Hazards of Cultivating Immortality Across Worlds

Five years later, in the southern part of the Balak Kingdom, at the border adjoining the Star Luo Empire.

The border between the Two Great Empires was precisely the perfect place to hide filth and evil. The ambiguous lawless zone between the two empires had become fertile ground for crime.

A man and a woman sped through the night.

The man stood around 1.7 meters tall, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, looking exceptionally upright.

"Godmother, why did you have to personally come along this time?" the man asked in confusion. With his own strength, he could easily wipe out this mission's targets.

"Isn't it because you never kill your targets when carrying out missions?" The woman rolled her eyes at him. "This time, I'm personally supervising you. You must kill all of these Evil Soul Masters yourself! Besides, this is your Graduation Exam. Have you ever seen an exam without an examiner?"

The two were Bibi Dong and Xia Tianling, who had come to hunt Evil Soul Masters.

Five years had passed, and Xia Tianling had finally reached the time for graduation.

Thankfully, over those five years, he had successfully advanced from the Pope's Direct Disciple to the Pope's Adopted Son, bringing their relationship a great deal closer.

There were two purposes behind this trip. The first was to complete the graduation test Bibi Dong had set for him, while also forcing him to kill someone with his own hands.

The second was to head to the true location of Spirit Hall Academy and cultivate alongside the three members of the Golden Generation, preparing for the Continental Elite Soul Master Tournament a few years later.

For the past six years, Xia Tianling's daily life had been dull yet fulfilling.

He cultivated Soul Power, tempered his body, and cooked for Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong to strengthen their bonds.

Such cultivation had allowed Xia Tianling to reach the realm of a Thirty-Ninth Rank Soul Elder. He was only one step away from becoming a Soul Ancestor, while his Physical Body was comparable to that of a Beast Spirit Soul King.

With his current combat strength, facing a Soul King was no challenge.

However, cultivation through the Dao Scripture should not have been so slow. Yet both he and even the system had overlooked a major problem.

Douluo Continent had no Thunder Tribulation!

Not the kind of Thunder Tribulation deliberately created by the God Realm to prevent spirit beasts from advancing, but the Thunder Tribulation unique to the immortal cultivation system—one that tested cultivators while also providing an opportunity for advancement.

Without the tempering of Thunder Tribulation, the Physical Body, spirit, and cultivation could not merge as one. His cultivation would remain incomplete, and the Nascent Soul could not be born. Naturally, his cultivation speed had slowed.

To make up for this little bug, the Destiny System paid out of its own pocket to open a Cross-Dimensional Channel for Xia Tianling, all to draw Thunder Tribulation here.

When he advanced to Soul Ancestor and condensed his Nascent Soul, the Golden Core Tribulation, Nascent Soul Tribulation, and Deity Transformation Tribulation would all descend upon him at once. If he survived, the three would merge into one, greatly increasing his combat strength and causing his cultivation speed to soar from then on. If he failed, he would die and vanish, leaving no trace of his existence.

To ensure that he could survive the Thunder Tribulation, Xia Tianling naturally compressed his cultivation once again, making it more stable and solid. His Soul Power advancement slowed once more.

Soon, the two arrived at the destination of their operation.

On the surface, it was a harmonious little village. In secret, it was the nest of a group of Evil Soul Masters.

Xia Tianling's target this time was to slaughter all dozen or so Evil Soul Masters.

He had carried out similar missions over the past few years, but he had merely knocked out or crippled every target before tossing them into the City of Slaughter to fend for themselves.

More than twenty years of modern life had made it difficult for him to directly kill these people, even if they were utterly evil and burdened with countless crimes.

This made Bibi Dong very angry.

Her adopted son was good in every way, except that he was far too kind when handling matters. How could a Soul Master survive without knowing how to kill? Though Douluo Continent seemed steeped in an academic atmosphere on the surface, it was actually full of bloodshed.

"Fine, fine. This time, I'll definitely kill them." Xia Tianling sighed helplessly. He knew Bibi Dong was doing this for his own good.

"You used to rely on the guards around you, as well as Elder Chrysanthemum and Ghost. What will you do when you're alone in the future? If you don't eliminate trouble once and for all, there will always come a day when things go wrong," Bibi Dong lectured.

After reconciling with Qian Renxue, although Bibi Dong was still unfriendly toward Qian Daoliu, she no longer carried that coldness and hostility that kept others at arm's length when facing the two of them. It had been replaced by a trace of care, and even her world-weary outlook had changed considerably.

Even Little Fox, far away at Spirit Hall Academy, had sensed the change in her teacher.

"Enough nonsense. Let's begin."

Bibi Dong waved a hand and released her domain, cutting off the little village from the outside world and ensuring that no one could escape.

It was merely isolation, without any actual suppression within the domain. For a Soul Master like Bibi Dong, who had become the first to pioneer a cultivation path for Twin Martial Souls, such fine control was effortless.

Though it was called a small village, it was really only a few little houses. Her domain easily covered them all.

Xia Tianling shrugged and released his Two-Piece Set Martial Soul.

A Hammer in his left hand and an Axe in his right, yellow, purple, and black Soul Rings floated beneath his feet.

Yes, his Third Soul Ring was indeed ten thousand years old. With his exceptional physical constitution, he could easily bear the power of a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Beast.

Given his cautious personality, he naturally would not charge in so mindlessly. Although the information stated that the strongest leader among them was merely a forty-first-rank Soul Ancestor, with two Soul Elders in their thirties and the rest being two-ring Soul Grandmasters.

Still, it was better to be careful. Who knew what trump cards these people had hidden away?

Xia Tianling quietly moved forward. With his black nightwear and the Breath Concealment Art from the Dao Scripture, he easily reached the position of the sentry behind the village.

Judging from his aura, this person was merely a two-ring Soul Grandmaster.

Xia Tianling did not release a soul skill. Instead, he quietly approached from behind under the cover of buildings and vegetation, put away his Hammer, and brought down an overhead cleave.

The sound of wind raised by the descending Axe and the rustle of clothing alerted the sentry Evil Soul Master. But although he had barely managed to turn his head, he had no time to make any response.

His terrified face was sliced in half by the sharp Axe blade. The Axe, which had become an enormous battle axe after three Soul Rings were added, effortlessly split his body into two.

Blood from the corpse mixed with white brain matter and undigested food splattered all over Xia Tianling.

Though he had seen severed limbs and broken bodies many times before, the sight still made sour bile rise in his throat.

It was mainly just disgusting.

After forcibly suppressing it with the powerful self-control of a cultivator's body, Xia Tianling carried his Axe and continued toward the village.

Although Xia Tianling had killed the sentry cleanly and decisively, the noise he made still alerted the Evil Soul Masters inside the houses.

One underling poked his head out the door. He saw a man covered in blood walking toward him with a massive Axe in hand, while the bisected corpse of his companion lay behind him. The Evil Soul Master immediately shouted.

"Brothers, grab your weapons! Enemy attack!"

The moment that Evil Soul Master stuck his body out, Xia Tianling knew the ambush had failed. He immediately shrank the Axe to a size suitable for one-handed use, while a pitch-black Hammer appeared in his left hand and was hurled forward with all his strength.

Although the Evil Soul Master who raised the alarm released his martial soul in time, the pitch-black heavy Hammer still slammed straight into his chest under Xia Tianling's tremendous force.

With his meager two-ring strength, his breastbone instantly caved in. It was clear that he would not survive.

I just discovered that there's an investment requirement to post over three thousand words every day for thirty consecutive days, so I hurriedly wrote another chapter.