Ridding the World of Evil

After returning home, Luo Zhiyuan began training even more diligently. He wouldn't even go out when Xu Xin, Dad, or Mom asked him to play. He focused solely on getting stronger, prompting Xu Xin to complain that Luo Feng had only ever cared about training, and now their son was so young and already just as obsessed. She was going to give Luo Feng a piece of her mind!

Luo Feng actually felt rather wronged. He didn't really understand why the little guy was pushing himself so hard. He had once told his son not to train too intensely and to go out and play like a normal child, but Luo Zhiyuan had always said he wasn't interested in that sort of thing. In the end, Luo Feng could only remind him not to hurt himself, then leave him to it. He even let his son use the gravity chamber.

The gravity chamber had more or less become Luo Zhiyuan's now. Hong and Thunder God had both reached a bottleneck in their training and were preparing to break through to Star Level, so they hadn't come by for several days. Luo Zhiyuan shut himself in the chamber and trained nonstop in Godly Evasion, Body Force, and Soul Secret Technique.

Luo Zhiyuan had already reached the second level of Godly Evasion and was working toward the third. At the second level, he could create one illusion while moving, then appear somewhere else and attack the enemy at the same time as the illusion, confusing them and disrupting their senses. Luo Zhiyuan could now create three illusions, but he wouldn't have mastered the third level until he could create nine.

He was training so hard in Godly Evasion because every time he advanced a level, he gained a new way to fight. The third level would greatly increase his strength. If an enemy had sharp senses or strong mental power, they could tell which of his second-level images was an illusion and which was his real body. They could ignore the illusion and attack his real body directly, which still posed a serious threat.

Once he reached the third level, however, he would have ten images, including his real body, and could move freely among their positions. Even an enemy with powerful mental strength would struggle to quickly identify the real one among all ten. This would make him far safer and allow him to attack with greater flexibility.

To train in Combat Secret Technique more quickly, Luo Zhiyuan had already taken advantage of moments when his family wasn't looking to send five clones out in secret. They trained together in relatively safe places far from people, continually sending their insights back to his real body. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before he reached the third level of Godly Evasion.

He hadn't sent out more clones because dividing his attention too much would leave him without enough Mental Power Amplitude to train in Soul Attack Secret Technique. That might make Babata notice something was off. After all, he had always alternated between training in Godly Evasion, Body Force, and Soul Secret Technique.

After Godly Evasion and Body Force had nearly exhausted his body, Luo Zhiyuan would begin training in Soul Secret Technique. He was currently practicing an illusion called Hypnosis. By using telekinetic force to suppress and influence the target's consciousness, he could make them feel a fatigue that came from their soul. Once their willpower faltered, they would fall asleep.

How long they slept depended on their willpower and the strength with which the user controlled their Spiritual Force. In severe cases, the target could fall into eternal slumber. While they slept, their soul had no defenses, allowing the user to guide them and make them reveal secrets from their memories in their sleep.

Hypnosis was a soul technique commonly used by Illusionists. When they couldn't get a confession through interrogation, they would use it to put the other party to sleep. It was therefore widely known, and Yunmo Planet had detailed instructions for training in it.

As Luo Zhiyuan practiced the technique, he couldn't help thinking of the Zerg Queen's nest, where she still slept on Earth. He guessed that the master of Yunmo Planet had used a similar hypnotic technique to put the Zerg Queen into an eternal sleep. That was what had allowed Luo Feng to claim her as a Soul Slave in the future.

Luo Zhiyuan had some ideas of his own about the Zerg Queen. He could consider asking Luo Feng for some of her body tissue after Luo Feng enslaved her soul. Having a clone of the queen would be pretty cool!

In late September 2062, Luo Feng suddenly told his family one evening that he was going away to train in seclusion for a month. Luo Zhiyuan's heart stirred. He knew Luo Feng was about to leave Earth for Qiu Long Planet, 320,000 light-years away. He helped reassure the family, saying that he was all grown up now and could protect everyone while Dad was away. His family smiled, and Luo Feng was spared the awkwardness of having to lie.

The next day, Luo Feng boarded the Black Dragon Mountain X81 spacecraft that Babata had repaired and flew away from Earth. Luo Zhiyuan watched him go, knowing that Luo Feng would return in a month with a large supply of Purple Light Dew, which would improve the physical fitness of Earth's people. Luo Zhiyuan wouldn't need any himself, but it was essential for improving the fitness of people across Earth—a major turning point in history.

After Luo Feng left, Luo Zhiyuan returned to his relentless training, pushing himself even harder than before. Although he had absorbed a great deal of combat experience, it all came from fighting monsters, so his close-quarters attacks had a distinctively beastlike style. He had never fought another human, and if he had to fight one, he only knew how to respond the way a monster would. It left him feeling awkward.

Babata offered him a suggestion. Although Martial Artists on Earth generally hunted monsters, some still went into the wilderness looking to ambush other people and make money through crooked means. It was much safer for them than hunting monsters themselves.

As far as Babata was concerned, those people were all scum. Their existence had no positive value for humanity, so he told Luo Zhiyuan he could eliminate some of these evil Martial Artists. He could rid the world of evildoers and gain experience fighting humans at the same time—a win-win.

Luo Zhiyuan agreed. He quickly packed some things and left home, telling his family he was going out to practice his movement technique so they wouldn't worry. To avoid interrupting his training in Godly Evasion, he secretly sent ten clones into the wilderness to practice the technique. Meanwhile, his real body began his campaign to rid Earth of evildoers.

Since Luo Zhiyuan was only as tall as a seven- or eight-year-old child, he only had to carry a few valuable items and wander around a relatively lawless area to attract unwanted attention. He used himself as bait and began his campaign to wipe out the scum.

A thin figure with a large backpack moved through a chaotic field of ruins. This was the first place Luo Zhiyuan had chosen to fish for prey, an area where Martial Artists often hunted. Many came here to kill monsters.

Luo Zhiyuan showed the speed and strength of an ordinary beginner-level trainee on Earth, moving slowly through the shadows. His backpack bulged, and animal fur could be seen through its open top. It belonged to a level-four Apprentice monster he had casually killed while passing through the wilderness. He estimated it would fetch more than ten million Earth Coins from the HR Alliance. He had looked into it before setting out, and knew the price was high enough to tempt greedy people. That made it the perfect bait.

Soon, a five-man group began following Luo Zhiyuan from behind. One was a level-five Apprentice, and the other four were level-four Apprentices. After watching him for nearly an hour, they gradually closed in around him.

The burly young man at level five spoke to Luo Zhiyuan from a little over fifty meters away. "Hey, kid, where are you headed? With a backpack that big, the smell of blood will attract plenty of monsters if you don't get rid of it. You'd better be careful."

Luo Zhiyuan put on a nervous expression and spoke with a slight tremble in his voice. "I'm going back to the Supply Base. Why are you surrounding me?"

"Haha, don't be nervous. We saw you walking around here alone, without anyone with you, so we got curious and thought we'd ask if you needed help. We're not bad people."

Luo Zhiyuan made his face go pale and hurriedly said, "Oh, my teammates are right behind me. I'll go back to the Supply Base and wait for them. I don't need your help, but thanks."

The leader glanced at another member of the group. That man shook his head, indicating that he hadn't seen anyone following the kid. The young leader's face turned vicious, and he said in a low voice, "We didn't see anyone following you. It's too dangerous for you to be alone. We'll escort you. We'll only charge a little—the materials in your backpack should be enough. You don't mind, do you?"

Luo Zhiyuan pretended to be terrified. He shook his head quickly and shouted in a small voice, "No, don't! I'm really strong. If you bully me, I'll fight back!"

"Hahahaha! Then let's see you try. Attack!" the young man shouted to the other four. They all charged at Luo Zhiyuan, running toward him with their broadswords raised.

One of the gunmen was just raising his weapon to aim when Luo Zhiyuan glanced at him and hit him with Mental Shock. Then he ignored him and watched the other four charge, grinning wickedly. "I told you I was really strong, but you still wanted to bully me. Don't blame me for fighting back!"

The other four looked at him suspiciously and hesitated. They didn't stop to check on their teammate, who had suddenly collapsed, but kept moving toward Luo Zhiyuan while calling out to ask what had happened and whether he had been attacked. They got no response, which only made them more uneasy.

The leader looked around but saw nothing out of the ordinary. "Hurry up and kill the kid, then go see what happened to Old Five. Let's finish this quickly!"

The four raised their weapons again and attacked Luo Zhiyuan. But then something astonishing happened. No matter how they attacked the little kid in front of them, none of them could land a clean hit. Every time they were about to strike, their weapons inexplicably hit empty air.

Luo Zhiyuan used the first level of Godly Evasion with ease, letting the four attack while he watched with amusement. Once he was sure they all wanted him dead, he stopped playing with them.

He gathered four streams of Spiritual Force and sent them crashing toward the four men's heads. As the force neared their Consciousness Oceans, he used Hypnosis to suppress their awareness. Before long, all four collapsed and fell asleep.

Using Spiritual Force, he moved the five men into a half-collapsed building. Sitting off to one side, Luo Zhiyuan felt conflicted. In the more than thirty years he had lived across his two lifetimes, he had never actually killed anyone. He hadn't had the nerve in his previous life, and in this one he had only killed monsters. Killing monsters felt completely different from killing people.

Luo Zhiyuan looked at the five men's faces. Some were twisted in rage, others frozen in terror, and the sight made him deeply uncomfortable. He turned them all over so he wouldn't have to see their faces. Out of sight, out of mind.

After struggling for a while, Luo Zhiyuan thought of how all five of them had tried to rob and kill him. Given how organized they were, this probably wasn't their first time doing something like this. If he hadn't been there, some other lone Martial Artist might have lost their life.

He closed his eyes and steeled himself. He used Soul Fusion Secret Technique on each of them, one by one, then sat on the ground with his eyes closed and began absorbing their combat memories.

Sure enough, their memories showed that this wasn't the first time the five men had committed such crimes. They had successfully robbed other people of their prey many times before, and most of their victims had been killed to cover their tracks.

The five had clear roles. Some searched for prey, some scouted, some handled the main attack, and others covered their tracks. To them, monsters weren't prey. Their targets were lone Martial Artists or those who had been seriously injured.

Luo Zhiyuan opened his eyes and looked deeply at the five corpses on the ground. Keep walking by the river, and sooner or later you'll get your feet wet. They got what they deserved. If I hadn't been strong enough, I might have died in a fight like this too.

To make sure that wouldn't happen, Luo Zhiyuan steeled his resolve. He was lucky to have crossed into such a fascinating world. If he died again, he didn't believe he'd get another opportunity this good. He still wanted to enjoy this incredible journey through life.

No longer conflicted, Luo Zhiyuan stood up, brushed the dirt from his pants, and walked out of the ruined building to find his next target. He needed to grow stronger quickly. The combat experience he had just gained from those five men was far from enough; they had been weak, after all. Before leaving, he took some of their hair. He figured he would find a use for it.

The ruins of the ruined city were filled with the fighting between humans and monsters, and even with people robbing one another. Here, the law of the jungle was on full display.

Inside a shabby little house, two figures appeared. One was powerfully built, with several streaks of blood on him and a few rough bandages. The other was a child of about seven or eight, carrying a large, bulging backpack that was clearly full of things.

The two seemed to have rested long enough. They left the ruined house and headed toward the city's outskirts, apparently ready to return after a successful hunt.

They were Luo Zhiyuan and one of his clones. The clone looked like one of the men he had killed last time, but Luo Zhiyuan had added a few wounds to himself and given the clone a simple disguise. It looked badly injured, and it walked carefully, as though afraid of aggravating its wounds.

Luo Zhiyuan thought a pair like this might tempt people into showing their greed. A child wandering alone in the chaotic wilderness was strange enough to make most people more cautious. The five men from last time had followed him for quite a while before they dared attack, which had wasted too much time.

The combination of a large and a small figure was unusual too, but a wounded Martial Artist traveling with a child who carried his pack, both looking like a devoted father and son, might put many people at ease.

If anyone dared to mess with him now, Luo Zhiyuan could kill them without the slightest hesitation and gain more combat experience. After all, he had already killed people—five lives!