From now on, the offense and defense will be different!

As the night of the Star Dou Great Forest was torn open by the first ray of dawn, the ice covering the three people finally let out a "crack" crisp sound. The solid ice shattered layer by layer, turning into sparkling ice crystals all over the ground, gently swaying with the forest wind, refracting tiny fragments of light.

"Hiss—"

Beibei gasped sharply, shivered, and the blue lightning around his body instinctively surged, dispelling the lingering cold on his skin. He had just moved his stiff neck when his gaze shot like a sharp sword towards Lu Jing not far away—the child who had been frozen with stubbornness, now slowly opening his eyes.

Lu Jing's gaze had changed.

The original childishness was replaced by a strange depth, as if a faint layer of ice mist was condensed in the depths of his pupils. What made Beibei's heart sink even more was that the World-Destroying Black Lotus above his head was now as solid as a physical object, its dark petals edged with a chilling sheen, and beneath his feet, a striking yellow Soul Ring was slowly rotating.

"Hundred-year level?" Beibei's brows furrowed, and the solemnity in his heart deepened. He had thought that after absorbing the power of that giant ice silkworm, this child could at least bear a thousand-year Soul Ring, but he didn't expect it to be only a hundred years—even so, the energy fluctuations of the Soul Ring far surpassed ordinary hundred-year Soul Rings.

Lu Jing stretched his limbs, his joints making a "crack" sound. He felt the surging power within his body, a sense of fullness he had never experienced before, as if he could stir up waves with every movement.

He looked down at the yellow Soul Ring at his feet, a playful smile curling the corner of his mouth, "Don't look at it being a hundred years, it's enough."

He had no background, grew up in the countryside, and even struggled for food. If he hadn't awakened the World-Destroying Black Lotus and encountered the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, which forcibly widened his soul power meridians, let alone approaching the limit of Soul Ring years, he probably wouldn't even be able to reach a hundred years.

Fortunately, the World-Destroying Black Lotus had given him an Innate Soul Power level of twenty, each level carrying the unique dominance of the World-Destroying Black Lotus, giving him enough confidence to face everything before him.

It was known that the Douluo Continent had never had a precedent for Innate Soul Power of twenty.

Even Qian Renxue ten thousand years ago had relied on the Angel God's gift to reach level twenty, while Lu Jing's Innate level twenty originated from the World-Destroying Black Lotus's characteristic of surpassing the laws of Douluo Star—this lotus platform did not belong to this world, so it was naturally not bound by its rules.

"What? Stunned?"

Lu Jing stretched his wrists, looked up at Beibei, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes, and taunted, "Brother, the tables have turned. You were chasing and killing me just now, now it's my turn, right?"

"With you?" Beibei roared, his blue lightning surging again, "You dare to be arrogant after absorbing a hundred-year Soul Ring? Don't forget, you're still far from it!"

Before he finished speaking, he moved, and lightning gathered on his right claw, transforming into a claw flashing with electricity, carrying a sharp whistle that tore through the air, lunging straight for Lu Jing's face—it was the Azure Electric Tyrant Dragon's Soul Skill, Lightning Dragon Claw!

Lu Jing's eyes narrowed, and the yellow Soul Ring beneath his feet suddenly lit up, "First Soul Skill, World-Destroying Ice Shield!"

Buzz—

The World-Destroying Black Lotus spun rapidly, and black mist instantly condensed into a semi-transparent ice shield. Black patterns flowed across the ice shield, carrying a strange suction force.

"Bang!"

The Lightning Dragon Claw fiercely struck the ice shield. Blue lightning exploded, but it was tightly locked by the black mist on the ice shield, only leaving ripples on the shield's surface, unable to penetrate at all.

"What?" Beibei's pupils contracted. He hadn't expected this seemingly thin ice shield to be so hard.

"There's more!" Lu Jing shouted lowly, pushing his left hand forward, "World-Destroying Ice Seal!"

The yellow Soul Ring lit up again, and a large amount of black cold air gushed out from the World-Destroying Black Lotus. This cold air solidified upon contact with the ground, turning into countless ice spikes that spread towards Beibei at an astonishing speed. This was no ordinary ice seal; the cold air carried the corrosive power of the World-Destroying Black Lotus, and where it passed, the ground was frozen black and cracked.

"Thunderous Might!" Beibei dared not delay. Lightning exploded around him, forming a blue electric net that shattered all the incoming ice spikes. However, the shattered ice spikes turned into smaller ice shards, still carrying cold air and pouncing towards him, forcing him to retreat repeatedly.

"Tang Ya, help!" Beibei shouted.

"Coming!" Tang Ya, supported by Wang Dong'er, managed to stand up. Her face was still pale, but she gritted her teeth and activated her Blue Silver Grass. Countless blue-green vines burrowed out from the ground, coiling around Lu Jing like venomous snakes, attempting to restrict his movements.

Lu Jing, however, was not flustered at all. The World-Destroying Ice Shield spun in front of him, blocking all the light blades and vines. The Blue Silver Grass, upon touching the ice shield, was frozen by black cold energy and quickly withered and blackened.

"It's useless."

Lu Jing smiled and shook his head. After absorbing the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's soul ring, his Soul Power had reached level twenty-one, and he had gained four skills from it.

Moreover, the World-Destroying Black Lotus already countered plant-type martial souls, and Tang Ya's martial soul was only Blue Silver Grass, not Blue Silver Emperor.

Beibei was so enraged his eyes bulged. The lightning around him became even more rampant: "Wrath of Lightning!"

This was the state of him pushing his Soul Power to the extreme. Blue lightning, like a living giant dragon, coiled around his body. Every flash made the air emit a painful groan. He was like a blue meteor, charging towards Lu Jing again, determined to tear apart this repeatedly provocative brat.

A fierce glint flashed in Lu Jing's eyes. He retracted the World-Destroying Ice Shield, and the World-Destroying Black Lotus hovered above his head, its black petals slowly unfurling: "Good timing!"

Although Beibei was a high-level Soul Elder, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and the World-Destroying Black Lotus were not to be trifled with. So, after the two had been fighting for some time, a barely perceptible beam of light suddenly shot out from the depths of the dense forest on the left. The light was dark purple, fast as lightning, and silently headed straight for Lu Jing's back—clearly, someone was ambushing him from the shadows!

"Be careful!" Wang Dong'er instinctively shouted. Although she hesitated about whether to attack Lu Jing, she couldn't stand such a sneak attack.

Lu Jing's heart tightened. Just as he was about to turn to defend himself, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's anxious voice suddenly sounded in his mind: "Holy crap! Someone's ambushing us!"

Before the words even fell, the World-Destroying Black Lotus above his head suddenly rotated on its own. The ink-black petals instantly closed, completely shielding him in the center.

"Ding!"

The dark purple light fiercely collided with the lotus platform, emitting a crisp sound. A bizarre scene occurred—the originally yellow hundred-year soul ring beneath Lu Jing's feet, at this very moment, visibly shed its yellow color and transformed into a dazzling white-gold!

The white-gold soul ring slowly rotated, emitting a terrifying aura far exceeding a hundred years, even approaching ten thousand years. The black mist on the World-Destroying Black Lotus instantly swelled, sending the dark purple light flying back, disappearing into the dense forest without a trace.

Lu Jing was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood. Someone was guarding Beibei from behind!

"What... what's going on?" Beibei and Tang Ya were both dumbfounded. Could a soul ring's color suddenly change?

In Lu Jing's mind, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's smug voice sounded: "Heh heh, didn't expect this, did you? I'm a million-year soul beast. Even after sacrificing myself, I still have this bit of life-saving ability! As for the soul ring's color, it's just a small matter!"

It didn't want to perish with Lu Jing right after sacrificing itself. It hadn't had time to enjoy its "new life," so how could it die?