The Genesis Book's First Soul Skill (3)

"Boom!"

A thunderous roar suddenly erupted from the forest behind, causing the earth to tremble and the surrounding trees to collapse.

Li Zishuo's tense expression turned increasingly grim as he caught sight of the intruder, his hand trembling as he gripped his short sword.

A soul beast!

Li Zishuo saw the soul beast charging toward them with an aura of absolute dominance. It was a giant elephant, ten meters in total length, with sharp, stark-white tusks nearly two meters long. It uprooted a large tree with its trunk, brandishing it like a weapon.

Its legs, thick as pillars, struck the ground, leaving a crater with every step.

Dense yellow soul power surged from its body.

Without a doubt, this was a century-level elephant-type soul beast—a perfect match for Li Zishuo.

However, the situation was delicate.

Li Changsheng sat cross-legged on the ground, his soul power fluctuating rhythmically. He had likely finished absorbing his soul ring and was now in the process of adaptation and regulation, which would still require some time.

Li Zishuo had no time to think; the giant elephant was already charging toward them.

Furthermore, its trajectory was aimed directly at Li Changsheng.

For some reason, the giant elephant moved with incredible speed, using its massive trunk to sweep away any obstacles in its path.

Run?

Or protect Li Changsheng?

Li Zishuo stood his ground. Without a moment of hesitation, he answered with his actions.

He executed the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track—a technique he was not yet familiar with, yet he managed to manifest a rough outline of it in his desperation.

At the same time, a trace of soul power rose within him. Driven by the Mysterious Heaven Skill, it ebbed and flowed like the tide, endless and inexhaustible.

His current soul power was at the peak of the Soul Scholar rank, level ten.

He immediately released his martial soul.

He raised his right hand, and a crystal-clear chessboard, glowing with the clean, warm hue of jade, instantly unfolded. Starting from where Li Zishuo stood, it spread out toward Li Changsheng.

It expanded with startling speed.

The chessboard was vast, covering an area of about twenty meters.

Bathed in a crystalline emerald light, the board was devoid of pieces, yet the moment it slammed down, the charging giant elephant stumbled, nearly dropping to its knees. However, its heavy frame remained surprisingly stable.

It let out a roar and continued its charge.

But after only a few steps, a pitch-black line snapped it back into place.

It seemed to be one of the intersecting lines on the chessboard.

Indeed, although there were no pieces on the Exquisite Chessboard, the crisscrossing lines clearly possessed an unexpectedly powerful control effect.

This all happened in the blink of an eye.

The giant elephant was now less than ten meters from Li Changsheng.

Dust and sand flew into the air. Li Changsheng, sitting cross-legged, frowned, but upon sensing a familiar aura, his brow gradually smoothed.

Li Zishuo, treading with his unrefined Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, moved in a few illusory steps and arrived directly beneath the giant elephant.

Under the bizarre control of the Exquisite Chessboard, the giant elephant did not stop after its first failure; it continued to ram forward.

Crack.

This time, the obstructing black line could no longer withstand the impact and snapped.

Li Zishuo's body jolted, and blood spilled from the corner of his thin lips. Gritting his teeth, he raised his short sword and lunged forward. With a nimble slide across the Exquisite Chessboard, he slipped directly beneath the giant elephant's belly. He quickly assessed the beast's weak points and spotted a target—it appeared to be a male elephant. His reaction was lightning-fast; he raised his short sword...

The giant elephant happened to be stepping backward, gathering strength to charge through the next black line blocking its path.

Its massive leg brushed right past Li Zishuo's waist.

In that split second.

A roar that seemed to pierce the heavens erupted.

The giant elephant's pillar-like leg stomped down frantically. A fountain of blood sprayed onto the ground, splattering Li Zishuo from head to toe.

Li Zishuo was decisive. He tossed his short sword to the spot he had just marked, grabbed a fire poker from the ground, and jammed it directly into the wound he had just inflicted.

Another shrill, agonizing scream echoed out.

Li Zishuo narrowed his eyes, then slid out from under the giant elephant with a nimble movement across the Exquisite Chessboard.

By now, the giant elephant was truly enraged.

It stopped its charge and retreated a few steps, wailing. Its massive, dark eyes locked onto Li Zishuo, who had just retrieved his short sword.

It had not noticed Li Zishuo's presence before.

It had only been focused on running.

But the explosive pain throughout its body made it forget everything else.

Its black eyes flooded with a crimson hue.

It twitched its nose and smashed a massive tree directly toward Li Zishuo.

Li Zishuo had sensed it beforehand.

Although he had not yet fully mastered the Purple Demon Eye, even a slight exposure to it was enough to significantly enhance his vision.

He dodged with the momentum.

At the same time, he controlled the Exquisite Chessboard, shifting the orientation of the crisscrossing chess lines so that they moved precisely onto the Giant Strength Elephant's hind legs.

The Giant Strength Elephant still had not noticed.

Just as its body turned, the Exquisite Chessboard, controlled with catapult-like precision, tripped its two hind legs.

Thump!

The fire poker that had fallen into the wound sank in completely.

Logically, the defense of this century-old spirit beast should have been incredibly formidable, but Li Zishuo was truly a genius; he had found the weakest point almost instantly and unleashed a series of attacks upon the beast.

The Giant Strength Elephant seemed as if it were truly about to be played to death.

It tried to prop itself up on its four limbs, but Li Zishuo would not let it succeed.

He rotated the Exquisite Chessboard again, using the crisscrossing lines to bind and control the beast. Then, he immediately raised his short sword. The Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track granted his legs immense power, and he leaped nearly three meters into the air. With the sword held high, he struck fiercely toward the Giant Strength Elephant's eye.

The jump was high enough that even if the Giant Strength Elephant noticed, it could not counterattack with its trunk; besides, its attention was entirely focused on how to stand up.

But just as Li Zishuo was about to plunge the sword into the elephant's eye and kill it:

Whoosh!

Suddenly, an arrow pierced the air, striking the short sword in Li Zishuo's grip.

Clatter.

The powerful force nearly dislocated Li Zishuo's arm, and his short sword was sent flying.

Rolling to a stop, Li Zishuo stood up and looked back, his eyes flashing with fury.

Who was it?

At that very moment, five children emerged from the path behind, where the Giant Strength Elephant had charged from.

The leader among them had a yellow century-old spirit ring floating around his body and held a Crystal Bow that appeared to be his martial spirit. Behind him was a child who looked like a small tiger, with a large black character for "King" drawn on his forehead, which stood out all the more against his white hair.

A team of five?

And two of them had already obtained spirit rings?

Li Zishuo was quite sharp; seeing this scene, he seemed to have figured it out.

"Brother Wang, this guy is pretty impressive. He actually almost killed this Giant Strength Elephant," one of the children said to the leader.

The boy surnamed Wang gripped the Crystal Bow in his hand and nodded. "So he was trying to use them to beat the Giant Strength Elephant to the brink of death. I didn't expect him to almost kill it in one strike. Fortunately, with my longbow in hand, this spirit ring is guaranteed to be yours."

Having said that, he looked at Li Zishuo, while also glancing at Li Changsheng, who was absorbing a spirit ring in the back. As if to show off, he raised his longbow, his spirit power surging. "You can leave now. Otherwise, I don't mind letting you suffer a bit. This Giant Strength Elephant is our property."

Hearing their conversation, the anger on Li Zishuo's face intensified. So this was all a scheme by the other party. Father was right; children outside were not good people—except for his big brother!

His martial spirit remained in its released state.

However, when he looked at the bow in the leader's hand, his anger vanished.

If the opponents were all close-combat spirit masters, he might not have been afraid, but against a bow-type martial spirit, and with his Exquisite Chessboard not yet having an attached spirit ring, it was impossible to defeat them.

Fortunately, the other party had no intention of attacking them.

Li Zishuo gritted his teeth, turned around, and walked directly to Li Changsheng's side.

"My big brother is still absorbing a spirit ring, do as you please," he shouted, trying his best not to provoke them.

Seeing Li Zishuo act so sensibly, the leader smiled slightly and lowered his bow.

Sensible is best, otherwise, I would have crippled you!

"That's good. Fourth, go ahead." He glanced at the burly child beside him and spoke.

"Alright, Brother Wang." The child beside him drew a dagger and approached the Giant Strength Elephant step by step.

The Giant Strength Elephant was too heavily wounded and in too miserable a state; at this moment, it still hadn't managed to stand up. Its entire body was listless, and its trunk, which had been raised, now lay stiffly on the ground.

Just as the child reached the side of the Giant Strength Elephant, a voice rang out from behind.

"Little brats, no one has even been born yet who dares to snatch a kill from your Grandpa Li. You bunch of trash, how dare you?"

Li Zishuo's expression changed; the hidden anger vanished, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.

In the air, spirit power suddenly began to howl, rumbling incessantly.

At the same time, the extremely loud, rustling sound of pages turning echoed.

The five children froze upon hearing this.

The child closest to the Giant Strength Elephant, feeling the surging spirit power, made a split-second decision. He lunged forward, wanting to kill the Giant Strength Elephant immediately so the spirit ring would definitely be his.

But, the next moment.

Suddenly, the wind picked up.

Indeed, with Li Changsheng as the epicenter, a vortex appeared in the air, and a howling, lacerating gale began to roar.

Li Changsheng finally stood up.

He held a book in his hands, a yellow spirit ring drifting back and forth around his body, while the phantom of an Iron Bone Wolf King, beaten black and blue, emerged behind him.

As he flipped a page of the Genesis Book in his hands, Li Changsheng revealed a scholarly smile, though it was laden with endless killing intent. Looking at the child approaching the Giant Strength Elephant, he simply uttered a single word:

"Wind."

Immediately, his first spirit ring lit up. Drawing upon the spirit power surging from the foundation of the Genesis Book, a turbulent wind began to manifest. It grew increasingly powerful, the speed of the gusts accelerating until it transformed into a hurricane, a tornado, a monstrous gale that swept the child away, sending him plummeting to the feet of the ringleader, where he began coughing up blood incessantly.

Even the Giant Strength Elephant was caught in a tornado and sent spinning into the air.

Li Changsheng wore a gentle smile as he patted Li Zishuo on the shoulder. "Well done."

Li Zishuo felt his eyes grow hot, and the next moment, bean-sized tears began to stream down his face, plop, plop.

Yes, he felt aggrieved—incredibly aggrieved.

He had gone to such lengths to protect his big brother, and while he was at it, he had intended to kill the Giant Strength Elephant, but just as he was about to finish it, he realized the whole thing had been the other party's scheme from the start.

If not for the need to protect his big brother, he would have made them pay the price; he would have let those five bastards know that Li Zishuo was not someone to be trifled with.

Seeing this, Li Changsheng was stunned for a moment, and then, anger began to rise within him.

It had been a long time since he had felt angry.

Having lived for ten thousand years, he had grown increasingly numb to the sensation of rage. While he wasn't exactly as calm as an ancient well—he still experienced normal joys—the feeling of anger had been absent for a very long time.

Yet, for some reason.

Today, it had suddenly returned.

And it was a very intense, furious kind of anger.

The smile on his face gradually faded, and his young face turned cold.

The boy surnamed Wang on the opposite side was just about to speak.

He felt the immense pressure radiating from Li Changsheng and immediately sensed that something was wrong. Even at six years old, he knew that he had likely provoked someone he shouldn't have.

Li Changsheng, of course, would not grant them the opportunity or the right to speak.

Because...

Dead men tell no tales.

He gently flipped the page, activating the Genesis Book. Without a second thought, he opened his mouth and spat out a word:

"Bow."

In an instant, a massive bow flickering with flames, resembling the Sun-Shooting Divine Bow, appeared in the air.

The great bow took form and fell into Li Changsheng's hands. He did not aim at anyone in particular; he simply plucked the bowstring.

Invisible fire suddenly condensed in the air, transforming into a long arrow before being released.

Swish.

"Ah!"

The sound of the air being torn apart had barely rung out when the scream of the ringleader, the boy surnamed Wang, erupted.

A long, flaming arrow had struck his right arm, instantly setting the limb ablaze.

The flames didn't burn for long before extinguishing, but that arm was effectively ruined.

Li Changsheng blinked. Just as he was about to put on an awkward expression, Li Zishuo wiped away his tears, grabbed Li Changsheng's arm, and shouted, "Big Brother, you can't kill them, or you'll die too!"

Li Changsheng was taken aback. It wasn't that he was afraid of killing; he just wanted to say...

He had actually missed his mark.

He looked at Li Zishuo and offered a rare smile. "Ah. Can't kill them, huh? Then, what do you suggest we do?"

Li Zishuo paused, shook his head, and glanced at the five children.

The boy surnamed Wang had actually fainted, losing all the arrogance he had displayed just moments ago.

"Let them go."

Li Changsheng paused, then said with a chuckle, "Didn't they bully you? And they wanted to kill us, didn't they?"

Li Zishuo shook his head. "No, it's different. We can't kill them just because of a moment of impulse. If we do, we'll die too. Big Brother, have you forgotten about that recording orb?"

Li Changsheng took out the spirit tool used for recording and said with a smile, "It wouldn't matter if we killed them. We could just destroy their recording orbs and then destroy our own. We paid money, but they would be paying with their lives. Right?"

In the end, under Li Zishuo's persuasion, Li Changsheng did not kill them...

At least, not on the surface.

Li Changsheng used the Genesis Book to cast a spirit skill on them known as a "Curse."

He cursed them!

Though Li Changsheng appeared gentle and refined on the outside, lacking the air of a senior or someone who had lived for ten thousand years, his heart was somewhat rotten, and he was the type to hold a grudge for the smallest slight...