A Spear's Instant Kill—Can't Let Me Be the Only One Fooled

The purposes of the two Soul Rings given to him by the God of Evil and the God of Goodness had basically been figured out.

The Evil Soul Ring's Soul Skill was called Evil Spear.

When he used Evil Spear, his attack, speed, and strength doubled.

But that was only the most basic enhancement.

The more Evil Thought he infused into it, the stronger the enhancement became. It could even possibly trigger effects that ignored defense or caused instant death.

The Goodness Soul Ring's Soul Skill was called Goodness Shield.

When he used Goodness Shield, his defense, mental strength, and Soul Power doubled. The Life-Protecting Shield would also create a defensive barrier with no blind spots.

Like Evil Spear, the more Goodness he infused into it, the greater the enhancement.

It also had a certain chance of triggering Soul Power recovery and attack-negation effects.

Whether it was Evil Spear or Goodness Shield, the maximum enhancement was tenfold. However, the higher the multiplier, the more Evil Thought it consumed exponentially.

Reaching a tenfold enhancement required an enormous amount of Evil Thought or Goodness.

Of course, that was not why Su Chen was currently mobilizing Goodness and Evil Thought.

His two Soul Rings had another important function: storing Goodness and Evil Thought.

His Twin Martial Souls, the Life-Killing Spear and Life-Protecting Shield, could actually be used together.

However, to trigger both their effects at the same time, he needed to possess both Evil Thought and Goodness simultaneously. That was almost impossible.

Moreover, emotions produced on the spot were always limited and could be affected by his mood and surroundings at the time.

Things were different now.

He no longer needed to have both emotions during battle. He only needed to store enough Goodness and Evil Thought beforehand, then use them when necessary.

At present, Su Chen could only store his own Goodness and Evil Thought.

But he always felt that the effects of these two Soul Rings went beyond that.

If he could someday collect the good and evil emotions of others, these two Soul Rings would become even more overpowered.

After reminiscing for quite a while, Su Chen shook his head.

Accumulating Goodness and Evil Thought was no easy task. Emotions that were too intense were themselves exhausting.

Just as he was about to stretch a little and practice his spear technique to balance movement and rest, someone knocked on his door.

"Su Chen, may we come in?"

Dugu Yan's voice sounded from outside.

"Is something wrong?"

Su Chen rose and opened the door.

Dugu Yan's expression was somewhat stiff. She truly had no idea how to treat a child younger than herself like a grandfather.

"Um... I just wanted to ask whether there was anything you're unaccustomed to, so I can have someone make adjustments."

"There's nothing I'm unaccustomed to."

Su Chen did not invite them inside. Instead, he walked out himself.

"Your manor should have a place for training, right?"

"Yes, of course."

Heaven Dou City was the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire, where land was worth every inch of gold. Yet Dugu Manor had a large area set aside for training and combat.

"Take me there."

"Alright, follow me."

Dugu Yan walked ahead, unable to stop herself from feeling annoyed.

She was usually not such a stiff person. Why had she become like Ye Lingling, like some green recruit?

She had dragged Ye Lingling along to keep her company.

But Ye Lingling was someone who spoke very little around unfamiliar people. She could be relied upon to do things, but asking her to talk more was truly making things difficult for her.

Dugu Yan took several deep breaths and steadied her emotions.

"Um, Su Chen, I had someone reheat the nourishing porridge Grandpa brought back. Would you like to drink it with us? Grandpa said it was very nourishing."

Su Chen said, "No need. I've already had some. You two should nourish yourselves instead."

It would have been fine if she had not mentioned that Life-Taking Thirteen Porridge. The moment she did, he recalled its taste.

"Oh, alright then."

Dugu Yan had at least somewhat found a way to get along with Su Chen.

She had been a little too nervous earlier. What Dugu Bo had said had simply been too serious.

But after getting used to it a little, she found Su Chen was not difficult to get along with. There was no need to worry too much.

"Su Chen, you've already undergone Martial Soul Awakening, right?"

Dugu Yan did not know Su Chen's age. She only guessed that he had passed the age for Martial Soul Awakening, though she did not know by how much.

"Mm."

"May I ask what your Innate Soul Power was? If it's inconvenient, just pretend I never asked."

Dugu Yan simply could not suppress her curiosity about why Dugu Bo valued Su Chen so highly.

"Not high." Su Chen said casually, "Only level five."

"Level five?"

Level-five Innate Soul Power was already quite good. It was not outstanding, but it could still be considered promising.

Yet Dugu Yan found it hard to believe.

Someone Dugu Bo treated with such extreme caution actually had such ordinary Innate Soul Power.

"Alright, enough talking. I need to cultivate. You two should go do whatever you need to do."

Upon arriving at the Martial Arts Training Ground, Su Chen flicked his wrist, and the Life-Killing Spear shot out like a venomous snake leaving its nest.

Seeing Su Chen's two gleaming Soul Rings, Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, who had not intended to leave anyway, both froze.

"Two Soul Rings? A Soul Grandmaster?"

Dugu Yan said to Ye Lingling in astonishment,

"Lingling, do you think Su Chen only looks young, but is actually already in his teens?"

"N-No way, right?"

Dugu Yan felt that she had been deceived. She herself was still only a Soul Grandmaster, at the same level as Su Chen.

If Su Chen's Innate Soul Power was only level five, how could he already have two Soul Rings?

By comparison, Su Chen was undoubtedly a genius, while Dugu Yan, who had always considered herself a genius, suddenly realized that she was merely... an ordinary child.

"Lingling, do you think my talent is terrible?"

Ye Lingling fell silent for a moment. Instead of comforting Dugu Yan, she quietly nodded.

Even someone with Innate Full Soul Power would find it difficult to become a Soul Grandmaster at this age, right?

Compared to Su Chen, their talents could only be considered average.

Dugu Yan suffered another blow.

"Su Chen, do you need a sparring partner?"

"Yanyan."

Ye Lingling tugged Dugu Yan.

She had been deeply shaken just like Dugu Yan, but she had still noticed Su Chen's spear technique.

She did not understand spear techniques, but she could still sense the speed and power behind it.

Su Chen was definitely not the sort of Soul Master who only had Soul Power but mediocre combat strength.

"Sure. Come on."

Su Chen withdrew his spear.

"My Martial Soul is poisonous. If you feel you can't hold on, make sure to stop in time."

Although Dugu Yan wanted to regain a little confidence, she still remembered Dugu Bo's instructions and warned him of her Martial Soul's traits in advance.

"Alright, I understand."

Dugu Yan was neither exceptionally gifted nor untalented, barely qualifying as a little genius. Su Chen also wanted to test her strength.

"Here I come."

Dugu Yan used Martial Soul Possession, and her two legs transformed into a long snake tail.

A human upper body and snake tail looked rather intimidating. In another world, people might even think she had some extraordinary origins.

Dugu Yan did not let her guard down either. Her second Soul Ring lit up, and a cloud of blue poison mist shot toward Su Chen. At the same time, her snake tail swayed as she closed in behind the poison mist.

Dugu Yan kept her eyes on Su Chen and saw no sign of him using his Soul Rings.

Sure enough, Su Chen lacked real combat experience.

Dugu Yan even felt that she was about to win unfairly.

"Yanyan."

Watching from the side, Ye Lingling did not think so.

Su Chen's calmness and composure did not resemble someone without combat experience.

When the poison mist was still more than ten feet from Su Chen, Ye Lingling saw him move—and he moved incredibly fast.

At that moment, Dugu Yan's view was conveniently blocked by her own poison mist.

A glint of cold light from the Life-Killing Spear arrived first, and then... there was no then.

The poison mist scattered, and the tip of the Life-Killing Spear stopped at Dugu Yan's throat.

If Su Chen had not pulled the spear tip back as Dugu Yan approached, there would already have been a transparent hole in her throat.

"You should go rest. I'd better practice my spear alone."

Dugu Yan: ...

The hairs on her back stood on end, and cold sweat had just rolled down her forehead.

Too fast. It had been far too fast.

She had lost too quickly.

And she had practically walked along the edge of death. Never before had she felt the threat of death from such close range.

"Yanyan, are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?"

Ye Lingling hurriedly checked Dugu Yan's throat.

"Lingling."

"What is it?"

"I'm useless."

Her cultivation speed could not compare, and her practical combat ability had been instantly crushed into scraps. Dugu Yan's fighting spirit took a severe hit.

Ye Lingling: ...

Were they supposed to take care of Su Chen, or did Dugu Yan need taking care of?

"Miss, your medicinal porridge is ready."

At that moment, a servant came over carrying a food box.

"Give it to me."

Ye Lingling took the food box.

"Yanyan, drink the porridge first. It doesn't matter if our talent is worse. We can rely on hard work afterward."

"Mm."

Dugu Yan decided to turn her grief and indignation into appetite.

She picked up a bowl of medicinal porridge, intending to drain it in one heroic gulp.

Su Chen caught sight of her from the corner of his eye, and even his movements slowed.

When it comes to strength, Dugu Yan, you're not even qualified to be my sparring partner. But when it comes to courage, I, Su Chen, acknowledge you as number one.

"Blegh—wah!"

Just as Su Chen expected, that familiar sound rang out.

Dugu Bo was truly ruthless. He even tormented his own granddaughter.

"Yanyan, what's wrong? Did you burn yourself, or choke on it?"

Dugu Yan said, "It's..."

She had nearly said that it tasted awful, a hundred times worse than the worst thing she had ever eaten in her life.

But she stopped herself.

"Mm, it is a little hot. Just drink slowly when you have yours, Lingling."

She could not be the only one to taste such a heavenly delicacy.