Return from Hell

"At last, I'm free!"

Qin Ye greedily breathed in the continent's fresh air. In Slaughter City, such precious resources had been unimaginable.

Six years ago, Qin Ye had awakened his heart demon Martial Soul, at the cost of having to sustain it with life essence. If he ever failed to pay the price of feeding his heart demon, it would run rampant inside him, with unthinkable consequences.

Life essence could be obtained by hunting Soul Beasts, consuming immortal herbs, or even killing Soul Masters. There were all sorts of ways.

To stay alive, Qin Ye had only three choices back then.

The first was to join a superpower like Spirit Hall and quietly build his strength under its protection-after all, a great tree offered plenty of shade. But the price would be binding himself deeply to that faction, even losing some of his freedom.

"I'm not becoming some faction's lapdog. No way, no way."

The second was to wander the Star Dou Great Forest, living like a savage, eating in the wind and sleeping under the open sky, matching wits and courage with Soul Beasts all day long. More importantly, Qin Ye would have no one to safeguard his life. If a large pack of Soul Beasts surrounded him, death would be all but certain.

"Go be a savage in Star Dou? Boring. No way, no way."

As for the third, he could head to Slaughter City and fight a crowd of Evil Soul Masters in an arena that never saw the light of day. But once he entered Slaughter City, there would be no turning back. Unless he made it through Hell Road, he would have to remain there for the rest of his life.

"I'll do it! The worst that can happen is death! Fighting high-ranking Soul Masters one-on-one with their Soul Power and Soul Skills disabled beats facing a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast head-on! Take a gamble, turn a bicycle into a motorcycle-once I get out, I'll be invincible!"

"I, Qin Ye, am taking this deal!"

At six years old, Qin Ye entered Slaughter City. No one thought he would return alive, and from then on, no one on the continent paid any more attention to this prodigy with innate full Soul Power.

Six years later, Qin Ye returned, the Divine Slaughter's Domain beneath his feet, blood-red battle robes draped over his body, and a towering aura of murderous menace swirling around him. Yet aside from the people of Slaughter City, no one on the continent knew any of this.

The only thing that surprised Qin Ye was that this time, he had not only obtained the Divine Slaughter's Domain in Slaughter City, but also unexpectedly removed the restriction that required his heart demon to feed on life essence.

Years of cultivation in Slaughter City had caused his Martial Soul to mutate. After he obtained the Divine Slaughter's Domain, that mutation reached its critical point, completely shedding its negative traits.

"I can finally get rid of that annoying restriction. Now I have the Divine Slaughter's Domain, innate full Soul Power, and a powerful heart demon Martial Soul. Even Slaughter City couldn't hold me. Let's see who else my age on this continent can match me."

Fierce ambition blazed in Qin Ye's eyes.

His heart demon Martial Soul possessed two major traits, the very things he had relied on to survive in Slaughter City.

The first trait: Mental Interference.

Qin Ye could directly control his heart demon to interfere with a Soul Master's mind, drawing out their deepest fears and obsessions. Against Soul Masters with weak spiritual power and wavering wills, he did not even need to act personally. Their own heart demons would defeat them.

Those with stronger wills would instead see Qin Ye as the embodiment of their heart demons. Qin Ye would also gain a portion of the power those heart demons possessed.

Throughout this process, the horrors of their heart demons would play out endlessly in their minds. The more frightened they became, the more power Qin Ye gained. In sin-filled Slaughter City, his power had been practically inexhaustible.

It was precisely because of his heart demon that Qin Ye had earned the name of Slaughter God.

The second trait: Mental Control.

In Slaughter City, Qin Ye could select promising Soul Masters to cultivate, using the heart demons deep within them to influence their behavior and judgment.

Eventually, those affected by heart demons would gradually fall into corruption. Once their corruption value reached 100 points, they would become Qin Ye's loyal servants, never to betray him.

In Slaughter City, Qin Ye had commanded over a thousand servants. Even the Lord of Slaughter had extended an olive branch, hoping he would take up a position in Slaughter City.

But Qin Ye had left him with only one sentence.

"I'm tired of playing. This place is really boring."

With that, Qin Ye had set foot on Hell Road and forced his way out, relying on the power of the heart demons his servants supplied.

Although Qin Ye had thus lost the heart demon power his servants provided, it was nothing compared to his precious freedom.

"Now that my Martial Soul has shed its side effects, I can fit into Soul Master society normally." Qin Ye took great gulps of fresh air and left the forest at Hell Road's exit.

Qin Ye arrived at the nearest town. Just as he was hesitating over where to develop his strength, he suddenly spotted an admissions flyer.

"Shrek Academy is accepting students. The continent's elite are welcome to enroll."

"Shrek?" Qin Ye rubbed his chin as he looked at the three familiar characters on the flyer. "If it's that place, it could be a good choice."

Qin Ye examined Shrek's admissions requirements: applicants had to be younger than thirteen, with a Soul Power level above twenty-one.

"Age isn't a problem. I'm only twelve this year, the same age as Tang San. But my Soul Power level is quite a bit short."

In Slaughter City, Qin Ye had had no way to hunt for Soul Rings. The only possibilities he knew of were the few ferocious beasts on Hell Road, but their Soul Rings were far too old for him to absorb.

Thus, even now, Qin Ye's cultivation remained at level ten.

Should I make a trip to the Star Dou Great Forest? Qin Ye wondered.

His heart demon Martial Soul had tremendous potential for reshaping itself. His trials in Slaughter City had already shown that it could evolve. If Qin Ye absorbed a large number of top-tier Soul Rings in the future, his heart demon Martial Soul might well advance even further.

"But what types of Soul Beasts should I hunt? If I absorb nine stalks of lone bamboo, could I catch the Bamboo God's eye?"

Qin Ye immediately shook his head. "Ahem, forget it. I'd probably catch the God of Jokes' eye instead. If I ended up with the title Lone Bamboo, I'd really become a joke."

Just as Qin Ye was racking his brains, his heart demon Martial Soul suddenly offered a suggestion.

"Master, are you troubled over your Soul Ring configuration?"

"That's right." Qin Ye was not surprised that his heart demon had spoken. After all, it had been the heart demon itself that told him it would consume life essence.

"I have a method that takes an entirely different path. Would you like to give it a try, Master?"

"Oh? Let's hear it." Qin Ye raised his eyebrows with interest. In his eyes, his heart demon was a very reliable fellow. Its performance in Slaughter City had been outstanding; it could truly be called his right-hand companion. That was why Qin Ye trusted it so much.

Any method the heart demon offered of its own accord had to be extraordinary, with absolutely immeasurable potential behind it.

"Hehe." The heart demon chuckled. "Master, have you ever heard of a Heart Demon Contract?"