Kill or Not?

"Just now... there were colors belonging to Sister Elysia."

Having just emerged from the state of absorbing the Immortal Herb, Lang Lei looked up and saw Little Griseo running up to him, her large eyes staring straight at him.

"Yes, Elysia helped me out a great deal this time." Lang Lei nodded. It was nothing he needed to deny.

"Will Sister Elysia come again in the future?" Little Griseo asked curiously.

"Of course. She'll come someday; it's only a matter of sooner or later." Lang Lei nodded and answered with certainty. "But, Little Griseo, are you sure you want to keep calling Elysia 'Sister Elysia'?"

Although he knew the reason, it still felt strange hearing Little Griseo address her that way.

"Can't I?" Little Griseo asked in confusion.

"It's not that you can't." Lang Lei had nothing much to say. After all, it was something both sides were willing to do, so it was not his place to interfere.

"Hm? Why are you two still here?" Lang Lei finally noticed Xuan Bing and Li Huo standing off to the side.

Although it was quite pleasing to the eye to have two beautiful mature women standing there, this was his and Little Griseo's room. Having Xuan Bing and Li Huo here felt rather strange.

"Young Master, you did not issue us any orders. Our default directive is to follow your movements," Xuan Bing answered.

"Are you two robots..." Lang Lei's mouth twitched.

"No. From a physiological perspective, we are Honkai Beasts." Li Huo spoke for once, though only to correct his wording.

"Fine. You two, go down to the first floor and ask the front desk to get you a room to rest in. Tell them I sent you, and put the cost on my tab." Lang Lei gave the order.

"Yes, Young Master." ×2

Seeing Little Griseo return to her painting, Lang Lei began examining the new talent skills he had acquired.

After all, only by understanding his own abilities could he fight better.

Just like playing a game, understanding a character's skills was the foundation of playing that character well.

He had gained two new talents in total: Shared Sorrow and Autumn Burial.

Out of curiosity, Lang Lei opened Shared Sorrow first.

Shared Sorrow: Special mental-type skill. Enemies at Level One God or below within fifty meters of the host will involuntarily fall into a depressed mood. Their control over their own power will decrease by a percentage equal to the extent their mood is affected.

"A debuff skill?" Lang Lei was extremely satisfied. "It just happens to make up for my weakness."

"Then next..."

Lang Lei looked at the talent skill Autumn Burial beside it.

Autumn Burial: When the west wind rises in autumn, grass and trees wither and fall, and murderous sounds abound.

For every living being killed, one layer of Killing Aura can be accumulated. Each layer of Killing Aura increases the host's all attributes by 4%, with an additional 1% increase to attack and 1% increase to defense.

To kill one man is a crime; to kill ten thousand makes a hero; to kill a million makes a hero among heroes! A hero among heroes walks a different path. See through the hollow name of a thousand years of benevolence and righteousness, and let this life flaunt its heroic spirit. I do not love a good name, but love an evil one; kill a million, and my heart feels no remorse. Better to make ten thousand curse me through gritted teeth than let no one dare curse my name. Looking across five thousand years of history, where is there a hero who has not killed? We hot-blooded men of this generation—how can we lose to those of old? (Excerpted from Ballad of Men.)

Reminder: Please cherish peace, Host. Do not let slaughter blind your true heart.

Lang Lei fell silent. When he saw Autumn Burial's effect, his first thought was to go to the City of Slaughter...

If he had not promised Little Griseo, and if it were not forbidden to actively kill soul beasts except to absorb soul rings, he probably would have already rushed into the Star Dou Great Forest to begin a massacre.

Even worse, if not for the radiance of that pink crystal flower in his heart, Lang Lei feared he would have been unable to restrain himself and would have taken the initiative to start a war on the continent.

After all, in a sense, this Autumn Burial was no weaker than a divine skill. It even far surpassed one.

After all, every living being he killed would grant him 4% to all attributes! Along with an additional 1% attack and defense.

Twenty-five living beings meant a 100% all-attribute boost!

That did not even include the extra attack and defense bonuses.

As the number one support-type tool Martial Soul on the continent, how much of a boost could the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda provide even at rank seventy-nine?

Yet a single one of his talent skills was equivalent to countless support Soul Masters!

Lang Lei even suspected that this talent skill should not have appeared on the First Martial Soul. It was simply far too overpowered.

And when combined with the first passive skill of the first soul ring of his Second Martial Soul, Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgment, which multiplied final damage, the benefits of this talent would be amplified once again after he left the Douluo Continent!

All these benefits were tempting Lang Lei to take that forbidden step.

Fortunately, Autumn Burial's Killing Aura only began accumulating after he gained the talent. Otherwise, after tasting its benefits, Lang Lei probably would have found it even harder to restrain himself.

After all, he truly was not a good person.

It was just that before those he cherished, he needed to wear that mask.

That was how Lang Lei had always viewed himself.

However, Lang Lei seemed to have forgotten that Little Griseo possessed the ability to see the essence of all things...

Sometimes, it was not because of a certain trait that one came to like someone. One could also come to like a certain trait because of someone.

Like a mother, who would unconditionally accept everything about you, whether your strengths or your flaws.

And now, Lang Lei had one more target—the City of Slaughter.

A paradise for outlaws and a gathering place for Evil Soul Masters on the Douluo Continent.

The only thing he needed to consider was how to keep Little Griseo from seeing the disgusting scenes within the City of Slaughter while bringing her along.

Come to think of it, now that Lang Lei possessed Soul Ring Manipulation, he was practically a miniature City of Slaughter himself.

After all, he could seal soul skills~

Once Lang Lei reached rank ninety, at the level of a Titled Douluo, he would become a true walking City of Slaughter...

Actually, there was another way.

Once Lang Lei became a little stronger and the second soul ring of his Second Martial Soul, Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgment, had condensed, he could directly use a single strike of Zero Nominal Power - Heavenly Fire Draw to destroy the entire City of Slaughter.

His Killing Aura would definitely soar.

However, before Lang Lei could truly find or create a place to replace the City of Slaughter, he did not intend to do that.

After all, he still had some sense of responsibility. He had to resolve the disasters he caused himself.

He would not help strangers he did not know solve troubles of their own making, but as for things he himself had done... he was a man who took responsibility for his own actions. Naturally, he would not rely on others to clean up his mess.

Before destroying the City of Slaughter, he at least needed to create another place capable of imprisoning Evil Soul Masters, so they would not wreak havoc across the Douluo Continent.

Like Tang San in the original work, who cared only about his own interests and destroyed the City of Slaughter under the lofty pretext that no one else should possess that power and that the place should not exist. During the era of Peerless Tang Sect, Evil Soul Masters were left running rampant everywhere and committing all sorts of atrocities. Who could say Tang San bore none of the responsibility?

At that moment, Little Griseo seemed to sense something and gave Lang Lei a sweet smile.

Lang Lei smiled as well. No longer thinking about those matters, he rose and walked over to her.

As for power, having enough for now was good enough~

For now, he should go keep his little darling company~