In Douluo Continent, there is a proper way to die.

Chapter 112 Heaven and Hell: I have no right to choose, only the fate of being chosen!

The oil lamp fell to the ground, and its dim light illuminated the newcomer, a tall man dressed in night clothes, with a mask covering his face, revealing only his eyes.

Behind him, figures emerged from the branches of trees, bushes, behind rocks, and in the shadows.

"Aunt Owl!" Zhu Zhuqing exclaimed, her voice ringing out in the quiet night. It startled the people sleeping in their tents nearby, and oil lamps were lit one by one, their light spreading around them and gradually dispelling the ominous darkness.

But Zhu Zhuqing's unease did not subside. Two bright yellow spirit rings rose beneath her feet, hovering behind her on the left and right. Her long cat tail stretched taut behind her hips, and sharp claws appeared at the tips of her fingers. She lowered her body, ready to unleash a greater commotion at any moment to wake the sleeping people in the group.

"Boss, everyone else is awake. What should we do, brothers?" Behind the leader of the men in black, a dark figure approached, awaiting instructions.

"Kill them all. Anyway, the members of the troupe were either civilians or people from the Spirit Hall. They're dead, so be it. Just don't let the word get out," the man in black sneered, then looked at Zhu Zhuqing. "Blame yourself, Second Miss. They should have died peacefully in their sleep, but now, because of you, they have to face death awake!"

"Nonsense!" Behind Zhu Zhuqing, her first soul ring lit up, and then she suddenly sprang up, her five fingers joined together, forming the shape of a hand katana, and thrust towards the man in black.

Even knowing she was outmatched, she had to make some noise to alert more people in the troupe.

First Soul Skill - Netherworld Thrust: Speed ​​+100%, and the claws are strengthened and extended, increasing attack range and attack area!

"Tsk tsk tsk," facing Zhu Zhuqing who was rushing towards him at lightning speed, the man in black was still able to shake his head as he stepped over Lin Xiaole's "corpse," and then raised his leg to deliver a powerful front kick, which landed hard on Zhu Zhuqing's abdomen. "Overestimating yourself."

Zhu Zhuqing's body suddenly bent, her whole body forming a "bow" shape. Her pupils contracted sharply, her consciousness almost flew out of her body, and saliva, due to the unbearable pressure in her abdomen, was spat out from her open mouth. Her whole body flew backward at an even faster speed like a cannonball, crashing heavily into the parked empty horse-drawn carriage, even causing the carriage to overturn.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, as Zhu Zhuqing regained consciousness, she struggled to get up, holding onto the carriage. What came into view was the series of soul rings rising behind her.

It's a Soul King! Despair appeared on Zhu Zhuqing's face. She looked around and found that most of the other attackers were also Soul Masters with the cultivation of Soul Sect, which were not something that the Soul Venerables and Great Soul Masters of the guard team could withstand.

Soul Masters were ultimately a minority in this era. Out of a population of at least 500 million, only more than 90,000 were Soul Masters. Their average strength was generally at the Soul Venerable level. Even the most elite force carefully selected by the Spirit Hall—the "Angel Legion," composed entirely of flying-type Martial Soul Masters—had more than 80% of its members at the Soul Venerable level.

Under normal circumstances, no one would be so foolish as to rob the brigade just because it bears the Spirit Hall's emblem. Even if some stubborn Soul Master bandits did appear, they would at most be Soul Venerables. A guard team composed of Soul Venerables and Great Soul Masters would be more than enough to protect the brigade.

Encountering an attack by a Soul King like this is a rare occurrence. Keep in mind that there are no more than five thousand Soul Kings in the entire continent!

This also means that the other party has a clear goal and came prepared. In this situation, it is highly likely that some kind of power struggle or conflict has occurred between major forces. Under normal circumstances, the small people who are affected can only accept their bad luck and pray for a better reincarnation in the next life.

...Is my sister trying to wipe them all out?

Zhu Zhuqing gritted her teeth. Back when she was still in the Zhu family, she was treated like a punching bag by Zhu Zhuyun. She was beaten and bruised all over by Zhu Zhuyun time and time again. If it weren't for the rule in the Xingluo royal family that no candidate could be harmed before the duel at the age of twenty-five, she would probably have died in the clan long ago.

No matter how hard she tried, she could not overcome the seven-year difference in cultivation time and catch up with Zhu Zhuyun. When Davis was twenty-five years old and found Dai Mubai, it would be her death day.

Zhu Zhuqing was unwilling to let her life end like this. In the Zhu family, she only had one way out: death. Only the outside world could offer her a glimmer of hope. She wanted to live. As long as there was a possibility of survival, no matter how small, she was unwilling to give up. As long as it wasn't zero, that was fine.

"What a pity, Second Miss," the man in black walked unhurriedly to Zhu Zhuqing, his demeanor leisurely. "You were just one step away from escaping to the Heavenly Dou Empire. Were you going to find that coward who abandoned you? Instead of enjoying the rest of your life in your clan, you chose to torment yourself? Is this your choice?"

Davis is six years older than Dai Mubai and nine years older than Zhu Zhuqing. He is already twenty-one years old this year. In other words, Zhu Zhuqing only has four years left to live a good life.

"A mere four years, Second Miss, neither you nor that coward could possibly stir up any trouble," the man in black said coldly, his words full of mockery. "Rather than suffering and toil in these last four years and ending up with no change, you would have been better off enjoying wealth and glory in the end. It's a pity that you made the worst choice."

After all, dying outside is considered an "accidental death," which doesn't break the centuries-old rules of the Star Luo royal family.

Hearing his sarcastic words, Zhu Zhuqing clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms, and blood seeped from the corners of her mouth as she exerted herself.

Whether she stayed in the Zhu family and gave up and waited to die, or fled to the Heaven Dou Empire to find Dai Mubai, these were not choices she wanted, but rather choices she had to make between the two options.

These were two options that the Star Luo royal family had already decided for her. She was forced to choose one of them and had no chance to express her own thoughts. No one cared because she was the weak one.

With only a level seven innate talent and a nine-year difference in cultivation time, the Netherworld Cat only has four years left. What can it possibly do?

"Heaven and hell are not my choice," Zhu Zhuqing laughed bitterly, clutching her stomach as she shakily stood up. Her palms once again coalesced into sword-like shapes, and she glared at the man in black with utter despair and misery. "Only my fate is chosen!"

"..." The man in black was clearly taken aback for a moment, then covered his forehead and burst into laughter. "What an interesting point! You're right, but what can you do when you're the weak? Just like the people in this troupe who died because of you. The weak have no chance to decide their own fate. Second Miss, I'll probably never forget you for the rest of my life!"

"Don't worry, Second Miss, my skills are among the top ten in the clan," the man in black suddenly stopped mocking, his tone turning icy cold. His right hand, also shaped like a palm blade, stabbed fiercely towards Zhu Zhuqing's heart. "I will let you leave this world without any pain."

...So fast! Too late...!

Zhu Zhuqing's expression changed drastically. Both of them were Netherworld Cat Soul Masters, but the other party's cultivation level was over level 50, making him far faster and more experienced in combat than her. He was faster, more accurate, and more ruthless!

She could only see the other person's arm turn into a blur, and she didn't even have time to defend herself.

...Is this where it all ends? My life has been so short... I'm so unwilling to accept this... I haven't even made up my mind yet...

Time seemed to stretch out infinitely at that moment, as if everything had slowed down. Zhu Zhuqing could hear the rapid beating of her heart and her own rapid breathing. She could also clearly see the sharp hand about to pierce her still-beating heart, but she was powerless to do anything about it. Her eardrums rang, and she could only quietly wait for death to come.

Just as the man in black approached Zhu Zhuqing, no one noticed that leaves of blue silver grass with golden patterns, resembling black jade, had somehow wrapped around Zhu Zhuqing's waist.

……Um?!

The man in black lunged at empty air.

What happened?!

...Wait, why is it so quiet all around?!

He quickly looked around and was astonished to find that all the people he had brought were completely enveloped from head to toe in a layer of transparent blue crystal, turning into statues that stood in various parts of the tour group's camp.

Not far away, a tall girl who looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old, with long, light blue hair cascading down her back, raised her right hand. Her dark eyes emitted a faint purple light in the darkness as she coldly stared at him.

On her right hand, strange blue silver grass leaves stretched out, the other end wrapping around Zhu Zhuqing's waist, pulling her to her side, and casually embracing her.

I don't know if the skill I practiced myself counts as a self-created soul skill, but I've mastered it—Blue Silver Entanglement, hehe!

Having escaped danger, the blood rushing to her brain immediately eased, and Zhu Zhuqing let out a long breath. She felt dizzy for a while and couldn't recover for a long time.

She felt weak all over, unable to muster any strength. Instinctively, she wanted to find something to lean on, so she subconsciously leaned against Yinlan and collapsed into his arms. Luckily, Yinlan was holding her, so she didn't fall flat on her face.

"...Uh, beautiful lady, so proactive?" Yin Lan looked down at Zhu Zhuqing with slight surprise and couldn't help but complain.

Zhu Zhuqing then realized what she had done. Her heart pounded wildly, and her face flushed red. She tried to get out of Yinlan's arms, but the more anxious she was, the weaker her limbs became. Having just escaped death, her body was somewhat out of her control.

"Xiao Qing, let me help you." A familiar voice rang out behind Yin Lan. Zhu Zhuqing was so startled that she shuddered and her cat tail stood on end. She quickly turned around and saw Lin Xiaole, whose neck had been twisted a full 180 degrees earlier.

Not only Lin Xiaole, but everyone in the group was now behind Yinlan, with those strange blue silver grass leaves wrapped around their waists.

"Aunt Owl... Aunt Owl," Zhu Zhuqing stammered, "Are you... are you a human or a ghost now?!"

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"..." Oh no, this child is probably really scared out of her wits by the attacker. She has even forgotten that her martial soul is an owl. An owl's head can turn 180 degrees, let alone 360 ​​degrees. Lin Xiaole took Zhu Zhuqing from Yin Lan's arms speechlessly and helped her back.

After being ambushed by the man in black, she lay on the ground pretending to be dead, hoping to find an opportunity to use her second soul skill, "Sound Wave," to awaken everyone in the troupe. However, before she could find a chance to make a move, she was dragged away by Yin Lan using the Blue Silver Emperor.

Feeling the softness in her arms leave, Yinlan rubbed the shoulder that Zhu Zhuqing had pressed down on, then clenched her fist, making a series of crisp "crackling" sounds, and looked at the man in black with a smile.

...When she smiles, someone is bound to suffer. Bai Chenxiang had long since figured out the pattern of Yin Lan's micro-expressions. She had smiled like that before when she was in the clan, and then she scolded each of the four major single-attribute clans. After that, Titan was kicked out.

"You've got some nerve, daring to hit my people? And you even said, 'Anyway, the people in the troupe are either civilians or people from the Spirit Hall, so they're just dead.' You're pretty arrogant, aren't you?" With each sentence Yin Lan spoke, the nearby Blue Silver Grass leaves would lightly poke the attacker who had turned into a blue crystal statue. With just that light poke, the "blue crystal statue," along with the person inside, shattered into countless pieces, falling to the ground in disarray, utterly dead.

As soon as Yinlan finished speaking, all the attackers present, except for the Soul King in black who was still there, turned into fragments on the ground, causing everyone's eyelids to twitch.

...What a bizarre and terrifying ability! What is this?!

The face beneath the black-clad man's mask was one of utter horror, his eyes filled with terror.

The Crystal Bear's left palm bone is equipped with the Soul Skill Crystallization: Wherever it attacks, crystals will form. Once crystallized, a second attack will shatter the crystal along with the part encased inside!

There are only two ways to avoid crystallization: the strong can use their soul power to resist it and break the crystallization in advance, while the weak can only cut off the attacked area to stop the spread of crystallization.

Yinlan is now a Soul Saint with two Soul Cores. It's a pipe dream for a group of Soul Sects to try to resist the spread of crystallization. They didn't know how deadly the crystals were, and they didn't cut off the crystallized area immediately, so they ended up being wiped out.

"A bunch of worthless bastards, not even a soul bone left," Yin Lanrui commented, arms crossed, his gaze calmly fixed on the man in black. "And what about you?"

Cold sweat slid down the man in black's cheeks, wetting his mask. His throat bobbed slightly as he swallowed.

...He is a strong person!

...Even in the short few minutes he was talking to Zhu Zhuqing, he silently killed the others. Such an existence was simply beyond his ability to fight!

His first and fifth spirit rings lit up, which were his amplification-type spirit skills. The Zhu family's Netherworld Cat spirit spirit was originally an agility-type spirit spirit, specializing in speed. With the amplification, he might have a chance to escape!

pat.

He took a step back.

However, a golden light, almost invisible to the naked eye, flashed across his field of vision at the same time.

Yinlan lowered her slightly raised right index finger.

Starting from the waist, the man in black was separated from his upper body. His lower body remained standing, but his upper body fell backward and landed on the ground. The intense pain had long exceeded his tolerance threshold, and he lay on the ground letting out a bloodcurdling scream.

The right palm bone of the Dark Gold Terror Claw is imbued with the Soul Skill: Dark Gold Terror Claw External Release!

"Sorry, my skills aren't very good," Yin Lan said, still with her arms crossed over her chest, looking down at his miserable state with a wicked smile and a mocking tone. "So you're probably going to die a very painful death."

"However," a large amount of blue silver grass leaves tore open the black-clad man's mask and poured into his mouth, silencing his wails, "you should have no objections."

"...Who told you to be weak? The weak have no chance to decide their own destiny."

(End of this chapter)