Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
For the past few days, Lin Yu had transformed into a model worker, going out to hunt monsters every day before dusk.
His level points increased by millions daily, but unfortunately, no new Soul Suppressing Stele was discovered.
He was quite dejected. The monotonous life of grinding monsters made him extremely bored, and he could only vent his frustration on his enemies.
At this moment, on the water's surface, all sorts of strange and ferocious beasts attacked from all sides.
Lin Yu unleashed a sword strike, and immediately, two sword lights, one black and one white, appeared in the sky.
These two sword lights, shimmering with black and white radiance, swept out in all directions.
One attacked the physical body, the other attacked the soul. The two sword energies swept through the multitude of monsters.
The white one was a variation of energy slash – sword qi!
The black one was the soul-severing power of the Soul Severing Art.
Then, using the Soul Guiding Art to convert the anomalies, he reaped double the level points, which steadily increased.
Under the combined might of the two slashes and the Soul Guiding Art, almost no strange beasts or anomalies could withstand them. Monster after monster fell to his blade, and the surroundings fell silent.
After fighting for a while longer, Lin Yu felt a bit weary and stood still to rest.
"Hoo, almost there!" Lin Yu glanced at the number of level points and sighed.
Reaching the SS rank required an immense amount of level points. Even a model worker like Lin Yu was finding it incredibly taxing.
After resting for a bit, he got up again and moved to a different spot to hunt.
Ten ice clones ahead froze a wide ice path. Over a hundred clones were scattered around, scouting the environment and protecting his flanks.
Lin Yu walked briskly on the ice path.
If anyone were to witness this scene, they would surely be astonished, exclaiming in their hearts, "Whose young master is this, with such grand arrangements for travel?"
However, here, no one was destined to pay attention to him. He could only silently slay monsters, repeating this task over and over.
Fortunately, half of the work was borne by the clones, and he only needed to use the Soul Guiding Art to convert the anomalies.
After another period of fighting,
Lin Yu continued to advance. After half an hour of running, a village finally came into view.
Looking at the village, which was once prosperous and bustling according to the map, Lin Yu could not reconcile it with the village before him.
The village before him now only had a small peak protruding from the ground.
All traces of its past had almost completely vanished.
On the small peak, some gaunt and sallow-faced people, upon seeing Lin Yu's figure, took a step back before looking at him with peculiar expressions.
At this moment.
On the mountaintop.
Refugees from various villages had gathered.
Originally, there were over three thousand people, but continuous heavy rain had reduced the habitable land, causing some to be eliminated. Now, only a little over thirty remained.
Furthermore, they were all gaunt and sallow-faced, their eyes glowing with a greenish light, giving them an eerie aura.
Lin Yu stopped, looking at these people from afar, and two words came to his mind.
Cannibalism!
Yes, he had seen similar descriptions in ancient texts, and their appearance was almost identical.
"Alas!"
He sighed, unsure of what to do.
Just then, the clones searching for the Soul Suppressing Stele returned.
The result was another fruitless search. Looking at the empty hands of the clones, Lin Yu glanced at the natives.
He slowly walked towards them.
As he approached, the humans automatically parted, clearing a path.
Lin Yu surveyed his surroundings and indeed found many incomplete skeletal remains, which further confirmed his suspicions.
"Who is the leader here?" Lin Yu called out loudly.
After a moment of waiting, rustling sounds came from the crowd, and a burly man stepped forward.
This person had three scars on his face and a fierce demeanor, but in front of Lin Yu, he appeared extremely docile, even somewhat obsequious.
"I ask you, is your village's Soul Suppressing Stele still here?"
As the words fell, everyone immediately became vigilant. They did indeed have a Soul Suppressing Stele; without it, they would have been killed by the anomalies long ago.
Everyone's hearts pounded with anxiety. Did he intend to take the Soul Suppressing Stele?
If the Soul Suppressing Stele were taken, they would surely die!
No one wanted to die, and their expressions turned unfriendly.
Lin Yu frowned and sternly shouted, "Where is it?"
This shout, infused with the power of the soul, spread as sound waves, causing the souls of everyone present to tremble violently, as if they had seen something extremely terrifying. One by one, they trembled and knelt down.
"My lord, it's... it's in... in a cave on this mountain!"
Then, Lin Yu used the power of his soul to intimidate one person, forcing them to reveal some disgusting details that confirmed his suspicions.
Lin Yu's heart turned cold. With a humph, he turned and walked out.
Simultaneously, he ordered his clones to retrieve the Soul Suppressing Stele.
When he reached the outside, Lin Yu stopped and said, "I've taken the Soul Suppressing Stele. Whether you live or die depends on whether heaven spares you!"
With that, he turned and left!
As he walked away, everyone collapsed to the ground, their expressions filled with despair.
Looking at each other, some people became frenzied, tearing at each other like wild beasts.
Lin Yu walked on the road, his heart filled with many emotions.
They were once ordinary people, simple villagers. Was it wrong for them to want to live?
It was not wrong! Not wrong at all!
But why didn't Lin Yu want them to live?
Because their actions had violated the bottom line of Lin Yu's heart!
Therefore, Lin Yu did not want them to live, that was all.
Cruel?
Perhaps it was indeed cruel, but having come to this world, who could say that living itself wasn't a cruel thing?
"They must have been tormented psychologically and wanted to end it all long ago."
"It's just that they were afraid of pain and didn't dare to commit suicide, so I helped them end their lives. They must have been overjoyed."
"It must be so, I did a good deed!"
"Besides, I didn't kill them, perhaps they are all still alive!"
"Heh heh~"
Lin Yu muttered to himself.
Heavy rain poured down, and the sky was covered in dark clouds.
Lin Yu returned to his small island once more.
Lin Fan and the others hurried to greet him.
Lin Yu's outings invariably brought back a lot of food, so everyone eagerly awaited his return every day.
Lin Yu had his clones store the corpses of the exotic beasts obtained in the warehouse, while he himself returned to his room.
Seeing Lin Yu's troubled expression and his dazed state, Lin Fan waved his hand in front of Lin Yu's eyes.
Lin Yu came back to his senses and glanced at him.
"What's wrong, Big Brother? Is something bothering you?"
"It's nothing!"
"Look at you, you're clearly troubled."
"Some people died because of me, so I'm unhappy."
"Oh, Big Brother, are you sure the ones who died because of you were people?"
"This..."
"Hahaha, Big Brother, I think you're tired. I'll go help Meng Qiu cook. You rest."
With that, he got up and headed towards the kitchen.
Meng Qiu? They were already this intimate? Could it be that they were...
Lin Yu watched Lin Fan's retreating back, his lips twitching slightly.
Good heavens, Lin Fan, have you forgotten your identity?
You are just an external incarnation!
Whose relationships and wife will count?
Forget it, I won't think about this issue!
Lin Yu rubbed his forehead, sweeping away all these troublesome thoughts.
He got up and went to the bedroom, where a new Soul Suppressing Stele had already been placed.
"I wonder what new soul art it is!"
"System, translate it!"
"Ding, it requires one million level points. Do you wish to translate?"
"Yes!"
"Ding, congratulations to the host for obtaining: Soul Imitation Art!"