An old woman appeared behind Xu Jiujiao. She looked to be at least eighty years old, with snow-white hair flowing down her back, wearing a bright red dress that contrasted sharply with her hair, creating a striking appearance.
Her expression was gloomy, and her blue eyes gleamed with a piercing light. The moment she appeared, an oppressive aura burst forth—not directed at Jiang Jue specifically, but permeating the entire room.
Yet in the face of this pressure, Jiang Jue remained calm. A faint green light shone in his eyes, and a chilling force of ice erupted from within him.
"Arrogant? Is arrogance a crime?"
Jiang Jue slightly raised his gaze, eyes gleaming coldly, without the slightest trace of fear—because he had just received a voice transmission from Zhang Peng.
"Old hag, I advise you not to act recklessly. Otherwise, this soul tool ray gun might just 'slip' out of my control."
A firm and powerful voice echoed. With a flash of white light, an old man wearing a luxurious purple robe appeared behind the red-dressed woman. In his hand was a purple-black soul tool ray gun, already fully charged, with a red targeting beam locked right on the old woman's head.
This was Elder Lin, a Class 9 Soul Engineer from Mingde Hall, sent by Jing Hongchen.
The moment Xu Jiujiao entered Jiang Jue's room, Elder Lin had sensed something was off and immediately activated his hidden soul tool. As expected, the people from the Star Luo Empire were here to poach talent—and they even dared threaten someone from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy? Outrageous!
"You think I'm afraid of you?"
The old woman in red snorted coldly and took a step forward, ready to act—but Xu Jiujiao quickly raised a hand to stop her.
"Granny Manyi, don't do this. We're here to visit Jiang Jue."
Xu Jiujiao quickly tried to smooth things over, then turned to Elder Lin.
"You must be an esteemed figure from Mingde Hall. We truly mean no harm…"
"No harm?" Elder Lin sneered. "Trying to poach talent, bullying students of our academy—are you treating my face like a doormat?"
Xu Jiujiao's lips twitched slightly. She truly hadn't expected the academy to secretly assign a Class 9 Soul Engineer to accompany Jiang Jue. That was her miscalculation.
Originally, she and Granny Manyi planned to perform a little routine—a good cop, bad cop act to sway Jiang Jue. Now it had backfired.
"Student Jiang, I sincerely apologize for this. We'll be sure to make amends later. Sorry for disturbing you."
Xu Jiujiao bowed apologetically to both Jiang Jue and Elder Lin, then pulled Granny Manyi toward the door.
"Hmph. Take your time leaving. We won't see you out."
Elder Lin said coldly, his ray gun still aimed at Granny Manyi, a Titled Douluo, until they had exited and shut the door behind them.
Although the tournament was taking place in the Star Luo Empire's territory, they didn't want to escalate the situation unnecessarily.
"Thank you, Your Excellency."
"No need to thank me. I'm just doing my job."
Elder Lin's eyes carried admiration as he looked at Jiang Jue. He had watched the previous match and found Jiang Jue's performance impressive—though, in his own opinion, still a bit inferior to when he was young…
He had actually been planning to take a break, but was specially sent by Jing Hongchen to secretly protect the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's team—mainly because of Jiang Jue.
Initially, he had been unwilling. After all, he was a Class 9 Soul Engineer, a Titled Douluo-level powerhouse—why should he babysit a bunch of kids?
But when Jing Hongchen handed him a spatial ring, he immediately agreed. Why? The reward was too generous.
Although he wasn't short on money, rare metals were a different story—many of them couldn't be bought even with money.
So, he figured that compared to a vacation, the students' safety was more important. Plus, Jing Hongchen specifically warned him: Jiang Jue is crucial. He must not come to harm.
So, Elder Lin did his job diligently. However, with his 92nd-level cultivation, he couldn't detect Zhang Peng, who was at 97th-level.
"Alright, get some rest. On the battlefield, bring glory to our academy."
With that, Elder Lin left the room.
As soon as he did, a wisp of black mist floated in through the window.
A figure materialized—it was Zhang Peng. But at this moment, his eyes were full of killing intent, and he was holding a burly man in his hand as he spoke in a low voice to Jiang Jue.
"Young Master, that old woman dared to threaten you. I think she's already asking to die. Shall I eliminate her?"
Jiang Jue lightly waved his hand.
"No rush. She won't escape eventually. But Zhang Lao, who is this?"
The man in Zhang Peng's hand had a swollen face, black mist curling around his body, and looked completely drained. His soul power had been sealed.
"This guy was sneaking around outside your window. Shifty fellow—clearly no good. I beat him up a bit and found out he's Cheng Gang, the Star Luo Empire's Guardian Douluo."
"He also claimed you were a reincarnated soul beast."
Jiang Jue paused as he looked at the bruised Cheng Gang. The name rang a bell.
Wasn't Cheng Gang the Titled Douluo who got scolded by Xuanzi?
That guy thought too highly of himself. He once claimed Huo Yuhao was a reincarnated soul beast and got thoroughly humiliated by Xuanzi.
What a character…
Out of all the strong people in the tournament, only Cheng Gang thought Huo Yuhao was a reincarnated soul beast—and even acted on it. If that were true, wouldn't Shrek Academy's many Titled Douluos have noticed?
Now it was happening again—but this time, Jiang Jue was the target.
In truth, aside from rare exceptions like Snow Empress, soul beasts that reach 200,000 years can't reincarnate anymore. Cheng Gang clearly didn't think things through.
"Why do you believe I'm a reincarnated soul beast?"
Jiang Jue asked quietly, puzzled.
"I-I saw during your match… you used your right arm soul bone… and I sensed a soul beast's aura…"
Cheng Gang muttered incoherently, still dazed.
He had once thought that achieving Titled Douluo status placed him at the pinnacle of the Douluo Continent—yet he was effortlessly beaten and dragged around by this elder. His worldview was shattered.
"And that's enough reason for you to claim I'm a reincarnated beast?"
"Y-yes… just that."
For the first time, Jiang Jue felt the meaning of a "typical arrogant man". Still, his right arm soul bone did contain Bing Di's origin power, so he would have to be more cautious when using it in the future.
"Enough. Zhang Lao, kill him."
Jiang Jue gave Zhang Peng a deep look.
Zhang Peng understood instantly. Dark soul power gathered in his palm, ready to strike Cheng Gang's head.
"No! Don't kill me—I'm still useful!"
Cheng Gang's blurry eyes suddenly cleared as he panicked, shaking his head and struggling.
"Oh? What use could you possibly have?"
"I'm a Titled Douluo—I can serve you!"
"And? What else can you offer?"
"I heard… Star Luo Empire sent many spies into the Sun Moon Empire…"
Jiang Jue hinted meaningfully.
"I can be a spy too!"
Cheng Gang fell from Zhang Peng's grip and quickly shouted.
His title of Guardian Douluo was nothing compared to his life. These two didn't look like merciful people—he truly believed they'd kill him.
Jiang Jue's gaze darkened. He never really intended to kill Cheng Gang. As a Titled Douluo, he held considerable influence in the Star Luo Empire. If Jiang Jue could turn him into a spy, he might prove incredibly useful in the future.
"Then… offer your soul."
A bright flame rose from Jiang Jue's palm. His eyes were calm as he looked at Cheng Gang.
(End of Chapter)