Chapter 31: Blood Demon Array

"Father said he'd be back before dinner, so I've been waiting," Qin Yan said to Luo Shan as she walked into the great hall. "I even specifically told the cook to add a few extra good dishes; I guess that shows some foresight. There's roast turkey, too."

"Seems my luck isn't that bad," Luo Shan said with a smile.

"Right, you should thank me right away."

"Thank you, miss…"

"Hehe… you really took it seriously."

"Miss Luo Fugude's order, I naturally must obey."

"Hey, hey, hey, don't get too into character," Qin Yan laughed, patting him. "Father really… left without a word. Never mind, we won't worry about him; let's go straight to the restaurant. Luo Shan, sit with me later; I'll have Filna bring you an extra chair."

"Everything will follow your arrangements, then."

Holding Qin Yan's warm, delicate little hand, Luo Shan felt a surge of immense joy and contentment. This life—peaceful, leisurely, happy, yet simple—seemed exactly what he wanted. If he could forever share such a life with Qin Yan, what could he possibly lack? Luo Shan knew this wish was extravagant, yet his heart still held hope.

All that remains is the final battle. Two months later, together with Viscount Luo Fugude, he will head to the Spirit God Temple headquarters in Cold Mountain, defeat the temple's hall masters led by Ming Guang, and rescue his parents and Xiao Yushan's younger brother Xiao Tian. Then everything will finally have an end. He can then return to the Luo Fugude Villa and spend the long latter half of his life with Qin Yan. Such a tranquil conclusion is not as unattainable as it seems. Before entering the Nine Netherworld, he already possessed power that could rival Ao Erden; after entering, he further absorbed the powers of the Fire God and the Wind God. At this point, although Luo Shan's youth and lack of combat experience might prevent him from surpassing Ming Guang, he already far outmatches the other hall masters of the Spirit God Temple. Conversely, among the temple's elites, Gote had been nearly stripped of all his spells by Luo Shan's full-force strike and had suffered repeated heavy wounds in his duel with Viscount Luo Fugude; his current combat power is barely thirty percent of its former strength. Xili Xiya, who specializes in summoning and transmutation magic, was already the weakest among the hall masters, and after the battle at Luo Fugude Villa, the Viscount's grievous arm injury further crippled his strength. The others: Ao Erden, the most talented, mastered both swordsmanship and magic, far surpassing Gote and the rest, ranking first among the seven halls of the Spirit God Temple, second only to Ming Guang, but he died in his duel with Luo Shan. Heisen, Saxony, and Meklen each possessed power on par with one another; even with Bavaria, the four of them together would still fall short of the original combination of Ming Guang, Bavaria, Gote, and Xili Xiya, which was both offensive and defensive, and thus were no match for Viscount Luo Fugude. Moreover, the Spirit God Temple was already rife with internal scheming; many hall masters harbored conflicts, and the chief hall master Ming Guang was especially unpopular. According to the Cold Mountain pact, if Luo Shan were to join forces with the Viscount, their chance of victory would be seventy to eighty percent.

"Father, why did you just drop us and run away without a word?" Qin Yan raised her voice as they entered the restaurant. "If you keep acting like that, you won't get any roast turkey."

"Hehe, you two kids are chatting, what does an old man have to do here?" Viscount Luo Fugude sat on a high golden seat and smiled slightly. "Father!" Qin Yan cooed. "Don't tease him." "Alright, sit here." Viscount Luo Fugude gave the silver little bell on the table a casual shake. "Filna, bring the dishes."

"Luo Shan."

A dazzling array of dishes was carried out plate by plate by the maid Filna; Viscount Luo Fugude twirled a silver dining knife in his hand and suddenly called out. "Yes, Uncle." Luo Shan turned his head. "What is it?" "Luo Shan, do you know why the Spirit God Temple seized your parents?"

"It's to resurrect that 'Supreme God.'" Luo Shan instantly recalled Ming Guang's words back at the Luo Fugude Villa.

"Indeed," Viscount Luo Fugude said, looking at him. "Centuries ago, the Supreme God ascended to heaven and descended to earth, destroying gods and slaying demons. He truly was unrivaled in the world; who could stand against him? Though such momentum may not be unparalleled forever, it was certainly unprecedented."

"Father, why is it always about fighting and killing?" Qin Yan frowned and spoke.

However, the Viscount, who always dotes on his daughter, merely waved his hand at her and continued, "Luo Shan, tell me, what do you think of the plan to resurrect the Supreme God?"

"It's downright terrible," Luo Shan said, not understanding why Viscount Luo Fugude brought it up now. "The Supreme God, though possessing peerless power, derives that power from slaughter, building his greatness upon others' corpses. Such power is filthy. Even setting aside whether the Spirit God Temple can control the Supreme God's power without letting him wreak havoc again, merely bringing this murderous, blood-soaked aura back to the continent is a sin. We must fully thwart the temple's plan."

"Oh, is that so?" Yet Viscount Luo Fugude only gave a meaningfully lingering smile.

"A power above ten thousand men, you consider it insignificant?"

"I'm not rejecting power itself, but rejecting this way of obtaining it," Luo Shan unintentionally grew serious. "If one must gain power through slaughter, then I'd rather have no such power at all."

"Even if it could help you obtain this world, you still refuse?"

"No," Luo Shan said resolutely.

"What a youth," the Viscount laughed at that moment, and suddenly his gaze sharpened like a keen blade!

"You reject this power, but I want it!"

"Do you think your power is noble? Luo Shan, don't think I don't know that your rapid achievements today are all because of the 'bloodthirsty' soul within you!"

"What difference is there between you and the ancient Supreme God? The same bloodthirst, the same prodigious youth, the same attainment of Human Sovereign level at twenty. All of this is what the whole continent dreams of. Yet you treat it as nothing. Hehe..."

"I consider my talent quite good; I began cultivation at ten, and now, after forty‑five years, I can glimpse the path of the Human Emperor, though the hardships are beyond anyone else's comprehension. My relentless training let me reach Human Sovereign level after thirty, and without the recent string of fortunate encounters I wouldn't have attained the Human Emperor stage. Yet you, a mere unknown foot soldier, relied on a bloodthirsty soul and became a Human Sovereign‑level master at twenty, defeating Gote and slaying Ao Erden. Luo Shan, your power came far too easily!"

"Father, what are you saying!" Qin Yan suddenly sensed a subtle shift in the Viscount's tone and hurriedly spoke. Yet the moment her words left her mouth, she was startled to find her own body no longer obeying her commands!

She knew it was because her father had used magic; when she was a child and misbehaved, he would punish her by binding her movements with spells, making her miserable until she had to beg forgiveness. But why would he do this now, why bind her with magic? "Filna," Viscount Luo Fugude shook the bell again. "Miss is tired; you take her back to the room first."

"Yes." The maid bowed and stepped forward, supporting Qin Yan's body and half‑pushing, half‑pulling her out. Qin Yan could not turn her head, unable to see her father or Luo Shan; a wave of grievance rose in her heart, her nose tingled, and tears instantly streamed down.

"Uncle, what does this mean?" Luo Shan frowned. Just now Viscount Luo Fugude had cast a spell on Qin Yan with lightning speed; although Luo Shan is now among the continent's top cultivators, he has almost no combat experience and no guard, so he failed to notice the lingering magical aura in the air. "Luo Shan, though you possess a so‑called bloodthirsty soul, that is not something I can decide for. Moreover, such a dark soul is the cause of many calamities; if possible, I would discard it forever. Uncle, you are a prodigy who, with a single person's strength, defeated the four great hall masters of the Spirit God Temple—Luo Shan will never reach such power in this lifetime."

"Defeating a few Human Sovereign‑level hall masters—what does that amount to?" Viscount Luo Fugude looked into Luo Shan's eyes and shook his head. "Magic and swordsmanship are essentially two sides of the same coin. No matter who you are, the beginning is naturally rapid advancement, just as a magician progresses from novice to the 'Human Disciple' stage in a year or even months; even reaching the 'Human Master' stage takes only about twenty years. However, attaining the Human Sovereign level is something most people cannot achieve in a lifetime. Once a cultivator reaches a certain stage, they encounter a bottleneck; after that, even a slight improvement becomes exceedingly rare. As for me, I managed to reach the Human Emperor realm within my lifetime—a feat I never imagined when I first began cultivating. Yet to go further is hopeless in this life."

"Yet some people, like you and the Supreme God, can draw power from death, bypassing such personal cultivation bottlenecks. Imagine, as a Human Sovereign‑level master, if you constantly challenge other masters and each month slay a peer‑level Human Sovereign mage, absorbing his power. Even if each mage contributes only thirty percent of his strength to you, within a year you could amplify your power by roughly threefold, and the higher your power, the faster it grows, until, like the Supreme God, you annihilate all the continent's masters and roam the world invincible."

"On this continent, only strength makes a king; with strength, all authority can be mine. The Supreme God, a heroic man, could even become humanity's leader, raise an army and launch a war to eradicate the gods. Why shouldn't I, Luo Fugude, do the same?"

Luo Shan felt a sudden shock upon hearing this. The Viscount harbored a grand scheme—or ambition. "Uncle, your power is now unmatched across the continent, right? Once we defeat the Spirit God Temple, won't you, like the Supreme God, wield your strength to dominate this land?" "No one can match me?" Viscount Luo Fugude sneered. "No! No! As far as I know, there is at least one person I could never defeat."

"Who?" Luo Shan asked, slightly surprised. "Is it the Supreme God?"

"The Supreme God is nothing but a pile of rotten bones. In today's world, anyone capable of defeating me, old Luo Fugude, is either far away in the heavens or right before my eyes!"

Viscount Luo Fugude suddenly shook the bell and shouted loudly.

"Luo Shan, as long as you exist, I will never become the world's number one!"

With his roar, the restaurant doors burst open, and countless mages poured in from outside. At the same time, the entire room's perimeter instantly lit with blood‑red candles. Twelve figures in black, whose arrival time was unknown, appeared behind Luo Shan, forming a semicircular array; behind them flickered red candles that swayed like blood, enclosing Luo Shan's silhouette. Shocked, Luo Shan instinctively tried to stand, but found his body completely unresponsive. The magical energy that usually flowed freely within him had become a stagnant pool; no matter how he summoned, nothing came out. Even his right hand, which always wielded a sword, felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

"A common man is innocent; one who bears a treasure is guilty. Luo Shan, blame lies only in your bloodthirsty power. How could I dare let you go? In this world, who would dare spare you? With such talent, given time, you will surely become the second Supreme God. By then, old Luo Fugude will not only fail to control this realm, but even his own life may be unprotectable!"

"You wouldn't seriously think I'd marry Qin Yan to you, would you? If you truly did, Luo Shan, you'd be foolishly cute. I intended to kill you from the start, but a bloodthirsty soul is a rare find; killing you would be a waste. It's also my luck, old Luo Fugude, that Ming Guang discovered a method to resurrect the Supreme God in a book, and I managed to uncover a way to absorb a bloodthirsty soul! Luo Shan, your soul will be used by me today. When that happens, with a bloodthirsty soul within me, I will roam the world invincible. Perhaps your lingering soul will be fortunate enough to witness this continent bearing my name, Luo Fugude. Then your death will not have been in vain."

"Blood Demon Array, activate!"