Chapter 25: The Soul-Returning Gem (Revised)

The Yellow Springs Ghost King may appear to be a fool, but when pushed to the limit, he becomes like a rabid dog, his combat prowess soaring as he attacks anyone in sight with reckless abandon.

Sensing the danger, the Xihua Ghost King had intended to join forces with three other Ghost Kings to subdue him. However, those three cowards did not hesitate for a second and fled the scene immediately. Now, only the Xihua Ghost King remained. He desperately wanted to leave, but the Yellow Springs Ghost King clung to him stubbornly, refusing to let go. In the end, the Nanshan Ghost King—who had somehow arrived—exerted every ounce of his strength to break free, though the price of his escape was a nasty bite on his arm from the Yellow Springs Ghost King.

At this moment, a drone was hovering above the villa. The Xihua Ghost King paid it no mind. The viewers in the livestream were completely stunned when the Nanshan Ghost King appeared.

[Handsome Rich Kid: What's going on with this guy? He seemed to just appear out of thin air, didn't he?]
[Chick-Chick Smiling: That's exactly what I saw, same as what the top fan said.]
[I Have Issues: No, don't scare me. In my experience, the only things that can suddenly appear like that are...]

The livestream went silent again.

Standing at the entrance of the villa, the Xihua Ghost King looked at the open door, took a deep breath, and felt a sense of foreboding. He rushed inside. Moments later, a shrill cry echoed through the villa.

"Ah! Why are you doing this to me? It’s one thing to steal things, but you stole my most handsome portrait!"

This wail was captured by Yu Mengjia’s drone and broadcast to the stream, leaving the viewers bewildered.

[Poorest Millionaire: Wait, is the Opera Troupe Master interested in men? Coming all this way just to steal a portrait?]
[Handsome Rich Kid: I don't think so. The Opera Troupe Master isn't an ordinary person, and the owner of this villa is no ordinary person either. There’s definitely something going on here that we don't know about.]

As the viewers argued, Yu Mengjia maneuvered the drone away to pursue Yang Xuan. Since the drone had been modified by the Handsome Rich Kid, its flight speed was several times faster than a standard model. Within minutes, it caught up to Yang Xuan, who was hiding in a secluded alleyway, examining the portrait. Seeing the confident smile on the Xihua Ghost King in the painting, Yang Xuan wore an expression of pure disgust.

"Not only are you ugly, but you have the nerve to hang a self-portrait in your villa. You have no shame!"

Yang Xuan examined the portrait closely and discovered a ruby embedded in the back. After using his Heavenly Eyes to appraise it, he realized the true treasure was the gemstone itself. As for the portrait, it was worthless. He deposited the ruby into his system and tossed the painting into a nearby trash can.

Shortly after Yang Xuan left, the Xihua Ghost King tracked his scent to the alley. Seeing his portrait discarded so casually filled him with rage.

"Do you think I'm a pushover? You’re bullying me right on my own turf!" He froze, then shouted, "What the hell! Where is my Soul-Returning Gem?"

He inspected the back of the portrait and was left dumbfounded. The Soul-Returning Gem was his greatest artifact. He had intended to return to the villa to retrieve it so he could exact revenge on the Yellow Springs Ghost King for that bite. Now, not only was revenge impossible, but his treasure was gone.

"Damn it!"

In a fit of fury, he punched the wall of the alley, causing his knuckles to bleed. He nearly broke down at the sight of his own blood. It was a case of bad luck piling up; he hadn't punched a wall in years, so why did he have to hit an reinforced anti-evil panel on the first try?

"Damn it! No matter who you are, if I catch you, I will kill you! Even if you are the King of Heaven himself, it won't matter!"

The Xihua Ghost King calmed himself and took a deep breath, attempting to track the scent of his treasure. Yet, aside from the foul stench of the narrow alley, he could detect no trace of his artifact.

"Damn it! Not again!"

Ever since the last incident, he had noticed this pattern. Whether it was his Xihua Battle Suit or the Soul Realm Flag, whenever they were lost, there was never any scent to follow. This made him realize the gravity of the situation. After thinking it over, his anger reached a boiling point.

"Fine. Whoever you are, I will eliminate you this time! You have gone too far!"

Returning to the villa, he used his equipment to enter the auction house. He put up all his remaining 100,000 Soul Points and issued a proclamation: "Whoever helps me eliminate that person can take all 100,000 Soul Points."

A bounty of 100,000 Soul Points for a single head was an incredible deal in the Soul Realm. Before the auction even began, countless ghosts were already clamoring to sign up.

On the other side, Yang Xuan noticed the Xihua Ghost King's actions through his system. The bounty notice didn't interest him, but the fact that the system allowed for such bounties caught his full attention.

"System, explain the bounty system."

[Understood, Host. The auction house's bounty system, as the name implies, allows one to place a bounty on any target, provided one has sufficient Merit Points.]

[The issuer can choose their own executor. If they find it troublesome, they can have the auction house select the most suitable candidate for the task.]

[Bounties are categorized by level: Ghost Soldier: 1,000; Ghost General: 10,000; Ghost King: 100,000; Ghost Emperor: 10,000,000. These values are the starting prices for the targets.]

[Humans are treated the same as the Soul Race, though their strength must be fully assessed by the auction house.]

After understanding the mechanics, Yang Xuan was quite satisfied. This meant that as long as he had enough Merit Points in the future, he wouldn't need to do his own dirty work. It was convenient and efficient.

After watching the bounty notice for a while, Yang Xuan saw the auction house select the optimal executor for the Xihua Ghost King: the Yellow Springs Ghost King!

"Heh, how interesting."

Back at the villa, when the Xihua Ghost King received the notification of the chosen executor, he felt like dying. He hadn't yet settled the score for the bite on his arm, and now the Yellow Springs Ghost King had taken the contract. What did this mean? Not only had he bitten him, but now he was going to take his Soul Points too? Damn it!

At the Yellow Springs Pavilion, once the Yellow Springs Ghost King accepted the mission, the auction house immediately provided him with Yang Xuan’s portrait and personal information. After a quick glance at the image, the Yellow Springs Ghost King couldn't help but laugh aloud.

"Easy! A mere mortal like this—taking him out will be a piece of cake!"

With those words, the Yellow Springs Ghost King vanished from the pavilion.