Electrolux, Tree of Life Martial Soul!

Rumble!

Lightning flashed and thunder roared as rain poured down... A youth stood atop a pile of corpses.

Rain washed the blood from his face, mingling with the thick bloody tears continuously spilling from the corners of his eyes and carving two savage channels down his cheeks.

He did not wipe them away. He merely lowered his head and looked at the thing still twitching faintly by his feet.

No, it could no longer be considered a "person."

Zhu Ye lay facedown in the mud, half his face buried in the sludge. His right arm was bent backward at a grotesque angle, jagged white bone piercing through the flesh.

His left leg had vanished completely below the knee. No blood flowed from the stump, because it had long since bled dry, leaving only dark-red muscle and severed blood vessels exposed to the rain.

He was still alive.

"Hah... hah..."

A wheezing rasp escaped his throat like a broken bellows. Zhu Ye's only remaining eye struggled to roll upward, trying to see the figure standing above his head.

Rain struck his eyeball. He blinked, his vision blurred.

But he still saw him.

The bastard he had trampled beneath his feet, the illegitimate son he had thought he could crush whenever he pleased, was now looking down at him.

His short black spiky hair was soaked by the rain, strands plastered against his forehead. That once sunny, boyish face now held no expression at all.

Within his large round eyes, those eerie dart-shaped patterns slowly revolved. Scarlet light flickered through the curtain of rain like ghostly flames swaying in the depths of hell.

"Mon... monster..."

Zhu Ye used the last of his strength to force out those words. He remembered what had happened over the past few minutes—no, those few dozen seconds.

That had not been a battle.

It had been a slaughter.

The fifty elite soldiers of the White Tiger Army he had brought with him had fallen like wheat.

That soldier had tried to unleash his first soul skill. His spear had barely risen halfway before a bloody hole appeared in his throat out of nowhere.

That captain had attempted to activate a defensive soul skill. The yellow soul ring had just lit up when a hole the size of a bowl appeared in his chest.

And that adjutant had turned to run. He had only taken three steps before his body was severed at the waist. When his upper half hit the ground, his fingers were still twitching.

And Dai Tu had remained standing where he was.

Those scarlet eyes merely watched quietly. One look, one death.

Until everyone had fallen, leaving only Zhu Ye behind.

"I... I was wrong..." Zhu Ye's voice trembled, mixed with rainwater and bloody foam. "Spare me... please... I can help you... I know the Duchess's secret... I know about the White Tiger Duke Mansion..."

Dai Tu crouched down.

Rain dripped from the ends of his bangs and splashed onto Zhu Ye's face.

"You do not know you were wrong. You just know you are about to die..."

He reached out and pressed a hand against Zhu Ye's forehead.

"I only want you, and all of you, to disappear."

Zhu Ye's remaining eye widened abruptly. He saw the dart-shaped pattern in Dai Tu's eyes begin spinning wildly. The scarlet glow surged, nearly spilling from his sockets.

Then, he felt it.

It was not pain.

It was "nonexistence."

Starting from the spot where his forehead had been touched, his skin, muscles, and bones began collapsing inward. It was not shattering, nor melting, but something far more absolute—being "erased" from this world.

Like pencil marks wiped away by an eraser, like a sandcastle washed away by clear water.

There was no process, no trace.

He simply "disappeared."

Dai Tu stood and looked around.

The rain fell harder and harder, washing over the blood covering the ground. Blood mixed with mud and gathered in the low places, forming dark-red streams that twisted onward.

More than a hundred corpses lay scattered everywhere—villagers and soldiers alike—all soaked in blood and mud, impossible to distinguish from one another.

Dai Tu looked at them and suddenly smiled.

At first, it was only a quiet laugh, squeezed from the depths of his throat, suppressed and broken. Then it grew louder and louder, until it became a hysterical cackle that echoed through the mountain of corpses and sea of blood, mingling with thunder and rain.

"Ha... hahaha... HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

He laughed until he doubled over, until tears came out. No, they were not tears. They were crimson tears mixed with blood, endlessly streaming from his eyes and leaving streaks of blood across his face.

If I had never seen the light... then I would not fear the darkness...

He laughed until he could barely breathe, until he dropped to his knees. Both hands braced against the muddy, blood-soaked ground while his shoulders shook violently.

The sunlight of Konoha.

Arin's smiling face.

Hunter Wang's roasted pheasant legs.

The clothes Aunt Li had mended for him.

The tea brewed by the old village chief.

The simple-minded look of the blacksmith's son pestering him to teach him how to throw knives.

Those images flashed through his mind one after another. They were so clear, so warm, as though they had happened only yesterday.

Then the images shattered. In their place came a spear piercing through a chest, severed heads rolling across the ground, the tip of a sword protruding from Arin's chest, and her final silent words: "Run."

"Light..." Dai Tu murmured, lifting his head and letting the rain strike his face. "So light is this fragile. One rainstorm, and it all gets washed away."

He swayed to his feet and staggered to Arin's side. Kneeling down, he gently gathered her into his arms.

The little girl's body was already completely cold and stiff. Rain hit her pale little face and streamed down from her tightly shut eyelashes, as if she were crying.

Dai Tu reached out, wanting to wipe the rain from her face. But his hand was too dirty, covered in blood and mud. The more he wiped, the worse it became. Panicking, he rubbed his hand hard against his clothes, trying to clean it, but his clothes had long been soaked through with blood as well.

He rubbed and rubbed until his palm turned red, but the blood would not come off.

"Arin..." he called softly, his voice shaking badly. "Big brother will clean you up... Once you are clean, you will not be dirty anymore..."

"Once you are clean, you will wake up, right?"

"Wake up. Big brother will take you to buy candy... Grandpa Zhang at the village entrance just got some new malt candy. You said you wanted some..."

"Arin... wake up..."

There was no response.

There would never be a response again.

Dai Tu held Arin's cold body and buried his face against her tiny shoulder. He wanted to cry, but his eyes were so dry they hurt. Only blood continued to flow.

Then, without warning, agonizing pain struck.

It felt as though countless red-hot iron spikes had stabbed into both his eyes at once and were frantically stirring within his sockets. Dai Tu groaned and curled up, his entire body convulsing.

The world before his eyes began to blur, spin, and shatter. The scarlet Mangekyo pattern flickered madly in his eyes, brightening and dimming like a candle flame about to go out.

Soul Power rampaged through his body. In that battle just now, he had forcibly activated the Mangekyo's power, causing his Soul Power to surge from level seventeen to level twenty. But his body could not withstand that strength at all. His meridians screamed, his blood vessels ruptured, and his internal organs felt as though they were being torn apart.

Especially his eyes.

His consciousness began to blur.

Before he completely sank into darkness, he vaguely heard a voice.

It was distant and ancient, as though it came from the end of time.

"With sun and moon in hand, plucking stars... there is none beneath heaven like me..."

The other end of the Star Dou Great Forest!

At the same time, on the other side of the Star Dou Great Forest, a divine consciousness descended upon Douluo Continent. It belonged to Electrolux... Originally, he had sensed a Spirit Eye youth absorbing a powerful lifeform and thought he could go there to recover from his injuries.

But he unexpectedly sensed the towering killing intent on Dai Tu's side... Feeling some pity, as well as the sorrow of one who shared the same fate, he immediately turned around and came here.

Electrolux arrived, and then he saw those eyes.

Those scarlet eyes, revolving with eerie patterns.

"What terrifying power," Electrolux murmured. "These eyes bear not only power, but also a curse. If this continues, this child's soul will be devoured by those eyes, and he will ultimately become a monster that knows only slaughter."

He fell silent for a moment, thinking of everything from his own past.

"Very well." Electrolux sighed softly, his illusory figure beginning to blur. "Since I have encountered him, it must be fate. I cannot let this child walk my old path."

Electrolux extended his hand. Though it was illusory, his fingertips truly touched Dai Tu's forehead.

"Child," he said softly, his voice gentle yet carrying irresistible authority, "do not let hatred completely blind your eyes."

A cool, gentle power flowed from Electrolux's fingertips into Dai Tu's body.

That power was like melted spring snow, trickling through his dry, cracked meridians, soothing his violent and uncontrolled Soul Power before finally gathering in his eyes and gently enveloping the Mangekyo on the verge of collapse.

Dai Tu shuddered.

The searing pain in his eyes began to ease. The hatred that had threatened to burn even his soul to ashes seemed to be doused by a handful of clear spring water. It still burned, but it was no longer out of control.

The scarlet Mangekyo pattern slowed its rotation, finally stabilizing into a slow, steady rhythm.

"The power of killing intent is too great. It needs something to balance it..."

Electrolux turned his gaze toward Dai Tu's left hand, where the phantom of a frail little sapling was slowly emerging.

The sapling was only palm-high. Its three tender leaves trembled in the rain, appearing as though they might snap at any moment.

"Interesting..." Electrolux's eyes lit up.

He extended his other hand and held it over the sapling. This time, what he released was no longer cool, gentle power, but power of light in its purest form.

Golden radiance poured from Electrolux's palm and entered the sapling.

The sapling trembled violently, then began growing, sprouting branches and leaves at a visible speed.

Its trunk grew from the thickness of a thumb to the thickness of a wrist. Branches sprouted one after another, and tender green leaves unfurled one by one. Faint golden patterns appeared on the trunk and spread like veins, or like some ancient runes.

An immense, boundless aura overflowing with vitality awakened from within the sapling.

No, it could no longer be called a "little sapling."

Its trunk stood straight, its branches and leaves luxuriant. Every leaf was lush green, with pale golden light flowing through its veins.

"Now, I will use the power of light as a guide to help it complete its first evolution. From this day on, the Tree of Life will balance your eyes. When you are about to fall completely into darkness, it will preserve your final trace of clarity."

Electrolux withdrew his hand. His figure had already faded until it was nearly transparent.

"This is all I can do," he said quietly, his voice carrying relief as well as a trace of regret. "The rest of the path is yours to walk."

"Remember, child, hatred can be a source of strength, but it cannot be everything. Your eyes bear destruction, while your tree nurtures life. These two powers within you are both in conflict and in balance."

"Do not let destruction... devour you."

As his words fell, Electrolux's remnant soul transformed into specks of golden light and entered Dai Tu's brow.

One final sentence rang directly within the depths of his soul:

"My name... is Electrolux."

Then, everything returned to silence.