Soul Emperor Awakening

The announcement, "The Vice City Lord is here," immediately made everyone turn to look. Lin Xuan saw a middle-aged man walking over, his expression placid. He radiated the aura of a superior, exuding an imposing pressure that made everyone present uneasy without him even showing a hint of anger.

’Core Formation Stage Cultivation...’ Lin Xuan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the Vice City Lord only had Core Formation Stage Cultivation. ’Thank goodness he’s not at the Void Spirit Stage. If it were a City Lord at that level, I’d have no hope of escaping.’

He was already prepared to flee. If they tried to force him to hand over the Yulan Pearl, that would be his only option. So, seeing that the Vice City Lord wasn’t at the Void Spirit Stage, he could finally relax a little.

Of course, the true City Lord was at the Void Spirit Level. A human of that level had to be stationed here, or this place would have been conquered long ago. The Demon Race had many Void Spirit Stage experts, but they weren’t united. Thus, they wouldn’t attack the Human Race for the time being—not unless the humans possessed some great treasure or posed a direct threat. Only then would they mobilize their entire army.

Besides, the humans’ resistance was terrifying when pushed. No Demon Race clan wanted to emerge from a massive war only to find its ranks of Elders decimated.

Lin Xuan glanced at Wei Jun before turning his attention to the Vice City Lord. He was surrounded by powerful cultivators, including several at the Spirit Pill Stage. It was a rare sight to be encircled by so many experts.

He found Wei Jun’s earlier statement understandable, sensing the note of helplessness in his voice. A man in Wei Jun’s position had no real authority. If he had obtained a Secret Treasure of the Demon Race, he would have been forced to surrender it as well—unless he was prepared to never return to Unity City.

’Powerful treasures are most effective in the hands of those with the highest cultivation; that’s how the city is protected.’ Of course, Lin Xuan didn’t for a second believe the City Lords were short on treasures. One couldn’t reach such a position without accumulating a few.

’But no one ever thinks they have too many treasures; more treasures mean more power. In the end, though, what the hell does that have to do with me! I’m not handing over something I worked my ass off to get.’

"I heard you obtained a Secret Treasure of the Demon Fox Race. I presume this Secret Treasure is the Yulan Pearl... Did you really obtain it?" Vice City Lord Ye Feng’s gaze bored into Lin Xuan, as if trying to read his very soul.

The moment he spoke, an uproar swept through the crowd. A treasure like the Yulan Pearl was the stuff of legends. It had become a rare sight due to the decline of the Demon Fox Race, but many people still knew of the Yulan Sacred Fire. On the Demon Race Continent, the Yulan Sacred Fire could be found in several locations. Touching it meant certain death; anyone who survived would be crippled for life.

The Yulan Pearl was a crystal condensed from the Yulan Sacred Fire itself. By infusing it with Elemental Power, its wielder could unleash the terrifying Sacred Fire at will, making it an astonishingly powerful treasure. The Yulan Sacred Fire was already terrifying enough on its own; weaponizing it would make one virtually invincible in a fight.

All eyes were fixed on Lin Xuan, waiting for a definitive answer. If he really had obtained the Yulan Pearl, the implications were terrifying.

"Vice City Lord, surely you know of the Yulan Sacred Fire. With my meager cultivation, I would have been dead the instant I touched it. How could I possibly have brought it back?" Lin Xuan then turned to Zhang Bin and sneered, "You accuse me of obtaining the Secret Treasure of the Demon Fox Race. Let me ask you, would *you* dare to take the Yulan Pearl? With your pitiful level of cultivation, you wouldn’t even know what killed you. You wouldn’t have the guts to take it even if it was handed to you on a platter! Next time you want to make a wild accusation, try using your brain first."

"You!" Zhang Bin’s expression turned ugly. It was true; with Lin Xuan’s cultivation, he couldn’t have possibly handled the Yulan Pearl. Touching it would have been a death sentence.

Lin Xuan’s simple rebuttal brought the crowd back to their senses. He had a point. Even an expert on the level of the Vice City Lord wouldn’t dare to touch the Yulan Pearl carelessly, so how could someone with Lin Xuan’s cultivation possibly manage it?

Wei Song, standing to the side, was secretly snickering. This was exactly the kind of drama he’d been hoping for. While everyone else thought it was impossible, he had witnessed the miracle with his own eyes.

"The problem is, when we entered the Treasure Chamber, we didn’t see any Yulan Pearl. All we saw were two piles of ice on the floor. And I recall that besides us, no one else went inside," Zhang Bin pressed.

"You were locked in a room. How could you possibly know who came and went outside?" Lin Xuan scoffed. "When we saw that we couldn’t take the Yulan Pearl, we left. As for those piles of ice, I imagine they’re the result of some fool who overestimated their strength and tried to touch the pearl. We have no idea who might have come by after we were gone."

Zhang Bin’s face flushed. He and his group had been locked in a room by the Liao Brothers, so of course they had no idea what was happening outside. By the time they got out, several days had already passed.

The crowd began to whisper amongst themselves, now believing that Lin Xuan hadn’t taken the Yulan Pearl. The sheer difficulty of the task just made it seem impossible for him. They were still envious and jealous of the other Elixir Pills and treasures he might have found, but those paled in comparison to the shock of the Yulan Pearl.

"So what you’re saying is, you went inside, you saw the Yulan Pearl, but you were unable to retrieve it?" Ye Feng asked, his calm expression giving no hint of his thoughts.

"Yes. We admit we managed to get a few nice things, but those are ours by right of discovery, aren’t they?" Lin Xuan admitted freely. ’If they don’t even allow that much, who would ever bother coming back here?’

"But of course. Those are the fruits of your labor, and we won’t demand anything from you." Ye Feng’s expression remained placid, and it seemed the matter was now closed.

Just as the crowd thought the show was over, Zhang Bin suddenly had a thought. He pointed at Lin Xuan and shouted, "Wait, that’s not right! You knew how to open the secret chamber, and you knew about the Teleportation Array ahead of time. I bet you knew how to take the Yulan Pearl, and I even suspect you’re connected to the Demon Fox Race! I heard you bought two Demon Foxes and took them with you. Where are they now?"

Lin Xuan’s brow furrowed. ’This Zhang Bin is absolute scum,’ he thought. ’He just won’t let go, a true menace. He’s determined to drag me down with him, all because he can’t get over being tricked earlier. He’s even more furious that I returned with a haul of treasures while he came back with next to nothing.’

Zhang Bin’s words sent another shockwave through the crowd. He wasn’t wrong. Lin Xuan had spent a great deal of money to buy two Demon Foxes and had returned without them. It was indeed suspicious.

"A friend of mine wanted to have some fun with them out in the wild. You got a problem with that?" Lin Xuan shot back with a sneer. "That’s quite an accusation to be making out of thin air. Just because you didn’t get any treasures, there’s no need to fly into a rage and slander me out of pure spite, is there? If you’re really that desperate, I could spare a little for you. I can afford that much."

Zhang Bin’s face instantly turned a deep, purplish red. He was out of arguments. He’d said everything he could think of; there was nothing left.

"Wait, that’s it!" Zhang Bin blurted out in a last-ditch effort. "There are other Demon Foxes in the city, aren’t there? They can recognize the scent of the Yulan Pearl! We just need to bring one here, and we’ll know the truth!"

Lin Xuan’s expression flickered. It was true—a Demon Fox could indeed recognize the scent of a Yulan Pearl! His heart clenched. He could only pray that it wouldn’t be able to detect it.