Chapter 40: You Have Chosen the Path to Death!

"She…"

Both Gu You and Yun Ming were stunned.

Amidst the ruins of the collapsed buildings, Qian Yu struggled to stand. Her small body was covered in wounds. At an age when she should have been innocent and carefree, her young eyes instead held resentment and confusion.

Suspended in front of Qian Yu was the soul of Yue Zi. The girl was afraid yet curious. When she noticed Gu You and the strange young man standing nearby, her expression froze, and fear spread throughout her entire body.

The ground was uneven, with shattered roads and crumbling stones everywhere. Just as Qian Yu turned to flee, her foot got caught in the rubble. She tripped and slammed her face into a jagged rock. The impact alone looked painful.

Ordinarily, a child her age would cry from such an injury. But she didn't. She didn't even shed a tear. Instead, she tried to stand up purely through willpower. What kind of strength was this…?

Seizing the moment, Yue Zi's soul surged into Qian Yu's mind. The girl's head tilted to the side, and she lost consciousness.

Gu You's eyes burned with rage. This was too cruel. Tang Hao… How could he commit such an atrocity against the heavens?

Yun Ming picked up the unconscious Qian Yu and carried her over to Gu You. "What should we do with her? I'll leave it to you." This was a test for Gu You. But no matter what decision he made, Yun Ming would accept it.

Gu You looked up at the sky. This vast world… was there really such a thing as the righteous path? Looking back at everything that had happened, he suddenly understood Tang Hao's intentions.

From the train incident to Yue Zi's final act, this had all been a trap! Gu You had been nothing more than a piece on the board—a piece meant to be sacrificed!

"Tang Hao! You have chosen the path to death!" Gu You roared. He released Yue Zi's soul and guided it toward Qian Yu, allowing them to merge. He had killed her mother in a previous life—he was already indebted to Qian Yu.

Tang Hao was certain of one thing: as long as Gu You still had any humanity left, he would never kill an innocent child.

What a masterful move of moral coercion! The Tang family had truly perfected this technique. But… Gu You was no saint!

An Ultimate Douluo-level evil soul master, harboring remnants of the Evil God's power, and someone who held a deep grudge against him—once awakened inside Qian Yu, the destruction she could unleash would be unimaginable. The number of casualties, the cities that could fall… there was no way to calculate it.

Without a half-god powerhouse like Yun Ming, no one would be able to suppress her. And even if such a powerhouse existed, what if they grew attached to Qian Yu over time? What if, out of compassion, they couldn't bear to kill her? By then, regret would come too late…

Did Qian Yu have emotions? Gu You didn't know. But then again, did Yue Zi? His answer to that was mixed.

From the beginning until now, Gu You had never been a good person. But he wasn't an evil person either. He judged things based on his own interests, analyzed situations realistically, and sometimes let emotions influence his decisions.

The world never had perfect endings. The only choice was to keep moving forward. And on that path, any obstacles… would simply have to be crushed.

"I am guilty," Gu You murmured as he took Qian Yu into his arms, his voice repeating the phrase over and over.

Yun Ming remained silent, watching Gu You's every move.

The girl in his arms was cold. So cold that it made Gu You feel empty inside.

He pried open Qian Yu's eyelids and looked into her eyes. A faint purple light flashed within his own pupils.

At that moment, Qian Yu's lips curled into a subtle, eerie smile. Her delicate hands slowly fell limp as she sank deeper into unconsciousness…

Suddenly!

A surge of dark energy erupted from Qian Yu's body. Yue Zi was making her final resistance. The black aura was strange—it disrupted both Gu You's and Yun Ming's martial souls, preventing them from releasing their full power.

Nine crimson soul rings flickered around Yun Ming. The immense soul pressure caused the very ground beneath them to sink several inches.

Gu You was seeing Yun Ming's soul ring configuration for the first time.

If not for the fact that Douluo Dalu 3 was called The Legend of the Dragon King, Gu You would have fully believed that Yun Ming wasn't just the pride of the previous generation—he was the true prodigy of this era as well.

Gu You couldn't help but wonder: Who else could achieve this level of power without the existence of the Divine Realm? Who else could create a half-god position purely on their own and reach such heights?

(End of Chapter)