The old butler reached out and grasped the sealed iron pipe. The next second, he gave a low shout:
"Azure Flame Wolf! Possess me!"
As the voice faded, a burst of red light erupted beneath the old butler's feet. His originally gray hair turned a vibrant red, and his thin body swelled up considerably! Then...
Yellow! Yellow! Purple! Purple! Black!
Five condensed, almost tangible soul rings rose from beneath his feet and hovered around his waist. As the soul rings rotated, a dense wave of soul power spread out like ripples on water!
"Awooo—!"
A wolf howl that pierced the eardrums rang out, and the phantom of a wolf king, its entire body engulfed in dark blue flames, slowly materialized behind him. Its fangs were bared, its eyes were like torches, and flames emanated from its body, distorting the surrounding air. It was majestic and imposing!
Five Rings Soul King!
In Notting Province, where the highest combat power is only a Soul Master of the forties, a Soul King with five rings is already at the top of the pyramid. It is no exaggeration to say that he is invincible and dominates the region!
But at this moment, the Soul King, who should have looked down on all living beings, had a solemn and iron-like expression, his eyes filled with a resolute determination to face death, and he was holding the inconspicuous iron pipe tightly with both hands.
He remembered what the prince had told him when he was sent here:
"Old Yan, you're getting old. I'll find you a place to retire. You won't have to do anything there. You can just walk the birds, play with the dogs, take care of the kids, and enjoy your retirement. What do you say?"
Old Yan still refused! Are you kidding me?! I'm a Soul King! How could I be so unambitious?
But when Prince Xuexing offered him 10,000 gold soul coins per month, he nodded and said:
"You can go."
Then...
All he wants to do now is slap his six-year-younger self to death!
The initial days were indeed pleasant. Young Master Lin Ya was intelligent, handsome, and had a sweet tongue that was almost sickeningly sweet, making him truly likable.
But since last year, this child seems to have been possessed by a demon, completely revealing his dark and mischievous nature!
He invented something called "gunpowder," which was initially just a small-scale experiment—saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal, put together and lit, the power of which was only enough to scare away a few birds and shatter a few earthenware pots.
But now...
Old Yan stared at the 500-gram iron lump in his hand, which the young master had named a "hand grenade." His Adam's apple bobbed violently, and he swallowed a mouthful of saliva from his dry throat.
Then... he resolutely lit it!
Boom!
A towering flame illuminated the entire forest, and a deafening roar reached Prince Xuexing, who was traveling there by carriage ten miles away.
"Holy crap! What's that sound?! Are there Soul Masters fighting nearby?"
Prince Xuexing was completely bewildered. How could he encounter something like this in such a remote province as Notting?
No, he had to get to his nephew quickly.
The carriage sped along and soon arrived at its destination—the Lin residence.
Back then, Xueye asked Prince Xuexing to arrange for Xueya to live with an ordinary family, and Xuexing tried his best to find a way.
Just then, he learned that a noble couple had tragically perished while hunting soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest.
He thought to himself, a viscount whose fiefdom consists of only one village should be ordinary enough, right?
So they arranged for Lin Ya to stay at the Lin family's place. But when I came here last time, wasn't this place called Shuangzun Village? Why has it been renamed Biyou Village?
As soon as Xue Xing arrived at the gate, a beggar dressed entirely in black and in tattered clothes appeared before him:
"Snow...Lord Snow! You've finally arrived!"
"No, who are you?" Xuexing was completely confused.
Who is this guy? So overly familiar? Do I even know him?
Could this be the beggar my nephew took in? No wonder he's my nephew, he's so kind!
Upon hearing this, the beggar paused for a moment, then wiped his face haphazardly with his dirty sleeve, revealing a familiar face—it was Old Yan! However, at this moment, his face was streaked with black and gray, his hair was singed and curly, his clothes were full of holes and still emitting faint blue smoke, and his eyes were red-rimmed, looking like he was about to cry.
"Lord Xue! It's your old servant! Old Yan! Waaah..." Old Yan choked up, his voice full of grievance.
"You're Lao Yan?!" Prince Xue Xing's pupils shrank sharply as he exclaimed in shock, "What happened to you? Could it be... Xiao Ya's identity has been exposed?"
"No, no!" Old Yan hurriedly waved his hands, his face contorted with grief, "It's...it's the young master! He's the one who did this to me!"
"Xiao Ya?!" Prince Xue Xing was furious, slapping his thigh and saying, "This is outrageous!"
Seeing Prince Xuexing's anger, Old Yan quickly nodded in agreement: "That's right! That's too much!"
He was secretly plotting something. He thought that if he played the victim, Prince Xuexing might take pity on him and transfer him away from this "devil's den"!
But the next second, Prince Xuexing's words struck him like a thunderbolt.
"Yes! That's too much!" Prince Xuexing exclaimed in exasperation. "You, a dignified level 59 Soul King, were actually humiliated like this by Xiaoya, a child who hasn't even awakened his martial soul yet! I'd be ashamed if word got out! From now on, you're not allowed to say you came from my palace!"
Old Yan: "???"
"No! Lord Xue, this is..." He was about to explain when he saw Prince Xuexing take out a heavy cloth bag from his soul tool and throw it into his arms.
"This is your wages for this year: 15,000 gold soul coins, 12,000 of which is salary and 3,000 is bonus."
"We swear to protect the young master with our lives!" Old Yan answered at attention!
The sound was so loud that even the four members of the Black Powder Group in the mansion could hear it.
Lin Ya could hear it too.
"This old Yan... it's just a powder, I didn't forget to add nails, steel balls, and broken glass, is he really going to make such a fuss!"
It's not that Lin Ya doesn't value human life, it's just that... he's actually a transmigrator...
In his previous life, he was watching Under One Person at home, getting really excited, when a semi-trailer truck transported him to this world. Naturally, he also learned about his origins.
Xueya, the fifth prince of the Heavenly Dou royal family!
Knowing that Lao Yan and the others were actually sent by Uncle Xue Xing to protect him, and being aware of their strength, he dared to go all out and make some small inventions.
"Bai Tang, write this down: 500 grams of black powder is equivalent to 140 grams of TNT. The overpressure from the explosion can pulverize nearby concrete within 3.2 milliseconds. The shock wave radius is about 1.2 meters, and the high-temperature flame reaches 1200℃–1500℃, which is enough to ignite surrounding flammable materials."
At this point, Lin Ya paused and added, "Its power is enough to kill a level 20 Great Soul Master and severely injure a Soul Venerable, but it cannot effectively damage a Soul King."
"Understood, young master." Bai Tang, who was working part-time as a secretary, skillfully recorded Lin Ya's experimental data. Clearly, this was not the first time.
Seeing that Bai Tang had finished recording, Lin Ya straightened his clothes, his face immediately breaking into an innocent and cheerful smile. He stretched out his little arms and ran towards Prince Xue Xing, who had just entered the courtyard, shouting as he ran, "Uncle Xue Xing! You've finally come to see me!"
The little figure rushed into Prince Xuexing's arms. Prince Xuexing quickly reached out and hugged his little shoulders. Feeling the warm little body in his arms, he felt a pang of sadness and his eyes welled up with tears.
Alas, my poor nephew, he should be a golden child, living a life of luxury, but he can only suffer in such a remote little place. He must be so wronged.
Watching this scene, Old Yan's lips twitched. This young master, if you cut him open, he'll definitely be a black one!
Xuexing affectionately stroked Lin Ya's little head, "My good nephew, you've suffered. Come, see what good things your uncle brought you."
As Xue Xing spoke, she took a large bag of gold, silver, jewelry, toys, and food from her soul tool and stuffed it into Lin Ya's arms. Lin Ya naturally accepted it all without any hesitation.
There's no way around it, everyone knows that doing scientific research... is really expensive.
Looking at the obedient, sensible, well-behaved, and adorable Lin Ya, and then at the already late sky, Xue Xing put away her smile and said seriously:
"My dear nephew, it's getting late. It's time for you... to awaken your martial spirit!"
(End of chapter)