Douluo Jueshi: I Don't Want to Be an Evil Soul Master

Chapter 364 Nighttime Intrusion into the Palace
When Jing Hongchen traded the alloy smelting technology to Lin Xiao, one of the conditions was that Mingdetang would provide Lin Xiao with all the materials he needed.

For Mingde Hall, which is supported by almost the entire Sun Moon Empire, providing materials for a level nine soul master is not a difficult task. Moreover, as Lin Xiao's strength increases, Mingde Hall is less likely to back out.

As expected, Jing Hongchen nodded in agreement without much thought after hearing the story.

"No problem, I'll take you into Mingde Hall in a bit. With me here, no one will question your identity."

"Then thank you very much, Hall Master. I may need quite a lot of materials this time."

"a lot of?"

“That’s right.” Lin Xiao nodded. “As you should know, Hall Master, my self-propelled soul guide cannon has been with me ever since I became a Level 5 Soul Master.”

"Their greatest advantage is that they can win by sheer numbers, free from the control of the Soul Master. Now that I've upgraded them to level nine, the materials required won't be small."

"Hahaha." Jing Hongchen laughed. "You underestimate the materials reserves in the hall. As long as you're not making a batch of soul tools that are enough to flatten Mingdu, the materials in the hall are definitely enough."

As she spoke, Jing Hongchen picked up some food from the table and looked at Lin Xiao with a smile, "Tell me the truth, if you hadn't been short of materials to make a soul tool this time, were you planning to keep the fact that you're still alive a secret?"

Lin Xiao did not deny it. "As you know, since His Majesty decided to purge the Holy Spirit Cult, life has not been easy for evil spirit masters like me. Now that I have finally escaped, I still have to be careful."

"However, I still need to ask the hall master to help me conceal my whereabouts when I bring this up."

“It’s easy for me.” Jing Hongchen paused slightly. “Do you also need to keep it a secret from Jiayi? He’s been very worried about you ever since you went missing.”

"He also resigned from his position as director of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Guidance Academy and has been busy with research on hybrid materials."

“Hybrid materials…” Lin Xiao pondered for a moment and nodded. “Research on hybrid materials is much more complex than that on metals. Teacher, this path is not easy.”

"It can be considered a blessing in disguise. If it weren't for this, Jiayi might not have had the opportunity to advance to the ninth level of Soul Master."

"Since the teacher is busy, I won't bother him for now. Please give my regards to the hall master. I will come to see the teacher again when I return to Mingdu in the future."

“You don’t need to be so careful. Although your identity is special, you have the identity of Mingde Hall, which makes you different from other evil soul masters of the Holy Spirit Cult.” Jing Hongchen said, glancing out the window.

"When you entered the city, you should have seen that square in front of you. There is a stone monument in it commemorating you. Among so many evil soul masters in the Holy Spirit Cult, you are still the only one."

"In order to find out about your experience, the Empress even sent people to the academy to look for me and Jiayi. Such treatment is something that even ordinary royal guests do not enjoy, let alone evil spirit masters."

"Queen?"

Upon hearing this, Jing Hongchen smiled and looked at Lin Xiao, "It's Ju Zi. You should be familiar with her. She graduated from our Sun Moon Royal Soul Guidance Academy. Now that I think about it, she probably entered the academy to act as His Majesty's spy."

Jing Hongchen's guess was correct. In addition to learning about soul tools, Ju Zi initially entered the Sun Moon Royal Soul Guidance Academy because Xu Tianran wanted Mingde Hall to support his position.

However, after listening to Jing Hongchen's words, Lin Xiao's thoughts did not dwell on the matter of Ju Zi acting as an informant. Instead, he thought about what Jing Hongchen had just mentioned.

Why would the Empress send someone to inquire about his past just to write an epitaph for him? She was one of the few people in the Sun Moon Empire who knew he was still alive.

Lin Xiao looked up from the window towards the palace, but could only see a section of palace walls. "That's about enough. I'll take you back to Mingde Hall. Although your identity document has been cancelled, the certificate I gave you before is still valid. If I'm not at the academy in the future, you can contact Jia Yi and have him take you to the storeroom to get the materials you need."

"Thank you, Hall Master." Lin Xiao stood up and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Jing Hongchen. He could hear the subtle details in Jing Hongchen's words; regardless of his identity, Mingde Hall and Sun Moon Royal Soul Guidance Academy had always treated him as one of their own.

With Jing Hongchen leading the way, Lin Xiao entered the Sun Moon Royal Soul Guidance Academy without attracting anyone's attention. After all, Jing Hongchen was the head of the Mingde Hall and a level nine soul master himself. He often brought people into the academy, and the other teachers were already used to it.

Lin Xiao didn't leave the Sun Moon Royal Soul Guidance Academy until the sun had completely set outside and the city of Mingdu was illuminated by the lights of the soul guidance devices, just like every day.

In just a few months, the lighting soul tools in some parts of Mingdu have been replaced. With the emergence of devices that can convert other energies into soul power, many common soul tools no longer require soul masters to recharge them.

Soul tools are no longer something that only Soul Masters and Soul Masters can use; they have truly become more and more common among ordinary people.

Standing under the illuminated soul tool by the roadside, Lin Xiao pulled himself out of his thoughts, glanced in the direction of the city gate, but did not choose to leave.

After a moment's thought, he suddenly turned around and walked towards the palace.

"Your Majesty, it's time to administer the medicine."

Inside the palace, the voice she had heard countless times rang in Orange's ears once again.

Setting down the military treatise in her hand, Ju Zi reached for the medicine bowl, and for some reason, her hand seemed to be trembling slightly.

Since returning from the front lines, she has repeated this process almost every day. She knows that taking this medicine will bring her one step closer to that day.

She glanced at the surrounding walls. Although she was now the empress, what difference was there between her and the prisoners here? They were all just waiting for her "execution".

"Gudong-"

As soon as Ju Zi swallowed the medicine, a maidservant immediately brought her water to rinse her mouth.

"You all stand down."

"Yes, ma'am."

Ju Zi gazed out the window, lost in thought. After waiting for a long time without any further movement outside, she realized that Xu Tianran probably wouldn't be coming tonight.

She then turned around and went back to bed, gently lying down.

However, the moment her head touched the pillow, she suddenly sat up abruptly.

Looking around, she saw nothing unusual in the light of her soul-guided device, but her years of experience fighting on the front lines told her that something was definitely wrong in the room.

Just as he was about to call someone in, a faint shadow suddenly appeared in the window, and a familiar voice came from that shadow.

"What do you want from me?"

(End of this chapter)