I'm Going to Smash This Face

In the Mist Mountain Range, the three of them once again approached the shadow, wearing Void Nether Armor,

The Mist Shadow Puppet would react as soon as they took one more step forward,

"You should all have a pretty good idea of how strong the big guy is. Be careful."

Chen Qing didn't move forward this time. With power several thousand times that of a Peak World Lord, and with Void Nether Armor and the Cloud-Touching Vine defending her, the chances of serious injury were low as long as she wasn't hit repeatedly,

And with the two of them watching each other's backs, they were quite safe. A little danger would only benefit their training.

"Don't worry. We're not rookies!"

Yao Rao rolled her wrist and flourished the Thunder Firmament sword. Streaks of lightning flickered across its blade,

Sister Fang said nothing. She slowly drew Clear Ripple, bent her knees slightly, and lowered her body,

"Whoosh!"

There was no sharp sonic boom, only the sound of air swirling around her. It seemed her use of the Law was still a little rough,

Jiang Fang left behind an afterimage as her blade flashed toward Black Mountain,

"Bang!"

The shadow reacted quickly. A huge black arm extended from Shadow Mountain and blocked the incoming slash,

Dozens of black whips suddenly sprouted around it, apparently intending to restrain their target.

Without Chen Qing suppressing it this time, the pressure on Jiang Fang increased at once,

Seeing this, Yao Rao sprang forward. The Thunder Firmament in her hand blazed with dazzling lightning, sending out several sword shadows that severed the black whips,

"Looks like, as an energy life-form, it can only be so strong if its energy density isn't high, no matter how big its body is.

Even with secret patterns strengthening them, these mist whips can only serve as a distraction!"

Chen Qing watched the puppet from the sidelines, gathering information as well. The ones he faced later would only be stronger.

Just then, the shadow began churning, once again taking on a human shape. Its face, however, was much clearer than before,

"Looking for trouble!"

Seeing a face clearly identical to Chen Qing's, Jiang Fang gritted her teeth and growled,

"Little Qing, I'm going to smash this face! You don't mind, do you?"

Yao Rao glanced back. Her expression was serious, though what she said was a little chilling,

Chen Qing helplessly nodded. He couldn't tell whether Yao Rao was protecting him or taking a jab at him. It seemed more likely she was using the chance to settle a score and vent her anger.

The shadow taking human form didn't mean it would be easier to deal with. If anything, it was even more troublesome than before,

During their previous fight, Chen Qing had noticed that the puppet didn't have any secret techniques, but it was very good at imitation,

In other words, it had taken human form simply to make it easier to imitate secret techniques,

Though it was only an imitation of the outward form, and much less effective, it was still better than relying on brute force.

The good news was that it couldn't imitate things like amplification techniques. But it did have a few tricks of its own,

And so, just as Yao Rao was about to hit it in the face, a hand sprouted from the puppet's face and slapped her away,

Chen Qing held back a laugh and quickly checked her with his mental power. Fortunately, she was only slightly injured. The combination of Void Nether Armor and the Cloud-Touching Vine seemed to work well!

Winning, however, wouldn't be easy. Chen Qing took the opportunity to study every secret pattern on the puppet,

They didn't look like anything made using conventional methods of artifact refining. Instead, they resembled hastily copied imitations,

If Chen Qing stepped in, he could easily disrupt a few of the nodes, but the effect would probably last only a few breaths,

The Mist Shadow Race's key core was the Source Crystal, but the puppet had none. Inside its chest was only a phantom image of secret patterns,

Chen Qing glanced cautiously at his wife, who was still fighting, and couldn't help feeling nervous. She probably wouldn't beat him up for saying nothing, right?

But this was their battlefield. Chen Qing turned his gaze toward the distance,

If they could fight a Marquis-Rank opponent at the World Lord level, even a badly injured one, then with their other bodies, they should have no trouble reaching King-Rank in the future.

"Come on, ladies!"

Chen Qing quietly wished them luck without disturbing them. He took a step across the battlefield, and the figure he left behind slowly faded away.

Chen Qing had no idea how far the fog stretched. The sky was always hazy, and there was no sense of direction,

Although no living creatures could be found on the ground, trees grew thickly, and mountains and ravines covered the land,

With his mental power suppressed and his speed greatly restricted, Chen Qing still traveled mostly on the ground to practice his movement technique.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

After a string of impacts, Chen Qing stopped. His plans had sounded great, but reality had proved harsh,

There were plenty of secret techniques in his study that he could learn from, such as the Spirit Reader technique Ten Thousand Thread Flow,

But once his speed reached a certain point, changing the direction of his power was no easy task, even when he had grasped the Law Essence,

That was what came of Chen Qing having too much brute force. With a thousandfold gene multiplier, he had already reached the threshold of a Marquis-Rank powerhouse!

"Looks like I need a deeper understanding of space. Borrowing space's power is much more profound than relying on my own brute force."

Chen Qing stood on a broken branch, slowly calming down as he reviewed what he'd learned along the way and sensed the space around him,

Within space lay the earth, stood forests, rose vapor that became mist, blew gentle winds, and passed all kinds of light...

Every kind of matter could stir ripples in space. The ripples were tiny, so tiny they were almost imperceptible,

Only Chen Qing, with his unusual state of mind, could sense them more clearly the deeper he meditated,

And in this Origin Land, where the Laws were exceptionally clear, he could feel each ripple, each tiny fluctuation in space,

"What if I could hold these ripples still?"

Chen Qing had a strange feeling, and naturally began paying closer attention,

"That was the essence flashing just now, then it passed on to this... I never would have thought..."

"Quake Seal" seemed to work on a similar principle...

Chen Qing stood there for another two years. Suddenly, space around him grew heavy, and a vortex appeared overhead once more, eventually dripping a single silver droplet.

"Who knew I'd stumble into a suppressive technique while traveling!"

Chen Qing smiled wryly and rubbed his forehead. His Innate Secret Technique, Quake Seal, was complicated, but it was also instinctive to him; deep in his subconscious, he knew it well,

Combined with this unexpected insight, his sensitivity to Space Lockdown had led him to comprehend Space Suppression instead,

It was one of the three major branches of the Space Law, a minor branch of Space Lockdown. That was why he had gained the Law's preliminary recognition,

"Never mind. It's a good thing, anyway. Time to keep going!"

Chen Qing had no choice but to get back to "running." One after another, his figures flickered through the mist and soon vanished.

At the edge of the Mist Mountain Range, Jiang Fang and Yao Rao supported each other as they entered the spaceship. They soon collapsed to the floor again,

"Sister Fang, our movement techniques have improved quite a bit, but our attacks are still way behind. We could scrape it all day and still not make a dent."

Yao Rao panted, staring blankly at the ceiling as she complained softly to Jiang Fang,

"It doesn't matter. We'll start by following the basic methods and getting familiar with how to use the essence, then think about combining everything. Our goal is clear: we just need recognition from the higher Law,

"Didn't our teacher say that once we reach the Immortal level, we can still become King-Rank as long as it doesn't interfere with our comprehension?"

The rise and fall of Jiang Fang's chest gradually settled. She offered Yao Rao a few words of encouragement,

"True. I never imagined I'd become Immortal one day. I wonder how my husband's doing."

"Why don't you say that to his face? What's the point of telling me?"

Jiang Fang turned her head and teased her. Her best friend had nothing left but a stubborn mouth now,

"As if you've ever said it. Don't think I don't know—you're embarrassed too!"

"You're asking for it, laughing at me! Take this, Dragon Claw Hand!"

"Ah! Help..."