Outside the cave, the burly man finally couldn't hold back. "Old Fang, he's just a prince who's been wandering outside. Why are you treating him with so much respect?"
"That soul inside was at the Saint Realm. It'd fetch a sky-high price if we sold it."
Fang Xing glanced at him and shook his head slightly. "Old Zheng, you really underestimate our Ninth Prince."
Zheng Tuo, the Great Qin Dynasty's Marquis Po Jun, had long since reached the mid-stage Saint Realm and was a fierce general on the battlefield. He and Fang Xing had been campaigning against sects opposed to the Great Qin Dynasty near the Ten Thousand Mountains, all under orders to find the lost Ninth Prince.
"What do you mean I underestimate him?" Zheng Tuo snorted. "He's been missing for almost twenty years. If the capital really wanted to find him, they could've done it long ago. Why wait until now?"
"I heard that when the Ninth Prince was born, his bloodline… reverted to its ancestral form, so…"
"Bloodline reversion?" Fang Xing shook his head. "I don't think it's that simple."
Bloodline "atavism" didn't mean becoming like the Great Qin founder, the Great Emperor. It meant becoming like the earliest human ancestors—ordinary humans.
The human race's ancestors had clawed their way up over countless generations to reach their current status, birthing countless powerhouses and slowly evolving their bloodlines. The strong remained strong. If your bloodline regressed to its original state, it meant you'd fallen back to your forebears' poverty-stricken level—needing to work several times harder than others just to maybe scrape together enough.
"Do you know what our Ninth Prince was doing when I first arrived?" Fang Xing asked.
"What?"
"He was being judged by Tai Xu Holy Land. To be precise, he was being judged as Tai Xu's Holy Son."
"Holy Son? The Ninth Prince actually became the Holy Son of Tai Xu Holy Land?" Zheng Tuo instantly dropped his earlier disdain.
Anyone qualified to become a sacred land's Holy Son had at least the potential to become a Saint.
"They call it a trial, but I think our Ninth Prince doesn't care much for authority. He went toe-to-toe with the Holy Lord on the spot."
"And he seemed to know I would appear."
Fang Xing's words wrapped Qin Luo in a layer of mystery.
"I feel like everything is unfolding exactly as he predicted. He even has several sacred artifacts."
The Tai Xu Bell was still in Qin Luo's hands, and that rope he had just used was also a sacred artifact. The treasure inside the room that blocked their senses was likewise a sacred artifact.
"All of that is his?" Zheng Tuo was stunned. As a Saint, everything he owned amounted to that single giant axe.
Yet Qin Luo, a mere Divine Power Realm cultivator, was holding multiple sacred artifacts.
It was the kind of comparison that made a man doubt his life choices.
Fang Xing shot him a sidelong look, something strange flashing in his eyes. He patted Zheng Tuo's shoulder. "Brother, if you want to go back to the capital for revenge, I think the Ninth Prince might be your best bet."
Zheng Tuo's expression immediately turned grave.
He had been suppressed for years, not daring to return to the capital where enemies with immense power were waiting. If not for his prestige and battlefield achievements, he would've been killed long ago. He had thought about revenge many times, but never dared to act.
Fang Xing's words sent him into deep thought.
"Among all the princes, the Ninth Prince is the only one without a powerful backing. Offering help in his time of need is worth far more than adding flowers to brocade," Fang Xing said.
Zheng Tuo nodded slowly. "I'll think it over carefully."
Inside, Xi Huang finally broke under the torment to her soul.
"I… I promise you… all right…"
"Hehehe, why didn't you say yes earlier? You just had to go looking for abuse."
"All right, enough nonsense. Welcome to the Human Emperor Banner."
Boom.
With Xi Huang's submission, the Human Emperor Banner began to evolve, becoming even more terrifying.
After refining for a full day and night, Qin Luo finally walked out.
For Tai Xu Holy Land, this day and night had been pure torture. They had watched a grand spectacle, yet no one felt the slightest joy.
Especially Liu Ruyan. She had never imagined that Qin Luo wasn't the one who stole the Tai Xu Bell—that the culprit had been Ye Chen all along.
"Ye Chen, you actually lied to me…" Liu Ruyan's heart twisted with pain.
She had decided to break things off with Qin Luo and throw herself into Ye Chen's arms, only to discover it was all a lie. Ye Chen had just been using her.
[Liu Ruyan is deeply disappointed in Ye Chen. Luck -5000. Host gains 5000 Villain Points.]
"Oh?"
"Already disappointed?" Qin Luo sneered inwardly.
"I thought you were the ultimate brainless heroine. Looks like I was overestimating you."
In web novels, there were always those female leads who would cling to the protagonist no matter what he did, never blaming him for anything. Even if he wiped out her whole family, she would still find excuses for him.
Now it seemed Liu Ruyan wasn't that type after all.
"It probably has to do with how fast Ye Chen ran. If he'd stayed and taken charge just now, who knows what she'd be saying."
Qin Luo didn't dwell on it. He turned to Xi Huang. "So where is your good disciple now?"
The question immediately tore open Xi Huang's fresh wounds.
She had acted for Ye Chen's sake—but how had he treated her?
He'd abandoned her.
She was absolutely certain that if Ye Chen had just helped, she could have escaped and avoided being bound and whipped by Qin Luo. But Ye Chen hadn't been willing to take even the slightest risk.
From this day on, her ties with Ye Chen were severed.
[Xi Huang has chosen to cut ties with Ye Chen, forfeiting all future opportunities related to him. Ye Chen loses 10,000 Luck. Host gains 10,000 Villain Points.]
It was so much easier to farm points off a "Chosen One." Ten thousand at a time—next to that, Liu Ruyan's contribution felt miserly.
"The place he ended up is random, but it will definitely be thousands of li away from here." Xi Huang didn't know the exact location either, which left Qin Luo a bit disappointed.
Still, it didn't matter much. Even if he knew Ye Chen's exact position, he had no one he could send.
"Next, we refine his Sword Bone."
Under Xi Huang's stunned gaze, Qin Luo took out Ye Chen's Sword Bone and began to absorb and refine it.
She stared in a daze for a long moment before finally reacting.
Her expression changed dramatically. "The Devouring Heaven Magic Skill! You actually obtained the Devouring Heaven Magic Skill!"
Qin Luo grinned wickedly and continued devouring.
Deep in a vast forest, Ye Chen suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his face twisted with pain and hatred.
"The Sword Bone… it's left me forever!"
[By absorbing Ye Chen's Sword Bone, Ye Chen loses 20,000 Luck. Host gains 20,000 Villain Points.]