Level 30!

"That's good."

"Kamui: Distortion."

"Crack—crack crack!"

Starting from his limbs, Li Hun's body was twisted apart segment by segment. First his arms, then his legs, and finally his torso. His screams were so shrill they barely sounded human as they echoed through the ancestral hall—then abruptly stopped.

When the distortion ceased, Li Hun had become a lump of mangled flesh that barely retained a human shape, sprawled motionless on the ground.

Dai Tu lowered his hand and gasped for breath. After using Kamui: Distortion more than a dozen times in succession, his Soul Power had been completely depleted, and his left eye hurt as if it were about to explode.

He dropped to one knee, bracing both hands against the floor. Great beads of sweat fell from him, mixing with the bloody tears on his face and splattering across the ground, spreading into dark red stains.

The ancestral hall was deathly silent.

Only Dai Tu's harsh breathing echoed through the blood-soaked air.

Then, he felt it.

The two marks between his brows began to burn at the same time.

A warm force brimming with vitality flowed from the Mark of Life into his body, nourishing his dried-up meridians and soothing the searing pain in his left eye.

A cold force filled with an aura of destruction flowed from the Mark of Destruction into his body as well. Yet this time, it did not cause damage. Instead, it merged with the life energy, forming a purer, more powerful kind of Soul Power.

Dai Tu's Soul Power began to surge wildly.

Level twenty-seven, level twenty-eight, level twenty-nine...

Moreover, he could feel the colors of his two yellow first soul rings deepening. From pale yellow to bright yellow, then orange-yellow, and finally... settling into a deep purple.

A thousand-year soul ring.

Though it was only a purple soul ring that had just passed the thousand-year mark, it signified that his first soul ring had evolved from a hundred-year soul ring into a thousand-year soul ring. The power of his soul skill would increase accordingly.

At the same time, two messages surfaced directly in his mind:

Life First Trial: Shepherd Healing, complete. Reward: Soul Power increased by one level, first soul ring age increased by five hundred years, divine affinity increased by five percent.

Destruction First Trial: Slaughtering Sin, complete. Reward: Soul Power increased by one level, first soul ring age increased by five hundred years, divine affinity increased by five percent.

Dai Tu slowly raised his head, a complicated glint flashing through his eyes.

Just as I thought.

I could kill people and save people too... I suppose I found a loophole. This was clearly much more efficient.

Tell me, didn't I save an Evil Soul Master?

Long Aotian was watching him as well, his amber eyes filled with complicated emotions.

"Junior Brother," Long Aotian said, his voice somewhat hoarse, "are... are you all right?"

He kills people and saves people too. This junior brother is a little insane.

Dai Tu shook his head.

"I'm fine." After a pause, he added, "Thank you, Senior Brother."

Long Aotian opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he merely sighed. He stepped forward and patted Dai Tu on the shoulder.

"Let's go. It's time to head back. I'll notify the Heaven Dou City guards to handle this place."

Dai Tu nodded. He gave the blood-drenched ancestral hall one last look, then turned around and left with Long Aotian, stepping out into the sunlight.

After returning to the Body Sect, Dai Tu ate the last Soul Ascension Pill and directly reached level thirty. Then he went to find Long Aotian, who immediately noticed something different.

"You broke through?"

"Yeah. Level thirty."

"...I want to obtain my third soul ring."

Long Aotian set down his teacup. Rather than agreeing right away, he looked Dai Tu up and down, surprise flashing through his eyes.

"Your breakthrough speed... is indeed fast. But that's normal. With the pills Master gave you, along with the Whale Rubber you absorbed before, reaching level thirty was only natural."

After a pause, he asked, "Have you decided what kind of soul ring you want? One for an eye-type martial soul, or one from the plant system?"

"I'll add the second soul ring to the Tree of Life first." Dai Tu had already made up his mind. "As for the Mangekyō Sharingan... for its third soul ring, I want to challenge a ten-thousand-year soul ring."

"A ten-thousand-year soul ring?" Long Aotian froze for a moment, then smiled. There was admiration in that smile, but also a hint of helplessness.

"Junior Brother, you've got some nerve. You want to absorb a ten-thousand-year soul ring at level thirty? Do you know how violent the energy in a ten-thousand-year soul ring is? Even I only dared to attempt absorbing my first ten-thousand-year soul ring after reaching the Soul Ancestor level."

"I want to try... The Tree of Life Martial Soul strengthens my physique."

Long Aotian rubbed his nose, suddenly remembering something.

"By the way, why are you adding a soul ring to the Tree of Life first? According to Master, your Mangekyō martial soul has greater potential, so you should prioritize improving it. For a second martial soul, it's best to wait until you become a Titled Douluo before adding soul rings. That way, you can start directly with ten-thousand-year soul rings and maximize the benefits."

Dai Tu had long prepared an answer for this question.

He fell silent for two seconds, then raised his head and looked at Long Aotian with utmost seriousness. "Senior Brother, I want to do something for the sect."

"Hm?" Long Aotian did not understand.

"My Tree of Life Martial Soul can be given healing-type soul rings."

Dai Tu explained,

"During my time in the sect, I noticed that many senior brothers and sisters place tremendous strain on their bodies while cultivating their Body Martial Souls, leaving behind quite a few hidden injuries. The sect has pills and healing-type soul masters, but those injuries accumulate over time. They still affect cultivation and may even shorten their lifespans."

He paused, his voice lowering slightly. "I thought that if my Tree of Life could gain a powerful healing soul skill, perhaps I could help them. At the very least... they could suffer a little less while cultivating and live a little longer."

Long Aotian was stunned.

He stared blankly at Dai Tu, at this usually cold and indifferent junior brother who seemed unconcerned about everything. Yet now, the near-stubborn glimmer that flashed through his eyes struck something deep within Long Aotian's heart.

So... that was what he was thinking?

He wasn't selfishly pursuing power, nor was he concerned only with becoming stronger himself. He wanted... to do something for the sect, for his fellow disciples?

"Besides," Dai Tu added, his voice returning to calm,

"my Mangekyō Sharingan and Tree of Life Martial Soul have conflicting attributes. One focuses on destruction, while the other focuses on life. If one martial soul becomes too strong, it will suppress the cultivation of the other and cause an imbalance in my Soul Power. So I think it's best to improve both martial souls together and maintain balance."

This reason was half true and half false.

The truth was that the Mangekyō and the Tree of Life really did have conflicting attributes and needed to remain balanced.

The lie was that Dai Tu's true purpose was to complete the God Trials. Both the Goddess of Life's and the God of Destruction's God Trials required him to improve both martial souls at the same time.

Moreover, adding a soul ring to the Tree of Life first would allow him to gain healing abilities sooner, making it easier to complete Shepherd Healing-type trials.

But Long Aotian did not know any of this.

After listening to Dai Tu, he remained silent for a long time. Then, he suddenly smiled.

It was not the polite smile from before, nor was it a helpless one. It was a smile from the bottom of his heart—gratified and even somewhat moved.

"Junior Brother..." Long Aotian stood up, walked over to Dai Tu, and firmly patted him on the shoulder. The force of it made Dai Tu's body sway.