Douluo Continent, inside the Capital of Slaughter.
Inside a room.
Lin Chuan sat cross-legged on the bed, bare-chested, showing off his strong, sturdy physique.
Dark purple energy swirled around him, rotating in an orderly fashion.
A mournful wail seemed to ring out, its demonic sound piercing his ears and shaking his soul.
The atmosphere around him seemed to press down like a low-pressure front, growing clearer and quieter, making people feel as if their hearts had stopped and they were suffocating.
This was Lin Chuan's domain, the Inversion Domain, which he had comprehended half a month ago when he became a Spirit Emperor.
Its effect was:
Within three meters of him, everything weaker than him would have its soul restrained, losing control of its body.
It was worth mentioning that
this was also a domain that could grow. Perhaps one day, it would evolve directly into the Distortion World.
The effect of this domain also varied from person to person.
Those who were weaker than him but possessed domains of their own could resist it, though they would still be affected.
The closer they got, the more bizarre the effects became.
Anyone within half a meter of Lin Chuan would feel their soul slipping out of their control. If he touched them, their soul would be harvested.
Suddenly, a voice rang out from the depths of Lin Chuan's mind.
"I don't have to maintain order, and I can devour delicious souls too. This is great."
Without even waiting to see if he would reply, it continued:
"Hey, Lin, when are we leaving this godforsaken place?"
"There's some strange power here, and it feels like it's watching me. It's really uncomfortable—gives me the creeps."
The steady stream of chatter forced Lin Chuan to stop absorbing energy.
He let out a long breath, then replied in his mind:
"My mental power is already very strong. If I keep trying to improve it, progress will be slow. I've indeed been here a long time. We can come back when we get the chance."
The voice grumbled unhappily:
"So when are we leaving? I can hardly wait to see those two dragons you mentioned."
"I say we should leave as soon as possible. I'm really looking forward to those Ice and Fire Dragon Souls. Maybe refining them will bring an even bigger surprise."
"Even a God King is probably no match for those two idiots, Dialga and Palkia."
"Neither of them could beat me. Those two laughable dragon souls don't stand a chance. They can be resources for me to grow stronger!"
Lin Chuan rose from the bed and shook his head helplessly, sighing inwardly:
"What a chatterbox."
That guy had always been this talkative, arrogant, and overly familiar.
Ever since Lin Chuan had awakened the Martial Soul Giratina nine years ago, the guy had been muttering nonstop, either complaining about this or mocking that.
Perhaps he had gotten used to being bored all alone in the Distortion World.
That was the only way Lin Chuan could console himself.
"I've been in the Capital of Slaughter for a year and a half. It really is time to leave. If I'm counting right, Tang San should only just have reached the age to join Shrek Academy, right?"
Ever since crossing over, Lin Chuan had been discreetly gathering information about Tang San.
Back then, Qian Xunji had still been in charge as Pope of Spirit Hall.
It wasn't until Lin Chuan was three that Qian Xunji pursued the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, the Blue Silver Emperor.
In other words, he was three years older than Tang San.
Later, when he awakened his Martial Soul, he never expected it to be Giratina from the Pokémon world!
He had wondered about it. He hadn't even watched the Pokémon world before dying suddenly, so how had he awakened the great deity known as the God of the Distortion World? But that was simply what had happened.
He had also awakened Innate Full Soul Power. Without the boost of its divine essence, and after arriving in a new world, its strength had regressed, forcing it to start from the very bottom.
Its idea of the very bottom was the upper echelon of the Douluo Continent. It wasn't bad at all.
It was no exaggeration to call Giratina the strongest Martial Soul on the Douluo Continent. Giratina itself could use certain Self-Created Soul Skills—in other words, moves.
While Lin Chuan cultivated, it could also activate and maintain the domain on its own, as well as use its Ability to sense its surroundings.
One soul, many uses.
Because his parents had both died after he crossed over, he had grown up in a small village, eating meals provided by the neighbors.
No power, no money, no connections, no strength,
and even getting a decent Spirit Ring had been difficult. He had no cultivation resources at all.
So, after a Spirit Hall Deacon warmly invited him, he joined Spirit Hall and became Gui Mei's disciple.
Both of them had Ghost-type Martial Souls, but Lin Chuan's was not only able to leave his body; he could also use some of Giratina's abilities himself.
They were like moves feeding back into Self-Created Soul Skills: the Misfortune Never Comes Alone move, Soul Tether, Damage Sharing...
To keep Bibi Dong from discovering that his Martial Soul could leave his body and fight, Lin Chuan had never revealed it in front of anyone—not even his master, Gui Mei.
Giratina was happy to keep up the act with him and had never revealed itself.
Whenever it was summoned, it never spoke or showed any sign of having its own consciousness. It only grumbled inside him.
Now, after nine years together,
Giratina had developed a sense of time, and its chatter had become even more relentless.
After getting dressed, Lin Chuan turned to look at his reflection in the mirror on his left.
He had delicate features, and his ordinary black clothes made of coarse cloth hung casually on him. The torn sleeves revealed his well-defined forearms, giving him a natural, capable air.
After leaving the room, he found that the baleful aura outside had grown thick enough to see with the naked eye.
A red mist filled the sky. There was no sun in this world, only a faint light that illuminated the rough outlines of the surroundings.
With each step sticking to the tacky floor, Lin Chuan headed straight for the Hell Slaughter Arena.
He walked down a long, quiet road, where more and more people began to appear around him.
They radiated savage auras, their bodies steeped in baleful energy.
Walking among them, Lin Chuan's aura remained calm and profound, a stark contrast to his surroundings—like a lotus rising unsullied from the mud.
But he was clearly not as ordinary as he might have seemed. His record of ninety-nine consecutive victories had already made his name thunder through the Capital of Slaughter.
When the people around him recognized his face, their expressions turned fervent and reverent:
"Jade-Faced Yama! That's the Jade-Faced Yama!"
"He's about to complete a hundred consecutive victories?"
"I heard no one's ever seen Hell Road open. Come on, let's go watch!"
Ignoring the commotion around him, Lin Chuan entered the Hell Slaughter Arena.
He knew exactly what would happen to these people.
When Hell Road opened, everyone except those directly involved would become sacrifices.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so many years without anyone seeing what Hell Road looked like.
After entering the slaughter arena, which could hold tens of thousands of bloodthirsty people, Lin Chuan took out his token with practiced ease.
Once the staff had confirmed his identity, he waited in the preparation area.
This fight hadn't been easy to arrange. He had waited more than half a week just to gather enough opponents.
It was his hundredth consecutive victory.
The person in charge had surely arranged the strongest nine contestants for him, so winning wouldn't be easy.
As time passed, more and more people came to watch Lin Chuan complete his hundredth consecutive victory.
The deafening din surged through the arena like an ocean pouring in, rumbling against the granite buildings all around.
They were a crowd of devoted fans, their faces twisted with excitement as they went wild in the stands, repeatedly shouting Lin Chuan's nickname:
"Jade-Faced Yama!"
"Jade-Faced Yama!"