Slicing People Felt So Good

Watching this, Lu Ren could not help clapping his hands.

"Impressive."

Ji Juechen, that sword fanatic, really was far too overpowered among those of the same rank.

Without using any Soul Skills or relying on any additional abilities granted by Soul Rings, he had killed two Soul Emperor Evil Soul Masters of his own rank with nothing but the sword in his hand.

And he had even created his own domain at such a young age.

Although it was only an embryonic form spanning three feet, the words "self-created domain" alone were enough to show how terrifying his talent was.

Unfortunately, his weak innate Soul Power had instead limited his future development.

If he also had innate full Soul Power...

Lu Ren took a small pouch from his Storage Soul Tool and casually tossed it toward Ji Juechen.

"Catch."

Ji Juechen raised a hand to catch it and looked down.

Inside the pouch was a pill that gave off a crisp, cool medicinal fragrance.

"Take it after you get back," Lu Ren said. "It should be very effective for someone with poor innate Soul Power like you."

"I don't need pills."

Ji Juechen held the pouch back out to him.

"Just take it. This Mystic Water Pill has all sorts of benefits for people with low innate Soul Power. It can widen your meridians and raise your Soul Power ceiling. Although you're already a Soul Emperor, a solid foundation will let you go farther down the road ahead."

Lu Ren wanted to persuade him further, but Ji Juechen shook his head.

"I don't need it."

His voice was calm, yet carried an unquestionable resolve.

"My sword doesn't need to rely on medicine."

He placed the pouch back in Lu Ren's hand. There was no hesitation in his eyes, much less reluctance, only a purity bordering on obsession.

Lu Ren froze for a moment.

Then he smiled.

"You're way too cool."

Ji Juechen did not reply, merely tightening his grip on his sword.

Just then, hurried footsteps came from deep within the courtyard.

Dark figures streamed out of the buildings one after another-more people in black.

They all wore matching black robes and bamboo hats that covered their faces, with sinister Soul Power fluctuations surging around them.

They were the remaining followers of the Holy Spirit Cult's branch.

The man in black at their head immediately took in the scene in the courtyard. Their elder had vanished without a trace, leaving only a lingering mist of blood in the air.

The bodies of two Soul Emperors lay on the ground, turning into grayish-white powder.

And just two people had caused all this?

His pupils contracted sharply.

"Kill them!"

The roar exploded through the courtyard.

More than a dozen black-robed Evil Soul Masters released their Martial Souls at once, the multicolored light of their Soul Rings flashing and crisscrossing in the dim courtyard.

There were Soul Kings and Soul Ancestors, and even the weakest were Soul Elders.

They surged toward Lu Ren and Ji Juechen like a tide, their eyes filled with frenzied killing intent.

Sword in hand, Ji Juechen stepped forward.

A hand pressed down on his shoulder.

"Let me."

Lu Ren walked past him at an unhurried pace.

He raised his right hand, bringing his fingers together and pointing his fingertips at the crowd in black rushing toward him.

"Dismantle."

The next instant, a massive invisible slash swept out.

The slash extended from Lu Ren's fingertips, swelling within a breath into a gigantic curved blade that spanned the entire courtyard.

The shriek it made as it sliced through the air sent a stabbing pain through everyone's eardrums at once.

In the blink of an eye, the slash swept through the black-robed figures' formation.

The five Soul Ancestors charging at the front were all severed at the waist in the same instant.

Before they could even scream, their upper bodies separated from their lower halves. Black blood gushed like fountains from the severed surfaces, splashing onto the flagstones with a corrosive hiss.

The slash continued sweeping backward without losing momentum.

Another three Soul Elders were caught in it. Their protective Soul Power was as fragile as thin paper before the slash, cut open and torn apart along with their bodies, which were sliced in two.

Eight Evil Soul Masters died in a single strike.

The sight scared the remaining figures in black out of their wits.

They finally realized that this seemingly harmless young man before them was not someone they could contend with.

Some turned to flee, some stood rooted to the spot, and some frantically activated Soul Skills to fight back.

Lu Ren gave them no chance.

He raised his left hand and lightly swept it to the side.

More than a dozen slashes of varying sizes formed at once, shooting in every direction like blossoms scattered by a celestial maiden.

Each slash precisely targeted a black-robed figure's vital point: a neck, a heart, or a head.

"Shhk, shhk, shhk..."

The sounds of blades piercing flesh rang out in rapid succession. Under the onslaught of slashes, the remaining figures in black fell like harvested wheat, their black blood flowing into rivers that wound across the flagstones.

From Lu Ren's first attack to the fall of the last black-robed figure, no more than three seconds had passed.

Silence returned to the courtyard.

Only the sounds of bodies collapsing, blood flowing, and wind rustling through the vines remained.

Lu Ren withdrew his hands, looked down at the bodies strewn across the ground, then glanced at his clean fingertips.

"Slicing people feels so good."

He murmured to himself, a faint, almost imperceptible note of reflection in his voice.

"Just like playing Fruit Ninja..."

Standing behind him, Ji Juechen heard those words.

His body gave an involuntary shudder.

Then he glanced at Lu Ren.

A trace of complexity that had never been there before appeared in his gaze.

Lu Ren was utterly oblivious.

He turned around and patted Ji Juechen on the shoulder.

"Keep watch here for me. I'm worried more people might come."

He tipped his chin toward the depths of the courtyard.

"I'll go down and take a look first. There should be something good in there."

"Oh."

Ji Juechen nodded, tightened his grip on his sword, and dutifully stood guard in the center of the courtyard.

Lu Ren headed deeper into the courtyard.

Passing through the wall the Soul Emperor had cracked with a stomp, then along a dark corridor, he stopped at the entrance to the basement.

A flight of stone steps descended into darkness. Faint sounds of restrained breathing and quiet sobbing drifted up from below.

Lu Ren descended the stone steps.

There were still more people in the basement.

They huddled in the corners, wearing the same black robes as those figures outside, but without bamboo hats covering their faces.

Old and young, men and women-every face was pale as paper, with sunken eyes and purplish lips.

Their bodies trembled slightly as they watched Lu Ren descend the steps, their gazes so frightened they had become numb.

These were all Holy Servants of the Holy Spirit Cult, low-ranking followers enslaved by the cult.

Most were Soul Masters forced to join, or pitiable people who had no choice but to risk their lives for Evil Soul Masters because their loved ones were held captive.

Their hands might also have been stained with blood, but it was never blood they had wanted to shed.

Lu Ren's gaze swept over their faces one by one.

Then he looked away without saying a word, walked straight through the crowd, and headed toward the deepest part of the basement.

A heavy iron door stood there.

It was unlocked and opened with a gentle push.

Beyond the door was a small stone chamber. A stone platform stood in its center, with a hazy gray sphere of light hovering above it.

The sphere slowly rotated, giving off a faint, cold, sinister glow.

Within it, countless tiny points of light were faintly visible.

Some were larger, some smaller, some brighter, and some dimmer.

They drifted slowly within the sphere like fireflies trapped in a cage.

These were all human souls.

They were souls the Holy Spirit Cult had extracted from living people using dark arts and imprisoned within this Soul Pearl.

Most were the loved ones of these Holy Servants. The Holy Spirit Cult used these souls as leverage to force talented Soul Masters to risk their lives for them.

If you dared betray them, your loved ones' souls would be scattered into oblivion.

If you tried to flee, the people you loved most would vanish forever.

This was the Holy Spirit Cult's most commonly used means of controlling its Holy Servants.

Simple, yet extremely effective.

Lu Ren stood before the stone platform, looking at the hazy gray Soul Pearl.

A thought surfaced in his mind.

Could he absorb these souls?