Zhu Zhuqing's Night Raid

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The night wind at Jialing Pass, carrying the chill of the plains beyond, swept into the city walls, causing the torch flames to flicker. Nan Feng stood in the arrow tower on the west city wall, the tower suspended in front of his chest, the seventh layer of Samsara patterns gleaming with a silvery-blue light in the night. The Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light covered three thousand steps, Peng Eye scanned every fluctuation of Spiritual Power on the plains beyond the pass.

The Spirit Hall's main camp, ten miles outside the pass, stretched out as a continuous expanse of dark red lights. Tuoba Lie's Holy Dragon Legion, whose western flank assault formation had been scattered by Xiao Wu's Asura Jade Rabbit during the day, retreated and reorganized. The Soul Power lights within the camp were now even denser than during the day. Nan Feng, using his Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light, carefully examined the area and detected an unusual Spiritual Power fluctuation in the southwest corner of the Spirit Hall's camp. There, a large quantity of Soul Power crystals and Soul Tool components were piled up, and the density of the lights there was three times that of other areas of the camp. This was the Spirit Hall's supply depot.

"Old Huai," Nan Feng spoke in the Tower Spirit Space.

The Old Huai poked its head out from the sacred tree, its half-face, now solidified by a lingering soul, displaying a knowing look. "You've got your eye on that supply depot?"

"The Spirit Hall's 50,000-strong army relies entirely on that transfer station for its Soul Power supply," Nan Feng said. "Tuoba Lie launches a fierce attack on the West Gate during the day, and at night he must replenish his Soul Power crystals and Soul Tool ammunition. A large amount of supplies go in and out of that transfer station every night, so its defenses aren't too strong, but its location deep within the camp makes a forced incursion too risky."

Old Huai thought for a moment. "You need someone who can infiltrate silently."

Nan Feng nodded. He sensed an extremely faint fluctuation of Soul Power approaching from below the city wall. The fluctuation was almost blending into the shadows of the night. If it weren't for the Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light, it would have been impossible to detect. The fluctuation originated from the stone steps below the city wall, moving at an extremely fast speed, with silent footsteps and a figure that appeared and disappeared in the shadows.

Nan Feng turned to look at the entrance of the arrow tower. Three breaths later, a black figure silently emerged from the shadows.

Zhu Zhuqing.

She was dressed in a form-fitting black night-fighting outfit, her face almost indistinguishable in the darkness, but her eyes gleamed faintly in the shadows. Her Nether Civet Martial Soul lay dormant within her, its Soul Power fluctuations suppressed to the extreme, making her appear as a shadow blending into the night. Only Nan Feng's Peng Eye gleamed with golden light could he discern the Soul Power patterns around her. The Hell Spirit Cat's Soul Power flowed through her meridians at an extremely peculiar frequency, each flow further merging her form into the shadows.

"Nan Feng." Zhu Zhuqing's voice was very soft, as if it seeped out from the shadows.

Nan Feng nodded. "When did you arrive at Jialing Pass?"

"This evening," Zhu Zhuqing, walking to the window of the arrow tower and glancing towards the direction of the Spirit Hall camp outside the pass, "Xiao Wu fought a battle at the West Gate. I saw it. Her Martial Soul Evolution; the power of the Primordial World Seed is stronger than I expected."

Nan Feng retrieved the tower from his palm and took out a topographical map of the Jialing Pass from a table in the corner of the arrow tower, spreading it out. His Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light precisely marked the location of the supply transfer station in the southwest corner of the Spirit Hall's camp in his mind, and he pointed to the map with his finger. "The Spirit Hall's supply transfer station is located in the southwest corner of the camp, twelve li from the pass. The garrison is approximately three hundred men, commanded by a Soul Douluo- level general. There is a Soul Power warning array around the transfer station; any Soul Power fluctuation exceeding a certain threshold will trigger an alarm."

Zhu Zhuqing stared at the mark on the map. Her Nether Civet Martial Soul sensed the point Nan Feng had pointed to on the map; its Soul Power fluctuations were indeed different from the surrounding area. "Three hundred people, one Soul Douluo. If it were a direct assault, you could handle it alone. But you need to eliminate them silently, without triggering any alarms."

"Yes." Nan Feng looked at her. "Your Nether Civet Martial Soul can merge with the shadows, ignoring the Soul Power warning array. I need you to infiltrate the transfer station and destroy the core node of the Soul Power warning array from the inside. At the same time, I will use the Tower Realm to suppress the perception range of the guarding Soul Master from the outside, preventing them from detecting anything unusual immediately."

Zhu Zhuqing remained silent for a moment. She sensed the golden Primordial World Power flowing quietly through Nan Feng's meridians, more than a hundred times stronger than when they first met in Suotuo City. There was a faint resonance between the frequency of that power and her Nether Civet Martial Soul, like shadow yearning for some ancient power. "Your Primordial World Power... can enhance my shadow abilities."

Nan Feng looked at her. His Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light captured the faint tremor of the Hell Spirit Cat within Zhu Zhuqing's Martial Soul Core when it sensed Primordial World Power. That tremor was exactly the same as the reactions of Xiao Wu's Soft Bone Rabbit and Dugu Yan's Jade Phosphorous Serpent when they came into contact with Primordial World Power. "You want to evolve the Hell Spirit Cat?"

Zhu Zhuqing shifted her gaze from the map to Nan Feng's eyes. Her pupils, gleaming eerily in the darkness, held an extreme calmness, but beneath that calm lay a faint, almost imperceptible, longing. "The Nether Civet Martial Soul has been passed down in the Star Luo Empire for centuries, with each generation stuck at the threshold of Titled Douluo. My family has been suppressed by the royal family for hundreds of years because the Hell Spirit Cat's limits are too low. If you can help me break that limit..."

She didn't finish her sentence. Nan Feng sensed the unspoken meaning in her tone. Zhu Zhuqing never spoke superfluously; every word she uttered was carefully considered. Her initiative in making this request meant that she had been observing Nan Feng for a long time and had confirmed that the Primordial World Power could indeed rewrite the underlying structure of Martial Soul.

"When we raid the supply depot at night, I will infuse a Primordial World Power into your Martial Soul Core," Nan Feng said. "But there's a prerequisite—your Hell Spirit Cat needs an extremely dark environment to fully unleash its potential. The inside of the supply depot is the best dark environment; your evolution there will have the highest success rate."

Zhu Zhuqing's lips curved slightly. It was the closest Nan Feng had ever seen to a smile from her. "Okay."

The night raid began at midnight.

Nan Feng led three hundred Imperial Guards out of the Soul Power. He silently activated the Nether Step: Shrinking the Earth under his feet, controlling the distance of each step to about ten steps to avoid the afterimage of Shrinking the Ground to an Inch being detected by the Spirit Hall's sentries. The three hundred Imperial Guards followed behind in a formation that concealed their soul power. Lu Chen led the team, and the Soul Power of the entire army was suppressed to the lowest threshold, retaining only basic perception and movement abilities.

Zhu Zhuqing did not walk on the ground. Her figure moved through the shadows of the plains outside the pass. Her Nether Civet Martial Soul was fully released in the shadows, and her figure was like a black stream of water, gliding silently along the ground. She was almost twice as fast as the Imperial Guards and was the first to arrive at the southwest corner of the Spirit Hall camp.

Nan Feng locked onto the supply depot within his three thousand steps of perception. His Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light constructed a three-dimensional Spiritual Power map of the depot in his mind—the outer Soul Power warning array was distributed in a ring, supported by twelve nodes, each guarded by a Soul King- level Soul Master. Inside the ring was a warehouse where supplies were stored, with Soul Power Crystals and Soul Tool components piled up like small mountains. At the center of the warehouse was an extremely powerful source of Soul Power —the Soul Douluo- level general.

Nan Feng covered the area a hundred paces outside the supply station with the Tower Realm. The light membrane of the Tower Realm spread out silently, Power of Mountain Suppression reduced the perception range of the three patrolling Soul Master on the outer edge of the guard array by 30%. As they walked within the Tower Realm, their perception of the surrounding anomalies became dulled, and they did not detect the existence of the light membrane of the Tower Realm.

Zhu Zhuqing silently approached the outermost node of the warning array from the shadows. The node was guarded by a Soul King Soul King, who stood at the edge of the circular array, his back to the supply depot and facing the city gate. Zhu Zhuqing's figure materialized in the shadows behind the Soul King, the claws of Hell Spirit Cat forming in her hand. She slashed across the Soul King's neck. The Soul King collapsed unconscious before he could utter a sound. Zhu Zhuqing had completely sealed the Soul King's Soul Power, without triggering any Soul Power fluctuation alarms.

She continued stealthily moving towards the next node. Of the twelve nodes, she silently dealt with eight within a quarter of an hour. Nan Feng's Tower Realm light membrane covered the entire perimeter of the warning array, and the Power of Mountain Suppression dulled the senses of the guards at the remaining four nodes, allowing Zhu Zhuqing to easily eliminate them.

The core node of the warning array was located in the center of the supply station, personally guarded by the Soul Douluo. Zhu Zhuqing infiltrated the supply station, her figure silently moving among the mountains of Soul Power crystals in the shadows. Her Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light marked the location of the Soul Douluo in her mind, and she bypassed the Soul Douluo's perception range to approach the core node. The core node was a fist-sized Soul Power core, embedded in the soul guidance array plate in the center of the supply station's ground.

Zhu Zhuqing reached out and touched the Soul Power core. The Soul Power contained within the core fluctuated the moment it was touched, and the Soul Douluo suddenly opened his eyes. But the instant he opened his eyes, Nan Feng's Tower Realm Light Membrane activated at full power, and the Suppress Mountains and Rivers Mountain Suppression Art poured down from the outside, suppressing the Soul Douluo's Soul Power flow by 50%. Zhu Zhuqing used the claws of the Hell Spirit Cat to pierce the Soul Power core, shattering it. The warning array was paralyzed.

As Nan Feng unleashed the full power of the Tower Realm's light membrane, he used the Nether Step: Shrinking Earth to Teleportation into the supply station. The tower expanded to a height of one zhang (approximately 3.3 meters), and the seventh layer of Samsara patterns erupted with silver-blue light. The Suppress Mountains and Rivers covered the entire supply station, and the Samsara Power suppressed the Soul Douluo's soul impact. The Soul Douluo's Martial Soul was a Level 95 Dark Gold Lion King. Even after its Soul Power was suppressed by half by the Suppress Mountains and Rivers, it was still ferocious, shattering three piles of Soul Power crystals with a single claw. Nan Feng blocked with the tower, and the Mountain Suppression Art dispersed the impact into the ground. At the same time, he took out an iron rod from the Tower Spirit Space, infused it with Primordial World Power, and slammed it into the Soul Douluo's right arm. The Soul Douluo's protective Soul Power shattered before the Primordial World Power, and the bones in his right arm broke. Nan Feng followed up with a second blow, striking the Soul Douluo's shoulder blade and stunning him.

The three hundred Soul Master guarding the supply depot fell into chaos as their defensive formation collapsed. Lu Chen led three hundred Imperial Guards to break in from the outside, using Soul Power to compress the formation and break through the Soul Master ' defenses. Without the command of Soul Douluo Soul Master with their Soul Power supply cut off, the Soul Masters quickly collapsed under the Imperial Guards' onslaught.

Nan Feng stood in the center of the supply station, his tower suspended in front of him, its Suppress Mountains and Rivers encompassing the entire area. He turned to look at Zhu Zhuqing. She stood beside the shattered Soul Power core, her Nether Civet Martial Soul fully unleashed within the extreme shadow environment of the supply station. The supply station was an enclosed space, the mountains of Soul Power crystals surrounding it blocking out all outside light, with only the silver-blue light from Nan Feng's tower providing faint illumination. This was one of the most extreme shadow environments on the Douluo Continent.

"Now." Nan Feng walked up to Zhu Zhuqing and placed his left hand on her shoulder. A wisp of golden Primordial World Power seeped from his palm, penetrating her Martial Soul Core through the meridians in her shoulder.

The moment the Primordial World Power entered the core of the Nether Civet Martial Soul, Zhu Zhuqing trembled violently. The Hell Spirit Cat's Martial Soul trembled intensely deep within its soul, Martial Soul form beginning to change under the impact of the golden power. Golden spots of light shone from its originally dark gray Soul Power, rapidly spreading and rewriting the Hell Spirit Cat's Soul Power structure from its very core. Zhu Zhuqing's figure began to flicker in the shadows—within her Martial Soul Core, the Hell Spirit Cat's shadow clone ability, stimulated by the Primordial World Power, was frantically breaking through its original limits. Three shadow clones became four, five, six... all the way to nine. Nine shadow clones simultaneously coalesced in the shadows of the supply station, each possessing independent Soul Power fluctuations and capable of independent action. The shadow clones were no longer simple illusions, but shadowy entities with substantial attack power.

Nan Feng sensed that within Zhu Zhuqing's Martial Soul Core, the Hell Spirit Cat was evolving into a higher form. Its Soul Power structure was being reshaped by Primordial World Power, and its shadow attribute was being pushed to its limit. A new ability emerged deep within the Martial Soul Core —the ability to Shuttling Between Illusion and Reality. She could freely switch between physical form and shadow, ignoring physical obstacles, and move between reality and illusion.

"Your Martial Soul Evolution." Nan Feng withdrew his hand, looking into her eyes. "Nether Shadow, capable of traversing between reality and illusion."

Zhu Zhuqing looked down at her hands. Nine shadow clones silently circled around her, each with a golden halo in its pupils. She stretched out her hand, her palm shifting between solid and shadow, her fingertips piercing through a nearby pile of Soul Power crystals as if passing through air. She withdrew her hand, and a shadow blade condensed in her palm, its edge glowing with a golden halo, its sharpness three times greater than before.

"My Martial Soul..." Zhu Zhuqing's voice was a little strained, but she quickly suppressed it. She looked up at Nan Feng, the golden halo in her dark pupils slowly fading, but the new power within her Martial Soul Core had stabilized. "What exactly is the power in your soul?"

Nan Feng retracted the tower into his palm. The battle at the supply depot had ended, and the three hundred guarding Soul Master were all under the control of the Imperial Guard. Lu Chen was directing soldiers to move Soul Power Crystals and Soul Tool Parts from the supply depot. These items would be transported back to Jialing Pass to replenish the Heaven Dou Alliance's supply reserves.

"The Primordial World," Nan Feng said, "Is the Dao that can help everyone break through their limits."

Zhu Zhuqing remained silent for a long time. The nine shadow clones around her slowly receded and finally merged into her main body. She sensed that the Nether Shadow within her Martial Soul Core had stabilized at a level below the God Level but above the Titled Douluo, only one step away from the God Level. But this leap required her to take it herself.

"You helped Xiao Wu evolve into the Asura Jade Rabbit, helped Dugu Yan evolve into the Jade Phosphorous Serpent, and helped me evolve into the Nether Shadow," Zhu Zhuqing said. "Your Primordial World Power can rewrite the underlying structure of all Martial Soul. This has never happened before on the Douluo Continent."

Nan Feng retrieved the iron rod into the Tower Spirit Space. In the night sky outside the supply station, the Soul Power fluctuations of the Spirit Hall's reinforcements were approaching. Tuoba Lie's camp had already discovered the anomaly in the southwest corner. He sensed at least three Titled Douluo- level Soul Power fluctuations rapidly approaching.

"It's time to go," Nan Feng said.

Zhu Zhuqing nodded. Her figure flashed in the shadows, passing directly through the stone wall of the supply station and appearing outside. Her ability to Shuttling Between Illusion and Reality allowed her to ignore any physical obstacles in the shadows. Nan Feng followed with the Nether Step: Shrinking Earth technique, and the three hundred Imperial Guards, carrying the captured supplies, withdrew from the supply station and marched rapidly towards Jialing Pass.

Half an hour later, the Spirit Hall's reinforcements arrived at the supply depot, only to find a scene of devastation and the guarding Soul Master whose Soul Power was sealed. Tuoba Lie stood in the center of the supply depot, looking at the shattered Soul Power cores on the ground and the unconscious Soul Douluo, his face ashen. He sensed an extremely dense dark shadow Soul Power fluctuation remaining in the air, a fluctuation several times higher than that of the Hell Spirit Cat, Martial Soul form he had never seen before.

"Nether Shadow." Tuoba Lie murmured the unfamiliar name. This kind of Martial Soul was never recorded in the Spirit Hall's intelligence. Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast could evolve, and the Hell Spirit Cat could also evolve, so what exactly was this Primordial World Power on that kid named Nan Feng?

At the top of Jialing Pass, Nan Feng stood by the window of the arrow tower. Zhu Zhuqing stood beside him, her Nether Shadow Martial Soul lying dormant in the night. The spoils from the supply depot were sent to the city's warehouse by the Imperial Guards. None of the three hundred Imperial Guards were killed, and only a dozen or so suffered minor injuries.

"Your Nether Shadow needs more practice in real combat," Nan Feng said. "Tomorrow, Tuoba Lie will launch an even bigger offensive. You and Xiao Wu should coordinate, one charging in head-on, the other using shadow attacks. With the Asura Jade Rabbit's burst damage combined with the Nether Shadow's Shuttling Between Illusion and Reality, the Spirit Hall's formation won't be able to withstand it."

Zhu Zhuqing nodded slightly. She turned to leave, but stopped after taking two steps. She looked back at Nan Feng, a golden halo flashing in his dark pupils. "Nan Feng."

"Um."

"Your path... I have seen it." Zhu Zhuqing's voice was soft, "Higher than God."

She vanished into the shadows. Only Nan Feng remained in the arrow tower. The tower hovered before him, the seventh layer of Samsara patterns shimmering quietly with a silver-blue light in the night. The Old Huai poked its head out from the immortal tree, a hint of a smile on the half-face of its remnant soul.

"Nether Shadow," Old Huai said, "Another Martial Soul breaking through its limits. Your Primordial World Power is changing the Martial Soul system of the Douluo Continent, rewriting the underlying rules one by one. Those Titled Douluo sensed it, Bibi Dong sensed it, and now Tuoba Lie sensed it too. Your Dao can no longer be hidden."

Nan Feng retracted the tower into his palm. The Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light swept through his mind, scanning every fluctuation of Spiritual Power inside and outside Gu Yuena Jialing Pass Spiritual Power Soul Power Titled Douluo Spirit Hall Star Dou Great Forest in the distance, and the ice attribute Spiritual Power of the Ice Empress and Snow Empress in the Far North were all clearly presented in his perception.

"If we can't hide it, then we won't hide it," Nan Feng said. "When Tuoba Lie comes again tomorrow, he will see the Asura Jade Rabbit and the Nether Shadow appear on the battlefield at the same time."

Old Huai laughed. "You're getting more and more arrogant."

Nan Feng tightened the red ribbon around her left wrist. The newly braided red ribbon by Xiao Wu swayed gently in the night breeze, intertwining with the silver-blue light emanating from the tower. Within the Tower Spirit Space, Hu Liena's secret letter, the Nine Netherworlds Dark Python's snake bead, the Frost Giant Dragon's Right Arm Soul Bone, the Golden-Eyed Peng King's Head Soul Bone, and the Nine Netherworlds Dark Python's Right Leg Soul Bone all floated quietly in their respective positions. The old red ribbon was stored in the deepest part of the space, placed alongside those witnesses from the journey.

Tomorrow, Tuoba Lie will launch a full-scale attack on Ximen. However, Ximen possesses the Asura Jade Rabbit, the Nether Shadow, the Tower Realm Suppress Mountains and Rivers, and the Primordial World Power.