Coming out of the Moon Pavilion, Xie Yue walked toward the crowd. After entering, he concealed his presence and refrained from using his soul power. Now, even if he passed by someone, unless they actively looked, they would ignore him. His current aura was that of a "I am nobody."
No one would take note of him, and even if they did, they wouldn't care—his presence felt too ordinary. Controlling his fluctuations, he moved swiftly and vanished.
Arriving atop a tall building, he surveyed the surroundings to check if someone was following him. After all, he had his guards. He didn't want them tracking him. Although he couldn't sense dark-type martial soul users, he could still confirm the presence of other martial soul users from a higher vantage point. After all, they lacked the ability to hide from normal sight, even if they possessed high soul power. Only shadow or darkness-type martial soul users and a few exceptional agility-attack soul masters could evade the naked eye.
Other than that, one had to learn to control their soul power fluctuations and aura to remain undetected. This required exceptional talent. Once someone reached the Title Douluo level, they would naturally be able to conceal their presence by controlling their soul power fluctuations and aura. Though they couldn't completely vanish from sight, even if seen, they would be subconsciously ignored. That was the true usefulness of aura control. In Douluo Dalu 1, aside from Tang San and Tang Hao, nobody truly understood the value of Tang Yuehua's etiquette training.
.....
After waiting there for five hours, Xie Yue finally moved.
"It seems nobody is following me. If someone was, they would have revealed themselves by now. Continuous soul power consumption isn't easy, even for a Soul Saint."
Xie Yue wasn't surprised. His guards were used to his antics. He had been playing these tricks to lower their vigilance for over a year.
For more than a year, every time he went out, he would toy with his guards—ditching them to go shopping, eating, playing, etc. Whenever they found him later, they would only see a carefree Xie Yue enjoying himself. They had reported this to Ning Fengzhi countless times.
Ning Fengzhi had also come to a conclusion:
"It seems Ning Yue is feeling a little rebellious after reaching this age. He and Ning Lihua rarely leave the sect. He probably just wants to explore a bit. Considering his age, it's understandable. The problem is, he is more intelligent than others—he knows I assigned guards to protect him, yet he still finds ways to evade them. Sigh… this kid."
Ning Fengzhi had even discussed this with Sword and Bone Douluo. In the end, they decided to give Xie Yue a bit more freedom, assuming it was just youthful playfulness.
Throughout the year, Xie Yue never misused this newfound freedom. He always wandered alone and never caused trouble. He never revealed his martial soul or showcased his abilities. After playing enough, he would obediently sit somewhere, waiting for his guards to find him.
Sword Douluo had even monitored him in secret and, upon confirming his harmless behavior, felt relieved.
Xie Yue, noticing their reactions, knew his act had worked. After a year of patience, he began his real plan. Still, he remained vigilant. After all, he wasn't entirely certain no one was watching him. Though he had learned to control his presence, he hadn't reached the level of a Title Douluo. So, he continuously tested his surroundings, stopping at different locations to confirm.
The truth was, after a year of obedience, Ning Fengzhi and the others had long lowered their guard. And honestly, who in the Heaven Dou Empire would dare target him? Ning Fengzhi and the others weren't worried—so Xie Yue didn't have much to fear either.
Even so, he chose to suppress his true nature.
Last night had been risky. He had let his desires take control. If someone from his sect had seen him… it would have been the end of his current peaceful life.
"I need to find alternative methods."
As he passed through the city, his hooded black cloak concealed his identity.
"If I stay in the sect, I can't act freely."
"I also need to continue my torture training. Melting whale glue in secret is another issue. Even though I have a way to preserve the melted glue in the same state, I don't have enough opportunities to take it unnoticed. And once I consume it, I'll be overwhelmed by lust. It's too dangerous."
Xie Yue analyzed his predicament.
At first, he had chosen the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect as his shelter for a safe and secure growth environment. He had obtained everything he needed, but at the cost of his freedom. Initially, he didn't mind—losing some freedom for the sake of a perfect growth environment was a fair trade.
"Once I grow stronger, I can act freely, right?"
For a genius, a safe place to develop was a luxury. Without a powerful background, surviving assassination attempts and hidden threats would be nearly impossible. His decision hadn't been wrong.
But now, that same decision had become a shackle. He had to be careful with every step, always moving in secret.
He sighed deeply.
"In this world, having everything one desires is difficult. If I want something, I must sacrifice something else. I can't have both safety and freedom without sufficient strength."
He stopped at a particular spot, waited a while, and once again confirmed that no one was following him. Satisfied, he entered a house and headed toward the backyard, where he started digging a pit.
This was a private residence belonging to a noble's son. Xie Yue happened to know about this teenager and, by extension, this house.
"Sigh… I have to dig this pit myself."
He worked quickly, finishing in no time. Then, he pulled three corpses from his storage soul tool and buried them.
They were from last night's "activities." He had slashed them to pieces before burying them.
"In Heaven Dou Empire, disposing of bodies is difficult. Since this is the capital, there aren't many abandoned areas."
He had never planned to keep them in his storage soul tool forever. If he stored every corpse, his space would be overflowing in just two or three months.
"If I don't handle this properly, I might be mistaken for a fallen person."
After covering the pit and erasing the traces, Xie Yue vanished into the night.
....
Author's Question: Was Xie Yue a fallen person?! Tell me your opinion.