Three days later, in Heaven Dou City.
"An invitation?"
Lin Yong had just returned to the Duke's residence when a servant arrived, holding a red invitation. The invitation had two large golden characters embossed on it—Tang Sect.
"Tang Sect? What kind of show is that brat Tang San putting on this time?"
The golden-embossed invitation floated from the servant's hands and hovered in front of Lin Yong, unfolding as it did. It read:
To: Duke Lin Yong, personally opened.
Kindly be informed: On the seventh day from now, it will be the ninth birthday of the Tang Sect's Sect Leader, Tang San.
A birthday celebration will be held at the Tang Sect's headquarters, along with a special exhibition of our sect's unique hidden weapons.
We sincerely invite you to attend.
Invited by: Elder Bai He of the Tang Sect.
"Bai He!"
After reading the invitation, Lin Yong's expression remained unchanged. The invitation then floated behind him into the hands of his old butler.
While walking into the mansion, Lin Yong casually asked the servant:
"When was this invitation delivered?"
The servant hurried to keep up, falling behind Lin Yong and the old butler, respectfully replying:
"Your Excellency, this invitation arrived four days ago."
Lin Yong pondered for a moment, then muttered to himself:
"Four days ago? Only three days left until the feast."
"Tang Sect has four Elders: Titan, Lou Gao, Niu Gao, and Bai He. This is Heaven Dou City, so the invitation should have been signed by Titan. Why is it Bai He who signed it?"
"Could it be that Bai He heard about the value of the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng from Tang San and is dissatisfied with the previous trade?"
"So, Bai He signed this invitation to use the Tang Sect's influence to pressure me, hoping I'll return the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng?"
"Hmph! Dream on!"
Lin Yong admitted that Bai He's plan was a good one, but he had chosen the wrong time.
Had Bai He come a few months earlier to ask for the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng, with Titan and Niu Gao—two Soul Douluo—standing by his side, and the old butler still in seclusion, Lin Yong might have had no choice but to return the ginseng.
But unfortunately for Bai He, he had missed the optimal time.
After the old butler's breakthrough to the 96th rank, even though he hadn't obtained his ninth soul ring yet, his soul power was now enough to suppress Titan and Niu Gao.
Not to mention, after the Ice Forest expedition, the old butler not only possessed a 100,000-year-old soul ring and soul bone, but his soul power had also risen from level 90 to level 96.
As for the Tang Sect's four Elders, Bai He had no combat ability; Lou Gao's was negligible.
With two of the four Elders out of the picture, the remaining two—Titan and Niu Gao, who had soul power below rank 85, were nothing to fear in front of the old butler.
"Who else did Tang Sect invite to the banquet?" Lin Yong asked as he walked into a pavilion.
Such matters didn't need to be instructed by Lin Yong. After the Tang Sect's invitation was delivered to the Duke's residence, his secret guards had already investigated these matters.
Since the servant was delivering the invitation to Lin Yong, he had naturally been briefed by the secret guards about the investigation's findings.
After Lin Yong finished asking, the servant stood outside the pavilion, bowed, and then reported:
"Your Excellency, for the birthday celebration of the Tang Sect's Sect Leader, all the influential forces in Heaven Dou City were invited."
"Among the invited, the ones we need to pay attention to are the Royal Family and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School."
"The Royal Family, after receiving the invitation, sent Prince Xue Qinghe and the Fourth Prince Xue Beng to represent them at the banquet."
"As for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, the news is that Sect Master Ning Fengzhi will be attending personally."
Lin Yong sat on a stone bench in the pavilion, pondering the report. After hearing it, he mumbled:
"Ning Fengzhi is attending in person? Truly giving Tang San a lot of face."
"Looks like the Tang Sect's hidden weapons are still as attractive to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School as ever."
"And the Royal Family's representatives are Xue Qinghe and Xue Beng. Snow Night is still playing his imperial mind games."
"In three days, I'll visit the Tang Sect. It will be a good chance to see how much Tang San has grown. How far is he from being able to stand up to Qian Renxue?"
"If Bai He doesn't know when to stop and wants to use the Tang Sect's influence to pressure me and reclaim the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng, then I won't be polite."
"If Tang San is willing to protect Bai He, I'll just extort something valuable from him. If Tang San won't protect him, then Bai He will only have himself to blame for his bad luck."
Due to the Senshi Clan's roots in Heaven Dou City and their establishment of a reconnaissance force within the city, Lin Yong couldn't allow them to discover the trained Swift-tailed Swifts used for delivering intelligence.
Every time a Swift-tailed Swift delivered a report, it had to stop at the outskirts of Heaven Dou City, where the secret guards stationed there would take the message from it.
This not only wasted a lot of time but also reduced the efficiency of his intelligence network.
Lin Yong had been looking for an excuse to deal with the Senshi Clan, and now Bai He had provided him with the perfect reason. What a good man!
As for whether the Tang Sect would suffer significant damage, that wasn't his concern. He wasn't the leader of the Tang Sect.
Furthermore, Lin Yong only needed Tang San to have enough strength to deal with Qian Renxue.
The Senshi Clan, which had made no progress in hard power but had greatly improved its soft power, was an unnecessary presence in Lin Yong's eyes.
Tang San only needed hard power to deal with Qian Renxue. Soft powers like intelligence would be useless in a battle between top-tier powerhouses.
Since the existence of the Senshi Clan didn't affect Tang San's ability to fight Qian Renxue, and since it interfered with his intelligence network, Lin Yong naturally wouldn't allow Tang San to control that power.
Even if Bai He hadn't delivered the excuse to him, Lin Yong would have found another reason to deal with the Senshi Clan.
The next day.
In the depths of the estate, in the center of the Banyan Tree Grove.
Xu Pan stood under a banyan tree, reporting something.
"Your Excellency, Ma Hongjun has been working hard in his training over the past eight months. Just a few days ago, his soul power broke through to level 29."
"During these eight months, I've become familiar with the various military disciplines. The only area where I still need more work is in military strategy."
After hearing the report, Lin Yong, who was simultaneously cultivating the Xisui Jing, casually responded:
"Normal. Military strategy requires real battle experience to truly understand its essence."
"Without actually being on the battlefield, no matter how good your military strategy is, it's just theoretical knowledge."
"This is not your fault. Just make sure to gain more experience on the battlefield in the future."
"I understand, Your Excellency," Xu Pan said, preparing to take his leave.
"Wait a moment. Take this." Lin Yong called out to him. A streak of green light flew through the air and appeared in front of Xu Pan.
Xu Pan looked at it and found that it was a soul bone.
"Your Excellency, this... is too precious. I..."
Recognizing the item as a soul bone, Xu Pan began to speak in a disjointed manner.
Lin Yong then spoke:
"There's no need to refuse. The person in the mansion most suited to absorb this soul bone is you."
"This soul bone is called the Bloodthirsty Frenzied Hurricane Right Leg. It's over 20,000 years old, and it's not one of the three family heirloom soul bones."
"Its soul bone skill is Frenzy, which increases attack, defense, and speed by 100%."
"Therefore, this soul bone is most suited for a Beast Martial Soul Battle Soul Master."
"Neither I nor Uncle Yu have a Beast Martial Soul, so it's of little use to us."
"Among all the guards and secret agents, you have the highest seniority, the greatest achievements, and the most compatible martial soul."
"Your tasks are important, and your strength needs to be greater. This soul bone will aid you."
After hearing this, Xu Pan took the floating soul bone with both hands and replied:
"Thank you, Your Excellency. I will take my leave now."
Afterward, Xu Pan bowed and walked backward until he could no longer see Lin Yong. Then he turned and walked out of the Banyan Tree Grove.
In the center of the grove, Lin Yong continued cultivating the Xisui Jing, while his mind drifted.
In two months, Ma Hongjun would be nine years old, and his soul power would have broken through to level 30. After a few more months, after obtaining his third soul ring, it would be time to take him to meet General Ge Long.
Many years ago, when Ge Long was young, he owed Lin Yong a big favor, and now it was time for him to repay it.