Just as the Demon Empress finished speaking, before Lin Tian could react, the Ghost Emperor suddenly seemed to remember something and immediately spoke up. "Leng Yulai, the boy's condition has stabilized. I'll give you credit for that.
"But there's something more important to do now. Han Tianyi of the Spirit Pagoda is already using Soul Tool Satellites and the Transcendental Brain Domain to search for your location. He'll have results within a day.
"Blood Shadow has done a decent job building things up here, and this boy has been reinstated as the Blood Shadow Envoy. This territory belongs to him now, so we have to make sure he keeps it.
"You're quite skilled with Soul Tools. Setting up the Anti-Soul Tool Satellite System and the Mental Interference Wave Device should be a piece of cake. I've already put the core Soul Tools in your Storage Soul Tool. They're right at the very bottom."
Leng Yulai listened, then a look of surprise immediately appeared on her face. "Ghost Emperor, was even this part of your plan?"
"Just a basic operation. No need to make a fuss."
As soon as she finished speaking, Leng Yulai left the secret chamber and headed for the heart of Blood Island to begin setting up the two layers of concealment.
Han Tianyi was the greatest spiritual Soul Master on the continent. With Soul Tool Satellites at his disposal, it would be easy for him to search the vast ocean and pinpoint their location.
After all, the sea stretched endlessly in every direction, with nothing to interfere with the search. And now that they had narrowed down the area, it was only a matter of time before he found them.
So time was money. The sooner they got the countermeasures in place, the sooner they could avoid a showdown with that old geezer Han Tianyi.
That old bastard knew how to pick sides. He could have sided with the stronger Qiangu Clan, but instead he'd chosen the Leng Family. That had kept Qiangu Dongfeng from taking down her sister for so long, and in the end, Leng Yulai had to handle it herself.
After Leng Yulai left, the Ghost Emperor and the others turned their attention to Lin Tian again.
The Demon Empress fell silent, too. She'd already said everything she needed to say. If Lin Tian still refused, he'd truly be blind to the times.
The Ghost Emperor immediately spoke up.
"Little fellow, what do you think?"
"What kind of organization is the Holy Spirit Cult?"
A look of uncertainty appeared on Lin Tian's face. He played his part well. He had to ask this question.
Ordinary people might have heard of Evil Martial Souls and Evil Soul Masters, but they couldn't possibly know about the Holy Spirit Cult—especially not a child like him.
"The Holy Spirit Cult is an organization made up entirely of Evil Soul Masters. All the Evil Soul Masters on the continent are assumed to belong to the Holy Spirit Cult. It's like the Body Sect: everyone with a Body Martial Soul is assumed to belong to the Body Sect. We're no different.
"Evil Soul Masters are hunted down by all the various powers on the continent. If we don't band together and keep each other warm, we can't survive in these harsh times."
And you haven't said a word about why they hunt you down, have you?
If you didn't kill people, who'd go out of their way to hunt you?
Lin Tian grumbled inwardly. "Could I think it over?
"I've only just awakened my Martial Soul. All of this happened so suddenly."
"Heh heh heh. What time do you have to think it over?
"Heaven and hell—you have no right to choose. You only have the fate of being chosen.
"You're already an Evil Soul Master. You've cut yourself off from ordinary people.
"Before, all you thought about was having three meals a day. Now you're thinking about how to kill people and drain their blood. You've become a bloodthirsty monster.
"And you've done so well. Admit it—you were born evil!"
"I'm not!"
"You are!"
"Then what should I do now?"
"You're now the Holy Cult's Blood Shadow Envoy, with the same treatment as a Titled Douluo. You inherit everything that belonged to Blood Fiend.
"Blood Island is yours now. Everyone on it lives or dies at your whim.
"The moment you became the Blood Shadow Envoy, you stopped being that little beggar who scavenged for scraps in Aolai City. From this moment on, your status is above everyone else's.
"You'll never lack cultivation resources again. Every month, the resources you can claim from the Holy Cult will be enough to meet a Titled Douluo's daily cultivation needs. For someone who's only just awakened his Martial Soul, it's far more than you could ever use. You'll never have to worry about cultivation resources."
"That sounds pretty good."
A hint of excitement appeared on Lin Tian's face. His words caught the Ghost Emperor off guard; he hadn't expected Lin Tian to switch over so quickly.
But when he saw Lin Tian's eyes turn crimson, he merely gave a cold laugh. "Getting thirsty for blood?
"This fellow. No wonder his personality changed so suddenly."
Seeing Lin Tian struggling to suppress his thirst for blood, the Ghost Emperor sneered. "Drink. No one here will punish you. Give your desires free rein.
"When you've drained everyone here, there are plenty of people on Blood Island.
"When you've drained the people on Blood Island, the Holy Cult will send you an endless supply.
"Douluo Continent, the Douluo Federation, the Dou Ling Empire, Tiandou Continent, the Heaven Dou Empire, Star Luo Continent, the Star Luo Empire, and countless islanders scattered across the seas. There are so many people—the blood will never run out. Drink as much as you want."
After hearing him, Lin Tian stopped suppressing his desires and crouched down to gulp at the blood. It was all his own.
At that moment, he looked just like a Demon Pill. Yet the sight filled the Ghost Emperor, the Underworld Emperor, and the Demon Empress with satisfaction.
"This fellow was born evil. Given time, he'll become a great asset."
Lin Tian felt sick, but after drinking the blood, it really did feel as though his very soul had been soothed.
Although he was acting, the act was half true and half false. A barely perceptible look of dejection flashed in his eyes: he really had become an Evil Soul Master, and had somehow ended up the Holy Spirit Cult's Blood Shadow Envoy.
It was certainly a good thing to become a high-ranking member of the Holy Spirit Cult at six years old, but benefits came with a price. The Holy Spirit Cult would definitely assign him plenty of missions in the future. Just thinking about it gave him a headache.
Was he supposed to start earning a Titled Douluo's salary and doing a Titled Douluo's work at just a few years old?
That was a bit much to bear.
As Lin Tian drank the blood, the Underworld Emperor, the Ghost Emperor, and the Demon Empress began talking among themselves.
The Demon Empress had lost interest. She instructed the Ghost Emperor to have Leng Yulai take Lin Tian back to the Holy Spirit Cult later, then prepared to leave. But the Ghost Emperor suddenly spoke, his expression grave.
"Your Majesty, bringing that boy back wouldn't be very cost-effective. Sending him to the Spirit Pagoda would let us get the most out of him."
The curiosity immediately returned to the Demon Empress's listless face. "How so?"
"Actually, we have Qiangu Dongfeng to thank for discovering the boy. He told me to hand the boy over within half a day, because the Spirit Pagoda had already recruited him before he turned evil."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. So I thought, why not do them a favor and send the boy to Qiangu Dongfeng, letting him raise the boy for us?
"His Martial Soul is blood, after all. Even though he's turned evil, as long as he doesn't make too much of a spectacle, he can pass it off as a Body Martial Soul.
"All we have to do is supply him with blood regularly to keep him from going berserk. We can leave everything else to Qiangu Dongfeng."
At the Ghost Emperor's words, the Underworld Emperor's eyes lit up.
"What a brilliant plan!"