Lock Law: Frequency Sync, Three Variations of Plum Blossom!

Xiao Yan's Sea of Consciousness was as vast as a star-filled sky, while the Fuxi Bagua Formation Map slowly revolved every moment.

Within several miles, not even the trajectory of a falling leaf could escape his terrifying spiritual perception.

The violent, scorching aura on Sea God Lake had only just changed direction when Xiao Yan precisely caught the newcomer's movements.

He stopped plucking the strings.

The hum of the Fuxi Zither abruptly ceased. The vortex of natural energy that had been circling above the forest lost its anchor and began dispersing in all directions.

Xiao Xiao had been playing with great enthusiasm when she suddenly heard the zither fall silent. She immediately lowered the Nine Phoenix Flute and looked at her brother across from her in confusion.

Xiao Yan offered no explanation, merely turning his gaze toward the shimmering lake beyond the forest.

He quickly sorted through the timeline of events in his mind.

According to the original course of events, this Evil Fire Phoenix, tormented by evil fire, should not have encountered Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong until tomorrow.

Besides, this secluded little forest was still quite a distance from the shore of Sea God Lake.

Looks like the pure natural energy gathered earlier drew her here, Xiao Yan realized.

Still, since trouble had come knocking on its own, he had never been one to avoid a fight.

"Someone's coming. Xiao Xiao, retreat to the edge of the forest. No matter what happens, don't interfere."

Although Xiao Xiao had no idea what was happening, she trusted her brother completely. She immediately tightened her grip on her jade flute, tapped off the ground with her toes, and lightly leaped back dozens of meters, taking cover behind a thick ancient tree.

Before even a few breaths had passed, the bushes at the edge of the forest exploded.

Amid flying wood chips and burning branches, a dazzling red figure crashed into the tranquil forest like a violent meteor.

The high temperature instantly scorched the surrounding moss dry, curling and yellowing the leaves.

The newcomer was Ma Xiaotao.

Her eyes were bloodshot, with not a trace of reason left in them. The evil fire within her had completely devoured her mind.

She was acting entirely on instinct, staring fixedly at Xiao Yan, who sat upon the bluestone—the source of pure energy in her perception.

Without pausing, Ma Xiaotao let out a hoarse, piercing shriek. Flames surged around her, forming the phantom of a fire phoenix as she lunged directly at Xiao Yan's face.

Xiao Yan remained seated atop the bluestone, with no intention of standing.

He calmly watched the scorching wave of fire rushing toward him as Soul Power surged beneath his feet.

One, two, three, four.

Four utterly black Spirit Rings rose one after another from beneath his feet.

The heavy pressure unique to Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Rings forcibly opened up a vacuum amid the sea of flames.

If any outsider had seen an eleven-year-old boy reveal a full set of Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Rings, they would likely have been frightened into madness on the spot.

The fourth black Spirit Ring, positioned last, flared brilliantly.

Fourth soul skill, [Lock Law: Frequency Sync].

Invisible power rippled outward from Xiao Yan, instantly locking onto Ma Xiaotao's soul frequency, which was in a chaotic berserk state.

Against a beastlike person who had lost all reason and was venting purely on instinct, striking directly at the spiritual level was the most efficient solution.

The instant the lock was complete, Xiao Yan placed both hands upon the strings and exerted force with his fingertips.

Three Variations of Plum Blossom.

"Zheng!"

The first passage of zither music surged forth.

This was no ordinary sound wave. Empowered by [Lock Law: Frequency Sync], the music directly ignored the violent flames covering Ma Xiaotao's body and followed the locked frequency to strike deep into her soul.

First variation, sluggishness.

Ma Xiaotao, who had been charging at high speed, suddenly stiffened.

The Soul Power rushing through her body like boiling water had its circulation speed forcibly cut in half the instant the zither music entered her mind.

Even her previously sharp neural reactions became incomparably sluggish.

Her charging posture turned unsteady due to the sudden loss of control. Her speed plummeted, and her entire body seemed to have fallen into an invisible swamp.

Xiao Yan's fingers did not stop. The pitch abruptly rose, turning cold and biting.

Second variation, frostseal.

The ultimate chill contained within the sound waves traveled along the music into Ma Xiaotao's meridians.

Ma Xiaotao instinctively tried to summon her phoenix flames to resist the intrusion, but the evil fire had barely surged forth before being forcibly suppressed by the cold.

The meridians running wild throughout her body instantly froze and stalled. Her soul skill was interrupted, and the intense backlash made her let out a muffled groan as her limbs stiffened and she hung in midair.

Immediately afterward, the heaviest and most murderous third passage of zither music rang through the forest.

Third variation, extinction.

This zither note did not target the body. It struck directly at Ma Xiaotao's Sea of Consciousness, a force of freezing aimed at awareness itself.

The frenzied evil-fire consciousness screaming within Ma Xiaotao's mind was like a dying candle caught in a Category Twelve hurricane before this note of extinction, snuffed out instantly and without mercy.

The scarlet in her eyes rapidly faded, replaced by emptiness.

The flames roiling around her gradually died out. With all strength gone, her body slammed heavily into the grass before Xiao Yan, sliding forward several meters before stopping as she fell into a deep coma.

The forest became quiet again, with only the charred branches still releasing wisps of green smoke.

Only after confirming that the battle was over did Xiao Xiao poke her head out from behind the ancient tree and jog over.

She curiously examined the unconscious red-haired woman lying on the ground, then looked at the style of her uniform.

"Brother, she's wearing a red school uniform. She should be an Inner Court student, right?" Xiao Xiao poked the scorched earth with her flute.

"She was so crazed just now that she even attacked her own people. Did she suffer a cultivation deviation?"

With a sweep of his hands, Xiao Yan turned the Fuxi Zither into a streak of light and recalled it into his body.

"She isn't merely an Inner Court student. She's also the personal disciple of Dean Yan Shaozhe, whom we met on the day we enrolled."

Xiao Xiao jumped at the title.

A frightened expression immediately appeared on her delicate, soft face, and she clutched Xiao Yan's sleeve with both hands.

"Dean Yan's personal disciple? Then we beat her up like this... should we hurry up and run?"

Xiao Yan could not help laughing when he saw Xiao Xiao looking ready to grease her heels.

"Run? Why should we run?" Xiao Yan patted the dust off his sleeve and spoke with complete conviction.

"As newly enrolled students, we were cultivating peacefully in the forest when an Inner Court student attacked us without reason and nearly killed us. So not only can we not leave, we need to demand an explanation from them—and a substantial compensation."

Xiao Xiao froze where she stood, blinking her large eyes twice.

"Our father's reputation... isn't that great, is it?"

She knew full well that although her father had recently become a Super Douluo, he probably was not important enough to extort the head of Shrek's Spirit Soul Department.

Xiao Yan raised his head toward the Inner Court across Sea God Lake. Several powerful auras were already rapidly approaching within his sight.

"Not necessarily." The smile on Xiao Yan's lips deepened. He stood calmly with his hands behind his back. "Just wait and see. Dean Yan and the others will be here soon."