The banquet at Wanliu Mountain Villa had already begun.
Elder Liu personally directed the event, and the staff of the villa were all incredibly busy, filling the entire estate with festivity.
The scenes that had just unfolded had become the highest secret of Great Xia.
The outside media were finally allowed in. The Lord of the Imperial Capital and a few other dignitaries were resting in the inner chambers of the villa. Ye Fangjin, representing the Elder Council, accepted interviews from the media.
The All-Under-Heaven Martial Arts Competition had always been a private affair, with only the winners publicly announced.
According to the usual rules, the ultimate victor would directly enter the high ranks of the War Department, soaring to prominence.
Therefore, what everyone wanted to know most was, who was the winner this time?
“The decisive winner of this All-Under-Heaven Martial Arts Competition is Miss Su Bingyan, whom the Emperor called a woman who is not inferior to men!”
Ye Fangjin announced grandly.
The moment Su Bingyan appeared, she became the focus of the entire venue.
Her near-perfect visage, coupled with the terrifying strength that earned her the title of number one under heaven!
This caused a sensation throughout the crowd.
This was the first time in the history of the All-Under-Heaven Martial Arts Competition that a woman had won.
And such a delicate beauty at that?
Su Bingyan was surrounded by layers upon layers of people, everyone eager to catch a glimpse of her elegance.
This scene continued for more than two hours.
After briefly answering a few questions, Su Bingyan, feeling fatigued, retreated.
She suddenly felt a pang of sadness: “So this is how Xueqing must have felt when she was in the entertainment industry. My poor sister, how much hardship did she endure.”
Qin Yexuan appeared beside her: “Did the press conference just now remind you of Xueqing?”
Su Bingyan nodded: “Now Xueqing’s soul is in trouble. The methods you taught me, Brother-in-law, don’t seem to solve it. I can’t keep her locked up forever, I really don’t know what to do.”
“Let her go.” Qin Yexuan said after a long pause.
“Ah? Absolutely not!” Su Bingyan was flustered: “How can I let her go? Her personality has become demonized now. What if she runs rampant outside and commits evil deeds?”
Qin Yexuan waved his hand: “Shen Bingmei escaped from the villa just now. I wanted to stop her, but she stabbed herself more than thirty times with a dagger on the spot!”
Su Bingyan’s eyes widened: “She did it deliberately to hurt you? Sister Shen has lost her mind? No, this, this is too terrifying!”
After her soul was controlled, the Demonic Cult could make "Xueqing" and "Shen Bingmei" deliberately harm themselves.
They were demonized and didn't care about such injuries, but to Qin Yexuan and Su Bingyan, it felt like pain in their own hearts.
“Brother-in-law, is there no other way?”
Qin Yexuan fell silent, then gave a wry smile: “If I could even control souls, I would have saved your deceased Sister Su Qing long ago. For anyone, the soul is a forbidden realm. Only the Demonic Cult dares to research these black magic arts!”
Su Bingyan was still hesitating when Jun Mengyao hurried over, her face uneasy: “Sister Xueqing cut her face with scissors. We couldn’t control her, so, so I took the liberty to let her go!”
Su Bingyan’s body trembled slightly, and Jun Mengyao became even more uneasy: “I’m sorry, in that situation, I could only let them release her. I was afraid the demonized Xueqing would commit suicide!”
Su Bingyan slowly raised her hand: “Ayao, thank you. You did the right thing. Can you send someone to follow her? At least I’ll know where she goes.”
“I’ve already arranged for Secretary Jiang to do that. The Night Demon Organization has a professional team that can track Su Xueqing and Shen Bingmei. Their current identity is that of Rakshasa from the Demonic Cult. I also want to find the Demonic Cult’s base camp.”
Just as Jun Mengyao finished speaking, Zhu Tianqi appeared eerily before them: “Demonic Cult? That belongs to me! The Night Demon Organization is following them? That’s great, I’ll just follow Secretary Jiang!”
Zhu Tianqi, once the leader of the Demonic Cult, had failed in her revenge and was now controlled by Qin Yexuan. At this moment, the only thing she cared about was probably matters related to the Demonic Cult.
Before she even finished speaking, she had already vanished from the estate in a gust of wind.
Jun Mengyao watched silently: “Master, should I notify the Night Demon Organization?”
Qin Yexuan shook his head: “Let Zhu Tianqi go. Her strength is not below Bingyan’s, it could even be said to be stronger. With her behind the scenes, the Demonic Cult will not harm Xueqing and the others.”
Over there, the Lord of the Imperial Capital sent someone to invite them to a private room for a discussion.
Qin Yexuan patted Bingyan’s shoulder: “You go with Ayao. I want to have a cup of tea and think carefully about the future.”
“Brother-in-law!”
“Master?”
“Can we not go?” the two women asked in unison.
Qin Yexuan’s expression was calm: “Let’s not discuss this anymore. I remember, it’s almost time for Yuluo’s college entrance examination. You should care more about her. In any case, no matter where I go, your lives must continue.”
Qin Yexuan’s overt wealth and power were prepared to be inherited by Bingyan, including the Shenzhou Chamber of Commerce and the trillions of assets he had on his island.
As for the organizations in the dark, including maritime transport, overseas mercenary groups, and intelligence organizations… they would naturally be the responsibility of Jun Mengyao, his direct disciple.
This way, he could completely let go of the grievances of the past three years and do what he needed to do.
After Su Bingyan and Jun Mengyao reluctantly left, Qin Yexuan sat in the pavilion of Wanliu Mountain Villa, in complete tranquility.
The tea by his side had already gone cold.
In this world, some matters, even immortal gods, could not resolve.
For example, matters of the soul.
Qin Yexuan had once read the entire Three Thousand Daoist Canons on Kunlun Mountain in one sitting. They contained almost all the Daoist immortal arts in the world, yet there were no methods for resurrection or soul manipulation.
After that, he had also copied ten thousand volumes of the Ksitigarbha Buddhist scriptures in a Buddhist temple in Kathmandu. Regarding souls, Buddhism only spoke of reincarnation and did not clearly explain methods of soul control.
It wasn't until he met Zhu Tianqi and opened the treasure vault of the Demonic Cult that he first saw methods of soul manipulation.
Unfortunately, despite the Demonic Cult’s ten thousand years of inheritance, their most powerful black magic could only pollute souls, achieving the effect of demonizing certain humans.
This was still far from controlling souls or achieving resurrection.
With a ding, amidst his wandering thoughts, the mysterious power within Qin Yexuan’s body stirred again.
This power, representing infinite strength, immediately began to "intimately" communicate with him.
“Qin Yexuan, you know, I can help you solve the soul problems of Su Xueqing and Shen Bingmei!”
Qin Yexuan sighed inwardly: “Of course, you seem to be able to solve all problems, but the price is also steep!”
“Haha, kid, how long have we been coexisting?”
Qin Yexuan recalled: “I can’t remember, but every thousand years, our pact must be fulfilled.” Sudang Publishing House
The voice echoed in his ear: “That’s right, I just calculated. Another thousand-year pact is due. The pact that should have begun three years ago was delayed because of the matter with the Su sisters. Now you have no excuse, right?”
Qin Yexuan could not resist this pact, for it was etched into his soul.
“Alright, old man, what do you want me to do this time?”
“Go to Chaoge City! I’ll tell you when we get there.”
Chaoge?
That was the City of Sun and Moon, the most mysterious and prosperous city in Great Xia, even more bustling than the Imperial Capital.
Chaoge’s night strings stretched for three thousand li, and eight hundred lords paid homage to Spirit Mountain.
“You old fellow, are you telling me to go challenge the demons and monsters of Lingmeng Mountain?” Qin Yexuan was shocked.