First Kill

In a single day, Ling Chen had looted nearly ten corpses.

Unfortunately, aside from the first female corpse who was a Soul Ancestor, the rest were merely Soul Masters around level ten, and eight of the Soul Rings he scavenged were within the ten-year range.

This was hardly surprising; if they possessed rich combat experience and formidable strength, they wouldn't have ended up as corpses.

He had ten portions of Martial Soul Origin; after removing the one used for the previous enhancement, nine remained.

At this moment, the Martial Soul he had briefly manifested earlier dissipated, so Ling Chen took out one portion to manifest it once more.

Ling Chen was in no rush to use the remaining eight portions to enhance his Martial Soul; he had to ensure he could keep his Martial Soul active at all times, otherwise, he would be as helpless as he was yesterday.

Throwing stones was truly a child's game, the impotent rage of a brat.

Crawling back into the dog kennel, Ling Chen picked up a few bricks to seal the entrance, and the only light source in the kennel vanished along with it.

Ling Chen sat with his back against the wall, closing his eyes to rest as his consciousness returned to the Dragon Pillar Space.

When looting corpses outside, he had no heart to inspect his gains, as he had to remain vigilant against being discovered by others in Slaughter City, especially that Scarface, the only one who knew of his existence.

Ling Chen had to find a way to eliminate him, or his situation would become increasingly dangerous. Once word of his affairs spread, he would be met with endless pursuit.

Ling Chen walked to the dragon pillars; the Golden Dragon Pillar and the White Dragon Pillar flickered with a faint glow, responding to the master of this Dragon Pillar Space.

Ling Chen reached out to touch the Golden Dragon Pillar, wanting to ask the Golden Dragon a few questions.

The Golden Dragon on the pillar sensed Ling Chen's call, slowly opened its dragon eyes, and spoke first.

"There are some questions I cannot answer, nor do I know the answers to. However, if it concerns the Martial Soul Origin, I can tell you a thing or two."

Ling Chen had intended to ask about his Martial Soul, as it was somewhat suspicious, but upon hearing the Golden Dragon's words, he swallowed the question back.

"Questions about the Martial Soul Origin, you say?"

Ling Chen didn't want to make things difficult for the Golden Dragon; he was too weak right now, and knowing certain things would be of no help.

"Can you tell me, if I use the Martial Soul Origin to briefly manifest a Martial Soul and then enhance it with the Martial Soul Origin, will the enhancement effect remain when I awaken my Martial Soul in the future?"

Ling Chen looked up to meet the gaze of the massive dragon head, and the Golden Dragon nodded without speaking.

"What are the specific enhancement effects?"

Ling Chen asked again.

"All Martial Souls are born from the Martial Soul Origin. Therefore, as long as you have a constant supply of Martial Soul Origin, you can manifest a Martial Soul indefinitely without needing to awaken one."

"By the same token, if you use the Martial Soul Origin to enhance your Martial Soul, you are naturally elevating the Martial Soul as a whole in every aspect."

"You won't feel it too obviously in terms of physical sensation, but once you put it to use, its power will be far beyond what your previous Martial Soul could compare to."

Ling Chen was lost in thought; he hadn't tested the effects of his Green Steel Sword after the enhancement yet, so whether what the Golden Dragon said was true remained to be verified.

After thanking the Golden Dragon, Ling Chen's consciousness returned, but before he could even stand up, he heard the bricks at the entrance of the dog hole being kicked away.

That Scarface had returned; he had circled the wall several times yesterday and simply couldn't find the other side of this dog hole.

Therefore, he was certain that the little brat Ling Chen was still inside this hole.

Yet, just as he expected, not long after the bricks were kicked away, he heard the crisp sound of broken bones being kicked inside.

"Little kid, come on out! Uncle has candy for you here!"

Scarface held an axe and tapped lightly on the bricks of the dog hole, then brought the axe down, causing some of the bricks to fall away.

Ling Chen sensed trouble and immediately manifested the Green Steel Sword, pressing himself against the wall as he slowly approached the dog hole.

This Scarface was not easy to deal with; he wasn't crawling into the hole to find him, but rather trying to tear the place down.

Being this cautious, he must have stayed in Slaughter City for a long time. He was also afraid that if he crawled in, Ling Chen would smash his brains out with a brick from the other side.

Ling Chen wouldn't let him destroy his shelter; he leaned down and looked out of the dog hole, holding his Green Steel Sword.

The hole hadn't been destroyed enough for him to swing his Green Steel Sword effectively, so Ling Chen could only watch helplessly as Scarface destroyed his kennel.

Although Scarface's axe didn't have the terrifying destructive power of a Clear Sky Hammer, its efficiency in splitting bricks and stone was far better than a sword.

The dog hole was destroyed to about half the height of a leg when Ling Chen finally made his move, swinging his sword with all his might in a horizontal sweep.

"Ah!"

Following Scarface's scream, his legs were easily severed by Ling Chen's Green Steel Sword; it truly cut through bone like water.

Scarface fell to the ground, blood spraying continuously from his severed legs. He looked at his separated lower limbs in disbelief, roaring in pain and fury.

"How is this possible! You're just a six-year-old brat who hasn't even awakened a Martial Soul; it's impossible for you to cut off my legs! Who the hell are you? Ah—!"

Scarface struggled to flip over, dragging his body with his hands as he tried to crawl into the dog hole; he wanted to kill the little bastard inside with his own hands.

Ling Chen didn't press his advantage, instead shrinking back into the kennel. He held all the advantages now; the dim kennel gave him the element of surprise, and his intact limbs gave him the advantage of agility.

Scarface wasn't blinded by rage either; he picked up the scattered bricks and stones on the ground and kept throwing them inside.

"Get out here! Come out!"

Ling Chen pressed against the wall on the side of the dog hole, and the flying stones couldn't hit him at all.

Time ticked by, second by second, and the stones outside the hole were mostly thrown away, while Scarface began to feel his hands losing their strength.

There was still no movement inside the dog hole, but he could feel the aura of death slowly creeping up his body from his severed legs.

"No! I don't want to die! It's impossible for me to be killed here by a mere child! No--!"

At this moment, Scarface was losing his grip on reality, his hands dragging his body desperately as he crawled toward the alley exit.

"Save me! Someone, save me! I don't want to die yet!"

Within moments, having lost too much blood, he collapsed completely in the center of the alley and fell silent.

Ling Chen was cautious; he waited for a good while before carefully crawling out of the hole in the wall to assess the situation.

A long trail of blood dragged across the ground, leading to the center of the alley where Scarface lay still.

Ling Chen immediately stepped forward and used the Green Steel Sword to sever his head, ensuring there would be no future trouble.

"Finally dead! Damn it! Of all the people you could have provoked, you had to pick me!"

Ling Chen cursed as he searched Scarface's corpse. While extracting the Soul Ring and Martial Soul Origin, he also found a Soul Tool—a storage ring.

As Ling Chen put on the ring, a wave of intense discomfort washed over him; he felt like vomiting yet also wanted to laugh maniacally, his entire body trembling.

Is this what it feels like to kill someone? It's my first time, so I'm still not used to it...

Ling Chen tried not to look at the bloody corpse and left the alley.

The roar of Scarface had not attracted anyone else; after all, this was Slaughter City, where killing and death were the most mundane of occurrences.

However, Ling Chen knew clearly that this was no place to linger.

Because there were some who not only took pleasure in killing but would even feast on corpses!

Not long after Ling Chen departed, a half-human, half-lizard monster slowly crawled out from the dim alley.

It flicked its tongue toward Ling Chen's retreating figure, then turned back to begin enjoying its meal...