Are You Tang San?

"That's it?" Luo Chuan swung his blade again and again. He had wanted to use this Guillotine Mantis to test the limits of his strength, but he had not expected the mantis to have no other strengths besides its speed and two blades.

"Let's end this."

A Soul Ring rose beneath Luo Chuan's feet. Hu Liena watched without blinking as the purple Soul Ring flashed, and the Guillotine Mantis swung its blades again and charged toward Luo Chuan.

However, when Luo Chuan raised his blade to meet it this time, he discovered that the blade in his hand was as brittle as paper. Its previously intact blade arm was severed in an instant.

Yet the Guillotine Mantis's blade arm remained completely unharmed.

"What a cunning soul beast." Luo Chuan understood what had happened almost instantly. A detached mantis blade arm lost much of its hardness, but this mantis had never fought Luo Chuan at full strength.

The blade arm cut through everything in its path, heading straight for Luo Chuan's neck. Luo Chuan could even see the vicious gleam in the mantis's eyes.

"No!" The instant Hu Liena saw the blade arm in Luo Chuan's hand break, her pupils contracted sharply, and she rushed forward without hesitation.

Facing the blade arm that was right before him, with nothing blocking it, Luo Chuan did not panic. At the critical moment, he suddenly arched backward, and the blade swept past the tip of his nose.

Having dodged the strike, Luo Chuan had already activated his second soul skill. The Guillotine Mantis tried to follow up with another slash, only to find itself trapped within a black lotus.

Without hesitation, it swung its blade again.

The Guillotine Mantis was known for its offensive power. With that slash, the Obliteration Cage was instantly cut open.

Luo Chuan frowned and immediately rushed forward, pushing his speed to the limit. At the same time, several Lotus Leaves sealed off the Guillotine Mantis's retreat.

"Hah!"

After battling Luo Chuan for so long, the Guillotine Mantis seemed to have lost its patience. It neither dodged nor evaded the Lotus Leaves Luo Chuan shot toward it, simply swinging its blade to cut them down.

However, the Lotus Leaves exploded the instant it swung its blade. Terrifying Power of Destruction blasted against the Guillotine Mantis's blade. It tried to retreat, but with only one blade, it could not break through the Obliteration Cage behind it while defending against the Lotus Leaf bombardment.

"Obliterate!"

Luo Chuan's indifferent voice rang out. Within the Obliteration Cage, black Lotus Leaves erupted with black radiance at the same time, completely engulfing the Guillotine Mantis before exploding with a bang and scattering into black starlight.

A glass cannon, even a twenty-thousand-year-old glass cannon, could not withstand that obliteration. In the end, only a shattered corpse remained, with just that blade arm relatively intact.

Behind him, Hu Liena, who had instinctively wanted to rush forward, froze in place. She had never imagined that Luo Chuan, who had just been in such grave danger, would instantly resolve the crisis and counterkill the mantis.

Luo Chuan glanced at Hu Liena. Seeing the redness in her eyes, he smiled slightly. "Let's leave quickly. The sounds of battle will draw nearby soul beasts here."

"Thank you for saving us, brother. This isn't a good place to talk. Let's leave first." Xie Yue stepped forward and tugged at his younger sister. Hu Liena immediately nodded at his words.

Yet as they prepared to leave, they saw that Luo Chuan showed no intention of doing so.

Hu Liena stopped. "Y-you aren't leaving?"

Luo Chuan picked up the intact Guillotine Mantis blade it had left behind and lightly tapped it. "Let's go."

"Mm-hmm!" Hu Liena followed behind Luo Chuan. Even while fleeing, she did not forget to sneak glances at him.

Luo Chuan was not strikingly handsome. At first glance, he could only be considered delicate-looking, but upon closer inspection, every feature on his face seemed perfectly placed.

Moreover, the intangible aura Luo Chuan exuded drew Hu Liena in, causing her to become immersed in it without realizing.

The four headed toward the outskirts of Sunset Forest. Only after moving three kilometers did they find an open area and stop.

With a bang, Yan threw the little mantis from his back onto the ground and cursed, "Damn it, I almost lost my life!"

Hu Liena frowned, then glanced at the little mantis, which was barely clinging to life and could die at any moment. She hurriedly said to Xie Yue, "Brother, quickly absorb the Soul Ring."

Xie Yue looked at the little mantis, then at Luo Chuan, and said apologetically, "Brother, words cannot express my gratitude. Once I absorb the Soul Ring, I will surely repay you generously for saving our lives."

Luo Chuan did not mind and casually sat down nearby. Hu Liena looked around the area and, after confirming that there was no immediate danger, came to Luo Chuan's side. Seeing him repeatedly examine the Guillotine Mantis's blade arm, she asked curiously, "Is this blade arm different from the previous one's?"

Luo Chuan looked up at Hu Liena and found her crouching beside him, her body slightly tilted toward him. The unique fragrance of a young girl drifted into his nose.

"There should be some difference." Luo Chuan held the blade arm upright and tapped its broader section, producing a different sound.

Hu Liena blinked her beautiful eyes and said with a hint of resentment, "That one almost got you killed."

"But it didn't, did it?" Luo Chuan summoned his martial soul again, pinching a black Lotus Leaf between his fingers.

Hu Liena's cheeks flushed slightly. "That's because you're strong enough to dodge it. Otherwise, it would have been dangerous."

"Even if I couldn't dodge it, that strike couldn't break my defense." Luo Chuan's tone was brimming with confidence. The Indestructible Lotus Robe of the World-Destroying Black Lotus was no joke. Still, if that blade had struck his neck, the force of the impact would not have felt good.

Hu Liena blinked at that, then nodded in agreement.

Seeing Hu Liena sitting so close to Luo Chuan, Yan's expression darkened. "Nana, you've used up quite a bit of Soul Power. Hurry and meditate to recover it. I'll stand guard for you."

Yan walked toward Hu Liena as he spoke, but she waved him off. "Yan, if you have nothing to do, patrol the area. My brother is absorbing a Soul Ring, so nothing can go wrong."

Yan halted. Looking at Hu Liena, who was once again curiously watching Luo Chuan, he opened his mouth before he could only nod. "Fine!"

Luo Chuan did not notice Yan's expression. At that moment, he held a black Lotus Leaf between two fingers. Power of Destruction swirled over the leaf, making it straight and sharp as a blade.

He slashed down fiercely, and the Guillotine Mantis's blade arm snapped apart.

Then Luo Chuan cut at the fracture again. This time, he shaved off only a small piece, but it exposed a piece of special material embedded within the blade.

Luo Chuan's expression brightened. The black lotus then transformed into a red lotus, and karmic fire ignited, blazing fiercely.

Hu Liena watched Luo Chuan's series of actions with astonishment in her eyes. Covering her red lips with a jade-like hand, she exclaimed, "Y-you have Twin Martial Souls?"

Luo Chuan paused, then shook his head. "No. My martial soul is simply rather special."

Luo Chuan did not explain further and continued refining the section of blade in his hand.

Feeling the heat of those flames, Hu Liena softly asked, "Y-you aren't Tang San, are you?"

"Hm?" Luo Chuan looked at Hu Liena in surprise. "Why would you think that?"

Looking as though she had guessed correctly, Hu Liena said smugly, "Because of the Heavenly Dao Ranking! You look so young, yet you're so strong. Other than Tang San, second on the Heavenly Ranking, I really can't think of who else you could be!"