Douluo: AFK to Become a God

Three days later, in the Xingluo imperial palace—

"You said what? Tiger and Wolf failed?!"

Dai Yutian, Emperor of Xingluo, slammed down the government document he was reviewing and stared wide-eyed at Prime Minister Pierce inside the hall.

Two Soul Douluo plus six Soul Sages… and they still couldn't handle a mere Chu Chengzhou? Was this some kind of joke?

"Yes, Your Majesty. Tiger and Wolf have already fallen into the hands of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Through a bribe, this minister received word from the Heaven Dou envoy that Chu Chengzhou left Heaven Dou City with Chen Xin secretly escorting him. Aside from Tiger and Wolf being captured, the other six were killed on the spot."

Pierce quickly explained.

As one of the masterminds behind this assassination plot, Pierce wasn't particularly strong himself, but he had a decent grasp of Tiger's group's strength.

Ordinarily, even two or three average Soul Douluo wouldn't be their match. But facing a Titled Douluo—failure was guaranteed.

Especially since it was Sword Douluo Chen Xin from the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect, known across the continent for having the strongest offensive capabilities (as exaggerated as the original claims might be). Among all Titled Douluo, Chen Xin was one of the more formidable. Tiger's group didn't stand a chance.

Hopefully, that bribe he paid to the Heaven Dou envoy would be reimbursed by the Empire. Damn those greedy Heaven Dou bastards—may they have sons with no buttholes!

"Chen Xin?! Despicable! A dignified Titled Douluo stooping so low!"

Dai Yutian cursed.

From his perspective, Chen Xin cooperating with Chu Chengzhou to bait and trap his elites was utterly disgraceful for a Titled Douluo. No shame at all!

As for sending two Soul Douluo and six Soul Sages against a mere four- or five-ringed Chu Chengzhou—was that more shameful?

That's Tiger's problem, not his.

"Your Majesty, the Heaven Dou envoy has formally stated that the Empire sent assassins after Chu Chengzhou, and the evidence is solid. They're demanding an explanation. How should I respond?"

Pierce carefully tested the waters.

He knew full well how volatile His Majesty's temper was. Hopefully, there wouldn't be an explosion today.

"Respond? Pierce, tell that damn envoy this whole thing was Wuhun Hall's doing. It's a complete setup—nothing to do with the Empire.

And say the Empire is willing to send someone to assist Heaven Dou in uncovering the truth."

Dai Yutian answered without hesitation.

You say we Xingluo did it, and that makes it true?

Solid evidence? That's just Wuhun Hall framing us again!

Last time the Empire took the fall, it was only because they got ahold of some key weakness. To protect the royal family's White Tiger martial soul, there was no choice.

But this time? It's just two Soul Douluo—no way the Empire's going to tarnish its reputation by admitting to something so underhanded.

We're Xingluo. We don't admit anything. What can you do about it? Hit us if you dare!

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Pierce bowed and exited.

An hour later—

"Pierce, what's the situation now?"

Dai Yutian asked as Pierce returned.

"Your Majesty, things have changed. After I relayed your reply, the Heaven Dou envoy said that the failure of Tiger's group wasn't solely due to Chen Xin.

The six—Fire Sparrow, Storm Eagle, and the others—were not killed by Chen Xin, but by Chu Chengzhou himself.

Furthermore, after more bribery, the envoy revealed that Emperor Xue Ye sent him to resolve the conflict between the Empire and Chu Chengzhou."

Pierce spoke gravely.

At that moment, his heart was bleeding. For the sake of the Empire, he'd basically spent both this year's and last year's entire salary.

"What? That little Chu Chengzhou killed six Soul Sages by himself?!"

Dai Yutian's eyes bulged.

Pierce explained: "Your Majesty, it sounds unbelievable, but it's not entirely impossible.

During the previous Soul Master Tournament, even with only four rings, Chu Chengzhou's strength was already comparable to a typical seven-ring Soul Sage. Now that he's advanced to five rings, his power surely increased."

Hearing this, Dai Yutian fell into deep thought.

Two paths lay before him.

One, take the offer from Heaven Dou and make peace with Chu Chengzhou.

Two, ignore Heaven Dou and continue targeting and assassinating him.

The first path would damage the Empire's reputation—a quiet admission of guilt.

The second path was filled with uncertainty.

If they succeeded in killing Chu Chengzhou, all would be well. But if they failed again and he kept growing stronger, he'd become a nightmare for the Empire.

As an emperor, Dai Yutian understood how dangerous a lone powerhouse could be.

Even if Chu Chengzhou couldn't match the entire Empire, constant raids—attacking cities, causing unrest—could cause massive losses.

Especially with his mutated martial soul, perfectly suited for sabotage.

Most rogue experts had to appear in person to do real damage. If the Empire deployed its own experts to corner them, it could at least suppress the threat.

But Chu Chengzhou was different. He could release his summon, escape, and let the summon wreak havoc. Even killing the summon wouldn't stop him from summoning it again later.

Worse, his summon could shrink in size, had intelligence, and could sneak into cities unnoticed. By the time it caused damage, the summoner was long gone—no trail to follow.

After a long pause, Dai Yutian asked, "Did the Heaven Dou envoy mention any conditions for peace?"

Though domineering, Dai Yutian wasn't brainless. He knew that making peace would require a price—after all, it was their side that played dirty first.

And this was the second time they'd done so, counting the previous framed incident.

If Chu Chengzhou wanted nothing in return, Dai Yutian would be even more suspicious—clearly he'd be planning something later.

Still, even if the demands were harsh, it might be the only option.

Unless they were 100% certain they could kill him, reconciliation was the only way to avoid devastating retaliation.

"Your Majesty, the Heaven Dou envoy said the condition for peace is that the royal family must annul the engagement of the second daughter of the Zhu family. Nothing else has been mentioned for now."

Pierce braced himself as he spoke.

This—this was a slap to the face. But also the very root of the conflict.

At those words, Dai Yutian's face darkened. He couldn't help thinking of his useless third son.

Dai Mubai's talent wasn't bad—maybe even better than Davis's. He only lost out because he was younger.

But who knew he'd turn out to be a total disappointment—spineless, weak-willed, even let someone steal his fiancée. Absolutely useless.

If he wasn't his own son, Dai Yutian would've strangled him by now.

"Hmph! Fine. I approve it. As for the rest, Pierce, do your best to preserve the Empire's interests."

With a cold snort, Dai Yutian gave his approval.

It was embarrassing, sure, but there was no real loss.

Even if the royal family refused, Zhu Zhuqing was already in Heaven Dou. Nothing would change that.

The Zhu family had other daughters. They could always pick another. What use was a wife to a worthless son anyway? Let him rot!

"Yes, Your Majesty. I take my leave!"

Pierce bowed.

"Wait—"

Dai Yutian called out just as Pierce was about to leave.

"Do you have other orders, Your Majesty?"

"Pierce, go… never mind. You may go."

Dai Yutian waved him off.

Though confused, Pierce didn't dwell on it. He saluted and left.

"Guards, summon the royal family's second elder."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The guards outside the hall responded at once.

Back in the hall, a glint of cunning flashed in Dai Yutian's eyes.

He believed that between reconciliation and assassination—he could have both.

Dai Yutian: "Only children make choices. I, the great emperor of Xingluo, will take them all!"

On the surface, they'd make peace. Behind the scenes? The assassinations would continue.

He wasn't naive enough to believe Chu Chengzhou would let go of his grudge just because they made peace.

Just like emperors killing loyal generals—did the generals always plan rebellion?

Maybe. But most of the time, they were killed simply for having the potential to rebel.

Same with Chu Chengzhou. If he ever gained the strength to retaliate, the Empire would be in serious danger.

So it was best to eliminate him early.

Of course, to avoid suspicion, future assassins couldn't be sent directly by the Empire or royal family.

There were plenty of mercenaries and desperadoes on the continent. As long as the pay was high and the contact clean, even failure wouldn't trace back to the Empire.

And once peace was declared, Chu Chengzhou and the Qibao Glazed Sect would surely let their guard down—making it easier to strike.

Ten days later—

Chu Chengzhou returned home from the palace.

"Zhuqing, guess what this is?"

Chu Chengzhou held up two gold-stamped booklets.

"What's that?"

Zhu Zhuqing blinked, confused.

Chu Chengzhou smiled silently and handed over the two copies of the engagement contract.

Due to poor transportation and communication, most diplomatic envoys were flying-type Soul Masters.

The Xingluo envoy had been fast. With peace talks concluded, during Chu Chengzhou's visit to the Heaven Dou palace, he had received the contract signed years ago by the Xingluo royal family and the Netherworld Civet clan—betrothing Zhu Zhuqing to Prince Dai Mubai.

From this moment forward, Zhu Zhuqing was no longer Xingluo's future princess consort.

As she opened one of the booklets, the golden characters Marriage Contract gleamed on the cover.

Seeing her name beside Dai Mubai's, along with the signatures of her father and Emperor Dai Yutian, tears welled up in Zhu Zhuqing's eyes.

Gently wiping away the tears from her cheeks, Chu Chengzhou said:

"No more crying. This is a happy moment. Rip it up! From now on, you're not the future princess of Xingluo—you're Zhu Zhuqing, second daughter of the Zhu family, and my wife!"

Zhu Zhuqing nodded heavily, soul power surging in her hands as she tore the two finely crafted copies of the marriage contract into shreds, then threw herself into Chu Chengzhou's arms.

"Kiss me!"

Faced with the request from the girl in his arms, Chu Chengzhou didn't refuse—nor could he.

Before long, driven by emotion, Chu Chengzhou couldn't help but start making some sneaky moves.

"Let's not… we're still young. Let's wait another two years…"

Blushing, Zhu Zhuqing pushed Chu Chengzhou's face away and whispered softly.

She wasn't even 15 years old yet. She'd heard from the elders in her clan that breaking one's body too early could hinder cultivation.

What Zhu Zhuqing didn't know was that it wasn't the act itself that affected cultivation, but rather the indulgence in pleasure that disrupted it. And how many young people who tasted it for the first time could truly resist falling into obsession?

"Mhm, we'll wait a couple of years before the bridal chamber. But for now…"

As he spoke, Chu Chengzhou's spiritual energy surged, activating the Void Illusion Realm, pulling Zhu Zhuqing's consciousness into the illusion.

Half a month later.

In the afternoon, reclining on a lounge chair in the courtyard under the golden glow of sunset, Chu Chengzhou waited for his ultimate technique to level up.

Soon, a notification on his attribute panel showed that the quality of his defensive ultimate technique had upgraded—transformed into red-tier.

At the same time, a massive influx of insights and comprehension related to the evolved defensive art poured into Chu Chengzhou's mind.

After fully absorbing it, a satisfied smile crept onto his face.

In the next second, his non-elemental soul power surged. A translucent soul power flower of ghostly blue bloomed about a foot above his head. As its petals fell, a shimmering bluish glow enveloped his body.

Then, Chu Chengzhou converted his neutral soul power into the light element of his summoned spirit beast, the Radiant Lion Xiao Bai. Instantly, the flower, its petals, and the light radiating from his body shifted to white light.

As he switched attributes, the illusory flower changed color accordingly—fiery red from the Fire Phoenix Xiao Hong, metallic gold from the Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear Xiong Da, and black water from the Mysterious Water Turtle Gui Er.

As for the wood-element green from Sky Azure Tree Xiao Qing… well, that color didn't suit being on top of his head.

After experiencing the evolved form of the defensive ultimate technique, Chu Chengzhou renamed it to "A Moment of Bloom" and removed it from the passive slot, replacing it with the Sun-Shooting Divine Arrow.

Now that his defensive shortcoming was addressed, his next priority was clearly to upgrade his offensive capabilities.

A Moment of Bloom, one of the 36 Celestial Divine Arts from myth in his past life, once described as: "A thousand golden blossoms bloom overhead, draped with jeweled garlands and brilliant light, a supreme cloud of protection"—a divine defensive technique of the Primordial Lord of Heaven.

Of course, Chu Chengzhou's version wasn't that absurd. He was nowhere near the level of Yuan Shi Tian Zun—there was no comparison.

His technique:

Defensive Ultimate: A Moment of Bloom

Can defend against all physical, energy, and spiritual attacks. As long as the Soul Power Blossom remains intact, no form of damage can harm him. Because it reached red-tier, the defensive light generated is equivalent to a 100,000-year defensive soul skill.

That said, there was still a minor drawback compared to actual 100,000-year soul skills.

Normally, a Soul Master's Martial Soul True Form could enhance their soul skills.

For example, in the original story, Zhu Zhuqing's Nether Civet True Form boosted her speed and increased all soul skill effects by 50%.

If A Moment of Bloom were her Nether Civet's innate soul skill, its defense would naturally gain a 50% boost.

But Chu Chengzhou's technique was self-created, and self-created techniques didn't receive amplification from Martial Soul True Forms.

Still, using a True Form temporarily increased a Soul Master's base power, which naturally enhanced the effect of self-created techniques—just without a clearly defined multiplier.

Also, since this was purely a defensive technique, A Moment of Bloom could not immunize against control-type binding soul skills or spiritual illusions.

If an illusion came with mental attack effects, the illusion itself would still work, but the spiritual attack would be blocked by the Soul Power Blossom.

Aside from illusions, it could block any negative environmental condition.

If Chu Chengzhou were in extreme heat, as long as A Moment of Bloom was active and the flower above his head intact, he'd be completely insulated.

Thanks to his other ultimate skill, Absolute Control, which let him nearly perfectly regulate his power, he couldn't apply this defense to others, but he could expand its radius to shield a larger area.

Of course, the wider the protective aura, the weaker the defense. Stronger incoming attacks would also consume more soul power.

"Maybe it's time to head to the Slaughter City and earn myself the Killing God Domain?"

Chu Chengzhou thought to himself.

The Killing God Domain was an extremely powerful boost. At its base, it increased the user's strength by 10% and suppressed the opponent's by 10%—a net 20% gap.

And that was just the basic effect. With further cultivation and bloodshed, the domain could grow, boosting by up to 20% and suppressing by another 20%.

However, Slaughter City was no easy place. To gain the domain, one must first win 100 consecutive battles in the Hell Arena.

Aside from "official privilege users," combatants in Slaughter City weren't allowed to use soul skills—only Martial Soul raw power, self-created techniques, soul bone abilities, and soul tools.

Though Chu Chengzhou couldn't summon Xiong Da and the others there, if everyone was restricted from using soul skills, then frankly speaking—even a Titled Douluo like She Long wouldn't stand a chance. A 100-win streak wouldn't be hard.

The real challenge came after the 100 wins—Hell Road.

Originally, Chu Chengzhou had no plans to go yet. He wasn't afraid of the Darkgold Three-Headed Bat King or Ten-Headed Blaze Serpent—but rather, the pervasive evil energy of Hell Road that could corrode one's mind.

In the original story, Tang San survived because he had a domain to block the energy—his Blue Silver Domain.

Without such protection? Just look at how Hu Liena barely held on.

Chu Chengzhou had planned to wait until his soul power level was higher. After all, the stronger his cultivation, the more resilient he'd be to the evil energy.

Even Tang Hao, one of the strongest Slaughter Gods of his era, had no domain when he went. If Tang Hao could do it, so could he.

But now, with A Moment of Bloom capable of blocking all negative effects except illusions, he didn't need to wait.

He had to go. Not just for the domain—but for his girl.

The timeline may have changed from the original, but Chu Chengzhou believed Hu Liena would still seek trials in Slaughter City. She was prideful and competitive.

Also, a bit reckless. In the story, she went there with just five soul rings. Without Tang San, she would've died in Hell Road.

Since she was his girl now, Chu Chengzhou had to protect her. That meant heading to Slaughter City sooner rather than later.

Going early wasn't a problem. Once he became a Slaughter God, he could move in and out of Slaughter City freely.

But if he waited and Hu Liena died there because she overestimated herself, then it would be too late for regret.

So how to get to Slaughter City?

In the world of soul masters, there was a rumor among evil soul masters—that Slaughter City was a paradise for them. If they ever had nowhere else to go, they could flee there and be safe from the Spirit Hall's pursuit.

This rumor was actually true. Slaughter City was almost a one-way trip—very few ever came back. Spirit Hall didn't bother chasing people into it.

Maybe the rumor was started by Spirit Hall themselves, to lure evil soul masters to their deaths?

Either way, the key point was: the location of Slaughter City was not a total secret.

If even evil soul masters could find it, and soul masters regularly went in, then surely the ancient and powerful Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan knew where it was.

So, if Chu Chengzhou wanted to go?

Just ask his father-in-law—Ning Fengzhi.

T/N: For up to 30 chapters ahead on most of my translations, become a p@tron at [email protected]/LordHipposApostle