Crippling Qian Shaoshao

"You... you have the abilities of an evil soul master!"

Qian Shaoshao said shakily, his tiny eyes wide as he stared fixedly at the bizarre, seductively colored plant on Yao Haoxuan's face.

Within the limits of his understanding, making someone pass out after swallowing a few ice spikes was something only evil soul masters could do.

"Go to hell! I'm eliminating a menace for Shrek! Chencheng, did you see that? Your taste isn't very good!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs, not forgetting to glance toward Ling Luochan at the edge of the arena.

More than forty soul cannons on his body erupted at once.

Multicolored artillery fire poured down on Ling Tianchen in the air like a torrential rain.

Qian Shaoshao revealed a sinister smile. Given enough time to unleash his full firepower, even Captain Dai Yueheng would have to avoid his edge.

That was a Soul Emperor! Let alone this brat floating in the air like a living target.

Unfortunately, he had underestimated one thing: Ling Tianchen was far more agile in the air than he had imagined.

Ling Tianchen showed no fear, diving straight into the overwhelming barrage.

The moment he activated Spiritual Detection, the entire training ground became a precise three-dimensional map in his mind.

Every projectile's trajectory was instantly analyzed. Even the faint tremble of Ling Luochan's eyelashes at the edge of the arena was clearly displayed in his mind.

With his "Heavenly Eye" open, Ling Tianchen possessed dynamic vision beyond ordinary people's imagination.

He sidestepped, rolled, skimmed low, and climbed. His movements flowed as smoothly as clouds and water. Rather than dodging deadly artillery fire, he looked like a dancer gracefully performing ballet.

Within a few breaths, he had passed through the seemingly impenetrable net of fire and lunged straight at Qian Shaoshao.

"Don't come any closer!"

Qian Shaoshao continued venting soul cannon fire at Ling Tianchen like a madman, only to earn himself the title of "human outline master."

Seeing Ling Tianchen's fist close at hand, the panic on Qian Shaoshao's fat face suddenly vanished, replaced by a crafty smile as though his scheme had succeeded.

If anyone thought he was truly as reckless and hot-tempered as he appeared, capable only of firing wildly, they were sorely mistaken.

Out of countless orphans, Qian Duoduo had chosen him alone as his adopted son not only for his extraordinary talent in crafting soul tools with his metal-element martial soul, but also for his meticulous nature beneath his rough exterior. He looked foolish, but was actually shrewd—practically the spitting image of Qian Duoduo in his younger days.

He had even inherited Qian Duoduo's bootlicking traits in their entirety, making it hard not to suspect that they were biologically related.

The soul cannon muzzle that had remained tightly shut on his back suddenly opened, and a blue net of lightning descended over Ling Tianchen's head.

A Class 5 binding soul tool—Thunder Net Prison. A single-use item.

Once a Soul King-level soul master was caught in it, they would not be able to break free for quite some time. Net-type binding soul tools were also the natural nemesis of bird-type martial soul masters. With this double restraint, it was the trump card he had carefully prepared.

Its only drawback was that it needed to be charged in advance, but the soul power fluctuations produced during charging were extremely faint, conveniently compensating for that flaw. When used in the right circumstances, it often produced miraculous results.

As the thunder net was about to cover Ling Tianchen, the largest-caliber soul cannon on Qian Shaoshao's chest finally lit up.

A thick beam of lightning frantically gathered and compressed at the muzzle. The power of this shot rivaled a Class 6 soul cannon; it was his strongest trump card.

That overwhelming fire suppression earlier had merely been a feint. He had been holding this shot back, waiting for the chance to settle everything with one blow.

And that chance had finally arrived!

"Disappear with the thunder!"

Qian Shaoshao grinned viciously. He could already imagine Ling Tianchen being blasted into a severely wounded state by the lightning.

A little bird might be beautiful, but in the end, it had to be locked inside a metal cage. That cage was its lifelong enemy, the fate it would never escape.

Wasn't it just like him, with his metal-element martial soul? He was destined to crush this flashy birdman beneath his feet.

Then Chencheng would know who was the man truly worthy of her.

Ling Tianchen looked at the endlessly laughing Qian Shaoshao and could not help sighing.

Yao Haoxuan's miserable state had happened right before his eyes, yet he seemed not to have learned any lesson at all.

The only lesson humans learned from experience was that they never learned their lesson.

They always arrogantly believed they would not repeat the same mistakes, never realizing that those "predecessors" had thought exactly the same way.

Genesis Ice Phoenix Innate Domain, activate!

Icy radiance spread soundlessly from beneath Ling Tianchen's feet, rapidly extending in every direction.

Everything along its path was completely frozen. It was as though someone had pressed pause on the entire world, and all sound vanished.

The thunder net hanging in midair remained poised to fall over his head, but it could no longer descend.

The massive thunder cannon on Qian Shaoshao's chest, primed and ready to fire, also remained utterly motionless.

As for Qian Shaoshao himself, the vicious smile on his fat face had not even had time to fade before he was frozen within an ice sculpture.

Ling Tianchen slowly walked to his side and lightly touched him. Qian Shaoshao's hand immediately began trembling violently.

The flesh and blood on his hand writhed continuously as if alive, eventually transforming into an ugly, webbed duck foot.

Using the power of creation, he drained all the life force from Qian Shaoshao's hands. Then, using that life force as material, he reshaped his hands into a duck's webbed feet.

Qian Shaoshao's career in soul tools was now completely over. Without nimble fingers, no matter how powerful his metal-element martial soul was, he could at most condense a few soul tool casings.

As for those precise core formations, he could forget about ever engraving them again in this lifetime.

For someone who had devoted his entire life's effort to soul tools, this was crueler than killing him.

This was the price for daring to set his sights on Sister Luochan.

"End!"

Zhang Lexuan's voice rang throughout the training ground.

With a flash, she appeared beside Ling Tianchen. Ignoring Qian Shaoshao at the side, her gaze fell directly on Ling Tianchen, and there was even a trace of eagerness in her eyes. "Come with me."

Her gaze made Ling Tianchen feel slightly uneasy, but he obediently followed her toward the edge of the arena.

"Senior Sister, you're taking my little brother to Dean Yan, right? Once his identity is confirmed, he can leave, correct?"

Ling Luochan hurried after them, her tone carrying a tentative hint of concern.

Zhang Lexuan stopped, turned back, and gave her a slight smile, though her expression was somewhat unnatural.

"Of course. Once I confirm Junior Brother's identity, I'll naturally let him go. Luochan, you should head back first. Surely you trust me?"

Inside, however, she thought, Just as expected. The moment she had seen Ling Tianchen possessed by the Ice Phoenix, she recalled the uproar at the outer academy last month.

If he could blow up a Soul Emperor like Zhou Yi, then dealing with two Soul Kings like Yao Haoxuan and Qian Shaoshao truly would not be a problem.

"I wouldn't dare."

Ling Luochan hurriedly shook her head, then turned her gaze toward Ling Tianchen and winked hard at him.

Ling Tianchen quickly understood what she meant: If you dare have any ideas about Senior Sister, I won't speak to you anymore.

He nodded helplessly, indicating that he had received the warning.

But receiving it was one thing; following it was another.

In any case, he definitely would not take the initiative to pursue any girl. But if someone came to him of her own accord, then he would have to consider it carefully.