Infinite Slaughter System: I Kill, Therefore I Ascend!-Chapter 197: The Preliminaries! - End

Immediately, whispers broke out from all sides as the crowd watched this shocking phenomenon, possibly the most shocking compared to the appearance of the White and Black Impermanence or the Manifestation of his Slaughter Rule!

"This... this is beyond killing karma..."

"He doesn’t just have slaughter karma... he is the embodiment of it!"

"What kind of monster...?"

On the high platform, more than one sect elder’s legs trembled, no longer able to feel shock, but only true fear this time. Even the Path Saints were silent with eyes narrowed, evaluating this new and terrifying fact about the already complex and supremely talented young man.

Amid the storm, Li Ling’s expression shifted slightly as - for the first time today - his gaze focused down below, on two specific lines among the endless red.

One was a thick pink thread coiled around his lower abdomen, glowing strongly with sparkles of electricity like it was a ’super’ thread compared to typical ones of its type. Following its trace, it extended outward and upward then curved toward the place where Bai Ruyi sat, languid and beautiful, white hair spilling around her.

Li Ling immediately understood and chuckled internally. "Right, sexual karma with Ruyi... of course."

He dismissed it without care because that one was neither important nor unimportant, just proof of his ownership of his so called first wife.

However, the other thread that caught his attention, being one of the only two not part of his million-fold slaughter karma, was different.

It was a soft white color that had veins of gold, running from the center of his heart straight outward like an umbilical cord made of light. It curled towards the same place as Bai Ruyi, not to the woman herself, but rather the tiny presence that was sleeping within her arms, bearing hers and Li Ling’s features.

Immediately, Li Ling paused and showed a deep expression for the first time today as he realized what this meant.

"...Lingyi,"

He had expected a pure karmic connection through bloodline, which was only natural for parent and child, but the uniqueness of this thread was what shook him.

The white color represented the positive karmic connection between them, and the threads of gold indicated that this thread had immense positive value.

To be put simply, it meant that not only was Lingyi his daughter, but he Li Ling, the Asura War Demon...

Actually loved and cared about her!

Li Ling’s fingers twitched at his side. ’...this damned Wheel of Reincarnation...’ 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

’Interesting.’ He mused internally after taking a deep breath, eyes hooded and emotions unreadable.

In the stands, Bai Ruyi’s pupils contracted as she too only paid notice to the two unique threads from Li Ling. As for the one about their sexual battle, she felt it only fitting that the thread was thick and supercharged, for they were two sexual demons linking together in procreation.

However, when her gaze locked onto the same thread wrapped around his heart that led to the now slightly awake Lingyi who reached out to play with it with her tiny fingers, Bai Ruyi’s usual lazy and teasing expression shifted into something else, a mixture of pleasant surprise and disbelief.

Then she threw her head back and laughed out loud while not caring about the looks others gave her, the sound of her joy sweet and sharp to the ear.

’Of course he cares about my Lingyi! Even if that heartless bastard won’t say it out loud, karma doesn’t lie!’ She thought ecstatically, her feeling of security rising by more than a few levels.

Shen Ziyan’s lips curled in a small but undeniably pleased manner as well, especially with her cold blue eyes softening as a result.

’So even a cruel heart like his leaves a thread, hmm? Good, it means there’s still something that ties him to the living." She thought, feeling that her rushed proposal to him was not so dangerous as before.

Around them, however, almost no one was paying attention to those two small and unimportant details because it was normal for any living creature to care about something. Even the craziest demonic cultivator still had a thread of love for something, but it didn’t necessarily have to be a living thing.

Just like the famous Great Love Heavenly Venerable who was thought to be devoid of feelings and attachments, that was not the case. In fact, he was full of them, but nothing could supersede his attachment to the dao and pursuing longevity!

And because he was ruthless enough to prioritize his attachments, cutting them off if they hindered his number one attachment, it made him seem heartless and unable to care for anything.

Likewise, Li Ling also prioritized his attachments, of which the number one was to become the Killing God of Firmament Heaven and beyond, a slaughter deity that ordained over all forms of killing!

So whether it was his entanglement with Bai Ruyi, his claiming of Shen Ziyan or his so called ’love’ for Li Lingyi, all of them were attachments second to his main one that didn’t interfere with his main one, so they could stay around.

However, they moment they did, they would disappear faster than they could believe. Bai Ruyi especially often danced around the edge of this, teasing death but quickly pulling back into safety, which was why she was still alive.

Li Ling was certain that one of these days, he really was going to kill her. As for Shen Ziyan, she didn’t seem the type to court death and would actively respect his boundaries in order to maintain her weird addiction to him and his existence available.

While the Infinite Slaughter Li Clan were consumed in their own thoughts and calculations, the rest of the crowd was consumed by the monstrous cloak of slaughter karma towering behind Li Ling.

The Divine Deva Overseer swallowed hard.

"...Li Ling, Asura Blood Path. His killing karma is... beyond the parameters of this test. The Wheel of Reincarnation was designed with S Rank as its upper limit."

He slowly raised his head to the roaring red cloak of threads again.

"This... clearly exceeds that."

There was nervous laughter from some corners, but it died quickly as they realized that this was not meant to be funny.

"For the purpose of recording scores and the tournament overall, we can only note his karma as Above S, beyond ranking. His compatibility with the Asura Blood Path... is absolute." The Divine Deva Overseer concluded with a deep sigh.

What the fellow left unsaid was obvious enough to everyone present.

This young man, the Asura War Demon, was not merely the incarnation of a supreme killer, but was the foundation of a Path... the Path of Killing!

Li Ling, swathed in his cloak of death and murder, smiled as he casually stepped out of the beam.

The karmic cloak receded behind him like liquid fire then vanished into his back, leaving the air strangely empty in its absence. The Wheel of Reincarnation above the stage dimmed, its spokes spinning unsteadily for a moment as if needing to lie down and have a smoke after that ordeal.

The arena remained silent for several breaths, then sound returned in a tidal wave as everyone audibly reacted with excitement!

"Above S... even in karma...!"

"How are we supposed to compete with that?!"

"Forget compete, I just hope he doesn’t decide we’re more worth killing than ignoring!"

Shi Gaolin sat down heavily, face pale but eyes strangely bright.

’So that’s the Path of Asura Blood in its purest form, especially if you never compromise!’ He thought deeply.

Hu Lili whistled softly, her heart pounding with battle intent. "I definitely want to fight him now!"

Wang Feng’s body trembled with a mixture of envy and unwillingness, but somewhere under the hatred, a reluctant hint of respect was born. His mixed and dirty karma felt small and petty compared to that overwhelming, pure slaughter karma that even caused a pheonomenon.

Bai Yegui and Bei Dongshi exchanged a glance, one with a single silver thread to his name, the other with none at all.

"My second life karma, the blind freak’s lack of karma... and now that weird guy’s immense killing karma. Seems like the three of us ’monsters’ are walking three different extremes." Bai Yegui thought with amusement, lips curling.

Bei Dongshi’s bandaged head tilted slightly. "Second life fate with a backlash, my cleansed karma, and a million-fold slaughter karma forcibly tamed by a rule of killing he possesses. This world is about to experience an upheaval."

Above them, Ming Yue sat very still as his golden eyes reflected the last hint of red light fading from the air, his expression unreadable, fingers tapping lightly on the armrest of his throne.

"At this point, even Heaven’s Will might be forced to adjust the script. Heh, old man Tian Ming, did you ever foresee this when you introduced that wretched Dao Child?" He thought with a glint in his eye.

The Divine Deva Overseer took one last glance at the competitors then announced. "The Test of Karma is complete!"

The Wheel of Reincarnation dissolved into motes of light, sinking back into the arena’s formation and a new surge of energy ran through the ranking stele as all five tests’ data were tallied, from combat, to comprehension, to soul, to Dao Heart, and now karma.

Names shifted up and down rapidly within seconds as cries of joy and shrieks of dismay echoed as hopefuls rose into the top tier or were knocked just outside the threshold.

When the light finally stabilized, a new list shone clearly for all to see.

[Top 32 – Qualified for the Elimination Rounds!]

At the very top, as expected, one name blazed with a brightness so obscene that no one even bothered to question it anymore.

[First Place - Li Ling!]

The gap between him and second place was a canyon so deep that most didn’t even bother to check beyond that minus the candidates themselves. Anyway, it could only be between Bei Dongshi and Bai Yegui, these two lesser monsters who popped out of nowhere.

The Divine Deva Overseer smiled slightly, declaring: "The preliminaries have ended and the top thirty-two have been decided. From here onward, the rules are simple..."

He raised a hand, fingers slicing through the air like a blade.

"One-on-one elimination battles with no excuses nor any hiding behind tests and arrays."

The crowd roared with excitement as the Divine Deva Overseer topped it off with one last declaration.

"In other words, from this point onward, it’s time to kill your way to the top!"