Chapter 240

Facing Tong Xin's question, whether the incomplete Reincarnation Rules, when crafted into a Painful Soul Banner, would affect its function.

The Guide nodded in affirmation:

【This will inevitably have some impact—the incomplete portion you hold, once crafted into a Painful Soul Banner, will sever its connection to the other Reincarnation Rules, becoming an independent system, akin to a local network; you will lose many talents, skills, and attribute allocation patterns that could be enhanced, unless you gradually collect the missing Reincarnation Rules fragments until you form a complete rule-based Painful Soul Banner.】

"Guide Brother, how many Dark Descendant warriors' souls are stored in the Reincarnation Rules fragments I hold?"

【Over 1.89 million. Though this number is negligible in the Monster World, it's enough for you to build a sizable war force. To expand your strength in the future, you can collect more Reincarnation Rules fragments—each fragment is bound to a vast number of Dark Descendant warrior souls.】

Hearing the Guide's answer, Tong Xin clenched his fist in excitement.

His future direction was now clear.

Collect more Reincarnation Rules fragments, then cultivate more Dark Descendant warriors.

"Guide Brother, if I want to collect other parts of the Reincarnation Rules in the future, can you help me?"

【Yes. The Dark Descendant Legion's rules were already marked by me upon our first contact—I know their exact coordinates. As long as you have the capacity to contain them.】

"Thank you, Guide Brother," Tong Xin grinned.

After the Guide's detailed explanation, he now understood exactly what to do.

All he needed to do was craft the Reincarnation Rules bound to Dark Descendant warriors into Painful Soul Banners—this would allow the Dark Descendant warriors to reduce their resurrection costs with the help of the player system.

This was essentially a gradual growth system.

Dark Descendant warriors no longer lost over 50% of their combat power every time they died and resurrected.

Instead, each resurrection only deducted about 50% of their impure blood energy.

For example, with 100 points of combat power, after the first death, the warrior resurrected with only 50 points remaining.

But those 50 points were already purified blood energy—no matter how many more times they died, those 50 points would never decrease.

If the warrior died a second time with 120 points of combat power, the previously purified 50 points remained, while the remaining 70 points were halved to 35, totaling 85 points of combat power.

The second resurrection began at 85 points of combat power.

The base combat power after resurrection would only increase as the Dark Descendant warriors grew stronger.

As for the cost of resurrection requiring Dark Descendant energy, once turned into a Painful Painful Minghun, it could be replaced by Shou Shou Jili and faith power—this expenditure could not be avoided.

Just as a player's resurrection requires 10 points of Life Force, this cost is fundamentally the expense of activating the Reincarnation Rules.

The key advantage is reduced cultivation-related costs, enabling rapid growth of the Dark Descendant warriors.

Though they cannot resurrect without loss like growth-type pets, the Dark Descendant Legion's advantage lies in its diversified war system.

Each Dark Descendant warrior possesses strong combat talents.

Individually, a Dark Descendant warrior's potential, in the Guide's view, was far inferior to that of a growth-type pet.

But when comparing the entire Dark Descendant Legion as a whole, it clearly surpassed them.

This path of growth for the Dark Descendant Legion filled Tong Xin with anticipation.

He didn't know how other players' future development would unfold, but he would surely become an army unto himself, summoning hundreds of thousands—or even more—Dark Descendant warriors to fight for him.

The current problem was how to acquire these 1.2 million Shou Shou Jili.

With his future growth path now clear, he only wanted to craft the Reincarnation Rules fragments he held into Painful Soul Banners as soon as possible.

Completing it early would effectively prevent wastage of early-stage resources.

This truly gave him a headache.

The price, even in the real world, was a massive sum—enough to afford the most advanced life-extension surgery from the Moon Eclipse Clan.

Saving up was certainly feasible.

At the current faith power to Shou Shou Jili exchange rate, after resurrecting Dark Descendant warriors and hiding away, he could generate 600 Shou Shou Jili per hour, or 14,400 per day.

He could accumulate enough Shou Shou Jili in less than three months.

But sitting idle for eighty days, just waiting for Shou Shou Jili to accumulate, was unbearably boring.

This behavior might even weaken the Dark Descendant warriors' faith in him.

Thinking of this, Tong Xin made his decision.

Scrounge!

He had to raise this money.

Taking out the crystal linking to the Dark Descendant space, Tong Xin began extracting the Dark Star Elder's Dark Descendant crystal, given to Dark Sui before death.

Let the Guide calculate and total its value—sacrificing it beneath Di Zhao would yield 837,000 Shou Shou Jili.

Sacrificing it directly was certainly the worst option.

He summoned the trading market to check prices of various energy crystals for comparison.

But the problem was, the Shangcheng had no comparable goods for Dark Descendant energy crystals—whether any players even needed them was another question.

With no alternative, he posted on the forum asking if any players needed Dark Descendant crystals.

After waiting several hours, no player replied.

This proved that, in players' eyes, Dark Descendant crystals had no value—at least no usable value had been discovered yet.

He had no choice but to sacrifice all the Dark Descendant crystals beneath Di Zhao, gaining 837,000 Shou Shou Jili.

He still lacked 363,000 Shou Shou Jili.

He immediately summoned the guild chat interface, preparing to ask his brothers for help.

Kindergarten Principal: Me, the Principal—everyone, send me money.

Soon, the Kindergarten brothers replied.

Iron Hammer: No way. You're short on money? You earn over ten thousand Shou Shou Jili daily—who lives more comfortably than you?

Drunk Milk: Take back your request for a loan, or we're no longer brothers.

Gulu: Principal, I just cast a divination—today is inauspicious for lending money, and even for speaking. Suggestion: shut up.

Black Ball: Principal, did you spend all your Shou Shou Jili raising your little brats again? Aren't they supposed to be earning money? How are you losing money? What kind of Principal are you? Take your little kids out to conquer the world and make profits!

Class Monitor: Leeching off your parents, huh? Always reaching out for money the moment anything comes up—we were counting on you to support us in our old age, and this is how you turn out? Tell me first how much Shou Shou Jili you're short.

Kindergarten Principal: 363,000. Brothers, hurry up and chip in.

Marble: Are you out of your mind? 363,000—if you dropped the 'thousand' I could barely scrape it together for you, but add that 'thousand' on and you're giving the brothers way too much credit.

Hammer: Silently pulled back the hand he'd prepared to transfer with. Principal, why don't you take your doll army down to the Colorful Mist Coast and busk? We really can't scrape together that much Shou Shou Jili.

Gulu: Principal, do I look like 363,000 Shou Shou Jili to you? The most valuable thing on my whole body is my fatherly love for you—after all, love is priceless. Put me up on the trading house and I should fetch a decent price.

Kindergarten Principal: I'm not joking. Right now I'm short exactly 363,000 Shou Shou Jili. I want to use it to craft a Painful Painful Minghun—similar to the special Painful Minghun Brother Painful made. Embed the reincarnation rules into the Star Vein slots, and from now on the cost of reviving Darkborn warriors will drop a lot, and we won't have to level up new alts every time…

Hammer: (screenshot. jpg) Last time I spent it all crafting a rune weapon. I've got 8,298 Shou Shou Jili on me total. I'll transfer 8,200 to you, leaving 98 for teleport fees—my next meal isn't even sorted out. They all say I'm a house-leech; if I keep leeching like this, I doubt I'll live long enough to get old.

Drunk Milk: I've got 14,000 Shou Shou Jili on me, transferred it all to you. You better hurry up and earn the money to pay us back!

……

Although the brothers of the Kindergarten teased Hearing Tong Xin with their words,

upon learning that Hearing Tong Xin wanted to spend Shou Shou Jili to craft a Painful Painful Minghun, they all reached into their pockets one after another.

This round the brothers scraped together 233,000 Shou Shou Jili, deeply moving Hearing Tong Xin.

Meeting this bunch of brothers in this life—worth it.

From the very beginning, scraping together money to buy him the Dark Lands game qualification, to the guidance and growth after entering the game, and the startup capital support.

These brothers hadn't earned a single Shou Shou Jili off him, but whenever he needed something, they gave their all.

Gulu even sold off the spiritual materials he'd stockpiled in his warehouse waiting for the price to rise, just to scrape together money for him.

After receiving the brothers' support funds, there was still a 130,000 Shou Shou Jili shortfall.

If he borrowed Shou Shou Jili from a few major guilds, they could definitely come up with it—it's just that it's not easy to bring himself to ask.

After all, he entered the game fairly late.

The one liaising with all the major guilds' activities was Hammer, the acting guild leader at the time, who wasn't familiar with him.

Opening his mouth straight away for a 130,000 Shou Shou Jili loan—he really wasn't sure he could get it.

Just as Hearing Tong Xin was preparing to revive 500 warriors of the Darkborn Legion, then enter closed-door cultivation for 13 days, scraping together money through idle earning, a mailbox notification popped up.

Puzzled, he opened the notification bar and found it was a mail sent by Hammer.

Kindergarten-Hammer:

Borrowed 130,000 Shou Shou Jili from the Divine King.

The Divine King was pretty easy to talk to—after all, every time he launched a campaign event, our Kindergarten followed along, so he gave us this face.

If you really can't scrape together this 130,000 Shou Shou Jili in the near future, we'll figure out a way to pay it back for you first when the time comes.

Although the brothers badmouth you on the surface, who told you to be our principal.

The days you led us through the game's pioneering phase are forever etched in memory.

Remember, you're not alone. The Kindergarten will always be your backing. Your godfathers stand with you.

(Mail attachment: 130,000 Shou Shou Jili.)

……

After reading the mail's contents, complex emotions welled up in Hearing Tong Xin's heart.

Hammer's words were blunt, but between every line was the brothers' trust and support.

Shou Shou Jili is easy to repay, but this bond of friendship isn't something that can be repaid lightly.

"I really owe you all a great debt."

He muttered softly, then sat up straight, his gaze turning firm.

In the guild chat channel he quickly replied with one line:

"Thanks, brothers, don't worry. I'll get it sorted as soon as possible."

He closed the interface, took a deep breath, and his gaze turned to the rolling waves in the distance.

From now on, he had to work twice as hard.

Not to repay the debt, but to live up to these brothers who had always stood behind him—not to let them down.

"Guide bro, the money's ready. Let's begin."

Hearing his call, Guide opened his eyes without any unnecessary words.

The Darkborn Space Crystal in Hearing Tong Xin's hand automatically floated into the air at this moment.

The originally dim luster on the crystal's surface flickered slightly, as if awakened by some power.

Following Guide's consciousness guidance, countless fine, dense rune paths materialized in the air, circling the Darkborn Crystal like living things, gradually forming a complex light array.

Energy surged within the crystal; the originally murky hue gradually turned transparent, as if purified.

The runes in the light array continuously poured into the crystal, each touch stirring up a ripple-like halo on the surface.

The crystal's shape also began to change, gradually contracting and condensing from its original irregular polyhedron, ultimately transforming into a perfect sphere.

The rune paths continued to brand themselves into the crystal ball.

Inside, it seemed to contain an endless starry sky; specks of starlight flickered within, like a miniature universe.

As time passed, the flickering brilliance on the runes grew ever more dazzling.

During this process, the Shou Shou Jili in the spatial pack's balance column plummeted rapidly.

Every rune generated deducted 1000+ Shou Shou Jili.

In the end, all the light suddenly converged and merged entirely into the crystal ball; the crystal ball also shifted from transparent to black, then abruptly dissipated and fused with his body.

【It's done.】 Having spoken, Guide closed his eyes.

"Thanks, Guide bro."

Hearing Tong Xin's gaze turned to his personal pack column. In the last slot of the item bar, a black crystal ball had appeared.

His gaze focused, and detailed information surfaced in his mind.

【Unnamed (Special Painful Painful Minghun - Incomplete)】

Painful Painful Minghun Trait Description: Can manipulate the operation of certain Reincarnation Rules (Special Painful Painful Minghun cannot be hunted and leveled up; they can only be strengthened by fusing with other fragments of Reincarnation Rules).

……

The description is very brief, but Hearing Tong Xin knows exactly how to use this title.

He first modified the name of the Painful Painful Minghun, naming it: Darkborn Legion.

Summoning the Star Vein interface, he decomposed the Blood-Reversal Painful Painful Minghun to make room for the Darkborn Legion Painful Painful Minghun.

Once embedded, countless pieces of information flooded into his mind.

The information on how to use the Reincarnation Rules was presented in a more detailed manner.

Entering the Darkborn Space through teleportation, Hearing Tong Xin consumed his remaining Shou Shou Jili and stockpiled Faith Power to drive the operation of the Darkborn Legion Painful Painful Minghun.

Instantly, the roster of Darkborn Warriors appeared in his mind, presented in the form of a Guang Mu Jie interface.

He used his consciousness to select the 500 most recently cultivated warriors and chose to hatch them.

Instantly, the Darkborn Space shook violently, and the cube-shaped Reincarnation Rules spun rapidly.

Suddenly, a crack opened on the surface of the cube.

An invisible force erupted from within the cube.

Countless infant embryos surged out from the crack like a tide, wrapped in a layer of transparent membrane as thin as a cicada's wing.

They fell like raindrops.

When they landed, the membranes burst with crisp "pop pop" sounds.

Within each bursting embryo was a Darkborn warrior.

The newborns curled their tiny bodies, their skin a faint grayish-black, still covered in some mucus, as if they had just emerged from a mother's womb.

As more and more infants landed, the entire space was filled with their wailing.

The rising and falling cries quickly merged into a cacophony of sound, heralding their rebirth.

This gave Hearing Tong Xin an instant headache.

He felt that he now truly resembled a kindergarten principal, having to feed and clean up after them from the very start.

Arriving in front of one infant and standing still, he reached out and picked up the baby.

Seeing him, a tender smile suddenly appeared on the infant's face; it stretched out its limbs, its tiny hands grasping at the air as if searching for something to hold onto.

A faint dark-red glow could be seen flickering on the infant's forehead — that was the unique life brand of the Darkborn race.

The infant in his arms was none other than An Sui.

The moment An Sui was born, he completed the Faith Connection with him; this was clearly also why An Sui smiled upon seeing him.

At this stage, the Darkborn warriors had no combat ability and had not yet unlocked their memory brands.

Taking this group of Darkborn infants out to fight would be no different from sending them to their deaths.

Listening to the noisy wailing, Hearing Tong Xin had no choice but to put An Sui down, activate teleportation, and leave the Darkborn Space.

The Commander of the Darkborn Legion, starting as a nanny.

……

One hour later.

Bang!

A muffled thud suddenly rang out from the quiet jungle, breaking the surrounding deathly silence.

Hearing Tong Xin, holding a rock shield in one hand, charged swiftly at a monster resembling a moose.

This monster was massive, standing over two people tall, with thick antlers branching out like tree limbs atop its head.

At this moment, the monster was gnawing on a half-human-tall monster that was already dead.

Spotting Hearing Tong Xin's attack, it suddenly raised its head.

But it was too late to dodge; the rock shield slammed hard into the monster's side, activating the Heavy Hammer trait.

The moose-like monster instantly fell into a mental stun, its body crashing to the ground.

Hearing Tong Xin decisively raised the Rune Resonance Long Staff in his right hand and began smashing down repeatedly.

Each time the staff fell, it brought a whoosh of wind, slamming heavily into the monster's abdomen with a muffled thud.

The stunned monster awoke from the intense pain, its body twisting violently as it tried to throw Hearing Tong Xin off.

Its thick limbs kicked and thrashed furiously, gouging furrows into the surrounding earth and sending dust flying.

Finally, using the leverage, it flipped itself up.

Hearing Tong Xin lunged at that moment, locking one arm around the monster's neck, steadying himself on its back, his staff's assault never ceasing.

This time, the smashing blow landed on the monster's head.

The monster's struggles grew even more frenzied; it suddenly arched its back, leaping up like a spring, its limbs kicking wildly in the air, then crashed down back-first.

Hearing Tong Xin reacted swiftly — releasing his grip, he kicked off the monster's back with both feet and leaped high into the air.

As the monster slammed into the ground, Hearing Tong Xin's aerial jump-split followed right behind.

The Rune Resonance Long Staff came down hard on the monster's head; the monster immediately let out a wail, its body convulsing repeatedly.

After steadying himself, Hearing Tong Xin continued his assault.

All the Painful Painful Minghun he embedded were tank-type, so low damage output was a glaring weakness.

The weapons he forged were also blunt instruments; killing a level-45 monster took considerable effort.

Taking advantage of the monster's momentary inability to resist, the Heavy Hammer trait struck down.

This blow once again knocked the monster into a stun state.

Seconds later, the monster, breaking free of the stun, twisted its head to charge — but Hearing Tong Xin had predicted the move and precisely blocked it with his rock shield.

The combat techniques honed from years of shield-fighting were equally effective in Monster World.

A few minutes later, the monster let out a low, mournful wail; its eyes gradually lost their luster, its massive body collapsed limply, and its breathing grew ragged.

Fresh blood seeped from its mouth and nostrils, staining the ground beneath it red.

Hearing Tong Xin's movements slowed slightly, but the runic long staff in his hand remained gripped tight.

He stared coldly at the monster before him, confirming whether it had already lost the ability to resist.

The monster's chest heaved violently, each breath seeming to drain its last reserves of strength — clearly no longer capable of fighting.

After observing carefully and still feeling uneasy, Hearing Tong Xin turned his gaze toward a nearby thicket of thorns, then crudely fashioned a thorn rope to bind the monster's four limbs.

After finishing all this, a smile surfaced on his face.

With a single-hand snap of his fingers, fifty "Fierce Beasts" led by An Sui were instantly summoned amid wailing cries.

The moment they landed, the Darkborn Infants were drawn by the qi and blood, crawling toward the fallen monster and the creature the monster had half-devoured.

This was also why Hearing Tong Xin had not chosen to kill the monster.

Being slain by a player would trigger a challenger prompt, along with Shou Shou Jili and evolution-point rewards.

Only half-dead and half-alive would it be easy for the Darkborn Infants to absorb.

Under his watchful eye, the Darkborn Infants draped themselves over the monster, sucking through the air toward the wound.

Instantly, the monster's body shriveled at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Yet the Darkborn Infants grew at a speed visible to the naked eye — their originally wrinkled, little-old-man bodies gradually filling out and rounding.

Their ash-gray skin took on a sheen; after their limbs stretched out, their bones let out a series of "crack-crack" interlacing sounds, prying their bodies open.

Their originally curled fingers and toes gradually grew slender, and the contours of their baby-fat cheeks became defined.

Within the blank, vacant pupils of these Darkborn Infants, a spark of liveliness gradually surfaced, curiously taking in their surroundings as if adapting to the sights of this world.

Their hair also changed from sparse fuzz to thick locks.

Their bodies were as if accelerated by time, rapidly growing from infant state — in the blink of an eye they took on the appearance of children aged one to two.

Once the qi and blood on the monster had been fully absorbed, the Darkborn Infants turned their heads one after another toward Hearing Tong Xin, their eyes filled with dependence, and crawled toward him.

In no time, Hearing Tong Xin was covered in Darkborn Infants.

Gnawing fingers, grabbing hair, fighting with pant legs… all manner of sounds exploded in his ears, giving Hearing Tong Xin a pounding headache.

"None of you are allowed to make trouble — line up neatly in front of me."

Hearing Hearing Tong Xin's command, the Darkborn Infants fell briefly silent before resuming their clamor.

Realizing the Darkborn Infants did not yet possess the capacity for thought, he could only send them back to the Darkborn Space one by one.

There had been previous cases of Darkborn Warriors dying and reviving, but those had all been under An Sui's care and nurturing.

Now An Sui was also in infant state, so only he could step in.

Fortunately, according to what An Sui had said at the time, Darkborn Warriors could activate their memory imprints at roughly three years old after revival — victory was in sight.

After sending all the Darkborn Infants back to the Darkborn Space, Hearing Tong Xin resolutely headed toward the fog zone on the map.

Carrying a mountain of debt, with five hundred Darkborn Infants waiting to be fed back in the space, he had no choice but to work hard.

……

Three days later.

Forest Realm, West District.

This was a plain suffused with dreamlike colors.

The plants along the way shimmered with a faint silver-blue glow, swaying in the wind as if the entire earth were flowing.

Countless luminous spores drifted in the air, like stardust scattered from the sky, carried by the wind, shrouding the whole plain in a hazy luminous mist.

Hearing Tong Xin strolled along the winding path, breathing in the fragrance of grass and trees; natural energy seeped into every pore of his body like a trickling stream, leaving him feeling utterly refreshed.

Behind him, five hundred Darkborn Warriors crawled on all fours, following closely.

Their movements were uniform and swift, their small bodies pressed flat against the ground, advancing on hands and feet like a pack of agile young beasts.

Once they reached the age of three, the Darkborn Warriors' memory imprints were activated.

Despite their massive numbers, their movements were surprisingly quiet; their gazes remained fixed on Hearing Tong Xin's back, carrying a near-obsessive focus.

Every time Hearing Tong Xin took a step forward, the five hundred Darkborn Warriors would quickly follow, afraid of being left behind, yet keeping just the right distance — like a well-trained little army.

Hearing Tong Xin stopped his steps at this moment, turned, and looked at the Darkborn Warriors.

The Darkborn Infants also stopped immediately, raising their heads in unison, their gazes toward Hearing Tong Xin carrying a trace of attachment.

Although they no longer wailed, this group of Darkborn Warriors was not easy to raise.

These three days of round-the-clock hunting, without a single break, had been for the sole purpose of nurturing this group of Darkborn Warriors and clearing the debt as soon as possible.

The reason for coming to the Forest Realm area this time was a post he had seen on the forum.

The exploring-faction player who posted said he had discovered a village in the Forest Realm area that had been parasitized by Soul Beasts.

Inside were Soul Beast lives of hunting level 30+, and killing them would drop Soul Crystal Stones — decent kill rewards.

The awkward part was that newbie players in the Forest Realm area all built around an "Painful Painful Minghun Extraction" core Star Vein build, which had zero killing power against flesh-and-blood lifeforms transformed by Soul Beast parasitism.

And at hunting level 30-something, veteran players weren't interested.

But Hearing Tong Xin was different.

He had already been agonizing over where would be suitable to hunt.

None of the five newbie villages was suitable.

The Imperial Tomb Mountains were far too intense — bringing the Darkborn Legion to hunt there would be outright suicide, total annihilation in minutes.

Di Ku Shi Jie was far too random, exploration was basically opening a blind box, and there were too many scene traps — one careless step also meant the price of total annihilation.

The Forest Realm area was a scene ruled by greenery; finding a flesh-and-blood lifeform there wasn't easy, making hunting efficiency low.

The Frost Snow Plains area had moderate intensity, but the Bliss Worm Tide and Bliss Purple Tide warriors were all lifeforms constructed of Bliss energy, making it hard to squeeze out qi and blood energy.

The only suitable one was the Mist-Shrouded Coast area.

But after veteran players had farmed it through multiple rounds, the number of monsters on the Colorful Mist Coast had grown increasingly sparse, and exploring the Mist Zone carried far too much risk.

One might encounter a fortuitous opportunity, or one might encounter a crisis beyond their ability to challenge.

Just as he was agonizing over it, he saw this post, and the idea of coming to the Forest Realm region instantly sprouted in his mind.

This time, the target was a village that had been parasitized by Soul Beasts.

When it came to Soul Beasts, Hearing Tong Xin was no stranger.

Back when he was still a cloud player, he scoured the forum's strategy posts at high intensity every day, and had already seen analysis posts related to Soul Beasts.

The post included video clips from the Grinder Squad, which described the rule ability Soul Shaping mastered by the faction opposing the Reverse Tide Legion, the "Soul Return Clan."

Soul Beasts were mentioned within.

They were a special form of life derived from the Soul Shaping rule — able to devour a target and take over everything about them, including their memories and abilities.

The post contained a video clip of the Grinder Squad being attacked by Soul Beasts on the road to Qian Wang Er Qi training camp.

In the end, a trainee of the Four-Eyed Clan was devoured and possessed by a Soul Beast, and called Seeing Gui Tong "Brother Clan."

The comment section was full of cursing, everyone feeling the Soul Beast's ability was disgustingly overpowered.

The player who posted the supplementary background information also noted that the Soul Return Clan's hallmark was casting a wide net everywhere.

They scattered Soul Beast seeds all across Monster World. The vast majority of those Soul Beasts would be destroyed, but some would grow rapidly through devouring and possession, and ultimately return to the Soul Return Clan as one of its members.

The region he was headed to was a clan village that had already been occupied by Soul Beasts.

The map's fog had already been cleared, and players had conducted detailed exploration and investigation of the area, so he had no need to worry about encountering monsters he couldn't handle.

After continuing on for another stretch, an ancient village appeared at the end of the plain.

Charging straight in was clearly inappropriate — the Darkborn warriors behind him would inevitably be wiped out.

He decided to adopt a kiting hunting method, picking them off one by one.

He turned his head to look at the five hundred Darkborn warriors behind him, and said in a low voice:

"Hold position and stand at ease!"

Hearing his command, all five hundred Darkborn warriors instantly went completely still.

"Wait for me to come back."

The five hundred Darkborn warriors nodded in perfect unison, expressions solemn, like a disciplined army.

Hearing Tong Xin summoned his Rock Shield and headed alone toward the ruined village to scout.

Before long, he encountered the first Soul Beast outside the village.

It was shaped like a werewolf, its entire body covered in pitch-black fur, its pupils carrying a bloodthirsty glint utterly devoid of emotion, its claws sharp as blades, standing in the village like a wooden post.

He swept it with Analyze, and the Soul Beast's information appeared in his mind:

【Soul Beast (Possession)】:

Hunting Level: 35.

Target Introduction: A Soul Beast that has possessed a Porcupine Wolf Clan warrior, having mastered all of the Porcupine Wolf warrior's memories and abilities. Due to its low combat power, it has not been recalled by the Soul Return Clan.

……

"You're the one."

Hearing Tong Xin picked up a stone from the ground, hefted it twice to test its weight, then twisted his hip and hurled it fiercely at the Soul Beast.

Smack!

The stone smashed into the Soul Beast's head and shattered into fragments that sprayed in all directions.

A low growl rumbled from the Soul Beast's throat, its gaze instantly locking onto Hearing Tong Xin as its body crouched slightly.

Roar!

With a low snarl, the Soul Beast lunged at Hearing Tong Xin like a vicious beast sprung from a cage.

Hearing Tong Xin decisively retreated to pull distance.

He led the Soul Beast back toward the Darkborn warriors' position in a kiting fashion.

Enraged during the pursuit, the Soul Beast suddenly leaped, its body carving a trajectory through the air, its sharp claws splitting the air with a whistling sound.

Hearing Tong Xin didn't take such an attack seriously at all — he swiftly raised his Rock Shield to block in front of him.

The Soul Beast's claw strike slammed into the Rock Shield with a dull thud. Hearing Tong Xin only felt the shield tremble slightly — not a single drop of blood was lost.

This damage output was exactly the kind of trash he wanted.

Walking and retreating as he went, before long he neared the area where the Darkborn warriors were.

After issuing the command through the Faith Link, the five hundred Darkborn warriors transformed into black phantoms, rapidly closing in on all fours, and surrounded the Soul Beast completely.

The leading An Sui suddenly leaped up, his form ghost-like, instantly closing in on the Soul Beast's flank.

His claws, like sharp blades, precisely pierced into the Soul Beast's fur, and blue blood immediately gushed out.

But An Sui's Hunting Level was only 18, so his damage was limited — once his claws had sunk in about an inch, he couldn't push any deeper.

The Soul Beast, in pain, violently twisted its body, attempting to counterattack.

But An Sui had already withdrawn.

At that moment the second Darkborn warrior closed in, a talent sigil appearing on his forehead, his claws coated in a faint dark-red glow, swiftly slashing across the Soul Beast's hind leg and leaving a wound deep enough to expose bone.

Immediately after, the third, the fourth… the Darkborn warriors surged forward like a tide, each strike precise and lethal.

They employed a hit-and-run tactic, their movements so fast they were dizzying to watch, like a group of well-trained little assassins coordinating with flawless teamwork.

The Soul Beast's roars gradually grew feeble, more and more wounds appearing on its body, its ghostly-blue blood staining the ground.

Finally, a Darkborn warrior leaped down from above the Soul Beast's head. After a talent sigil appeared on his forehead, his form suddenly accelerated, his sharp claws stabbing straight at the Soul Beast's neck.

After his form swept past, a bloody gash was left across the Soul Beast's neck.

The Soul Beast convulsed violently several times, then crashed to the ground with a thunderous thud, never to move again.

The entire battle lasted less than a minute — the Soul Beast didn't even get a chance to counterattack before being executed by the Darkborn warriors.

The battle ended, but the Dark Descendant warriors did not move, obediently lying on the ground awaiting Hearing Tong Xin's command.

"Eat."

Immediately, all the Dark Descendant warriors raised their heads and opened their mouths, swallowing through the air in an instant.

The blood on the ground, as well as the blood from the soul beasts' wounds, transformed into wisps of blood mist that was absorbed by the Dark Descendant warriors, their combat power amplified once again.

But spread across five hundred Dark Descendant warriors, it was a drop in the bucket.

Hearing Tong Xin stood to the side, quietly watching this scene, the corners of his mouth curving up into a slight arc of satisfaction.

This group of Dark Descendant warriors coordinated exceptionally well; their current combat potential was still far from being fully tapped.

Only when they grew to their youthful state could they display the charm of an assassination legion.

"Nicely done." he praised in a low voice.

The Dark Descendant warriors said nothing, quietly watching and waiting for the next command to be issued, like a group of emotionless killing machines.

Hearing Tong Xin stepped forward at this moment, took a dagger from his spatial pouch, sliced open the soul beast's chest, and took out a pale blue crystal stone from within.

He swept an analysis over it, and the relevant information flooded into his mind.

【Soul Crystal Stone】:

Material Analysis: Soul beast energy core, containing faint residual rule energy (sacrificing to Beneath Di Zhao yields 289 points of Shou Shou Jili).

……

The gains were fairly decent.

Besides nurturing the growth of the Dark Descendant legion, hunting soul beasts could also bring in an extra income.

"Stay where you are and don't move, wait for daddy to come back and feed you."

After saying this, Hearing Tong Xin struck out again.

For an initial test, he decided to pull several soul beasts at once to improve hunting efficiency.

Arriving outside the village, his gaze quickly locked onto a lone soul beast. After picking up a stone to draw aggro, he did not rush to leave, but kept this soul beast on a leash while searching for a new target.

His current main Painful Painful Minghun, Rock Shield, was already level 59, fully capable of withstanding attacks from multiple soul beasts.

By the time he returned to the Dark Descendant warriors' side, three soul beasts were following behind him.

Before issuing combat orders, Hearing Tong Xin decisively activated Taunt, ensuring the soul beasts' attack target remained himself.

"Go!"

Immediately the Dark Descendant legion mobilized, their small figures tumbling through the air.

Like piranhas in water, they swarmed around the soul beasts, striking one after another, swiftly executing and absorbing the three soul beasts.

Summoning the interface to check, the levels of all 500 Dark Descendant warriors had risen.

Among them, the one whose hunting level had grown the fastest was the legion commander, Dark Shard.

Although the absorbed qi and blood energy was roughly the same, the disparity in strength had already manifested.

Ranking each Dark Shard warrior by growth potential, with the average growth potential set at 1 point.

Legion commander Dark Shard's growth potential was approximately 5.4 points.

In other words, when Dark Shard absorbed the same amount of qi and blood energy, his strength grew more than five times faster than the other Dark Descendant warriors.

But the Dark Descendant legion's strength lay in the whole; single-handedly boosting Dark Shard's strength was meaningless.

After executing the three soul beasts and extracting the crystal stones for sacrifice, he continued exploring into the village.

Pulling mobs, focusing fire... relying on Taunt to absorb damage, Hearing Tong Xin began operating around the clock for 24 hours straight.

The number of soul beasts in the village also gradually decreased through the hunting.

The Dark Descendant legion's average hunting level had reached level 23. During this period, apart from logging off to replace his nutrient canister, Hearing Tong Xin had not rested at all.

He was so exhausted it reminded him of the days when he worked high-intensity part-time jobs just to buy the qualification for the Dark Lands game.

The difference was, his body was weary but his spirit was incomparably joyful.

Watching the Dark Descendant legion warriors grow, their combat power soaring rapidly, the process of striving was full of a sense of achievement and anticipation.

What was even happier was that the Faith progress bar had been rising rapidly during the feeding process.

It wouldn't be long before the first batch of second-tier Faith was born, and by then the acquisition speed of Faith Power could be significantly boosted.

Not to brag, but at the current rate of development, he would surely stand at the pinnacle of the player faction.

Pulling a significant gap apart from ordinary players.

Relying solely on Faith Power, he could get over ten thousand Shou Shou Jili every day. As the Dark Descendant legion expanded, his strength growth speed would increase exponentially.

Now the Dark Descendant legion had already been crafted into Painful Painful Minghun, so even death was not something to worry too much about.

The only question was, once the soul beasts in this village were slaughtered to the last, where should he go hunting next.

It needed to be neither too difficult, nor lacking in sufficient qi and blood to absorb.

Environments meeting these two conditions were few.

As for the Senluo Forest Realm region, once this area was cleared, he would have to leave.

Although the environment here was nice and the air was fresh, the monsters were predominantly plant-type and couldn't be squeezed for qi and blood energy.

It wasn't that there were no qi and blood-type monsters at all. Continuing west from the Senluo Forest Realm was one of the Soul Return Clan's territories, where there would surely be a large number of qi and blood-type lifeforms.

But in the face of the Soul Return Clan's war legions, the Dark Descendant legion didn't even have the qualification to resist.

The Soul Return Clan was a race capable of contending with the Reverse Tide Legion; any core combatant pulled out from those who could go onto the battlefield could wipe out the entire Dark Descendant legion.

It was foreseeable that in the future, once players finished pioneering the Senluo Forest Realm region, they would directly face the challenge of the Soul Return Clan.

By then, the player faction would also officially step onto the contest for dominance stage of the Pale Continent region.

After a bout of wild thoughts, Hearing Tong Xin's gaze looked forward.

Five soul beasts were firmly tethered to his side, while the Dark Descendant legion warriors' ghostly figures crisscrossed all around.

Like nimble assassins, they struck and retreated, after which new Soul Return Clan warriors would step forward to supplement the damage.

In no time, these five soul beasts lay on the ground, drenched in blood.

"Stop, time to eat."

To prevent the soul beasts he had touched from being absorbed by the player system, Hearing Tong Xin decisively signaled the children to feast while the soul beasts were on the brink of death.

The process of devouring blood and qi took only a few seconds; Hearing Tong Xin stepped forward to harvest the soul crystals and sacrifice them to Beneath Di Zhao, then led the Dark Descendant Legion to continue wandering through the village, seeking prey.

This village covered a considerable area, but he had already explored most of it.

Only one location remained where the mist had not been dispersed; this was also his next direction of exploration.

Leading the Dark Descendant Legion toward the misty area, he found ruins of buildings everywhere along the way.

One could foresee what had happened back then.

Soul beasts are intelligent life forms.

For ordinary clans facing soul beasts, the most terrifying aspect is not their combat power, but their perfect disguise.

Even memories and habits are imitated; without analytical ability, they are hard to distinguish.

Soul beasts will integrate into the clan under the identity of the possessed, waiting for an opportunity to strike, gradually devouring the entire clan or replacing them all with their own soul beasts.

Achieving possession at the clan level is nothing short of a dimensional strike.

Even the Reverse Tide Legion finds it difficult to resist the possession of the Soul Return Clan; on the battlefield, combatants often become members of the Soul Return Clan.

As for why the soul beasts in this village were not recalled by the Soul Return Clan, it is highly likely that these soul beasts were too weak, and the Soul Return Clan simply did not care for them.

Upon reaching the edge of a withered well, Hearing Tong Xin suddenly stopped.

Standing before the well's mouth, he used his shoulder to push aside the large stone covering it and looked down.

Hearing Tong Xin shook his head, finding nothing but well water.

One of the forum's exploration guides: kick and shatter every bottle and jar you pass, check well mouths, rooms, and everything else; you might find an unexpected surprise.

But this time, clearly, there was none.

On second thought, it made sense; if there were truly something good, the soul beasts with memories would have absorbed it long ago. Why would it be left for him?

Just as Hearing Tong Xin was about to continue exploring the misty area, he suddenly heard a sharp, wind-shattering sound coming from afar.

He suddenly looked up at the sky and saw a dazzling dark blue light approaching his location at extremely high speed.

Hearing Tong Xin did not hesitate for even a second and decisively shouted:

"Everyone, get into the Dark Descendant Space, run!"

With those words, Hearing Tong Xin decisively activated the Painful Painful Minghun of the Dark Descendant Legion and released a channel connecting to the Dark Descendant Space before him.

Immediately, the Dark Descendant Legion warriors rushed in like swallows returning to their nests, quickly entering the spatial channel.

In less than ten seconds, all five hundred Dark Descendant warriors, acting in perfect coordination, vanished.

Hearing Tong Xin decisively closed the spatial channel.

Boom!

At that moment, the dark blue figure landed; the impact kicked up dust, carrying gravel and building debris that swept toward him.

From the dust emerged a humanoid figure, its blood-red, bloodthirsty eyes staring directly at Hearing Tong Xin.

Hearing Tong Xin activated his analysis at that moment.

Upon discovering the opponent was a Soul Return Clan warrior with a hunting level of over 120, Hearing Tong Xin's tense body suddenly relaxed.

He realized he was about to be forced by the anti-addiction system to rest for an hour.

He hit the young one, and now the old one has arrived.

But it was no big deal; as long as the Dark Descendant Legion was safe, dying was fine.

As a player, who hasn't died a thousand or eight hundred times in their life?

But this grudge, he has recorded it.

(End of this chapter)