Douluo Continent.
The Soul Hunting Forest of the Heaven Dou Empire.
A middle-aged man of average height and a somewhat gaunt appearance was walking through the forest with a boy.
They were Yu Xiaogang and Tang San, who had entered the Soul Hunting Forest yesterday to hunt for a Soul Ring.
At that moment, the two were making their way through the forest.
The day before, they had encountered a Ten-Year Soul Beast, a Lone Bamboo.
But Yu Xiaogang had no intention of letting a genius with Twin Martial Souls like Tang San absorb a mere ten-year Soul Ring.
So they decided to keep searching for other Soul Beasts to hunt.
At dusk, just after they had killed ten Nether Wolves, a blur suddenly shot out from ahead.
"Damn it! Xiao San, that's a Datura Snake over four hundred years old. Run!"
Yu Xiaogang recognized the Soul Beast at a glance.
As he spoke, he summoned Luo Sanpao and had him stand between them and the Datura Snake.
"Fart Fog!"
"Second Soul Skill! Sleep-Inducing Luo Sanpao!"
The pig-dog-like Luo Sanpao turned around and pointed his rear at the Datura Snake.
Then a cloud of smoke burst from Luo Sanpao's backside, engulfing the Datura Snake behind him.
Unfortunately, although the Datura Snake was shrouded in smoke, it was completely unaffected.
"Not good! Its venom is too potent—it's neutralizing Sanpao's soporific poison."
"Xiao San, run!"
Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang grabbed Tang San and ran.
The Datura Snake swept its tail and sent Luo Sanpao flying, nearly knocking him unconscious.
"Martial Soul, return!" Seeing Luo Sanpao struck down by the Datura Snake, Yu Xiaogang tried to recall him.
But for some reason, no matter how he called, Luo Sanpao wouldn't return.
Worse, the poison affecting Luo Sanpao spread to Yu Xiaogang. His consciousness grew hazy, and then he collapsed.
"Teacher!"
Tang San hurriedly caught Yu Xiaogang.
Only after realizing that Yu Xiaogang had merely been knocked unconscious by the soporific poison did he breathe a sigh of relief.
"You're asking for it!"
After laying Yu Xiaogang on the ground, Tang San turned to face the Datura Snake.
With Yu Xiaogang unconscious, he knew they had no chance of escaping. He might as well turn back and face the Datura Snake.
Perhaps he could even kill it.
Elsewhere, the dazed Luo Sanpao quietly returned to Yu Xiaogang and stood on top of him.
"I finally got my chance!"
"System, sever the Martial Soul link between Yu Xiaogang and me!"
Luo Yan gazed at Yu Xiaogang lying on the ground and silently spoke in his mind.
He had transmigrated into Luo Sanpao two and a half years ago. This was the second time Yu Xiaogang had summoned him; the first had been yesterday.
It was only by gathering clues while acting as a guide that he had figured out his situation.
Thankfully, he had awakened a system. Otherwise, he'd probably have spent his whole life being led around like a dog by Yu Xiaogang.
As Luo Yan's voice sounded, a burst of light enveloped him and Yu Xiaogang.
Tang San was still focused on fighting the Datura Snake and didn't notice anything amiss.
Suddenly, the formation surrounding Luo Yan and Yu Xiaogang turned red. Thin threads of blood essence began to stream out of Yu Xiaogang and flow into Luo Yan's body.
Luo Sanpao's body also grew increasingly solid.
Yu Xiaogang, meanwhile, was convulsing nonstop.
The formation forcibly drew blood essence from his body. It felt as if he had fallen into an anthill and was being devoured by countless ants.
The agony jolted Yu Xiaogang awake.
But trapped by the formation, he couldn't even speak. All he could do was watch helplessly as it happened.
[An unexpected change has occurred. Yu Xiaogang is afraid of you. Resentment Points +500!]
[Realizing that you caused his pain, Yu Xiaogang's hatred for you has surpassed its limits. Resentment Points +1086!]
[Feeling the formation restrain his body, Yu Xiaogang is afraid of you. Resentment Points +800!]
[...]
Once Yu Xiaogang woke up, Luo Yan gained a large number of Resentment Points from him.
Like other transmigrators, Luo Yan had his own system.
The Negative Emotion Collection System granted him Resentment Points by making others experience negative emotions. He could use those points to evolve.
Yu Xiaogang turned his head to look at Luo Yan standing on him, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
Sensing Yu Xiaogang's murderous glare, Luo Yan snorted and used the little of their Martial Soul link that remained to send his thoughts into Yu Xiaogang's mind:
"There are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters!"
"Yu Xiaogang, you've disappointed me so much lately! You're a complete and utter failure. After more than twenty years, you still haven't even reached level thirty!"
"So let me teach you how to become a true powerhouse!"
[Yu Xiaogang is hit where it hurts and resents you. Resentment Points +500!]
[Yu Xiaogang is shocked to discover that you possess intelligence. Resentment Points +700!]
Unfortunately, Yu Xiaogang was being tormented by the formation and couldn't respond.
"Teacher!"
Tang San finally noticed what was happening and shouted.
[Tang San discovers that his Yu Xiaogang is being suppressed by an unknown formation and feels murderous toward you. Resentment Points +80!]
[Tang San is so enraged by your suppression of Yu Xiaogang that he loses control of his emotions. Resentment Points +100!]
Unfortunately, the Datura Snake was keeping Tang San occupied, leaving him no chance to check what was happening to Yu Xiaogang.
His distraction nearly let the Datura Snake catch him off guard.
Fortunately, he had Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, which let him dodge the Datura Snake's gaping maw.
With the Datura Snake hounding him, Tang San could only put the matter out of his mind and focus on the fight.
By the time he killed the Datura Snake, the formation surrounding Luo Yan and Yu Xiaogang had faded, revealing them both.
Luo Yan's body was still that of Luo Sanpao, but it looked much more solid than before.
Yu Xiaogang had lost a great deal of blood essence. He was now emaciated, and both his hands looked like skeletons.
Luo Yan noticed that Tang San had killed the Datura Snake. He climbed down from Yu Xiaogang, but kept his left foot on Yu Xiaogang's neck.
He was certain that if he had no leverage, Tang San would come straight at him and fight to the death.
His only option was to use Yu Xiaogang to threaten Tang San. In his current condition, there was no way he could beat Tang San, who had mastered the Tang Sect's martial arts.
He couldn't even outrun him!
Luo Yan didn't want to break free of Yu Xiaogang's Martial Soul restraints only to be killed by Tang Buddha.
Tang San turned to look at them.
Seeing Yu Xiaogang's terrible state, his eyes blazed with fury. He wanted nothing more than to hack Luo Yan to pieces.
Tang San ignored the Datura Snake's Soul Ring and slowly walked toward them.
"Woof! Woof!"
Luo Yan tried to shout at Tang San, but in Luo Sanpao's body, he couldn't speak. All he could manage were two barks.
Luo Yan heard the barking himself, and three black lines seemed to appear on his forehead.
He pressed down harder with his foot.
Yu Xiaogang immediately understood what Luo Yan meant and hurriedly stopped Tang San from coming any closer. "Xiao San, don't come any closer!"
Tang San heard Yu Xiaogang and gave Luo Yan a long look.
In the end, he stopped.
Seeing that Tang San wasn't coming closer, Luo Yan silently said in his mind:
"System, use the Humanoid Transformation Pill!"
He had obtained the system as soon as he transmigrated into this world, along with a beginner's gift pack.
It had contained two items: a Yao Clan cultivation technique, the Azure Heaven Dragon Emperor Art, and a Humanoid Transformation Pill.
Because of that technique, Luo Yan had initially thought he'd transmigrated into a fantasy world and had been rather excited.
He hadn't expected it to be Douluo Continent, the sewers of the fantasy genre.
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