After dinner.
Lin Qing and Er Ni sat in the courtyard, shoulder to shoulder, gazing at the stars in the sky.
"Xiao Qing."
Er Ni spoke softly.
"How long will you be staying this time?"
Lin Qing turned and smiled at her.
"What, you don't want to be apart from me?"
"Mm... I don't!"
Er Ni nodded shyly.
"Then we won't be apart. I plan to take you to Suotuo City."
Er Ni froze.
"Take... take me?"
"Yes."
Lin Qing nodded.
"I've established myself over there. I'm planning to open a small shop and need someone to help manage it. Would you be willing to help me?"
Er Ni's eyes lit up.
But they soon dimmed again.
"I... I'm just an ordinary person... I've never gone to school, and I can't read... I'm afraid I'll only cause you trouble."
"How could you?"
Lin Qing took her hand.
"Sister Er Ni, you're smart, careful, and hardworking. Those things are more important than being able to read."
"Besides..."
He paused.
"I need you."
"!!!"
Those words made Er Ni's heart leap.
She raised her head and met Lin Qing's eyes. His blue pupils were clear and sincere beneath the starlight.
"You really... need me?"
"I really do."
Lin Qing nodded firmly.
"You're the only one I can trust completely."
Tears welled up in Er Ni's eyes again, but this time, they were tears of joy.
"I... I'm willing!"
She nodded vigorously.
"I'll work hard to learn. I definitely won't let you down!"
"Oh, right, Xiao Qing, this is for you!"
Er Ni remembered something and pulled out an item wrapped in cloth from her clothes.
It carried a familiar aura.
Lin Qing opened it and found that it was actually a piece of Gold of Life!
Er Ni said, "Er Gouzi found it in the mountains. I remembered what you told me before, so I hid it away. No one else knows about it."
"That's wonderful, Sister Er Ni!"
Lin Qing excitedly kissed Er Ni on the forehead.
Another piece of Gold of Life!
He hadn't expected that brat Er Gouzi to actually find it.
"Ah!"
Er Ni was caught completely off guard by the kiss and was so embarrassed that she didn't know what to do.
Still, seeing Lin Qing so happy made her happy too.
Late at night.
After Er Ni had gone to sleep.
Lin Qing left Aunt Li's home alone.
He walked through the night, but his eyes gradually turned cold.
His goal for this outing was the mountain bandits' hideout.
According to the final words of the parallel Lin Qing, these mountain bandits would attack Emperor Soul Village two years later, kill Er Ni, and massacre the villagers.
Although the timeline had changed now.
The hidden danger still remained.
So Lin Qing intended to deal with them in advance.
Not only for revenge, but also as a precaution.
He could not allow the tragedy of the Parallel World to repeat itself in this world.
Black Wind Cave.
The mountain bandits were holding a feast.
They drank from large bowls and ate chunks of meat.
Today, they had robbed a merchant caravan and made a considerable haul, so they were especially excited.
They had even deliberately arranged a banquet.
"Boss! A toast to you!"
One of the lackeys carried a bowl of wine as he staggered over to One-Eyed Dragon.
One-Eyed Dragon, the mountain bandits' leader.
"Good! Bottoms up!"
One-Eyed Dragon raised his bowl and drained it in one gulp.
Then he wiped his mouth and shouted carelessly, "Today's haul was good. Brothers, enjoy yourselves. Tomorrow, we'll pull off an even bigger job!"
"Yeah!"
The lackeys cheered in unison.
But just then, One-Eyed Dragon suddenly felt his vision blur.
The faces of his lackeys seemed to... change. They became sinister and evil, their eyes filled with greed and killing intent.
"Boss..."
One lackey edged closer, his voice dark and eerie.
"You've had too much to drink, haven't you? How about letting me sit in your position for a while?"
"Don't worry, I'll take good 'care' of the brothers."
"Of course, I'll take good 'care' of you too."
One-Eyed Dragon's pupils shrank sharply.
"You... what did you say?!"
"I said..."
The lackey grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.
"You should retire. After all, dead people... don't need positions."
"You!"
One-Eyed Dragon abruptly rose to his feet, and his wine bowl crashed to the ground with a clatter.
"You... want to rebel?!"
He looked around.
Only to discover that every lackey was looking at him with those evil eyes.
Some were whispering among themselves.
"Once he's drunk, we'll make our move... Is the poison ready?"
"Don't worry. We'll make sure he dies thoroughly..."
"Kill the boss, then we'll split the money and women between us..."
"..."
One-Eyed Dragon's eyes instantly turned red.
"Damn it! You ungrateful bastards!"
He roared.
Martial Soul Possession!
Gray fur burst from beneath his skin.
His hands transformed into sharp claws.
White, yellow, and purple Soul Rings rose beneath his feet!
"I'll kill all of you!"
"Boom—!"
He swung a claw!
The nearest lackey had no time to react before his throat was ripped open!
Blood sprayed everywhere!
"B-Boss?!"
The other lackeys were stunned.
"Y-You... what are you doing?!"
"What am I doing?"
One-Eyed Dragon grinned viciously.
"Killing traitors like you! Die!"
He charged into the crowd! His claws lashed out! Blood splattered everywhere.
Screams rose one after another as severed limbs flew through the air!
"The boss has gone mad!"
"Run!"
"Help!"
The cave descended into chaos, but One-Eyed Dragon had already gone bloodthirsty.
He killed anyone he saw!
He spared no one!
More than ten minutes later.
The screams gradually died away.
The cave was now littered with corpses.
One-Eyed Dragon, covered in blood, stood in a pool of gore and panted heavily.
Some of it was his own, and some belonged to his lackeys.
He stared blankly at the bodies covering the ground, his eyes filled with terror and confusion.
"I... what have I done..."
"You did what had to be done."
A calm voice came from the cave entrance.
One-Eyed Dragon abruptly turned around.
A masked man dressed in black slowly walked in.
He clapped his hands.
"Not bad, not bad. You killed each other, saving me the trouble of doing it myself."
"Who are you?!"
One-Eyed Dragon cautiously retreated half a step.
"Me?"
Lin Qing, dressed in black, grinned.
"Just a kindhearted passerby."
As he spoke, Lin Qing's Heavenly Eye Martial Soul slowly opened on his forehead.
Silver light flowed across it.
Two deep-purple Thousand-Year Soul Rings slowly rose beneath his feet.
"A Soul Master!"
One-Eyed Dragon's pupils shrank sharply.
And one with two Thousand-Year Soul Rings at that!
His voice trembled slightly. "Y-You, who exactly are you?!"
"I told you, just a kindhearted passerby. Of course, now I'm also someone here to kill you."
Lin Qing spoke leisurely.
"Just now, I merely placed you under a tiny illusion. I didn't expect you to be so suspicious that you killed all your own men."
He shrugged. "You can't blame me for that."
"An... illusion?!"
One-Eyed Dragon suddenly realized.
"Everything just now... was fake?"
"Of course."
"Otherwise, did you really think your lackeys, a bunch of ordinary people, would dare rebel?"
"You!"
Having learned the truth, One-Eyed Dragon's single eye instantly bloodshot!
"I'll kill you—!"
With an angry roar, he lunged at Lin Qing, his claws aimed straight at Lin Qing's forehead.
Lin Qing merely responded by lightly raising a finger.
The second Soul Ring blazed brightly!
Second Soul Skill: Metal Manipulation!
"Buzz—!"
In an instant, every weapon in the cave—sabers, swords, axes, and spears—rose into the air, their tips all pointing at One-Eyed Dragon.
"Go."
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
Dozens of weapons shot toward One-Eyed Dragon from every direction under Lin Qing's control!
"Damn it!"
One-Eyed Dragon roared.
His Earth Wolf Martial Soul erupted with full force as he swung his claws, trying to block them.
"Clang, clang, clang!"
The sound of metal striking metal rang without end.
But there were too many weapons, and their angles were too tricky. They were impossible to guard against.
"Pfft!"
A longsword pierced his shoulder.
"Ah—!"
One-Eyed Dragon let out a miserable scream.
But it wasn't over. Lin Qing's first Soul Ring also lit up.
First Soul Skill: Illusion!
"Buzz!"
A powerful wave of Spiritual Power passed through the Heavenly Eye and spread over One-Eyed Dragon.
In an instant—
In One-Eyed Dragon's eyes,
those weapons flying toward him suddenly changed.
They became... thousands upon thousands of weapons!
Densely packed! Blotting out the sky!
They poured down like a torrential rain!
Every one of them radiated icy killing intent!
"How... how is that possible?!"
One-Eyed Dragon's pupil shrank sharply.
Faced with a formation like Myriad Swords Return to the Sect, a wave of despair rose in his heart.
So many weapons... how could he block them?
He couldn't block them...
He was doomed...
He chose to give up resisting, closed his eyes, and waited for death to come.
But—
The imagined agony of ten thousand swords piercing his heart never came.
There was only...
"Pfft!"
A flying saber sliced off his head in a single stroke.
His head rolled across the ground, his eye still wide open, filled with confusion.
Until his death, he never understood.
Why had those weapons suddenly disappeared?
Why... had he given up resisting?
"..."
Lin Qing withdrew his Martial Soul and Soul Rings.
Looking at One-Eyed Dragon's corpse, he softly remarked,
"An illusion technique like reflections in water and flowers in a mirror—against Soul Masters with weak Spiritual Power, a spiritual-type Martial Soul is truly a one-sided slaughter."
He shook his head.
Then he turned and walked deeper into the cave.
Before you continue