Annihilation's First Kill

"Reporting to the Chief Instructor, this special training has concluded. Of the original eighty-seven, sixty-six remain: forty-three male trainees and twenty-three female trainees."

"Reporting to the Chief Instructor, regarding the injured..."

Jiang Xiruan listened to her subordinates' reports, her gaze occasionally shifting toward the children.

After the reports were finished, Jiang Xiruan remained silent for a moment before asking flatly, "Other than Qian Yuxi, did the other three Soul Elder trainees all die?"

"Yes... none survived," an instructor answered quietly.

Jiang Xiruan nodded. "Dismissed."

"Yes!"

After the Deputy Instructors dispersed, Jiang Xiruan waited another quarter of an hour before rising and walking straight over to Qian Yuxi.

"You performed well in this special training, but don't overdo it. You're the only Soul Elder left now." Jiang Xiruan's tone was calm, though it carried a faint appreciation for talent.

Qian Yuxi lowered his head slightly. "I will remember the instructor's teachings!"

"Enough." Jiang Xiruan waved a hand, then faced all the instructors. "For the injured who can't walk for now, instructors, carry them. Those who can still walk, don't play dead. Or have your teammates support you. Everyone, return to Death City. Tomorrow, the rankings for this training will be rewarded."

"Yes."

Nearly a hundred people began leaving one after another. Qian Yuxi's expression shifted slightly as he found Jin Yuetian and Tuoba Yun, placing one hand on the latter's shoulder.

"Brother Yuetian, could you support me for the way back?"

Jin Yuetian froze for a moment, not expecting Qian Yuxi to ask so suddenly, but he still agreed. "Of course."

The three walked near the middle-rear of the group. Jin Yuetian could not help asking, "Brother Qian Yuxi, you..."

"Shh—" Qian Yuxi raised a finger to his lips in a silencing gesture, and Jin Yuetian immediately shut his mouth.

Qian Yuxi's expression turned somewhat icy. His gaze swept across everyone who passed by them. He appeared to be walking casually, but he was actually taking every movement of every person into his eyes.

Seeing the strange look in his eyes, Jin Yuetian's heart immediately skipped a beat.

"Someone has their eye on me... I'll have to trouble you to get me back into the city. I have my own plans for the rest."

"Alright. Be careful."

The group soon returned to the city. Jin Yuetian and Tuoba Yun supported Qian Yuxi to the building where he lived. The three bid one another farewell, and until Chou Hour, nothing happened.

But Qian Yuxi did not relax for even a moment. His instincts told him that something dangerous would happen tonight.

The night was deep. The moon hid behind heavy clouds, and Death City was so dark that not a trace of light could be seen.

Whooo...

The freezing night wind blew into the building. There was not a shred of light, yet one corner was dark enough to seem purple-black. A long-haired shadow silently slipped onto the second floor, strands of bloody light circling its body as red mist gradually spread.

In the darkness, Qian Yuxi's gaze was cold as frost. The holy, radiant aura around him seemed to have been replaced overnight by a heavy baleful aura. Dark purple mist continuously rose around him, and what he held was not the radiant and sacred Aurora Sacred Feather Bow, but a purple-black halberd suffused with an aura of annihilation.

As he sensed that killing intent drawing closer and closer in the darkness, his eyes gradually turned crimson, and he tightened his grip on the halberd.

Closer. It was nearly beneath his feet.

Qian Yuxi stood atop a beam. Footsteps approached from afar, faint but exceptionally clear in the silent building.

The figure slowly stopped, standing roughly two meters away from Qian Yuxi. At that instant, the air around them seemed to freeze solid.

Boom, boom, boom...

Almost instantly, terrifying pressure descended. The shadow abruptly halted, finding even breathing difficult.

Whoosh!!

Qian Yuxi hurled the halberd fiercely. The shadow had only just raised its head when the halberd's gleam arrived!

Clang!

Qian Yuxi's gaze narrowed slightly. Before it was struck, the shadow seemed to split into two people. One was knocked down, while the other escaped.

The figure struck by the Annihilation Sky Halberd clutched its throat, eyes wide open as blood seeped through its fingers. Feeling the warm blood in its palm, its eyes filled with despair.

"Twin..."

Qian Yuxi narrowed his eyes. A black gleam flashed through them, and a streak of purple lightning danced within his pupils. His bearing grew increasingly domineering and arrogant.

Squelch!

After leaping down from the beam, he yanked the Annihilation Sky Halberd from the shadow's body. Black-red blood splashed across his face, but Qian Yuxi did not care in the slightest. He turned toward the other person fleeing away.

The Annihilation Sky Halberd flew out again, carrying the force to annihilate everything as it stabbed toward the person's back!

Bang!

A flare of fire ignited in the darkness, forcibly stopping the Annihilation Sky Halberd.

But the flames extinguished after burning for only a few seconds. With his spiritual power focused, Qian Yuxi could see a corpse lying where the flames had died out. The Annihilation Sky Halberd had pierced straight through its chest.

Lighting a candle, Qian Yuxi crouched beside the corpses to confirm their identities.

The first had more than half of its face rotted away and stained with blood. The second had a head of red hair, making him recognizable.

Xie Yue and Yan.

Then the identity of the third person was obvious.

With a cold expression, Qian Yuxi pulled out the Annihilation Sky Halberd. Dark purple mist spread, and a destructive aura shrouded the two corpses. In the blink of an eye, not even ashes remained.

That night, no living person knew that two children had fallen. Nor did any living person know that Qian Yuxi possessed a second martial soul...

The next day, Spirit City.

Half of Spirit Hall's Titled Douluo were present. Ghost Douluo and Moon Douluo entered with regretful expressions as they held Bibi Dong between them. Pope Qian Xunji sat high in the seat of honor, with his beloved daughter Qian Renxue at his side.

"Bibi Dong... do you know your crime?" Qian Xunji raised his eyes slightly and asked.

Bibi Dong remained stubborn. "Know my crime... What crime have I committed?"

"Since you do not know what crime you have committed, then I shall carefully lay it all out for you."

"Bibi Dong, do you remember which faction awakened your martial soul? Who raised you? Who painstakingly taught you how to cultivate? Who provided you with a fine cultivation environment? Who even made an exception and allowed you to ascend to the lofty position of Saintess?"

Qian Xunji fired off five questions in a row, his tone filled with intense disappointment and fury, leaving Bibi Dong somewhat stunned.

"And what did you do!" Qian Xunji's tone was even harsher this time. Saying he hated that iron could not become steel would have been putting it mildly.

"You fell in love with a worthless man from the Upper Three Sects, betrayed the secrets of Spirit Hall's Angel Clan, and even leaked the research materials left behind by generations of our predecessors!"

"Raise your head and answer my question, my dear disciple!!"

Qian Xunji's voice was loud. The elders who had still been unaware of the matter began whispering among themselves. Looking at Bibi Dong, restrained by Moon Douluo and Ghost Douluo, their eyes revealed contempt, disgust, and mockery.

Qian Renxue stood silently beside her father, listening as he pronounced this "mother's" crimes word by word. Tears glimmered in her eyes, but she forcibly held them back without making a sound.

"Bibi Dong, do you know how grave a mistake you have made?"

Bibi Dong's eyes reddened as she stared stubbornly at Qian Xunji. As if determined to go down together, she publicly revealed the scandal between them. "No, I haven't. I merely loved Little Gang. I only supported Little Gang's research. What did I do wrong!"

"The ones in the wrong are your Angel Clan! You are in the wrong, Qian Xunji! You were the one who separated Little Gang and me! You were the one who defiled me! Everything is your fault!"

Bibi Dong roared, and her words greatly shocked several elders. They all turned to look at their Pope, while Qian Renxue was completely stunned. The towering image of her father that she had always held began to waver.