I Asked For Your Opinion, Not Your Criticism

Su Ming roared frantically in his heart.

I do not know how much time passed, but following a soul-shaking boom that only Su Ming could hear, the soul bone completely transformed into a stream of light and merged into his skull.

Swish!

Su Ming snapped his eyes open.

Feeling the mental power that had increased several times over, the corners of Su Ming's lips curled upward slightly.

Ten-thousand-year head soul bone, fusion successful!

Su Ming closed his eyes, sensing the information feedback regarding that skill in his mind, a cold, icy glint flashing in the depths of his eyes:

Wisdom Skull skill, Infinite Nightmare!

The skill effect is a mental rule-based control technique that forcibly distorts cognition.

Once a target is locked, it can instantly transform one's own extreme evil thoughts into formless, intangible mental toxins, bypassing most of the opponent's mental defenses to parasitize directly into the depths of their sea of consciousness.

The terrifying aspect is that the parasitized individual will instantly fall into the illusion of the Infinite Nightmare.

All negative emotions in their heart—fear, jealousy, greed, and the like—will be infinitely magnified, causing them to lose their combat effectiveness entirely.

Su Ming can not only destroy the opponent's sea of consciousness by detonating the mental toxins, causing fatal brain death, but he can even forcibly control the opponent's body to turn against their own side, just like manipulating a puppet, for a short period!

"Infinite Nightmare, is it..."

Su Ming gave a cold smile and stepped out of the secret chamber.

The fourth soul skill forcibly abolishes soul rings, while the soul bone skill forcibly dominates the mind and body.

Today, he has taken the concept of dimensional reduction strikes to the extreme.

Elite Tournament of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academies... are you ready to welcome the judgment of Martial Soul Hall?

Su Ming walked out of the secret chamber.

Upon arriving outside, he found Hu Liena waiting anxiously.

She had changed into a simple, elegant white long dress, and her delicate face was lightly made up, shedding some of the Saintess's majesty and gaining a bit of the unique charm of a young girl.

"Something up?" Su Ming remained in his usual cold, expressionless state.

"Didn't I tell you I'd come find you later? Why did you go into seclusion the moment you got back? Come on, I'm taking you somewhere, follow me!"

Hu Liena didn't wait for an answer; she grabbed Su Ming's hand and led him toward a mountain behind Martial Soul City.

Ten minutes later, after passing through a dense purple bamboo forest, the view before them suddenly opened up.

It was a flat, protruding corner hidden atop a cliff.

Standing here and looking out, the surroundings were covered in nameless star-grass emitting a faint fluorescent glow, resembling a sea of stars that had fallen into the mortal realm.

The evening breeze blew, causing the grass to roll in waves and carrying with it bursts of refreshing, heart-soothing fragrance.

Looking down from this vantage point, the entire majestic Martial Soul City resembled a giant night-luminescent pearl, radiating a dreamlike glow in the night.

Standing amidst this beautiful scenery, even a soul master who usually disdained worldly affairs would feel relaxed and refreshed, their tightly wound spirit instantly loosening.

"How is it? Pretty, right?" Hu Liena turned her head, her beautiful eyes shining as she looked at Su Ming.

A rare flash of surprise crossed the depths of Su Ming's eyes.

He had stayed in Martial Soul Hall for so long, yet he never knew that such a beautiful place, a veritable paradise, was hidden deep in the back mountains of the Pope Palace.

"You didn't know about this before, did you?"

Hu Liena lifted her chin with a hint of pride. "I discovered this by accident when I was wandering around alone because the pressure of cultivation was too much and I was in a bad mood. You're the second person to ever come here, besides me."

Su Ming stood in place for a moment, his gaze shifting away from the Fluorescent Grass Sea.

He turned to look at Hu Liena and uttered a remark that completely ruined the mood: "So, you dragged me out in the middle of the night just to show me this?"

Hearing this unromantic response, Hu Liena's lips twitched slightly, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes at him in annoyance.

"What a dense block of wood!"

She huffed, walked over to the grass, and sat down cross-legged, casually taking a bamboo basket from her Soul Tool.

Lifting the gauze covering, she revealed several delicate pastries neatly arranged inside. Although their shapes were slightly crooked, they still emitted a faint, sweet fragrance.

"Try it, I made them myself." Hu Liena picked up a piece and held it out to Su Ming, her eyes filled with a subtle, hidden nervousness and anticipation.

Su Ming looked at the pastry, then at Hu Liena, reached out to take it, tossed it into his mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed.

"How does it taste?" Hu Liena asked hurriedly.

Su Ming was silent for a second before giving an objective evaluation: "Average. A bit too much sugar, the texture is a bit rough, the appearance is a bit ugly, and the scent is a bit cloying..."

"Stop! Cut it out!"

Hu Liena's beautiful eyes widened instantly, and she quickly barked a command!

"I asked you to evaluate it, not to find faults."

Hu Liena rolled her eyes at him fiercely, looking somewhat frantic. "Su Ming! Can't you say something that makes a girl happy?"

Su Ming kept his usual indifferent expression and shrugged. "I can't say it. I'm just telling the truth."

"If you can't say it, then you need to learn even more!"

Hu Liena poked his arm, feeling a sense of exasperation, and said huffily, "You're only twelve and already so stiff. If you don't learn to be a bit more smooth-tongued, no girl will ever like you when you grow up!"

"Doesn't matter. I don't need that."

Su Ming replied flatly, then brushed the dust off his clothes and stood up. "The scenery has been seen, the food has been eaten. Anything else? I'm going back to meditate."

With that, he turned around and prepared to head back.

"Hey, wait!"

Seeing that Su Ming was truly about to leave, Hu Liena grew anxious.

She hurriedly jumped up from the grass and grabbed Su Ming's hand.

The young girl's palm was soft and warm, trembling ever so slightly, and her beautiful eyes were filled with pleading. "Don't go. Stay with me a little longer, just a little while, okay?"

Looking at Hu Liena's near-coquettish expression and feeling that lingering warmth in his palm that he couldn't shake off, Su Ming sighed helplessly.

In the end, he didn't force his hand away and sat back down on the grass.

"Heehee, I knew you were the best to me." Hu Liena beamed, her mood shifting faster than turning a page.

The two sat side by side, watching the scenery.

Neither spoke, and the atmosphere was quiet and just right.

After a while, the night deepened, and a bright, full moon slowly rose from behind the mountains.

The massive silver moon seemed within reach, and its pale moonlight draped over the entire Fluorescent Grass Sea like a light veil, making the surrounding scenery appear even more dreamlike.

Countless specks of fluorescence danced around them like fireflies; the scene was breathtakingly beautiful.

Hu Liena looked at the full moon, then slowly clasped her hands together and closed her eyes, her expression becoming incredibly devout.

She lowered her head slightly and whispered in a voice only she could hear:

"I hope Mom and Dad are happy up in heaven... I also hope that in the new year, I can successfully break through, and... that the people around me will all be safe and sound..."