Douluo Dalu 2: You are an Evil Soul Master, but also a good person ?

Hurry up! Faster!"

Elder Cheng and Jing Hongchen soared through the sky, propelled by their ninth-level flying soul devices, streaking across the heavens like shooting stars as they rushed towards the Royal Disciplinary Squad's headquarters.

Elder Cheng, in particular, was going at full throttle. His soul device was running so hot that its exhaust ports were almost spewing smoke.

At the same time, a loud rumbling noise echoed across the entire Mingdu.

"Mommy, look! A shooting star!"

A child pointed excitedly at the sky, watching the streaks of light flash past.

His mother quickly smacked his hand down. "That's a soul master, dear…"

Inside a lavishly decorated prince's residence, a man in immaculate white robes paced back and forth, his face tense.

"Why is this taking so long?"

"A bunch of useless fools! Cheng Baiqing will probably hear about this soon, and when he does, I'll be dragged down with them!" Xu Jiran gritted his teeth.

Still, he hesitated to cut off communication. A small part of him still held onto hope—that those idiots could extract some kind of confession. Or at the very least, find a way to implicate his dear brother in colluding with the Holy Spirit Cult.

If that happened, the empire's opposition against Xu Cheng would rise exponentially, and he could sit back and reap the benefits.

"Hurry up! Xu Cheng's people could arrive any moment now!"

Unable to hold back, Xu Jiran pressed the soul communicator to his lips and snarled in a hushed tone.

If not for the fact that Xu Muchen—his trusted right-hand man—was the son of Xu Wannian, a key figure in the royal family, and if not for the fact that he commanded the Royal Disciplinary Squad, which was both powerful and tight-knit, he wouldn't have entrusted such an important task to him.

But all he received in response was silence.

"Xu Muchen, what the hell are you doing? Why aren't you responding?!"

Xu Jiran's face darkened with fury, his grip tightening on the communicator.

Then, a voice came through, crystal clear.

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

Xu Jiran's throat went dry, and his hand stiffened around the device.

"Fourth Brother? Why aren't you saying anything? Go on, I'm listening…"

"Xu Cheng…"

Xu Jiran's face twisted as he squeezed out the words.

"I'm here, Fourth Brother. What's up?"

"Well, well, well…"

Xu Jiran clenched his teeth so hard his entire body trembled.

He knew exactly what this meant—Xu Cheng had taken control of the Royal Disciplinary Squad.

No matter how it happened, there was only one conclusion—those idiots had failed.

And now, the tables had turned. He was the one being backed into a corner.

The voice on the other end was laced with amusement.

"Fourth Brother, I never knew you cared so much about me. You personally sent people to arrest me, tortured me to extract a confession… And what's the charge? Colluding with the Holy Spirit Cult? You call that a crime?"

"Well, don't worry. I'll come visit you myself and let you explain to me what a 'crime' really is…"

"Beep… beep… beep…"

As the communicator cut off, Xu Jiran's suppressed rage erupted.

He hurled the device to the ground, then stormed through the hall, smashing everything in his path.

"A bunch of goddamn idiots! They're not even worth keeping as dogs! And that bastard Xu Cheng—just a motherless wretch! He thinks a bunch of gutter rats can threaten me? I'll fucking—!"

BANG!

The grand entrance of the Royal Disciplinary Squad headquarters was blasted apart.

Metal shards scattered in every direction.

Several figures rushed inside.

"He's in there! That interrogation room!"

Jing Hongchen's eyes gleamed as he sensed the people inside.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!"

A bloodcurdling scream rang out from within.

It was filled with sheer agony, as if someone were being brutally tortured. The sound was enough to make one's hair stand on end.

Elder Cheng's expression turned ice-cold. A powerful aura of a Titled Douluo erupted from his body, suffusing the entire headquarters. He clenched his teeth in fury.

"The Royal Disciplinary Squad… Well, well, well. Today, I'll rid the empire of these scumbags myself!"

Jing Hongchen's face was equally grim. The two of them rushed forward and burst through the interrogation room doors.

The moment they stepped inside, their eyes widened.

There, reclining in a chair, was Xu Cheng—completely at ease—casually directing An Ying as he "interrogated" the very members of the Royal Disciplinary Squad.

The same squad that had once held such power now hung from torture devices, howling in pain.

The worst of them was the squad's second-in-command, who was strapped to the Skinning Dragon Pillar. He was already drenched in blood, barely clinging to life, a mere breath away from death.

Jing Hongchen: "…"

Cheng Baiqing: "…"

And then Lin Jiayi arrived, panting as he rushed inside.

"Why are you two just standing there? Hurry and—"

He stopped mid-sentence.

Mouth falling open, he stared at the scene before him in stunned silence.

"Teacher! You're finally here! You have to stand up for me!"

Xu Cheng smoothly slid off his chair and dropped to his knees, dramatically hugging Cheng Baiqing's leg.

He cast a glance at An Ying, giving a subtle nod.

Without hesitation, An Ying resumed the interrogation.

Meanwhile, Xu Cheng continued clinging to Elder Cheng's leg, wailing.

"Teacher, you have no idea how badly I've been tortured here! The horrors I've endured…"

Cheng Baiqing frowned and quickly scanned Xu Cheng's body with his spiritual sense.

No wounds.

His mouth twitched.

"…Where are your injuries?"

"Uh…"

Xu Cheng looked himself over.

The only thing he found was a tiny scratch on his finger, a leftover from carving a core formation earlier. It had mostly healed, leaving only a faint white mark.

Seeing his disciple awkwardly mumbling, both elders covered their faces.

Jing Hongchen, however, seized the moment.

"Regardless, Xu Cheng, don't worry! Arresting someone so brazenly inside the Royal Academy—this is an insult to me as the Dean of Mingde Hall! I'll make sure you get justice!"

Cheng Baiqing exhaled in relief. "As long as you're unharmed… But they dared to touch my disciple. I may be old, but I can still lift a blade! Let's see if they have the guts to face me!"

Just then, another voice rang out.

"Eleventh Brother! Are you alright?! I hope I didn't arrive too late! Those bastards—"

The voice abruptly cut off.

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince…"

Jing Hongchen greeted him politely before falling silent.

Xu Cheng stepped forward, glancing at the now-frozen Xu Tianran.

"The Crown Prince sure has impeccable timing. The culprits are inside. They've already confessed."

Elder Cheng, still burning with fury, turned his icy gaze to the Crown Prince.

"Get lost."