Early the next morning, a luxurious carriage engraved with the Star Luo Imperial Family totem slowly drove out of the palace gates and towards Star Luo City.
Shu Yan lifted a corner of the curtain on the carriage window, observing the streets outside. Various sounds clearly entered his ears: the clatter of horses' hooves, the shouts of vendors by the street, and the laughter of passersby...
Just as Shu Yan was slightly lost in thought, Xu Jiujiu beside him tugged his hand and then said softly:
"A'Yan, what I said yesterday wasn't too detailed. Today, I should tell you more about Old Han. His temperament is truly a bit too strange, and I'm afraid something unexpected might happen."
Shu Yan returned to his senses and then nodded.
Xu Jiujiu cleared her throat and then began:
"Old Han's original name is Han Lin. He is now over eighty years old, almost the same age as Granny Manyi. While he is an eight-and-a-half-ring Soul Guidance Device Master, he is also a rare Title Douluo powerhouse. His spirit power level is ninety-one. His Martial Soul is the Golden Thread Ghost Serpent, a rare highly venomous snake. This Martial Soul is on the same level as the famous snake Martial Soul, the Jade Phosphorus Snake, on the Continent, only their areas of focus are slightly different."
"In his early years, Old Han once apprenticed under an eight-ring Soul Guidance Device Master who defected from the Sun Moon Empire, inheriting that eight-ring Soul Guidance Device Master's mantle. Later, however, for unknown reasons, he fought a great battle with his teacher and accidentally killed him. Old Han's personality became erratic as a result. Aside from locking himself in his room to craft Soul Guidance Device Masters, he had almost no social interactions, sometimes even becoming Madness and often harming people indiscriminately."
"On another note, don't let it seem like Old Han is a powerhouse of the Title Douluo level; in reality, his Title Douluo title is ridiculously inflated, built up entirely by taking medication. In this situation, only when Old Han pairs with his Soul Guidance Device Masters can he barely exert battle power belonging to a Title Douluo. Furthermore, the aftereffects of the medication he took in his early years were significant, greatly impacting his lifespan. Now, he likely has less than ten years of life left..."
After Xu Jiujiu finished speaking, Shu Yan rubbed his brow and then summarized:
"So, that means Old Han is a sober madman?"
Xu Jiujiu seemed to take some interest in that phrase and nodded in agreement.
"Pretty much. Old Han is a madman passionate about Soul Guidance Device Masters. It's precisely because of this that he could reach the level of an eight-and-a-half-ring Soul Guidance Device Master step by step. My Imperial Brother even joked with me before that if Old Han were to study in the Sun Moon Empire for a while, he could probably smoothly break through to become a Nine-Level Soul Guider."
"But it's a pity that Old Han seems to extremely dislike the Sun Moon Empire. Of course, what I said just now was actually a joke, don't take it seriously!"
Saying this, Xu Jiujiu also chuckled softly twice.
Shu Yan shrugged. He seemed to have found a way to break the situation. A fervent enthusiast of Soul Guidance Device Masters, huh? How to handle the other party? Didn't it suddenly become easy?
After Xu Jiujiu briefly recounted two more matters related to this Old Han, she stopped saying anything further. The carriage traveled steadily all the way and soon arrived at a street much quieter compared to the outside. Xu Jiujiu then spoke up again to introduce:
"The south of Star Luo City is mostly residences for Empire powerhouses and officials, so the security around here is much better than other places. There's hardly any noise even during the day, and very few people dare to cause trouble nearby."
Shu Yan acknowledged with a sound. The carriage continued forward and then stopped at the deepest part of the street. Shu Yan jumped off the carriage while holding Xu Jiujiu. Star Cloud Douluo appeared behind them, and the three of them walked up the steps together, then knocked on the heavy metal door.
After a long while, the door was opened from the inside. A middle-aged man with somewhat messy hair poked his head out. After taking the visiting card from Xu Jiujiu's hand, he opened and read it. His expression then drastically changed, and he quickly opened the entire door, then bowed and greeted:
"Han Xin greets Her Royal Highness the Princess, Senior Star Cloud Douluo, and this young master..."
Xu Jiujiu glanced at him and then said directly:
"Take us to see Old Han. There's an important matter; it cannot be delayed."
Han Xin quickly stepped aside and then said:
"Three distinguished guests, please come in. The master just finished his seclusion yesterday and is currently resting in the residence. Three distinguished guests, please follow me."
Xu Jiujiu nodded, then led the two to follow behind Han Xin and walked into the Han residence.
Shu Yan observed the surrounding layout, his gaze lingering for a moment on a few somewhat abrupt decorations before moving away. He could sense it; those were similar to detecting Soul Guidance Device Masters. In this residence, Soul Guidance Device Masters with similar functions were placed almost everywhere. The arrangement method wasn't exquisite, but these Soul Guidance Device Masters did indeed have some merit.
To be honest, Shu Yan was completely ignorant about Soul Guidance Device Masters. He had no interest in crafting Soul Guidance Device Masters and was currently still at the stage of being able to use them but being too lazy to learn. If nothing unexpected happened, he estimated it would remain this way in the future.
For him, learning to craft Soul Guidance Device Masters was purely a waste of time. The cultivation of Ultimate Attribute Soul Masters between level thirty and seventy was already difficult. If he were to allocate time to learning how to craft Soul Guidance Device Masters as well, in Shu Yan's view, wouldn't that be pure brain damage?
Compared to wasting his own time crafting, he preferred to have others craft them well for him to use directly. It saved time, effort, and didn't cause hair loss. Anyway, that was the logic. Whether it was right or wrong, Shu Yan was too lazy to care and didn't mind.
...
Walking into the residence's backyard, the surrounding vegetation increased, and the sound of flowing water could be heard. A small pavilion came into view, and in the center of the pavilion, an Old Man with white hair and beard was sitting in a lounge chair, dozing. Even with the arrival of four people, the Old Man still didn't lift his eyelids, as if he had entered deep sleep.
Star Cloud Douluo let out a cold snort, and starlight flickered in her hand. The next moment, the lounge chair the Old Man was sitting on instantly exploded, and the Old Man was instantly startled awake. The expression on his face visibly became ferocious. Nine spirit rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, purple, black, black, black, black—appeared beneath his feet. Several massive cannon barrels emerged beside him, and terrifying spirit power began to gather. Han Xin was so scared his scalp tingled, and his messy hair stood on end in an instant. The next moment, Han Xin almost instinctively flipped over the wall with a few leaps and disappeared without a trace, leaving behind only a shrill cry:
"The master is going crazy again, again, again, again, again, again...! Run!"
Star Cloud Douluo's forehead veins bulged, and the next moment, she sternly shouted:
"Old Han Ghost! Open your dog eyes and see who I am, and see who the person beside me is! How dare you!"
A stern shout, like a bolt from the blue, instantly resounded throughout the surroundings. Han Lin suddenly woke from his state of crimson eyes. He was dazed for a moment, then his gaze suddenly contracted upon seeing Star Cloud Douluo and Xu Jiujiu. Looking again at the nine spirit rings beneath his feet and the Soul Guidance Device Master cannons beside him, ready to fire, Han Lin suddenly felt like the sky was about to collapse...