Profound Heaven Soul Sovereign

The retinue advanced swiftly.

After a moment of hesitation, Hua Luoxuan finally approached Zhao Jing’s side. "Your Majesty, that Ye Xuan is the master who guided me in refining the Spirit Suppressing Pill."

"What?" Zhao Jing stared at Hua Luoxuan in shock.

Hua Luoxuan nodded, then stepped back to the side.

This matter involved several princes. He had been afraid Zhao Jing wouldn’t give his all, which was why he had revealed the secret.

"Faster, Chu Yunfei! Pick up the pace! I want to reach the Iron Blood Guard dungeons in the shortest time possible!" Zhao Jing suddenly roared, his features turbulent.

The retinue didn’t understand why, but at the Monarch’s command, their pace quickened even more.

「Iron Blood Guard, Death Row Block.」

Wang Dao sat in a chair, legs crossed, looking utterly relaxed.

In the torture chamber before him, Ye Xuan was shackled in place, his face impassive in the flickering firelight.

Commander Long, Marquis Tianqi, Marquis Zhenjun, and several others were gathered in the death row block, their faces twisted in savage sneers.

At the very front of the group were, surprisingly, the two young marquises, Chen Ming and Qin Tian.

After receiving treatment, the two grievously injured youths were able to walk again and had been brought to the Iron Blood Guard’s dungeon.

"You little bastard! Weren’t you so high and mighty? Come on, try acting tough now! Where’d all that swagger from the auction house go?"

"Heh. You regret it now, don’t you? Too late. You dared to lay a hand on me in the middle of the street. I told you: cross me in the Royal City, and you’re signing your own death warrant."

Chen Ming and Qin Tian’s faces were contorted with savagery, their eyes burning with hatred.

They walked over to the torture implements, picked up two long, barbed whips, and looked to Wang Dao. "Brother Wang Dao, can we give this kid a taste of what’s coming to him?"

"If the two young marquises want to teach this boy a lesson, of course there’s no problem," Wang Dao said with a faint smile.

Hearing this, Chen Ming and Qin Tian grew ecstatic and viciously lashed out, the whips cracking against Ye Xuan’s body.

But Ye Xuan’s expression didn’t change at all; he didn’t even raise an eyebrow.

Chen Ming and Qin Tian were only youths at the Martial Master Third Layer. On top of that, they had been grievously injured by Ye Xuan and hadn’t fully healed. The whips they swung lacked even the strength of a Samurai.

To someone like him, who had cultivated the Nine Revolutions Sacred Body, a blow of such force was no more than a mosquito bite. Aside from tearing his clothes, it didn’t even leave a scratch.

Ye Xuan, still shackled, burst out laughing. "I say, you two little marquises. Is that all the strength you have? Did you forget to eat, or were you just born limp? It feels more like you’re trying to tickle me."

He seemed to have completely forgotten he was being punished.

Their expressions immediately soured.

"You little bastard! You’re at death’s door, and you’re still running your mouth? Do you really think you have any chance of getting out of this alive?"

Commander Long and the others erupted in fury.

They couldn’t fathom how Ye Xuan could remain so fearless, even now. It ruined their fun and filled them with rage.

"Ye Xuan, you won’t be arrogant for much longer. You have those two pretty friends on the outside, don’t you? Don’t you worry. Once you’re dead, I’ll take good ’care’ of them for you. As for that fat bastard, I’m going to sell him to a slave market in another kingdom. He’ll spend the rest of his days in servitude."

"That’s right! And your family! Not only will you die, but your family back in the countryside will be uprooted. The men will become slaves, the women whores."

Unable to cause Ye Xuan physical harm, Chen Ming and Qin Tian could only use words to provoke him.

Ye Xuan’s expression had been calm, but at these words, a terrifyingly cold light flared in his eyes. "If you lay a single finger on anyone I care about, I will see you die without a grave."

"Hah! He’s angry! The kid’s finally lost it!" Chen Ming and Qin Tian roared with laughter. "See us die without a grave? A pity you’ll never have the chance."

Ye Xuan’s gaze was glacial. "It seems I was too merciful back on the street. I didn’t kill you two. Rest assured, the moment I get out of here, I’ll make sure you both die by my hand."

Startled by the killing intent exploding from Ye Xuan’s eyes, Chen Ming and Qin Tian instinctively took a step back.

Then, remembering their own situation, they stopped and snarled, their faces twisting with rage, "Brat, you’re still talking tough when you’re about to die. You’ll have to get the chance first!"

Wang Dao, who had been sitting the whole time, finally stood up.

"Ye Xuan, I’m afraid you’re still thinking someone will come to save you, aren’t you? Give up that hope. This is the Iron Blood Guard, the First Prince’s territory. No one can save you, not even the Fourth Prince. Once you enter this place, you’re already a dead man. If you have to blame someone, blame yourself for daring to oppose the First Prince."

CLANG!

Wang Dao drew the battle saber from his waist, releasing his killing intent.

Ye Xuan’s pupils suddenly constricted, and the Profound Qi within his body began to circulate faintly.

’In reality, this death row block can’t hold me.’

’The only reason I’ve waited this long was for rescue, but it looks like it won’t arrive in time.’

’I really don’t want to have to break out, but if Wang Dao actually attacks, I’ll have no choice.’

His gaze fell upon Commander Long, Marquis Tianqi, and Marquis Zhenjun. In terms of power, they were the strongest people in the room. If he were to make a move, they were the ones he’d have to watch.

Wang Dao gripped his battle saber, approaching slowly with a sinister chill on his face. He sneered, "Don’t be nervous, Ye Xuan. I won’t kill you without an order from the First Prince. But... breaking your arms and legs first shouldn’t be a problem."

SWOOSH!

The battle saber in Wang Dao’s hand blurred into a phantom as he brought it down in a vicious chop.

At the sight, the Profound Qi within Ye Xuan surged as he prepared to shatter his chains.

"Stop!"

At that critical juncture, a roar like a thunderclap of fury suddenly rang out from outside the death row block: "All of you, back down! Hands on your heads and get on the ground!"

The roar was like a bolt from the blue, thundering through the death row block. It rattled Wang Dao, a Third Layer Martial Master, so fiercely that his body went weak, and he found himself unable to complete the swing of his saber.

He flew into a rage and roared in the direction of the voice, "Which bastard is interfering with the Iron Blood Guard’s business? Get the hell out here!"

With the First Prince backing him, he feared no one.

It wasn’t just him—Commander Long, Marquis Tianqi, and Marquis Zhenjun all wore looks of fury as well.

But in the next moment, when they saw who had arrived, the anger on their faces instantly froze. Their complexions turned deathly pale, and sweat beaded on their foreheads.

A large retinue entered the death row block, led by a dignified middle-aged man. The leader wasn’t especially martial in appearance, but he radiated an ineffable, domineering aura.

WHOOSH!

A figure suddenly appeared before Wang Dao, so fast that he had no time to react.

The person landed a vicious slap across Wang Dao’s face, sending him stumbling into a nearby wall with a spray of blood, his mind completely dazed.

"You bastard! How dare you insult the reigning Monarch! Get on your knees!"

The words echoed faintly in Wang Dao’s ringing mind.

The voice was incredibly familiar—it was the First Prince!

’The reigning Monarch?’

’Why are the Monarch and the First Prince here?!’

THUD! THUD!

Marquis Tianqi, Marquis Zhenjun, and the others instantly fell to their knees.

"Long live His Majesty! May he live ten thousand years!"

They trembled with an inexplicable fear, wondering why His Majesty had suddenly appeared here.

As for Commander Long, he was so frightened he was trembling like a leaf, his head bowed so low he didn’t dare look at the person before him.

Given his status and position, he had never had the chance for an audience with the Monarch before. His greatest dream had been to be summoned by His Majesty. He had never imagined that the first time in his life he laid eyes on the Monarch would be in a place like this, under circumstances like these.

An inexplicable panic began to spread through Commander Long’s heart.

Zhao Jing rushed in, completely ignoring the kneeling men. His gaze immediately fixed on the inside of the cell.

He saw a young man shackled to a torture rack. Facing the sudden arrival of the crowd, his eyes were calm, showing neither surprise nor fear. He exuded a natural air of serene detachment, as if he were above it all.

’This boy is extraordinary.’

This thought instantly surfaced in Zhao Jing’s mind.

"Young Master Xuan."

Seeing Ye Xuan shackled there, Hua Luoxuan’s heart, which had been in his throat, dropped back into his chest. He hurriedly started to walk forward.

But he was beaten to it by Zhao Jing, who moved even faster. Before the shocked eyes of everyone present, Zhao Jing personally unfastened the chains binding Ye Xuan. "Master, you have suffered. I, as Monarch of the Liuyun Kingdom, am deeply sorry for not arriving sooner."

Zhao Jing’s actions left everyone dumbfounded.

The great Monarch of a kingdom, personally unchaining a mere boy and even offering an apology.

HISS!

Everyone sucked in a sharp breath. Were their eyes deceiving them?

And when Zhao Jing spoke, the hearts of the kneeling Marquis Tianqi and his cohorts plunged into ice.

That attitude, those words—what did they mean?

It meant the winds had changed. It meant this person’s background was so immense that even His Majesty had to come personally. This kid, what was his identity? Who was he?

Their hearts were filled with terror and unease, and their bodies began to tremble uncontrollably.

"You lot! What audacity! To twist black and white, to frame the innocent and loyal! Is this still my Iron Blood Guard?"

Zhao Jing supported Ye Xuan, then turned to look at the kneeling Iron Blood Guard, his face filled with rage.

At this moment, Chu Yunfei also stepped forward. With a frigid expression, he bellowed at the Iron Blood Guard, "How did you conspire to frame this man? Confess everything, or you will face the full, merciless wrath of the law!"

As the kingdom’s foremost expert, Chu Yunfei held the title of Grand Steward of the Imperial Guard. However, he had delegated authority to his trusted subordinates, who ran the various departments, and he rarely involved himself in its day-to-day affairs.

In recent years, however, the First Prince had taken control of the Iron Blood Guard’s Southern Guard. As a result, Chu Yunfei’s prestige within their ranks was not particularly high.

Therefore, when he issued his command, the kneeling members of the Iron Blood Guard merely exchanged glances before their eyes all shifted in unison toward the First Prince.