Douluo Continent: Who says evil soul masters can't achieve sainthood through merit?

Upon hearing this, the air in the room seemed to freeze.

The moment Ye Guyi felt Li Qing's gaze fall upon her, an instinctive fear rose up her spine.

It wasn't fear of power, but an intuitive alarm about something deeper and more unknowable.

Her delicate body did not tremble, but her face showed caution and solemnity, fearing that the young man in front of her might suddenly attack her at any moment.

"Afraid?"

Li Qing chuckled softly, his voice exceptionally clear in the quiet room, and retorted, "What are you afraid of? Afraid you'll attack me?"

Ye Guyi fell silent, unsure how to respond.

Admit it, but that doesn't seem appropriate either.

But if we don't admit it, wouldn't that be a bit inappropriate?

Seeing Ye Guyi's silence, Li Qing chuckled and said disdainfully, "Let's not even talk about whether you have the strength—even if you did, we wouldn't be meeting here. You don't think I'd be stupid enough to meet a powerful opponent I can't defeat, do you?"

These words were spoken casually, yet they were full of caution and confidence.

Since I chose to meet you, it means you can't possibly be my match.

Then, he held up two fingers and continued searching: "Secondly, you do have a chance to attack me, but I advise you to think it through."

His tone suddenly turned cold, and the room temperature seemed to drop several degrees.

"The reason I didn't kill you is because it's unnecessary. I don't need other people's cultivation and blood essence to improve my own cultivation—but that doesn't mean I'm easy to talk to or have no temper."

Li Qing raised his eyes, his dark pupils reflecting Ye Guyi's tense face, and warned, "In other words, as long as you have the intention to kill me, I will definitely kill you here before you can make a move."

He paused, his tone as calm as if he were stating a dinner menu: "I already have quite a few evil soul masters in my hands, I don't mind having one more woman with a holy angel martial soul."

After she finished speaking, only Ye Guyi's slightly rapid breathing could be heard in the room.

She could sense that every word Li Qing said was true.

If he really wanted to kill her, he would have had countless opportunities in the alley just now.

No, even earlier, he could have simply let those three evil soul masters kill her without lifting a finger.

After a long while, Ye Guyi took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the various emotions surging within her—fear, doubt, anger, and a trace of inexplicable curiosity.

"I'm very curious!"

She placed her hands folded on her knees, adopting the posture of a well-bred young lady, and then, trying to make her voice sound steady, asked curiously, "Why did you choose this path? You know perfectly well that evil spirit masters are hated by everyone. Wouldn't it have been better to cultivate honestly and become a strong person?"

Li Qing smiled, a smile that carried an emotion Ye Guyi couldn't decipher—a mixture of mockery and sorrow.

He didn't answer directly, but instead spread out his right hand.

The black lotus bloomed once more, but this time it did not exude that world-destroying aura. It simply floated quietly in his palm, the patterns on its petals flowing with a dark purple light.

"With a martial spirit like mine..."

He countered with, "Who do you think would want me?"

Upon hearing this question, Ye Guyi was stunned.

"The Black Lotus of Annihilation..."

Li Qing gently stroked the petals, his movements as delicate as if touching fragile porcelain, and said softly, "A supreme innate treasure that governs destruction is, in legend, a creation capable of ending an era. In the Douluo Continent—which academy do you think would dare accept it? Which sect would dare take it? Which country would dare to train it? Shrek Academy? Or the Body Sect and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy? They might indeed have the guts, but do you think I'd dare to gamble?"

After saying this, he withdrew his martial spirit, and the black lotus dissipated in his palm like smoke.

"Besides, I am just a rogue cultivator with no background whatsoever."

Li Qing leaned back on the sofa, looking up at the ceiling, and explained, "When I awakened my martial soul at the age of six, the soul master in charge of awakening my martial soul, after seeing this black lotus, didn't even do a soul power test, and directly wrote three words in the register—"

He turned his head, looked into Ye Guyi's eyes, and said, word by word:

"Evil, Soul, Master".

Ye Guyi's heart clenched suddenly.

"That day, the whole village looked at me like I was a monster. My adoptive parents even knelt down and begged the other party to test me again, saying that the child was still young and they could give him a chance."

Li Qing's voice was calm, eerily calm: "Guess what the deacon said? He said that this kind of martial spirit is born to be a menace, and it's better for everyone to get rid of it as soon as possible."

"And then?" Ye Guyi bit her lip, clenched her fist, and asked softly.

"Then?"

After asking a question in return, Li Qing smiled and replied, "Then that very night, three so-called 'righteous men' sneaked into my house, claiming they were acting on behalf of Heaven to eliminate future scourges. My parents stood in front of me and were beaten to death. I was six years old that year, hiding under the bed, watching their blood flow in through the crack in the door, soaking my shoes."

The room was so quiet that you could hear the distant noise outside the window; those warm sounds that belonged to the normal world seemed so far away at that moment.

"The Black Lotus of Annihilation automatically protected me when I was most afraid."

Li Qing continued, her tone still flat, revealing no emotion: "Those three people didn't even have time to scream before they were devoured by the black lotus and turned into the most basic particles. I sat holding my parents' bodies all night, and the next morning, I set fire to the house and left the village."

He looked at Ye Guyi: "You ask me why I chose this path? Because the path was paved when I was six years old. The whole world says I'm an evil spirit master, so I'll be an evil spirit master. But—"

A dark glint flashed in Li Qing's eyes.

"If I'm going to be one, I'll be the biggest one."

Ye Guyi opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found that she couldn't utter a single word.

She remembered her mother—the inheritor of the Holy Angel Martial Soul, who spent her life hunting down evil soul masters, and ultimately died in battle outside an unknown village.

Her mother taught her from a young age that evil spirit masters are born evil people and must be purified with holy fire.

But now, the boy in front of her, who calls himself an "evil soul master," has such a past.

"I……"

Thinking of this, she managed to say with difficulty, "I'm so sorry..."

"No need."

Li Qing waved his hand dismissively and said, "I don't need sympathy. I'm just stating a fact—a fact that you, or rather, the entire Douluo Continent, are unwilling to face."

He stood up, walked to the window, his back to Ye Guyi, and his voice was exceptionally clear in the night:

Do you know why there are so many evil soul masters in the Douluo Continent now?