The Slap Bet

The Diamond Amber Elephant charged with its brute strength fully unleashed, its mountain-like bulk bearing down on them. Light blazed off its hard crystalline armor, and it carried enough terrifying momentum to smash through rock strata.

Wu Siduo had long since exhausted her Soul Power and had no time to dodge. Thinking she had no chance at all, she could only resign herself to being forced out of the Spirit Ascension Platform.

But at that moment, an afterimage swept past her side, so fast that only a faint arc of dark purple light could be seen. Lin Xun wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her whole body toward him.

The impact forced them both to slide back half a step. His heels dug into the dirt, steadying them. The elephant's tusks grazed the spot where she had just stood and crashed into the earthen slope behind her with a boom, blasting dirt and stones everywhere.

"Still got the strength to curse me?" Lin Xun asked, releasing her.

Wu Siduo staggered two steps before steadying herself. Panting, she glared at him. "If you'd come one second later, I wouldn't."

"Then I arrived at just the right time." Lin Xun looked her over. "Though you look even more pathetic now than you did during the Promotion Tournament."

"You were the one who knocked me out during the Promotion Tournament."

"So this time, I saved you. We're even."

"Who wants to be even with you?! I still haven't settled last time's score!" Wu Siduo snapped.

Xie Xie rushed over from the side. "Brother Xun, you finally made it! These elephants are fucking fierce! We've been fighting forever and still haven't taken down a single one."

"Not one?" Lin Xun raised a brow.

"No. There are too many of them, and their defenses are too high, so our attacks have been spread too thin." Xie Xie pointed at the elephant struggling to climb out of the earthen slope. "Especially that leader. It's got the toughest hide and charges the hardest!"

The leading elephant had already risen again. Shaking the loose dirt from its head, it let out an enraged shriek. It fixed its gaze on Lin Xun, scraped its forehoof against the ground, and prepared to charge again.

The deep elephant cry made their eardrums tremble.

The leader of the Diamond Amber Elephants had blood-red eyes. Its mountain-sized body tensed with muscle, amber crystal armor gleaming over its entire body, its hard shell reflecting a cold sheen beneath the sunlight.

Its previous charge had missed, and Lin Xun had forcibly halted its momentum, thoroughly enraging it.

Rumble!

The ground shook violently once more.

It kicked off with all four hooves, charging straight ahead again with terrifying, unstoppable brute force!

And it was not alone.

The entire elephant herd behind it stirred into a frenzy.

Dozens of Diamond Amber Elephants lowered their heads and scraped at the earth in unison. Their crystal armor ground together with piercing crackling sounds as their densely packed massive bodies pressed forward, sealing off every route of escape from the area.

Wu Siduo's face instantly turned a shade paler. Instinctively, she stepped half a pace forward, wanting to move back into position and stop them.

Her Soul Power was nearly depleted. She could not possibly withstand a second charge; it was purely instinct.

"Don't move."

Lin Xun casually raised a hand and gently pressed her shoulder, pushing her directly behind him.

"I'll handle the rest."

Xie Xie, Gu Yue, Zhang Yangzi, and the others all instinctively retreated half a step, nerves taut as they stared at the advancing elephant herd, their hearts still heavy.

They had been completely helpless against these things' hardness and charging force from beginning to end.

Yet, seeing the calm Lin Xun before them, they somehow felt a little more at ease.

Lin Xun stepped forward with his sword and actually headed straight toward them. As he rapidly ran closer, he slightly raised his left hand, and a flash of light appeared in his palm.

Three exquisite, translucent capsules floated out silently.

One was blazing crimson, phoenix fire-feathers churning within it as scorching heat surged toward them—the Evil Fire Phoenix Capsule.

One was deep and dark green, threads of poisonous mist coiling around it, with the faint shadow of a serpent lying in wait within—the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Capsule.

One was frost-white and bone-chilling, its cold seeping to the marrow as the phantom image of an ice toad condensed without releasing—the Vermilion Clear Ice Toad Capsule.

The three energies were utterly different. Ice, fire, and poison were fundamentally opposed; an ordinary Soul Master would suffer a backlash from conflicting attributes after touching them for even an instant.

But Lin Xun did not care in the slightest.

He gripped the Ex-Girlfriend Sword, drawn at his side, in one hand. Dark light flowed over its blade as the precise evolution slots at its guard sprang open.

Click! Click! Click!

Three crisp locking sounds rang out in succession.

All three capsules locked into the sword's body.

In an instant!

The entire sword shook violently as the three extreme energies continuously merged within the blade, their colors intertwining as their powers fused together.

Crimson flames coiled around dark green poisonous miasma, while frigid ice locked down the violent force of the fire.

The three extreme powers of water, fire, and poison were forcibly united by the sword's secret technique. Not only did they not conflict, they instead brewed an incomparably terrifying suppressive force.

The air instantly warped. One side burned with searing heat, while the other was freezing to the bone, and faint poisonous mist spread through the surroundings.

"Three attributes?!" Xie Xie's eyes widened, completely dumbfounded.

He had only ever seen Lin Xun use the power of two attributes before. This was the first time he had seen him wield three.

Ahead, the leading giant elephant had already charged close, its enormous head smashing toward him with immense brute force!

Lin Xun raised his eyes and flicked his wrist.

There were no unnecessary movements—just a simple horizontal slash.

"Sever!"

His low shout fell.

The towering three-colored torrent exploded.

Flames scorched the wilds, ice sealed the land, poison mist corroded armor!

The three ultimate powers fused into one, becoming a terrifying sword arc that spanned heaven and earth as it crushed forward in an instant.

The previously unbreakable amber crystal armor instantly lost all defensive power under the combined impact of the three attributes.

The Diamond Amber Elephants' shells, hard as black iron, were first scorched until their surfaces cracked by the blazing heat, then frozen into countless fine fractures by the extreme cold, and finally corroded into collapse by the poisonous mist.

Crystal fragments exploded and scattered through the air.

The leading giant elephant that had charged first was struck head-on by the sword force.

Its massive body froze in midair. Before it could even cry out, the crystal armor covering its body shattered inch by inch.

With a thunderous boom!

Its enormous body was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into the ground and falling completely still.

Yet the power of that slash did not diminish in the slightest.

It swept, advanced, and crushed!

The remaining dozens of Diamond Amber Elephants did not even qualify to get close.

Sheets of crystal armor burst apart as the elephants fell one after another.

The elephant herd's unstoppable charge was utterly routed beneath that single sword strike!

In just an instant.

Dust filled the air, and the ground was left in ruins.

The terrifying elephant herd that had oppressed the entire battlefield and driven the others into despair was completely wiped out.

Lin Xun lowered his sword. The three-colored radiance withdrew completely, and the blade returned to its original pink appearance. With a casual flick, there was nothing left, as though that world-shattering slash had merely been an illusion.

One sword strike brought the battle to an end.

The entire forest was filled with the energy left behind by the fallen elephant herd. Without hesitation, Lin Xun immediately sat down cross-legged and began recovering his Soul Power while absorbing the Spirit Ascension Platform's energy.

Although he had no Soul Spirit and his Soul Rings had been granted by the system, this energy could still increase the age of his Soul Rings.

"Damn, that's it?" Xie Xie's eyes widened slightly, his face full of astonishment.

"What are you standing around for? Hurry up and absorb it."

Zhang Yangzi came over and patted him on the shoulder before sitting down cross-legged to absorb the energy as well.

Tang Wulin scratched her head and said, "I'll stand guard."

Wu Siduo pursed her lips slightly. Feeling the lingering might of that strike, she looked at the boy who had already sat down cross-legged to recover, her gaze turning somewhat unfocused.

The proud girl had always been strong-willed. Even in her interactions with Lin Xun, she had always preferred to remain in the more advantageous position.

In truth, Lin Xun had grasped this mentality of hers. During their daily interactions, he often put himself at a disadvantage, which made her feel comfortable.

But at this moment, as she felt Lin Xun's talent and strength, something in the girl's heart shifted slightly.

Especially the sensation of him wrapping an arm around her waist and saving her in that instant—the steady, reliable strength, along with his calm and unflustered back as he stood before her.

It felt so safe.

Safe enough for her to realize for the first time.

So this was what it felt like—not having to force herself to hold on, not having to struggle through everything, not having to fight for first place in every matter.

She had always been competitive and had never relied on anyone.

But for that brief second just now, she had truly been protected by him.

Wu Siduo gently bit her lip, her complicated gaze falling on the boy's tranquil profile.

This guy...

The golden spiritual energy in the forest slowly dissipated.

Everyone had finished regulating their breathing, and more than half of their Soul Power had recovered.

Xie Xie stretched lazily, his joints cracking softly as the exhaustion from his earlier overexertion vanished, leaving behind nothing but excitement.

Zhang Yangzi stood and looked around at the ruined battlefield, still shaken by what had happened.

That encirclement by the Diamond Amber Elephant herd had nearly wiped out every member of Zero Class.

If Lin Xun had not arrived in time and turned the tide with a single slash, their first trip to the Spirit Ascension Platform would have ended right there.

"Let's keep moving forward."

Gu Yue spoke softly, her calm gaze fixed on the denser forest deeper within the Spirit Ascension Platform.

No one objected. After getting themselves back in order, they headed deeper into the forest together.

As they continued forward, the atmosphere around them noticeably eased.

The crushing pressure from the earth-shaking tremors was gone. The wind through the woods was soft, and the vegetation was lush.

The high-level elephant herd from before seemed to have been the ultimate obstacle in this shallow region. The farther they went, the weaker the soul beasts they encountered became.

After walking roughly several hundred meters.

Rustle.

Fine rustling sounds from the grass and trees rose densely from all around them.

From countless low trees and bushes emerged swarms of small soul beasts.

They were small, covered in grayish-brown fur, resembling spirit rats with pointed ears, long tails, and slender limbs. They were the most common ten-year Spirit Shattering Rats in the shallow layers of the Spirit Ascension Platform.

There were a great many of them, densely surrounding the group—at least a hundred.

Yet their auras were exceedingly weak.

Every one of them had only ten years of cultivation. Not a single one had surpassed a hundred years.

Their combat strength was negligible. They had no hard scales, no explosive soul skills; their only traits were living in groups, being timid, and possessing extreme vigilance.

They did not dare attack proactively, merely gathering around the Zero Class group.

Pairs of tiny black eyes stared fixedly at them. Their bodies were lowered, their limbs slightly taut, caught between being ready to flee at any moment and instinctively staying on guard.

At the slightest disturbance, they all trembled.

Xie Xie looked at the densely packed but utterly harmless little creatures and immediately laughed.

"Hahaha, finally, some easy prey! We got chased around and hammered by those elephants earlier—now we can finally get some payback!"

Zhang Yangzi also relaxed and said with a smile, "They're all basic ten-year soul beasts, not threatening in the slightest. We can casually clear them out and stock up on some energy to absorb."

Seeing the timid Spirit Shattering Rats all around them, Wu Siduo finally relaxed completely.

Compared to the Amber Elephants that had borne down on them like mountains earlier, these little things were practically here to hand over experience.

Gu Yue was the only one who remained different. Her gaze calmly swept over the swarms of Spirit Shattering Rats, then she turned her head toward the laid-back, easygoing youth beside her.

Her eyes were bright, carrying a faint hint of amusement.

"Lin Xun."

"Want to make another bet?"

Lin Xun had been idly surveying the weak beasts around them. At her words, he raised an eyebrow slightly and turned to look at her, somewhat surprised.

"Bet on what?"

The corners of Gu Yue's lips lifted slightly, her tone gentle. "This next wave of Spirit Shattering Rats."

"One-minute limit."

"Let's bet on which of us kills more."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xie Xie and Zhang Yangzi were instantly intrigued, both turning to watch the show.

Wu Siduo also glanced over at the two of them.

Everyone knew that Gu Yue's elemental control was exquisitely precise, and that her speed in clearing groups of enemies was unrivaled in Zero Class.

Her large-scale ice- and water-element skills, along with her elemental spreading techniques, were best suited for harvesting low-level soul beasts that lived in groups.

Lin Xun, meanwhile, had just displayed overwhelming single-target power and high-level finishing attacks.

No one had ever seen him clear out a pack of weak soul beasts.

For a moment, everyone became curious.

After hearing her out, Lin Xun gave a soft laugh, casually resting his hands at his waist with a composed expression.

"Is there a prize for winning?"

Gu Yue's eyes flickered slightly as she spoke softly.

"Of course."

Her tone was calm, yet it concealed a deeply hidden trace of slyness.

"One slap. How about it?"

A slap?

That kind of wager was far too ambiguous.

Lin Xun himself looked startled. He raised an eyebrow slightly, staring at Gu Yue's cool, breathtakingly beautiful face with a hint of confusion in his voice.

"What kind of bet is that?"

"The loser gets slapped by the winner?"

It could only be said that Gu Yue's wager... was absurd, yet novel.

Faced with his questioning, Gu Yue's expression remained unchanged. Her cool eyes quietly met his, without the slightest intention of explaining.

The girl merely lifted her chin slightly and urged him in a calm tone:

"So, are you taking the bet or not?"

Lin Xun stared at Gu Yue's cool, impassive little face for two seconds, then gave a mocking laugh and casually raised his hand.

"Fine."

"Let's do it."

He really wasn't afraid.

Clearing a group of monsters in one minute—even against Gu Yue's wide-area attacks, he might not necessarily lose.

Besides.

A mischievous glint flashed through Lin Xun's eyes.

They'd stated the reward, but what about the punishment?

Getting slapped and slapping someone were both rewards, weren't they?

Seeing him agree, the curve of Gu Yue's lips rose ever so slightly.

"It's a deal."

She had long been looking forward to this moment. Back then, whenever the two of them fought for three hundred rounds without a clear winner, he would slap her. No matter where he hit, she would immediately surrender and be forced to beg for mercy.

Now, Gu Yue wanted to find out why it was so... unbearable.

Wu Siduo stood to one side, watching the two of them make their bet so openly. For some reason, her heart clenched faintly again.

One was cold and ethereal; the other unfathomable.

Standing together, they somehow looked perfectly matched.

She pressed her lips together, silently withdrawing her gaze, unable to describe what she was feeling.

For some reason, she felt like a defeated loser before things had even begun...

Meanwhile, the Spirit Shattering Rats continued to circle them warily. They dared not approach, yet were unwilling to leave easily. After all, compared to the powerful behemoths in the forest, these seemingly unremarkable humans looked much easier to hunt.

Lin Xun raised his eyes, his gaze calm.

"Begin."