hongchen said:
"As long as you've brought Subject No. 1 back, you're a hero of Mingde Hall. How you obtained it doesn't matter."
Jiang Jue placed the sapphire on the table and pushed it toward him.
The core formation had already been recorded; keeping it was useless.
Jing Hongchen grabbed it, checked it, and finally relaxed.
Then Jiang Jue leaned forward slightly.
"Hall Master Hongchen, what do you think of the current political situation in the Sun-Moon Empire?"
"I don't concern myself with such things," Jing Hongchen replied lightly.
Jiang Jue smiled faintly.
"Xu Tianran is dominant. The other princes are banding together. The old emperor is ill. The throne will be Xu Tianran's — and he's already tried to recruit you, hasn't he?"
Before Jing Hongchen could respond, Jiang Jue stood up.
Six soul rings rose:
Yellow! Purple! Purple! Black! Black! Red!
When the blood-red hundred-thousand-year ring appeared, terrifying evil aura burst forth, filling the room.
Even Jing Hongchen's pupils shrank.
"Xiao Hongchen is already a Soul Emperor too…" he muttered weakly.
Jiang Jue smiled.
"Now may I care about politics?"
Jing Hongchen narrowed his eyes.
"Jiang Jue… who exactly do you belong to? You didn't come just to return Subject No. 1."
Jiang Jue smiled calmly.
"Why must I belong to any faction…"
"Why can't they belong to me?"
(End of Chapter)