Early the next morning, a luxurious carriage bearing the emblem of the Star Luo imperial family slowly rolled out of the palace gates and made its way into Star Luo City.
Shu Yan lifted a corner of the curtain covering the carriage window and glanced out at the street. The sounds of the outside world flowed clearly into his ears—the rhythmic clopping of hooves, the cries of street vendors, and the chatter and laughter of passersby...
Just as Shu Yan found himself slightly lost in thought, Xu Jiujiu, seated beside him, gently tugged his hand and spoke softly:
"Ah Yan, I didn't explain everything in full yesterday. Today, I should tell you more about Elder Han. His temperament is far too strange—I'm worried something unexpected might happen when we meet him."
Snapping out of his thoughts, Shu Yan gave a nod.
Xu Jiujiu cleared her throat, then began:
"Elder Han's full name is Han Lin. He's over eighty years old now—about the same age as Grandma Man Yi. He's not only an eighth-rank soul tool engineer, but also a rare Title Douluo. His soul power level is ninety-one. His martial soul is the Golden Thread Ghost Serpent—a rare and venomous snake-type spirit. It's on par with the famous Jade Phosphor Serpent martial soul of the continent, though they differ slightly in focus."
"In his early years, Elder Han studied under an eighth-rank soul engineer who had defected from the Sun Moon Empire, inheriting that teacher's full legacy. However, for unknown reasons, he eventually clashed with his master in a fierce battle and accidentally killed him. Since then, Elder Han's personality has become extremely volatile. These days, he mostly isolates himself, obsessively crafting soul tools with little to no social interaction. Sometimes, he even acts deranged and lashes out at others without warning."
"On the other hand, although Elder Han holds the title of Title Douluo, the truth is… his strength isn't quite what it seems. He relied heavily on medicinal enhancements to forcefully reach that level. With the aid of his soul tools, he can just barely exert the power expected of a Title Douluo. However, the side effects of those medicines from his younger days were severe—they drastically shortened his lifespan. By now, I'd say he probably has less than ten years left to live…"
After finishing, Xu Jiujiu fell silent. Shu Yan rubbed his brow and summarized:
"So basically, this Elder Han… is a lucid madman?"
Xu Jiujiu seemed amused by the phrase and nodded in agreement.
"Pretty much. He's a madman obsessed with soul tools. That's the only reason he managed to reach the level of an eighth-and-a-half-rank soul engineer. My imperial brother even joked once that if we sent Elder Han to study in the Sun Moon Empire, he might just make it to ninth rank."
"But unfortunately, Elder Han seems to absolutely loathe the Sun Moon Empire. Of course, that last part was just a joke—you shouldn't take it seriously!"
She chuckled lightly after saying that.
Shu Yan shrugged. It seemed he had found a breakthrough—if the man was a soul tool fanatic, then figuring out how to handle him had just gotten a lot easier.
Xu Jiujiu shared a couple more stories about Elder Han, then said no more. The carriage continued steadily onward and soon entered a quiet street, far more serene compared to the rest of the city. Xu Jiujiu spoke again:
"Most of the southern district of Star Luo City is home to imperial elites and government officials, so the security here is much tighter than elsewhere. Even during the day, it remains peaceful—very few would dare stir up trouble here."
Shu Yan acknowledged with a quiet hum. The carriage continued to the end of the street before stopping. He stepped down with Xu Jiujiu in his arms, and Starcloud Douluo appeared behind them. The three walked up the steps and knocked on a heavy metal door.
After a long moment, the door creaked open from within. A disheveled middle-aged man peeked out. Upon receiving and reading the visiting card Xu Jiujiu handed him, his expression changed drastically. He quickly flung the doors wide open and bowed deeply:
"Han Xin greets Your Highness the Princess, Senior Starcloud Douluo, and this young master…"
Xu Jiujiu gave him a brief glance and stated directly:
"Take us to Elder Han. This is an urgent matter—there's no time to waste."
Han Xin stepped aside at once.
"Please, honored guests, come in. The patriarch just ended his closed-door cultivation yesterday. He's currently resting in the residence. Please follow me."
Xu Jiujiu nodded and led the other two in after him.
As they walked, Shu Yan observed the surroundings. His gaze paused briefly on some unusually placed decorations before looking away—he could sense it. Those were soul tool detection devices. Nearly every corner of the estate was equipped with such instruments. Though the arrangement wasn't particularly refined, the tools themselves seemed fairly effective.
To be honest, Shu Yan knew next to nothing about soul tools. He had no interest in making them, and remained stuck at the "I can use them, but I'm too lazy to learn how to make them" stage. And barring any unexpected changes, that was unlikely to change.
From his perspective, learning to make soul tools would just be a waste of time. For a Soul Master with an extreme attribute, cultivation between Rank 30 and Rank 70 was already a grueling challenge. Diverting time to soul tool crafting? That was just plain foolish in his eyes.
Instead of making things himself, he much preferred letting others do the crafting so he could just use the results—saving time, effort, and even hair. That was just the way he saw it, and frankly, he didn't care if others agreed or not.
…
They entered the rear courtyard of the estate, where the foliage grew denser and the gentle sound of flowing water could be heard. A small pavilion came into view. In its center, an elderly man with snow-white hair and beard lay half-dozing on a lounge chair. Even as the four approached, he didn't so much as twitch, as if in a deep sleep.
Starcloud Douluo snorted coldly. Starlight flickered in her hand—and in the next moment, the lounge chair exploded.
The elderly man jolted awake. His expression instantly contorted with fury as nine soul rings appeared at his feet—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, purple, black, black, black, black. Several massive soul tool cannons materialized around him, and a terrifying aura of soul power began to gather. Han Xin was so frightened that his scalp went numb, his messy hair standing on end. Without thinking, he vaulted over the courtyard wall and disappeared without a trace, leaving behind only a panicked shriek:
"The patriarch's gone crazy again! Run!!"
Veins popped on Starcloud Douluo's forehead. The next second, she shouted furiously:
"Han you old ghost! Open your dog eyes and see who I am! Then look again at who's standing beside me! How dare you?!"
The roar exploded like thunder, shaking the surroundings.
Han Lin snapped out of his bloodshot trance. His eyes flickered with confusion—until they landed on Starcloud Douluo and Xu Jiujiu. His pupils instantly shrank. Then he glanced down at the nine soul rings at his feet, and the array of soul cannons primed for firing.
For a moment… it felt like the sky was about to fall.