Instant Kill, Know When to Yield and When to Stand Firm (Please Follow)

"Brother, send it on its way."

Having secured his first soul skill, Feng Zaixing flipped back and retreated, signaling Xu Miao to claim the kill. He wanted to save some of the remaining duration for the stronger soul beasts ahead.

"Oh, coming."

Xu Miao snapped back to his senses, leaped into the air, and crushed the Flame Lion King with the force of Mount Tai pressing down, ending the battle.

After killing the lion, he was not happy. Instead, he stared at Feng Zaixing as though looking at a monster, wearing a bitter smile.

"Extreme Fire, such a powerful soul skill... Brother Feng, you've left me utterly ashamed."

Just now, he had clearly felt danger from Feng Zaixing.

Feng Zaixing's soul skill was too fast. The Flame Lion King could not dodge it, and neither could Xu Miao. He might not even have had time to defend himself. It was practically an instant death strike.

Feng Zaixing pressed a hand to his boiling chest and shook his head. "The Flame Lion King truly deserves to be called a top-tier soul beast. Its hide was incredibly thick. Even after being hurt like that, it still withstood two of my attacks without dying."

He had thought that Extreme Fire and his immense blood qi would erase it in two strikes, but he had fallen short. Next time, he would need to use a weapon.

Hearing this, Xu Miao's eyelid twitched violently. He pointed at Feng Zaixing, speechless.

"...You should be satisfied. Soul beasts like this are incredibly difficult to kill. Your combat strength puts many Soul Elders to shame."

"The Agile Attack Type genius Soul Elders I've seen weren't even as fast as you. Those two moves of yours could probably send them straight to hell."

Feng Zaixing said seriously, "To be honest, brother, my soul skill has a weakness. When I dash, I can only attack in a straight line. At least, that's how it is for now."

Xu Miao shook his head even harder. "With your ability to seize opportunities, anyone at the same level who gets targeted by you is finished. That kid Long Chen... ah, he isn't even worthy of making you use a soul skill."

"Was that strike really only twice as powerful? How could it be so terrifying?"

Xu Miao looked at the bloody trail left behind by the lion, lingering fear in his heart as his Adam's apple bobbed quietly.

"It really wasn't twice."

Feng Zaixing nodded. "It was three times. The burning power of Extreme Fire, the strength of my blood qi, and the strength of my Soul Power all increase by two hundred percent while the soul skill is active."

"Instant-movement-level attack speed, triple enhancement... Brother Feng, you hid yourself deeply. The Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda's amplification is a joke compared to yours..."

Xu Miao smiled bitterly. The other party had hidden more than one trump card.

"That's unfair to me. I didn't lie to you before."

Feng Zaixing spread his hands and pointed at the purple soul ring beneath his feet, looking utterly innocent. "When it was a hundred-year soul ring, it doubled my power. But my soul ring is now a thousand years old."

"It doubled my power at a hundred years. If it still only doubled my power after reaching a thousand years, wouldn't that mean I raised it to a thousand years for nothing?"

Xu Miao: "..."

That made so much sense that he had nothing to say.

But what kind of Soul Spirit could double its explosive power after advancing by a single tier? That was absurd!

When it reached ten thousand years in the future, would it improve again? Were defense-type soul masters like them supposed to survive?

They could not dodge it and could not block it either. What kind of absurdly overpowered mechanism and outrageously inflated stats were these?

Swallowing, Xu Miao raised his eyes toward the distant scene of lightning and fire intertwining. "I'm slightly stronger than Long Zhen, but I can't defeat him quickly. Do you want to act?"

"I'll enjoy the fresh air first. The environment here is really nice. No wonder this is the Spirit Ascension Platform."

Feng Zaixing answered with a faint smile. The most important reason the Spirit Ascension Platform was regarded as the best cultivation holy land for soul masters in this era was the incredibly abundant Heaven and Earth Origin Power here.

His Spiritual Power guided the Heaven and Earth Origin Power into his body, where it circulated rapidly along the route of the Modified Mysterious Heaven Skill, transforming into an endless stream of Soul Power flowing through his meridians. His mind settled completely.

"Unfortunately, the Spirit Ascension Platform has limited slots each month, and the tiger needs time to adapt as well. Still, with the strength of my physique, Two Rings with a ten-thousand-year soul ring shouldn't be a problem..."

Just as Feng Zaixing's thoughts drifted, Xu Miao patted him on the shoulder and reminded him, "They're here."

Feng Zaixing raised his eyelids slightly. At the end of his sight, the dusty and disheveled brothers Long Zhen and Long Chen approached with anger written across their faces, their steps heavy as they glared viciously at him.

Why are they staring like that? Isn't getting free energy a good thing?

Feng Zaixing muttered inwardly before saying to Xu Miao, "I'll leave it to you."

"Alright, watch me!"

Xu Miao laughed boldly, stepped forward several paces, and raised his shield to meet Long Zhen. Without a word, he directly activated his second soul skill, pushing the Mysterious Shield Formation forward.

"Xu Miao, I usually give you some respect, but that brat ambushed me today. I'm definitely going to teach both of you a lesson!"

Long Zhen's fury rose to the heavens. After unleashing his soul skill, he stepped forward, and the raging blue lightning rapidly transformed into gold, rolling endlessly like an angry tide in the deep sea.

"Going all out right from the start? You think I'm afraid of you?" Xu Miao's eyes sharpened as he shouted, "Xuanwu Awakening!"

Before his words had even faded, dark green little snakes appeared across the shields of the Mysterious Shield Formation. Their scarlet eyes were terrifying, and the ancient, desolate aura of a giant beast surged forward.

The Xuanwu Shield struck the ground. Layer upon layer of violent airwaves erupted from the cracked earth in endless explosions, refusing to yield to the lightning domain in the slightest.

"In a sense, this is a reenactment of a battle between Beibei and Xu Sanshi. Quite lively."

Feng Zaixing watched the spectacle at ease, nodding slightly as he observed the two men's use of Soul Power.

However, before long, he saw Long Chen approaching with a cold face, blocking his view.

"The battle between those two ranked experts won't be decided anytime soon. Between the two of us, future names on the rankings, the winner should be easier to determine."

Anticipation filled Long Chen's eyes, along with a burning desire to fight—he had not seen Feng Zaixing fighting the Flame Lion King. All he had seen was Feng Zaixing "rolling away to escape" and luring trouble toward Long Zhen.

Feng Zaixing looked at Long Chen and smiled. "You're very confident?"

"Of course."

"Can I ask a question?"

"Go ahead."

"This is your first time entering the Spirit Ascension Platform. If I knock you out directly, will it leave you with a psychological shadow? You won't spend all your time looking for trouble with me afterward, will you?"

Feng Zaixing asked slowly, his calm tone carrying genuine seriousness.

Long Chen's expression instantly turned ice-cold. Grinding his teeth, he said, "Feng Zaixing, you're really arrogant."

Feng Zaixing nodded, then shook his head. "I'm merely confident. I have no intention of mocking you. You cannot defeat me. That is an objective fact. If you don't believe me, ask your father after you leave."

"I don't like forming grudges with people, nor do I want to damage your will to cultivate and make you and your Family come looking for trouble with me. After all, society is relatively harmonious now. This isn't the barbaric ancient era."

He knew his own situation best. He was destined to be the sworn enemy of Evil Soul Masters, so before his cultivation became strong enough, it was unwise to make too many enemies. This was only a sparring match.

The person testing him was Ji Juechen, not Tang God King. That sword fanatic did not believe in the "path of seeking death." Displaying powerful combat ability and willpower was enough.

Long Chen's expression eased slightly, and he snorted coldly. "Anyone can talk big. We'll see the truth with our hands. If you can win, I'll have nothing to say."

"Take this, Dragon Claw!"

A seven-hundred-year Sky Dragon Horse appeared behind Long Chen and merged into his Martial Soul. Long Chen gathered his strength and burst forth, Bright Soul Power condensing into a dragon claw one meter long before him before it shot out with a howl.

"Your power is decent, but you're far too slow."

Feng Zaixing's eyes remained calm. His Holy Body Martial Soul was unleashed, and a splendid purple thousand-year soul ring slowly rose. It drew in the Heaven and Earth Origin Power in the air as dense blood qi erupted forth, forming a vivid red glow over his body.

Why is his soul ring a thousand years old? Long Chen's pupils suddenly contracted.

During the earlier battle, Feng Zaixing had made the Heavenly Sacred Winged Divine Tiger conceal the soul ring. At this moment, a great sense of danger rose in Long Chen's heart.

A thousand-year soul skill was certainly stronger than a hundred-year soul skill. He was afraid that...

Boom!

To Long Chen's surprise, Feng Zaixing did not use a soul skill. He simply gathered his Bloodline Power and Soul Power in his feet and erupted, his body vanishing at a speed too fast for the naked eye to capture.

"If your speed isn't fast enough, never attack recklessly."

Feng Zaixing's calm voice sounded by his ear, along with the sound of air being sliced apart. A sharp pain exploded in the back of Long Chen's head, and his consciousness rapidly blurred into darkness—Feng Zaixing had struck him with a hand chop.

Bang!

The proud Bright Holy Dragon genius fell stiffly to the ground, unable to rise, losing all ability to resist.

Feng Zaixing crouched down, found a button, and pressed it. Smiling gently at Long Chen, who was about to be teleported away, he said, "Safe travels."

"How could he be this strong?"

Long Chen wore a despairing expression, his pupils vacant as he could not accept the reality of being instantly defeated.

On the one hundred and first floor of the Spirit Pagoda, Long Chen slowly crawled out of the storage pod. Keeping his head lowered, he took small steps toward Long Zhan, whose face was as dark as water, and said timidly.

"Sorry, Father. I... I lost."

"So you lost. It's no big deal," Long Zhan said calmly.

Long Chen clenched his fists, about to say that he would definitely cultivate diligently in the future and wash away this humiliation, when Long Zhan gestured for him to sit down and said, "When he comes out, apologize to him. And don't speak so aggressively in the future. It's easy to offend people that way. You need to know when to yield and when to stand firm."

Long Chen abruptly turned his head and stared at Long Zhan in disbelief, his voice rapidly rising. "Are you really my dad?"

How long had it been? Had his spirited and passionate father been replaced already?

Long Zhan lowered his brows, and a dangerous smile appeared at the corners of his mouth. No matter how one looked at it, it was chilling.

"I'll let you find out right now whether your old man is an impostor!"

A father-and-son free-fighting match immediately erupted in the Spirit Pagoda with a flurry of thuds and bangs.