Kill

Blood Luo Continent, Sky Eagle City.

Qin Ming transformed into a travel-worn lone adventurer with an aura at the peak of Sky Level (Star Level), paid the entry fee, and blended into the bustling crowd.

His goal was clear: obtain at least one Blood Luo Crystal to attempt fusion, temper his will, and verify its effect on amplifying his gene multiplier.

According to the original description, although Blood Luo Crystals were precious, Domain Lord-level lords who ruled a region often held some reserves or had channels to acquire them.

These lords themselves had long since fused Blood Luo Crystals, but they usually had surplus stock on hand, used to reward their capable subordinates or as bargaining chips in important transactions.

Qin Ming's first objective on this trip was to find a way to obtain at least one Blood Luo Crystal from a Domain Lord-level lord.

To a certain extent, the Blood Luo World could be considered a world "farmed" by the Virtual Universe Company, but it was ultimately dominated by humans.

Unless necessary, Qin Ming was not inclined to kill indiscriminately.

So, he first needed to gather intelligence on the surrounding lords and select a target.

And the best source of information was none other than places like taverns and adventurer guilds, where all sorts of people mingled.

Qin Ming's gaze swept across the signs lining the street, quickly locking onto a tavern called "Blood Claw," which appeared to be the largest and had the most people coming and going.

Entering the Blood Claw Tavern, the clamor hit him like a wave.

Qin Ming chose a corner to sit down, ordered a cup of the local strong liquor, and drank seemingly casually, but his powerful consciousness, like an invisible net, quietly captured the conversations throughout the tavern.

"Lord Sky Eagle wiped out another band of roving bandits last month. He struck personally—the scene..."

"I heard things are unsettled over at Spirit Wall City again. The City Lord has been in a 'bad mood' this month, and Black Stone Town seems to have suffered..."

"Shh! Keep your voice down! Is the Spirit Wall City Lord's business something you can just gossip about?"

"Ah, well... that one... sigh."

Fragments of information kept gathering. Qin Ming quickly extracted the key points.

Sky Eagle Lord had a relatively upright style, focused on governing his territory, suppressing bandits and pacifying the people—his reputation was decent.

The neighboring Spirit Wall City Lord, on the other hand, was brutal and bloodthirsty. Under the pretext of "purification" or "sacrificial rites," he would randomly select villages and towns within his domain for indiscriminate slaughter, taking pleasure in bloodshed or cultivating some evil technique. His fearsome reputation was widespread, and the people under his rule lived in constant terror.

"Him." Qin Ming made his decision instantly.

The Spirit Wall City Lord was clearly no good person.

Qin Ming had no psychological burden in striking down such a tyrant who treated human life like weeds.

He could obtain the Blood Luo Crystal and rid this world of a scourge at the same time—killing two birds with one stone.

He drained the last of the wine from his cup, set down a few pieces of this world's common currency, and rose to leave the noisy tavern.

Qin Ming hadn't expected that just as he arrived near Spirit Wall City, he would run straight into a massacre in progress.

In the ruins of a devastated village, flames had yet to fully die out, and thick smoke billowed. Corpses littered the ground, and blood flowed in rivulets.

Dozens of martial artists clad in Spirit Wall City guard uniforms were grimly searching for possible survivors, delivering final killing blows.

And in midair, a middle-aged man with a gloomy face, clad in ornate battle armor, stood with his hands behind his back, coldly overlooking the hellish scene below, a cruel hint of pleasure even curling at the corner of his mouth.

Judging by his aura, it was the Spirit Wall City Lord himself, at the Domain Lord First Stage.

What... an incredibly convenient coincidence.

Qin Ming didn't know whether to call his own luck "good" or the Spirit Wall City Lord's luck "bad."

His gaze swept over and spotted a child hiding under a collapsed millstone, as a guard martial artist raised a blade with a sneer.

A thought arose, and the martial artist instantly dropped dead on the spot.

Qin Ming's figure appeared before the child like a ghost, shielding him behind him.

The remaining guard martial artists were greatly startled and roared as they charged to surround him, but were all killed instantly with a single glance from Qin Ming.

"Oh?" The Spirit Wall City Lord in midair narrowed his eyes, staring coldly at Qin Ming.

"Who are you? How dare you obstruct This Seat's business and kill my guards?"

Qin Ming looked up at him, his gaze flat and emotionless. "The one who kills you."

Before the words faded, his figure had already vanished from where he stood.

The Spirit Wall City Lord's pupils contracted sharply, feeling a terrifying killing intent that made his soul tremble descend instantly!

Pfft!

A sword light, as if ignoring the distance of space, pierced directly through his brow, annihilating the life core within his body in an instant!

The Spirit Wall City Lord possessed Domain Lord First Stage strength, and Qin Ming couldn't kill him with his consciousness alone.

However, Qin Ming was far too strong!

Even without using any secret techniques, he could still kill the Spirit Wall City Lord in a single blow.

This was only natural. With his Space-Time Nightmare Beast clone's 180-fold gene level, coupled with his peak Realm Lord consciousness and will, and laws comprehension far exceeding that of ordinary immortals—

In the Blood Luo World, beneath the Immortal level, he could be called invincible.

The battle ended too quickly. In the ruins, only the trembling child and Qin Ming remained.

Qin Ming had intended to take the sole survivor—this child—away and find a safe place to settle him.

But the child suddenly lifted his head, fixing Qin Ming with eyes brimming with endless hatred and despair, and screamed hoarsely, "Why! Why didn't you come sooner! If you'd come earlier, you could have saved Dad, Mom, and everyone else! You murderer! You're just like them! All murderers!"

The voice was young, yet every word dripped with blood and seething resentment.

Qin Ming was taken aback at first, then a faint curve tugged at the corner of his lips.

"I underestimated you. I didn't expect that you, Spirit Wall City Lord, still had such a trick—to secretly cast a soul secret art right under my nose, transferring a remnant soul or consciousness to parasitize this child!"

At these words, the child's face twisted with a mix of bewilderment and terror. He couldn't understand what Qin Ming was saying at all. "I... I didn't... What are you talking about..."

But no explanation was needed anymore.

Because Qin Ming's sword had already thrust out again.

Puchi!

The blade pierced the child's heart with surgical precision. No hesitation, no trace of pity.

The confusion on the child's face was instantly replaced by excruciating pain and disbelief. He looked down at the sword through his chest, then up at Qin Ming's cold expression. "Why... why... weren't you... here to save me..."

Qin Ming slowly withdrew the longsword, watching the child's life force rapidly fade from his body, his eyes utterly unruffled.

Though he was no bloodthirsty killer, he would grant no mercy to such an ungrateful, unawed ingrate. Since you see me as your enemy, then I'll send you to reunite with your family—neat and tidy, a full house of joy!

Afterward, Qin Ming found the spatial storage device on the Spirit Wall City Lord's body.

On the Blood Luo Continent, since there was no place like the Cosmic Galaxy Bank to store treasures, almost all cultivators here kept their most valuable possessions in spatial tools, carried close to their persons.