Shen An's gaze was icy, and the Nine-Leaf Sword Grass had already appeared in his hand at some point, its sharp edges exuding a chilling aura. At this moment, his killing intent was overwhelming.
The two girls and Tom were his bottom line. As for Ma Shan, he had already crossed it and deserved death.
Ma Shan, who was spitting blood, looked at Shen An in terror. He forced himself to stand, his body trembling as one white and two yellow soul rings rose around him. He let out a sharp cry:
"Help! Help! You can't kill me! If you kill me, there will be no room for negotiation. You're challenging the authority of the Spirit Hall!"
Seeing Ma Shan's fear and panic, Shen An suddenly laughed. So, he wasn't as brave as he pretended to be. He wasn't willing to bet everything for his nephew after all.
Shen An sneered, "Weren't you trying to avenge your nephew? Let me kill you, and then your Spirit Hall can justifiably come after me."
Step by step, Shen An approached Ma Shan, who kept trembling and retreating.
"Thud, thud, thud."
Hearing Ma Shan's cries, the soldiers who had been guarding the area immediately rushed over, surrounding the alley.
Shen An's cold eyes swept over them. He didn't want to harm the innocent. Not everyone in the Spirit Hall was evil; these soldiers were just following orders.
But if they really attacked him, he wouldn't hold back. He might as well go all out and figure things out later.
Ma Shan, however, seemed to see a lifeline. "Quick, arrest him! He refused the bishop's offer and tried to kill me!"
The soldiers pointed their spears at Shen An, and the tension escalated.
Tom quietly pulled out a revolver from behind. It could tell that these people were trying to bully them. If that was the case, it wouldn't hold back. It wasn't some naive little kitten.
"Who dares? Shen An is a friend of our Soto Great Spirit Arena. Even your Spirit Hall can't attack a soul master without reason!"
"Boom!"
With a loud noise, a tall figure appeared in front of everyone. It was none other than Pang Tao.
As the person in charge of the Soto Great Spirit Arena, he was well aware of any movement around the arena. When the Spirit Hall soldiers approached Shen An, someone from the arena had informed Pang Tao, who instinctively felt something was wrong.
In his eyes, Shen An was close to Ning Rongrong, which meant he was aligned with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. And as everyone knew, the top three sects had always been at odds with the Spirit Hall.
Therefore, the Spirit Hall approaching Shen An was definitely not a good thing. After some hesitation, Pang Tao decided to come out and see what was happening. If anything went wrong, he could lend a hand.
Not only was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan the backing of the Great Spirit Arena, but Shen An himself was also a person of great potential. In Pang Tao's view, with Shen An's talent, unless he died prematurely, he would undoubtedly become a powerhouse known throughout the continent. Thus, Pang Tao was more than willing to owe Shen An a favor.
Sure enough, as soon as Pang Tao arrived, he saw the tense standoff.
Ma Shan's pupils contracted sharply. He clearly recognized Pang Tao but hadn't expected this usually diplomatic arena manager to stand up for Shen An.
Despite the dizziness from blood loss, Ma Shan forced himself to speak, "Pang Tao, how dare you interfere with the Spirit Hall's affairs!"
Pang Tao glanced at the three soul rings around Ma Shan and couldn't hide his disdain.
If it were someone above the rank of a purple-clad bishop from the Spirit Hall, he might have been more cautious. But a mere white-clad deacon? He couldn't care less.
Pang Tao sneered, "A mere white-clad deacon dares to ignore the law and commit violence in public? For the sake of the Spirit Hall's reputation, get lost now!"
The Spirit Hall's influence was vast, even overshadowing the two great empires and the top three sects. But that didn't mean Pang Tao would fear a white-clad deacon.
Moreover, the Great Spirit Arena had a complex web of backing, and Pang Tao happened to belong to the faction that was at odds with the Spirit Hall. Today's situation was just an opportunity to do Shen An a favor.
Shen An stood quietly. He had acted decisively earlier because Ma Shan's words had threatened the two girls and the cat, leaving him no room for hesitation.
In that moment, much of the pent-up anger in his heart had been released.
It wasn't until Pang Tao arrived that Shen An realized Ma Shan was just a white-clad deacon and couldn't represent the Spirit Hall.
Even if the Spirit Hall was displeased, they wouldn't openly try to kill him. At most, they'd resort to underhanded tactics. The two sides weren't yet at the point of complete opposition.
Besides, Ning Rongrong, the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, was in the teahouse. How dare a small deacon like Ma Shan try to provoke her? It was laughable.
Ma Shan's face, already pale from blood loss, turned even uglier. He wanted to say more, but Pang Tao had already lost patience.
With a flash of black light, Pang Tao appeared in front of Ma Shan and delivered a powerful slap.
"Boom!"
Ma Shan's face caved in, and he was sent flying like a broken kite.
"A mere Soul Elder dares to talk back? Don't you know I'm a Soul Emperor?" Pang Tao looked down at the Spirit Hall soldiers and said, "Get lost!" As he spoke, two yellow, two purple, and two black soul rings rose from his feet.
The Spirit Hall soldiers looked at Pang Tao with awe. A six-ring Soul Emperor was a formidable figure in any faction, and they quickly lost their will to fight.
"Phew, thank you, Brother Pang Tao," Shen An said as he watched the soldiers take Ma Shan away.
Unlike his earlier arrogance toward the Spirit Hall, Pang Tao was now very gentle with Shen An:
"Brother Shen, you're too modest. Even if I hadn't shown up, these people wouldn't have been a match for you."
Tom, feeling indignant, tilted its head up and tugged at Pang Tao's pant leg.
Pang Tao was astonished. When had this cat gotten beside him without him noticing? Looking at Tom's behavior, Pang Tao was puzzled and turned to Shen An.
Shen An smiled and explained, "Tom says it's pretty tough too."
"Hahaha, yes, yes, of course the cat Miss Ning likes is tough," Pang Tao laughed heartily, as if the earlier conflict had never happened.
"Little Brother Shen, can you tell me why the Spirit Hall came after you? That way, I can help you come up with a plan."
Shen An's mind stirred, and he recounted the whole story. Pang Tao's experience might help him resolve this mess.
"I thought it was something big. Little Brother Shen, oh Little Brother Shen, with a golden thigh like Miss Ning to cling to, you're trying to handle this alone?"
"A petty deacon dares to mess with the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan? Forget everything else—just his threat against her is enough to bury him without a grave."
"Leave this to me. I'll inform the Spirit Hall of Miss Ning's identity later."
Shen An smiled—this aligned perfectly with his own thoughts. This way, the surface-level crisis was resolved. Still, he'd need to tell Ning Rongrong about it later.
Pang Tao spoke up, "Little Brother Shen, why hasn't Miss Ning been with you lately?"
Shen An scratched his head awkwardly. "She's been a bit upset recently. I asked why, but she wouldn't say."
"Sigh, Little Brother Shen, can't you be a bit more adaptable? Don't you want to shortcut thirty years of detours?" Pang Tao said, exasperated as if Shen An were a hopeless case.
Shen An: "???"
Tom: (≧▽≦)!