Chapter 304: Chapter 304: An Old Friend Visits?
Staring at the two thousand-year-old soul bones in front of him, Li Si couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth.
"Brutal. Lin Fan really is ruthless!"
Li Si couldn't fathom how Lin Fan had convinced Tang San to absorb such low-level soul bones.
"The supposed Child of Destiny, Tang San, reduced to gaining nothing but a pair of thousand-year soul bones? Lin Fan's schemes must be behind this."
Returning the stone slab to its place, Li Si decided to let the "Tang God King" rest in peace. The location, nestled by mountains and water, was a decent final resting place. Life debts were settled in death.
After scanning the surroundings, Li Si scratched his head, puzzled.
"Where am I?"
Although the anime world was derived from the novel world, there were subtle differences between them. Choosing a random direction, Li Si set off.
By sheer luck—or fate—Li Si soon came across a familiar sight.
"Spirit City?"
He blinked in surprise.
"Tang San died just 400 miles from Spirit City?"
Rubbing his chin, Li Si pondered.
Given Tang San's frail state, crawling that far would've been a monumental task. It must've taken him months to cover the distance, and only because he had desperately tried to flee Spirit City.
Nearby, a group of Spirit Hall deacons passed by Li Si, chatting animatedly.
Deacon 1: "Hahaha, such a satisfying turn of events!"
Deacon 2: "Indeed! The Holy Spirit Sect's first campaign, and their Sect Master single-handedly wiped out the Clear Sky Sect. Incredible strength!"
Deacon 3: "Exactly! The Clear Sky Sect deserved what it got!"
The overheard conversation left Li Si stunned.
"What the hell? The Holy Spirit Sect destroyed the Clear Sky Sect? And their Sect Master did it alone?"
He stood frozen, processing the implications.
"What timeline is this? And wait—Spirit Hall is supposed to suppress evil soul masters. Why are these guys so thrilled about the Holy Spirit Sect destroying the Clear Sky Sect?"
Li Si's thoughts raced as he tried to piece things together. He wasn't particularly concerned about the anime world's Clear Sky Sect—it had nothing to do with him.
Not even the anime version of Gu Yuena held any real interest for him.
Steeling himself, he approached the group with a polite smile.
Li Si: "Excuse me, gentlemen. What were you saying about this… Holy Spirit Sect?"
His affable demeanor put the deacons at ease.
Deacon 1: "Ah, it's no surprise you haven't heard yet. We only recently got the news ourselves."
Deacon 2: "The Clear Sky Sect, once hailed as the number one sect, was completely annihilated by the Holy Spirit Sect's Sect Master, Dai Mubai! It's a shame we couldn't witness it firsthand."
Li Si: "…"
"The Holy Spirit Sect's Sect Master is Dai Mubai?!"
Li Si was utterly flabbergasted. He had thought he'd arrived too late, that Lin Fan might have already ascended. After all, Tang San's decrepit state had suggested a far-advanced timeline.
But the Holy Spirit Sect?
"Okay, sure. The Holy Spirit Sect worships death and evil gods. Lin Fan being the Reaper's inheritor makes his involvement plausible."
In the original work, the Holy Spirit Sect's founder wasn't even human. She was the wife of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, bent on avenging her husband after Tang San killed him. She had taken on human form to establish the sect.
Though she eventually reached godhood, she was defeated by Tang Wulin and Gu Yuena.
The destruction of the Slaughter City and Spirit Hall had left the Douluo Continent rife with evil soul masters. These soul masters, though heinous, were powerful tools for the Demon Empress.
Ironically, after Tang San became a god, commoners suffered even more. The hope for their rise was extinguished, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation.
Li Si (thinking): "Well, this Holy Spirit Sect is unlikely to devolve into its original form. That's probably a good thing for this world."**
Listening to the deacons' chatter, Li Si couldn't help but twitch his eye at their absurd claims.
The Holy Spirit Sect was "eliminating the cancers of the Douluo Continent" under the guise of justice.
"What the… Any traveler who knows what the Holy Spirit Sect stands for would find this hilarious!"
Rather than entering Spirit City, Li Si set his sights on the Holy Spirit Sect's base, which had taken over the Clear Sky Sect's former mountain stronghold.
After all, the sect's grand debut in the "sect annihilation battle" had made its location widely known.
This simplified Li Si's search.
The geography of the anime world differed somewhat from the novel, and Li Si wasn't foolish enough to rely solely on novel maps.
Meanwhile, Lin Fan (as Dai Mubai) was preparing to leave for the Slaughter City. But an inexplicable unease made him pause.
His instincts told him to wait, as if something—or someone—was watching him.
As Li Si journeyed, he noticed rumors spreading about Dai Mubai (Lin Fan).
"God's inheritor," "Soul Douluo at seventeen," "Soul ring ages beyond belief."
Li Si (snorting): "Typical. The guy really knows how to make an impression."
He decided not to overthink it and pressed on.
Unlike novice travelers who joined the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament just to show off, Li Si had no such plans.
"I can't believe my good brother Lin Fan was one of those guys…"
Then again, it was likely part of his Reaper's Trial. Judging by the timeline, Lin Fan's soul rings only began changing color after he won the tournament.
Eventually, Li Si reached the foot of the mountain once known as the Clear Sky Sect's stronghold, now the Holy Spirit Sect's base.
Guard 1: "Halt! State your business!"
Two burly guards stood at the path leading to the sect. There were other routes for those who could fly, but this was the main entrance.
Li Si (smiling): "Greetings, brothers. I'm a friend of your Sect Master. Could you inform him that an old acquaintance has come to visit?"
(Chapter End)