I started by submitting to the Douluo Continent, and the nation helped me become a god.

Chapter 89 Seeking Only Clear Thinking

"He's more useful alive than dead. The Heaven Dou royal family is absolutely willing to pay a price that satisfies us to redeem this sixth prince... such as rare metals or high-grade soul bones."

As soon as Hu Liena finished speaking, Xiao Wu pouted and took two steps back with a look of disgust.

"Tch, what's the point of keeping such a stinking thing around?" She pinched her nose, her voice muffled. "Didn't you smell it? He peed his pants! It stinks! And what he said just now was disgusting, what 'let women serve him,' what 'training,' who does he think he is? A piece of trash who wets his pants has the right to say things like that?"

Her face scrunched up, her rosy cheeks contorted with disgust.

"Master, please don't keep him, okay? I feel like throwing up just looking at him."

Hearing this, Avalanche, who was slumped on the ground, turned bright red.

The stench of urine was definitely coming from him, and he knew it himself. His wet trousers clung to his inner thighs, cold and sticky, making him terribly uncomfortable. But for the dignified sixth prince to be openly disliked by a mere maid was worse than death for him.

What enraged him even more was that these lowly commoners were discussing him like merchandise—keeping him was useful, otherwise they'd kill him. He was a prince! He was of royal blood from the Heavenly Dou Empire! When did it become the turn of these lowly commoners to decide his life and death?

His ingrained arrogance overcame his fear, giving him a strange illusion—that these people dared not kill him, that they were merely bluffing.

"snort……"

Avalanche let out a cold snort, forcing himself to straighten his back. He wiped the mud off his face; the dark sludge stuck to his hands, which he then casually tossed onto the ground.

"A bunch of ants dare to talk back to me, the prince?"

His voice was still trembling, but his tone had regained some of its arrogance.

"Killing two retainers is already a capital offense! The only way to save you now is to kneel down, kowtow to me, and surrender those two women!"

His gaze lingered between Hu Liena and Xiao Wu, a lewd smile playing on his lips.

"If I'm in a good mood, I might put in a good word for you with my father. I quite like that vixen; she'll stay by my side to warm my bed from now on. As for that little girl..."

He licked his lips.

"Although she's a bit young, she should be ready to be used in a couple of years. This prince loves disciplining these ignorant little girls, watching them go from resistance to obedience, that feeling..."

"Buzz—!"

The roar of the chainsaw sword suddenly rang out.

The avalanche's words came to an abrupt halt.

There was no emotion in Li Fulan's deep eyes, as if he were looking at a buzzing fly. He didn't even speak—it was a waste of breath to say a word to such scum.

The scene from earlier flashed through his mind.

The mercenary staggered out of the bushes, his left arm ripped off, the wound a bloody mess. A flicker of hope for survival in his eyes was extinguished by the sword tip piercing through his back.

He also remembered the expression on Avalanche's face at the time—a cruel, lingering satisfaction, as if he were toying with his prey. It wasn't the killing in battle, but a purely perverse act of tormenting others for pleasure.

Such inhuman beings do not deserve to live in this world.

If you're going to kill, then kill cleanly and decisively, with a clear conscience!

The crimson serrations, radiating undisguised killing intent, traced a brutal yet precise arc through the air.

"laugh!"

The head that had just been shouting was instantly propelled into the sky, its expression frozen in a mixture of arrogance and astonishment. Blood gushed out like a fountain, hissing and evaporating under the scorching serrations.

The headless corpse swayed twice before collapsing heavily into the mud, splashing up a cloud of filthy water.

"call--"

Li Fulan exhaled softly, the chainsaw sword extinguished its flames, and returned to its original arm shape. He looked at the corpse on the ground and calmly straightened his slightly disheveled collar.

"Sorry, I can't stand barking dogs, especially rabid ones. Only by killing you can I find peace of mind."

Watching this scene, Hu Liena's alluring eyes flashed with a strange light. She was not alarmed by Li Fulan's killing of the prince; instead, she nodded slightly.

"Well done."

She stepped forward and kicked the head that had rolled to the side with her toe, her eyes icy.

"I saw it when he was chasing that mercenary." Her voice was calm, but tinged with suppressed disgust. "He ripped the man's arm off alive, just to see him struggle in agony. That wasn't fighting, it was torture. This kind of pervert who takes pleasure in torturing others is a menace if left alive."

She turned to look at Li Fulan.

"We don't need the ransom."

Li Fulan didn't reply, but simply walked skillfully to the corpses of the two dead Soul Kings.

He crouched down, examining the two riddled corpses. Although they had been brutally beaten, the skeletons were relatively intact, and the internal organs were not completely destroyed. For the research institute in China, this was already a good enough sample.

A level 54 Soul King is considered mid-to-high-end combat power in the Douluo Continent. Their physical structure, meridian pathways, and soul power circulation methods are all materials of great research value. Old man Gu will definitely be interested in this stuff—last time he kept mentioning wanting a few high-level Soul Master corpses for dissection and research, saying he wanted to figure out the fusion mechanism between soul power and the physical body.

Li Fulan took an inconspicuous black ring off her waist.

The ring looked ordinary, without any patterns or decorations, just a simple black metal band. But when he infused it with his soul power, a faint blue ripple appeared on the surface of the ring, and the spatial fluctuations were visible to the naked eye.

Accept the ring.

This thing is a legendary rare soul tool in the Douluo Continent. Ordinary storage soul tools can only hold inanimate objects, and their capacity is limited, at most a few cubic meters. But the storage ring is different; it can hold living things, corpses, and almost anything, with an absurdly large capacity.

It is said that there are no more than five people in the entire Douluo Continent who can create this thing.

Of course, Li Fulan's device wasn't from the Douluo Continent; he brought it from the technological world. Strictly speaking, it should be called a "space compression chamber." Its principle is completely different from the storage rings here, but the effect is similar.

With a flick of his finger, an invisible force swept up the two corpses, instantly disappearing into the ring's dim light. A large portion of the bloodstain on the ground was also removed, leaving only a messy, muddy area.

"Take that head too."

He then walked to the headless corpse from the avalanche and put the still-bleeding body into his storage ring. He didn't forget the head that had rolled into the mud either, taking it with him.

The prince's corpse might still be useful later. At the very least, it can be used to make a point, or as a bargaining chip.

After dealing with the spoils, Li Fulan stood up and patted the mud off her hands.

He turned to look at the two women.

The tense atmosphere had dissipated, replaced by a sense of relief, as if the victims had survived a catastrophe. Sunlight filtered through the tree canopy, casting dappled shadows on the ground. The birds in the woods began to sing again, as if the massacre had never happened.

"that……"

Hu Liena's gaze was fixed on Li Fulan's left arm, which had now fully recovered, her curiosity almost overflowing. She hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help asking:

"That arm that could breathe fire and launch metal projectiles... was that also one of your soul bone skills?"

She frowned, trying hard to recall all the information she knew about soul bones.

"But I've never heard of any soul bone that can transform into that form. Those metals... those gun barrels... they don't look like things formed from soul power at all; they're more like some kind of intricate mechanism."

"This is called 'alchemy'."

Li Fulan smiled slightly and casually made up a term that sounded both mysterious and sophisticated in this world.

He raised his left hand, his fingertips lightly tapping the metallic structure hidden beneath his skin, producing a crisp "tap-tap" sound. The sound definitely resembled tapping metal, not flesh.

"An ancient technique that has been lost for a long time, which can perfectly fuse metal with soul power to create weapons that transcend time."

He paused for a moment, and the smile on his lips became playful.

"So, are you interested?"

Hu Liena's eyes lit up instantly.

She was someone who always pursued power. While the position of Holy Maiden of the Spirit Hall seemed prestigious, she knew in her heart that it was merely an empty title gained through her spirit and bloodline. What truly allowed her to stand firm in this dog-eat-dog world was only strength.

The power displayed by the man before her was completely beyond her comprehension.

That attack method that can continuously fire metal projectiles, that chainsaw sword that can cut through the shields of Soul Emperors, that overwhelming fighting style... If only she could have such power.

She hesitated for a moment, then suddenly handed the two short blades in her hand to Li Fulan.

"Since you understand this kind of 'alchemy,' could you... do me a favor?"

Her tone carried a hint of expectation, and also a barely perceptible pleading. This was a rare tone for her; she hadn't spoken to anyone in this manner for a long time.

"Although my martial soul is a fox spirit, I don't like this fighting style that only allows for sneak attacks and seduction."

She looked down at the Blood Drinker Blade in her hand, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

"These two Blood-Drinking Blades are sharp, but their bloodthirsty nature always tries to influence my mind. Every time I fight, I can feel a force tempting me, making me want to kill more people and drink more blood... That feeling is very uncomfortable."

She raised her head and looked directly into Li Fulan's eyes.

"Could you reforge them for me? I want a sword, a proper sword. And... get rid of that nasty vampiric property."

Li Fulan took the two short blades that emitted a faint fishy smell and weighed them in her hands.

The blade feels slightly cool to the touch, with a moderate weight and good balance. It's crafted from deep-sea silver mixed with the bones of some kind of magical beast, boasting superior hardness and toughness. However, the dark red sheen is unsettling, resembling congealed blood or some kind of curse.

Li Fulan gave her an approving look.

This woman was more ambitious than he had imagined. Most Soul Masters would follow the instincts of their Martial Soul; a fox spirit should be cunning and treacherous, a bear spirit should be reckless and unrestrained. But she insisted on going against the nature of her Martial Soul and walking a righteous path.

"That's a great idea."

He put the dagger into his storage ring and nodded.

"No problem, leave it to me. But it will take a little time."

As he said this, he looked up at the sky.

The sunlight had changed from angled to direct, indicating it was almost noon. They were spending more time in this swamp than expected, mainly because that dream-devouring creature was too adept at creating illusions.

He then looked into the depths of the Starry Sky Forest.

The fog was still there, but it wasn't as thick as before. Without the Baku's control, the alluring pinkish-purple fog was slowly dissipating, revealing the true landscape behind it.

"Before that, we need to complete the main task we're here for."

He turned to Huliena.

"Your goal shouldn't have changed, right?"

"Um."

Hu Liena nodded, her expression returning to seriousness.

"I need to hunt down a thousand-year-old nine-tailed fox as my fourth spirit ring. According to the Spirit Hall's intelligence, it's deep within this swamp, about another half-day's journey away."

"Okay, then it's on our way."

Li Fulan turned to look at Xiao Wu, who was kicking pebbles to the side.

The girl had been playing the whole time, kicking pebbles with great enthusiasm, seemingly uninterested in anything happening around her. The bloody scenes didn't seem to affect her mood at all; she continued playing and making a fuss as usual, her attitude was incredibly good.

He reached out and ruffled her head, making her soft hair all messy.

"Xiao Wu, have you found a second spirit ring yet? What kind of spirit beast are you looking for?"

Xiao Wu was stunned for a moment, then squinted her eyes as he rubbed them, like a kitten being stroked.

Then her big eyes darted around, and her signature playful smile appeared on her face.

As a 100,000-year-old soul beast who has been reborn, she doesn't need to hunt soul beasts at all; her soul rings are generated automatically as her level increases. But of course, she can't say this out loud, so she can only pretend to know nothing about it.

"Oh dear, I'm not a picky eater anymore!"

Xiao Wu clung to Li Fulan's arm and acted coquettishly, swinging back and forth on his arm.

"As long as it's the right age and not too ugly, it'll do! We don't want the really ugly ones, what if their spirit rings turn ugly too? Anyway, with me... with Master here, I can just grab any one!"

As she spoke, she winked at Li Fulan.