The Genesis Book's First Soul Ring (2)

The surging, endless magma emitted a terrifying and daunting heat wave.

In Li Zishuo's eyes, the entire aura surrounding Li Changsheng had undergone a heaven-shaking transformation.

After more than ten days of contact, he viewed Li Changsheng as a wonderful big brother who far surpassed his peers. Although he was usually silent, those sharp, intelligent eyes of his were always observing his surroundings, and he possessed a profound sense of mystery.

The marvelous meditation techniques he had imparted, along with those strange footwork, eye techniques, and hand techniques.

These things left Li Zishuo shocked beyond measure. Although he had not used them in practice, he knew clearly after hearing the explanations that what Li Changsheng taught him was absolutely no ordinary item.

At this moment.

Li Changsheng's entire presence shifted once more.

A painting of flames that blotted out the sky covered the entire world. Endless fire erupted from the ground and descended from the heavens like falling meteors, smashing into the Hard-Bone Wolf Pack trapped by the magma.

The Hard-Bone Wolf Pack was engulfed in flames and struck by meteor-like fireballs, yet they did not descend into chaos. Instead, led by the Hard-Bone Wolf King, they used their own bodies to ram through the fireballs and continued to charge toward Li Changsheng.

The surrounding world was a sea of fire; the original forest had long since vanished.

The dilapidated world of flames shook violently.

Seeing this scene.

Li Changsheng drew a hand across his brow.

In an instant.

The Night-Startling Divine Spear first shattered the dimensional wall with its tip, followed by its slender body, which emerged accompanied by surging black energy and violent blood-red light.

Li Changsheng grasped it firmly.

He looked back at Li Zishuo, who was sitting paralyzed on the ground, completely dumbfounded.

He smiled slightly and pointed the Night-Startling Spear vaguely at the wolf pack. "Watch closely."

Li Zishuo froze. At first, he was confused, but when he saw the purple glow in Li Changsheng's eyes growing increasingly intense while his legs gradually blurred, he understood.

Li Changsheng was guiding him—guiding him in the practice and application of those strange footwork and magical eye techniques he had once taught him.

Li Zishuo's mouth hung open as he stared at Li Changsheng, who drifted away, stepping across the surging sea of fire like a crushing tsunami as he bore down directly upon the Hard-Bone Wolf Pack.

From start to finish, he had not seen Li Changsheng's spirit rings, nor had he even clearly seen his spirit.

This was because the Immortal Execution Painting spirit would transform into a world of its own the moment a spirit skill was released.

Each spirit skill could manifest a different world.

Take the current world of flames, for example.

As Li Changsheng improved, the methods of attack within this domain would also increase.

Just like now, the meteor fireballs raining down from the sky were vast and mighty, using power that was nearly materialized to smash ten-year-level Hard-Bone Wolves to death.

It was only the magma on the ground that, due to Li Changsheng's low spirit power, could only serve to restrict and scorch; if Li Changsheng were more powerful, these Hard-Bone Wolves would have turned into spirit rings the moment they stepped inside.

Li Changsheng gripped the Night-Startling Spear, mastered the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and stepped through the fiery tsunami in mid-air.

The magma, reaching toward the heavens, formed a row of light curtains as Li Changsheng's stern purple eyes locked onto the leading Wolf King.

The century-old Hard-Bone Wolf King, at four hundred and nineteen years, had almost no physical weaknesses compared to ordinary wolves. The so-called "copper head, iron bones, and tofu waist" had been improved upon in the Hard-Bone Wolf; its entire body was as hard as refined iron.

But at this moment, the fur on their bodies had been burned away, leaving them looking like hairless cats as they continued to sprint, desperate to escape the sea of fire beneath their feet.

They could not escape.

The range of Li Changsheng's first spirit skill, Three Thousand Sumeru Flames, was far too vast.

Logically, with only fifteen levels of spirit power, he should not have been able to release such an attack. However, because of the spirit ring rewarded by the system, the skill granted by this ring consumed very, very little energy, as if this scorching world of flames were meant to exist within the ring itself.

This was the Immortal Execution Painting spirit.

The immortal enters the painting, returning with head held high.

Stepping on the sea of fire, Li Changsheng felt as if he had found the sensation the God of Wisdom once had when towering over the Black Dragon. Unable to help himself, he raised the Night-Startling Divine Spear.

Under the reflection of the flames, the pitch-black Night-Startling Spear erupted!

BOOM!

Li Changsheng tapped his toes lightly, leading with the Night-Startling Spear held before him, and leaped into the air. He took advantage of the momentum to step onto a falling fiery meteor, suppressing it toward the ground with extreme speed.

The Hard-Bone Wolf King finally stopped. Its feet were scorched pitch-black, and flowing magma crawled bit by bit over its limbs. At this moment, it looked back at the few remaining wolves in its pack and the white spirit rings rising one by one along the path through the sea of fire.

It raised its head, tilted it back, and let out a mournful howl.

The wolf pack, already scorched to the point of exhaustion, also raised their heads at this moment and let out weak cries.

These cries seemed to pierce through the world of flames, echoing with the bright moon hanging in the sky outside.

A faint, massive, ghostly wolf head, seemingly filled with a sorrowful yellow hue, formed above the pack. This colossal wolf head had only one eye, and that eye was constantly changing, much like the waxing and waning of the moon—at one moment a crescent willow leaf, at the next a full-moon scimitar.

With the Hard-Bone Wolf King at the lead and the remaining pack as support, white and yellow spirit power began to converge toward the massive ghostly wolf head, causing it to become increasingly solid.

Wolf King Howls at the Moon!

This was likely a suicide attack mastered by the Hard-Bone Wolf King, fueled by its own life force and the spirit power of the rest of the pack.

The massive wolf head had already solidified.

The single, ever-changing moon eye erupted with a purple glow, firing a linear beam like a laser that pierced straight through Li Changsheng.

Li Changsheng dismissed it with disdain; no matter how it wailed, it would bleed out on the spot today.

He began to brandish the Night-Startling Divine Spear.

The soul power within his body drained rapidly.

Ten percent.

Twenty percent.

Fifty percent!

Sixty percent!

Only when Li Changsheng's face turned somewhat pale did he finally stop.

He ceased his movements, raised his hand, and hurled the Night-Startling Spear with all his might.

As the thrown Night-Startling Spear traveled the remaining distance, it began to draw in the power of the surrounding flames.

Like a dragon drawing water, a massive volume of magma surged toward the spear.

But as the crimson magma drew near, it was instantly eroded by the spear's Night Domain, turning into black magma.

Screech!

The body of the Night-Startling Spear suddenly blurred.

Enveloped by the pitch-black magma, it transformed into a Black Flame Phoenix, head held high and crying out.

The phoenix flapped its wings, carrying the magma of the entire world with it, trampling over sesame-sized fire meteors, using its two pitch-black talons as a vanguard.

It opened its beak, from which black flames flowed incessantly, and it actually swallowed the terrifying, destructive purple light whole.

Then, with its massive talons, it unleashed a brutal tearing force, directly clawing apart the ever-changing moon within the giant wolf's eye!

BOOM!

The Black Flame Phoenix's assault did not cease.

As the wolf head vanished, its massive wings whipped up tornadoes of black fire, annihilating the remaining Hard-Bone Wolves and turning them into soul rings.

The Night-Startling Spear then struck the magma with a loud thud.

The next moment, the entire soul skill world shook violently; it seemed unable to withstand the immense power unleashed by the spear, and the world promptly dissipated.

Pfft...

The moment he appeared back in the forest, Li Changsheng spat out a mouthful of blood.

He was injured.

The cause was the Night-Startling Spear piercing through his soul skill world upon landing, which triggered a sudden backlash.

Had this not been a reward soul ring, it likely would have shattered entirely.

Li Changsheng looked at the Night-Startling Spear lying on the ground, his wariness deepening.

When the Night-Startling Spear was in his hands, the power it unleashed was actually not that great; he felt more like a restraint upon it.

But the moment it left his hand, its inherent brutality was laid bare.

He walked over and retrieved the spear.

Wiping a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth, he turned to look at the completely stunned Li Zishuo and smiled faintly.

He then pointed to the soul ring formed by the Hard-Bone Wolf King and said, "This soul ring isn't very suitable for you, but it matches my martial soul, so I'll be absorbing it first."

Li Zishuo's mouth hung open, and he nodded repeatedly, unable to say a word.

It was simply too shocking.

He silently retracted the chessboard that had appeared in his palm.

He had intended to help Li Changsheng, but the battle had ended too quickly; there was no need for him to intervene.

As for the soul ring, he understood; based on what Li Changsheng had told him along the way, his Exquisite Chessboard martial soul was suited for soul rings from beasts like rhinoceroses or elephants that provided shockwaves or powerful area-of-effect attacks. The Hard-Bone Wolf King was more of a single-target attacker and did not fit him.

Li Changsheng, however, was different. According to the God of Wisdom, his Genesis Book martial soul was not limited by the age of the soul ring; its power was primarily determined by how much damage Li Changsheng himself could withstand from the book.

It could be said that the stronger Li Changsheng's endurance, the greater his power.

This was true not only for his two martial souls but for the Night-Startling Spear as well.

Li Changsheng drew the soul ring toward him and released his Genesis Book martial soul.

As the pages rustled, the light in Li Changsheng's eyes grew increasingly brilliant.

He was finally about to witness the true face of the Genesis Book martial soul.

He was truly excited.

He sat cross-legged immediately, instructed Li Zishuo to keep watch, and began to absorb the soul ring.

Hunting a soul beast and absorbing its soul ring were two different things; the ring carried the resentment of the beast before its death. You killed it, yet you wanted to obtain its power? Who would be willing? Thus, absorbing a soul ring bestowed by a beast was always somewhat difficult.

The soul rings rewarded by the system were different; they held no resentment, feeling instead like a child throwing itself into its mother's embrace.

As Li Changsheng absorbed the soul ring, Li Zishuo glanced at the burnt-out campfire. He did not relight it, choosing instead to draw his short sword and manifest his Exquisite Chessboard martial soul, his nerves pulled taut.

At the same time, he observed how Li Changsheng went about the absorption process, hoping to prepare himself for when he would eventually have to do the same.

Just as dawn approached, a sharp, piercing shriek erupted from the distant forest, accompanied by the sound of crashing trees.

It seemed as though some massive soul beast was charging toward them from afar.

Li Zishuo glanced at Li Changsheng, who remained seated cross-legged, still in the midst of absorbing the soul ring. Subconsciously, he tightened his grip on his short sword and the Exquisite Chessboard martial soul in his other hand, murmuring to himself:

"I must protect Big Brother! I must! Come on, Li Zishuo!"