A Pawn

Although Gu Yue had her own calculations in mind, the impact of her promise on Qian Xunji was immeasurable.

Spirit Hall was fated to fall to ruin in a few decades, yet now there was not only someone who could help him break through the hundredth level and inherit a godhood, but even if they were defeated and perished in the war of gods, the Six-Winged Angel bloodline could be kept alive.

The bloodline to be preserved was not some inferior bloodline like those of the Two-Winged Angels and ordinary angels in the Angel Legion.

To Qian Xunji, this was a pie fallen from the heavens for no reason. Starving as he was, he had to take a couple of bites, no matter what.

He did not even stop to examine why the deity before him was doing this. He immediately kowtowed again and said excitedly:

"If you can truly preserve the Core Flame of my angel bloodline, then from this day forth, I and all of Spirit Hall will follow your lead alone. We will plunge into boiling water and walk through fire for you, and face ten thousand deaths without a word of refusal!"

Gu Yue's expression remained indifferent. She flicked a finger, and a wisp of seven-colored divine power appeared before Qian Xunji.

"There are no gifts in this world to be had for nothing. This is a restriction on your divine soul. With a single thought, I can destroy your soul utterly; the same will happen if you harbor divided loyalties. If you have thought it over..."

Before Gu Yue could finish, Qian Xunji accepted the restriction into his Sea of Consciousness without hesitation.

At the sight, Gu Yue was at a loss for words. Come on, bro, aren't you even going to check whether I'm messing with you?

Gu Yue composed herself and asked calmly, "Aren't you afraid there's a trick?"

Qian Xunji paid no mind to such things. His life was worthless anyway. In his previous life, he had calculated everything, only for it all to end as one great dream.

Now he could not count on the divine ancestor, Spirit Hall was bound to be destroyed, and this was the only path to survival before him.

He said frankly, "You were able to appear here without a sound, without even my father noticing. That alone is enough to prove you are a true god. If a god wanted to do something to Spirit Hall, wouldn't it take no more than a thought?"

"Now, this is my only hope. Since Spirit Hall and I are fated to perish, is there any need to hesitate over whether to seize the only chance of survival before us?"

After hearing him out, Gu Yue reflected to herself that he truly was the old fox who had excelled at plotting and scheming in his previous life, seeing the gains and losses clearly.

Of course, he did not believe so much as a single punctuation mark in Qian Xunji's words of loyalty and righteousness.

With the restriction in his Sea of Consciousness, Gu Yue could crush Qian Xunji's divine soul if he dared make any suspicious move.

Seeing this, Gu Yue asked casually, as though in passing, "Have you ever heard of the Holy Spirit Hall?"

"In answer... my lord."

Qian Xunji was briefly taken aback. He immediately corrected himself, searched his memories for a moment, and reported truthfully:

"After my rebirth, I searched through many of Spirit Hall's secrets to find it a path to survival. I did discover some hidden records utterly different from my memories of my previous life."

"There are scattered records in ancient texts saying that in an extremely distant age, an ancient power called the Holy Spirit Hall appeared out of nowhere. Later generations revered it as the birthplace of the Soul Master system and the original spark of human civilization in its struggle against Soul Beasts."

"Those texts are simply too old, and their lines are full of myth and exaggeration. I previously took them for absurd rumors spun from shadows and never investigated them closely."

Without any change in expression, Gu Yue instructed him:

"There is no need to investigate what is true and what is false. Remember, if anyone claiming to be from the Holy Spirit Hall comes to Spirit Hall seeking cooperation in the future, agree unconditionally and do everything in your power to assist them."

Although Qian Xunji was full of doubts and could not fathom why the deity before him was so concerned about an ancient name long buried in myth, he knew well how a subordinate should conduct himself. He immediately accepted the order respectfully:

"As you command, my lord."

Gu Yue then gave him a few more instructions and said no more. A faint silver radiance shimmered around her, and she vanished from the hall.

The vast Worship Hall fell silent and cold once more.

Qian Xunji slowly rose from the ground. In his dejected, clouded eyes, the blazing fires of ambition and hope burned once more.

Amid ripples in the void, a meaningful smile curved Gu Yue's lips.

Having a madman like Qian Xunji, who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, inherit the Rakshasa Godhood would be far more interesting than having that love-addled Dongzi do it...

The humans of the future were in for a treat.

"The Rakshasa God... the God of Evil Thoughts..."

Gu Yue murmured softly, her delighted voice slowly echoing through the void.

"Hehe... this is getting more and more exciting."

Slaughter City, the Douluo Continent's land of sin, was also known as the den of the fallen.

In that underground world, where daylight never reached, the smell of blood hung everywhere.

As the current Pope of Spirit Hall, Qian Xunji had made this city of sin his destination.

Now, he possessed the potential to become a god, and this opportunity was entirely thanks to Gu Yue's restriction.

For a true deity, changing the attribute of a mortal's Martial Soul, or even the Martial Soul itself, had never been difficult.

Just like a certain scumbag god of later generations, who claimed that deities could not interfere with the lower realms while freely pulling a deus ex machina.

Gu Yue's method was simple and crude. He directly wiped away the sacred and fire attributes of Qian Xunji's Six-Winged Angel and gave him the darkness attribute.

It was as effortless as the Dragon God granting attributes to the Nine Great Dragon Kings.

Of course, what Qian Xunji now possessed was the Ultimate Darkness attribute.

If it had not reached the ultimate level, his original talent alone would have been nowhere near enough to catch the Rakshasa God's eye, much less inherit the godhood of a First-Level God.

The Silver Dragon King controlled the seven great elements, which had no distinction of ultimate or otherwise. After all, he wielded the laws of the elements, which stood above the mere manipulation of attributes.

Once laws were in play, making an attribute ultimate or not was as easy as turning a hand. More importantly, this was a legacy passed down from that old bastard the Dragon God. Surely the Dragon God could not have been incapable of producing an Ultimate Attribute.

Gu Yue had her reasons for having Qian Xunji inherit the Rakshasa Godhood. Judging from the original story, he knew more or less about the Rakshasa God's current awkward predicament in the Divine Realm.

On this trip to Slaughter City, Qian Xunji had a fifty-fifty chance of death or success.

If Qian Xunji's verbal skills were sharp enough, they could improve his odds considerably.

As for the possibility of Qian Xunji actually dying, Gu Yue saw no problem with that at all. She could always bring Dongzi in as a replacement.

On the surface above Slaughter City stood a nameless little town, dilapidated and desolate. Within it sat a dimly lit tavern.

This was the true gateway to the underground city.

Qian Xunji stepped inside, his pressure spreading around him. The villains in the tavern had already gone pale with fright, none daring to breathe too loudly.

He pressed a mechanism to open a hidden door and stepped into the passage.

The farther down he went, the damper and colder the air became, and a heavy stench of blood rushed at him.

After he had walked for an unknown length of time, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

Overhead stretched a dark red sky that looked like congealed light of blood, while directly ahead, on the horizon, stood a towering, massive city.

Above the thick, lofty gates hung an enormous dark red plaque engraved with four great characters: Slaughter City.

The heavy pounding of hooves suddenly came charging from beneath the city gates.

On horseback sat a heavily armored knight, his face completely hidden behind a cold iron visor.

The knight held a heavy black lance level in both hands, its tip gleaming with a fierce chill. He was Terror Knight Scott.

A harsh shout rang out from within Scott's armor. "Those who break the rules die! If you want to enter Slaughter City, first take one kun of mine..."

But the words caught in his throat. Scott's gaze swept upward, and when he saw the figure before him clearly, he froze.

Scott's heart skipped a beat, and his voice nearly cracked. "Holy shit! Spirit Hall's Pope, Qian Xunji?"

As Slaughter City's gatekeeper and the King of Slaughter's loyal lackey, he had learned the identities of all the continent's important people from the other fallen.

That way, if he ever ran into a guest of the King of Slaughter and stopped them, he would not get slapped into an eternal nap on the spot by the King of Slaughter.

Without looking back, Scott rode off like the wind to inform the King of Slaughter.

Qian Xunji walked at an unhurried pace into Slaughter City's outer city.

Low buildings lined both sides of the streets.

Under the gloomy eaves, pale-faced fallen crouched and silently watched the uninvited visitor. Yet because of his utterly dark presence, not one dared approach rashly.

Before he had gone far, enormous blood-colored bat wings spread with a rush in midair, and a tall figure clad in a voluminous blood-red robe slowly descended.

The newcomer's eyes were an eerie scarlet, and Blood Qi curled around him. He was Tang Chen, who had been parasitized by the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King, and also the King of Slaughter.

The King of Slaughter licked the corner of his mouth, his voice carrying a teasing, probing note.

"Hi, xiu xiu, isn't this the esteemed His Holiness the Pope? What brings you to lower yourself and visit my filthy place today?"