Douluo Continent: Starting with the Tiger Emperor Template

"Let's go."

Lu Ren opened his eyes and strode into the depths of the street.

He had no clear direction; he simply followed the guidance of the concentration of curse power, heading towards the places where negative emotions were most intense.

The stronger the curse, the darker the hearts of people.

The darker the human heart, the easier it is to find what one is looking for.

If he could, Lu Ren really wanted to stay in Mingdu forever. In a place with such dense magical energy, his cultivation should be able to improve very quickly.

Ji Juechen followed behind him without saying a word, like a silent shadow.

The two walked through the bustling main street, past the brightly lit commercial district, and across the crowded residential area.

The further you go, the narrower the streets become, the dimmer the lights become, and the stronger the curse energy permeates the air.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Lu Ren stopped.

He stood deep in a quiet alley, facing an inconspicuous wooden door.

The paint on the door panel was peeling and mottled, and the door knocker was covered in rust, indicating that it hadn't been used for a long time.

The wooden door was embedded in a blue brick wall, and a few clumps of withered grass grew on the top of the wall, swaying gently in the wind.

The entire courtyard was inconspicuous among the surrounding towering buildings, like a grain of sand forgotten in a corner.

Ji Juechen's gaze swept over the door, his brows furrowing slightly.

"This place looks familiar."

Lu Ren stared at the door, his mind rapidly flipping through the memories of the original work.

A moment later, he remembered where he was.

Ji Juechen looked at him:

"Are there any strong opponents here I can challenge?"

Lu Ren turned his head, a half-smile on his face.

Have you heard of the Holy Spirit Cult?

Ji Juechen's expression remained unchanged.

"Not interested."

"There are many powerful individuals inside," Lu Ren added casually, as if discussing a trivial matter. "There are plenty of people stronger than you."

Ji Juechen's expression changed instantly.

It was as if a fire had been lit in those dull, lifeless eyes.

"I'm interested now."

Lu Ren laughed out loud.

This sword fanatic is still the same as ever.

He didn't care at all about the Holy Spirit Cult or the evil spirit masters.

He only cares about one thing: whether there are strong opponents he can fight, whether there are opponents he can enjoy fighting, and then improve himself.

"Then come with me inside and cause trouble."

Lu Ren stepped forward and gently knocked on the door.

Three long and two short.

The knocking echoed through the quiet alley, like some ancient code.

A moment later, a faint sound of footsteps came from inside the door.

The wooden door was pulled open a crack from the inside.

The person who opened the door was a young man dressed entirely in black, wearing a bamboo hat and a black veil that covered most of his face, revealing only a pair of sinister eyes.

His gaze swept across Lu Ren and Ji Juechen's faces, his pupils slightly contracting.

He had never seen either of these faces before.

"Who are you people?!"

The young man in black spoke in a sharp voice, tinged with obvious wariness and hostility.

At the same time, a faint gray soul power fluctuation began to emerge from his body.

That soul power was chilling and bone-piercing, carrying an aura that would instinctively make ordinary people feel uncomfortable.

Lu Ren did not answer.

He raised his right hand, spread his fingers, and grabbed the black-clad youth's face.

The movement was as fast as lightning; the young man in black didn't even have time to take a step back before his face was firmly locked in place by that hand.

Immediately afterwards, Lu Ren activated the Reversal Technique.

Positive energy condensed in his palm, disguised as soul power, and poured into the black-clad youth's body through his mouth.

That warm and pure energy is the best healing light for ordinary people.

But for evil spirit masters...

This is the most terrifying poison in the world.

"Aaaaaaah!"

The young man in black let out a bloodcurdling scream.

His body trembled violently, like a fish thrown ashore.

The gray evil spirit master's soul power surrounding him evaporated wildly under the impact of positive energy, making a "hissing" sound, like water being poured into boiling oil.

Not only that, his martial spirit was also forcibly activated at this moment, and then shattered.

The sound of a martial spirit shattering was like a mirror being smashed by a heavy hammer.

Countless points of light exploded from his body and dissipated into the night sky, like a silent firework display.

The young man in black went limp and collapsed to the ground, completely losing consciousness.

His face still bore the distorted expression of terror, as if he had seen the most horrible thing in the world in the last moment before losing consciousness.

Lu Ren withdrew his hand and looked down at his palm.

Then he looked at the unconscious young man in black on the ground.

His expression was somewhat subtle.

"Goodness."

He muttered to himself, a hint of realization flashing in his eyes.

"So, evil spirit masters are similar to cursed spirits in sorcery."

The positive energy released by the reversal technique was even more terrifying in its restraining effect on evil spirit masters than he had imagined.

This isn't treatment, it's practically purification.

However, it still cannot reach the level of instant kill like in Jujutsu Kaisen, where as long as you master the reversal technique and release it externally, you can infuse this positive energy into the cursed spirit's body.

Even if it wasn't an instant kill, it was close enough.

With just that simple move, Lu Ren had rendered this evil spirit master useless.

In other words, Lu Ren is now the person on the entire continent who is most effective against evil spirit masters, aside from the Holy Angel Martial Soul.

Ji Juechen stood behind him, glanced at the unconscious young man in black on the ground, and then at Lu Ren's palm.

"Your abilities are a perfect counter to theirs."

This is a declarative sentence, not an interrogative sentence.

"It seems so." Lu Ren shook his hand, as if shaking off something dirty. "Let's go in and take a look."

He stepped over the young man in black and pushed open the half-closed wooden door.

Behind the door was a deep corridor, where dim soul-guided lamps cast a pale light on the walls.

Faint voices and fluctuations of soul power could be heard at the end of the corridor, and a faint smell of blood permeated the air.

Lu Ren stepped inside.

Ji Juechen followed closely behind, his right hand already on the hilt of his sword.

The courtyard gate slowly closed behind me, shutting out the last sliver of dim light in the alley.

Lu Ren stopped and scanned the scene before him.

From the outside, it looks like nothing more than an inconspicuous, dilapidated little courtyard.

But upon entering, the view suddenly opens up, and the entire courtyard is several times larger than it appears from the outside, clearly the result of careful spatial design.

The path paved with bluestone slabs meanders forward, with all kinds of plants planted on both sides.

The towering trellis extends from the courtyard wall all the way to the edge of the building, with dense vines climbing every inch of space, weaving a verdant canopy.

The layers of vines completely blocked the view from the high-rise buildings above.

This is a common arrangement in Mingdu. In Mingdu, high-rise buildings stand everywhere, and no one wants their privacy to be exposed to others, so these plants are planted as natural barriers.

But at this moment, the atmosphere in this quiet courtyard has completely changed.

The screams of the young man in the straw hat had startled everyone in the courtyard.

So much so that hurried footsteps echoed from the depths of the courtyard, and one figure after another filed out from every corner.

Lu Ren watched quietly as the people gathered around him.

The leader was a tall man with a black hood covering his face, revealing only a pair of sinister eyes.

Seven spirit rings slowly rose from beneath his feet.

Two yellow, two purple, and three black – the standard Soul Saint configuration.

Behind him stood two Soul Emperors, both wearing black hoods, their eyes cold and venomous.

"Who goes there?!"