"Rumble~~~"
A rumbling suddenly rang out from the mountain forest behind them. The earth began to tremble, and the trees all around toppled.
Soon, after getting a clear look at who had arrived, Li Zishuo's already tense expression grew even grimmer. The hand gripping his short sword trembled uncontrollably.
A Soul Beast!
Li Zishuo saw a Soul Beast charging toward them with an air of disdain for all beneath heaven. It was a colossal elephant, ten meters from head to tail, with stark white, razor-sharp tusks that jutted out nearly two meters. It uprooted a tree with its trunk and curled it up.
Its pillar-like legs stamped into the ground, leaving a crater with every step.
A rich yellow Soul Power surged from it.
Without a doubt, this was a Hundred-Year Soul Beast of the elephant variety, just right for Li Zishuo.
But the situation was delicate.
Li Changsheng was sitting cross-legged on the ground, Soul Power constantly surging throughout his body. The Soul Ring absorption had probably already finished, and now he needed time to adapt and adjust.
Li Zishuo had no time to think. The giant elephant was already charging toward them.
And it was heading straight for Li Changsheng.
For some reason, the giant elephant ran incredibly fast. It used its enormous trunk as a weapon, sweeping aside every obstacle in its path.
Run?
Or protect Li Changsheng?
Li Zishuo stood where he was, barely thinking at all. His actions gave the answer.
Though he wasn't very familiar with it, he was fast. In his panic, he somehow managed to use a few of the movements of Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.
At the same time, Soul Power rose from his body. With the Mysterious Heaven Skill driving it, it ebbed and flowed like the tide, endlessly replenishing itself.
His Soul Power was currently at the peak of the Soul Scholar rank: level ten.
Without hesitation, he released his Martial Soul.
He raised his right hand. A crystal-clear chessboard, gleaming with the gentle luster of polished jade, instantly unfurled. Starting from where Li Zishuo was running, it spread toward Li Changsheng.
It spread incredibly fast.
The chessboard unfurled to a tremendous size, about twenty meters across.
A translucent emerald-green light enveloped the area. The board had no pieces on it, yet the instant it came crashing down, the charging giant elephant stumbled, nearly dropping to its knees. Its heavy body, however, remained surprisingly steady.
It roared and continued its charge.
But after only a few steps, a pitch-black line sent it flying back.
It seemed to be one of the intersecting lines on the chessboard.
That was right. Though the Exquisite Chessboard had no pieces on it yet, its crisscrossing lines clearly possessed an unexpectedly powerful ability to restrain its opponent.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
The giant elephant was still more than ten meters away from Li Changsheng.
Dust swirled and sand flew. Li Changsheng, sitting cross-legged on the ground, furrowed his brows. But after sensing an aura, his expression gradually relaxed.
Following the unfamiliar movements of Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Li Zishuo took several illusory steps and went straight beneath the giant elephant.
Under the Exquisite Chessboard's strange control, the giant elephant didn't stop after its first failed charge. It kept charging.
Crack!
This time, the black line blocking its path couldn't withstand the impact and snapped.
Li Zishuo's figure faltered too. Blood spilled from his thin lips, but he gritted his teeth, raised his short sword, and sprang forward. Then, within the Exquisite Chessboard, he slid nimbly across the ground and straight beneath the giant elephant's belly. He quickly judged where it was most vulnerable. He spotted a certain place and realized it seemed to be a male elephant. He reacted in a flash, raising his short sword...
The giant elephant happened to want to back up a couple of steps and gather strength for its next charge against the black line blocking its way.
One massive leg scraped right past Li Zishuo's waist.
In that instant,
A roar that nearly shook the heavens rang out.
The giant elephant's pillar-like legs stomped wildly. A great spray of blood burst from the ground, splattering all over Li Zishuo.
Li Zishuo acted decisively. He tossed his short sword toward the spot he was about to cut across, then picked up a Fire Poker from the ground and plunged it straight into the wound he had just made.
Another shrill scream rang out.
Li Zishuo narrowed his eyes, then swiftly slid out from beneath the giant elephant across the Exquisite Chessboard.
At that moment, the giant elephant was completely enraged.
It stopped charging and staggered back a few steps, wailing. Its enormous, dark eyes locked onto Li Zishuo, who had just picked up his short sword.
It hadn't noticed where Li Zishuo was.
It had only wanted to run.
But the explosive pain throughout its body made it forget everything.
A blood-red sheen welled up in its dark eyes.
It swung its trunk, hurling a massive tree straight at Li Zishuo.
Li Zishuo sensed it coming beforehand.
Though he hadn't fully mastered the Purple Demon Eye, even a little practice greatly improved his vision.
He dodged with the movement.
At the same time, he controlled the Exquisite Chessboard. Its crisscrossing lines shifted position until one lay directly beneath the giant elephant's hind legs.
The giant elephant still didn't notice.
As it turned, the Exquisite Chessboard's lines snapped into place like a trap, tripping both of its hind legs.
Thud~~~
The Fire Poker lodged in its wound sank all the way in.
The giant elephant should, by all rights, have possessed the formidable defenses of a Hundred-Year Soul Beast. But Li Zishuo was simply too brilliant. He had found its weakest spot almost instantly and subjected it to one attack after another.
The giant elephant seemed about to be beaten to death.
It tried to push itself up with all four legs, but Li Zishuo wasn't about to let it get its way.
He turned the Exquisite Chessboard once more, crossing its intersecting lines to restrain the elephant. Then he immediately raised his short sword. Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track gave his legs tremendous strength, and he leapt nearly three meters into the air. With his sword raised over his head, he thrust it fiercely toward the giant elephant's eye.
He had leapt so high that even if the giant elephant noticed him, it couldn't strike back with its trunk. Besides, all its attention was on figuring out how to stand up.
Just as Li Zishuo was about to stab the sword into the giant elephant's eye and kill it,
Whoosh~~~
An arrow suddenly shot through the air and struck the short sword in Li Zishuo's hand.
Clatter.
The tremendous force nearly dislocated Li Zishuo's arm, and his short sword was sent flying.
Li Zishuo rolled as he landed, then turned around, fury flashing in his eyes.
Who was it?
At that very moment, five children appeared on the path the giant elephant had charged down.
One of the children was clearly their leader. A yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring floated around him, and in his hands was a crystal bow that looked like a Martial Soul. Behind him was another child who resembled a little tiger, with a large black character, "Wang," painted on his forehead. It stood out all the more against his white fur.
A group of five?
And two of them had already obtained Soul Rings?
Li Zishuo was clever too. Seeing this, he seemed to have figured it out.
"Brother Wang, this guy's pretty impressive. He almost killed that Giant Strength Elephant," one child said to the leader.
The boy surnamed Wang gripped the crystal bow in his hands and nodded. "So they wanted to use us to beat the Giant Strength Elephant half to death. I didn't expect him to nearly kill it in one blow. Good thing I've got my bow. This Soul Ring is guaranteed to be yours."
After saying that, he looked at Li Zishuo, then glanced at Li Changsheng behind him, who was still absorbing his Soul Ring. As if to intimidate them, he raised the bow in his hand, Soul Power surging around him. "You can leave now. Otherwise, I don't mind teaching you a lesson. This Giant Strength Elephant belongs to us."
Hearing them, the anger on Li Zishuo's face grew. So this had all been their doing. His father had been right: none of the kids outside were any good, except for his big brother!
His Martial Soul was still released.
But when he looked at the bow in the leader's hands, his anger vanished.
If they were all close-combat Soul Masters, he might not have been afraid of them. But against a bow Martial Soul, his Exquisite Chessboard, which hadn't yet gained a Soul Ring, couldn't possibly beat them.
Still, fortunately, they didn't seem intent on attacking them.
Li Zishuo gritted his teeth and turned to walk straight over to Li Changsheng.
"My big brother's still absorbing his Soul Ring. Do whatever you want," he called out, trying not to provoke them.
Seeing how sensible Li Zishuo was, the leader smiled faintly and lowered his bow.
Good. Better to know your place, or I'll beat you to a pulp!
"Good. Fourth, go ahead." He glanced at the sturdy, broad-shouldered child beside him.
"Sure thing, Brother Wang." The child beside him drew a dagger and approached the Giant Strength Elephant step by step.
The Giant Strength Elephant was badly hurt—terribly so. It still hadn't managed to stand, its whole body listless. Even its raised trunk had gone stiff and crashed to the ground.
Just as the child reached the Giant Strength Elephant, a voice rang out from behind them.
"You little punks dare steal my kill? Your ancestors haven't even been born yet! You worthless trash, how dare you?"
Li Zishuo's expression changed. The anger that had faded returned, and a smile slowly spread across his face.
Soul Power suddenly howled through the air, rumbling without end.
At the same time, an extremely loud rustling filled the air, like pages flipping through a book.
All five children's faces stiffened when they heard the voice.
The child closest to the Giant Strength Elephant felt the surging Soul Power first. Without hesitation, he lunged forward, trying to kill the beast on the spot so that the Soul Ring would definitely be his.
But the next moment,
The wind suddenly rose.
Yes, a vortex formed in the air with Li Changsheng at its center, and slicing gales began to howl.
Li Changsheng finally stood up.
He held a book in his hands. A yellow Soul Ring floated around him, and behind him appeared the phantom of an Iron Bone Wolf King, beaten black and blue.
The Genesis Book in his hands flipped open to a page. Li Changsheng smiled with refined elegance, a boundless killing intent in his eyes. Looking at the child approaching the Giant Strength Elephant, he simply uttered a single word:
"Wind."
At once, his First Soul Ring lit up. Soul Power surged, guided by the Genesis Book, and stirred up a growing gale. The wind blew faster and faster, then became a tempest, a tornado, a raging storm that swept the child up and sent him flying, hurling him at the feet of the leader. He crashed to the ground, coughing up blood.
Even the Giant Strength Elephant was swept into the air by a tornado.
Li Changsheng smiled kindly and patted Li Zishuo on the shoulder. "Well done."
Li Zishuo felt his eyes growing hot. The next moment, fat tears streamed from his eyes, pattering onto the ground.
That was right. He felt wronged—deeply wronged.
He'd finally managed to protect his big brother, and had almost killed a Giant Strength Elephant too, only for the beast to be stolen right as he was about to finish it off. And from beginning to end, it had all been the other side's scheme.
If he hadn't needed to protect his big brother, he would have made them pay. He would have shown those five rotten kids that Li Zishuo wasn't someone to mess with.
Seeing this, Li Changsheng first froze, then felt his own anger rising.
He hadn't been angry in a long time.
Having lived for ten thousand years, he could hardly remember what anger felt like anymore. It wasn't that he was completely unmoved by anything; he still felt ordinary happiness. But he hadn't felt anger in ages.
Yet, for some reason,
it came to him today.
And it was a fierce, burning anger.
The smile on his face gradually disappeared. His young face turned cold.
The youth surnamed Wang across from him was just about to speak.
He felt the tremendous pressure Li Changsheng was giving off and immediately sensed trouble. Even at six years old, he knew he had probably provoked someone he shouldn't have.
Li Changsheng, of course, wasn't about to give them the chance or the right to speak.
Because...
They were dead.
He gently turned a page. The Genesis Book immediately opened beneath his hand. Without a second thought, he spoke a single word:
"Bow."
In an instant, a gigantic bow, wreathed in flames and resembling the Sun-Shooting Divine Bow, appeared in the air.
The enormous bow took shape and landed in Li Changsheng's hands. He didn't aim it at anyone, only plucked the bowstring.
An invisible fire suddenly gathered in the air, forming a long arrow. Then it shot out.
Whoosh.
"Ah!"
The moment the arrow's whistle sounded, the scream of the youth surnamed Wang rang out.
A flaming arrow had shot straight into his right arm at the shoulder, setting his arm ablaze.
But the flames didn't burn for long before they went out. Still, his arm was probably ruined.
Li Changsheng froze. He had just been about to make an awkward face when Li Zishuo suddenly wiped away his tears, grabbed his arm, and shouted, "Big brother, you can't kill people! If you do, you'll die too!"
Li Changsheng froze. It wasn't that he was afraid of killing people. He only wanted to say...
He'd actually missed.
He looked at Li Zishuo and showed a rare smile. "Oh. We can't kill people, huh? Then what do you think we should do?"
Li Zishuo froze and shook his head, then glanced at the five children.
The youth surnamed Wang had actually fainted. He was nothing like the domineering boy from before.
"Let them go."
Li Changsheng froze, then asked with a smile, "Didn't they bully you? And weren't they trying to kill us?"
Li Zishuo shook his head. "No, it's different. We can't kill them just because we got carried away for a moment. We'd die too. Big brother, did you really forget about that recording orb?"
Li Changsheng took out the Soul Tool used for recording and said with a smile, "It wouldn't matter if we killed them. We could destroy all their recording orbs, then destroy ours too. We'd lose some money, but they'd lose their lives. Right?"
In the end, after Li Zishuo talked him down, Li Changsheng didn't kill them...
At least, not on the surface.
Li Changsheng used the Genesis Book to place a Soul Skill called "Curse" on them.
He cursed them!
Li Changsheng seemed refined and elegant on the surface. He didn't act like an elder, nor did he seem like someone who had lived for ten thousand years. But his heart was a little rotten, and he always paid back every slight...
Before you continue