Profound Heaven Soul Sovereign

"I don’t care if you’re Pavilion Master Su or Pavilion Master Ma. Our Steward Guan said he’s very busy this afternoon and won’t be seeing anyone."

The staff member was just a mere Martial Venerable, but his tone was incredibly harsh. He glanced at Su Xiuyi, and although he was intimidated by the aura of a Martial King, he clearly didn’t care.

Su Xiuyi frowned. The staff member’s attitude was truly abysmal.

Just as he was about to speak, he heard Ye Xuan say coolly from the side, "The Household Registration Section is supposed to be a place that serves the people of Celestial Capital Prefecture, isn’t it? Since when can’t you even see the person in charge during business hours? Is this how your Household Registration Section operates?"

The moment Jiang Huarong heard Ye Xuan’s words, he knew things were about to go south.

Sure enough, the staff member flew into a rage. "Who the hell are you? Does our Household Registration Section need you to teach us how to do our jobs? Get lost, now! If you don’t, then don’t blame me for what happens next..."

"Blame me for what?" A flicker of light crossed Ye Xuan’s eyes as an invisible wave of spiritual energy instantly entered the staff member’s mind.

The staff member’s eyes immediately became vacant.

"This way, please," he said blankly.

"Xuan Ye, you..." Su Xiuyi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. How could he not see that Ye Xuan had used some unique technique to control the staff member’s mind?

"He was obviously making things difficult on purpose. Why waste so much breath on him?" Ye Xuan said flatly.

Su Xiuyi shook his head, speechless. But Ye Xuan had a point. The man was clearly stalling them intentionally, so further conversation would have been pointless.

"Let’s go. We’ll go see this Steward Guan."

Jiang Huarong had been to the Household Registration Section many times, so he naturally knew where Steward Guan’s office was. He led the two of them into the inner area.

KNOCK KNOCK.

Jiang Huarong knocked gently on a door.

"Who is it? Come in."

A deep voice came from inside.

Ye Xuan and the others pushed the door open and saw a middle-aged man with short hair, a small mustache, and a steward’s uniform. He was sitting with his head down, seemingly processing some documents.

After stamping the document, he immediately looked up. When he saw Jiang Huarong, his expression instantly darkened.

"Didn’t I tell you? I still need to investigate the household registrations you submitted. If there are no issues, they will be approved. Coming to my office every day, aren’t you just disrupting my work? Get out of here, now," Steward Guan said with direct impatience.

Jiang Huarong immediately replied, "Steward Guan, this time, our Pavilion Master wanted to know the specific reason, so he came to inquire personally."

"Your Pavilion Master?" Steward Guan’s gaze fell on Su Xiuyi’s face, and his expression softened slightly. "Ah, so it’s Pavilion Master Su of Xiuyi Pavilion," he said coolly. "I’ve looked over the household registration documents submitted by your Xiuyi Pavilion. I was originally preparing to issue them, but public security in Celestial Capital Prefecture has been a bit unstable recently. For the safety of the Prefecture, I decided to conduct a further review. Once I’m sure there are no problems, I will definitely approve them."

Steward Guan spoke with practiced ease. His expression wasn’t particularly cold, but it wasn’t warm either—it struck a perfect, noncommittal balance.

Su Xiuyi asked, "If I may ask, Steward Guan, how long will this review take?"

"That’s hard to say. If it’s fast, maybe two or three days. If it’s slow, two or three months, or even longer, isn’t out of the question. You know yourself, we’re short-staffed here at the Household Registration Section, and the workload is heavy. Investigations are especially time-consuming. So, I must ask Pavilion Master Su to go back and wait patiently. As soon as there’s news, I’ll notify you immediately."

Steward Guan’s attitude wasn’t terrible. Aside from his initial outburst, he wasn’t nearly as ill-tempered as the staff member outside. He even cracked a smile from time to time, though they were all stiff, professional smiles that didn’t reach his eyes.

The content of his speech seemed unremarkable, but anyone with a discerning eye could tell it was just bureaucratic doublespeak. The bottom line was, he wasn’t going to approve Ye Xuan’s household registration.

Su Xiuyi’s brow twitched, but he quickly composed himself. He stepped forward, took out a Storage Ring, and gently placed it on Steward Guan’s desk.

Steward Guan’s brow furrowed, and his face darkened. "What is the meaning of this?" he snapped.

Su Xiuyi smiled. "Steward Guan, it’s nothing. We know the work here at the Household Registration Section is hard. This is just a personal token from me to buy some tea for the staff—a mere ten thousand mid-grade Profound Stones, hardly worth mentioning. It’s just that these household registrations are quite important to my Xiuyi Pavilion, so I hope Steward Guan can ask the staff to give it their utmost attention."

As he spoke, Su Xiuyi nonchalantly pushed the Storage Ring in front of Guan Wei.

Ten thousand mid-grade Profound Stones was no small sum.

Guan Wei’s eyes flickered. He glanced at the Storage Ring but, without any hesitation, pushed it back to Su Xiuyi. "Pavilion Master Su, my apologies, but you should take this back. The Household Registration Section may be a humble office, but we do not accept bribes. As for your registrations, I will naturally expedite the review. I will inform you as soon as there is news."

Though he said this, Guan Wei felt a pang of regret. It wasn’t that he didn’t want the ten thousand mid-grade Profound Stones, but he had already accepted something from someone else. Taking Su Xiuyi’s gift as well would be breaking the rules.

Besides, the other party had a much more powerful background than Xiuyi Pavilion.

Guan Wei’s reaction stunned Su Xiuyi. He had thought this would be enough. He assumed Guan Wei was just trying to make some extra money on the side, and ten thousand mid-grade Profound Stones was an extremely generous offer.

He never expected Guan Wei’s attitude to be so resolute, rejecting him outright.

"Steward Guan, if it’s a matter of price, we can still negotiate. Just name your figure," Su Xiuyi said with a frown.

Profound Light Pavilion was set to open in half a month. If the opening was delayed due to registration issues, the losses would be significant.

Guan Wei’s face turned cold. "Pavilion Master Su, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I am not the kind of person you take me for. If you’re here about the household registrations, then please go back and wait. When there’s news, I will naturally have someone inform you. If you’re trying to use some underhanded methods, then I’m sorry, but I, Guan Wei, am not that kind of person. Please leave."

Guan Wei directly ordered them to leave.

Guan Wei’s firm stance left Su Xiuyi at a loss for words, and he grew even more certain that something wasn’t right here.

But having reached this point, he didn’t know what to do.

Subconsciously, he shot a helpless glance at Ye Xuan.

Ye Xuan hadn’t said a word since they entered, calmly observing Guan Wei and the room’s furnishings.

Seeing Su Xiuyi look his way, he finally let out a faint, cold smile. "Steward Guan, for the past six months, have you felt that your cultivation has been somewhat sluggish? Whenever you try to condense your energy, do you feel a sense of paralysis in your Profound Sea, making it impossible to gather your Profound? And sometimes, when you finally do manage to gather some Profound, does it suddenly collapse and dissipate for no reason?"

Su Xiuyi was taken aback, wondering why Ye Xuan had suddenly brought this up.

However, when Ye Xuan spoke these words, Guan Wei’s entire body shuddered, and his eyes flashed with utter disbelief.

"Alas, we truly admire how Steward Guan toils away at the Household Registration Section, serving the people. It’s a shame, though... after working so hard, you might not have much time left to enjoy the fruits of your labor."

Ye Xuan sighed softly and turned. "Since Steward Guan said he’ll notify us when the review is over, then, Pavilion Master Su, let’s take our leave."

After saying this, Ye Xuan glanced at Su Xiuyi and prepared to walk out.

Guan Wei’s expression flickered between pale and grim. His eyes darted about, and he bit his lip. It was clear Ye Xuan’s words had struck a nerve, and he was suddenly hesitant.

Seeing that one of Ye Xuan’s feet was already over the threshold, he suddenly called out in a hurry, "Wait, young man!"

"Steward Guan is an incredibly busy man. We’d best not disturb him," Ye Xuan said, playing dumb and continuing on his way.

"Ahem, wait, young man! Pavilion Master Su, please wait!"

Guan Wei grew anxious and actually leaped out from behind his desk, grabbing hold of Su Xiuyi and Ye Xuan.

"Is there something else we can help you with, Steward Guan?" Ye Xuan said with a smirk. He was laughing inwardly. ’I’ve hit his weak spot. There’s no way he’ll let me leave now.’

"Ahem, it’s still early. Please, stay a little longer. Come, come."

Without explaining, Guan Wei pulled them back inside, arranged for the three of them to sit, and then personally began to pour water and brew tea.

"Come, come, Pavilion Master Su, everyone, please try this top-grade Maofeng tea. See what you think," Guan Wei said enthusiastically.

Jiang Huarong held his teacup, a dazed expression on his face. He’d been to the Household Registration Section more than once, and every time, he wasn’t even offered a seat, let alone tea.

’What’s gotten into the steward all of a sudden?’

Su Xiuyi was also dumbfounded by Guan Wei’s actions. Just moments ago, the steward had been putting on airs, and now, in the blink of an eye, he was this agitated.

He gave Guan Wei a suspicious look. ’He hasn’t been mentally controlled by Xuan Ye... Besides, as a Tier Seven Martial King, Guan Wei wouldn’t be so easy to control anyway.’

Ye Xuan said deliberately, "Steward Guan, you’re being too kind. I think we should get going, so we don’t disturb your work."

With that, he made to stand up.

Guan Wei felt like he could cry. He waved his hands frantically. "No disturbance, not at all!"

Ye Xuan’s words had just exposed the root of the illness that had plagued him recently, and he truly felt as if he’d been struck by lightning.

It was just as Ye Xuan had said. For the last six months, he had suddenly discovered problems with his cultivation.

No matter how he tried to condense the Profound in his body, his cultivation wouldn’t grow. If he cultivated for too long, a paralyzing sensation would arise in his Profound Sea. Sometimes, after cultivating for a good while and managing to condense some new Profound, it would inexplicably collapse and scatter, leaving nothing behind.