Chapter 536: Scaring Little Kids

Join my Patreon to be 30 chapters ahead of the webnovel releases:

patreon.com/ZeroMoney

I would appreciate your help if you could join my Patreon and support me because it would keep me motivated. 

******

"As a princess of a kingdom, such unruliness is unbecoming," Tang San said, shaking his head. "Yan isn't bad-looking, though..."

"Saint Son!"

Yan couldn't hold back anymore. His forehead veins bulged as he snapped, "Can we move past this topic?"

"OK!" Tang San replied, making a gesture toward Yan.

The gesture stunned Xu Huang, who hurriedly asked, "How do you know that gesture? It's a secret sign between my elder brother and me. Outsiders couldn't possibly understand it, let alone its meaning. And yet you..."

"You might not believe me," Tang San shrugged, completely unbothered by Yan and Fu Hongchen's presence. "But your elder brother and I, in some ways, could be considered similar. Also, I probably know more about this kind of language than he does. After all, foreign languages are my specialty."

Xu Huang was baffled but intrigued. Tentatively, she said, "Ai la fu you. What does that mean?"

"Your pronunciation is a bit off. It should be 'I love you.' Normally, it's a confession between a man and a woman, meaning: I love you," Tang San explained with a light chuckle.

His gaze shifted to Yan, who seemed to have a sudden realization and began muttering "Ai la fu you" repeatedly, clearly plotting a secret confession to someone.

It wasn't hard to guess—to Hu Liena, of course.

"You really do know!" Xu Huang's eyes widened in disbelief. "Who exactly are you?"

"Tang San. And, from now on, your guardian."

With a slight motion of his finger, the soul-sealing belts on Xu Huang and Fu Hongchen's waists fell off.

Without the restraints, their soul power immediately returned.

The two exchanged glances and darted toward the doors on either side of the interrogation room. Over the past few days of captivity, they had familiarized themselves with the prison's layout. Fu Hongchen had even noticed a waterway leading to the outside world before their capture—a possible escape route.

Moreover, Tang San's special status had temporarily cleared the guards from the area.

What better chance to escape?

But—

Just as their hands touched the door handles, two Blue Silver Emperor leaves wrapped around them. Before they could react, they were dragged back to their original seats.

Before they could struggle, Tang San said, "I believe you've realized the difference in strength between you and me. So why attempt something so ridiculous?"

With that, Tang San released the Blue Silver Emperor.

Xu Huang glanced at Fu Hongchen and abandoned the escape plan. "Is this what you call a guardian's attitude?" she asked.

"A guardian watches over and monitors. Don't confuse it with being a 'parent,'" Tang San replied with a faint smile, explaining his interpretation. "We are civilized people. Just because you're from the Sun and Moon Empire doesn't mean we'll wipe you out indiscriminately. Even those soldiers and generals who invaded Douluo Continent are subjected to legal trials after being defeated."

"Hmph—"

"You may find this hypocritical, but this is the fundamental difference between us and you."

"After all, I don't want us to become like you—wild beasts who raze cities on a whim."

Xu Huang and Fu Hongchen were stunned. Even Yan appeared momentarily dazed. Tang San's words seemed to criticize not just the Sun and Moon Empire but also the former Spirit Hall and the two great empires. Yet under his influence, things seemed to be gradually changing. While strength still commanded power, weaker individuals now had some voice, at least within Spirit Hall.

"Nonsense!"

Xu Huang snapped angrily. "We came to liberate you!"

"And what makes you think we need liberation?" Tang San countered.

"Because... because..."

Xu Huang struggled for words, only to see Tang San place photos and videos in front of her. They depicted the Sun and Moon Army's invasion of Xiaohai City and a mound of corpses forming a grisly monument.

"If this is your so-called liberation," Tang San said coldly, "then if I were to go to the Sun and Moon Continent, slaughter a city, and pile up the bodies into a similar mound, would that also count as liberation?"

Xu Huang's eyes widened in shock. Though she was Xu Huang's younger sister, she had never been exposed to such horrors. Having grown up shielded from real war, she had never imagined "liberation" could be so cruel.

"It seems you still have some conscience left," Tang San observed, confirming his suspicion. She had been born into royalty and protected all her life. Her spoiled and willful demeanor stemmed from aristocratic influence. Yet, she was also naive and somewhat empathetic toward the poor, her eyes reflecting a kind of innocence and ignorance akin to a freshly graduated student entering society.

"According to the laws of Douluo Continent—including those of Spirit Hall, Heaven Dou Empire, Star Luo Empire, and the New Heaven Dou Federation—you piloted the Moon Merchant ship into our territory without permission. While this isn't considered an invasion, it is still a breach of our sovereignty."

"Therefore, you must serve a sentence."

"Given your special status, I'll personally oversee your custody. Hopefully, you'll learn something, correct your attitude, and discover your true purpose in life."

"As for the others? Their soul power will be sealed, and they'll be sent to the mines to dig."

Xu Huang and Fu Hongchen, snapping out of their stupor, exchanged glances. After a while, Xu Huang hesitantly asked, "How long do we need to serve?"

Tang San thought for a moment and replied, "Ten years. How does that sound?"

"Too long!" Fu Hongchen protested, trying to bargain.

"Fifteen years," Tang San countered.

"What?!"

"Twenty years," Tang San added with a faint smirk, reminding them, "Keep in mind, if I don't hear the word 'agree' or if you remain silent for ten seconds, I'll add another five years."

Xu Huang frowned in confusion. "What's the point? You could increase it to a hundred years, and we'd just grow old!"

"Twenty-five years," Tang San replied casually before turning to Yan. "Go to the cells and bring out a death row inmate. Preferably someone older or on the brink of death."

Yan, without hesitation, grabbed a decrepit, half-dead convict from the cells.

The man fit both criteria perfectly.

Under Xu Huang and Fu Hongchen's bewildered gaze, Tang San snapped his fingers.

With a crisp sound, a Blue Silver Emperor vine emerged from the ground, wrapping around the convict. Life energy flowed into him, healing his injuries rapidly. His skin became smooth again, though his hair remained white.

"See that? As long as I wish, a person can live indefinitely," Tang San remarked, signaling to Yan with his eyes.

"What do you mean?" Yan asked bluntly, completely missing Tang San's hint.

Tang San sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Can we not make this serious situation a joke? Punch him in the stomach—hard enough to go straight through."

"This seems... excessive."

Despite his words, Yan grinned wickedly and delivered a magma-infused punch straight through the convict's abdomen, the force of the blow visible as it burst through his lower back.

The convict howled in pain, veins bulging across his body, eyes wide with agony.

Tang San calmly activated his first soul skill, healing the wound in less than ten seconds. The convict's abdomen was restored, though his tattered prison uniform remained charred.

Next, Tang San ordered Yan to decapitate the man.

With a sharp thud, the convict's head fell to the ground, his eyes still rolling in their sockets, his consciousness not yet dissipated.

Tang San picked up the severed head and pressed it back onto the body, using his soul skill to reattach it seamlessly. The convict, now trembling violently, looked at Tang San in terror.

"Interesting, isn't it?" Tang San smiled at Xu Huang and Fu Hongchen, his expression dark and foreboding. "Have you decided what to say next? Because I mean what I say. If you test my patience, the sentence won't stop at a hundred years—it could go to a thousand, or even ten thousand. With me here, not even death will be an escape for you."

Tang San motioned to Yan again.

"Another punch?" Yan asked, a little too eagerly.

"No," Tang San said, "give them something more impactful. Execute this convict, but first, explain what he did."

"Ah, this guy?" Yan began, grinning. "He wanted to become a soul master and used his martial spirit to drain blood and soul power from others. Because he was too old and couldn't defeat other soul masters, he targeted ordinary people—especially women, children, and infants. Before his capture, it was reported that he drained 173 women, 221 children aged six to fifteen, and 369 infants. He also had a habit of consuming human brain matter."

As he finished speaking, Yan crushed the convict's head with a single punch, reducing it to pulp. He continued, "His crimes were so heinous that we decided not to execute him immediately. Instead, we're using him for experiments on blood, soul power, and spiritual energy. You'd understand this better than I do, Tang San. As for his soul..."

"Stop," Tang San interrupted. "That part isn't for discussion."

But Xu Huang and Fu Hongchen were no longer paying attention to Yan. They were too horrified by the convict's atrocities.

In the Sun and Moon Empire, many sought shortcuts to becoming soul masters due to insufficient talent. However, Xu Huang and Fu Hongchen had only ever heard such stories—they had never encountered anything so depraved.

The depths of a fallen soul master's cruelty were beyond their imagination.

Tang San wrapped the convict's mangled corpse in the Blue Silver Emperor and activated his fourth soul skill, Nine Lives Resurrection. Within fifteen minutes, the dead convict "revived." At first dazed, the convict soon realized where he was and recoiled in terror, trembling as he stared at Tang San and Yan.

"Now do you see? Even if you die, I can bring you back," Tang San said, smiling devilishly. His chilling gaze made Xu Huang and Fu Hongchen feel as though they had plunged into an icy abyss.

"Have you made up your minds yet?"

"Agree!" Xu Huang blurted out immediately.

Fu Hongchen nodded stiffly, his body moving before his mind could process.

(End of Chapter)