In the luxurious room on the fifth floor of the castle, Xu Zihuang, dressed in purple fine clothes, sat at the desk, calmly tasting the mellow black tea from his porcelain cup.
Compared to the two nervous Western Sea Soul Engineer Legion soldiers behind him, he appeared much more composed.
The chaos erupting in the center of the island and within the castle seemed as though it belonged to a different world.
However, his right hand, gripping the handle of the porcelain cup so tightly that his veins bulged, revealed that his mood wasn’t as tranquil as it appeared on the surface.
A light flickered in his dazzling, clear purple eyes, and a subtle smile curved the corners of his mouth.
“I didn’t expect Elder Wang to escape your pursuit.
It seems your control over the empire’s southern region isn’t as deep as I thought.”
Earlier, when Wang Xiao and Hai Xiao conversed, they deliberately channeled their soul power to project their voices across the entire island.
Naturally, Xu Zihuang, situated in the center, heard them.
From their dialogue, he grasped the general situation.
He was incredibly familiar with Wang Xiao.
Wang Xiao had always been a cautious man; since he had come here, he must be fully prepared.
If his control over his own emotions wasn’t so strong, he would have burst into loud laughter by now.
For three years, he had lived in constant despair.
How could he not be ecstatic when a turning point suddenly appeared?
With his talent, as long as he escaped, he would definitely have the chance to make Xu Tianran and his father pay in the future.
Even the throne of the Sun Moon Empire wouldn’t be out of reach.
He had absolute confidence in himself.
His twin martial souls, the Golden Eyes and the Purple Brilliance Heaven-Destroying Dragon, were not his only trump cards.
The mood of the two Western Sea soldiers behind him was the exact opposite of Xu Zihuang’s.
Noticing the castle descending into an eerie silence once again, the two couldn’t help but draw their close-combat soul cannons, staring dead at the door.
“Damn it!
What exactly is going on inside the castle right now?!
Why hasn’t a single person who went down come back yet?!”
“How should I know?!”
Under this extreme tension, their emotions were on the verge of detonating.
Their orders were to guard Xu Zihuang at all times; they couldn’t just leave to check the situation.
“Hmm?” Xu Zihuang, who had his head lowered sipping his tea, suddenly jerked his head up and looked toward the door.
“What terrifying spiritual power!”
For a moment, even he became a bit nervous.
He was certain that no one in the Western Sea Legion possessed such terrifying spiritual power, not even Hai Xiao, who was a Soul Douluo.
But similarly, the Imperial Dragon Legion his father once commanded didn’t have a figure like this either.
As if responding to his gaze, the door was pushed open with a creak.
The two Western Sea soldiers behind him collapsed to the floor simultaneously, entirely stripped of life.
A pair of blood-red eyes stood out strikingly in the dim corridor outside, meeting Xu Zihuang’s gaze.
Looking at the owner of those blood-red eyes, Xu Zihuang’s heart skipped a beat.
This extremely cold and sinister aura was too much like those bizarre Evil Soul Masters.
But he quickly breathed a sigh of relief, because behind the figure, he saw the familiar soldiers of the Imperial Dragon Legion.
Many were familiar faces.
“Young Master!” the Imperial Dragon soldiers called out with agitated expressions, dropping to one knee before Xu Zihuang.
A series of metallic clanks echoed in the large room, articulating the surging emotions in their hearts.
Just two words, yet they seemed to contain endless feeling.
Elder Yu, whose hair was completely white, had slightly redrimmed eyes.
His hunched posture deeply moved Xu Zihuang.
Xu Zihuang had a deep impression of Elder Yu.
Now over eighty years old, Elder Yu had retired from the Imperial Dragon Legion more than ten years ago to serve as a guard at his family’s mansion.
Although he hadn’t accompanied Xu Zihuang’s father to the capital and thus survived, he must have endured countless hardships over the years avoiding the pursuit of Xu Tianran and his father.
The Elder Yu in Xu Zihuang’s memory had a ruddy complexion, not this aged, withered appearance.
“Please rise, Elder Yu.”
Xu Zihuang quickly stood up and personally helped Elder Yu to his feet, simultaneously gesturing to the others.
“Everyone, please rise.
We can catch up later; it’s not safe here yet.
Tell me the specific situation first.”
Seeing the exceptionally calm Xu Zihuang, everyone’s eyes lit up.
From the familiar contours of his brow, they could faintly see the shadow of the late Prince.
“We let our emotions get the better of us,” Elder Yu said, a gratified smile on his face as he observed the eight-year-old, yet impossibly mature Xu Zihuang.
He then shifted his gaze to Yao Yang, who had retracted his martial soul and regained his elegant, scholarly demeanor.
With Yao Yang’s warm, spring-breeze-like smile, there was not a trace of the sinister feeling from before.
“Zi Huang, you look very much like Uncle Zheng Xuan.”
Zheng Xuan was the name of Xu Zihuang’s father: Xu Zheng Xuan.
Conferred the title of Prince Zi Huang, he governed the four richest provinces in the south of the Sun Moon Empire.
The title “Zi Huang” alone revealed the late Emperor’s immense favor toward him.
To use one of the royal family’s inherited martial souls as a title was a first in the tens of thousands of years of the Sun Moon Empire’s history.
Xu Zihuang’s name was derived from this.
Xu Zihuang met Yao Yang’s gentle gaze in surprise.
He had absolutely no memory of Yao Yang, but he could feel the genuine warmth radiating from him.
“This is our first time meeting, isn’t it?”
Yao Yang nodded, a hint of reminiscence and regret flashing in his eyes.
“It’s been almost ten years since I last saw Uncle Zheng Xuan.
I never expected that parting would be our last.”
“You were right earlier; now isn’t the time to catch up.
Some things are better left until we get out of here,” Yao Yang said, quickly reining in his emotions.
He affectionately patted Xu Zihuang’s shoulder and accurately relayed Wang Xiao’s entire plan.
This was mainly to bring Xu Zihuang up to speed.
“Everyone, check the stationary soul cannons in your soul tools.
Ensure nothing goes wrong.” After giving the order, Yao Yang seemed to think of something and smiled at Xu Zihuang.
“By the way, my name is Yao Yang.
Don’t stray too far from me later, otherwise, I might not be able to get you out of the stationary soul cannons’ blast radius in time.”
Xu Zihuang raised an eyebrow, forming some speculations in his mind, but didn’t ask further.
He used a hairband to tie his shoulder-length hair into a neat wolf-tail.
Surrounded by Yao Yang and the Imperial Dragon soldiers, he ascended to the open-air rooftop of the castle.
The view from the rooftop was extremely broad, offering a clear sight of the intense battlefield in the center of the island.
High above the island, the battle between Wang Xiao and Hai Xiao was also reaching its decisive climax.
The snow-white belly of Hai Xiao’s Purple Thunder Manta Ray avatar was covered in deep, bone-baring gashes, its aura sluggish.
Conversely, Wang Xiao was growing fiercer by the minute, holding absolute superiority.
Xu Zihuang slowly withdrew his gaze and looked toward the island’s perimeter.
The fortress walls were heavily damaged from the shockwaves, collapsing into rubble in many places.
Yet, he only felt an unbearable excitement.
Because beyond those walls lay the freedom he had longed for.
Was he finally escaping this cage?
The Imperial Dragon soldiers beside him pulled out pitch-black cannon barrels, each about two meters long, from their soul tools.
Aiming at the battlefield in the center of the island, they awaited the order to fire.
Just as everything was ready, footsteps suddenly echoed from behind them.
“Are you all useless?!
You can’t even handle a simple task?!” Elder Yu’s furious reprimand accompanied the footsteps.
Frowning, Elder Yu looked at the cold, glamorous blonde girl brought up by two of his subordinates.
The girl’s white evening dress and hands were stained with blood.
Although her soul power was sealed, out of caution, Elder Yu stood in front of her, separating her from Xu Zihuang.
Xu Zihuang frowned as he glanced at the girl; he recognized her as Yin Ziyue.
“What happened?”
“Young Master, she took advantage of these two idiots’ inattention, released her martial soul, and killed the other nine noble ladies you selected,” Elder Yu said, glaring with an ugly expression at the two young Imperial Dragon soldiers who were supposed to be guarding her.
Upon seeing Xu Zihuang, Yin Ziyue dropped directly to her knees.
Stripped of her high-and-mighty noble demeanor, she looked like a lowly dog.
“Your Highness, they were sent by the First Prince.
They all deserved to die!”
“Oh?
And what about you?” Xu Zihuang stared with amusement into Yin Ziyue’s pitiful azure eyes.
Only then did Yin Ziyue look up.
Her messy blonde hair slid down, and a gleam of hope burst forth in her beautiful eyes.
She was much smarter than the other noble ladies.
She knew very well that under these circumstances, Xu Zihuang’s group would likely silence them all.
By killing the others, she essentially cut off her own path of return to the Sun Moon Empire.
This was her way of showing loyalty to Xu Zihuang.
“Your Highness, I am the second daughter of Marquis Yin Cheng of Mingdu.
I volunteered to bear your offspring; I have nothing to do with the First Prince.
Please take me with you!
I know my family has several rare metal mines in the southern provinces.
My cultivation talent is decent, and I am very familiar with handling noble affairs.
I will definitely be of use to you…”
Yin Ziyue pleaded hastily.
This was the most pathetic she had been in her sixteen years of life.
But she didn’t feel degraded in the slightest; as long as she could leave this place with Xu Zihuang, she would have infinite possibilities in the future.
Xu Zihuang’s father had managed the four southern provinces for so many years; his foundation was unfathomably deep.
Following Xu Zihuang was vastly better than remaining a manipulated marriage tool for her family.
Truthfully, she had no other choice.
Staying on the island meant almost certain death.
Following Xu Zihuang was her only chance at survival.
But before she could finish, Xu Zihuang cut her off, his calm purple eyes captivating her soul.
“Those people are dead, and so be it.”
Hearing this, Yin Ziyue had just begun to smile when Xu Zihuang’s next sentence froze the expression on her face.
“But it seems you’ve overestimated your value.
You are not worth burdening my men.
Their lives are far more precious than yours.”
Expressionless, Xu Zihuang slowly walked up to Yin Ziyue.
In the next instant, he snatched a soul sword from one of the soldiers and thrust it straight through her snow-white throat.
It wasn’t until Xu Zihuang handed the warm, blood-stained sword back to the soldier that the crowd snapped back to reality, looking at him with burning gazes.
This Young Master was even more decisive and ruthless than they had imagined.
But only such a lord was worthy of their allegiance!
Yao Yang openly directed an admiring gaze toward Xu Zihuang.
“Uncle Zheng Xuan, if you had been as ruthless as Zi Huang, you wouldn’t have ended up like you did.”
(END CHAPTER)