Qian Renfeng glanced at the two worshippers but said no more.
He simply dropped a few words lightly:
"Let's go."
The four of them began heading downstairs.
The ground level of this inn was open for normal business. No matter how thoroughly someone investigated the owner's background, it was spotless.
After all, the man wasn't an evil soul master.
Only a small storage room in the teahouse concealed the path to the hidden underground.
Chrysanthemum Douluo, Yue Guan, sent a voice transmission with a smile:
"I've noticed something interesting about these evil soul masters."
"No matter what sect or group they belong to, they all end up crawling underground."
"No wonder Qingluan keeps calling them rats."
Qian Renfeng chuckled in reply:
"Exactly."
"If you want to catch these rats, treating yourself like an eagle won't work."
"You have to think like a cat if you want any chance of catching them."
Chrysanthemum Douluo joked,
"But do cats crawl into mouse holes?"
Demon-Suppressing Douluo replied calmly,
"Aren't we crawling in right now?"
Qian Renfeng gently pushed open the storage room door. Immediately, he sensed the aura of a powerful cultivator watching from behind it.
"Who's there?"
A calm voice came from within — not aggressive, just waiting for Qian Renfeng to respond.
"Guests here for the banquet."
"Where from?"
"From the east."
The door slowly opened. The threshold wasn't high. As long as one could prove they weren't from the two great empires, nor Spirit Hall…
And had received the insider's news…
Then they were allowed entry.
As for whether they'd have any speaking rights after entering, that was a different story.
After all, this time, over a hundred different organizations had gotten the news. Verifying every single one?
They'd still be checking a thousand years from now.
"Once you enter, you won't be allowed to leave until it's over."
Qian Renfeng pushed the door fully open with slight force.
"Don't worry. We're not going anywhere."
"At the very least, we plan to gain a voice in the matter."
The evil soul master guarding the door was slammed against the wall by Qian Renfeng with great force.
At that moment, no one dared to question his identity.
So domineering — if he weren't an evil soul master, who would believe it?
Three Titled Douluo followed behind him. He waved his hand and said:
"Xiao Guan, you stay here."
"Don't let those fools block the door. We don't want to get trapped inside and become actual rats!"
Chrysanthemum Douluo looked at the two Titled Douluo beside Qian Renfeng and confirmed again:
"Master, are you sure you don't want me to go with you?"
Qian Renfeng shook his head.
"No need. Just stay here and guard the entrance."
"Make sure those idiots don't block the exit!"
Chrysanthemum Douluo, receiving a firm answer, could only nod reluctantly.
Someone had to guard the only exit.
Otherwise, if anything went wrong, the three below would be buried alive.
Chrysanthemum Douluo was indeed talented and had a keen eye for strategy.
Had he gone down with them, Qian Renfeng could've avoided a lot of trouble.
But his spirit abilities were too flashy, and his Martial Spirit even more so.
So, he had to stay above ground, ready to support if needed.
There was another key reason:
Qian Renfeng didn't know if any of the evil soul masters attending this meeting had reached the Limit Douluo level.
Bringing the two Douluo brothers at least gave Qian Renfeng some confidence.
He had no choice — his power was severely weakened underground.
At least 30% of his combat power was gone.
He couldn't draw upon sunlight, and holy energy was inaccessible.
And in a den full of evil soul masters, how much holy energy could one possibly expect?
So, having two powerful allies who could stall a Limit Douluo, even briefly, gave Qian Renfeng peace of mind.
The three moved quickly. Still, it took them about thirty seconds to reach a vast underground platform.
Here, the vetting process was a little more intense.
A man wearing a skull mask stepped forward and blocked them. His voice was emotionless:
"Stop."
"You must report your divine or holy sect before we can assign you seats."
Qian Renfeng glanced at the man's mask and suddenly remembered — he had a half-mask of his own. He retrieved it immediately from his sapphire ring and put it on.
"Our sect is called the Shura God Sect."
"We're based east of the Star Dou Great Forest, with roughly a thousand members."
The man responsible for verifying identities stiffened slightly at the name Shura God Sect.
Though his expression was hidden behind the mask, the way his posture straightened showed he was starting to take them seriously.
But when Qian Renfeng mentioned "a thousand members," the man's hand — previously writing — paused slightly.
"How many again?"
Realizing he may have overdone it, Qian Renfeng adjusted. In his memory, evil soul masters had never been very organized. So he revised the number downward.
"There are definitely around seven to eight hundred. Don't worry about that."
"Otherwise, how could we have been invited by the Holy Sect?"
Qian Renfeng spoke confidently, as if his sect truly had hundreds of loyal followers.
Still, he worried that inflating the number might backfire.
Unexpectedly—
The man recording the data looked like he'd just been played with. He waved dismissively and cut Qian Renfeng off mid-sentence.
A group with fewer than a thousand members? What was there to talk about?
And he was emphasizing it over and over?
Let's not even talk about others — just the Twin Holy God Sect had openly mobilized at least seven to eight thousand people.
And those were just pawns.
The number of ordinary people stationed in their underground palaces?
At least a hundred thousand.
Where do you think all that tax income comes from?
You think it's all from hunting soul beasts?
A puny organization with seven to eight hundred members…
And you have the nerve to say you were "invited"?
If not for the fact that this grand meeting didn't require invitation letters…
He would've thought they snuck in.
As for the rest of Qian Renfeng's explanation, he didn't even bother writing it down.
This summit required that only sects with Titled Douluo-level powerhouses could vote or run for leadership.
A small sect with under a thousand members… and you expect they have a Titled Douluo?
They'd be lucky to have a Soul Emperor.
Why waste paper recording this?
And just like that, Qian Renfeng and his group were let through, leaving him completely bewildered.
He turned to the two Titled Douluo beside him and asked:
"Wait... So nowadays, are evil soul master sects all just huge?"
"Do they think our seven to eight hundred people are too few… or too many?"
Even Demon-Suppressing Douluo was confused.
If Qingluan Douluo, the accounting genius, were here, maybe he could analyze the strength of each organization.
But the two of them?
They usually only hunted evil soul masters based on Spirit Hall's orders, and those were usually Titled Douluo-level threats!
At minimum—
They'd be Soul Douluo-level evil soul masters.
Who cared how many grunts they had?
Qian Renfeng waved it off.
No matter what, the three of them had made it inside.
Let's find a seat and see what tricks they're planning to play.