Li Qinglian had never imagined that after rebuilding himself as a human, he could still improve through Death Siphon.
Back when he was in the Star Dou Great Forest, he had grown to the hundred-thousand-year level in just ten thousand years by relying on that very soul skill.
He had simply never expected that after rebuilding himself into a human, he could still use this soul skill to siphon energy and replenish the age of his Martial Soul and Soul Rings.
Li Qinglian was different from ordinary human Soul Masters.
After becoming gods, Soul Masters rarely used the power of their Martial Souls anymore. Soul skills were vastly inferior to divine skills, so they were even less likely to be used.
But Li Qinglian's Martial Soul was his true body.
As a soul beast who had rebuilt himself, his first seven Soul Rings had all been generated by himself. They were all core abilities of the Death Divine Tree!
Even after becoming a god, Li Qinglian could never abandon these core abilities!
But now, these Soul Rings could grow alongside Li Qinglian and would not fall behind. To him, that was the best possible outcome.
"I wonder whether my other ability is still there. After rebuilding myself as a human, which traits did I retain?" Li Qinglian murmured.
"Someone, come in."
Li Qinglian called toward the door.
"What are your orders, Your Highness?"
Two maids of exceptional beauty and temperament pushed open the door and entered, asking respectfully.
Though they were maids, as attendants of the Holy Son, they were actually all top talents who had graduated from Spirit Hall Academy in previous years.
"Where is the prison where Spirit Hall keeps death-row inmates? Take me there."
"What are you going there for? I can take you too."
A young girl of around twelve or thirteen walked in.
Her chestnut hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her exquisite features carried an inherent charm whenever her eyes shifted.
She wore a tight-fitting training outfit that outlined her already developing, curvaceous figure.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop."
"I'm Hu Liena, the Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall. My residence is the Sacred Maiden Palace, not far from the Holy Son Palace. Since you were named Holy Son, I wanted to come get acquainted with you."
Meeting Li Qinglian's gaze, Hu Liena hurriedly explained.
"Also, Teacher has already realized her mistake. She asked me to tell you that she didn't mean to target you."
"Hm?"
"The Pope sent you to apologize to me?"
Li Qinglian frowned slightly.
What was that big-breasted, brainless woman Bibi Dong up to now?
It was not that Li Qinglian had no favorable impression of Bibi Dong.
The women in this world were strange. The stronger they were, the more incomprehensible their thought processes became. "Big-breasted and brainless" was a stereotype, but in this world, it seemed to be true.
Hu Liena's chest was not quite so exaggerated, and among Spirit Hall's three women, her way of thinking was relatively normal.
Even though his relationship with the Goddess of Life and Gu Yuena was temporarily quite good, Li Qinglian remained wary at times. He had not forgotten that in the original story, Destruction had been betrayed by the Goddess of Life at a crucial moment.
"Yeah. Teacher is actually quite nice. She's not as bad as you think."
Hu Liena spoke softly.
She did not understand it either.
It was the first time she had ever seen her teacher take the initiative to admit fault.
"All right. I'm willing to accept her apology."
Li Qinglian stood up.
"Let's go. Weren't you taking me to death row?"
When he reached the door and saw Hu Liena still standing there foolishly, he turned back and pinched her cheek.
"Ah. Oh."
Hu Liena's beautiful eyes widened, and she quickly stepped ahead to lead the way.
"What are you going to death row for? Don't tell me you want to kill someone?"
Hu Liena asked as she led the way.
"They were already people who deserved to die. Dying by my hand would be a release for them."
"Ah?"
Hu Liena could not help shivering.
She remembered Li Qinglian's Martial Soul. It gave off an icy, extremely evil feeling that chilled one's entire body.
Inside death row.
The warden brought over several death-row inmates of considerable strength.
"Your Highness the Holy Son, Your Highness the Holy Maiden. This man is named Wang Peng, a spiritual-type Soul Master who often operated in the Star Luo Empire and committed all manner of crimes. In particular, he used his spiritual power to influence women's minds, causing them to be violated without their knowledge. By the time our Spirit Hall Enforcement Corps captured him, more than a hundred respectable women had already been victimized."
The warden led a middle-aged man before Li Qinglian and Hu Liena.
"Disgusting!"
After hearing the warden describe his crimes, goosebumps rose all over Hu Liena.
Hu Liena was also half a spiritual-type Soul Master.
But she had never expected there to be spiritual-type Soul Masters who used their abilities to commit such vile crimes.
"He truly deserves to die."
Li Qinglian frowned deeply.
Spirit Hall's Enforcement Corps was a force specifically tasked with apprehending Soul Masters who committed crimes.
Without the Spirit Hall Enforcement Corps, spiritual-type Soul Masters like Wang Peng would have been difficult to capture.
In the original story, after Spirit Hall was destroyed by Tang San, the entire Douluo Continent entered a dark era. Things only gradually improved after the Shrek Enforcement Corps took up that responsibility.
"If I kill him now, there shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Of course not. He is a death-row inmate to begin with."
The warden looked curiously at Li Qinglian.
This newly appointed Holy Son was incredibly powerful!
On Pope Mountain, Li Qinglian had already conquered every member of Spirit Hall with his strength.
"Go ahead, Li Qinglian. If you don't kill him, I will." Hu Liena said, puffing out her cheeks. There were already more than a hundred women who had been violated and killed by this scum, and the number he had molested was likely countless.
"All right."
Li Qinglian nodded.
He activated his Martial Soul.
His second Soul Ring flashed, and the Withered Glory Prison enveloped Wang Peng.
Very quickly, it wrapped around Wang Peng's entire body like a man-eating flower.
"Ah!"
Wang Peng's miserable screams rang out, sharp and agonized.
But soon, Wang Peng's voice abruptly stopped.
His life force and all his energy were rapidly drained dry by Li Qinglian!
Behind Li Qinglian, Hu Liena's beautiful eyes widened, her pretty face filled with disbelief.
When Li Qinglian had fought Yan before, he had not been this cruel!
If Li Qinglian had used this move on Yan, wouldn't Yan have died?
"This newly arrived Holy Son is terrifying."
The warden shuddered. Such methods made one's scalp crawl.
"Phew."
Li Qinglian closed his eyes and sensed his Martial Soul.
In a place only he could see clearly, beneath the cover of the Death Divine Tree's branches and leaves, Wang Peng's soul was chained there.
Living beings in this world possessed souls.
Ten thousand years later, Evil Soul Masters would even specifically gather human souls to create Myriad Souls Banners.
Li Qinglian was the Death Divine Tree. He could collect the dead souls nearby and send them into Reincarnation.
This was the Death Divine Tree's innate ability! It was also its most core ability! This ability contained the mysteries of Reincarnation.
However, Li Qinglian could not interfere with the reincarnation of living beings at will, or he would suffer backlash from heaven and earth.
But Wang Peng had committed countless evils and did not deserve to enter Reincarnation at all.
Rewarding good and punishing evil was both the right and the duty of the Death Divine Tree.
"Someone like Wang Peng should become nourishment instead."
As Li Qinglian murmured, Wang Peng's soul and the energy Li Qinglian had siphoned transformed into a flower bud. As the flower bloomed and withered, a fruit took shape.
"Here. This is for you."
Li Qinglian opened his right hand, and the fruit deep within the Death Divine Tree fell into his palm.
The fruit was not large, resembling a somewhat bigger medicinal pill.
"Ah? What is that? Don't tell me it's Wang Peng's..."
Hu Liena's little face was filled with terror.
Why was this newly arrived Holy Son so terrifying!
Before you continue