Arrival in Kus City!

Before a black stone pillar, a young man in a black-and-red cloak swung an enormous scythe.

"One hundred ninety-three, one hundred ninety-four, one hundred ninety-five, one hundred ninety-six..."

A moment later.

"Four hundred ninety-nine! Ahh, whew~"

Li Qing took out a towel and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"It's time!"

He stared at the black stone pillar before him, his eyes gleaming as a faint smile hung on his lips.

Li Qing then took two steps back, gripping the handle of the Scythe of Judgment with both hands. A yellow and a purple soul ring beneath his feet pulsed rhythmically.

"Whew~ Hah!"

Li Qing let out a roar, and his First Spirit Ring abruptly lit up.

First Spirit Skill: Severance!

An eerie glow shimmered along the blade of the Scythe of Judgment.

But in the next second...

Li Qing scratched his head awkwardly. "Ah, I called out the wrong name. Let's try that again."

"Ahem... ahem!"

After clearing his throat, Li Qing focused his gaze on the stone pillar once more.

Sweat dripped from his hair onto the ground, making pattering sounds.

If anyone had been watching nearby, they would have clearly sensed the aura around Li Qing steadily rising. Even the Soul Power in the surrounding air seemed frozen by that aura, becoming incomparably sluggish.

That aura represented Li Qing's conviction to kill with a single strike!

First Spirit Skill: Judgment!

The First Spirit Ring lit up, and the blade of the Scythe of Judgment gleamed with a faint green light.

The blade sliced through the air and cut straight toward the thickest part of the stone pillar.

When the blade struck the pillar, it passed through as smoothly as if it had met no resistance at all. The pillar crashed to the ground.

Li Qing was very familiar with that feeling. In his previous life, it had felt just like cutting through tofu with a kitchen knife.

Just then, the First Spirit Ring beneath Li Qing's feet suddenly trembled.

Immediately afterward, his First Spirit Ring erupted with a terrifying suction force, frantically absorbing the surrounding Soul Power.

Yet Li Qing did not feel any increase in the Soul Power within his body.

A moment later, the suction disappeared.

Li Qing looked at the color of the soul ring beneath his feet and smiled in satisfaction.

"Mm, another hundred years. At least my five hundred... no, five hundred and one swings weren't wasted."

"What happened? I just sensed a fluctuation in Soul Power. Is something wrong?"

The disturbance in Soul Power had drawn Liu Lin over, and he hurried over with an anxious expression.

"Oh, it's nothing."

"Mm... huh?"

Liu Lin's eyes suddenly widened, his face full of disbelief.

"You actually cut this thing apart?"

Li Qing smiled. "Yeah, it took more than five hundred swings to cut through it."

"Heh, and you say 'only' five hundred swings?" Liu Lin chuckled.

"If other soul masters heard you say that, I bet they could kill you with their stares."

"Er..."

Li Qing had only wanted to sound modest, so he had deliberately added the word "only." But now that he thought about it, he had sounded like he was showing off.

Liu Lin folded his arms. "Looks like your martial soul has improved quite a bit. You're even more of a freak now."

Li Qing was utterly speechless at Liu Lin's "praise."

Was that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?

If anyone heard what Liu Lin had just said, eighty percent of them would probably really think Li Qing was some kind of freak.

Li Qing silently put away the Scythe of Judgment, then took out a flask of clean water from his Storage Ring and began gulping it down.

Liu Lin caught sight of this, and his eyes immediately lit up.

It was as though he had seen a peerless beauty wearing nothing but a single garment—and, more importantly, that garment was a pair of socks.

The corners of Liu Lin's mouth rose into an "evil" smile.

Pinching his chin, he kept circling Li Qing, his eyes constantly sweeping over him.

Li Qing felt his scalp tingle under Liu Lin's stare.

"Uncle Liu, what is it? Is there something on me?"

"Yes."

"Mm."

A bead of cold sweat instantly appeared on Li Qing's forehead.

"Could it be..."

"That's right. You're giving off the aura of wealth."

Liu Lin said with a wicked grin.

Li Qing let out a breath of relief. He had thought some bizarre abyssal creature had attached itself to him. So it was only an aura of wealth.

Wait!

No, that wasn't right!

Li Qing's heart rose into his throat again.

Could Liu Lin...

Have his eye on the Soul Tools on him? That wouldn't do!

"Ah, Uncle Liu, look, it's already daylight. I should get back on the road, so I'll be leaving now. I'll definitely come visit you next time!"

The moment he finished speaking, Li Qing immediately turned to leave, but...

Liu Lin lifted him up with one hand. "Don't be in such a hurry. After all that exercise, you must be starving. Come on, let me treat you to my cooking again!"

"No, Uncle Liu, I'm not hungry. Not hungry at all."

Liu Lin's face darkened.

"What, you don't like my cooking?"

"No."

"Then let's go."

"Ahh~" Li Qing let out a deep sigh.

He knew that he was going to lose some money today. There was no escaping it.

Since he could not resist, he might as well enjoy it.

Besides, Liu Lin's cooking was pretty good. He could just treat it as paying for the meal later.

Thinking that, Li Qing felt a little better.

"Uncle Liu, put me down. I won't run."

"Fine."

Liu Lin put Li Qing down, completely unconcerned that Li Qing might slip away under his nose.

With strength approaching that of a Soul Douluo, even if he let Li Qing run thirty-nine meters ahead, Liu Lin would not panic in the slightest with a forty-meter blade in hand.

A few minutes later, Liu Lin and Li Qing saw a collapsed house in front of them.

Li Qing was on the verge of tears.

It looked like he really was going to lose out this time.

He would not even get a meal.

Liu Lin slapped Li Qing on the shoulder.

"Ah, Li Qing. Looks like we won't be having that meal after all."

Li Qing pulled a miserable face. "Yeah."

"Hehe, Li Qing, I see you have quite a few Soul Tools on you. Your Brother Liu Hu doesn't have a single one. So, how about..."

At last, Liu Lin bared his fangs.

Li Qing smiled bitterly. "These were all gifts from elders in my family."

"Hm? Do you take me for a fool? If you can, tell me which family it is. I, Liu Lin, have seen the disciples of the families within the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. The Soul Tools on all of them combined don't amount to as many as you have. Do you think I'd believe you?"

Liu Lin spoke with a disdainful look.

Li Qing's expression froze.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was the wealthiest sect on the Douluo Continent. Li Qing truly could not think of another sect that was richer.

Spirit Hall?

Would Liu Lin believe him if he said that?

"Enough. Didn't you want those black stones in the Tumbled Stone Forest earlier? Give me a few Soul Tools, and you can take as many as you want."

Liu Lin held out a hand, looking as though he had Li Qing completely cornered.

"Fine."

Left with no choice, Li Qing removed an empty Storage Ring from his finger and placed it in Liu Lin's palm.

Liu Lin said, "You have so many on you. Don't be so stingy."

Li Qing removed the Mental Power-enhancing necklace from around his neck as well.

"Don't stop now. How could that be enough? Let me tell you, those stones are rare, top-grade materials that can only be found by chance."

Li Qing took off another ring.

"Uncle Liu, that's all. Soul Tools aren't easy to make."

Liu Lin withdrew his hand, looking displeased. "Fine, then."

An hour later.

Li Qing set off once more on the road to Kus City.

After handing the Soul Tools over to Liu Lin, Li Qing had asked him how he planned to handle the aftermath concerning the Tumbled Stone Forest. Then he learned an unexpected fact.

Liu Lin's family was actually hereditary nobility with the rank of count!

That was right, they were counts personally enfeoffed by the emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire!

The Heaven Dou Empire's imperial family also knew about their guarding of the Tumbled Stone Forest, so Liu Lin intended to report the matter. As for what happened afterward...

That would be Xue Ye's responsibility.

To keep a low profile, Li Qing specifically asked Liu Lin to conceal the fact that he had appeared there.

For that, Li Qing paid another Soul Tool.

It worked out well enough. Li Qing figured that he had not played any especially important role in the matter anyway, so Liu Lin agreed.

At last, Li Qing walked down a forest path, his mind filled with countless thoughts.

Two days later.

Li Qing finally arrived in Kus City.

And Kus City was especially lively at the time.

Because the annual "Best Chef" competition had begun once more...