Seeing Lu Zheng vanish completely, Xiao Chen and Hu Liena could no longer hold on. Their vision went black, and they both passed out.
The toll of Seven Star Rapid Fire was far more frightening than Xiao Chen had expected.
He had estimated that he could fire five arrows at full strength. After trying it, he realized that even reaching the four-star level at full strength would be impressive.
Seeing Lu Zheng dead, Lu Qing was so frightened that he dropped to his knees and begged for mercy again and again.
But since Ghost Douluo had brought him there, how could he possibly let him go?
As for Lu Xiao, he had actually known for a long time that Lu Qing was involved in his parents' deaths. He had planned to lie low until he could avenge them, but with his Soul Power Level unable to advance, there was nothing he could do.
Now, however, the two seniors before him had given him the chance to avenge them with his own hands.
He did not torture Lu Qing. He simply and decisively ended his life.
Afterward, he prepared to take his own life, because he knew he had seen things he should not have.
He had avenged his parents before dying, so he had no regrets.
But Xiao Chen had specifically said Lu Xiao was to be saved, so Ghost Douluo naturally would not let him die.
Xiao Chen had been unconscious for two hours when the system woke him.
Inside the System Space, Xiao Chen asked curiously, "System, we joined forces to defeat a level-sixty-eight Soul Emperor. Is there a reward?"
"No!" the system replied briskly.
Xiao Chen said helplessly, "System, you're so stingy. At least give me a few more secret techniques!"
The system immediately said, "You think secret techniques grow on trees?"
"This system rewarded you with the secret technique Seven Star Rapid Fire only because, when you and Hu Liena fought the level-fifty-eight Soul King earlier, your archery had already reached the threshold for beginning to learn the move. That was why I made an exception and gave you this reward."
"This system's collection contains countless top-tier secret techniques. But only when the Host has personally explored a technique and crossed its threshold, meeting the requirements for learning it, will he qualify to master the corresponding secret technique. Understand?" the system explained.
"I see!" Xiao Chen said, enlightened.
Xiao Chen did not dwell on the matter. He knew the system handed out rewards entirely according to its mood. There was no point trying to bargain with it.
"By the way, when Hu Liena and I used Triple Martial Soul Fusion earlier, I felt my mental strength rise to the Soul Emperor level. If I developed Spirit Skills in that state, wouldn't I get twice the results with half the effort?" Xiao Chen continued.
The System Spirit smiled at that. "Not bad, Host. I thought you'd need this system to point it out, but you figured it out on your own!"
The System Spirit paused, then continued, "Any state that can increase the Host's mental strength will help him develop Spirit Skills. Developing Spirit Skills while you and Hu Liena are using Triple Martial Soul Fusion can also help her learn the techniques for Spirit Skill Development!"
"It works like that too?" Xiao Chen asked in surprise. He had thought Spirit Skill Development applied only to Ten-Year Spirit Rings, but apparently that was not the case.
"System, didn't you say before that only Ten-Year Spirit Rings could have Spirit Skills developed?" Xiao Chen asked.
The System Spirit pursed its lips. "Host, I only said that the white Spirit Rings added through this system's intervention qualified for Spirit Skill Development. I never said that only white Spirit Rings could have their Spirit Skills developed!"
"Fine. You have the final say, so you can say whatever you want!" Xiao Chen could not be bothered arguing with the system.
"So as long as I develop Spirit Skills while our Martial Souls are fused, Hu Liena will learn the techniques on her own? Or do I need to do anything else?" he continued.
"No," the system replied. "The Host only needs to work through the full cycle of Spirit Skill Development. Even if she fails to grasp it, she'll still benefit considerably!"
"Got it!" Xiao Chen nodded, then withdrew his consciousness from the System Space.
When Xiao Chen woke, Hu Liena was still asleep. The aura around her had settled, and it looked as though she would wake on her own before long.
Because Xiao Chen and Hu Liena had passed out, their group had returned to Xilu City.
As soon as Xiao Chen woke, Chrysanthemum Douluo, Xie Yue, and Yan crowded around him.
"Xiao Chen, how are you feeling?" Chrysanthemum Douluo asked.
"I'm fine. Sorry for worrying you, Elder Ju!" Xiao Chen replied.
Chrysanthemum Douluo nodded slightly. "Good. What should we do with Lu Xiao, the man you asked Ghost Douluo to save? He saw you use Triple Martial Soul Fusion, and he also knows your two identities!"
"Bring him here. I'll talk to him," Xiao Chen said.
Although Lu Xiao was a member of the Lu Family, the information Ghost Douluo had gathered showed that he had a good nature even back when he was a genius.
Xiao Chen remembered what Gangzi had said: Mutated Martial Souls could become powerful, even giving rise to Innate Full Soul Power. But most mutated Martial Souls only became weaker. Mutated Martial Souls were like the product of close-relative marriage: the odds of one being an idiot were high, but they might also produce a genius far beyond ordinary people.
Xiao Chen did not agree with that claim.
Gangzi was the clearest example. Born into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, his Martial Soul had mutated into Luo Sanpao.
And yet, he could perform the Trinity Martial Soul Fusion Skill with Liu Erlong and Flender.
Liu Erlong's Martial Soul was a Fire Dragon, a favorable mutation. Flender's Martial Soul was a Four-Eyed Cat Owl.
But the Martial Soul Fusion Skill the three of them performed was the Golden Sacred Dragon.
Gangzi himself had said that a Martial Soul Fusion Skill was not simply a matter of adding their strength together. It came from the blending of their Martial Soul Origins, combining their complementary traits to create a new form and new abilities, while inheriting the attributes, characteristics, and strengths of each Martial Soul.
However, neither Liu Erlong's Fire Dragon nor Flender's Four-Eyed Cat Owl had the traits of the Golden Sacred Dragon.
That meant the Golden Sacred Dragon's traits came from Gangzi's Luo Sanpao.
In other words, Luo Sanpao had extraordinary potential. It was not without hope.
Gangzi had tried hard too, but eventually gave up and turned to developing his own theories.
But, as the saying went, practice was the sole criterion for testing truth.
Especially in a cultivation world where the strong ruled, Gangzi's fame for his theoretical knowledge was largely thanks to the Spirit Hall and the Golden Iron Triangle.
Gangzi had once tried hard to break free of the fate of being stuck at level twenty-nine, testing all sorts of methods. But he had never tried the most extreme one.
That method was to force a third Spirit Ring onto his Martial Soul while he was still at level twenty-nine.
Ordinary Soul Masters would never do this, since they could break through to level thirty normally.
But Mutated Martial Souls were different from the start. Without something drastic, how could they break through the shackles of a Mutated Martial Soul and trigger a Second Awakening?
The system had been blunt: this method was extremely dangerous, with a success rate of less than one in ten thousand.
But if it succeeded, the Martial Soul's quality would undergo a fundamental leap, with results absolutely better than taking an Immortal Herb to break through the bottleneck.
As the saying went, Heaven never shut every door. Cultivation was an act of defying Heaven itself. Sometimes, one had to risk everything to have any hope of survival.
Xiao Chen had come up with this method himself. The system had offered no help; it had only determined that the method had an exceedingly slim chance of success.
So it did not violate the rules of this world.
If Gangzi had possessed that kind of courage back then, perhaps he would have been the protagonist of Douluo I.
Before you continue