When Cen Yu returned home, he changed out of his clothes and went to the bathroom.
But as he washed, he just couldn't hold it in any longer and let out a quiet laugh.
Tang Hao, oh, Tang Hao. Once the sun rose tomorrow, the eyes of the entire continent would turn toward the Clear Sky Sect.
Even if Qian Daoliu and the others learned the truth, they would keep their mouths shut.
That way, when Tang Hao appeared on the day of the finals, everyone on the continent would see him as nothing but a man who had killed people in Spirit City and attacked the Pope Palace.
Even to uphold Spirit Hall's dignity, the Worship Hall wouldn't sit idly by.
The thought made Cen Yu even more pleased.
He was eager to see how Tang Hao would escape unscathed on the day of the finals—and how he would manage to take the Soul Bone that belonged to him.
Early the next morning, an air of panic hung over all of Spirit City.
The previous night, two Soul Douluo of Spirit Hall had mysteriously been found dead in their home.
The nearby residents had no idea what had happened. They had only felt a chill run down their backs before losing consciousness.
But judging from the traces left at the scene and the aura there, there was no doubt who the killer was.
By the time Bibi Dong received her subordinates' report, Yue Guan had already told her the whole story.
Hearing this, she feigned fury and said, "Send more people to search! The Clear Sky Sect won't be allowed to run wild in my Spirit City!"
It seemed her disciple had a pretty quick mind. He'd come up with this scheme to eliminate future trouble while keeping himself completely out of it.
Once the others had left, Yue Guan said with a smile, "His Holiness the Pope, now everyone will soon know that the culprit was someone from the Clear Sky Sect."
Meanwhile,
When Qian Daoliu received the news, he knew what had happened without even going to the scene.
Looks like that child got Bibi Dong to do it. Sigh...
Sure enough, just as Cen Yu had expected, Qian Daoliu sighed for a while but didn't reveal the truth.
At the arena,
Yun Xingqi chatted and laughed with Hu Liena and the other two, but when he looked at the other three, there was a faintly amused look in his eyes.
Yan put on a grave expression and asked, "Junior, are you all right? I can't believe something this serious could happen in Spirit City last night."
"Two Soul Douluo died. Apparently, they were Li Kai's parents."
Cen Yu gave a soft laugh. "I'm fine. Spirit City is heavily guarded, so of course nothing happened to me."
"But..."
Cen Yu's expression turned serious.
"Who would kill them? Could they have learned something they shouldn't have, and been silenced?"
Hu Liena shook her head. "I don't know. They say the scene was brutal."
She looked at the other three. "Do you know anything?"
At that, Sun Chuantao stiffened slightly. "Didn't they say... it was the Clear Sky Sect? I heard there were hammer marks at the scene."
Xu Yu and Zhang Ping nodded too, agreeing with Sun Chuantao.
"Oh~" Cen Yu replied with a faintly amused smile. "So that's what happened. The Clear Sky Sect is truly awful."
Just then, the host's voice rang out: "Both teams, please enter the arena!"
After the day's matches ended,
night fell.
Cen Yu looked with a soft laugh at Sun Chuantao, whose face was full of fear, and at his family.
"Did you think I was the sort of magnanimous man who'd understand you and let you go?"
A Soul Douluo father, a Soul Emperor mother, and two Soul Grandmaster younger brothers.
What a picture-perfect family~
Nearby, Yue Guan twirled his Martial Soul in his hand and sneered, "Who would've thought someone would dare betray His Holiness the Pope?"
Xie Yue let out a cold laugh. "So that's why you've been so distracted today. You ingrate, eating from one hand and biting it with the other."
Sun Chuantao knelt on the ground, trembling uncontrollably. He kowtowed as he cried, "I was wrong! I was wrong! I won't dare do it again!"
"Please, spare me! Lord Chrysanthemum Douluo! Captain! I was wrong! I really was!"
His parents were sprawled on their knees too, their faces streaked with tears as they kowtowed and begged for mercy.
They pleaded over and over, asking only that Cen Yu spare the two youngest children in the family and leave them a single thread of their family line.
Just then, the red in Cen Yu's eyes turned gold.
Looking at the sobbing people before him, he sighed.
"How pitiful..."
Hope flickered in the eyes of Sun Chuantao and the others. They hurriedly kowtowed to Cen Yu even harder.
"My lord... I really know I was wrong. Please let me go! Let me go!"
Cen Yu closed his eyes, and countless golden lotuses appeared around him.
"May you live ordinary lives in your next life."
"Uncle Yue Guan, sorry for the trouble."
At that, the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum in Yue Guan's hand flew out.
How amusing. These people actually think they can escape this.
A moment later, the golden lotuses drifted down onto the people lying on the ground.
A golden light flared, and their bodies gradually turned to dust, carried away toward the distance.
Cen Yu said softly, "Though you had nothing to do with it, your fates were bound together. There was no other choice."
"Rest in peace, innocent souls."
Hu Liena patted Cen Yu on the shoulder. "Junior, don't burden yourself. They got what they deserved."
"The teacher has already ordered that no one speak of this, yet Sun Chuantao still chose to disobey. Defying orders and going against the Pope's wishes means he deserves to die."
Yan tried to comfort Cen Yu too. "That's right, Junior. If his family blames anyone, they can only blame Sun Chuantao. What does it have to do with you?"
They already knew about Cen Yu's condition. Well... perhaps it was better to call it a split personality? In any case, there was a good side and an evil side.
This one seemed to be the good side. No wonder he was so softhearted.
Cen Yu nodded. "Thank you, Senior Sister, Seniors. I'm not sad, just a little regretful that life had to be lost."
Honestly... why did he always have to face the killing he hated?
Wouldn't it be better to live well? Why insist on marching down a dead-end road with no turning back?
"Thanks for your hard work today, Uncle Yue Guan, and you too, Senior Sister and Seniors. Let's head back."
"We have another match tomorrow, so get some rest early. With Sun Chuantao, the only remaining Power Attack System member on the team, dead, you may have to fight yourselves."
With Sun Chuantao out, Xie Yue picked a level-forty-seven Power Attack System substitute to take the field early the next morning.
But after Cen Yu saw him, he decided the man wasn't much use and suggested to Xie Yue that they replace him with another teammate—someone who surprised him.
Gongyang Zhao, a level-forty-two Soul Ancestor of the support system, with the Rainbow Dragon Martial Soul.
That was what surprised Cen Yu. He hadn't expected to encounter a Martial Soul like this during the Douluo I era.
This was an extremely top-tier support Martial Soul, a hexagonal all-around group support specialist.
After learning about Gongyang Zhao's abilities, Hu Liena nodded with satisfaction. "Not bad. His Soul Power Level is a little low, but it won't be a problem."
"As long as all four of us receive his boosts, we won't need another Power Attack System teammate."
Xie Yue and Yan nodded too, agreeing with Hu Liena.
"Then we'll follow Junior's suggestion and have Gongyang Zhao take the field as a substitute."
Before you continue