Chapter 54: The Cost of Arrogance
Jinchuan's teacher had warned him from the very beginning—never let your guard down. That lesson was deeply etched into his memory, especially after the incident his teacher had deliberately staged. Back then, when he was still weak, his carelessness had almost cost him his life. It was a harsh but unforgettable lesson: a single mistake could lead to death.
From that day onward, Jinchuan became extremely cautious. He avoided fighting whenever possible and steered clear of conflicts with fellow soul masters. As an evil soul master who needed blood to cultivate, the most effective sources were soul beasts—and even better, other soul masters. Yet, Jinchuan chose a different path. He hunted only ordinary civilians.
The cultivation gains from civilians were slower, far less than what other evil soul masters might enjoy, but it was safe. Civilians posed no threat, no resistance. Jinchuan never had to worry about retaliation.
Even so, he remained careful. He never harvested blood directly. Instead, he poisoned wells with his blood venom, ensuring the victims were weakened—or dead—before he moved in. He eliminated risk at every step.
Now a level 59 soul king, Jinchuan still avoided powerful targets. He chose well-fed, defenseless civilians over even mildly capable soul masters.
His master's words always echoed in his mind:
"If you want to kill a soul master, wait until the sixth ring. If you want to go after strong ones, wait until the seventh or eighth. If you meet someone stronger than you—beg or run. Only by surviving can you one day become a Titled Douluo."
Many evil soul masters were arrogant, but that arrogance often got them killed. Weak but notorious evil soul masters became easy trophies for righteous factions, a convenient way to earn reputation and justice points. That's why his teacher emphasized it: stay low, stay alive. Unless the odds of victory were 98% or higher, avoid the fight.
Jinchuan followed this principle religiously.
It was precisely why he dropped to his knees and begged for mercy when he first encountered Xiao Qiang. But the moment he learned Xiao Qiang's soul power was only level 48, his world almost collapsed.
He was level 59, an evil soul master known to punch above his weight. If needed, he could kill even a six-ring Soul Emperor. On paper, he had 11 levels on Xiao Qiang—but in terms of real combat ability, the gap could be 20 levels.
Yet he had knelt before someone that weak. The humiliation twisted in his gut like poison.
Normally, a level 48 soul master would have made Jinchuan salivate at the thought of harvesting his blood. But humiliation changed things. It clouded judgment.
He had two yellow, two purple, and one black soul ring—far superior to Xiao Qiang's configuration. He was angry. He had the advantage. He wanted revenge.
"Boy, why haven't you knelt down yet? Do you want me to torture you to death?" Jinchuan hissed, voice cold with rising bloodlust. Now that he believed he had a 98% chance of victory, his true nature as an evil soul master leaked through like venom.
He didn't just want to kill Xiao Qiang—he wanted to break him.
"You said earlier it was your first time doing this," Xiao Qiang replied calmly, "but it doesn't seem that way to me."
"How dare you!" Jinchuan roared, his fifth soul ring—his sole ten-thousand-year ring—lighting up with a sinister crimson glow. Blood Sea Rage.
It wasn't an attack skill per se, but once the blood sea spread across the battlefield, it enabled him to activate two terrifying follow-ups: Blood Poison, his third skill, and Blood Explosion, his fourth. A single touch could kill even a Soul Emperor.
The blood began to boil, forming into a small, roiling sea. Jinchuan sneered—until Xiao Qiang acted.
He drew his bow and fired.
The arrow, charged with the Freezing Ray soul bone skill from his left palm and empowered by a disguised fourth soul ring, flew straight into the blood sea.
The boiling blood froze instantly, a thick layer of ice spreading outward from the arrow's impact point. Jinchuan's smug grin froze just like his technique.
But it didn't last long.
He quickly noticed the purple soul ring embedded in the arrow and deduced the trick.
"Hmph. A soul skill like the Purple Spirit Bow that uses rings to enhance arrow power?" Jinchuan scoffed. "Too bad you only have three rings left. Three arrows. Then you're done. I'll enjoy peeling you apart after that."
"Really?" Xiao Qiang smiled faintly.
Another purple soul ring merged into a new arrow. He loosed it skyward, and the arrow shattered into thousands of icy shards that reformed into arrows midair. They rained down at breakneck speed.
Jinchuan's expression turned grave.
He raised a Blood Wall with his second skill and triggered Blood Explosion as a defensive countermeasure. The arrows peppered the barrier and pierced him in several places, wounding but not killing him.
Before he could recover, another arrow—this one faster and more focused—pierced through his shoulder, breaking through his snowy defense wall.
"Hmph… not bad," Jinchuan muttered, his breath ragged. "A four-ring soul master who can actually injure me. But you only have one arrow left now. So tell me—do you think your next shot can kill a Soul King?"
His tone had shifted to that of a predator toying with its prey.
Xiao Qiang stared back at him and activated his simulated soul skill. His last yellow soul ring transformed into an ice arrow, and he stabbed himself with it.
The next moment, four new soul rings appeared around him—two yellow and two purple.
"My first soul skill, Arrow of Expulsion, removes all debuffs. Want to guess how many times I can use it?"
"YOU F***ING—!"
"Time to die," Xiao Qiang interrupted, calm as ever.
Another purple soul ring merged into his arrow. Jinchuan could feel the danger radiating from it. This wasn't a bluff. If he took this hit, he wouldn't survive.
He started to panic. The arrow flew closer—closer—
Then, suddenly, an old man appeared in front of him and caught the arrow with one hand.
"Master, I—"
Smack!
The old man slapped Jinchuan aside like a disobedient dog.
"Beast! You actually degraded yourself into an evil soul master?!"
Jinchuan: "???"
Wait a minute… wasn't it you who led me down this path?
Jinchuan's mind went blank as he flew through the air. He had a sudden realization—life was unfair, especially when your teacher had memory issues and a tendency to slap first and ask questions never.