Strike When Strong and Break Them!

"Where did you go?"

The moment Nan Liujing returned to his residence, Leng Yaozhu, who was sitting on the sofa reading, stopped him with a question.

"I went to see my sister," Nan Liujing replied.

Leng Yaozhu froze for a moment. "You have a sister?"

"Yes. She's half a year younger than me." Nan Liujing smiled.

Leng Yaozhu fell silent for a moment. "Get some rest early."

"Yes."

With that simple exchange over, Nan Liujing quickly returned to his room and shut the door. His expression subtly changed.

His consciousness entered his sea of spirit. Sure enough, the transparent Candy Martial Soul appeared once more. At the stir of his thoughts, the Heavenly Tribulation Bead shot out a strand of dim purple-black light and injected it into the Candy Martial Soul.

At the same time, another terrifying aura seemed to lock onto him from every direction.

Nan Liujing remained calm. He knew that was the heavenly tribulation. But just as Thunder God had said, the Heavenly Tribulation Bead could block the power of the tribulation, taking its lock in his place and storing this round of lightning tribulation.

The Candy Martial Soul began mutating at an astonishing speed. It resembled a gummy candy, with a pair of angel wings extending from either side. It was not large, small enough to fit into one bite. Its color was purple-black, like congealed grape juice.

"What ability can this provide me with?" Nan Liujing examined the freshly made Demon Candy, his eyes full of curiosity.

After withdrawing from his sea of spirit, Nan Liujing directly activated the room's special sealed barrier.

Dim light enveloped the room, cutting off the inside from the outside world.

The Spirit Pagoda Headquarters was enormous and filled with powerful experts. Without such barriers, any Titled Douluo raising their cultivation or doing something else would cause a tremendous disturbance. Thus, these barriers effectively prevented unnecessary trouble and breaches of privacy.

Even a Limit Douluo could not sense through the barrier outside of battle.

Deep purple-black dim light gathered in Nan Liujing's left palm. Strangely, this time it did not absorb the surrounding Heaven and Earth Origin Energy, and the condensation time was exceptionally short. In a mere three seconds, a Demon Candy was freshly formed.

Nan Liujing frowned. He had barely consumed any Soul Power, yet the candy had formed without absorbing the surrounding Heaven and Earth Origin Energy. Where had its energy come from?

Looking at the exquisite Demon Candy in his hand, Nan Liujing suppressed his confusion and decisively tossed it into his mouth. It tasted like purple grapes.

Streams of icy liquid rapidly flowed into his body.

A strange murmur suddenly rang out beside Nan Liujing's ears. It was not unpleasant. On the contrary, it sounded like respectful greetings from subjects to an emperor.

As the murmuring ceased, strange purple-black cross-shaped dim light quietly appeared in Nan Liujing's dark-blue pupils.

A peculiar realization arose, and he caught hold of it.

With a thought, an astonishing scene unfolded. On either side of Nan Liujing's body, two sand-grain-sized vortices slowly expanded, eventually turning into nearly three-meter-tall Demon Gates.

The two Demon Gates were deep purple-black. Their frames bore lifelike patterns of demonic wings, while the space between them resembled a demonic abyss. The moment one looked into it, their soul seemed to ache from being sucked away.

Under Nan Liujing's Spiritual Power perception, the Heaven and Earth Origin Energy in the room began to ripple faintly, turning violent as though facing a great enemy.

But once the Heaven and Earth Origin Energy came into contact with Nan Liujing's Spiritual Power, it quickly calmed down again.

"Whoosh."

Suddenly, two figures stepped out from the Demon Gates. One stood to his left and the other to his right.

Nan Liujing visibly froze when he saw them clearly.

These two figures were not demons as he had expected. Instead, they looked exactly like him. The only difference was that they were draped in purple-black robes and wore hoods that almost entirely concealed their faces. Their bodies resembled cloudy glass.

The moment they appeared, the Demon Gates immediately contracted, ultimately turning into two thin streaks of light before vanishing without a trace.

The two Demon Bodies did not move. After watching them for several seconds, lightning flickered over Nan Liujing's right hand as he summoned the Coiled Dragon Staff Martial Soul out of thin air. Two soul rings rose beneath his feet.

The two Demon Bodies moved at the same time, each condensing a purple-black Coiled Dragon Staff in their right hands. However, no soul rings rose beneath their feet, and their attribute was not lightning, but darkness.

"What kind of ability is this? Clones?" Nan Liujing frowned in thought. He could confirm that his control over the Demon Bodies was as smooth and natural as moving his own arms.

He could even clearly sense that the aura radiating from the two Demon Bodies was not the slightest bit weaker than his own. This was entirely different from clones like Xie Xie's, which were condensed from Soul Power and could easily be torn apart.

Unfortunately, he could not conduct actual combat tests here. He could only observe with his eyes and make guesses.

But there was one thing Nan Liujing could be certain of: the energy sustaining these Demon Bodies came from the Demon Plane. Otherwise, the Heaven and Earth Origin Energy would not have erupted earlier.

"Interesting."

The only trouble was that this ability could easily be mistaken for an Evil Soul Master skill.

Wait.

The Demon Gates had disappeared. How was he supposed to put these two things away?

The instant that thought appeared, Nan Liujing witnessed another astonishing scene. The two Demon Bodies scattered like fine sand blown away by the wind and fell back onto his body.

Nothing unusual happened, but Nan Liujing could clearly feel that he could summon the Demon Bodies at any time. They were like invisible soul rings.

That was ruthless. It meant he could casually summon two clones with the same strength as himself to fight his enemies.

"Yuanen Yehui, you really gave me an enormous surprise."

After calming himself, Nan Liujing began meditating with high spirits. He planned to break through to Rank 30 once he turned ten.

Starting the next day.

Nan Liujing made breakfast as usual and shared it with Leng Yaozhu. During the day, he went to the Law Warehouse for enlightenment. In the afternoons, he cultivated Soul Power and Staff Intent under Leng Yaozhu's guidance. At night, he ate food that replenished his vitality and blood before refining it.

His different status allowed Nan Liujing to enter the Law Warehouse for enlightenment every day.

Volcanoes spewing extremely scorching magma, canyons where hurricanes tore apart all life, vast and boundless lands... Time flew, and a month passed. Under Leng Yaozhu's guidance, Nan Liujing constantly experienced different types of environments.

With the Plane Imprint's assistance and his own hard work, his understanding of every type of element advanced at an astonishing pace. Even Leng Yaozhu herself could find no fault in him.

Another day passed.

"Rampage Period Spirit Ascension Platform?" Nan Liujing had been about to leave when Leng Yaozhu stopped him and informed him of some rather good news.

Leng Yaozhu smiled. "You've been with me for so long, yet I've never given you an assessment task. This Rampage Period Spirit Ascension Platform will be your task."

"What do I need to do?" Nan Liujing asked.

A cryptic smile curved Leng Yaozhu's red lips. "During the Spirit Ascension Platform's rampage period, all soul masters who enter will no longer be separated according to their regional Spirit Pagodas. Instead, they will all be gathered together."

"In other words, you'll encounter many geniuses of your age at once. The task your teacher is giving you is to kill at least two people on the Young Genius Ranking. If you fail, heh heh."

Nan Liujing's eyes shifted, and then he suddenly smiled. "I like this task."

"You're not afraid?" Leng Yaozhu asked with a soft laugh.

Nan Liujing shook his head. "The entry limit for the Junior Spirit Ascension Platform is the peak of three rings. They may be troublesome, but they are not a threat to me."

"The prerequisite for becoming strong is absolute confidence. Your teacher is very satisfied with that." Leng Yaozhu nodded. "But people generally enter the Rampage Period Spirit Ascension Platform in teams. Your teacher can allow you to bring one teammate."

As she spoke, she handed Nan Liujing two entry qualification cards for the Rampage Period Spirit Ascension Platform.

Nan Liujing accepted the cards and immediately thought of Ye Xinglan.

She would surely be excited to fight so many geniuses her own age.

"Yaozhu."

As he followed his teacher away, Nan Liujing had just taken out his phone to message Ye Xinglan when a gentle voice suddenly rang beside him.

It was a man's voice!

Nan Liujing raised a brow. Inside the Spirit Pagoda, no man had ever dared to call his teacher by her given name so intimately.

He looked up. At the end of the corridor stood a tall, handsome middle-aged man with slightly narrow eyes, smiling broadly. His appearance was indeed naturally likable, but Nan Liujing clearly noticed Leng Yaozhu's expression turn slightly cold. She clearly disliked being addressed that way by him.

Spirit Pagoda Douluo, Qian Gu Dongfeng.

Nan Liujing immediately recalled the name.

If Leng Yaozhu had been cursed as a simp after failing to pursue Yun Ming, then Qian Gu Dongfeng was the reverse. He had failed to pursue Leng Yaozhu, and after being unable to win her love, he resentfully added another bundle of firewood to his desire to destroy Shrek Academy.

Yes, Qian Gu Dongfeng wanted to destroy Shrek not only because Shrek stood in the Spirit Pagoda's way, but also because of this absurdly melodramatic reason.

"What is it?" Leng Yaozhu replied coldly.

Qian Gu Dongfeng approached with an elegant bearing and said with a smile, "Skysea Spirit Pagoda sent over a Thousand Year Moon Silver Fish. I thought that enjoying such a delicacy alone would be too wasteful, so I wanted to invite you to join me. What do you think?"

"I appreciate the thought, but you should keep it for yourself." Leng Yaozhu made her refusal clear. Without waiting for him to say more, she turned to Nan Liujing. "Your performance last night dissatisfied your teacher. Extra training today. Move!"

Nan Liujing's mouth twitched.

That sounded far too ambiguous.

What did she mean by saying she was dissatisfied with his performance last night? Last night, he had merely been browsing his phone and happened to see Holy Spirit Douluo attending a Federation-hosted gala. He had accidentally commented that she seemed gentle and dignified. Was she still holding that against him?

Ah, women!

Hard to deal with.

Though he knew Leng Yaozhu's words were perfectly normal, they still sounded grating.

The smile on Qian Gu Dongfeng's face stiffened for a moment. He did not try to stop them. Instead, his hawk-like gaze swept over Nan Liujing as he passed by, instantly catching sight of the two Spirit Ascension Platform qualification cards that had not yet been placed in his Storage Soul Tool.

Only after the two entered the elevator and vanished from sight did he walk expressionlessly into the Law Warehouse area on the fifty-fifth floor.

Meanwhile, a boy who looked about fourteen saw Qian Gu Dongfeng and hurried over to salute him. "Pagoda Master."

"How did this round of enlightenment go?" Qian Gu Dongfeng asked.

The boy respectfully replied, "Thanks to your guidance, my understanding of the Dark Element has reached another level. The other core disciples are about the same."

"Very good." Though this boy's talent was not outstanding, he had reached twenty-sixth place on the Young Genius Ranking before turning fifteen. He was worth Qian Gu Dongfeng's investment.

At present, nearly seventy percent of the Young Genius Ranking members were at Shrek Academy. Aside from a handful personally trained by Shrek, the vast majority belonged to major soul master factions. It was already quite good that he could keep one to cultivate as a future Direct Faction member for his grandson, Qiangu Zhangting.

Qian Gu Dongfeng's gaze shifted as he looked at the core disciple before him, and an idea surfaced in his heart.

He had once planned to have Leng Yaozhu accept his grandson as her disciple in order to draw closer to her. But she had rejected him on the grounds that his grandson lacked sufficient talent. That had clearly been a deliberate slap to his face. If his grandson's talent was not enough, then Douluo Continent had no geniuses at all.

Yet unexpectedly, just a few years later, Leng Yaozhu had found a disciple of her own.

As the Spirit Pagoda Master, he could not find any information about this boy's identity. His Martial Soul and Soul Power cultivation were both unknown. Leng Yaozhu had clearly kept him tightly hidden away and was unwilling to let him show himself.

He was curious just what kind of genius was worthy of such treatment.

Destroying him was naturally impossible. Otherwise, Leng Yaozhu would certainly fly into a rage. If she turned into an Evil Soul Master like her sister, that would be disastrous. But giving the boy an appropriate warning was still possible.

Qian Gu Dongfeng said solemnly, "Since your cultivation has improved, I have a task for you."

Xu Sheng looked at the Pagoda Master in confusion.

Qian Gu Dongfeng transmitted the task to him through Soul Power, conveying it word by word.

Xu Sheng's eyes first widened in shock, then suddenly lit up, as if he had received some unexpected delight.

"Rest assured, I guarantee I'll complete the task." A trace of ease appeared on his face. There were many core disciples in the pagoda, so receiving this task made him rather fortunate.

The Pagoda Master's troubles—Xu Sheng would strike and break them!

Nan Liujing called Ye Xinglan and asked whether she was willing to enter the Spirit Ascension Platform with him.

Naturally, her answer was yes. Ye Xinglan was even quite excited, shouting that she would show those geniuses on the ranking what they were made of.

"Everyone who can enter the ranking is at least Rank 30. They won't be easy to deal with." Nan Liujing chuckled.

On the other end of the call, Ye Xinglan was unconcerned. "Geniuses are the cheapest thing there is. Only those who climb to the peak of the great mountain that is soul mastery have the right to look down on everyone else. My father often says the Young Genius Ranking is just something to laugh at. Don't take it seriously. Many geniuses on Douluo Continent develop in secret and never give the Spirit Pagoda a chance to add them to its records."

Nan Liujing's eyes shifted. No wonder Ye Xinglan in the original timeline had been so dismissive of Wu Sidu and the others. Though some of it had been intentional, it was clear that the girl was genuinely proud—and had the qualifications to be proud.

"Come over early tomorrow."

Ye Xinglan gave a soft sound of agreement. "Oh, right. Why hasn't Na'er been coming out to hang around lately?"

Nan Liujing said irritably, "You've got the nerve to ask? Na'er still had tasks last time, but you tempted her into sneaking out to play. When she went back, Holy Spirit Your Highness caught her. She said Na'er had skipped however many classes, so she had to make them up several times over. Anyway, don't even think about seeing Na'er for quite a while."

"Ah, um..." Ye Xinglan stuck out her tongue awkwardly, trying to shift the blame away from herself. "That's fine too. With Na'er's intelligence, maybe she'll comprehend Spear Intent soon. If she really does, you'll have to thank me as her brother."

"Get lost, get lost, get lost." Nan Liujing hung up immediately.

At that time, in cities across Douluo Continent that possessed pillar-class Spirit Pagodas, all the young soul masters who had purchased entry into the Junior Spirit Ascension Platform were eagerly preparing to enter and temper both their reputations and strength.

Combat within the Rampage Period Spirit Ascension Platform was one of the sources considered for inclusion on the Young Genius Ranking.

If one could defeat opponents within it, the Spirit Pagoda would publicly announce it. It was also the best place for youths to compete for fame and profit.

Ye Xinglan was right. Many geniuses did not care about the Young Genius Ranking, but many also did!

This genius ranking thing was pretty strange. It was probably a setting that had been thought up on the spot, since it never appeared again later in the original work. If I haven't handled the fanfiction setting well, please forgive me. The original work only mentioned a few people on the ranking, mostly Wu Sidu and the others, so there really was not much description to draw from.