Asura God's Physiological Aversion to Work, the Absurd Luo Jiuyou

"Mm, part of that big fat bug's power is still sealed away. Let it be released slowly to speed up the kid's cultivation."

The Asura God sat upon his divine throne, propping up his chin as his gaze fell upon the lower realm.

"Give his first two soul rings a little boost while you're at it. Purple doesn't look right on him."

"Hm? There's another special power inside this kid... and it's actually been activated."

The Asura God raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued.

"That power is pretty strong too. Heh, I knew this kid had more secrets."

"Forget it. Who doesn't have a few lucky encounters?"

"The Icefire Yin Yang Well, the location of Dragon Valley, the method for obtaining the Emperor Auspicious Beast's imprint, and the empty slot for a second martial soul created by that fat bug... all yours."

The Asura God chuckled, pleased with himself, then rose and left the Asura God Temple.

Tang Chen, who had originally undergone the eighth Divine Trial?

Who was that?

He didn't know him.

With someone born possessing an Asura Sacred Body and dazzling golden fate, how could he not know whom to choose?

Humming a tune, he went off to patrol the God Realm.

Star Dou Forest.

Luo Jiuyou received an enormous flood of information. It took him a while to regain his senses and draw the bloody fiendish aura around him back into his body.

He lowered his head and stared at the two red and one golden soul rings around him, the corner of his mouth twitching.

What voluntary sacrifice from Sky Dream Ice Silkworm? That thing had clearly been forced into sacrificing itself by the lightning tribulation.

The final bolt of heavenly lightning had even obliterated that fat bug's consciousness. That was an unexpected blessing.

That bouncy, chattering fat bug would never again appear in his mind.

Its soul ring was enough. He could do without its spiritual body.

What he had not expected was that after the fat bug's consciousness dissipated,

the ten seals that he had originally been unable to control were reinforced by the Asura God and locked down once more,

and his first and second soul rings were directly elevated to one hundred thousand years.

Several layers of energy were still sealed inside his body, waiting to be released gradually as he broke through.

Then there were opportunities like the Icefire Yin Yang Well and the method for obtaining the Emperor Auspicious Beast's imprint...

The Asura God might as well have plainly told him, "Come to the God Realm and take over immediately."

Luo Jiuyou silently complained inwardly:

How physiologically repulsed are you by work that you're this desperate to retire?

"Junior Brother, Junior Brother, how are you?" Bibi Dong was the first to rush over, her eyes shining as she stared at him.

Qian Renxue and Ye Guyi also gathered around, curiously examining him, especially the two black shackles on his left hand.

"Junior Brother, why did two iron cuffs suddenly appear on your hand?"

Qian Renxue reached out and poked the chain. The moment her fingertip touched it, a chill flung her hand back, leaving her slightly stunned.

Only then did Luo Jiuyou come back to himself and look down at his left hand.

Wasn't this exactly the same as the Restraint Device Ghost Swordsmen used in DNF to bind the Ghost Hand?

As a transmigrator, he could not have been more familiar with this thing.

The original setting for a Berserker's Ghost Hand was that after being infected by the plague spread by Kazan, the "Destroyer Ghost God," the arm mutated after contracting Kazan Syndrome.

The Ghost Hand was regarded as an ominous thing. It continuously attracted ghost gods, bringing pain and madness, even risking possession by them.

Ghost Swordsmen often used chains to restrain the Ghost Hand, attempting to suppress the power that could go berserk at any moment.

But he also remembered that after the Great Transfer, the official lore added another detail:

The original source of the Ghost Hand was actually related to the power spread after Bakal, the "Tyrant Dragon King," died.

Bakal's power caused the Ghost Hand, while Kazan's plague triggered Kazan Syndrome.

Ghost Swordsmen became doubly infected, bearing Bakal's power while also contracting Kazan Syndrome.

And Berserkers were lunatics who actively used that madness in exchange for power.

So I really became a Ghost Swordsman...

Luo Jiuyou moved his left hand, and the shackles collided with a crisp clink.

But why had he become a Ghost Swordsman???

This was obviously not the Asura God's power.

He could not help recalling what the Asura God had told him before: his soul contained a bloody fiendish aura.

Could it be because of that??

"Junior Brother, Junior Brother!" Seeing him lost in thought, the three girls hurriedly called out to him.

"This..."

"It should be because of the Divine Trial. The power inside me awakened."

Luo Jiuyou snapped back to his senses and offered an explanation.

"Your power awakened?" The three girls looked at one another, feeling that they had already received more than enough shocks today.

Qian Renxue turned to Qian Daoliu again. "Grandpa, Junior Brother's hand... it feels terrifying."

Qian Daoliu stepped forward to inspect it, his expression grave.

"It contains an extremely frightening power. Jiuyou, you must be careful."

"That's why the divine lord placed this lock on me—to seal the power in my arm. Once I can control it, I'll remove it."

Luo Jiuyou raised his hand and used the Asura God's name as an explanation.

Anyway, if anything unreasonable came up in the future, he could just blame it all on the Asura God.

The other party was not going to come explain things to anyone.

Qian Daoliu nodded and did not ask further.

"Junior Brother, Junior Brother," Bibi Dong leaned closer again, pointing at the soul rings beneath Luo Jiuyou's feet.

"What's with your red soul rings?? Is it because of the Divine Trial? And what level is the golden one?"

Qian Renxue and Ye Guyi also looked over curiously.

Though Qian Daoliu said nothing, his gaze likewise fell upon that dazzling golden soul ring.

"Only a million-year soul beast can have one."

"Hundred... years?" Bibi Dong blinked, seemingly not having processed it.

"Oh, a hundred years! Hundred-year soul rings are yellow. Did that big fat maggot have a darker color, so it turned golden?"

The other two girls fell silent at the same time.

Qian Renxue grabbed Bibi Dong's ear. "Idiot Eldest Sister, he said a million years! A million years! Where did your ears go?"

"Wait... a m-million years?!" Bibi Dong's eyes widened as she turned toward Qian Daoliu with a dazed look.

"Grandpa Qian, do million-year soul beasts really exist?"

Qian Daoliu pondered for a moment. "Soul beasts must undergo tribulation once they reach one hundred thousand years. Theoretically, if one can survive ten lightning tribulations in succession, it is indeed possible to reach one million years."

His tone was steady, but even he was not entirely certain. Still, he could not show uncertainty before the younger generation.

"Then..." Bibi Dong turned back to stare at Luo Jiuyou. "Junior Brother, what level are you now? How many soul skills does a million-year soul ring have?"

"My Soul Power has reached level forty. There's still sealed energy in my body that hasn't been fully released."

"It has four soul skills: Mental Detection, Soul Shock, Mental Sharing, and Soul-Eating Demon-Sealing Slash."

"Soul-Eating Demon-Sealing Slash?" Bibi Dong's eyes lit up. "What's that?"

"My left hand forms a blood-colored vortex, forcibly restraining enemies and drawing them close before slashing them with a sword of blood energy.

"The stronger and more numerous the drawn enemies are, and the longer it lasts, the greater the damage. If the enemy is already bleeding, the damage doubles. Each soul ring I obtain doubles its range."

The three girls were instantly dumbfounded.

"Besides the soul skills, I also awakened an Asura Killing Intent Domain."

"Once activated, all enemy attributes are weakened by twenty percent, while my own and my allies' attributes increase by fifty percent.

"Enemies within the domain suffer bloody fiendish erosion that ignores defense every second, while allies gain thirty percent armor penetration.

"It also grants additional suppression and damage against enemies with evil or fallen attributes."

"Mm, that bug also produced a Spirit-Concentrating Skull."

Because it had sacrificed its complete body rather than abandoning its flesh like in the original story and escaping with only its spiritual body,

the bug had produced a Spirit-Concentrating Skull for Luo Jiuyou.

"Ice Extreme Divine Light: The eyes emit beams condensed from powerful spiritual power, ignoring defense and directly inflicting devastating damage upon the enemy's spiritual sea."

"Bloodthirsty Rampage: Passively enhances blood energy control and increases blood energy reserves by 500%.

"Actively consumes a portion of blood energy to increase all attributes by 500%. Attacks make enemies more likely to bleed, and damage against bleeding targets is doubled."

"Awakening skill: Demon Prison Blood Fiend."

"Summons an incomplete blade of blood energy to attack enemies, tearing open wounds and causing massive bleeding.

"When the blood-energy blade cleaves down toward the ground, blood energy floods into the earth, causing an immense eruption of blood-energy magma that restrains enemies and continuously attacks them.

"Blood energy or killing intent can be used to charge the blood-energy blade. The more infused into it, the greater its attack, range, and distance. It deals triple damage to bleeding enemies."

That bug was clearly an ice- and spiritual-type soul beast.

Yet its soul ring skills and the Spirit-Concentrating Skull had produced Berserker skills.

Combining that with his earlier experience, Luo Jiuyou understood.

His Berserker skills had been fixed in place.

No matter what attribute of soul beast he hunted, the soul rings he gained would transform into corresponding Berserker skills.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was the clearest example.

After listening to Luo Jiuyou rattle off that long list of skills as if reciting dishes from a menu, everyone present was stunned.

Bibi Dong's mouth hung open for a long while. Qian Renxue silently calculated how terrifying all those stacked buffs would be, then decisively gave up halfway through.

Ye Guyi stared at him as though she were confirming once more whether he really belonged to the same era as her.

Qian Daoliu remained silent for quite some time. In the end, even he could only say two words: "Absurd."

Bibi Dong counted it over on her fingers, then looked up at him with a finally serious gaze.

"If you fully stack all those states, your overall attributes would increase by at least ten times. Your attacks also make enemies bleed continuously,

"and you deal double damage to bleeding targets. Who would dare fight you? Couldn't you already chase down and hack at a Soul Saint??

"As long as someone gets hit by you, they'll bleed like crazy. Once they start bleeding, your damage doubles again."

Qian Renxue could not hold back either. "You're a level-forty Quasi-Soul Ancestor chasing down and hacking at Soul Saints... is that reasonable?"

Ye Guyi and Qian Daoliu stood nearby, their expressions complicated.

He had lived for so many years and seen plenty of monstrous geniuses, but someone like Luo Jiuyou—

with two red and one golden soul rings, plus soul skills that came with so many absurd combinations—was truly a first.

Even Luo Jiuyou himself was somewhat surprised.

Bibi Dong was still staring at him when she suddenly asked, "Tell me the truth. Are you the divine lord's biological son?"

Luo Jiuyou fell silent for a moment. "...No."

He did not have a god for a father.

"Junior Brother can obtain his fourth soul ring again now."

The corner of Qian Daoliu's mouth twitched.

Fine. They had to keep helping him obtain his fourth soul ring.

In a single day, he had jumped straight from level ten to level forty.

It was simply beyond absurd.

"It's getting late. We'll rest here for the night, then take you there tomorrow."

"Yay, is this camping?"

"Hehe, I've wanted to go out and have fun for ages."

"Roast meat, roast meat..."

"Idiot. You foodie Eldest Sister only remembers roast meat."

"Second Sister, you have the nerve to say that about me? You eat desserts every day. Be careful your teeth don't get coated in sugar."

"I obviously rinse my mouth properly."

Watching Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue start bickering with each other again, everyone present had the corners of their mouths twitch.