Douluo Continent: Starting with a Heavenly Fire Judgment

Chapter 327 Heartbeat and Tools

To everyone's disbelief.

The blood-red light in the Golden Bear's eyes slowly faded, leaving behind disbelief and astonishment.

The next moment, a line of blood slowly emerged from between the brows of the Golden Bear and extended downwards. His body began to tremble, as if he had been torn apart by a powerful force and split in two. He had been cleaved in two by Ji Lin's sword.

Strangely, no blood flowed from Zhao Yang's body, which had been split in two, whereas a large amount of blood should have gushed out.

However, the person closest to the orange clearly saw that Zhao Yang's internal organs had been burned to charcoal by the high temperature, and his blood had been evaporated. This was the real reason why there was no blood gushing from Zhao Yang's body.

This was only because Zhao Yang was a Soul Saint and in his Martial Soul True Body state. If it were anyone else, they would have been reduced to ashes the moment they were hit by Ji Lin's sword, leaving no trace of their body.

It was all over. Zhao Yang's death also signaled the complete defeat of the rebels. The Sun Moon Empire's army swept forward like a whirlwind, refusing to accept surrender and slaughtering everyone without exception!

Ji Lin frowned. As expected of Xu Tianran's direct troops, they were indeed insane. You must know that the troops Zhao Yang brought were all from the Sun Moon Empire, and strictly speaking, they were their compatriots. Yet, they didn't even give their compatriots a chance to surrender.

The deaths of tens of thousands of soldiers turned the battlefield into a river of blood, and the air was filled with the stench of blood. Ji Lin was shocked. This scene was even more shocking than the spider lilies he had seen at the beginning. Is this what war is?!

Although Ji Lin had seen blood many times, having killed evil soul masters and soul beasts, and had just killed a soul master, the scene of tens of thousands of people being slaughtered still made him feel a little uncomfortable. He had never experienced such a scene before, whether in his past life or this one. In short, today's scene left a deep impression on him.

No wonder Orange became increasingly frantic later on. Facing such scenes every day, it would be strange if she, a woman, could maintain her mental sanity.

Even Ji Lin, if he had to face this kind of scene every day, would probably eventually become indifferent to human life, after all, he would have gotten used to it.

Habit is a terrible thing. Once a person gets used to something, it is difficult to change their perception, and they may even have their perception changed. If they have become accustomed to the passing of life, then life no longer has any special meaning in their eyes.

With the battle over, the rebels were undoubtedly wiped out.

Ji Lin calmed himself down, looked at Ju Zi and said calmly, "It's all over now, I should go. Goodbye."

After speaking, Ji Lin unfurled his ice wings, preparing to leave.

Ju Zi was startled and quickly said, "Wait, I don't even know your name yet! Could you please stay and let us thank you properly?"

Ji Lin shook his head and said, "If we meet again someday, you'll know who I am. Don't misunderstand, saving you was just a spur-of-the-moment thing. Goodbye."

After saying this, Ji Lin's figure soared into the sky and quickly turned into a black dot and disappeared into the horizon.

Orange stared blankly at the horizon, lost in thought.

Coco came to Orange's side and whispered, "He's gone. Who is he anyway? He wouldn't even tell us his name. Why did he save us? I didn't even have a chance to thank him for saving my life!"

Ju Zi glanced at her without saying anything, but the look in her eyes startled Ke Ke.

She quickly looked around to make sure everyone else was cleaning up and no one was approaching, then lowered her voice again and said, "Ju Zi, don't tell me you've fallen for him, have you?"

Orange glanced at her but didn't say anything, but Keke could already see the answer in Orange's eyes.

Coco exclaimed incredulously, "No way! While it's certainly romantic for a hero to save a damsel in distress, and he's quite handsome too. Okay, he is handsome, but is it really enough to fall in love at first sight?! You don't even know his name or who he is, and you've already fallen for him?"

Orange said calmly, "You don't understand. There are some things I can't control. Besides, I'm not qualified to like him. This kind of emotion shouldn't exist in me. With his talent and strength, he is destined to be the bright moon in the sky, and I am not qualified to like him."

Orange placed her hand on her chest, recalling the brief contact earlier and the moment her heart raced. She said softly, "Besides, he doesn't like me either, otherwise he wouldn't have refused to even leave his name."

Keke glared at her, exasperated, and said, "If you like her, just go for it! Aren't you usually so decisive? Why are you so indecisive now?"

Orange's body trembled. "Do you want everyone to hear? Why are you shouting so loudly?"

Keke paused for a moment, "Ju Zi, don't force yourself, okay? Go pursue your own happiness, okay?"

Keke's tone was pleading; she genuinely cared about Ju Zi and didn't want Ju Zi to become the Crown Princess. She had some understanding of the corrupt practices within the Sun Moon Empire's royal family and didn't want Ju Zi to get involved. She hadn't had the chance to persuade her before, but now that Ju Zi had finally fallen for someone, she didn't want her to give up.

Orange smiled, a hint of sadness in her smile. "Keke, I'm just a pawn in His Highness the Crown Prince's hands right now, a pawn that will be completely destroyed if it's no longer useful. I can only be a good pawn. Besides, I don't even know who he is. He just saved us. Do you want me to drag him into this?"

Keke leaned close to her ear and said, "You can go find him! He's heading towards Dongyang City. You can take this opportunity to get away from this vortex."

Orange gave a bitter smile and said, "Keke, what we're saying now is all wishful thinking. We're complete strangers, and he only saved us once out of the blue. I admit there was a moment when I felt a flutter in my heart, but whether it was love or not, I don't know. Under these circumstances, how can you expect me to go to him? Do you think he'd accept me? Besides, how could I possibly do that? The hatred for my parents is irreconcilable. When they died, I swore that for the rest of my life, only hatred would sustain me!"

Keke knew she was being too idealistic, but she desperately wanted to get Ju Zi out of Xu Tianran's bottomless pit. Ji Lin's appearance gave her a glimmer of hope. She said bitterly, "I was too presumptuous, but Ju Zi, you're being too extreme. I feel he should know you. How can you be so sure he doesn't have feelings for you? Otherwise, why would he save you? Why wouldn't he want you to take risks?"

If Ji Lin heard this, he would definitely say that tools should not be discarded before they can be used.

Orange shook her head and said, "Keke, let's leave it at that. If you have the chance to see him again in the future, just treat him as your savior. You're not allowed to do anything extra. There's no possibility between us."

"Oranges..." Keke was about to say again.

Orange said decisively, "That's an order! Go and rest."

Keke sighed. She knew that Ju Zi had made up her mind. She would pretend that moment of infatuation never existed and bury it deep in her heart. She was still Ju Zi, who lived for revenge. Love was too much of a luxury for her.

Coco didn't say anything more. She walked to Ju Zi's side, hugged her gently, and then turned and left.

Even after Keke left, Ju Zi's eyes were filled with confusion. She really didn't know if the racing heart at that moment was love or simply seeing Ji Lin as a substitute for her father. After all, Ji Lin's back view at that time was so similar to the father who protected her when she was a child.

While Keke and Ju Zi were talking, Ji Lin had already reunited with Chi Yuan. For him, saving Ju Zi was just a minor incident and he didn't take it to heart.

After the two met up, they set off north again, intending to reach Dongyang City before nightfall.

Dongyang City is a major northern town of the Sun Moon Empire. It is located in the northeastern part of the Sun Moon Empire, less than a thousand kilometers from the border with the former Heavenly Soul Empire.

Furthermore, it is the largest city in the north, and the only one that meets the standards of a major city. It is also the largest granary and reserve of various supplies in the northern part of the Sun Moon Empire. The city is garrisoned by 20,000 regular troops, has soul-guided weapon fortifications, and a soul-guided master regiment is stationed there year-round. After all, it is the most important town in the north.

Dongyang City is very close to the northern icy sea. The army and soul master regiment stationed here are there to defend against sea soul beasts that may come out of the icy sea.

Sea spirit beasts capable of surviving in the icy sea almost always possess both ice and water attributes. They are extremely powerful. Occasionally, they launch attacks, plundering food from the shore and hunting humans.

Therefore, Dongyang City has the task of fighting against them and defending against the sea spirit beasts coming ashore to cause trouble.

Sea spirit beasts differ from land spirit beasts in one key aspect: most of them live in groups, making them extremely troublesome if they cause chaos. This is a major reason why Dongyang City is heavily guarded.

The city walls of Dongyang City are thirty zhang high, making it a standard large city. The walls are thick and wide, and various offensive and defensive soul-guided devices are deployed on the walls.

Above Dongyang City, there are more than seventy high-altitude detection soul guides, responsible for exploring the thousands of square kilometers of land around Dongyang City.

Although Dongyang City is located in the north, it is the largest city in the north and therefore very prosperous. Many northerners consider it an honor to live in Dongyang City. This has led to extremely high land prices within the city.

It was already evening, and the crowd at the city gates was gradually thinning out. This was to guard against the possibility of encountering sea spirit beasts. Every evening after sunset, the gates of Dongyang City would close.

Before nightfall, Ji Lin and Chi Yuan finally arrived at Dongyang City. The two landed from the sky and walked towards the city gate. Inside the gate, the soldiers on guard were sitting in the towers to keep warm. Although Dongyang City was a large city, the checks on people entering and leaving the city were not strict, and in fact, there was no need for them.

Apart from fighting against the Sea Soul Beasts, Dongyang City has never experienced any warfare, and the Heavenly Soul Empire could never have invaded this place.

(End of this chapter)