Blood Pearl

The middle-aged woman and man carried Little Beggar to a lavishly decorated residence.

The middle-aged man tilted his head and glanced around. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he pushed open the gate and quickly slipped inside.

Cao De said to Huo Wu beside him, "Keep watch here. I'll go in and take a look."

Huo Wu nodded earnestly. "Yes, Master."

Cao De walked up beside the residence, then sprang into the courtyard.

The scenery changed drastically as he flew inside! There were no buildings, only an endless plain.

A blood moon hung in the sky above the plain, casting an eerie, dazzling red glow.

An illusion?! The thought sprang into Cao De's mind.

He immediately activated Laser Eyes, but the scenery around him remained unchanged: the same plain and blood moon.

It was deeply unsettling.

Cao De immediately drew the Thousand-Blade Demon Sword, and as he brought it out-

The surrounding scenery turned illusory. The blood moon rapidly shrank and streamed toward Cao De, only to be absorbed by the Thousand-Blade Demon Sword. The black bead on its hilt flashed for an instant.

As the blood moon was absorbed, the surrounding scenery gradually collapsed, revealing the original lavish courtyard before Cao De.

Cao De examined the Thousand-Blade Demon Sword, but it showed no changes.

What was that blood moon just now? Why was it absorbed by the Demon Blade?

The questions in Cao De's mind only multiplied.

Cao De continued toward the main building in the center without making a sound.

As he approached, he heard a choice national expression: "Fuck! Fuck!!! The Blood Pearl shattered!"

The man shouted anxiously.

"How is that possible?!" a cold voice barked, followed by the sharp smack of a slap. "You actually broke the Blood Pearl, you idiot!!"

The slap, formed from soul power, rang out with particular clarity.

Cao De carefully sensed the man's strength. His soul power was at the same level as Cao De's. I can take him!

Having made his assessment, Cao De stopped listening and kicked the door open.

A burly man holding the middle-aged man by the collar turned around and met Cao De's eyes.

"How did you get in?" Astonishment filled the burly man's eyes. There had been a Blood Pearl Formation in the courtyard just moments ago.

How had this young man gotten inside?

"What was that Blood Pearl you were talking about?" Cao De asked with explosive friendliness.

The burly man said nothing more. Since this intruder had overheard them talking about the Blood Pearl, only death could silence him.

The burly man's muscles bunched, and soul rings burst into view around him. Strangely, all those soul rings bore blood-red markings, making them look deeply sinister.

"First Soul Skill: Heavy Punch!"

As the burly man's words fell, a Yellow Soul Ring encircled his right arm, and blood-red markings appeared along it. A yellow fist projection materialized and smashed toward Cao De's face.

Unhurried, Cao De summoned his martial soul, the Thousand-Blade Demon Sword, into his hand and met the burly man's heavy punch head-on.

To their astonishment, the blood-red markings on the arm vanished instantly.

"Impossible!" the burly man cried, rapidly retreating.

"Y-you... who exactly are you?" the burly man demanded coldly, a hint of terror entering his eyes.

Cao De watched the Evil Spirit markings on the Thousand-Blade Demon Sword's hilt glow with faint blue light.

He asked, "What is a Blood Pearl?"

"Looks like you're not from the Church." The burly man reached out and grabbed the middle-aged man and woman. Wisps of red vapor immediately rose from both of them.

The burly man opened his mouth to inhale it, but something else happened that stunned him.

Like a magnet's south pole encountering its north pole, the rising red vapor instantly streamed into the Demon Blade.

The burly man panicked. Puffing out his cheeks, he sucked with all his might, over and over, until he was nearly starved of oxygen.

In the end, he failed to inhale even a trace of red vapor.

"No, no, no! My blood qi! It's all my blood qi!" The burly man fell to his knees in despair, gasping for breath.

"Tell me. What is a Blood Pearl?" Cao De asked coldly.

"Fifth Soul Skill: Eagle-Stepping Fist!"

The burly man, who had been kneeling with his head lowered, suddenly struck, launching himself at Cao De like a hunting falcon.

Cao De had been on guard all along. His third soul skill, Armor Break, activated first, severing the burly man's entire right arm with a single slash.

Blood sprayed across the air.

The burly man dropped to his knees again and laughed maniacally. "You don't even know what a Blood Pearl is, yet you dare absorb blood qi? Just wait for the Nuomi God's judgment!"

"Long live the Nuomi Church!!!"

Shouting, the burly man raised his left hand and smashed it into his temple, falling into eternal sleep on the spot.

Cao De tried to stop him, but he was a step too late. He then checked the middle-aged man and woman. Both had fallen into eternal sleep as well.

He searched all three bodies for anything like a Church Token, but found nothing!

Fuck! What the hell is this Nuomi Church?! Fucking idiots!! 凸(艹皿艹)!!! I hate cryptic bastards!!

Cao De grumbled inwardly.

Spotting Little Beggar huddled in a corner, Cao De walked toward her.

"Don't come over! Don't come over! I was wrong! I was wrong!"

Little Beggar curled up even tighter, her voice trembling.

Cao De felt helpless. It seemed the bloody scene had badly frightened Little Beggar.

Cao De did not approach any closer. Instead, he went outside, opened the gate, and called Huo Wu in.

"Little Beggar was frightened by what happened. Huo Wu, go comfort her," Cao De said.

"Yes, Master." Huo Wu accepted the order and headed into the building.

Standing outside, Cao De summoned his martial soul, the Thousand-Blade Demon Sword, and carefully examined it, running his fingers over it.

The evil spirit on the Thousand-Blade Demon Sword's hilt was no longer flashing. It seemed the sword could sense Blood Pearls.

He had personally seen the red vapor being absorbed by the bead on the hilt, but on close inspection, it looked no different from before.

Cao De circulated the Great Sun Heart Method again, channeling the soul power within his body into the Demon Blade.

Cao De's eyes instantly turned blood-red, and the blade emitted a soft purple glow.

To Cao De's delight, its soul power conversion rate had previously been less than one percent, but now it was slightly over one percent.

Though the difference was tiny, Cao De still keenly detected it.

So can these Blood Pearls they mentioned increase the conversion rate of the soul power I pour in, or do they have some other effect?

Cao De frowned in thought.

"Master, I've calmed her down." Huo Wu smiled smugly, looking eager for praise.

"Well done. Did you ask about Little Beggar's parents?" Cao De asked.

Huo Wu's smug expression instantly collapsed, and she said dispiritedly, "I did. Also, Master, I know I was wrong."

"A good child learns from her mistakes. Next time, don't trust everyone you meet. Keep your eyes sharp and look carefully." Cao De patted Huo Wu's head.

"Oh, right, Master. Little Beggar said her home is right here. Those bad guys captured her to threaten her older sister."

Huo Wu told Cao De what she had just learned.

"So where is her home?"

"Her home is at Skywater Academy," Huo Wu said with a smile.

"Then let's go to Skywater Academy first and take Little Beggar home," Cao De said.

"Okay." Huo Wu nodded.

The two of them set off for Skywater Academy with Little Beggar.

"Little Beggar, what's your name?" Huo Wu asked, holding her hand.

"My name... my name is... Shui Yue'er," Shui Yue'er said in a tiny voice.

"Shui Yue'er. That's a lovely name. I'm Huo Wu." A smile rested on Huo Wu's face as the two chatted like this.

Shui Yue'er?! Hearing that name left Cao De momentarily stunned.

He seemed to remember it being mentioned in the original story, but could not recall clearly. Suddenly, a figure flashed through his mind.

He turned and asked, "Do you have an older sister?"

"H-how did you know?" Shui Yue'er's face was full of surprise.

Seeing Shui Yue'er's expression, Cao De was already certain.

This Shui Yue'er was Shui Bing'er's younger sister.