CHAPTER 59: Judgment and Misunderstanding

Chapter 59: Judgment and Misunderstanding

The Soul Douluo of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, who had just been forcibly suppressed by the Snow Emperor, opened his mouth as if trying to say something—but no words came out.

The shift in the battle had happened too suddenly. Just moments ago, he was certain of a 98% chance of victory. Yet, reality had flipped on its head. Xiao Qiang was not at all the weakling he had assumed. Even now, he couldn't figure out where his analysis had gone so terribly wrong.

"Alright, since you have no objections," Xiao Qiang said indifferently, "Snow Emperor, please freeze him and seal him away. I'll retrieve him when I need him."

As he spoke, Xiao Qiang took out a high-capacity soul guide, one that could store living beings, with a space volume of 100 cubic meters, and handed it to the Snow Emperor.

She received it calmly. In the next instant, the elderly Soul Douluo with eight soul rings lost consciousness and was sealed without resistance.

With the owner of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner martial soul captured, Xiao Qiang turned his attention to Jin Chuan. His expression was calm, but his eyes were sharp.

"When I take action, someone dies. When someone dies, someone cries. When someone cries, someone wants to speak. Speak up. You have at least three things to say."

Jin Chuan trembled and stammered, "Spare my life!"

"That's one sentence," Xiao Qiang said coolly.

Jin Chuan fell into silence, but Xiao Qiang wasn't interested in playing games. Without wasting more time, he summoned a replica of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner martial soul.

"Take a good look. What do you think this is?"

Jin Chuan's eyes widened in horror. "T-Ten Thousand Soul Banner! Are you an evil soul master too!?"

"Alright, alright. I generously gave you the chance to say three last words. Not only did you try to stall for time, but you also had the nerve to slander my Human Emperor Flag as the Ten Thousand Soul Banner. You're already dead!"

Jin Chuan: "…"

Why does this sound so familiar…?

Without giving him a chance to respond, Xiao Qiang activated the first soul skill of the martial soul—Soul Extraction.

Jin Chuan screamed as his soul was forcibly ripped from his body by the Human Emperor Flag, then slowly spiraled toward the banner before being absorbed into it completely.

Inside Xiao Qiang's spiritual sea, Tian Meng watched the scene and spoke up.

"Xiao Qiang, I just thought of something."

"What's up, Brother Tian Meng?"

"You're using this martial soul to extract souls for experimenting on intelligent soul rings, right? Aren't you worried people will think you're an evil soul master?"

"Huh? That's what you're worried about?"

"This is important!"

"Don't worry, Brother Tian Meng. The martial soul I use is not the Ten Thousand Soul Banner—it's the Human Emperor Flag, a sacred treasure of humanity. Look at that purple-black glow—it's the purest Hongmeng purple energy!"

In the spiritual sea, Tian Meng fell silent for a moment. "Are you serious? It's one thing to fool others, but don't lie to yourself."

Xiao Qiang chuckled. "Brother Tian Meng, you're overthinking it. With simulated soul skills, no one can tell. Plus, with the Snow Emperor's protection, I'll be fine."

"And besides," he continued, "once you finish developing the wisdom soul ring into a proper system, even if people find out, as long as the system lets people fuse higher-level soul rings, scholars and theorists will definitely speak up for me."

"Scholars? What do you mean by that?"

"Uh…" Xiao Qiang paused. He realized that Douluo Continent had no concept of Confucian scholars or 'Great Confucians'.

"I mean people who'll defend me with logic and reason. Anyway, don't worry. When we return to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Instructor Academy, I'll find a teacher who can provide us with enough materials. Worst case, we catch more evil soul masters or soul beasts."

Tian Meng sighed. "Well, as long as you know what you're doing. Even though you're not as brilliant as me, you're still my chosen host. I believe in you."

Xiao Qiang rubbed his forehead. Did I praise myself too much earlier…?

"Oh right," Tian Meng added, "make sure to check their storage soul guides. Don't repeat last time where they were all empty."

"Got it."

Leaving behind the slaughtered village, Xiao Qiang first injected his soul power into Jin Chuan's soul guide. The storage unlocked, revealing its contents.

Xiao Qiang raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"As expected of a Five-Ring Soul King… even poorer than the Six-Ring Soul Emperor I fought before. At least that guy had some useful stuff. This thing's best item is a Level Four soul guide. It's barely worth a thousand gold soul coins in the Sun Moon Empire."

Shaking his head, Xiao Qiang turned to the soul guide taken from the old Soul Douluo. This time, he had better luck.

Compared to Jin Chuan, this soul guide was clearly more valuable. It contained various elixirs, a Level Seven soul guide, and… a mysterious bag.

Judging by its size and structure, it likely contained a living person.

Curious, Xiao Qiang opened the bag—and found a curled-up woman inside.

"Please don't kill me! I'll do anything!" she pleaded, her voice trembling.

Xiao Qiang tore the bag open. The woman stayed curled up in fear, refusing to look him in the eye.

"You're safe now. The evil soul master is dead."

She cautiously looked up, scanning her surroundings. After confirming the absence of danger, she slowly calmed down. Then her eyes landed on Xiao Qiang's face—disguised to appear like a man in his thirties.

"Senior, are you a Soul Douluo?" she asked respectfully.

"No, I'm just a Four-Ring Soul Master," Xiao Qiang replied calmly.

The woman's expression shifted to confusion. A Four-Ring Soul Master? But the one who captured her was at least a Soul Saint. Could someone this weak really have saved her?

Then her confusion turned to doubt… and then to cold cynicism.

A sneer tugged at the corners of her mouth. "You expect me to fall for the 'hero saves the beauty' act? Don't you see who you are?"

Xiao Qiang: "???"

Where was this coming from?

"I'm saying, did you misunderstand something?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Misunderstanding? Don't make me laugh. Do you think I haven't seen this trick before? You save me, pretend to be weak, and expect me to be grateful. I'm warning you now—if you don't send me back safely, you'll regret it. My grandfather is the Lord of Lu City in Qingmu!"

Xiao Qiang stared at her blankly, rubbing his temples.

"This isn't some 'hero saves beauty' story. I really just happened to save you by chance."

"Hmph! Like I'd believe that!"

"…Believe it or not—" Xiao Qiang sighed, pulled out a soul-guide ray gun, and aimed it directly at her head.

"Miss, I'm not lying."

Bang!

The shot echoed in the clearing.

Xiao Qiang stood there coldly, lowering the weapon.

"Do you really think I'm a good person? I'm not about to let someone I saved insult me like that."

He muttered a few words under his breath and dealt with the body cleanly, making sure no accidents would follow.

And finally, after taking an unexpected half-month break, Xiao Qiang made his way back to the Sun and Moon Royal Soul Instructor Academy—well ahead of schedule.