Second Martial Soul of Endless Surprises! A Way Out of Desperation

The two of them kept as low-profile and quiet as possible as they passed through rows of squat gray houses. They found a relatively secluded building and slipped inside in a flash. Ming Lunyu did not forget to hang their identification plaque on the door.

The room was dark and cramped, filled with a strange smell, but the nerves the two had kept taut finally relaxed a little.

It was true that people here were restrained from engaging in violent conflict, but put another way, everything besides fighting was permitted.

To be honest, Ming Lunyu had been on edge the whole time outside, afraid that someone would stop them and all sorts of accidents would follow.

Fortunately, nothing happened.

With their small builds, the two could move through dark corners as much as possible, avoiding most attention.

Even if someone spotted two children, they might be puzzled, but they would not readily approach.

Because this was the City of Slaughter.

No matter who it was—an old man, a woman, or even a child—anyone who had fallen into the City of Slaughter had their reasons. Those who had survived were even more guarded than most.

When faced with someone whose background they could not discern, they would rather observe in secret than rashly volunteer to be the first to make a move.

Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun might have the bodies of children, but without revealing their true forms, who could know whether they were children or sinister dwarves with blades hidden on their persons?

Besides, in the Outer City, not many people had the energy to go looking for trouble all day. After all, most of those here were useless wretches who could not survive in the Inner City. They eked out an existence by giving blood every month, living hand to mouth.

Ma Hongjun wanted to remove his robe, but Ming Lunyu stopped him.

Ming Lunyu gave a slight shake of his head and glanced at the tiny window, startling away several pairs of prying eyes.

He then swept his gaze around the room, found a fairly thick wooden board, and used it to block the window.

That would mostly put an end to ill-intentioned spying.

But they still could not let down their guard. After all, walls had ears.

Ming Lunyu leaned close and whispered in Ma Hongjun's ear, "Keep your voice down. Be careful—walls have ears."

Ma Hongjun nodded to show that he understood.

But the room was truly dark. The window had originally let in a little light, but after Ming Lunyu blocked it, there was almost none left. It was pitch-black.

After hesitating for a moment, Ming Lunyu raised his palm. A Gray Bead entwined with Black and White Qi appeared in his hand.

A lone gray Soul Ring rose from his body.

Ma Hongjun's eyes widened in surprise. "Brother Yu, you can still use your Martial Soul?"

Ming Lunyu was not entirely sure either. "My fan Martial Soul truly can't be used. I can summon it, but I can't use Soul Power through it. Yet Inverse Yin Yang seems completely unaffected."

Ma Hongjun was delighted.

After all, no one here could use Soul Power or soul skills, while Ming Lunyu still could. That would greatly increase their chances of survival.

"Since no one can use soul skills, then in a place like this... I think physical strength is very important. So are combat techniques. We need to find ways to improve our physiques and build combat experience."

Ming Lunyu supported his chin as he calmly analyzed the situation.

But then came the problem: how were they supposed to do that?

To survive in the Outer City, they had to give blood every month, and the food they received in return was only barely enough to fill their stomachs. It had hardly any nutritional value.

That meant they did not have enough energy to support physical training.

On the other hand, fighting was forbidden in the Outer City, so there was no way to gain combat experience.

The Inner City probably did not forbid fighting and killing, but with their rookie-level strength, would entering the Inner City not simply be courting death?

By this point, their thoughts seemed to have entered a dead end.

"The key to breaking this situation... What can we do..."

Ming Lunyu bit his lip and racked his brain for a solution.

"Brother Yu!" Ma Hongjun suddenly cried out excitedly. Though he kept his voice low, the joy in it was unmistakable.

"What is it?"

"Brother Yu, I can cultivate. Even though I can't use my Martial Soul, I can still cultivate normally!"

"Cultivate..." The light in Ming Lunyu's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

He spread his hand, and Inverse Yin Yang appeared once more.

"As a Soul Master's level rises, their physical condition improves as well. When I broke through to level twelve, I clearly felt that I had become a little stronger... And with the help of my Martial Soul, if we cultivate together, our cultivation speed will increase. Perhaps we can quietly grow stronger. Once our Soul Master levels rise, we can venture into the Inner City and look for a chance to escape this damned place!"

Ma Hongjun excitedly grabbed Ming Lunyu's hands. "Wonderful! There's finally hope!"

"Time is of the essence. Let's begin cultivating now. Xiao Jun, try entering a deep meditative state first, while I remain in shallow meditation. Then we'll switch after a while. One of us must stay alert at all times," Ming Lunyu instructed.

"Mm!"

The two sat cross-legged on the floor and circulated the Heavenly Evolution Yin-Yang Art together. Faint Black and White Qi began to flow.

They were both geniuses with exceptionally high Innate Soul Power. With all these additional boosts, their cultivation progress rose at an astonishing rate.

If leveling had a progress bar, an ordinary person might gain a single point per hour, while the two of them gained seven or eight points—several times the cultivation speed!

"Hm? This is..."

Ming Lunyu suddenly opened his eyes in delighted surprise from his meditative state.

He sensed that the black qi winding around Inverse Yin Yang had suddenly become active. Then, it seemed to continuously draw something from the surrounding air.

It appeared to be an invisible blood-red mist that permeated the air of the City of Slaughter.

Ming Lunyu had not been able to see that blood-red mist before, but after the black qi began actively drawing it in, he could vaguely sense its presence.

He could only feel that the mist was violent and bloody. It seemed able to make people restless, releasing the evil thoughts buried deep within their hearts... It truly suited the name City of Slaughter.

In his heart, Ming Lunyu named this mist Blood Killing Qi—Killing Qi for short.

After the black qi absorbed the surrounding Killing Qi, it actually transformed it into pure black Soul Power and fed it back to Ming Lunyu!

Ming Lunyu felt his cultivation speed surge by another large margin, while his physical strength also increased noticeably.

Why was that? An increase in Soul Power should not strengthen one's physique this much.

Ming Lunyu looked at the Gray Bead floating silently above his palm and felt that his Martial Soul was filled with incredible mysteries.

"Perhaps the key to breaking this situation lies precisely in my Martial Soul! I need to study it carefully."

Ming Lunyu immersed his consciousness and carefully sensed his Martial Soul.

After repeatedly examining it, he truly discovered a few clues.

Ming Lunyu found that his Soul Power was gray under normal circumstances, yet every strand of gray Soul Power could be separated into black and white.

The separated black and white Soul Power each possessed different characteristics.

Black Soul Power was more aggressive and nourished the physical body. Producing black Soul Power could enhance his physical condition.

White Soul Power was extraordinarily gentle and pure. It possessed an all-embracing quality, like an ocean that accepted a hundred rivers. White Soul Power continuously nourished his spirit and expanded his dantian, which meant that under its effects, his Soul Power reserves would steadily grow greater.

As for the gray Soul Power formed by the fusion of black and white Soul Power, the feeling it gave Ming Lunyu was profoundly mysterious. He could not put it into words.

He only felt that this power seemed to have no fixed attribute, yet it could transform in countless ways. More ridiculously, Ming Lunyu even felt that if he possessed enough gray Soul Power, he might be able to make anything he wished come true!

He shook his head, driving the increasingly outrageous thoughts from his mind.

"Whatever mysteries it holds, I can only explore them later."

For now, the fact that the black qi could absorb Killing Qi to nourish his body was undoubtedly tremendous news for Ming Lunyu.

And the even better news was that, perhaps because Ma Hongjun had also cultivated the Heavenly Evolution Yin-Yang Art, Ming Lunyu discovered that he could absorb the Soul Power produced by the black qi as well!

The string of good news stirred Ming Lunyu's heart so deeply that he nearly forgot he was currently in the incomparably dangerous City of Slaughter.