Chapitre 10: Second Elder, Yu Tao

As the river of time flowed ceaselessly, three days slipped by in a blink of an eye.

"Have you packed everything?" Yu Xuzi deftly wrapped some goods in paper as she spoke.

Ru Jen replied, "The majority of my clothes have been packed, but I still have a few items left. The Heaven and Earth treasures given to me by Uncle Quan are safely stored in the storage soul tool." He closed his bag with a sense of finality.

"Well, hurry up then. Uncle Quan said he'll be here at 9, and we don't want him to wait," Yu Xuzi said with a hint of annoyance.

With a few more words, Yu Xuzi left the room, leaving behind a faint scent of dry paper.

With a sigh, Ru Jen got up and packed his clothes. After all, in the majority of his 700-year life, his packing had been done by others.

Ru Jen was packing his things because Yu Quan would be coming to pick him up and take him to the second elder's palace. However, he couldn't help feeling slightly uneasy. "I'm surprised that Sect Master Yu Xia hasn't tried to recruit me. I'm a bit talented, after all," Ru Jen said to himself.

As he packed, he pondered whether there might be some hidden deal behind it all, Ru Jen didn't know, and he didn't want to know either.

With a renewed sense of purpose, Ru Jen quickly resumed packing his things, making sure not to leave anything behind.

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As the sun disappeared over the horizon, the moon emerged in the sky, casting a gentle light on the world. The soft chirping of grasshoppers filled the tranquil air, as a small group of people congregated in front of a modest house, lost in conversation.

"Have you packed everything, nephew Shen?" Yu Quan asked with a stern expression, eyeing the stack of boxes beside Ru Jen.

"Yes, Uncle, I have packed everything. Could you please lend me a hand with the move?" Ru Jen replied calmly, casting a glance at the group of burly men standing behind Yu Quan.

Yu Quan wasted no time in issuing a command, "You heard what my nephew said! Move everything now!" The men swiftly picked up the boxes, efficiently loading them into a nearby cart.

"Now that that's taken care of, why don't we go meet the second elder, nephew?" Yu Quan's tone softened as he turned towards Ru Jen with a smile.

Ru Jen nodded in agreement, and the two of them began to make their way towards their destination, enveloped in the serene beauty of the moonlit night.

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In the middle of an exquisitely beautiful hall adorned with intricate carvings and shimmering crystal chandeliers, three figures sat in conversation. Despite the apparent harmony of the setting, a keen observer would notice that only one of them was speaking, while the other two listened in respectful silence.

"So, this is the child with Level 8 innate soul power and a mutated Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon," an old man with a kind face said to Ru Jen and Yu Quan, who stood in front of him.

"Yes, Second Elder. This is the child I spoke about on the Awakening Day," Yu Quan said with a smiling face and a joyfully tone.

Yu Tao, the second elder, with a caring and loving smile, turned his attention to Ru Jen and asked, "Child, what is your name?"

Upon hearing this, Ru Jen realized that the old man in front of him was trying to portray himself as a kind and gentle elder. He naturally played along and replied with eyes and voice full of respect, "Junior Yu Shen, has seen the Second Elder!"

Hearing the reply, Second Elder Yu Tao smiled and calmly said, "Child, you do not need to be so tense. How about you call me Grandpa Tao, and I will call you Xiao Shen, instead of Second Elder and Yu Shen?"

"Of course, Jun--Xiao Shen has seen Grandpa Tao," Ru Jen replied with a hesitant voice, while his inner self mocked the old man in front of him. After all, he had used the oldest and most cliché technique.

As Ru Jen spoke, Yu Tao smiled and released the aura of Title Douluo, using it to put pressure upon Ru Jen. He then asked, "Xiao Shen, would you like to take Grandpa as your teacher?"

Without much thought, Ru Jen replied, "Yes, Xiao Shen is willing to take Grandpa as a master for life," as he had already anticipated such an outcome. But what Yu Tao said next surprised him a bit.

Nodding with a smile, Yu Tao stroked his chin and said, "Xiao Quan, why don't you take Xiao Shen as your adopted son? Meng'er must be lonely without a companion."

Yu Tao's words surprised Yu Quan, who tried to hide his surprise behind a cheerful smile. But, Ru Jen could see through his facade and noticed a slight hesitation in his expression. He wondered what secrets these men were hiding. "Junior Quan, wouldn't dare to disrespect the second elder!" Yu Quan said, turning towards Ru Jen with a sharp gaze. "Would you like to take this seat as your godfather?"

As Ru Jen observed the scene, he realized that the second elder's offer of making Yu Quan his godfather was part of a larger scheme. He couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. The way Yu Tao had spoken and the slight hesitation in Yu Quan's expression made him suspect that there was more to this meeting than he had initially thought. Ru Jen knew that people like Yu Tao, who had reached the rank of Title Douluo, wouldn't be willing to make anyone his disciple's godfather. He wondered what ulterior motives they might have had in mind. While he couldn't rule out the possibility of it being a coincidence, Ru Jen believed that there was a reason for everything, and he intended to find out what that reason was, of course it wasn't time for that now.

After thinking for a while, Ru Jen got down on his knees and said, "Xiao Shen has seen his godfather!" Although it might be humiliating for some reincarnated powerful figures to kneel before someone weaker than them in their peak, Ru Jen was not one of those people. In his opinion, pride and ego could not save his life if he were to face five title Douluo in the future.

As Ru Jen said this, the next act done by Yu Quan confirmed his thoughts. He saw Yu Quan pulling out a bracelet with three crystal jades embedded in it.

"Since you're my one and only son, let this count as a gift for our first meeting. This bracelet's name is Three Jade Thorn Bracelet, a storage soul tool which, when infused with spirit power, each piece of jade is capable of providing three cubic meters of storage space," Yu Quan said while handing the bracelet to Ru Jen.

As Ru Jen received the Three Jade Thorn Bracelet, Yu Tai coughed and said, "Xiao Shen, why don't you show your martial soul to Grandpa? Perhaps I can help you!"

Hearing this, Ru Jen realized that his opportunity had come. In the entire soul master world, there were only a few ways to determine one's cultivation technique. One was to determine it by feeling the soul master's soul energy. Other ways included overwhelming the soul master in strength and feeling their soul energy pulse, people of the same bloodline and martial soul, and people who could do martial soul fusion with each other, etc. Of course, to know one's cultivation, one needed strength too, but...

Today, Ru Jen, a rank 14 spirit master, was going to find out the soul energy cultivation technique of a Title Douluo. One might ask why he would take such risks, but this operation was very important to Ru Jen as it would determine whether the second elder, Yu Tao, was an evil soul master or not, which would hugely affect his plans and range of activities in the future. Of course, the reason he dared to do this was that he was sure he wouldn't be caught. After all, his understanding of soul power was the deepest in the entire soul master world, perhaps even surpassing the gods, but Ru Jen wasn't quite sure about it as he hadn't tested it.

As Ru Jen approached Yu Tao, his heart rate slowed, and his Dark Soul Core began to stir, releasing soul energy as if it wanted to hide itself. When he stood face to face with Yu Tao, he raised his hand, and a silvery silhouette emerged, taking the form of a magnificent dragon. The dragon appeared to be an ordinary Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, but its horn was a deep, dark color and exuded an extremely evil aura. Its body was silver, and its silvery scales had a hint of darkness to them, causing the air around the dragon to crackle with evil energy.

Seeing the mutated Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul in front of him, Yu Tao nodded and smiled. "It seems that you are indeed very special," he said. "Your mutated Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon has an extremely evil aura. If I am correct, your martial soul has a high affinity for darkness and Yin-type soul beasts. Why don't you come closer so that I can examine your body?"

Hearing this, Ru Jen knew that his chance had come. He slowly mobilized his soul power, and as Yu Tao's hand moved closer to his body, he used his opportunity to act. Just as Yu Tao touched his body, Ru Jen's darkness soul core was completely concealed. Instead, a portion of his soul energy transformed into a sword and raced towards Yu Tao's meridians through his fingers. The sword-like soul energy then circled Yu Tao's entire body before returning to Ru Jen's own body.

The sword-like soul energy merged with Ru Jen's own soul energy, and after feeling the soul energy for a while, he confirmed his suspicion that the Second Elder, Yu Tao, was indeed cultivating an evil soul master technique. However, Ru Jen needed more information if he was to continue with his plan.

Throughout this process, Yu Tao didn't sense anything amiss. He slowly withdrew his hand from Ru Jen's body and sighed. "If you had consumed some Heaven and Earth treasure during your childhood, I'm sure that your innate soul power would be at level 10. What a pity."

Hearing this, Ru Jen felt uneasy. How could this old man know that those two levels were being used to contain and maintain the entire hive of the Carrier of Evil? If it weren't for maintaining the hive of Carrier of Evil Ru Jen was sure that he would have probably reach rank 18-20 instead of being stuck at rank 14.

As Yu Tao spoke, he turned to Yu Quan and said, "Xiao Quan, please bathe Xiao Shen with many Heavens and Earth treasures. Although it might not increase his innate soul power level significantly, I'm sure it would be of great help."

Yu Quan nodded and quickly took Ru Jen's hand, disappearing from the hall, leaving it silent. While Yu Tao returned to the darkness in the hall.

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After all, Yu Quan was an elder from the second elder's faction, and his family was also very wealthy. In front of him stood a magnificent blue house, with an extremely green garden at the back. The house was divided into three floors, and the third floor was exclusively for Yu Quan. There were many rooms on the second floor. Since there was no one else in the family at the time, Yu Quan chose a room for Ru Jen first. The first floor served as the lobby, where various luxury goods were readily available, such as valuable murals, various gold and glazed ornaments, and famous and artistic tea sets. An aristocratic spirit was always present.

"I lost my wife at an early age, and my son along with his wife were taken away by our enemies. Now, only my granddaughter and I remain as companions. Her name is Yu Meng'er, and she belongs to your generation. From now on, she will be your companion and sister. Come, let me introduce you to her." Yu Quan stroked his beard and smiled.

Upon hearing this, Ru Jen was surprised, as he had never thought that Yu Quan, who looked like a middle-aged man, would turn out to be a grandfather. Seeing Ru Jen's surprised look, Yu Quan knowingly smiled and said, "Perhaps you are curious about why I look so different from my actual age? Since we have never done a formal introduction, let me start now. My name is Yu Quan, and I am a Spirit Souluo who had chanced upon an immortal herb in my youth, which increased my lifespan by 50 years. So now, I am 87 years old, but due to the immortal herb's effect, I still look younger. Since you and my granddaughter are of the same age, you should also naturally call me grandfather."

"Then your enemy? Have you avenged it?" Ru Jen asked quietly for a moment.

Yu Quan comfortably touched Ru Jen's messy hair.

"Good boy, don't worry about me, the revenge is revenge, but my son will never come back~"

"Grandpa, don't be sad, I'll give you revenge in the future." Ru Jen said obediently but in reality he only wanted to please this old man in front off, after all why should he take risks to get revenge for somebody else?.

"Hahaha!"

"I, Yu Quan, don't need your little baby words to comfort me. Let's talk about it when you become a Title Douluo, hahaha!"

At this time, there was a conversation outside the door.

"I will return again tomorrow," a girl said to another girl, while both of them looked and said to another beautiful looking girl, "Goodbye Meng'er."

"Crack!"

There was the sound of the door opening, and a girl about the same age as Ru Jen walked in slowly. The girl was very exquisite, giving a feeling of being decent, and dressed very decently with long black hair curled up. As a result of living in a noble house since childhood, Meng'er's form and style revealed a noble temperament.

"Father, who is this person?" Yu Meng'er spoke while showing two small tiger teeth, which looked very cute.

"Oh, oh! Meng'er is back. This child is my godson. From now on, he will live in our house. You must get along well~" Yu Quan said with a smile while touching his beard.

"Hello, my name is Yu Shen," Ru Jen said while showing basic etiquette, but they were full of flaws as Ru Jen deliberately did it to show that he was a child born in a low household. Ru Jen stretched out his little hand and smiled kindly at Yu Meng'er.

"No!"

"Mother said not to trust strangers. You are weird go away."," Yu Meng'er said, withdrawing her hand directly and guarding against Ru Jen with a cautious expression.

Ru Jen was lost for a while, "Am I weird?" Ru Jen looked at his white little hands and his average-looking clothes again. "Is my image too sloppy?" Ru Jen said to himself, considering whether he should change his fashion.

"Ahem."

"Meng'er, don't be rude!"

"There is a washroom on the second floor, Xiao Shen. You go there, first clean yourself in it." Yu Quan said, smiling.

"Alright grandpa." Ru Jen nodded obediently, and walked up to the second floor alone, while all the emotion from his face faded and a stone like face appeared.

"Meng'er, go get Xiao Shen a change of clothes." Yu Quan said and walked into the kitchen.

"I know~"

Yu Meng'er took out a new set of clothes in the cabinet and replied.

"After all, this dress is mine, it's free for him."

Before Yu Meng'er was born, her father prepared clothes for the next ten years.

There are two sets of clothes.

A set of men's clothing, a set of women's clothing.

Yu Meng'er is a girl, so she naturally does not wear men's clothing, and now those clothes have been turned around to be used for Ru Jen.

Yu Meng'er slowly went upstairs, holding her white clothes.

Along the way, she was complaining while walking. "Why should I serve him? Obviously, I am the master."

The sound of splashing water on the second floor stopped, and Ru Jen just came out of the shower.

He was also looking for a change of clothes.

And something embarrassing happened.

As soon as Yu Meng'er turned the corner, he saw Ru Jen, who was naked!

"Ahhhh"

Yu Tian slammed the clothes on her hands fiercely, making them fall out!

Ru Jen, who was there, quickly grabbed the flying clothes with a dull expression in his face.

Looking at the little girl who was running down, Ru Jen felt nothing after all; during his peak in his previous life, he had naturally been seen naked by many peerless beauties, and for him, this little girl looking at him was no different either. After all he wasn't a novel's protagonists who is going to blush when a girl sees him.

In fact, in Ru Jen's eyes, this little girl, Yu Meng'er, was the perfect tool; after all, just look at her personality: a lonely child with no father or mother, while being spoiled by her only grandfather.

In fact, if he could in the future, he would certainly use her after this Yu Meng'er was able to feel that Ru Jen was weird, which was something that raised his caution; after all, even Yu Tao, a Title Douluo, wasn't able to analyze him properly, but this Yu Meng'er didn't pose him any threat now, so if he had the time and opportunity, he would certainly analyze Yu Meng'er's body in the future; until then, let her live.