Chapter 96: with translation of chapter title

A soul master's soul power is generally closely related to their martial soul and their personal cultivation meditation method.

A soul master with twin martial souls usually possesses two different kinds of soul power in their body, so their total soul power is double that of an ordinary soul master, but the two kinds cannot be used simultaneously; using both at once causes bodily conflict and can easily make the soul master explode from the clash of the two powers.

Qian Renxue's soul power was originally a majestic crimson-gold, essentially without any attribute, but by infusing soul power into the soul seal she can wield four different martial soul attribute powers.

However, after Qian Renxue consumed the Blazing Apricot Elixir of the Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Well and the Eight-Cornered Mystic Ice Grass, although her soul power's color did not change, her own soul power gained the ability to be completely immune to all cold- and fire-attribute energy.

The Eight-Winged Angel martial soul itself has no immunity to ice and fire, but as long as Qian Renxue's soul power is infused, it becomes truly invulnerable to ice and fire.

Furthermore, although Qian Renxue's second martial soul has awakened, she cannot use it, and no new soul power has appeared in her body; the jet-black soul power that suddenly emerged during her prior training was like a fleeting illusion, a brief flash.

Qian Renxue absorbed the two crystals given by Jun martial soul, and the soul bone on her left wrist underwent another metamorphosis, transforming the armor from a full-coverage style into that of a battle armor.

It became eleven pieces: a headband, chest armor, left shoulder armor plus upper arm armor, right shoulder armor plus upper arm armor, left gauntlet plus forearm armor, right gauntlet plus forearm armor, waist guard plus battle skirt, left thigh armor, right thigh armor, left shin armor plus battle boots, right shin armor plus battle boots.

After a rough calculation, the current enhancement for Qian Renxue, when worn, is roughly equivalent to the strength of a purple-rank one-word battle armor; if an ordinary soul master wore it, they would gain a combat power boost exceeding fifteen soul power levels.

Of course, the specific enhancement of the battle armor varies according to the soul master's strength.

As for Qian Renxue's combat power boost, it's not that exaggerated; she already possesses the combat power of a ninety-five-rank Super Douluo, wearing this helps a little but provides no even one-rank boost, still unable to overcome a ninety-six-rank Title Douluo; this item holds promise for the future, and for now wearing it is just for looks.

Qian Renxue also gave it a name.

One-word battle armor, 'Radiance'.

Half a year passed quickly, and Qian Renxue had already spent two years in the Land of Carnage.

Her win count also reached ninety-nine matches, but because of Jun martial soul's presence, before this guy reached fifty wins, Qian Renxue, when signing up for the Hell Carnage Arena, still had to avoid his registration time, otherwise they'd easily clash, which is why it took six months.

On the Hell Carnage Arena.

Qian Renxue, wielding a long sword, cleanly and swiftly ended the life of the last opponent.

The nine bodies collapsed into pools of blood, which gathered into streams that seeped into the grooves of the Hell Carnage Arena's pattern, flashing red a few times before the blood vanished.

Qian Renxue's expression remained unchanged; she had long grown accustomed to this sight, for blood holds a mysterious importance in the Carnage Capital.

The stands were packed to capacity; these usually arrogant degenerates fell utterly silent under the immense killing intent emanating from Qian Renxue.

After a while, they erupted in cheers like a surging tide.

"White-Clad Sword Emperor! White-Clad Sword Emperor!"

This was the White-Clad Sword Emperor's hundredth victory in the Hell Carnage Arena; they witnessed the birth of a new Slaughter God, who would become the ninth Slaughter God in a millennium of the Carnage Capital! Qian Renxue glanced at the stands with her peripheral vision, seeing that Jun martial soul had not arrived, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Jun martial soul, this guy, attends every match of Qian Renxue to watch; he now also has thirty-three wins, his demeanor growing ever colder—if his former coldness was like that of Uchiha Sasuke before his clan's destruction, feigning chill to pose, now it's a genuine transformation, and he has indeed grown considerably.

Usually it's nothing to see, but this final match is a matter of life and death.

At that moment, a figure drifted down from midair, seemingly unrestrained by gravity, without using a martial soul—this is the sort of aerial flight only a Title Douluo can achieve.

He was a tall man, his entire body enveloped in a huge scarlet cloak.

His features were quite ordinary, with a pallid complexion, a pair of wholly blood-red eyes, and a chilling aura emanating from him.

The atmosphere inside the Hell Carnage Arena instantly surged to its peak.

"Slaughter King, Slaughter King, Slaughter King…" the chants roared, hoarsening the degenerates' throats, yet they showed no sign of stopping.

Qian Renxue's heart jolted; this man was none other than Tang Chen, who had directly defeated her grandfather and was famed as invincible on land, but after participating in the Asura God's trial and being schemed against by the Rakshasa God, his body is now parasitized by the Blood-Colored Nine-Headed Bat King, his mental state is abnormal, he harbors two souls, and their personalities vie for control of his body.

A year ago, when she attacked his headquarters, she saw that he had apparently also slapped him twice.

"Congratulations, White-Clad Sword Emperor, on successfully obtaining the Hell Carnage Arena's hundred-win championship; not bad—in just twenty years, the Hell Carnage Arena has welcomed another hundred-win powerhouse."

The Slaughter King stared at Qian Renxue; his usual expression upon seeing her was unpleasant, but today he inexplicably showed a hint of a smile.

"Next, I give you two choices: one, continue challenging the Hell Road; two, become a guest elder of my Carnage Capital, and I can additionally bestow upon you the title of Slaughter God, allowing you to come and go freely in the Carnage Capital."

Qian Renxue lightly shook her head, "There's nothing to choose; I came here for the Slaughter God's domain, otherwise why would I have come to the Carnage Capital?"

The Slaughter King's gaze grew more mocking; I just fear you won't dare to charge—this time, it has received a divine edict, the Hell Road has been strengthened manyfold, and without soul skills, the chance of passing is essentially zero.

Still, we need to provoke her a bit; if the people of the Spirit Hall die in the Hell Road, it has nothing to do with its Carnage Capital.

"The rear path of the Hell Road is severed; if one wishes to exit from within, it is a nine-deaths-one-life gamble, and further ahead the road ends completely—are you sure you still want to charge ahead?"

Qian Renxue wore a calm expression, "Didn't expect that, old timer? She has wings; she can fly."

"The Hell Road is a trial handed down in the Carnage Capital to this day; if the procedure were abolished, wouldn't that affect the Slaughter King's prestige?"

The Slaughter King felt pleased within, "Since you've already decided, I won't stop you any further; I just have a few matters in the Hell Road to entrust to you."

Qian Renxue raised her chin, indicating, "Let it rip."

"When you enter the Hell Road, if you see this kind of pattern, please pay attention to it."

The Slaughter King's hand produced a pattern of imagery; several stone pillars bearing crimson patterns stood upon the magma, appearing quite extraordinary.

"What do I need to do?" Qian Renxue asked.

The Slaughter King chuckled lightly, "You don't need to do anything; just pay attention."

Qian Renxue nodded.

"All right! Since that's the case, let me open the Hell Road trial for you!"

Suddenly, rings of pale red light appeared on the Slaughter King's body, then a thick red mist erupted from him; what he released was not killing intent, but an extremely evil aura, a cold so intense it stiffens the marrow.

The evil, icy red ripples slowly spread, and in the blink of an eye they had engulfed the entire arena.

The fallen ones seated in the spectator stands were all unusually excited; they all wanted to see what the opening of Hell looked like, but they did not realize that their own lives had already reached their end.

Apart from the Slaughter God and the King of Carnage, no one had ever seen what the opening of Hell looked like, because anyone who had seen it was dead, or rather, had become a sacrifice for the opening of Hell.

The fallen ones who had been wildly cheering gradually grew quiet as the red light fell upon the viewing platform; each fallen one's gaze gradually became dull, then turned into a bloodshot red.

Not long after, when that red light formed a huge barrier over the entire Hell Slaughter Field, anguished screams began to rise from those who had first come into contact with the red light.

Affected by the red light, those fallen ones seemed to have gone mad, desperately clawing at their own faces, their own bodies...

The fallen ones capable of surviving in the inner city mostly possessed some strength; at this moment they exerted all their strength upon themselves, and even within those screams lay an intense pleasure of excitement, as if they were gaining endless enjoyment from this self‑torture.

Their skin turned over, blood spattered everywhere, and they even pulled out their own internal organs from within their bodies.

In the slaughter field, all the dead corpses suddenly spewed out countless blood, which was rapidly drained and surged into the entire Hell slaughter field; countless winding red liquids, like tiny snakes, flowed into the field.

Gradually, on the ground they gathered into a huge blood‑red bat pattern; at the instant this pattern appeared, Qian Renxue's consciousness jolted, and then she was enveloped by countless crimson rays of light.

This blood‑colored light seemed to possess immense energy; the instant it surged toward Qian Renxue, a white ripple formed on her body, condensed from murderous intent. In addition to that white ripple of killing aura, a faint golden halo also appeared.

Qian Renxue was unaffected, and she even gave the King of Slaughter a like in her heart, opening the Hell Path—what a clever little trick for an exorcist.

"Huh?" The King of Slaughter's originally grim and terrifying gaze suddenly cleared, and he stared absentmindedly at the golden halo on Qian Renxue.

"Angel Domain—his descendant?"

"Damn Tang Chen! Again!" The King of Slaughter's eyes flickered between black and blood‑red.

"Child, when you get out, could you have Qian Daoliu come here to see me?"

"This body is now mine; don't even think of taking it! Get out of here!"

Before Qian Renxue could respond, a violent tremor erupted, and she already left the Hell Slaughterfield; the surrounding blood light gradually faded.

After a while, the King of Slaughter re‑suppressed Tang Chen, his face bearing a cold expression.

"Heh, didn't expect that, Tang Chen, that girl can no longer get out; that's the deity's will."

And those several stone pillars.

The King of Slaughter summoned those blood‑colored stone pillars to pique Qian Renxue's curiosity, hoping she would tinker with them herself; perhaps she could even break the seal on their true form. Though the chance is slim, bats have dreams, and a youngster of this age has a rather strong curiosity.

Its main goal is to make Qian Renxue locate those blood‑colored stone pillars, meet its true body, then parasitize onto her using soul power, leave the Slaughter Capital for the Spirit Hall, and perhaps, by borrowing the girl's identity, exploit the Spirit Hall's records to help it break that damned seal!

The ancestors of the Spirit Hall have had people ascend to godhood; perhaps within lies a method to undo a divine‑power seal! It has had enough of Tang Chen's body. …

Qian Renxue's perception recovered; Tang Chen seemed to have been lucid for a moment and even recognized the Angel Domain on her.

However, Qian Renxue has no intention of calling grandpa to save him; Tang Chen is also grasping at straws. If Qian Daoliu were here, perhaps, out of old camaraderie, he might truly rescue him, but Qian Renxue is too lazy to bother.

Rescue Tang Chen and oppose the Spirit Hall, right? There's no room for reconciliation between the Spirit Hall and the Clear Sky Sect; the Tang Chen who stays in the Slaughter Capital is the good Tang Chen, so perhaps wait for his Tang San to come save him.

After Qian Renxue regained consciousness, she began surveying her surroundings and found herself on a circular platform about five meters in diameter—not large, and nothing else was present.

A faint blood‑red glow emanated all around, and the air carried the scent of Bloody Mary, a smell that rose from beneath the platform.

Below the platform lay a bottomless abyss, surrounded by dense red mist that can block soul power detection; beneath the abyss, intermittent red flames flickered, leaving the entire platform suspended in mid‑air.

A low rumble could be heard faintly from below; besides that, a narrow passage less than half a foot wide—just enough for both feet to stand side by side—stretched into unknown darkness, the platform's only route to the outside.

Qian Renxue gathered soul power in her eyes, employing her soul bone, and she could see through the hazy blood mist to a massive blood pool hidden within, which contained the Bloody Mary.

The purple moon hovering five hundred meters above the Slaughter Capital is the source of the domain that seals the soul master's soul skill; sustaining such a domain naturally requires immense energy.

And the blood pool below is the energy source of that strange domain in the Slaughter Capital.

【Xue'er, are we finally leaving this broken place?】

Jin Huang'er said excitedly, even though Qian Renxue told her this was a deity's trial ground, she remained dissatisfied with this disgusting slaughter world; creating such a place as a trial means that deity is certainly not a benevolent god.

"Don't worry, once we finish this Hell Path, we can leave here."

【Yay!】

Four pairs of pure white wings emitting golden light unfurled behind Qian Renxue, and the holy golden radiance illuminated the surrounding dimness.

While channeling soul power to sense the surroundings, she flapped her wings forward, refusing to take that narrow path.

After flying for a while, Qian Renxue sensed the temperature rising continuously; she was flying two meters above the path, while the Hell Path descended, and the blood pool below was scorching—each drop in altitude raised the heat.

She ignored the increasing heat, continued forward, and the Angel Holy Sword materialized in her hand.

In the next instant, a sharp screech rang out.

In Qian Renxue's sight, a scarlet beam shot toward her at speed.

Qian Renxue exclaimed excitedly, "Finally, the first‑stage bat. Didn't they say each trial in the Slaughter Capital is different for everyone? Looks like it's still the same old three."

As soon as she finished speaking, the sharp screech sounded, followed by a wave‑like succession of piercing cries.

A blood cloud materialized before her, containing at least a thousand crimson bats that surged toward her wildly.

These bats resembled a miniature version of the blood‑streak pattern left on the ground of the Hell Slaughterfield; each blood bat was about a foot long, yet its massive wings spanned over a meter.

One or two such blood bats are no trouble, but when thousands appear at once, it becomes a massive problem; in the soul beast forest, ants biting elephants is a common sight.

But "Hmph! I'm no elephant; I am an angel!"

The Fire Phoenix Heart Method operated skillfully.

Scorching flames blazed on the girl's golden hair, turning it a dazzling, searing crimson; as the wind fluttered it, sparks drifted from the tips, giving an uncanny sense of sanctity.

When she breathed, faint streams of scorching flames exhaled; Qian Renxue's sword dance burned intensely, bathing the surroundings in a sea of fire‑red.

In the next instant, the crimson bats, like moths drawn to a deity's pilgrimage, kept being ignited by Qian Renxue's ultimate fire and then fell into the blood pool below.

In the bizarre Hell Path, the scene oddly took on a sense of sanctity.

The crackling of flames roasting, the scent of roasted bat meat, and the splash of bodies hitting the blood pool filled the air.

These low‑level fodder troops, once they touch even a hint of Qian Renxue's ultimate fire, are instantly slain.

After a while, the crimson bats seemed to realize that charging forward was a suicide; coupled with their instinctive fear of fire, even when the leader, the Dark Golden Bat King, issued attack orders, they hovered warily at a distance of about one hundred twenty meters around Qian Renxue.

They continuously flapped their wings, sending unstable gusts of air toward Qian Renxue.

"Compete with me in wind power? With those tiny wings of yours, it's cute, really."

Qian Renxue chuckled, flaring her rear wings sharply, "Whoosh—! Whoosh—!"

The powerful gusts rocked the bats, wind feeding the flames, and the clustered bats burned even hotter.

Seeing his subordinates suffer heavy casualties, a strong sharp screech rang out.

Qian Renxue sneered, her soul power had already sensed the bat leader's presence; hiding behind and trying to drain her soul power with fodder troops—this bat is brainy yet clownish. Does it even know her total soul power?

Upon hearing the leader's command, the crimson bats began a continuous barrage of shrill screams.

"Sonic attack."

Qian Renxue was not careless; pink light flashed in her eyes as she used soul power to deflect.

The bats regrouped into a cluster, attempting to charge again; they tried to use their comrades' bodies to shield the flames, so that while the outer ones would be burned, many could use their companions as a bridge to rush toward Qian Renxue.

The scene made Qian Renxue laugh outright; she had once read a story about ants forming a mass to escape a forest fire, and never imagined she'd witness it herself. Her ultimate fire melts anything it touches—anyone who charges in meets a grim fate. The crimson bats, due to the leader's misjudgment, lost many subordinates, many of which were essentially sent to their deaths.

Qian Renxue employed the soul bone technique of eye enchantment; her enchantment is not limited to males—in essence, it is a mental attack.

The pink-gold diamond-shaped mark in her pupils flickered faintly, and a pink mist emanated from her whole body, enveloping the clustered bats and luring them into launching suicidal attacks.

Qian Renxue shot forward at high speed, but she soon came to a stop,

"Finally appeared."

Directly ahead of this narrow path, beneath it, a huge figure hung upside down. Bathed in the surrounding reddish light, it emitted a dark-gold glow.

That creature stood about four meters tall, its two massive claws gripping the narrow path, each claw over a meter in diameter, its sharp talons dug into the stone.

Amid the screeching of countless blood bats, the dark-gold creature slowly unfurled a pair of enormous wings, its terrifying wingspan actually reaching ten meters.

Its claws suddenly released, and with a flap of its huge wings, its massive body rose into the sky, appearing to blot out the heavens and earth.

Its entire body was dark-gold; most terrifying of all, it had three heads, and all the blood bats swooped swiftly through the air, gathering behind the huge dark-gold three-headed bat.

"Dark-Gold Three-Headed Bat King? No, this feeling, at least...?"

The Dark-Gold Three-Headed Bat Emperor circled around Qian Renxue, its three heads and six eyes gloomily fixed on her.

The temperature here was already high, making her irritable; Qian Renxue snapped, "What the hell are you looking at? If you've got guts, come over!"

The Dark-Gold Three-Headed Bat Emperor let out a harsh screech, "Squeak—!", and a dark-gold radiance emanated from its body.

Qian Renxue stared for a moment, then shook her head, "Domain? No, not a domain—just a special aura approaching a domain."

Like spirit masters, spirit beasts that cultivate to a hundred-thousand-year level can possess domain power; of course, this isn't absolute, but the odds are higher than for ordinary Title Douluo to gain a domain—for example, Xiao Wu, who lacks one.

This can only be considered a nascent form of a domain; only after reaching a hundred-thousand-year threshold does its domain truly mature.

A golden ring also erupted from Qian Renxue's body, rapidly expanding until it countered the Dark-Gold Three-Headed Bat Emperor's dark-gold radiance, even covering a slightly larger area.

Using domain against domain!

In this regard, domain development relates to the martial soul's advancement; put simply, it depends on how many spirit rings the martial soul has, unrelated to combat strength.

Qian Renxue's current Angel Domain and the Dark-Gold Three-Headed Bat Emperor's golden radiance are actually the same—both are merely embryonic forms of a domain; only when she truly reaches seven rings will her Angel Domain become a complete manifestation.

The Angel Domain is slightly stronger, able to completely cover the Dark-Gold Bat Emperor's golden aura and even weaken its effect.

Upon seeing Qian Renxue's Angel Domain, the Dark-Gold Bat Emperor flickered with a hint of apprehension; this domain overly restrains its kind of bloodthirsty aberration.

Its three heads let out a sudden cry, then expelled three crimson light waves.

Qian Renxue dodged sideways; the first two dark-gold beams from the Bat Emperor aimed at her body, the third predicted her movement, but unfortunately, after dodging the first two she didn't move, so the waves instead slammed into the spot two meters beneath her.

Today 6200, yesterday I wrote it wrong—Jun martial soul's crystals each come in seventy-eight pieces; it's my pig-brain overload, my mind fried and I miscalculated. Sorry, brothers, already fixed. I feel much better physically; tomorrow's Saturday, so I should be able to write more—I'll strive for double updates! Brothers, please vote for us!

(End of chapter)