Chapter 74: Purge

"Ding!"

"Choice automatically made. Intermediate Slave Talisman has been placed in the system inventory. Please check."

Gu Chen seemed momentarily stunned. What exactly had caused the once-timid and kind Luo Chen to undergo such a dramatic transformation?

"System, display Luo Chen's stats."

"Ding!"

System Character Panel:

Name: Luo Chen

Age: 12

Strength: 600

Spirit Power: 950

Bloodline: 100% Human

Level: Soul Ancestor, Level 41

Soul Rings: Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Purple

Loyalty: 100%

Overall Evaluation: A food-type martial soul user with considerable developmental potential. Has high future value. Fully loyal to the host, willing to change for the host's sake.

"This…"

Even without using the Slave Talisman, Luo Chen's loyalty had already reached 100%. Gu Chen looked at him with a slightly complicated expression.

"Brother Chen, did I do something wrong?" Luo Chen lowered his head at Gu Chen's gaze and asked.

"No, you did the right thing. He deserved to die," Gu Chen said.

Dongfang Po couldn't help but speak up, "Y-You killed Yuan Ye?!"

Gu Chen shot him a glance, "What, should we have saved him for the New Year?"

"System, use the Intermediate Slave Talisman on Dongfang Po," Gu Chen said silently. Although the talisman had a designated method of usage, that only applied to those who obtained it through normal means. Gu Chen could use it directly through the system.

"Ding!"

"Intermediate Slave Talisman consumed. Dongfang Po's loyalty is now 100%."

Dongfang Po, who was about to say something, suddenly froze. A moment later, he lowered his head and bowed, "Boss Gu, you were right."

"What about Zhang Yixuan?" Su Bai asked.

"After being severely injured by Yuan Ye, Zhang Yixuan was possessed by a Possession Demon," Gu Chen replied. Before he could say more, Su Bai cried out.

"What?! A Possession Demon?! Then we need to get out of here immediately. That's not something we can handle!" Su Bai said in a panic.

"No need to worry. I've already killed it," Gu Chen said with a calm smile.

"What?! You killed a Possession Demon?!" Su Bai and the others looked at Gu Chen with newfound reverence.

"Thank you, Brother Gu. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have known that my sister was handed over by that bastard," Mo Yun said gratefully.

"System, display Mo Yun's stats."

"Ding!"

System Character Panel:

Name: Mo Yun

Age: 11

Strength: 800

Spirit Power: 650

Bloodline: 100% Human

Level: Soul Elder, Level 34

Soul Rings: Yellow, Yellow, Purple

Loyalty: 73%

Overall Evaluation: A spirit master with divine-level development potential.

Hmm? Mo Yun's loyalty was already at 73%?

Gu Chen glanced at Mo Yun in surprise. According to the system's evaluation, his development potential was divine-level, meaning that as long as he didn't die prematurely, Mo Yun had the potential to become a god-level powerhouse.

Of course, in the original story, Mo Yun likely would have died in this very nameless mountain range.

"System, use a Basic Slave Talisman," Gu Chen said.

"Ding!"

"Basic Slave Talisman consumed. Mo Yun's loyalty is now 100%."

Mo Yun also paused slightly, but since the subconscious suggestions from the system didn't conflict with his mind, he didn't react as dazedly as Dongfang Po.

"Please let me follow you from now on, Brother Gu!" Mo Yun said earnestly.

"Count me in too!" Dongfang Po added.

Gu Chen nodded, "From now on, both of you are under my command."

Just then, Gu Yue Na leaned close and whispered into his ear, "Brother Chen, can we really trust them?"

Gu Chen smirked and replied via voice transmission, "Their spiritual seas are under my control. They won't betray us."

Gu Yue Na nodded, saying no more.

It seemed that with Yuan Ye gone, the spiritual pillar of the survivor base was lost, and Su Bai's loyalty had reached 61%, qualifying him for a Basic Slave Talisman.

So, Gu Chen used one on Su Bai as well, converting him into one of his own.

Both Su Bai and Mo Yun came from prestigious families. A Su Clan elder was a high-ranking member of the Spirit Hall and a Titled Douluo, and the Mo Clan also had a Titled Douluo elder in the Hall.

In other words, by enslaving Mo Yun, Su Bai, and Dongfang Po, Gu Chen had effectively gained control over four Titled Douluo—including two from the Dongfang family.

As for the remaining three survivors—

Lu Yan was willing to follow Gu Chen's commands, but her loyalty was only at 51%, and with no Intermediate Slave Talismans left, Gu Chen couldn't fully control her yet. He chose to keep her around but warned Luo Chen and the others to be wary of her.

Wan Tianyu and Sima Da, on the other hand, had been loyal to Yuan Ye. The two of them refused to submit—even under threat.

Gu Chen merely smiled, turned around, and walked back to his room, leaving behind a single cold sentence:

"Kill them. Don't make too much noise."

Bang!

Gu Chen entered the withered wood room and closed the door.

Whoosh! Splurt!

The first to act was Gu Yue Na. She teleported behind Sima Da, her stunning amethyst eyes full of ice-cold intent. A glowing sword appeared in her delicate white hand, and without hesitation, she plunged it into Sima Da's heart.

Luo Chen also raised his gun, firing twenty shots in a row at Wan Tianyu.

Wan Tianyu was a support-type spirit master. Without a strong offense-type protector, how could he hope to survive?

Luo Chen's marksmanship was not as precise as Gu Chen's. The twenty bullet holes in Wan Tianyu's head were irregularly spaced, but still fatal.

Seeing her former companions die before her, Lu Yan covered her eyes, unable to hold back her tears.

She looked at Luo Chen and Gu Yue Na with a mix of sorrow and hatred.

A short while later, Gu Chen came out again.

"For tomorrow's hunt, Na'er, Luo Chen, and Mo Yun will come with me. The rest of you stay at the survivor base." With that, Gu Chen returned to his room to sleep.

It was already dawn. Normally, this would've been a time for peaceful sleep. If not for tonight's events, they would've all been resting soundly.

Hearing his words, a wave of exhaustion hit Luo Chen and the others. They each went back to their rooms to sleep—leaving behind three corpses and one dried-out body in the basement.

The next day, when Gu Chen awoke, Lu Yan had already buried the bodies of Yuan Ye, Wan Tianyu, and Sima Da.

Zhang Yixuan's body in the basement was buried by Dongfang Po.

Dongfang Po had also cleared out the basement.

"This will do nicely. From now on, this basement will be our emergency shelter. Xuan Mo!" Gu Chen said, pleased, and called out.

Xuan Mo immediately stepped forward.

"Use your third spirit skill to turn the basement walls into metal," Gu Chen instructed. Since Yuan Ye had once blocked the door, Gu Chen had realized that this metal ability could be used to create a fortified space.

Xuan Mo accepted the order and went down into the basement, repeatedly activating his third spirit skill. Instead of the energy shield that he used now, Gu Chen wanted the old version—the metal shield.

Under Xuan Mo's control, the metal shields transformed into walls. Soon, the entire basement resembled a sealed metallic space, with metal walls all around—even the ceiling above was made of metal panels.

(End of Chapter)