[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-dao-dust-pearl":3,"chapter-the-dao-dust-pearl-the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-31":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Dao Dust Pearl",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2359532,4614,"Chapter 31","the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-31",31,"\u003Cp>Qian Chen returned to the Four Seas Hall, only to find the atmosphere, which had gradually eased, now tensed abruptly—all senior masters and grand masters gathered in the Five Lakes Hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stepped into the Five Lakes Hall and heard Bai Yuanliang, known as the Iron Fist of Guanxi, demand: “Grand Master Qian, where were you just now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qian Chen smiled coldly: “I am not your disciple, nor am I of the Four Seas Hall. Where I go is none of your business.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Yuanliang sneered: “You vanished, and right after, Elder Xiao Miler was murdered! What are the odds? When Elder Xiao Miler was attacked in his quarters, Master Kongming arrived in time—but still, the Dragon Head killed him before everyone’s eyes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At the time, Elder Hong Sihai was occupied with official duties. Master Kongming fought the Dragon Head but could not subdue him. Who else but you could have done it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t frame an innocent man!” Kang Qiandeng snapped. “If Brother Qian were the Dragon Head, why would he have killed so many of the Twelve Zodiacs?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Maybe he wanted to clear his name!” Bai Yuanliang shrugged. “The Twelve Zodiacs were always shadows. After the Dragon Head perfected his martial arts, his face returned to youth. To erase his past, he slaughtered the Twelve Zodiacs who had followed him for years—gaining fame and eliminating threats at once.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Qianqiu countered: “That’s absurd. Then why kill Elder Xiao Miler?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Elder Xiao Miler once served as the Great Belly Divine Lord, spying within the Twelve Zodiacs. Perhaps he discovered the Dragon Head’s identity. The Dragon Head had no time to conceal himself—he had to kill him quickly.” Bai Yuanliang’s reasoning was plausible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the martial world’s heroes, many began to waver.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They whispered among themselves, eyeing Qian Chen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qian Chen said calmly: “Do you know I master seven hundred methods of killing, understand five hundred alibis, and recognize nineteen thousand poisons—each capable of killing you without a sound. Yet you dare provoke me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Yuanliang trembled: “Everyone heard that! He’s a ruthless monster, threatening me to my face! If I die, it’s him—I’m certain! What wouldn’t such a monster do?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Maybe he thought killing Elder Xiao Miler would silence him—and no one would suspect him?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Enough!” Master Kongming spoke. “I do not believe Master Qian is the Dragon Head. I will investigate this matter to the end. But until the truth is revealed, no one may slander Master Qian!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Sihai added coolly: “The reinforcements from major sects will arrive soon. We must not let the Dragon Head shake our morale. Perhaps he seeks to sow discord among us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Four Seas Hall will host the heroes who came to aid us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tonight, we will hold a banquet in the Five Lakes Hall. Young Master Qian played a crucial role in defeating the Twelve Zodiacs—he is a hero. We must not slander a man of merit over baseless suspicion.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gathering ended in tension. Qian Chen went to the funeral hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared at Xiao Miler, slain by a sword through the heart. The cheerful, righteous fat man still wore a smile on his face—as if death were ordinary, as if he met it with calm openness. Qian Chen had met him rarely, yet still felt sorrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is the martial world always this cruel?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or is it only so around the protagonist?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qian Chen had no answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have no proof!” he sighed upward. “The major sects’ reinforcements are arriving. With mere suspicions, how could I possibly bring down that man? And if I’m right, his martial skill may surpass mine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Add the righteous reinforcements who will stand by him—even if a few close friends, those I’ve saved and who trust me, speak for me, they’re more likely to be turned against me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This mission is nearly over. Why stir up trouble now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve gathered enough money. Return home, and I can exchange it for Geng Yuanzi’s cultivation notes. To strike at him, I’d exhaust all my cards—and still have only an eighty percent chance. With the reinforcements’ masters, drawn by his reputation, my odds drop below fifty percent!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Dao is vast…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why bother?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Kongming’s arrival interrupted Qian Chen’s inner monologue. He whispered: “I trust you, Master Qian. You would never harm my brother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qian Chen had an urge to tell him his suspicions—then leave this world after tonight’s mission.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who the Dragon Head was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How the righteous martial world would react… none of it mattered to him anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I won’t attend tonight’s banquet,” Qian Chen said. “The martial road is long—I’d rather return. I came singing through the rivers and lakes; I’ll depart on a boat when my joy is spent. A fine tale. Please bid farewell to my friends… Master, may we meet again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qian Chen departed with ease, leaving Master Kongming shaking his head in sighs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just outside the Four Seas Hall gate, Qian Chen saw a cavalry unit galloping down North Street. At their head rode a bearded giant atop a majestic steed with horned head, laughing loudly. The townsfolk of Linhai murmured: “That’s the Lord of the Northern Sea of the Four Seas Hall—the warlord Tu Beihai!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tu Beihai rode overnight to summon reinforcements…” Kang Qiandeng said. “So he’s brought the sects’ armies?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qian Chen saw Tu Beihai holding a severed head, laughing: “Big brother, I’m back! Along the way, I killed a thief who stole Brother Huang’s seal!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tossed the head onto the road.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Shengyi’s young head rolled twice on the street and came to rest at Qian Chen’s feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the reinforcements from major sects entered the city, the Wheel Master’s voice echoed in Qian Chen’s ear: “Cyclical Traveler has completed Task Two: aiding the Martial Alliance’s leader Hong Sihai in killing more than four of the Twelve Zodiacs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Killing a Zodiac grants 500 merit for direct kill, 200 for assist. Completed: Chengwu Divine Lord (direct kill), Gladiatorial Divine Lord (direct kill), Ghost-Eater Divine Lord (direct kill), Feihuang Divine Lord (assist), Pestle Divine Lord (direct kill), Dawn Divine Lord (direct kill), Sun-Chaser Divine Lord (direct kill)…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Side Task: Kill a martial master (Qi Refining realm)—10 merit per kill. Kill a grand master (Channeling realm)—100 merit per kill.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One grand master, eight masters killed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Total reward: 3,380 merit… net 380 merit after conversion.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Proceed to complete task and return to the Cyclical Realm?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve truly angered me! Do you know I’ve already slaughtered eight of the Twelve Zodiacs like dogs? Though I am a cultivated Daoist, to see men killed before my eyes… even the Buddha grows angry!” Faces flashed before Qian Chen: Huang Yuhuan, Liang Dou, Luo Shengyi. Luo Shengyi’s bewildered expression as he died pierced Qian Chen’s gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His face turned icy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qian Chen answered the Wheel Master calmly: “No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I thought I was clever—but I lost big.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His figure vanished from Linhai City. So did Luo Shengyi’s head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the city, at the site of Luo Shengyi’s death, a nameless grave was hastily piled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qian Chen stood alone before the grave, now clad in a green robe, wearing the Serpent Head Mask of Chengwu Divine Lord. The bronze serpent face lent him an eerie chill. Like a phantom among the trees, he faced the grave: “You still couldn’t escape this fate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He touched the mask: “I thought I’d never need this thing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Twelve Zodiacs shattered the Four Seas.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I was once righteous martial—so I killed several of the Twelve Zodiacs. But now I am Chengwu Divine Lord. I must shatter the Hong family, kill Hong Sihai… Ha! The Twelve Zodiacs never care for evidence.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My mission isn’t done. Return? Pfft!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qian Chen had thought centuries of cultivation had refined him into a transcendent spirit. Yet now, he felt again the heat surging in his marrow…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He remembered, long ago on Earth, reading old novels…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The righteous fury, the unyielding heroism that shattered injustice!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Free and unrestrained—yet never compromising!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immortal and ageless—yet never turned to lifeless stone!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My life is free and unrestrained—not bought by quiet detachment or indifference. I am cautious—but not a coward hiding his head, a timid turtle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qian Chen stood with hands behind his back, the serpent mask on his face, gazing at Luo Shengyi’s grave, smiling: “I am the Immortal Spirit, Chengwu Divine Lord. The Twelve Zodiacs act—targets must… be killed without mercy! Even Hong Sihai. Even if Hong Sihai is the Dragon Head. Come to think of it—I haven’t delivered my gift yet!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let the Dragon Head’s head be the gift—to the headless Martial Alliance leader!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“See how cruel the Twelve Zodiacs are… even their own leader they kill.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The remnants of the Twelve Zodiacs killed the Martial Alliance leader Hong Sihai during his grand banquet. How natural. How satisfying.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The echoes faded…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qian Chen walked toward Linhai City without looking back.\u003C\u002Fp>",1471,"2026-06-21T05:39:58.326Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","ea18ef21dc275b3b605aca463ac1d1a7fd37b926a7a5d203f912cbe7669a312a","the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-32","the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-30",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-dao-dust-pearl-cover.jpg"]