"Whoosh—"
Just then.
A dull boom tore through the air, as if the atmosphere had been ripped apart.
The Heavy Profound Ruler in Su Chen's hand shot forward like a black arrow loosed from a bow, turning into a streak of dark light that was almost impossible to follow with the naked eye, heading straight for the Man Faced Demon Spider.
The whole thing happened far too suddenly.
Mu Xi and Ouyang Zixin weren't the only ones caught off guard. Even the Man Faced Demon Spider failed to react.
It simply raised one of its legs on instinct to block the attack.
The next moment.
"Squelch—"
The incredibly heavy Heavy Profound Ruler pierced straight through the Man Faced Demon Spider's twisted human face without the slightest resistance.
A terrifying force erupted.
"Boom!"
"Ah—"
The Man Faced Demon Spider managed only one shrill, almost human scream before it exploded.
Dark purple shell fragments and fluids, severed limbs, and bits of flesh scattered across the ground...
From the moment Su Chen hurled the ruler to the moment the Man Faced Demon Spider burst apart, barely a single breath had passed.
"D-dead..."
Mu Xi and Ouyang Zixin were both stunned.
He'd instantly killed a Hundred-Year Soul Beast—and not just any beast, but a terrifyingly troublesome Man Faced Demon Spider. Was he even human...?
They'd assumed Su Chen would have to fight the Man Faced Demon Spider for at least a few hundred exchanges. With the two of them backing him up, they should have been able to kill it with some difficulty.
They'd never imagined...
He'd kill it in one blow!
Su Chen walked over to the Man Faced Demon Spider's remains and pulled out his Heavy Profound Ruler.
The ruler was spotless. There wasn't a trace of blood on it, and it hadn't even shown any signs of corrosion.
That was the power of first-grade Thousand-Refined Deep Silver. It was incredibly durable.
A ruler to last a thousand generations; even when its wielder was gone, the ruler remained.
With the Man Faced Demon Spider truly dead, a faint yellow glow rose slowly from its ruined body and gathered in midair, forming a fist-sized orb of light.
It was the essence of Soul Ring energy that gathered when a Soul Beast was killed inside the Spirit Ascension Platform—the "spoils" every entrant dreamed of claiming.
"Quit staring. Absorb the Man Faced Demon Spider's spiritual energy first. I'll keep watch."
Su Chen's voice came from behind them, pulling Mu Xi and Ouyang Zixin out of their shock.
This wasn't him being modest. It was simply the safest choice.
He was the only one of the three who could fight.
If someone or a Soul Beast attacked while he was absorbing the energy, Mu Xi and Ouyang Zixin wouldn't stand a chance.
If Su Chen wanted to absorb it, he'd first have to "clear the map," eliminate every threat, and only then slowly loot the spoils and enjoy his rewards.
"Okay!"
Mu Xi took a deep breath, forced down her turbulent emotions, and nodded firmly.
She was straightforward by nature and didn't put on airs. She understood that Su Chen's plan made the most sense.
When she looked at Su Chen, there was less of her usual haughtiness and more admiration.
She hadn't expected Su Chen to be not only gifted at forging, but also so terrifyingly strong—far beyond anything she'd imagined.
Aside from his usual lack of seriousness, she couldn't find a single flaw in him.
Who wouldn't like a junior disciple like him?
"Then thank you, junior~"
Ouyang Zixin's voice softened, and her gaze toward Su Chen was tender as water.
The two of them wasted no time. They sat down cross-legged, regulated their breathing, circulated their Soul Power, and began absorbing the energy.
During the Riot Period Spirit Ascension Platform, absorbing the spoils took a hundred seconds. That was an extremely dangerous stretch of time, so someone had to guard them.
The risk was great, but so were the rewards. During this period, people could form teams and even seize other people's spoils.
The stronger the team, the greater the benefits.
As for weak teams, they could only be kicked aside and crushed, left with nothing.
"Well, aren't you lucky? I didn't expect you to actually kill a Man Faced Demon Spider."
Just then, a mocking voice came from ahead, with a hint of surprise in it.
The next moment, seven figures appeared in front of Su Chen.
Every one of them had a powerful aura. Six had reached the three-ring level, while a younger boy had only one ring.
Clearly, it was a full team escorting their young master to soak up some experience.
They'd heard a commotion over here long ago, but hadn't expected someone to be fighting a Man Faced Demon Spider.
And they'd actually killed it.
Even their nearly full team of three-ring Soul Masters would have to handle a Hundred-Year Man Faced Demon Spider carefully. Killing it wouldn't be easy.
But since the others had killed it, they must have paid a heavy price.
Before the Man Faced Demon Spider's spiritual energy could be absorbed, they naturally planned to swoop in and steal it.
"Oh no!"
"Someone's here—and it's a full team!"
Ouyang Zixin and Mu Xi grew anxious and instinctively wanted to stop absorbing the energy.
After all, Su Chen had caught the Man Faced Demon Spider off guard, killing it before it could react.
But against a full team of Soul Masters, the other side could work together. Su Chen might be able to catch one person off guard and kill them in a single blow.
But as soon as the rest had time to react, they'd be finished.
Su Chen had terrifying strength, but his combat ability was limited. In reality, he was still just a One-Ring Soul Master.
Ignoring the little boy, the other side had six people with eighteen Soul Rings between them. How could they fight that?
"Don't worry. Leave them to me."
Su Chen waved a hand, telling Mu Xi and Ouyang Zixin to stay calm.
"Haha, kid, you've got a lot of nerve—what?! He disappeared!"
The other side had just started mocking Su Chen for overestimating himself when they realized he'd vanished into thin air.
Before they could react, the sound of something cutting through the air reached their ears.
"Boom—"
The Heavy Profound Ruler broke the sound barrier as it swept past them.
"Thud, thud—"
It struck two people in the head, like a sledgehammer smashing watermelons, blowing both their heads apart on the spot.
The others had only just begun to look horrified when Su Chen teleported again and swept the ruler across them.
"Thud, thud, thud, thud—"
Four Soul Masters vanished in an instant.
Again, it had taken only a single breath to wipe out the entire team.
No, one was left.
He was a boy about Mu Xi's age.
He had blue hair and blue eyes, a fair, clean-cut face, and an air of icy arrogance. Most likely, he was an ice-attribute Soul Master.
But after watching the older men who'd brought him along get killed in an instant, the boy's originally indifferent gaze slowly turned blank.
Then sheer terror filled his eyes...
The boy tried to activate the SOS Device in his hand, but found he couldn't control his arm at all.
Clearly, Su Chen had activated his "Time Stop" ability.
The boy's entire hand, SOS Device included, was frozen in place. He couldn't move a muscle.
"Heh. Little buddy, which family are you from? What's your name?" Su Chen asked in a faintly eerie voice. Silver light glimmered in his left eye, purple light in his right, making him seem especially uncanny.
Although Su Chen was younger than the boy, he was much taller, and his presence was overwhelmingly intimidating.
"I... I'm Xu Xiaoyu... I'm from the Xu Family. You... you can't kill me..."
The boy's legs trembled, despair filling his eyes. Liquid streamed down his legs.
He'd clearly wet himself.
"Xu Xiaoyu?"
Su Chen raised an eyebrow, remembering the name.
The Xu Family was one of Eastsea City's top families, so Su Chen naturally knew who they were. Xu Xiaoyu was a genius of the current generation.
And Su Chen also remembered...
This guy was the Ice Staff Guy who liked showing off and whom Tang Wulin would meet a few years later in the original story.
He was Xu Xiaoyan's older brother, too.
"Bang—"
At that thought, Su Chen casually crushed the boy's head.
He'd leave him with a psychological shadow now, just in case the guy suddenly showed up in front of him in the future and started showing off.
As for the Xu Family taking revenge...
A prestigious family like theirs wouldn't seek revenge over something this trivial. They were respectable people, and besides, they weren't villains. They wouldn't do something so brainless.
Before you continue