After leaving Valan Village, Jiang Jue and Zhou Ping walked for over an hour. As dusk approached, they fortunately reached the official road where carriages and horses passed frequently. Zhou Ping waved his hand decisively and flagged down a carriage heading toward the city.
"Uncle Zhou, why did you come to our Valan Village?"
Inside the carriage, Jiang Jue sat across from Zhou Ping and couldn't help but ask.
Even though Zhou Ping had told him multiple times to just call him by his full name, Jiang Jue insisted on addressing him as "Uncle Zhou."
This wasn't for any other reason but because Jiang Jue was very clear about his position.
Although he was gifted, he was still just a Soul Master without a soul ring.
This world had no shortage of geniuses, but only those who grew strong could be called true powerhouses. Those who perished along the way were nothing more than corpses.
Jiang Jue was not without pride, but that pride had to be backed by absolute strength.
Besides, even though Zhou Ping said he didn't mind being addressed casually, his behavior betrayed him—he always responded enthusiastically with an "Aye!"
It didn't hurt to speak politely, and it cost nothing anyway.
"That's a long story..."
When Zhou Ping heard Jiang Jue's question, his eyes flickered with some unease, as if he felt guilty.
After a brief pause, he sealed the carriage interior with soul power to prevent their conversation from leaking out and began to speak slowly:
"I didn't specifically intend to go to your Valan Village—it was an accident."
"In our Holy Spirit Cult, Soul Masters like me, whose cultivation is neither too high nor too low, are assigned to search for and recruit individuals with awakened evil martial souls from the former three great empires."
"This time, as usual, I was searching in the countryside. On my way back, it suddenly started pouring rain. I was eager to return to the city, so I activated my martial soul and sprinted ahead."
"Unexpectedly, I ran into a Spirit GrandMaster. He must have recognized me as an evil Soul Master by seeing my martial soul."
Zhou Ping continued with a puzzled expression: "At the time, I was in a hurry and ignored him, intending to let him go. But not only did he not run, he sneakily followed me."
"His martial soul was a lone wolf with excellent senses and speed, so I couldn't shake him off in time. To avoid being exposed, I had no choice but to turn back and kill him."
"After I killed him, I found a commission letter for awakening martial souls on him. The target was your Valan Village, which happened to be nearby, so I went there."
"What about him..."
Jiang Jue frowned, just about to say something when Zhou Ping cut him off.
"Jiang Jue, you must understand that this world operates on the principle of survival of the fittest. If I hadn't killed him, I would have risked exposure, and then I would be the one dead."
Thinking that Jiang Jue was disturbed by the gruesomeness of killing, Zhou Ping hurriedly explained.
"Uncle Zhou, you misunderstood me," Jiang Jue shook his head slightly, his expression calm. "I was asking whether the Grand Soul Master's body was properly dealt with. Is there any chance it could implicate Valan Village?"
"Huh? What did you say?"
Zhou Ping was momentarily dumbfounded but quickly realized what Jiang Jue meant.
Oh no! I've come off as too soft-hearted!
"After killing him, I dumped his body in the surrounding mountains... I think..."
"Uncle Zhou, I don't want this matter to bring trouble to Valan Village. You should understand what I mean."
Jiang Jue's tone was calm, but his eyes were intense as he looked at Zhou Ping.
Zhou Ping gazed at Jiang Jue. Although Jiang Jue's words lacked emotional fluctuation, Zhou Ping felt an inexplicable urge to comply.
"Rest assured, I'll handle it properly and make sure no trace is left behind."
"Uncle Zhou, I trust you..."
For a moment, the carriage fell into silence.
Zhou Ping awkwardly opened the window of the carriage, forcing a laugh: "What a lively breeze, haha..."
However, there was no breeze outside at all.
...
Before long, night had fully fallen, and Jiang Jue and Zhou Ping finally reached Pingyuan City.
"Come, this is the Holy Spirit Cult's base in Pingyuan City."
Zhou Ping led Jiang Jue into a courtyard on the outskirts of the city.
Jiang Jue walked in and found everything normal, with nothing unusual in sight.
After taking Jiang Jue to a clean room and preparing some food, Zhou Ping instructed him to stay put.
Then he went to another room to relay information to the Holy Spirit Cult headquarters through a special method.
According to Zhou Ping, they were currently in the Heavenly Soul Empire, while the Holy Spirit Cult's headquarters was in the Sun-Moon Empire. They would have to cross the empire's border, where inspections were strict. Zhou Ping's strength alone was not enough to ensure Jiang Jue's safety, so he intended to request reinforcements from headquarters.
In the tidy room, Jiang Jue, exhausted from the day's events, ate some dried soul beast meat and quickly fell asleep on the bed.
Too much had happened that day—even with two lifetimes' worth of experience, he was overwhelmed.
...
The next day, the sun was already high in the sky when Jiang Jue slowly woke up. Sunlight streamed through the window, bringing warmth and brightness.
That sleep had been incredibly comfortable.
He got up, walked out into the courtyard, and felt the cool morning breeze brushing against his face, bringing a refreshing scent.
Walking to a water tank in the yard, he scooped a ladle of cold water and splashed it on his face, waking himself up completely.
Zhou Ping was nowhere to be seen.
Returning to his room, Jiang Jue sat cross-legged on the bed and began circulating his soul power.
When he activated the Soul Refining Banner, his soul power turned a dead gray, exuding an ominous aura. When he activated his innate martial soul, his soul power transformed into a bright silver, radiating overwhelming dominance.
Jiang Jue quietly cultivated, smoothing and nourishing his meridians.
He continued until noon when he finally stopped.
At that moment, the courtyard gate creaked open, and a figure walked in from outside.
It was Zhou Ping. His face was pale, his eyes bloodshot, sweat beading on his forehead as he panted heavily.
Jiang Jue stepped out of his room and asked, "Uncle Zhou, what happened to you?"
"Jiang Jue, I've thoroughly cleaned up that man's body. There's no way anyone will find it."
"Moreover, based on my investigation, Li Yuntao was a loner with no close connections. With a bit of maneuvering, I can completely eliminate this problem."
Hearing this, Jiang Jue's eyes flickered as he said solemnly, "Uncle Zhou, you've worked hard."
It seemed Zhou Ping hadn't slept all night, running back to the site to clean up the corpse and investigate Li Yuntao's background.
"Jiang Jue, there's no need to be so formal. This was my mess, and I should handle it."
Zhou Ping quickly replied.
"I'll finish dealing with this issue. Stay here and rest assured. Headquarters has already sent experts; they'll be here soon to escort you to the main base."
After wiping the sweat from his face, Zhou Ping turned and left.
Watching Zhou Ping's departing figure, Jiang Jue thought to himself, This man is quite clever.
Once outside, Zhou Ping's previous feeble demeanor vanished, and a sly smile spread across his face.
Running back to the corpse site overnight and returning was effortless for a Spirit Ancestor like him.
As for why he pretended to be exhausted in front of Jiang Jue—
It was simply to make Jiang Jue remember his effort and pull him up in the future when Jiang Jue became the Holy Son of the Cult.
After all, he was desperate to rise in rank!