Douluo Continent: A Thousand Miles of Cultivation

It's an undeniable fact that the Three Earthly Sects were being hunted down by the Spirit Hall. At the time, Qian Shui sent Yin Jin to the Ye family, hoping to advance further. He probably didn't expect it to end like this.

"At first, I had no idea about the relationship between the Ye family and the Spirit Hall. I never expected that a higher-ups would give me an order to eliminate Lingling, but how could I possibly do it?"

Yin Jin propped his face up with one hand and his elbow on the table, saying helplessly, "If my boss finds out, not only will I fail to complete the mission, but killing an innocent girl is enough to get me torn to pieces."

"Oh? You mean that although it's an order from the Spirit Hall's higher-ups, you don't want to carry it out. Carrying it out will definitely lead to death, while not carrying it out offers a way to survive?"

Now Qian Renxue understood completely. Given Qian Shui's temperament, he might actually do that. However, his teammates were quite similar to him in temperament. Even Yin Jin, who seemed to be the least opinionated, dared to make such a surprising move.

But betraying the Spirit Hall isn't that easy.

"Luckily you ran into me, Xiao Shui. How are you going to thank me?"

With a slight smile, Qian Renxue stood up and said, "Young Master Yin, come with me. Let's talk alone."

Chapter 122 Obsession

It felt as if countless icy frosts were gathering towards him, while simultaneously releasing countless more from within him. In this white void, Qian Shui suffered, simultaneously experiencing this seemingly endless chill.

The cold sensation that shouldn't have appeared still did occur; it wasn't a real temperature change, but rather the chill brought on by the murderous aura.

The purest killing intent rapidly invaded Qian Shui's body and soul, causing him to tremble with each intrusion.

When that coldness solidified, Qian Shui finally understood what it was.

'God of Slaughter... Domain...'

This is a domain, a domain formed from the condensation of killing intent.

'This is a passive skill inscription that surpasses even spirit rings! A more advanced technique! Is this... where it comes from...?'

He didn't know how much time had passed, but when Qian Shui finally came to his senses from the pain, he felt like a sheep, completely uncomfortable.

"Fifth Soul Skill: Endless Life!"

After leaving the City of Slaughter, Qian Shui was finally able to use her soul skill, specifically her fifth soul skill, which she hadn't yet fully mastered.

Instantly, all the pain disappeared, and some hidden injuries were also healed.

"That's right, whoever provides the milk is the mother, and replenishing the blood is the key!"

Standing up, Qian Shui twisted her waist, habitually patted her buttocks, and checked herself over.

"I go……"

The moment the primordial spirit was summoned and appeared before his eyes, Qian Shui understood exactly where the Killing God Domain was engraved.

"Meridian + Soul + Spirit = Primordial Spirit Martial Soul, so what am I? Fusion within the meridians?"

The manifested primordial spirit has no physical form. The points inscribed on it by the God of Slaughter Domain appear as changes in the color of the meridians. Everything seen on the primordial spirit can be said to be a true projection of Qian Shui himself.

Therefore, he concluded that the Killing God Domain was attached to the location of his martial soul, where his soul communicated with his spirit and body, and was simultaneously transformed by his martial soul—within his meridians.

When he tried to communicate with the invisible yet existent thing attached to him, a wave of energy emanated from his body.

"This is the God of Slaughter Domain? It's a skill that doesn't require much preparation, precise calculations, or years of honing; all it needs is an energy source to unleash."

A more advanced form of expression than spirit rings and spirit skills!

"Asura God, or perhaps the five God-Kings of the God Realm Committee, did you create the Martial Soul Civilization to justify the destruction of the Soul Beast race?"

Dragon God War!

Soul beasts are the race of the Dragon God. Although the Dragon God was killed, his race was not wiped out, and the fear brought by the Dragon God was enough to make those above the clouds have some thoughts.

"Time limit, heavenly tribulation, unable to become a god! In addition, the human martial soul cultivation method requires obtaining a soul ring to advance further. These are just a few casual moves, but they have laid the foundation for the soul beast's inevitable destruction!"

Qian Shui looked at the sky and muttered to himself, "This is a greenhouse for humans, but a burial ground for soul beasts. This is not a god."

Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs. This saying may seem tragic to humans, as if I have become a dog made of straw. In reality, this is the way of heaven. Humans and all things are 'straw dogs', without exception.

Qian Shui understood this. If he cultivated the Heavenly Dao, he would inevitably follow the Path of Ruthlessness. The Heavenly Dao is ruthless, that is inevitable. If there are true gods, they must also be subordinate to the Heavenly Dao and be the executors of the Heavenly Dao, just like the Six Sages of the Primordial Era.

However, the gods in Douluo Continent are not like that; they are more like cultivators who have not yet attained immortality, and their actions are more like those of humans with complex human nature.

"God King? If this level is enough to be called God King, then it's nothing special."

Withdrawing his gaze from the sky, Qian Shui turned and left, feeling no joy at the increase in his strength.

The violent and murderous thoughts that filled his heart, coupled with the inexplicable sense of arrogance, made it difficult for him to feel at ease. He always felt that his body was empty and needed something to fill it.

The frustration and disappointment that were hard to control piled up, and Qianshui lost control.

"Grass!"

His emotions became uncontrollable, and his soul power erupted, destroying a large amount of vegetation around him.

"Greed, anger, and ignorance! Desire! Restraint! All of these are intense desires!"

Scenes of the people he killed in the Killing City flooded his mind, accompanied by a barrage of thoughts: "Post-traumatic stress disorder?! Damn!"

Qian Shui knew about this; he had thought of these things when he killed the first person.

But reality is often more terrifying than imagination, so terrifying that he can't forget a single image! Anything related to it will appear in his mind.

"Ha! I really don't want to have such a good memory... Humans are really like that, when they need it they wish they could memorize every single symbol in the text, and when they don't need it they wish they could cut off all the memory modules!"

At this moment, Qian Shui missed the pure days of running around, so simple and carefree.

As I thought about it, I just did it, regardless of the direction, I just ran forward.

……

"You really betrayed the Spirit Hall?"

As Xue Qinghe walked out of the reception room and into what appeared to be his bedroom and study, Yin Jin heard him ask the same question again.

"Your Highness, I think Lingling's existence and my situation don't need any further explanation."

Yin Jin was speechless as he looked at Xue Qinghe, who had his back turned and could only be seen from behind.

"I mean! You! Really! Betrayed! Spirit Hall!?"

When Xue Qinghe asked again, enunciating each word carefully, Yin Jin was utterly astonished.

The Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire slowly turned around. As he turned, his voice changed from a mix of male and female to a completely female voice, and his appearance changed to that of a familiar person. The intense holy aura pressed down on him, and the appearance of the seven spirit rings one after another was like seven giant rocks pressing down on his heart.

"You! Have you betrayed us?!"

The angel's sword was aimed directly at the silver-gold neck, mercilessly imposing its pressure on him.

"Brother Shui! No wonder you trained so hard! No wonder you arrived in Tian Dou City first but stayed at the Crown Prince's residence! No wonder you reacted that way back then!"

Qian Renxue has revealed her identity. Now she only needs to figure out one thing: in Yin Jin's mind, is Qian Shui more important than the Spirit Hall?

In other words, he would rather be loyal to Qian Shui or any other party.

After Yin Jin understood Qian Renxue's identity, he also understood the logic behind some of Qian Shui's incomprehensible behaviors, such as the murderous look Qian Shui gave him when he asked her to introduce him to Qian Renxue.

"Angelic Martial Soul, surname Qian. Miss Qian, may I call you that?"

Qian Renxue remained unmoved, her eyes fixed on Yin Jin without any fluctuation.

"The Qian family of the Spirit Hall, I really walked right into their trap. But Miss Qian didn't kill me immediately, because of whom, Brother Shui?"

"We're both younger than you, so we don't deserve to be called brother and sister."

Seeing that Yin Jin wasn't too stupid, Qian Renxue stopped trying to scare him. She put away the Angel Sword and her Martial Soul, took a step back, and said calmly, "Whether you live or die depends on your answer next."

"understood."

"If one day, Qian Shui stands against the Spirit Hall, against the Heaven Dou Empire, or even against the entire Soul Master world, he will be an enemy of the whole world!"

Do you choose him, or the person opposite him?

"Is there still a choice?"

Yin Jin, on the contrary, said with a hint of pride, "Why do you think I betrayed the Spirit Hall? Because I couldn't bring myself to harm Lingling? No! Wasn't it enough to just let Lingling go? It was all because of him!"

"I don't understand how someone so much younger than us can know so much and be so strong. But regardless of age, perhaps as he himself said, 'Those who are accomplished are teachers.' Over the years, we who knew nothing about him have long regarded him as our teacher!"

"Tell me, we're not even allowed to kill more soul beasts, we practice equality, and the pain of training has never lessened in the slightest. How would Qian Shui feel about my indifference towards Ling Ling?!"

"Killing Lingling would likely only lead to Brother Shui personally coming to end my life. But letting her go—as her teacher, how could I bear to leave her all alone?!"

“Miss Qian! I did betray the Spirit Hall! But I did not betray Brother Shui’s teachings! Is that clear enough?”

His response was a heavy punch. "This punch is for Qian Shui! You're not capable of making such a choice! If you defect, will the Yin family suffer the same fate? Naïve!"

"If no one in the Spirit Hall protects you, do you think you can escape to Heaven Dou City?"

"However, your answer just now is enough for me. Go to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Xue Qinghe will arrange things for you and your master."

'She really doesn't hold back... And I actually quite like her. Shui Ge, you'd better pray for yourself!'

Yin Jin knelt on the ground, writhing in pain like a cooked shrimp.

"Then... thank you very much, Your Highness!"

Qian Renxue was also at her wits' end. Qian Shui sometimes seemed reckless and impulsive, even daring to attack Bibi Dong in public, but behind his actions were clear purposes to achieve them. Even if it meant death, all the consequences were carefully considered.

Even though the two of them fell out due to a lack of timely communication, which pushed him into a desperate situation, he had considered the worst possible outcome before making his decision.

But Yin Jin is different. He's just a hot-blooded young man. He may value Qian Shui and understand how she will treat him after he makes a decision, but he has no regard for anything else, such as his family.

Qian Renxue guessed that this was probably due to Bibi Dong's deliberate leniency; otherwise, given her consistent style, this merchant family should no longer exist.

Chapter 123 The Sixth Soul Skill

"The structure of the human body, the coccyx, spine, pelvis, appendix, tonsils, these are all evidence of evolution, and the Douluo people exist just like them."

Since the martial spirit cultivation method is known to be a human creation, there are several possibilities.

The earliest humans did indeed come from evolution, just like all living things, and the earliest martial spirits were weapon martial spirits, which came from 'divine gifts'.

The existence of Beast Martial Souls is assumed to be the product of the combination of Soul Beasts in human form and humans. This can roughly explain why Beast Martial Souls are more powerful in the early stages when cultivated purely through Martial Soul techniques.

Therefore, in the Douluo Continent, the concept of 'human' becomes more complex, and the relationship between soul beasts and humans may very well be redefined.

After reading all that, Xiao Wu closed her notebook, stood up, and gazed into the distance, her feelings extremely complicated.

'Qianshui, how long ago did you start thinking about this kind of question?'

She was now certain that Qian Shui was not lying, and that he truly had no intention of killing her Soul Hunter.