I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense

“Eh, this guy is still alive!”

Liuren suddenly exclaimed in surprise, looking towards Hu Zuo who had collapsed on the ground.

At the moment, Hu Zuo’s eyelids twitched as he lay unconscious. After his soul had been searched, his Primordial Spirit was incomplete; even if he survived, he would be in a state of idiocy.

“This guy really has a tough life, surviving a soul search without completely dying!”

The old beggar sighed. Could it be that the cultivators of the Central Origin Realm all possessed such tenacious vitality?

“Since he’s not dead, then let’s not waste it.”

Li Xiaobai said indifferently. The Heart of the Blood Demon appeared behind him; a tentacle shot out explosively, piercing Hu Zuo straight through. The heart throbbed violently a few times, sucking Hu Zuo dry into a husk in one breath, creating an eerie scene.

According to what King Weiwu had said, the Heart of the Blood Demon was a divine skill of the Blood Demon Sect, a method of the demon outcasts. Exhibiting it openly in front of people might be problematic in the future.

“Boy, your heart’s aura is getting stronger and stronger.”

The Kraken expressed surprise, as it seemed that the heart grew stronger with each kill.

“Heh, it’s just so-so.”

Li Xiaobai glanced at the Heart of the Blood Demon behind him. It was indeed more enchantingly red than when he first obtained it, but still far from reaching the strength of a Human Immortal cultivator. The divine-level growth entirely depended on the number of people it killed and had little to do with his own advancement in defensive power.

He would have to find more living beings for it to consume in the future.

Hu Zuo’s shriveled body lay limp on the ground, the treasures stored within his Dantian scattered everywhere. At the same time, a blood-red light flashed and vanished in the void, converging above Li Xiaobai’s head, forming a number “one hundred.”

Everyone’s faces were filled with astonishment. They even neglected the Immortal Stones scattered on the ground and stared blankly at Li Xiaobai’s head.

“Sss!”

“What is that?”

“Young Master Li, why is there a one hundred above your head?”

“Bark, boy you’ve grown something on your head!”

The three people and two beasts were all staring unblinkingly at Li Xiaobai. Even Li Xiaobai himself was baffled. He looked up to see the blood-red script still hovering in the air. When he reached out to touch it, his hand passed right through—it wasn’t solid.

The appearance of the script did not last long; it disappeared after roughly the duration of a breath.

“I was in a hurry during the soul search, focused on finding the map and the way out, and I didn’t obtain related information from his memory.”

Liuren said apologetically, clearly having missed a key piece of information, which was very likely something everyone should know.

“Giggle, boy, that guy said that if you killed him, you would encounter misfortune. Could it be that this is what he was referring to?” Ji Wuqing asked from the side.

“That’s right, this man was pursued into the Upper Realm because he had killed someone there. And the number one hundred appeared above my head after I killed someone. Could it be that in the Central Origin Realm, killing someone causes a script to manifest above your head?”

Li Xiaobai murmured to himself with some confusion. He didn’t dare to move around carelessly without clarifying this issue. If some cultivators, who consider themselves from righteous sects, saw the number above his head, he might end up like Hu Zuo.

He flipped his wrist and took out the Purple Gold Gourd, releasing Prince Yan from it.

At that moment, Prince Yan looked grimy all over, as if he had been rolling in a furnace. It seemed life inside the gourd was less than satisfactory.

“This is… Central Origin Realm!”

“You actually made it to the Central Origin Realm, how did you get up here?”

“No, this is the Demonic Beast Mountain Range, kid. Once you go out, you’ll be in the territory of my Great Flame Dynasty. I advise you to release us honestly, or you’ll suffer the consequences!”

After a brief moment of astonishment, Prince Yan immediately became excited.

“Don’t get so excited, there’s something I want to ask you, and I hope you can answer truthfully. Otherwise, we’ll have no choice but to resort to soul searching.”

Li Xiaobai spoke indifferently, unobtrusively revealing the drained corpse behind him.

Prince Yan immediately quieted down, his gaze occasionally flicking to the corpse, showing deep fear—it was the work of the Heart of the Blood Demon!

He knew that the other party possessed the Heart of the Blood Demon. He had already seen it on the Immortal Spirit Continent. It was known as the world’s most sanguineous and evil object, with legends saying that behind each heart lay an entire mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

“What do you want to know?”

“Just now, some words appeared above my head…”

Li Xiaobai recounted the recent event, wanting to understand the answer.

“Because you killed someone, a Sin Value appeared, which is bestowed by the Heavenly Dao and cannot be destroyed by human means. There are two special lists in the Central Origin Realm, the Merit List and the List of Villains. As the name suggests, the Merit List is prepared for those of high moral standing, and the List of Villains is full of demon heads who have killed countless people.”

“In the Central Origin Realm, every person you kill will transfer the numeric value from their body to you as a Sin Value. That person was supposed to have a hundred Sin Value, you killed him, so you inherited his Sin Value.”

“From now on, whenever you operate your Cultivation Technique and fight against someone, the Sin Value above your head will manifest.”

With Ergouzi’s corpse as a deterrent, Prince Yan became much more cooperative, answering any question asked.

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaobai immediately summoned the Heart of the Blood Demon again, and, indeed, a string of numbers promptly appeared above his head— one hundred.

“So if the other person has a hundred Merit Value, and I kill him, wouldn’t I inherit the merit?”

“No, only good deeds can accumulate Merit Value. If you kill a cultivator who has a hundred Merit Value, that person’s hundred Merit Value will turn into a thousand Sin Value on you because merit is difficult to accumulate, and killing someone with great merit is an unforgivable act in itself.”

“Will anyone come to punish the wicked?” Li Xiaobai asked.

“There will be a specialized Punishment Squad roaming throughout the Central Origin Realm, and anyone with over five thousand Sin Value will become their target,” Prince Yan said.

“I see.”

Li Xiaobai nodded. He understood. Killing cultivators would result in inheriting their values, and having too much Sin Value led to being hunted down. The rules of the Central Origin Realm were indeed quite formal; no wonder those Princely Heirs all seemed inexperienced in worldly matters.

“Woof, then how can one increase Merit Value?”

Ergouzi asked, sticking out his tongue on the side. Perhaps it was because he had taken the Justice Elixir early on, he was particularly keen on Merit Value.

“The simplest way is by reciting scripture. Just by reciting, you can gradually increase Merit Value. Next would be doing good deeds. The more people affected by the good deed, the more Merit Value you gain. I know of a high-ranking monk from the Buddhist Sect who once, single-handedly, opposed a demon head and saved the civilians of an entire city, instantly gaining a million Merit Value, resulting in a phenomenon between heaven and earth,” Prince Yan said, longing in his eyes.

“Giggle, will capturing Saint Heirs and saintesses as pets increase Sin Value?”

“Only killing people will increase Sin Value.”