Healing City-the King of Healing

In this world where yin and yang were reversed, there was no Slaughter City filled with bloodshed and murder. In its place stood a strange land called Healing City.

It was also a place of exile, where the most vicious criminals on the continent were imprisoned. But its rules were the exact opposite of those in Slaughter City. Healing City's core principle was to redeem evil through kindness. There was no Hell Slaughter Arena here, only a vast fighting ring called the Redemption Arena.

To leave Healing City alive, the conditions were extremely harsh: you had to win one hundred consecutive matches in the arena!

And the most twisted rule of all was that you had to defeat your opponent completely, but you absolutely could not take their life—not even leave them with a permanent disability!

For desperadoes accustomed to living by the blade and striking without mercy, this was almost worse than being killed. They had to protect themselves from frenzied attacks while forcibly holding back at crucial moments, stopping just short of causing harm. It demanded terrifying control over their Soul Power and inflicted immense mental torment. Countless vicious criminals had suffered mental breakdowns here and become madmen who spouted nothing but benevolence and morality.

And Qian Xunji was the living god who had emerged from Healing City!

Back then, he had cleared the hundred-win challenge and gained the one-of-a-kind Healing Domain. Its effect was this: once activated, it not only provided a steady stream of vitality to allies within its range, but also forcibly suppressed enemies' bloodlust and fighting spirit. Under the Healing Domain's influence, enemies would be overcome by an irresistible urge to lay down their weapons and become Buddhas on the spot. Their will to fight vanished, leaving them at their opponents' mercy.

Half a month later, Qian Xunji made his way through a misty forest shrouded in holy white light, arriving at a magnificent underground city built entirely of pure white marble and radiating a gentle glow.

As a living god who possessed the Healing Domain, he was not restricted by Healing City's rules. Ignoring the enforcement officers in white robes, their faces fixed in false smiles, he walked straight into the sanctuary at the city's heart.

At the center of the sanctuary, a handsome, dignified middle-aged man with golden hair sat on a throne carved from pure white jade. His eyes were closed, and a peaceful aura radiated from him, inspiring all who sensed it to kneel in reverence.

This was the absolute ruler of Healing City—the King of Healing. He was also Qian Xunji's father, the former Great Enshrined of the Angel Sect, Qian Daoliu!

"Father, it's time to come home."

Qian Xunji stopped at the foot of the throne's steps. His voice was steady, yet carried an undeniable force as it echoed through the empty sanctuary.

The King of Healing slowly opened his eyes. A brief flicker of dazed confusion and struggle passed through his golden gaze, but it was quickly replaced by a hollow, emotionless benevolence.

"Living god, you've mistaken me for someone else." The King of Healing's voice was so gentle it sent a chill down the spine. He smiled faintly, as if looking at a lost lamb.

"There is no father of yours here, only the king of Healing City. Since you once received redemption here, I'll spare you. Leave, and don't disturb this place's peace."

Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar face, Qian Xunji sneered inwardly.

In this world, the King of Slaughter had not been secretly parasitized by the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King. In its place was a strange hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast called the Sacred White Nine-Glory Illusion Butterfly!

This Soul Beast had no formidable physical attacks, but excelled at creating an illusion called Bliss. By constantly instilling false notions of peace and benevolence, it could completely hypnotize and assimilate its host's mind, eventually turning them into a puppet that did nothing but carry out commands to redeem others. Even though his father was a Peerless Douluo of level ninety-nine, he had been caught off guard. There was a good chance this thing had parasitized his spiritual Sea of Awareness.

There was no reasoning with a puppet forcibly turned into a saintly do-gooder. To awaken Qian Daoliu, he had to break this false cycle of benevolence.

"The principle of Healing City is to redeem people through kindness. You can't stand the sight of even a drop of blood or a single sacrifice, right?" A mad glint curved Qian Xunji's lips.

"But what if... someone dear to you bleeds right in front of you?

Can your benevolence still maintain that false calm?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Qian Xunji abruptly raised his right hand. He did not summon the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, but instead used the Soul Power restored to its peak to form a sharp blade of light.

"Pfft!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Qian Xunji reversed his grip and drove the blade into his own left shoulder!

Blood burst out, staining his gray robe red. It streamed down his arm and dripped onto the immaculate white marble floor with an ear-piercing patter.

"What... what are you doing?" The King of Healing's compassionate expression froze, and his brows twitched violently.

In this sanctuary, where serious injury and killing were strictly forbidden, that glaring scarlet was like the most potent poison, violently stirring Healing City's core formation.

More importantly, blood was thicker than water. Seeing his own son mutilate himself right before his eyes, the protective instinct buried in the depths of Qian Daoliu's subconscious finally erupted like a volcano!

"You want to redeem me? Heal me? Then let's see whether you, the hypocritical king, can heal a son who keeps bleeding to awaken his father!"

Expressionless, Qian Xunji pulled out the blade of light and slashed his thigh, cutting a wound deep enough to expose the bone. Blood gushed out even more violently.

"Stop! Don't hurt him!"

The King of Healing suddenly let out a piercing scream and clutched his head in both hands. One half of his once-hollow, benevolent gaze blazed with sacred white light, while the other half erupted with the terrifying pressure of a level-ninety-nine Peerless Douluo and furious golden radiance. Two utterly different wills tore at each other and struggled for control within him.

"Get out of my body! You hypocritical beast!"

With a roar that shook the heavens, the phantom of a Six-Winged Angel, brilliant as the blazing sun, unfurled behind Qian Daoliu. Terrifying flames of light swept through the entire sanctuary!

"Eeee—!"

A shrill, terrified insect cry rang out from the crown of Qian Daoliu's head. Then a gigantic butterfly, its body as large as a millstone and its back bearing nine pairs of transparent white wings, was forced out of his Sea of Awareness by the golden flames!

It was the nineteen-thousand-year Soul Beast that had parasitized him—the Sacred White Nine-Glory Illusion Butterfly!

The moment it left its host, it frantically beat its wings, scattering vast clouds of white scales that could lull anyone into sleep. It tried to use the mist to escape the sanctuary.

"Trying to run? Did you ask the sword in my hand?"

Qian Xunji sneered. The wounds on his body had already stopped bleeding under the passive effects of the Healing Domain. He stamped down, and the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul instantly possessed him. His ninth red Spirit Ring blazed brightly!

"Ninth Soul Skill, Angel Judgment!"

Countless golden Light Swords swept across the entire hall like a raging storm, sealing off the air above and trapping the Sacred White Nine-Glory Illusion Butterfly at the center.

At the same time, Qian Daoliu, now fully awake, moved as well. After being suppressed and controlled by this beast for so many years, the rage in this Limit Douluo's heart had reached its peak.

"Beast, die!"