I've also recently started a new translation, please check it out and show your support! Douluo: Seven Kill Shock the World
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The next morning.
At the entrance of the Chu residence.
"One day without seeing you feels like three autumns apart. Qinghe Brother, it's been ten days since we last met—that's equivalent to seven or eight years! I've missed you dearly!"
Chu Chengzhou opened his arms wide, smiling as he greeted Qian Renxue, who had just stepped out of her carriage, ready to give her an enthusiastic hug.
"Behave yourself!"
Slapping away Chu Chengzhou's outstretched arm, Qian Renxue scolded him with a frown.
"Hey, we're brothers, aren't we? No need to be so distant!"
Chu Chengzhou extended his right arm again, hooking it around 'Brother' Xue Qinghe's neck, putting on a display of camaraderie.
Chu Chengzhou: Brothers for life!
Instantly, Qian Renxue stiffened, but given the presence of numerous royal knights behind her and several servants from the Chu residence nearby, she couldn't afford to show any strong resistance.
As Chu Chengzhou said, they were brothers—no need to stand on ceremony.
Subsequently, Chu Chengzhou warmly ushered Qian Renxue into his home.
In the courtyard, once they were alone, Qian Renxue pushed Chu Chengzhou away: "Shameless!"
"Tsk, what's a little face worth? A few gold soul coins?"
Pouting, Chu Chengzhou responded.
"Hmph, I shouldn't have come! Here, I've sold all those soul bones of yours through the Tian Dou auction house."
With that, Qian Renxue pulled out a stack of gold cards and handed them to Chu Chengzhou.
Taking the gold cards, Chu Chengzhou noticed each was worth five million, counted them, and found there were twelve in total, amounting to sixty million gold soul coins.
Nineteen thousand-year soul bones and seventeen ten-thousand-year soul bones, totaling thirty-six soul bones, amounted to sixty million gold soul coins. That averaged about one point six million per soul bone?
Chu Chengzhou strongly suspected that Qian Renxue had taken a commission—or rather, she had only given him the commission!
This era wasn't like the future where soul technology flourished; soul bones were extremely valuable.
After all, aside from soul bones, there were few treasures on the continent that could enhance a soul master's strength.
With the development of soul technology, soul tools significantly boosted a soul master's power more than soul bones did. Moreover, soul bones could be inherited. Over time, as the number of soul bones among soul masters increased, their market value naturally dropped.
By the Battle Armor Era, even soul masters with modest means no longer pursued soul bones. If they had the money to buy soul bones, why not spend it on battle armor instead?
"Why are you looking at me like that? Don't you think I deserve a handling fee?"
Facing Chu Chengzhou's suspicious gaze, Qian Renxue's face reddened slightly, but she quickly composed herself and justified her actions.
Xue Qinghe was only the Crown Prince of Tian Dou, not the Emperor, so her financial resources were limited. Additionally, maintaining a large group of supporters in the Tian Dou court meant spending like water.
Moreover, to avoid exposing her identity, she dared not excessively draw funds from the Spirit Hall.
Now, encountering such a big fish, it was only natural to take a hefty cut.
Upon hearing this, Chu Chengzhou gave her a deep look.
He wanted to grab Qian Renxue by the collar and loudly demand: "Doesn't your conscience ache?"
But after some thought, he refrained and asked instead: "Having taken such a large commission, have you figured out how to compensate me?"
"Commission? What commission? Don't make things up—I only took a small handling fee."
Qian Renxue shook her head seriously, denying the accusation of taking a commission.
"Really just a small amount?"
"Really just a small amount!"
Qian Renxue nodded, using her fingers to gesture a tiny amount.
"You mean the entire continent, don't you?"
Chu Chengzhou retorted.
Qian Renxue: "..."
Seeing through something but not mentioning it—we can still be good friends!
"Forget it. Has Star Luo made any moves?"
Not dwelling too much on Qian Renxue's commission, Chu Chengzhou turned his attention to the reaction of the Star Luo Empire.
Gold soul coins? You can't bring them when you're born or take them when you die. Plus, his cheat didn't rely on pay-to-win mechanics, making their effect very limited. Moreover, he had plenty of them in his pocket, so Chu Chengzhou didn't care much about them.
Seeing that Chu Chengzhou didn't dwell on her commission, Qian Renxue felt a wave of relief but didn't show it on her face. She replied earnestly: "The Empire's intelligence department has been keeping an eye on things, but so far, it seems Star Luo hasn't made any moves."
"No moves? Then they're probably planning something big."
Chu Chengzhou raised his eyebrows and stated confidently.
Having killed four Soul Douluos and over twenty Soul Sages, the Star Luo royal family must have been furious. How could they not react?
No surface movements meant they were definitely planning something major behind the scenes.
Chu Chengzhou even suspected that the Star Luo royal family had already identified him as the culprit, and the experts they sent were likely already halfway here.
"Be careful. Perhaps the Star Luo Empire will send Titled Douluos to assassinate you!
But within Tian Dou City, there's no need to worry. After I reported this to Emperor Xue Ye, although regular soldiers weren't mobilized, most of the royal guest corps have already been deployed to enforce martial law throughout Tian Dou City."
The royal guest corps was the strongest force directly controlled by the Tian Dou royal family, surpassing even the Royal Knights.
All royal guests were above Level 80 in soul power, and there were many of them. Even if several newly-minted Titled Douluos came, they wouldn't necessarily fare well against the royal guest corps.
The royal guest corps and the Royal Knights were also the biggest assets allowing the Tian Dou royal family to maintain their rule despite insufficient military strength.
"I understand."
Chu Chengzhou nodded.
He had expected that the Star Luo Empire would send killers at the Titled level.
However, instead of staying safely hidden in Tian Dou City, Chu Chengzhou was thinking of fishing for a bit.
Of course, to be safe, he didn't intend to do it alone but planned to bring along Jian and Gu Douluo to avoid stumbling.
Taking down a few Titled-level experts would ensure that the Star Luo royal family wouldn't dare send anyone else to their deaths in the future.
Otherwise, depleting the royal family or empire's reserves might lead to the collapse of the Star Luo Empire—it certainly wouldn't survive for long.
Two days later, in the morning.
After receiving a letter from his precious daughter, Ning Fengzhi took some time off and brought Chen Xin along.
Upon meeting, due to Chu Chengzhou not hiding anything, Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin immediately noticed something unusual about him.
Chen Xin, a Titled Douluo, wasn't the issue; even Ning Fengzhi, an Soul Douluo, possessed significant spiritual power. Despite being an auxiliary-type soul master, his spiritual perception was sharp enough to notice the soul vortex around Chu Chengzhou.
After inviting the two inside and serving tea, Chu Chengzhou noticed his father-in-law kept staring at his abdomen and occasionally giving him a knowing look, leaving him feeling speechless.
Though nothing was said, it seemed everything had been conveyed.
"Alright, stop staring at me. Rongrong wrote to you because of this."
Chu Chengzhou didn't hide anything and spoke directly.
"Oh? What is this?"
Upon hearing this, Ning Fengzhi revealed a satisfied smile and then asked.
"I can sense the surrounding elemental energy continuously flowing into your body. It must be a secret technique for rapid soul power recovery?"
Chen Xin stated with certainty.
"It does rapidly recover soul power, but its effects go beyond that.
I named the product of this technique 'soul core.' After forming a soul core, it enhances the quality of a soul master's internal soul power, speeds up recovery, and itself stores a large amount of soul power.
Additionally, the soul core helps soul masters break through bottlenecks."
'Helps break through bottlenecks?'
Instantly, Chen Xin's eyes lit up with excitement.
For Titled Douluos, every level was a threshold. Several years ago, his soul power had reached the peak of Level 96, but after several years, he still hadn't broken through to Level 97.
Hearing that this soul core could help break through bottlenecks, Chen Xin naturally desired it immensely.
"So, after forming the soul core, the increase in soul power quality compared to before allows breaking through bottlenecks?"
Ning Fengzhi speculated with interest.
"Probably, but either way, it helps!"
In the future, the prevalence of Titled Douluos wasn't because soul masters had superior cultivation talent compared to this era.
Besides the world's elevation, making it easier for soul masters to break through, the development of the soul core system played a crucial role.
Many soul masters who originally lacked talent broke through to Level 90 quasi-Titled, Level 95 super Douluos, and even Level 99 ultimate Douluos solely by forming soul cores.
"Is forming a soul core difficult?"
After some thought, Ning Fengzhi asked again.
The benefits of the soul core were clear, but he hadn't detected anything unusual from Xiao Wu and the others. Clearly, not every soul master could form a soul core; there must be certain requirements.
Otherwise, given Chu Chengzhou's personality, Xiao Wu and the others would have formed soul cores long ago.
"The soul core is formed by highly compressing a soul master's soul power and a large amount of external elemental energy. If control is lost during formation, it results in a powerful soul power explosion.
If one's spiritual power and soul power control aren't superior to ordinary soul masters, soul masters below Level 89 should best avoid attempting it."
"Is that so? By the way, can this soul vortex be hidden?"
Raising an eyebrow, Ning Fengzhi pointed to Chu Chengzhou's abdomen.
Given how powerful the soul core technique was, Ning Fengzhi's first thought was that the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect needed it, and his second thought was secrecy—it couldn't fall into other factions' hands, especially the Spirit Hall.
"If necessary, the soul core's connection to the outside can be temporarily severed, but it requires active control and reduces the soul core's effectiveness."
"What do you want in return? When do you plan to teach us?"
Ning Fengzhi got straight to the point and asked directly.
The soul core technique was extremely valuable to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. Even though Chu Chengzhou was his potential son-in-law, Ning Fengzhi didn't intend to take advantage.
"Anytime. As for conditions...
Within ten years, don't teach it to anyone except Grandpa Jian, Grandpa Gu, and the Level 89 Soul Douluos within the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect."
Chu Chengzhou waved dismissively.
The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect might have spies from other factions, but spies couldn't reach high-ranking positions; otherwise, the sect would have collapsed long ago. As long as only a few people knew, all Titled Douluos, the risk of the soul core technique leaking would be eliminated.
'Nothing I'd covet?'
Upon hearing this, Ning Fengzhi's expression darkened instantly.
Even someone as wealthy as Ning Fengzhi had a day where his wealth was looked down upon?
Half an hour later, Chu Chengzhou took his three wives, accompanied by Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin, to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.
Guiding Chen Xin and Gu Rong to form soul cores would take considerable time. Plus, since they were going to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Rongrong thought of inviting her two sisters to visit her childhood home.
Of course, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect wasn't officially her 'old home' yet—she hadn't formally married in!
Ten miles east of Tian Dou City, in a small village, inside a certain peasant house.
"Report, esteemed lords, the target has left Tian Dou City!"
A young man dressed in coarse linen clothes, posing as an ordinary civilian, reported to four middle-aged men with golden hair and four middle-aged women inside the house.
"Hmm? Such a coincidence?"
Dai Sheng, the sixth elder of the Star Luo royal family leading the group, couldn't help but reveal a trace of surprise on his previously gloomy face.
To think that they had arrived in Tian Dou City early this morning, and so quickly encountered Chu Chengzhou leaving the city?
This... was simply too good!
Chu Chengzhou had killed his son and daughter-in-law—a blood feud that couldn't be reconciled. Dai Sheng was itching to kill this wretch immediately.
"The scout saw it with his own eyes, but…"
"But what?"
Elder Dai Heng beside Dai Sheng asked.
"Ning Fengzhi, the patriarch of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, and Sword Douluo Chen Xin are also…"
Upon hearing this, Dai Heng, along with the eighth elder Dai Xu and ninth elder Dai Yao, looked towards Dai Sheng, clearly expecting him to make the decision.
"Chen Xin, Ning Fengzhi…"
Dai Sheng fell into deep thought, his expression fluctuating between light and dark.
Although their combined might in the Netherworld White Tiger Formation equaled four offensive-type Titled Douluos, Chu Chengzhou's strength was no joke either. He was at least a high-level Soul Douluo, possibly even comparable to a Titled Douluo. Add to that the presence of Chen Xin and Ning Fengzhi, and the outcome was uncertain.
Moreover, the battlefield wasn't far from Tian Dou City or the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. If they couldn't finish the fight quickly, reinforcements from both sides arriving would make it hard for them to retreat unscathed.
After some thought, Dai Sheng took a deep breath, glanced at everyone, and said: "Chen Xin isn't weak, and Ning Fengzhi's support makes accidents likely. For now, let's hold our position.
Chu Chengzhou is probably heading to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. We'll act after he leaves!"
"That works!"
Everyone nodded.
Their purpose in coming to Tian Dou was to avenge and eliminate threats for the royal family, not to clash with the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect or the Tian Dou Empire. With Chen Xin accompanying Chu Chengzhou, avoiding conflict was the better option if possible.
On the other side.
Inside the carriage, gazing at the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect gates in the distance, Chu Chengzhou couldn't help but sink into deep thought.
Was it that the Star Luo Empire's assassins hadn't arrived, or had a spy seen him with Chen Xin and thus refrained from acting?
"What are you thinking about, kid?"
Seeing Chu Chengzhou somewhat distracted, Ning Fengzhi, sitting in the same carriage, asked.
"I recently pulled off a big job. I thought we'd run into assassins halfway!"
"…Star Luo again?"
Ning Fengzhi paused, his first thought being the Star Luo Empire, with whom Chu Chengzhou had significant grievances.
Chu Chengzhou nodded and said: "When I left Slaughter City, the Star Luo Empire sent people to assassinate me, but I counter-killed them.
Recently, I went to Star Luo and killed several of their experts. Star Luo likely has made another move."
"How many exactly are you talking about?"
Chen Xin beside him asked playfully.
"Not many, just one White Tiger Soul Douluo and over twenty White Tiger Soul Sages, plus three Soul Douluo level sons-in-law or relatives of the Star Luo royal family."
"Cough—"
Ning Fengzhi choked slightly.
If the Star Luo Empire lost four Soul Douluos and over twenty Soul Sages, while it was indeed a loss, it was still within tolerable limits.
After all, as one of the two major empires on the continent, even if the number of Titled Douluos was scarce, the numbers of Soul Douluos and Soul Sages were quite substantial.
But if the losses were confined to the Star Luo royal family, the impact would be different.
Even a large-scale war between the two empires might not result in as many casualties among the Star Luo royal family's experts.
"You brat, you're ruthless! If I were Dai Yutian, wouldn't I send a few Titled Douluos to ambush you?"
Chen Xin laughed.
"A few Titled Douluos? Grandpa Sword, you must help!"
Upon hearing this, Ning Rongrong immediately tugged at Chen Xin's clothes with concern.
"Girl, don't worry, this kid's strength is formidable!"
Chen Xin wasn't particularly worried about Chu Chengzhou's safety.
Not to mention anything else, just that Titan Giant Ape summon alone could rival an ordinary Titled Douluo.
Moreover, Chen Xin had witnessed Chu Chengzhou's movement techniques and knew that ordinary Titled Douluos couldn't handle him.
"Grandpa Sword, this time the big fish are coming, maybe even more than one. Why don't we set up a trap later?"
Chu Chengzhou suggested.
Leaving the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and then returning would create the illusion that he had urgent matters to attend to and had settled his three wives there.
And even if the big fish didn't bite, he could use his Void Illusion World technique again to alter the consciousness of the spies and catch all the incoming fish.
After all, he had only used this trick once, and all the spies whose consciousness he altered were dead. Presumably, the Star Luo Empire hadn't realized this yet.
Upon hearing this, Chen Xin looked at Ning Fengzhi: "Fengzhi, what do you think?"
"Let's call Uncle Gu too!"
After some thought, Ning Fengzhi said.
Aside from the Star Luo Empire constantly sending assassins after his potential son-in-law, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect had deep enmity with the Star Luo Empire.
After all, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect was an ally of the Tian Dou Empire. Whenever the two empires clashed, the sect inevitably supported Tian Dou, and over the centuries, countless disciples of the sect had died at the hands of Star Luo people.
Now that there was a chance to trip up Star Luo, Ning Fengzhi naturally didn't want to miss it.
Even if it didn't succeed, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect wouldn't lose anything, right?
Ning Fengzhi didn't believe that the assassins sent by the Star Luo Empire could threaten the lives of Chen Xin and Gu Rong.
Not long after, a carriage left the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, traveling south along the main road.
Since the carriage window curtains were deliberately raised, any passerby who saw it would spot Chu Chengzhou inside.
After the carriage traveled about ten miles, two figures slipped out of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect without using the main gate, quietly departing over the ridgeline.
These two figures were none other than Chen Xin and Gu Rong.
According to the plan, this fishing expedition would have Chu Chengzhou attract the fire, while the two Douluos followed discreetly from afar.
Once the fish took the bait and the fighting started, a mere ten-mile distance would allow the two capable Douluos to arrive quickly.
"Report, esteemed lords, the target has left the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect!"
Same village, same house, same youth, same Dai Sheng and co.
"In which direction did they go?"
Dai Sheng hurriedly asked.
"South! When I came to report, the carriage had already passed Tian Dou City and continued south!"
"Excellent, let's move immediately!"
A glint of ferocity flashed in Dai Sheng's eyes as he instructed Dai Heng and the others.
"Brother Sheng, what if Chen Xin from the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect is secretly following? Remember when the Empire first sent people to assassinate Chu Chengzhou, Chen Xin was secretly trailing him."
Dai Heng recalled that when the Empire first sent 'Tiger' and 'Jackal' to lead the assassination team, Chen Xin was secretly fishing. Who knows, maybe this time too.
Of course, it was embarrassing to admit, but before Chen Xin even acted, the entire assassin squad had been wiped out by Chu Chengzhou, leaving only 'Tiger' and 'Jackal,' and even they were hunted down by him.
"It doesn't matter, Ning Fengzhi surely didn't expect the Empire to send us this time!
Even if Chen Xin is secretly following, he wouldn't dare get too close, lest he expose himself. We'll unleash our full strength to kill Chu Chengzhou. By the time Chen Xin arrives, it'll be too late—he won't be able to stop us!"
Waving his hand dismissively, Dai Sheng spoke confidently.
Their eight combined strength equated to four offensive-type Titled Douluos. Even if individually they weren't as strong as Chen Xin, four versus one, they had no fear!
As for Gu Rong?
Gu Rong was a defensive-type Titled Douluo, posing much less threat than Chen Xin. Four versus two was also manageable.
As long as the battlefield wasn't too close to Tian Dou City or the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, they wouldn't be surrounded. Even if Chen Xin and Gu Rong teamed up, they couldn't keep them there.
Moreover, what notable battle achievements did Chen Xin and Gu Rong have?
None! They had no records of fighting other Titled Douluos.
What nonsense about the continent's strongest attack or the most mysterious defense—all fabricated by the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.
Take it with a grain of salt. If we're talking about the continent's strongest attack, how could it be Chen Xin?
And who knows, maybe the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's Sword Bone Douluos were all talk!
Take former Spirit Hall Pope Qian Xunji, the Angel Douluo title sounded impressive, but back then, wasn't he beaten by Tang Hao, who had just advanced to Titled status?
And that wasn't even a one-on-one fight. Qian Xunji was hammered by Tang Hao while accompanied by two other Titled Douluos!
Though they weren't Tang Hao, they couldn't explode rings nor possess a hundred-thousand-year ninth soul ring, but they had numbers, and the Seven Kill Sword and Bone Dragon were no match for the Six-Winged Angel.
Dai Sheng: The advantage is ours, this is in the bag!
Chu Chengzhou: Same here!
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