Black Mist Xu Sheng, Obliterated in a Single Strike!

The next day, as morning light just spilled over the horizon, a procession of luxurious soul guide vehicles gathered in the parking lot beside the Heavenly Spirit Tower.

After the bustling crowd laughed, chatted, and underwent inspections, they walked into the tower that soared straight into the clouds, instantly bringing life to the previously quiet lobby.

The Riot Period Spirit Ascension Platform opened the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels simultaneously, meaning soul masters of various tiers could easily be seen here today.

Yet the largest crowd by far consisted of those about to enter the Beginner Spirit Ascension Platform.

Right there on a corner sofa, Nan Liujing watched young men and women file past him. Some wore Shrek Academy uniforms, some dressed in comfortable casual wear, and a few had even combed their hair into adult styles, wearing formal suits as they walked in.

[Youth Genius Ranking 30th: Swan Mo Jue]

[Youth Genius Ranking 27th: Mystic Turtle Xu Cang]

[Youth Genius Ranking 24th: Qian Kun Li Qian Kun]

[Youth Genius Ranking 21st: Blue Lightning Yu Jiutian]

In just a short span of time, Nan Liujing spotted four ranked participants under the age of fifteen.

Mo Jue and Li Qiankun were old acquaintances. In the original timeline, when Tang Wulin was a first-year student, the two of them were the class monitor and vice class monitor of the third year, as well as the only one-word battle armor masters among Shrek Academy soul master students under the age of twenty at that time. Looking at them now, they appeared to be around thirteen or fourteen.

This Mystic Turtle was less clear; the original timeline had no record of him, and he wasn't wearing a Shrek Academy uniform. Judging by his appearance, his age seemed slightly younger than Mo Jue and Li Qiankun.

The only one who sparked Nan Liujing's interest was this Yu Jiutian, bearing the title Blue Lightning. He looked to be around twelve years old, only three years older than Nan Liujing himself, yet he was ranked above Mo Jue and Li Qiankun.

In Douluo Continent, the only people entitled to be called Blue Lightning were those with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul. Could this person be the captain who led Shrek Academy in the exhibition match during the Eastern Sea Federal Grand Competition in the original timeline?

A guess surfaced in Nan Liujing's mind.

As he was thinking this, a figure strode into the lobby. With a golden ponytail, exquisite and pretty facial features, and heroic brows and eyes, who could it be if not Ye Xinglan?

"I'm not late, am I?"

Ye Xinglan caught sight of Nan Liujing standing up to signal her and walked over with a smiling expression.

Nan Liujing had just intended to return the greeting when his brows suddenly twitched slightly. Not far away in the crowd, a young man in a Shrek Academy uniform stared at Ye Xinglan for several long moments, as if confirming something, before whispering to Yu Jiutian with an ugly expression.

Yu Jiutian's gaze changed noticeably as he casually swept a glance over Ye Xinglan's back, acting as though he had remembered her.

Looking at the eager Ye Xinglan walking toward him, Nan Liujing smiled helplessly. Fine, looks like things are going to get busy once we get inside the Spirit Ascension Platform.

"Here." Nan Liujing took out his qualification card.

Ye Xinglan casually took it and stood beside Nan Liujing, surveying the gathered crowd in the lobby as she said in a low voice, "As expected of the Riot Period Spirit Ascension Platform, people really turn out in full force."

Nan Liujing nodded. "With two riot periods every year, the end of each one means a reshuffling of the Youth Genius Ranking. Major soul master factions are all staring at the results to come out. How could they not turn out in full force?"

Within a week of the Riot Period Spirit Ascension Platform opening, the Spirit Pagoda would broadcast the situation inside the ascension platform in real time, and various soul master factions used this report as an assessment for their family members.

Besides, in today's Douluo Continent, the traditional Continent Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament no longer existed. The Spirit Ascension Platform was an alternative kind of tournament, albeit one for individual comparison.

"Now, the inspection of Spirit Ascension Platform qualification cards will officially begin."

Without much wait, a Spirit Ascension Platform Manager and three Spirit Ascension Platform attendants walked out to make the announcement.

The hundreds of people gathered in the lobby unhurriedly produced their qualification cards and handed them over to the staff.

Those heading to different levels of the Spirit Ascension Platform had their own designated elevators to take.

Nan Liujing did not use his identity to enter directly, choosing instead to constantly observe his peers to lock onto targets.

Ye Xinglan had much the same thought, and she wondered who would be lucky enough to have her poke their buttocks with the Stargod Sword.

That Shrek Academy student who had used money to insult her a few days ago was the one she had poked in the buttocks with a sword.

The inspection passed, and Nan Liujing and Ye Xinglan entered the elevator along with several other unfamiliar soul masters. Descending, they arrived at the underground registration hall; this was to ensure that people teaming up would wake up together. Once this step was completed, three staff members would subsequently guide them into the Spirit Ascension Chambers.

"The Riot Period Spirit Ascension Platform is extremely dangerous. The combat desires of soul beasts will be heightened, and we encourage soul masters to fight amongst themselves. If you feel your strength is insufficient, you must not push yourself—pressing the rescue signal device is nothing to be ashamed of," a staff member earnestly advised the group.

Everyone nodded silently, quickly and familiarly lying down inside the spirit ascension pods.

Their consciousness grew hazy, and by the time they woke up again, they were already in an ancient forest.

A cool wind blew from an unknown direction, and Nan Liujing and Ye Xinglan opened their eyes simultaneously, staring alertly at their surroundings.

"What should we do next?" Ye Xinglan asked softly.

Nan Liujing glanced at the quiet jungle. "I have a mission to fulfill. What about you?"

Ye Xinglan shook her head. "I only came because of your invitation. Otherwise, I'd still be practicing my sword at home."

Hearing this, Nan Liujing said, "Then stick with me. Oh right, have you maxed out your soul spirit age?"

Swish, swish.

The rustling sound of a body brushing past leaves was extremely faint, seemingly caused by the wind, but with his mental power—having broken through to the Spirit Sea Realm through a month of law comprehension and cultivation—Nan Liujing instantly captured the unusual spot.

A flash of lightning sparked across his right hand as the Dragon Subduing Staff abruptly extended, thrusting into one of the ancient trees.

Ye Xinglan's words were right on the tip of her tongue and she hadn't had time to voice them. Seeing the Dragon Subduing Staff thrust out right before her eyes, she snapped to her senses, bright starlight appearing in her right hand as it transformed into a bright yellow longsword.

Bang.

An obvious feedback transmitted through the Dragon Subduing Staff. Under their watchful eyes, a simian soul beast wreathed in electric currents fell from the ancient tree toward the ground.

"Iron Arm Ape," Ye Xinglan recognized at a glance.

Suddenly, a wave of numb tingling current swept past, causing the strands of hair on her forehead to pull taut. Yet she saw electricity wash over Nan Liujing's body as he charged at extreme speed toward the Iron Arm Ape, which had been briefly paralyzed by the current.

Before the Iron Arm Ape could recover from the paralysis, Nan Liujing swung out into empty space just like playing baseball. With a bang, the grotesque beast skull exploded, leaving only its torso dropping to the ground.

From the sound of the strange noise to the kill, the entire process took Nan Liujing less than five seconds.

"You're way too fast." Ye Xinglan walked up in a few steps, staring at the corpse on the ground as it turned into spots of spirit light, clicking her tongue slightly.

Careful or I'll sue you for defamation, Nan Liujing retorted inwardly. aloud, he said, "When a threat appears, naturally you have to complete the kill at the fastest speed."

"Let's go, let's find some people."

The two quickly moved into action, heading toward other regions.

Just a few minutes after the two of them left, a figure emerged from the hidden shadows.

Glancing at the slightly charred ground, Xu Sheng raised his head to scan his surroundings. A certain instrument strapped to his left hand was gently pressed by him.

A moment later, the screen on the surface of the instrument scanned outward like a radar, finally locking onto a direction.

Swish.

His body was wrapped in a stream of black Qi, concealing him within the dense bushes, and he vanished in an instant.

The Riot Period Spirit Ascension Platform was even livelier than Nan Liujing and Ye Xinglan had imagined.

The two stood on a thick tree branch, staring at the continuously stampeding groups of soul beasts as the entire ground trembled slightly.

Occasionally, the screams of soul masters and the roaring explosions of soul skills could be heard—it was a bustling scene.

In the span of just over ten minutes, the two witnessed more than fifteen people being torn apart by various thousand-year or hundred-year soul beast groups that had entered a state of frenzy, causing them to leave the Spirit Ascension Platform space in agony.

They also saw soul masters fighting fiercely among themselves over spirit light, only for someone else to reap the benefits as the fisherman.

Yet up to this point, still no opponent satisfying to Nan Liujing had appeared. There was no helping it; although this was a simulation of the outer circle of the Star Dou Great Forest, the area of the Beginner Spirit Ascension Platform was still too vast. Even if the Spirit Pagodas of over a dozen cities were combined and thousands of people entered it, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack, making chance encounters difficult.

At this moment, Nan Liujing actually wished the Spirit Ascension Platform space had a leaderboard showing who killed the most soul beasts, marking their locations as well so it would be convenient for him to seek some out.

"Let's keep moving."

Once the surroundings quieted down, the two immediately leaped down from the tree.

The moment before they landed, Nan Liujing's mental power fiercely transmitted a warning feedback. His left hand lashed out like lightning, pulling Ye Xinglan into his embrace while his right hand thrust the Dragon Subduing Staff into the ground. After planting and extending the staff, it hoisted him back up into mid-air.

Unprepared, Ye Xinglan was pulled into an embrace. Feeling the solid, powerful chest and the fresh fragrance emanating from Nan Liujing, her pretty face flushed slightly red for a split second.

Boom!

Yet the shyness had only just emerged when a scene unfolded on the grass below that made her pupils contract.

Right where the two of them had originally landed, the ground split open, and a dark green corrosive mist violently spewed out. The grass blades around them rapidly rotted, and amidst the hazy mist, a dark green soul beast as thick as a water vat revealed its true form. Its hundred legs, sharp like steel blades, resembled death-dealing dark scythes in the dim environment.

Most terrifying of all was its head, which resembled the peeled eyeball of a living human. Its compound eyes were covered in crimson bloodshot veins, brimming with extreme lust for slaughter.

"Corrosive Centipede!"

Ye Xinglan's expression changed slightly, not expecting the ambushing soul beast to be this creature.

During the peak era of soul beasts, the Corrosive Centipede was definitely one of the soul beasts that hunted humans the most, comparable to the Man Faced Demon Spider. In the Beginner Spirit Ascension Platform, where the maximum limit was the peak of the third ring, it was definitely a top-tier, troublesome opponent.

Hiss. A sound resembling a poisonous snake's hiss issued from the Corrosive Centipede's mouthparts. Its four-meter-long body coiled toward the Dragon Subduing Staff in an eerily human-like manner, dark green poisonous mist surging from its rust-like carapace and spreading upward.

A Corrosive Centipede below the thousand-year level was full of threats to ordinary people, but to Nan Liujing, it was merely a preliminary appetizer. A faint glimmer of dark blue soul power emerged from his body, and the Dragon Subduing Staff abruptly sparked intense electric currents, shining dazzlingly like a lightning rod. The Corrosive Centipede's massive body was instantly swallowed within it; its formidable carapace failed to play any defensive role at all as wisps of scorched, foul odors drifted away.

Ye Xinglan was not just a passive spectator throughout. Finding the right timing, she broke free from Nan Liujing's embrace, pushed off the Dragon Subduing Staff with her foot, and two yellow soul rings rose around her. As her first soul ring lit up, her stargod sword shot out a cluster of starlight, parting the poisonous mist. Imbued with hundreds of sharp sword edges, they all landed squarely on the Corrosive Centipede's head.

Because it had been eroded by lightning, its powerful carapace defense had long since been broken, and the starlight pierced straight through its skull in an instant.

The lust for slaughter in the Corrosive Centipede's eyes quickly dissipated into nothingness.

As Nan Liujing returned to the ground, Ye Xinglan couldn't help speaking up, "Your mental power is really strong enough. The two of us almost got blindsided by this thing."

"What's wrong?"

Hearing no response from the person beside her, Ye Xinglan turned alert again.

Nan Liujing watched the Corrosive Centipede's corpse dissipate without any spots of spirit light appearing, and said calmly, "Friend, hiding in the dark to test the waters really isn't necessary. If you want to spar with me, just come right out. Don't wait for me to come find you myself—the consequences will be very severe."

Ye Xinglan's beautiful eyes scanned the surroundings without a sound. She never doubted her companion's judgment.

Within the vast mountain forest, an occasional breeze blew, but not a single human voice appeared.

"Heh," Nan Liujing chuckled softly. "Refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit."

Zizhi.

Rampant electric currents diffused from Nan Liujing's body, and two purple soul rings rose beneath his feet. The first-ranked soul ring among them emitted a luxurious purple radiance, and in an instant, his figure splashed outward like a fountain, merging into the Heaven and Earth Yuan Power.

About a hundred meters away from the battle's epicenter, Xu Sheng stared coldly at Nan Liujing and Ye Xinglan, paying no mind to the warning whatsoever.

Within his palm, a cluster of black mist coalesced, encircled by two yellow and one purple soul rings.

Black Mist—this was his Martial Soul. It could be molded like clay to create puppets for auxiliary and soul-fusion combat. The characteristic of this Martial Soul was that if soul beasts were hunted to obtain soul rings, the soul skills could create corresponding soul beast puppets. If it relied on soul spirits, the created puppets would be relatively single-minded, but individual strength would increase, similar to stacked soul skills.

His goal was to secretly test Nan Liujing's abilities, the more detailed, the better.

Staring and watching as Nan Liujing transformed into splashing electrical currents, a sense of vigilance involuntarily stirred in Xu Sheng's heart.

"Have you ever seen a staff technique descending from the heavens?"

A mocking, bland laugh came from directly overhead.

Xu Sheng's pupils contracted, and his third soul skill activated instantly, a thick mass of black mist wrapping around him in a flash.

"Roar!"

A sonorous dragon roar shook the mountain forest. Countless soul beast bodies trembled as a dragon tail—resembling the Thunder God's Whip—slammed down fiercely. Violent electric currents surged like angry billows, leaving tangled cracks hanging in mid-air.

With a thunderous boom, the entire ground collapsed, and dark blue electric arcs dyed the earth into a sea of lightning. The terrifying high temperature caused everything to turn charred black.

Swish.

A wisp of black mist flickering with electric arcs fled outward from the shattered earth.

Nan Liujing looked at the black mist from the fractured, charred ground.

Ye Xinglan ran over swiftly. Ignoring the ruined state of the ground, she stared at the exceptionally slow-fleeing black mist and said coldly, "Was this guy the one who ambushed us? No wonder no spirit light appeared when the Corrosive Centipede died."

Nan Liujing shouldered the Dragon Subduing Staff and said flatly, "Youth Genius Ranking twenty-sixth, Black Mist Xu Sheng. His cultivation is probably around the thirty-fifth rank. Thank him for saving me a lot of time looking for people."

Walking at a leisurely stroll, the two quickly caught up to the black mist transformed by Xu Sheng.

Nan Liujing had seen through the fact that this opponent's move could immunize against physical attacks, but elemental attacks of the lightning attribute could not be completely immunized.

You're already at the end of your rope!

As for how he managed to find the opponent, it was simple. The Thunder Dragon Breaks Through the Sky soul skill fused the body into the Heaven and Earth Yuan Power. At that moment, Nan Liujing became a part of the natural elements. Much like Huo Yuhao turning on a perspective cheat, he could easily lock onto targets within a radius of one hundred and fifty meters.

Unless you could isolate the lightning elements between heaven and earth, you were bound to be exposed.

And this soul skill was truly all-around: offensively it could obliterate enemies, defensively it could teleport him more than a hundred meters away to escape.

Puff.

As the electric currents lingering over the black mist dissipated, a figure materialized and violently spat out a mouthful of blood.

Xu Sheng sat on the ground with a withered aura. Large patches of his skin had been scorched by the high temperature of the current, turning charred black. He stared with a horrified expression at the young man who had slowly walked up to him. "How did you find me?"

The Black Mist Martial Soul wasn't a top-tier martial soul, but it was ever-changing and inherently came with the ability to conceal one's own aura. Relying on the traits of his martial soul, he had covertly killed many people inside the Spirit Ascension Platform, and even entered the Beginner Spirit Ascension Platform to toy with a Soul King using black mist puppets. Who could have expected him to fall here today?

"I said, once I find you myself, the consequences will be very severe."

What Xu Sheng waited for was not an answer, but Nan Liujing's expressionless strike. The next moment, he lost all consciousness.

"No!"

Inside the spirit ascension pod, Xu Sheng sat up abruptly. The pain of having his skull smashed caused his complexion to turn extremely pale, cold sweat continuously streaming down as his entire body trembled.

Slap!

Suddenly, a hand grabbed his shoulder. Xu Sheng's body trembled, and as he turned his head to look, what he saw was Qian Gu Dong Feng's solemn face.