Slaughter Path

Huo Wushuang said, "Where are we going now?"

Xiaofei thought for a moment before saying, "We'll keep heading west. Our next goal is to draw blood."

Huo Lie, Huo Wushuang, and Huo Lie were all somewhat confused.

Xiaofei said, "Until now, we've been training ourselves, whether through battles in the Spirit Combat Arena, studying at the academy, or occasionally hunting Soul Beasts. We've had very few chances to draw blood. Our next plan is to kill people. The area west of the Heaven Dou Empire is quite chaotic, with plenty of bandits, Evil Soul Masters, and the like along the way. We'll try not to use Soul Skills and instead kill them using our own methods."

A look of confusion appeared on Huo Wushuang's face. "Why should we use fewer Soul Skills?"

Xiaofei thought for a moment before saying, "Soul Skills are abilities we obtain by hunting Soul Beasts. In reality, they aren't abilities belonging to our bodies themselves. Sometimes, even though we possess powerful Soul Skills, our control over our own bodies is extremely poor. True peak experts can often defeat enemies above their rank. Part of that comes from their control over killing people, which I call the Path of Slaughter. Those who master the Path of Slaughter can easily kill people above their level."

In the original story, the three people who had left the deepest impression on Xiaofei when it came to killing enemies above their level were Tang Hao, Tang Xiao, and Jian Daochenxin. Tang Hao had mastered the Divine Slaughter's Domain. Whether it was defeating Qian Xunji and two other Titled Douluo while fighting three against one, or facing seven opponents alone before the Papal Palace, both were examples of killing above his level. Especially during the Spirit Master Tournament, his mountain-like Killing Intent and unstoppable momentum were simply terrifying. During the battle at Jialing Pass, Tang Xiao used the Slaughter Character Technique from the Haotian Nine Absolutes to defeat the three Great Priests of the Spirit Hall by himself. As for Jian Daochenxin, during the destruction of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, he fought four enemies alone and heavily wounded three of them. He was practically the model of someone who fought above his rank.

The one thing the three of them had in common was that they used Self-Created Soul Skills more often. Tang Hao's Great Sumeru Hammer, Tang Xiao's Haotian Nine Absolutes, and Jian Daochenxin's Seven Kill Sword Technique all seemed to have surpassed the Soul Master system of the Douluo Continent.

Everyone still trusted Xiaofei greatly. After that, Huo Lie left the group, while the three of them went to a Blacksmith Shop to forge a set of weapons. Xiaofei chose a set of soft armor, a sword, a claw, and shoulder guards. Unexpectedly, apart from soft armor and shoulder guards, Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu both chose a large hammer as their weapon. Countless question marks flashed through Xiaofei's mind. Was it really a good idea for girls to swing giant hammers?

Not long after they left the city, they actually ran into a band of petty thieves who surrounded the three of them. The strongest among them was only a Soul Grandmaster. Xiaofei thought to himself, Are villains these days really this reckless and brainless?

One of the petty thieves, with a rat-like face, said, "You three, hand over all the money on you at once, or I'll make you wish you were dead."

The leader stared at Huo Wu and said, "Beautiful girl, as long as you follow me from now on, I guarantee you'll live like a queen."

Huo Wu had lived like a princess from childhood. When had she ever heard such vulgar words? She flew into a rage and swung her hammer straight at him. The petty thief across from her assumed that, as a Soul Grandmaster, he could casually block it. Instead, his entire arm was smashed into fragments. The leader was horrified and immediately ordered everyone to attack at once. This was Huo Wu's first time killing without using Soul Power. As she stared at the blood covering her opponents, then at the blood splattered across her own body, she was left dazed. Fortunately, Huo Wushuang hurried over to help.

After a battle, every petty thief on the other side had been wiped out. Once Huo Wu adapted to this bloody style of fighting, she began chasing her enemies around with her hammer and smashing them.

After the battle, their bodies were all covered in blood, bits of corpses, and other debris. Huo Wu pressed a hand over her mouth and vomited nonstop. Huo Wushuang and Xiaofei were not feeling well either, their faces pale. It wasn't because they were tired; they simply had never witnessed a scene like this before. Huo Wushuang asked Xiaofei, "Is this what you wanted us to experience? Is this also your super-effective method?"

Xiaofei nodded. "Drawing blood like this lets us see the true cruelty of reality. When we face real danger, this bloodlust and bloody slaughter will make it easier for us to adapt to the battlefield. It may even give us an unstoppable momentum. I call it the Path of Slaughter. When we encounter difficulties or reach a Bottleneck, we can carve out a bloody path for ourselves. That's why it's called the Path of Slaughter."

After the two of them cleaned themselves up, they continued toward the western frontier of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Along the way, for some unknown reason, different groups of bandits and petty thieves kept emerging from all sorts of places. They attacked, poisoned, and assassinated them. Some even gathered several hundred people to launch an assault. The attackers came in all shapes and sizes. The strongest among them was a Soul King, while most were ordinary people. The three of them were so harried that they did not even dare sleep. Their nerves were stretched to the breaking point.

Finally, one day, the three of them entered a city. While they were eating, a few people at the neighboring table suddenly said, "Have you heard? A few fat sheep have appeared on the road recently."

Someone beside him quickly asked, "What fat sheep?"

The man continued, "Apparently, there are three people on the road heading west. Two men and one woman. They say the woman is a noble's concubine from Heaven Dou City. She ran off with all the noble's property and fled with two pretty boys. I hear that concubine is extremely beautiful but vicious as a snake and scorpion. She carries a giant hammer and has beaten many people to death. Someone on the black market has already offered a huge bounty."

When Xiaofei and the other two heard this, their faces darkened, and their entire bodies trembled with rage. Queen Huo Wu had somehow become someone else's concubine, while Huo Wushuang and Wang Xiaofei had become kept pretty boys. The three of them caused a huge commotion, and the rumor-spreaders were beaten half to death.

Xiaofei found it very strange. Who exactly had started this rumor? Then he thought of Huo Lie, who had left earlier. He released all his Spiritual Power and carefully sensed his surroundings. To his surprise, he detected faint attention from far away, and it felt somewhat familiar. He could not help complaining, "As expected, it really is Teacher Huo Lie. How could he make up such a story about his own son and daughter?"

The three of them continued west toward the frontier. In the blink of an eye, nearly half a year had passed. After six months of fighting, their auras had changed considerably, and they all appeared much sharper. Wang Xiaofei had begun to condense a trace of Killing Intent.

During those six months, the three of them had barely found any time to train their Soul Power. Even so, all three had advanced by one level. There had not been the slightest resistance throughout the process; everything had happened naturally and smoothly. Xiaofei knew that this was because their current realms had improved. He had even gained some insights into swordsmanship, while the other two had each comprehended several hammer techniques.