Chapter 6: Cutting the Grass and Eliminating the Roots, So-Called Good and Evil
"This... this really isn't..."
Chen Ming's mouth twitched. He was completely baffled as to how his current appearance, with only a loincloth covering his vital parts, could possibly make him look rich.
The destruction that struck Sanhe Village had come too suddenly. When everyone fled, they had only had time to bring a portion of their belongings.
As for the gold coins Chen Ming had painstakingly saved for his Martial Soul Awakening, they had long since disappeared during his escape. At the time, Chen Ming had been half dead and had not even noticed when they were lost.
Money?
Not only was his pouch emptier than his face, he did not even have anything that could still be called a pouch.
"Tsk, another one with no money." One of the soldiers spoke with open disdain, making no attempt to hide it.
"Search him yourself later. We've had several who said they had no money, only to find out they were hiding some," the other soldier said casually, as if he were discussing what to eat for dinner.
Without the slightest hesitation, the 2 soldiers raised their spears and pointed the tips straight at Chen Ming's chest and abdomen.
At that moment, Chen Ming finally realized why the otherwise clean spears still carried dark red stains.
Those were clearly traces of blood left behind by the people they had killed before, blood that had not even been fully cleaned away.
"You! You!"
A trace of red flashed through Chen Ming's eyes, and the entire World seemed to slow down.
His dry, branch-like hands shot out and grabbed the spear shafts.
Although the spearheads lightly scraped against his skin, Chen Ming felt no fear at all. Instead, an almost uncontrollable rage and killing intent surged through him.
"Kill them. Eat them. Devour every bit of their bone marrow and flesh."
A formless voice whispered in Chen Ming's mind.
Hunger rose violently inside him. As his killing intent climbed, Chen Ming could feel saliva pouring from his mouth and his intestines twisting madly.
"Hiss? Something's wrong!"
Seeing the scrawny Chen Ming seize their spears, the 2 soldiers immediately straightened up, their eyes filling with confusion and alarm.
They no longer looked casual. Both of them gripped their spears tightly, pushing forward while shouting at the same time.
"There's an Evil Spirit Master! Young Lord, help!"
Even though they had attacked first, and Chen Ming had not even summoned his Martial Soul, they still yelled as if they were the ones being attacked by an Evil Spirit Master.
Chen Ming instinctively wanted to let go and retreat, but in that brief moment of distraction, one spear tip slashed across the left side of his abdomen.
Before Chen Ming could figure out how to escape, the 2 guards thrust their spears toward him again.
If he turned around, he would be stabbed. If he fought, it would only delay things...
Chen Ming gritted his teeth and clamped down hard on the 2 spear shafts, trying to snap them apart, only to find that the spears were far more flexible than he had imagined.
After only a brief struggle, a wolf howl rang out from behind the 2 guards.
A young Spirit Master stepped out from the temporary checkpoint. His hands had become wolf claws, and 2 yellow Spirit Rings hovered around his body. His neck was covered in earthy yellow fur, and he let out a sneer as he looked at the struggling guards.
With a casual tug on the spears, he easily shoved Chen Ming backward, sending him tumbling to the ground.
Looking down at the disheveled Chen Ming, the young Spirit Master sneered.
"Evil Spirit Master? This is what you call an Evil Spirit Master? Are you 2 trash?"
"Young Lord, you are a Spirit Grandmaster. Your cultivation is definitely higher than his. The 2 of us have no cultivation, so of course we can't beat this Evil Spirit Master."
"That's right, that's right. Young Lord, you are a prodigy from the 2nd year of Shrek Academy. How can the two of us compare to you?"
Faced with the young man's mockery, the two soldiers showed no shame whatsoever and immediately began flattering him.
Shrek Academy, 2nd year student.
To that young man, those words were clearly the highest form of glory.
Although his Martial Soul seemed to be some kind of wolf, he held his head high like a swan, looking down at Chen Ming with naked contempt.
"Another Evil Spirit Master, but weak. I wonder when the academy teachers will finally notice me."
"What makes you think I'm an Evil Spirit Master?" Chen Ming stood back up. His body was covered in scratches, but the pain only made the bloody instincts inside him stir even more violently.
If Chen Ming had truly only been a child, he might have already lost control. But as a transmigrator from Earth who had lived 2 lifetimes, he still managed to preserve a trace of rationality and did not immediately transform into his Martial Soul Possession state.
Although he already knew a fight was unavoidable, Chen Ming still wanted to know exactly why he had been judged to be an Evil Spirit Master.
What had he done to expose himself, or was it...
"Aren't all of you from the disaster area Evil Spirit Masters? Normal people would've starved to death already. Since you escaped, you must have relied on evil methods. All of you are evil, all of you carry plague, and killing you is my contribution to the Douluo Continent!"
The young man raised his chin proudly as he spoke, as though he were delivering some glorious judgment.
"You! We're all refugees. Most of us don't even have Martial Souls. How can you tell who's an Evil Spirit Master?" Chen Ming gritted his teeth, his eyes faintly tinged red.
"Those without Spirit Power want to become Evil Spirit Masters, but they don't have the qualifications. Those without Martial Souls are helping Evil Spirit Masters."
"And how do I know who is an Evil Spirit Master?" The young man let out a cold laugh.
"I am Shi Feng, a 2nd year student of Shrek Academy's outer court, and a talented Spirit Grandmaster. Shrek has assigned me to exterminate all possible Evil Spirit Masters. You Evil Spirit Master, just die!"
Chen Ming had lived in this World for several years already and understood its class hierarchy well enough. But after hearing Shi Feng's arrogant logic and seeing the contempt on his face, rage still exploded inside him.
Shi Feng strode toward Chen Ming, raising his wolf claws high, clearly intending to execute him with pride.
But just as he waited for Chen Ming's response, Chen Ming suddenly lunged forward.
Green light erupted.
Chen Ming's body swelled like a balloon, instantly expanding into a monstrous shape nearly 5 feet tall and wide. His limbs thickened, and layers of fat rolled around his neck. Green light covered his entire body, releasing a strange scent that was both sweet and rotten.
Having transformed into a giant ball of flesh, Chen Ming used his weight and momentum to slam Shi Feng to the ground, then viciously smashed his elbow, infused with Spirit Power, straight into Shi Feng's face.
Even though Shi Feng's Spirit Power was 1 realm higher than Chen Ming's, and even though he instinctively raised his arms to protect himself, he still could not withstand Chen Ming's elbow strike to the most vulnerable part of his body.