Chapter 53 – A Coward's Way
"Evil soul master? Do you want to go take a look?" Tian Meng's voice echoed inside Xiao Qiang's spiritual sea. Usually timid and focused solely on staying alive for eternity, Tian Meng had grown a bit bolder lately—perhaps thanks to the overwhelming presence of the Snow Empress, who guarded them.
"Let's go. We've still got time to kill."
With that, Xiao Qiang set out—riding a motorcycle, making his travel far quicker than Huo Yuhao's. It had only been a little over a week since the month-long vacation started. That included time spent sightseeing on the way back, so there was no rush.
With Snow Empress by his side, even if the evil soul master turned out to be the leader of the Holy Spirit Church, Zhongli Wu himself—or the Supreme Elder—it would only result in two soul bones exploding today. Whether or not the enemy survived would depend entirely on Snow Empress's mood.
Given no immediate threat to his life and ample free time, Xiao Qiang figured there was no harm in saving a few villagers if he could.
Before heading toward the scene, he used his simulated spirit skill to alter his appearance.
"Why'd you change your face?" Tian Meng asked curiously from within the spiritual sea.
"To avoid trouble. Some evil soul masters operate in groups. If I kill one of them and they have a method to send my real appearance—or even Snow Empress's—back to the Holy Spirit Church, I might get ambushed. Even if it's not fatal, it could be annoying."
"Ah, makes sense. Then should you change your clothes too, just to be safer?"
"It's fine. The clothes I'm wearing are made of good material, but they're still ordinary for nobles. I picked this set deliberately. At most, they'll think I'm from a minor noble family. And besides—"
He chuckled lightly. "There are at least a few hundred people who dress like this. If they want to try and find me, let them. If they do, they'll just keep quiet out of fear."
"That works, then."
Soon enough, Xiao Qiang arrived at the village his mental detection had located. A single scan of the area with his spiritual power revealed almost everything.
"Only one living presence—it should be the evil soul master. Everyone else seems to be the villagers, and all of them are dead. Their blood's been drained. Is this how this one operates? I wonder if the one we met before could do something like this," Tian Meng said.
Xiao Qiang focused on the center of the village. The evil soul master was there—currently soaking in a strange liquid.
No, not just any liquid—he was soaking in blood.
All the blood in the village had been gathered into one pool. Not enormous, but not small either.
"Looks like his cultivation is somewhere between level 58 and 60. He's probably trying to use the blood pool to break through."
Xiao Qiang didn't hesitate. This opponent didn't require Snow Empress's involvement. It was the perfect opportunity to hone his newly acquired Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion martial soul.
In moments, he stood atop a nearby rooftop, looking down at the man in the blood pool.
He summoned the ice bow he had created earlier, drew an arrow, and fired it straight at the evil soul master's heart.
Just as the arrow was about to strike, the evil soul master's second soul ring lit up, and a blood wall formed around him, neutralizing the attack.
"Controlling blood for defense? That martial soul is…" Xiao Qiang narrowed his eyes, activating the fourth soul skill of his Sharingan: Mirror Copy.
He didn't know the man's name, but he quickly identified his martial soul: Blood Demon. The abilities followed accordingly—Blood Suck, Blood Wall, Blood Poison, Blood Explosion. Unfortunately, Xiao Qiang only had four rings, so he couldn't copy the fifth skill.
As the blood wall protected its master, the evil soul master, now clearly identified as Jin Chuan, spotted Xiao Qiang standing above.
Their eyes met.
Jin Chuan saw a middle-aged man's face—Xiao Qiang's disguise—looking down on him with casual confidence.
Then, something unexpected happened.
Jin Chuan leapt out of the blood pool, wrapped himself in his blood-stained robe, and rushed toward Xiao Qiang—only to fall to his knees.
"Sir, please spare me! I was foolish—I took the wrong path! Spare me just this once, I beg of you! I'm willing to become your servant in exchange for your mercy!"
And with that, he began kowtowing repeatedly.
Fast. Hard.
The impacts created visible afterimages. He knocked a pit into the dirt road with his forehead alone.
Xiao Qiang: "???"
Tian Meng: "???"
Bing Di: "???"
Xue Di: "???"
What… just happened?
Everyone, especially Xiao Qiang, was stunned. He had mentally prepared for a difficult battle, yet here the evil soul master was—on his knees, begging for his life.
This wasn't how evil soul masters acted in the stories. Weren't they ruthless, unyielding monsters?
The ones Xiao Qiang had read about—even Shrek Academy's Xuan Lao had trouble fighting a five-ring Soul King from the Holy Spirit Church. But this guy was… this?
What Xiao Qiang didn't know was this:
On the very first day Jin Chuan was accepted as a disciple, his teacher gave him a crucial warning.
As an evil soul master, everyone wants to kill you. But don't worry—most of those righteous soul masters are all bark, no bite. If someone really dares confront you head-on, that person is either a genius or way stronger than you. Be careful. Very careful.
Most righteous soul masters avoided direct confrontation. If someone came directly at you, they were either confident enough to crush you or had backup waiting.
From Jin Chuan's perspective, the disguised Xiao Qiang looked like a composed, confident soul master in his thirties. With that aura and his fearless approach, Jin Chuan naturally assumed he was facing a Soul Saint.
Better to live and lose face than die with pride.
His teacher's most memorable quote guided him:
Only the living can be embarrassed. The dead have no dignity. Once you become a Titled Douluo, you'll have all the time in the world to reclaim your pride. What's twenty years of groveling compared to two hundred years of power?
With that in mind, Jin Chuan dropped to his knees without hesitation.
But then—
"No, no. You're a Soul King above level 50, and I'm only a Soul Sect with four rings. Isn't it a little much to surrender like this?"
Xiao Qiang's voice broke the tension.
Jin Chuan froze mid-kowtow.
Forty-eight?
He looked up, eyes wide. "…You're level 48?"
"Yup." Xiao Qiang nodded and summoned his simulated spirit rings: two yellow, two purple.
Jin Chuan's expression shifted immediately. He shot to his feet. The terror in his eyes vanished, replaced with scorn.
A five-ring Soul King versus a four-ring Soul Sect?
Even without considering his identity as an evil soul master, the advantage was his.
"You little punk!" he snarled, his tone twisted. "Kneel down and lick my boots clean, or I'll show you a hundred and one ways to die!"