The ground was a complete mess, corpses scattered everywhere.
Slowly propping herself up, she stared blankly at the scene before her.
She stood there, pressing her lips together, having no idea what to do. She had killed her enemies, but then what? No one was coming back...
Her empty heart had nowhere to settle.
She staggered to her feet, enduring the piercing pain throughout her body as she tried to piece everyone's bodies back together.
The light had vanished from her eyes, like stars swallowed by the night.
"Little Xi..." A weak voice rang out with startling clarity in the silent space.
Shen Ranxi shot to her feet, her pupils instantly widening as her heartbeat raced.
When she turned to look, the voice was gone again. A self-mocking smile curled across her lips. It was just an illusion.
The last spark in her heart went out.
She lowered her head in despair.
"Xiao Wei, I... I'm here."
She jerked her head up. She hadn't heard wrong. Turning toward the Somersault Cloud, she received its confirming nod, and light burst into her eyes.
Village Chief Grandpa's voice! She hadn't been able to find him before, deliberately avoiding the possibility that he had died.
With the relief of surviving a disaster, she found him behind an overturned table.
He was covered in blood and barely clinging to life.
She immediately helped Village Chief Grandpa up, intending to take him to a doctor.
Village Chief Grandpa grabbed Shen Ranxi's hand. It was far too cold. His once-warm hand was now icy enough to make her heart tremble.
"Village Chief Grandpa, let me take you to a doctor, okay? You'll definitely get better. You definitely will!"
"Good child, don't cry." His rough hand brushed over her face, and only then did she realize she was crying.
"It's no use. I can't be cured anymore," Village Chief Grandpa continued. "I saw how brave you were just now. Our Xiao Wei is amazing! You avenged us..."
"Our village has finally produced an incredible Lord Soul Master." Pride appeared on Village Chief Grandpa's face.
"That's just how this world is. The lives of Ordinary People... are full of accidents... You have to get used to it."
"You've already done enough for everyone. From now on, live your own life well. It will surely... be incredibly wonderful!"
"I can't get used to it... Don't leave me..." Tear after tear splashed onto Village Chief Grandpa.
"What a... what a pity. I can't stay with you... until the very end." The kindness in Village Chief Grandpa's eyes faded away.
"System, System, save him! I'm begging you, save him! You can take anything I have! I'll also complete my missions properly and become a god." Shen Ranxi held Village Chief Grandpa tightly in a panic.
But grandfather's warmth still gradually faded away... along with her heart...
[Sorry, host.] [The system does not possess the ability to bring the dead back to life either. Sorry.]
"Why did they kill the people in the village?"
[There was no reason. They were Evil Soul Masters. Perhaps the two of them fought their way here and killed them on a whim.] [Evil Soul Masters are Soul Masters too. There are two reasons they come to be.] [The first is because of their Martial Souls. Some Martial Souls are born with evil attributes, such as bloodlust and brutality.] [If the people who possess such Martial Souls lack a firm inner heart, they can easily be affected by negative forces. Soul Beasts like the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, for example, are born needing to devour other creatures to increase their strength.] [The second is their choice of cultivation method. Ordinary Soul Masters obtain Soul Rings by hunting Soul Beasts, but Evil Soul Masters use forbidden methods in order to Become Stronger faster.] [For example, that Cloaked Person would seal the souls he absorbed Inside the Body and slowly consume them, directly devouring the souls and flesh of others.] [Although this method produces results quickly, it causes people to gradually lose their sanity and become killing machines.]
"Why does no one stop these Evil Soul Masters and just let them run rampant?!" Shen Ranxi's eyes, swollen red from grief, now radiated an icy light.
[This world reveres the strong. Everyone is trying to improve their strength. If they encounter them, they might deal with them casually. As for the rest... you understand.]
"Hahaha, this dog-eat-dog world is so cold and heartless." Shen Ranxi's worldview, carried over from a peaceful era, was brutally shattered today.
She had seen the uncle whose medicinal herbs had been taken by nobles in the village, the desolation in his eyes, and everyone's meek obedience before Soul Masters...
"Aren't there gods in this world?! They're fucking useless!"
"From this day onward, Evil Soul Masters and I cannot coexist! For every day I live, I'll kill them for a day!!!
"This world's nations are useless, Nobles oppress the people, Evil Soul Masters run rampant, and gods sit high in their divine halls, above everyone else! Ordinary People are like ants, hahaha!
"Since that's the case, then I'll smash the divine altars! If the gods won't act, I will! If the gods won't kill, I will! If a god stands in my way, I'll kill a god; if a Buddha stands in my way, I'll kill a Buddha! I'll sweep away every injustice in this world and make heaven and earth bow before me!"
[Crack... crack...] [Hurry and become a god~ The energy brought by becoming a god will be enough to let me evolve~ Hurry up~ I really want to see the expressions on those gods' faces when they see you become a god~ That will surely be very, very wonderful~ Hehe.]
After saying that, the system went dormant.
Something strange flashed through Shen Ranxi's mind. Sometimes this system seemed like a machine, while at other times it seemed far too much like a person... But so far, it had not done anything harmful to her.
If anything went wrong with it then, she wouldn't let it off easily either. At worst, they would perish together!
Before dawn, Shen Ranxi endured the pain and finally pieced everyone's bodies back together.
Fortunately, the Somersault Cloud had helped her.
She named it cotton, because it looked so much like soft, fluffy, spotless white cotton.
At a single compliment, the entire cloud turned pink. It stretched out its tiny arms and hugged her tightly. It was obvious how shy it was.
Fortunately, cotton had helped, or it would not have been done so quickly. Her body was only six years old, and she had suffered serious injuries too.
She lay on cotton, breathing slowly. Deep breaths pulled at her lungs and hurt terribly.
Her eyes gradually closed, but just as she was about to fall asleep, faint crying reached her ears.
She tugged her lips into a smile. Had her injuries caused her to hallucinate?
Then the sound beside her gradually became clear. "Mom... Mom... Dad... Dad..."
"Xiao Wei... Sister..."
The crying was scattered and torn apart by the wind.
Shen Ranxi finally remembered that Little Bell was still alive.
Shen Ranxi struggled to get up, and cotton transformed into a White Cloud Cane so that its Master could lean on it.
"L-Little Bell, I'm here."
Covering her chest, she slowly moved toward the road entrance.
The helplessly crying Little Bell was in the middle of the road. The moment she saw Shen Ranxi, she immediately crashed into her arms like a little cannonball.
Tears filled Little Bell's eyes as she clutched Shen Ranxi's clothes.
Her little face crumpled up, tears swirling in her eyes as she pouted. "Sister Xi, did you all leave me behind? When I woke up, I was Inside the Body of that dark Gangzi. Little Bell was so scared, sob sob sob..."
Her little body shook with sobs as she said, "Little Bell will listen from now on. Don't abandon Little Bell."
Shen Ranxi swallowed the blood that rose in her throat and wiped the grime from Little Bell's face.
"No, we won't. Sister swears that in this life, I'll make sure you grow up happily." Determination flashed through her eyes.
"Little Bell, look into Sister's eyes. I know Little Bell is very smart and very strong, right?"
"Yes, Little Bell is very smart and very strong." Her chubby little hands wiped away her tears as she looked at Shen Ranxi seriously.
Before you continue