Perhaps because his physical constitution and cultivation were limiting him, Lan Si's Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer had hit a bottleneck. He had ultimately stopped at thirty-six consecutive swings, unable to deliver a thirty-seventh without pausing to build up his strength again.
Perhaps because of his Mysterious Heaven Skill and his cultivation, Tang San was in slightly worse shape than Lan Si. At most, he could swing the hammer thirty times in a row.
More than five years had passed. At twelve, Lan Si no longer looked as tender and youthful as he once had. His fair, delicate face had matured, becoming handsome and dashing. Years of grueling training had given him a sturdy physique. He didn't look especially burly—in fact, he was somewhat lean—but beneath his fitted clothes lay a body covered in powerful, explosive muscles.
His Soul Power had now caught up and surpassed theirs, reaching level thirty—one level higher than Tang San and Xiao Wu. With one more Soul Ring, he could advance to Soul Elder.
Speaking of Soul Power, one couldn't help but mention his Soul Rings.
He had acquired his Second Soul Ring at the age of eight. It came from a Shadow-Splitting Beast more than nine hundred years old, an extremely rare creature in the Soul Beast Realm.
It had granted Lan Si his second Soul Skill, "Cyan Lotus Clone." This clone wasn't like Zhu Zhuqing's fourth Soul Skill, Nether Shadow Clone, from the original story, which created several clones capable of attacking for a short time. Instead, it duplicated his Martial Soul. For each additional Soul Ring, Lan Si could split off a number of Cyan Lotuses equal to the square of his number of Soul Rings.
In other words,
Lan Si, who had once been able to summon only one Cyan Lotus at a time, now had two Soul Rings and could summon four Cyan Lotuses to attack his enemies. He could also use Soul Skills through the Cyan Lotuses he'd split off, much like Tang San's second Soul Skill, Parasite.
With three Soul Rings, he could summon nine Cyan Lotuses; with four, sixteen; with five, twenty-five, and so on. At nine Soul Rings, he could summon as many as eighty-one Cyan Lotuses. It was undeniably powerful.
Not long after absorbing this Soul Ring, Lan Si's Supreme Universe Art and Five Thunders Heart Art both broke through to the third layer, giving his close-combat ability a tremendous boost.
As everyone knew, the power system in the world of The Degenerates ranged from the Small Star Realm to the Medium Star Realm, the Large Star Realm, the Small Heaven Realm, the Medium Heaven Realm, the Large Heaven Realm, the Small Gang Realm, the Medium Gang Realm, and the Large Gang Realm. Then there was Yuan Tiangang. (P.S. Just kidding—the last four are made up. The original never explained them, though Yuan Tiangang having three hundred years of power and representing a realm all by himself is true.)
The Small Heaven Realm and Medium Heaven Realm were a watershed. Reaching the Medium Heaven Realm brought a tremendous leap in strength, speed, and dynamic vision, as well as the ability to use something akin to Teleportation. At the Large Heaven Realm, strength and speed increased dramatically, Teleportation became almost effortless, and one could even project one's inner energy to attack enemies from a distance.
Yuan Tiangang went without saying. With the slightest movement, he Teleported so quickly that even his afterimages hadn't vanished. Otherwise, with the power of the Large Heaven Realm in his previous life, Lan Si wouldn't have been so utterly helpless against the Bad Commander.
The fifth layer of either the Five Thunders Heart Art or the Supreme Universe Art granted the power of the Large Heaven Realm; the fourth layer granted the Medium Heaven Realm.
In other words, if Lan Si advanced just one more layer, he would be able to gain a rudimentary command of Teleportation by using either art.
"This is never going to end." Hearing the sounds of fighting drawing closer, Lan Si impatiently set down the roast rabbit in his hands, sprang onto a tree branch, and darted toward the noise. After a few flashes, he was gone.
After a while, Lan Si finally reached the spot where Zhu Zhuyun and Zhu Zhuqing were fighting.
"My dear little sister, aren't you going to surrender? You have nowhere left to run." Zhu Zhuyun clasped her hands before her chest, a teasing smile curling her delicate, alluring lips.
"Don't even think about it." Zhu Zhuqing clutched the wound on her right shoulder with her left hand. Blood kept dripping from her limp right arm. Behind her was a pit filled with stakes, their tips sharpened to deadly points. Two wild beasts with blood-red eyes snarled viciously inside.
At that, Zhu Zhuyun showed no surprise. She kept her faint smile, then suddenly lowered her head, letting her bangs fall and shadow her eyes. "If that's how it is, then I have no choice but to ask you to die."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Zhu Zhuyun flashed forward and lunged at Zhu Zhuqing, her claw carving a streak of blood through the air.
It was Zhu Zhuqing's blood.
Zhu Zhuqing had been on guard and tried to dodge, but her injuries were too severe, and she was already weaker than Zhu Zhuyun. A swipe of the claw sent her flying backward, toward the pit.
As she watched Zhu Zhuqing fly away, a flicker of reluctance passed through the depths of Zhu Zhuyun's eyes. Then she thought of the Star Luo Clan Rules, and the reluctance was instantly replaced by coldness.
She turned to leave, but just as she did, something felt off. Then a clear male voice rang out behind her. "Hey, sis. I've been listening for a while, and she seems to be your own sister. What kind of deep-seated grudge could you have to go this far?"
Zhu Zhuyun froze and whipped around. Zhu Zhuqing, who should have fallen into the pit, was now in the arms of a black-haired young man wearing a mask. He held her in a bridal carry, standing at the edge of the pit.
"Oh, little brother, are you trying to play the hero and save the beauty?" Zhu Zhuyun's alluring face curled into a dangerous smile that could ensnare anyone. She moved her right hand behind her back. Her sharp cat claws gleamed with a chilling purple light in the moonlight as she slowly approached Lan Si.
Lan Si didn't answer. He gently set Zhu Zhuqing down and held her by the shoulder with his right hand. Behind his back, his Storage Soul Tool glimmered, and three Star-Advancing Spikes appeared in his left hand.
When Zhu Zhuyun came close, he flicked his wrist and sent the three Star-Advancing Spikes flying. Then he pulled another from his Storage Soul Tool and shot it out a beat later.
Zhu Zhuyun knew he had dared to show himself and rescue someone despite knowing she was a Soul Ancestor, so she was naturally on guard. She performed a backflip to dodge the first three Star-Advancing Spikes, then steadied herself and caught the fourth. A mocking, disdainful smile tugged at her lips. Glancing at the Star-Advancing Spike in her hand, she said with a playful smile, "Little brother, is this all you can do? A little iron trinket that looks like a quill won't save anyone. You'll only get yourself killed, too."
"Is that so?" Lan Si's lips curled faintly.
"What?" Zhu Zhuyun's pupils contracted. She instinctively looked at the Star-Advancing Spike in her hand. Its tip slowly opened, and a black steel thorn as fine as an embroidery needle shot out. Zhu Zhuyun couldn't dodge in time, and it scraped a long gash across her smooth, porcelain face.
A piercing pain spread across her face. Unable to hold back, Zhu Zhuyun screamed. Clutching her face, she writhed on the ground.
"Ah!"
"Miss, what happened to you?" ×2
Hearing Zhu Zhuyun scream, the only two remaining shadows hidden nearby rushed out. The violin Soul Master helped Zhu Zhuyun up, while the bow Martial Soul user formed a bow of Soul Power and stood in front of them.
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