"A joke? Hmph!" Jin E sneered twice. "Then how about I make a joke with you as well?"
A light breeze blew past.
Before anyone could react, Jin E had already arrived in front of Xue Qinghe.
He grabbed him by the neck with one hand and lifted him up.
"Ugh... ugh..."
Strangled by the neck, Xue Qinghe couldn't speak. He struggled wildly, his eyes filled with terror, fearing he would be choked to death in the next second.
"Your Highness!"
The surrounding soldiers, seeing their master's neck being squeezed, immediately rushed forward.
Meng Shenji also rushed forward recklessly, wanting to rescue Xue Qinghe.
Jin E didn't even spare a glance, raising his hand and flicking it lightly.
This seemingly casual flick contained an extremely terrifying power.
"Old Meng, watch out!"
"Eighth Spirit Ability, Celestial Star Furnace Cage!"
"Fifth Spirit Ability, Green Vine Protection!"
Bai Baoshan and Zhi Lin immediately acted, each unleashing their strongest defensive Spirit Abilities to block in front of Meng Shenji.
If their opponent were an ordinary Titled Douluo, they might have been able to block this strike.
Unfortunately, this time they were facing Gold Crocodile Douluo. How could they possibly withstand an attack from a super powerhouse who was only one step away from being a super Douluo?
Only a loud "Boom!" was heard.
The combined defense of Bai Baoshan and Zhi Lin didn't even last a second before being smashed to pieces.
Meng Shenji spat out a mouthful of old blood once again, and he was sent flying back, losing consciousness.
The surrounding soldiers were knocked unconscious by the shockwave.
"Overestimating yourselves," Jin E said indifferently. Looking at Xue Qinghe, he added, "The joke continues."
Seeing that the mysterious Titled Douluo was about to act against Xue Qinghe, Zhi Lin grew anxious and hurriedly said, "Your Excellency, please think twice! The one you are holding hostage is the First Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Qinghe!"
"Although Your Excellency's strength is terrifying, surely you wouldn't want to be endlessly pursued by the Heaven Dou Empire."
"Oh? Are you teaching me how to do things?"
"A mere prince is nothing in my eyes." As he spoke, Jin E tightened his grip slightly. Xue Qinghe's face instantly turned red, his limbs flailed faster, and his eyes became bloodshot.
Zhi Lin quickly bowed his head and said, "I wouldn't dare. As long as you can spare the First Prince, Your Excellency may make any request, and we will certainly comply!"
Hearing this.
Jin E loosened his grip, and Xue Qinghe gasped for air.
At that moment, he felt as if he saw his great-grandmother waving to him.
Of course, Jin E didn't actually want to kill Xue Qinghe; after all, this guy was the target of Qian Renxue's disguise and infiltration.
If he were killed now, all of Qian Renxue's hard work over these days would be in vain.
"Consider yourselves lucky. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll spare his life." Jin E tossed Xue Qinghe to Zhi Lin like a piece of trash.
Zhi Lin quickly caught him. Seeing that Xue Qinghe was mostly unharmed, he felt much relieved and bowed to Jin E. "Thank you for your mercy, Senior. Please state any requirements you have, and we will carry them out."
Jin E returned to Golden Crown's side and asked, "Grandson, is there anything you want?"
Golden Crown thought for a moment.
Hey! He really did need something right now.
"Grandpa, I want Whale Gel."
"Alright, Whale... Huh? What did you say you wanted?" Jin E paused, then reacted, looking at Golden Crown with a complex expression.
Even Xue Qinghe and the others on the opposite side looked over strangely.
They didn't expect that this kid, despite his young age, would be exposed to that kind of thing so early.
But then again, his grandfather was a Titled Douluo.
It was normal to be a bit precocious.
Jin E slapped Golden Crown on the back of the head and said, "Stinky Kid, can't you be more serious? Is Whale Gel something you should be eating now?"
Seeing Jin E's strange expression, Golden Crown knew he had the wrong idea and hurriedly explained, "Grandpa, what are you thinking? I have another use for Whale Gel. Your mind is really dirty."
Whale Gel is a special tonic derived from the brains of whale-type Spirit Beasts.
It is a supreme Yang tonic with certain aphrodisiac effects.
High-ranking officials and nobles generally used it for certain indecent matters.
But what they didn't know was that Whale Gel had a very powerful effect: it could enhance a Soul Master's physique.
It strengthens the Soul Master's muscles, bones, and meridians, indirectly increasing the upper limit for Soul Ring absorption.
Of course, the older the Whale Gel consumed, the more obvious the effect.
Especially ten-thousand-year Whale Gel; it was something that could be sought but rarely found.
Golden Crown wanted this item to improve his physique and prepare for absorbing his third ring in the future.
He had already decided that since his first two Soul Rings were already at the thousand-year level, the third ring must be at the ten-thousand-year level.
Otherwise, it would be too underwhelming.
But Jin E didn't know that Whale Gel had such an effect. He asked in confusion, "Another use? What other use does Whale Gel have?"
Golden Crown pulled Jin E aside and quietly explained the effects of Whale Gel.
"What!"
"Is that true?"
"Whale Gel actually has such an effect!"
Upon learning that Whale Gel could actually enhance a Soul Master's physique and increase the age limit for Soul Ring absorption, Jin E was shocked.
But after the shock, he asked again, "How come I didn't know Whale Gel had such an effect? Where did you learn this from, kid? You're not lying to me, are you?"
"I saw it in an ancient book in the Hall of Worship's Library. I thought it was interesting at the time, so I read a few more pages. It just so happened to have a detailed record of Whale Gel."
"Besides, why would I lie to you? Grandpa, won't all your assets be mine in the future anyway?" Golden Crown rambled on.
There was no ancient book; he knew all of this from reading the Douluo series in his previous life.
"I see. But how come I didn't know there was such an ancient book in the Library? Could I have skipped it when I was reading back then?"
Seeing that Golden Crown didn't look like he was lying, Jin E believed him.
He looked at Xue Qinghe and the others and said, "Listen up. We want a hundred pieces of Whale Gel. The older the better. Hand them over to me in one month."
"Ah! A hundred pieces! This..." Zhi Lin was very troubled. Whale Gel was not easy to find.
Jin E said coldly, "Is there a problem?"
"No... no. Rest assured, Your Excellency. In one month, we will definitely have a hundred pieces of Whale Gel ready. It's just that we don't know where you reside, Senior, so it would be convenient for us to deliver them to you."
Jin E pointed at a large tree and said, "Don't go to all that trouble. Once you have them ready, leave the items under that tree. I will come and collect them myself when the time comes."
"Also, you'd better not play any tricks. If I don't see the Whale Gel in a month, your First Prince's corpse will appear at the city gate the next day."
With that, Jin E took Golden Crown and left the place.
Seeing this, Zhi Lin finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After hunting the Soul Ring for Xue Qinghe, he reported the matter to Xue Ye.
Upon learning that they had actually provoked an extremely high-level Titled Douluo on this trip, Xue Ye first gave Xue Qinghe and the three Instructors a thorough scolding, then ordered people to collect Whale Gel nationwide.
After all, he was his own son; he had to be saved...