The next afternoon, the weather was slightly stuffy. A familiar carriage rolled out from the imperial city. Aside from Shu Yan and Xu Jiujing, inside the carriage was the Snow Empress, who had used her spiritual power to disguise herself. As for Nebula Douluo...
Well, her career as a bodyguard had seemingly entered an unexpected and rare vacation—something that hadn't happened even once in the past ten-plus years.
Shu Yan lifted the curtain and gazed at the vast, absurdly large Xingluo Square in front of the palace gates. He couldn't help but sigh. Then, his eyes shifted to a towering seven-story luxury hotel not far from the eastern side of the plaza.
This hotel, called the Star Sovereign Hotel, was a royal property. It usually hosted envoys from various nations and distinguished guests of high status. Naturally, it had been constructed with the utmost opulence and grandeur. One could say it was the very definition of Heaven on Earth. Inside this hotel, if you had the desire (and coin), almost anything available on the market could be obtained.
Even in terms of more "exotic" tastes—such as beauties and beastkin—the Star Sovereign Hotel could fulfill nearly all manner of "preferences." Hundreds of years ago, during a Soul Master tournament, a prodigy from the Heaven Soul Empire once failed to resist such temptations and was utterly "drained" overnight. Decades later, several powerful soul masters with the exact same martial spirit as that prodigy mysteriously appeared in the Star Luo Empire.
In short—boys, take care of yourselves when traveling!
Returning to the main thread of the story—the carriage arrived at the grand entrance of the hotel. When the maids at the front saw the totem etched onto the carriage, their expressions changed dramatically. One of them hurriedly ran inside to report the news, while the rest immediately bowed in unison, not daring to even glance at the carriage again.
Shu Yan helped Xu Jiujing down from the carriage. The Snow Empress silently followed behind. Her gaze swept around the surroundings and finally landed on the towering hotel before her.
A sweep of her spiritual power passed through the hotel. The feedback made her brows furrow slightly, though she said nothing aloud.
As a top-tier soul beast whose power rivaled the human limit, the Snow Empress naturally had extremely potent spiritual senses. Even without deliberately masking her presence, very few people in the entire Star Luo City could even detect the fluctuations of her soul power. That was her confidence.
The trio stepped forward into the hotel's lobby. In recent years, the Star Luo Empire's soul tool technology had progressed rapidly. Though not on par with the Sun-Moon Empire, it was still the most advanced among the original Three Kingdoms of the Douluo Continent. The hotel had incorporated many such technological advancements—the massive soul-screen hanging overhead was clear proof.
From the distance came the crisp sound of hurried footsteps. One man and two women rushed out of the hotel interior. When they stopped three meters in front of the trio, all three bowed deeply. The middle-aged man at the lead then stepped forward and said respectfully:
"Your Highness, welcome. I am Chen Yin, the general manager of the Star Sovereign Hotel. These two are my assistants. We were unaware of your esteemed arrival and thus failed to greet you in advance. Please forgive us."
Xu Jiujing lifted her hand in a gentle gesture to indicate they could rise. She swept her eyes over the three before calmly replying:
"It's fine. I have urgent business to attend to and didn't notify you in advance. It's not your fault."
"I'll skip the pleasantries. Take us to meet the guests who arrived from the south. I assume they're still in the hotel?"
Chen Yin nodded repeatedly and quickly stepped aside, gesturing respectfully:
"Your Highness came at the perfect time. Those guests just returned from outside and are currently resting on the fourth floor. I will personally escort you—"
"No need," Xu Jiujing cut him off directly as she walked forward. "We'll go ourselves. From now on, no one is allowed above the third floor of this hotel. If anyone causes trouble, tell them they can explain themselves to me personally afterward."
Chen Yin shuddered from head to toe as he watched the three figures stride past him. He immediately turned and started organizing the hotel staff. The entire lobby descended into a flurry of activity.
The chaos behind them was of no concern to the trio. As the elevator button was pressed, a melodious tune played softly and the chamber gently shook before it began ascending.
Xu Jiujing gradually let go of Shu Yan's arm and spoke softly:
"A'Yan, I still have to remind you once more—according to what I know, these remnants of the Spirit Hall are extremely unified. Their beliefs are also fairly rigid. Words alone probably won't achieve your goal. In other words… if you want to convince them, it'll take strength. Also, some of them have nasty tempers. If conflict arises, I hope you'll keep calm."
Shu Yan shrugged, then smiled lightly and replied word by word:
"I'll try my best."
The Snow Empress cast a strange glance at the two but remained silent.
Xu Jiujing was briefly at a loss for words. Thinking of everything that might happen soon, she sighed and rubbed her forehead, wondering if she should go ahead and hire a healing-type soul master—of course, not for Shu Yan's sake, but for those Spirit Hall descendants waiting on the fourth floor…
After all, a five-ring Battle Soul King with an ultimate attribute martial spirit was terrifying enough. Anyone with a brain could deduce that. What's more, Shu Yan's five soul rings were all ten-thousand-year rings. The power of his soul skills far exceeded that of any normal five-ring soul master. They were not even in the same league.
As the elevator doors slowly opened, the three looked out at a lavish corridor lined with luxurious carpeting. Shu Yan led the way, and they stepped into the hallway one after another.
The elevator closed behind them. Shu Yan sniffed faintly and caught a subtle, strange scent in the air. As he glanced around the corridor, he noticed the entire fourth floor had been divided into multiple rooms, with a central hall occupying the middle section.
They hadn't walked far before they arrived at a grand pair of golden double doors. Just as Shu Yan placed his hand on the door handle, a strange greenish wave of power suddenly rippled out from within the hall. A faint, melodious cry echoed in his ears. Blue-green feathers began to gently fall, carrying a chilling, sorrowful aura.
"A spiritual soul technique…"
Shu Yan murmured to himself. His sharp senses had detected a subtle psychic fluctuation. The interest in his eyes deepened. To wield such a spirit-type soul skill, the user's martial spirit must have a spiritual nature—or they possessed a spirit-type soul bone. The former was extremely rare across the entire continent. If this was the case today… then Shu Yan truly was both surprised and intrigued.
Behind him, Xu Jiujing, protected by the Snow Empress, remained unaffected. As the doors slowly creaked open, a beam of golden light spilled from the gap, momentarily blinding their vision.
But even with his view obstructed, Shu Yan was the first to clearly see the general layout of the hall inside. And then—
His pupils suddenly contracted.