Awakening

Late at night, in the forest outside Nuoding City.

Leaning against a tree, Xiao Tianyang pointed at Bubu, who was wrapped in tattered strips of cloth. "Dig the pit wider and deeper. Don't you see how many bodies there are?"

Bubu could only open and close its dog mouth, though no one knew what it was trying to say.

Maybe it was complaining, maybe it was grumbling, but it did not dare make a sound for fear of getting beaten.

Not far from Xiao Tianyang, beside him, a mountain of corpses had been piled up. The two most conspicuous ones had been pulled out and placed separately on the ground.

One was, of course, Zhang Liang. The other was the middle-aged man who had been killed while begging for mercy!

That final moment had actually been rather dangerous. After Xiao Tianyang got back up and dealt the burly man his final blow, Zhang Liang launched a desperate counterattack before dying.

To be honest, Xiao Tianyang had thought he was about to die then. Luckily, he had been tough enough, and Bubu had taken the blow for him, allowing him to keep his life.

As for whether Xiao Tianyang felt guilty about killing so many people?

Not really. It just felt a little strange.

After three months of adjustment, Xiao Tianyang had already figured something out.

No matter how low-profile he was, Xiao Tianyang would still encounter enemies. That was inevitable.

Unless he chose to be an obscure nobody, the stronger he became, the more trouble would come looking for him even if he did not go looking for it.

So Xiao Tianyang had made a decision back then: "I can kill others, and I can be killed by others. If I'm weaker than someone else, I have no one to blame!"

It was precisely because he had seen through this that Xiao Tianyang had left Sacred Soul Village.

Of course, the reason he had handled things so thoroughly was also because Xiao Tianyang did not want to invite trouble the way the plot he knew had!

Pulling out the weeds by the roots was the only way to prevent future trouble!

Before this, he had also learned why Bubu had killed that middle-aged man's son.

The explanation was somewhat complicated and roundabout, but Xiao Tianyang had managed to understand some of it through Bubu's wild gestures.

The rough sequence of events was that the middle-aged man's son had taken a liking to the daughter of a family living on the same street as Bubu. Her parents refused, so he tried to take her by force.

Bubu was someone who could never mind its own business, so it went to "uphold justice." It drove the son away, but when Bubu returned after wandering around for a while, it discovered that the entire family had been killed!

In a fit of rage, Bubu had caused the scene where that middle-aged man came looking for Xiao Tianyang.

Xiao Tianyang did not want to judge the twists and turns of right and wrong, nor could he be bothered to analyze them.

Besides, he knew full well that while Bubu liked causing trouble and could occasionally be a little dumb, it would never deliberately hurt anyone, much less kill someone.

If you bullied Bubu, at most it would play a prank on you.

Even if it hit and cursed at you, it would only use some silly tricks while messing with you. It would never endanger your life.

But once someone crossed its bottom line, even Bubu, with its human-like way of thinking, could not tolerate it!

What could anyone expect from a beast whose ferocity had been provoked?

But it did not matter. Since Xiao Tianyang had chosen to trust Bubu after that first exchange of looks, he had placed the middle-aged man on the enemy's side.

Either he died, or the other side fell. There were only those two choices.

"Woof!"

Bubu came over, twisting its body and covered in mud, then nudged Xiao Tianyang.

"I know. I'll take care of the rest, all right?"

Xiao Tianyang got up from the ground, then threw the corpses into the pit one by one. After filling it in and stomping the dirt down several times, he said, "The place where you used to live is no longer safe. We'll spend the night here today, then enter the city tomorrow and figure things out."

"Woof!"

Bubu expressed its agreement, but then shook the dirt off its body again, as though it felt very uncomfortable.

"Well, well. Did not expect you to be such a clean freak."

Xiao Tianyang looked somewhat surprised before pointing to the left. "When we came here earlier, I saw a lake over there. Come on, let's wash up there. I'll treat your injuries too."

Before long, the man and dog left the area.

After washing up, Xiao Tianyang lit a fire and placed his clothes nearby to dry. At the same time, he raised the Spirit of the Flame in his right hand, where it surged with vigorous life energy.

"I never knew what this Martial Soul was useful for. Looks like I've found a use for it."

Smiling, Xiao Tianyang brought the flame close to Bubu's wound. Bubu was instantly terrified. If Xiao Tianyang had not held it down, it would have run off to who knew where.

Yet the burning pain it had imagined never came. Bubu, which had already resigned itself to its fate, opened its eyes in confusion.

It only felt a tingling numbness and slight itchiness around the wound. Other than that, there was nothing.

Before long, Xiao Tianyang, whose spirit power had already been completely drained, was utterly exhausted. His face slightly pale, he withdrew his Martial Soul.

Bubu, meanwhile, tilted its head and spun in circles while staring at its wound. Its foolish nature was on full display, and Xiao Tianyang could not be bothered with it.

"My Spirit Power Quality is the highest, but my actual strength can't keep up. That's still a serious flaw."

"Looks like I need to speed up obtaining my first soul ring. It has to be done within three days at the very least, or it'll be too much of a waste of time."

"But not having the necessary knowledge is troublesome too."

At this thought, Xiao Tianyang frowned. "Looks like I'll have to trouble Master again so soon..."

After thinking it over, Xiao Tianyang picked up the Sky-Controlling Bottle beside him, opened it, and poured two drops of Green Liquid into his mouth.

Pure energy burst forth. Xiao Tianyang closed his eyes and entered a cultivation state, while his slightly fatigued muscles and bones gradually regained their vitality.

At this point, Bubu stopped fooling around as well. He sat down beside Xiao Tianyang to stand guard, ears perked and gaze serious, with none of his earlier silly demeanor remaining.

Who knew how much time passed before Xiao Tianyang finally opened his eyes. Letting out a breath, he rose to his feet and stretched his muscles and bones.

"Not bad. I got enough to draw twice."

Xiao Tianyang looked at the system interface in his mind, unable to stop the corners of his mouth from curving upward.

Host: Xiao Tianyang

Physique: Pseudo? Immaculate Physique [Killing without accruing karma; all things feel affinity toward him]

Strength Level: Level 10 [Soul Scholar]

Soul Skill: None

Soul Bone: None

Martial Souls: Scythe of Judgment [A symbol of life, the destination of the dead], Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire [Burns karma, cleanses sins], Spirit of the Flame [The fire of life, the spirit of all things], Three Thousand Blazing Flame [Three Thousand Starry Sky Body, an undying physique]

Lottery Points: 213

With his previous accumulation added to the later kills, Xiao Tianyang had enough for two lottery draws. The gains could not be considered small.

After all, Xiao Tianyang had spent three months struggling in the forest near the village just to get three lottery draws.

Yet he had only been in Nuoding City for a single day and had already gained so much. How could he not be happy?

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Tianyang walked to the lake and washed his hands and face. After putting on his clothes and praying for Three Seconds, he said, "System, I want to draw!"

The familiar scene appeared once more. Xiao Tianyang widened his eyes and focused intently. Though it would not make any difference, it at least proved his attitude.