"What did he say?"
"He refused, and claimed he was really cool."
"Damn... Did he realize something?"
"That's unclear."
Both voices fell into silence at the same time.
This was an abandoned building, filled with corpses; black bloodstains had dried and clung to the walls and floor, creating a shocking sight.
Two men stood on a beam above the building.
One man held a clump of ghost fire in his hand.
The other wore a gray rhino mask.
After a while, the man holding the ghost fire said, "Guessing Magic, the kid isn't taking the bait, we might as well give up."
"Give up? Ghost Flame, do you think the rewards we just received were for nothing?" the man in the gray rhino mask said.
The man known as Ghost Flame pondered, "I've used ghost fire to capture many people, but no one ever claimed they were cool—he must have a problem in his head."
"Then it's even more reason to kill him," Guessing Magic said with a deep voice, "Take advantage of the fact he's only seventeen and hasn't fully matured yet. I want him to taste true despair before he dies."
"Your doll said he could take on that guy on Fan Corpse Mountain, but you can't beat him," Ghost Flame said.
"But no one can handle two combatants with over ten points of soul power at the same time—not even Xiao Baihong, whom we've dealt with before," Guessing Magic said.
"The boss can."
"We're not provoking the boss, we're just going to kill this kid."
"So... should we kill him?"
"Let's go, I have plenty of ways to find him. After all—"
Guessing Magic looked down.
On the ground, all the corpses lifted their heads and opened their gray eyes to look at him.
"Where there are corpses, that is my home ground," Guessing Magic said viciously.
...
Wu Xiaode glanced at the time.
Two minutes.
It had only been two minutes, and such intense combat had already erupted.
"Sister Lan, I had no idea you were so strong," he said, staring at Xia Huilan.
"Strong? I'm just a normal person. Xia Ni was originally meant for self-defense. It should never be revealed unless absolutely necessary; otherwise—" Xia Huilan didn't finish.
Wu Xiaode nodded slightly.
Indeed.
This combat robot was too astonishing; once exposed, it would astonish the whole world.
At that point, Xia Huilan would have nowhere to hide.
And she was just a regular person.
"Sister Lan, is it because you created such an amazing robot that those people are giving you trouble?" Wu Xiaode asked.
"No," Xia Huilan shook her head, "This is just model 92024. The truly terrifying thing is model 92025..."
"Why didn't you bring model 92025?" Wu Xiaode asked.
"It's not completed yet," Xia Huilan said.
Before Wu Xiaode could ask, she explained, "It could be epoch-making, but I didn't get the chance to do much more before the higher-ups couldn't wait to seize the results, even though they were unfinished—those idiots don't understand what I'm doing, but they want to reap the benefits immediately."
"It's strange, why couldn't they wait?" Wu Xiaode said.
"Because if they waited any longer, the results would completely belong to me, not them," Xia Huilan said scornfully.
"It seems the struggle in the scientific community is also fierce," Wu Xiaode remarked.
"When there are no results, everyone is human. Once epoch-making results appear... Well, we are as cruel as nature itself..." Xia Huilan said.
At this point, neither of them continued.
Because the battle ahead was undergoing a new change.
The monster was approaching again.
There were no wounds on its body.
Xia Ni said with a gentle expression, "Combat conclusion reached:
"The current monster possesses all the characteristics of other intermediate monsters documented."
"Without soul power, it's impossible to inflict damage on intermediate monsters."
"Combat decision concluded."
"Current combat strategy changed to: stalling for time."
"Xia Huilan, Wu Xiaode, please run in the opposite direction. I will buy some time," she said.
Wu Xiaode glanced at the monster.
Its form was too massive, and it clearly had many more strengths not yet displayed.
Why else were the passageways filled with skeletons?
Encountering such a monster alone, he would never have considered using his five points of soul power to fight it desperately.
The only right choice was to escape.
To keep running out of this underground passageway, completely leave its territory.
At this moment.
Wu Xiaode finally understood the phrase in the S-tier club announcement:
"Given that more and more professionals are dying, the universally accepted only course of action is: preserve life."
"Don't harbor any illusions; this is a resurgence of darkness and fear."
Without hesitation, Wu Xiaode picked up Xia Huilan and declared,
"Let's go, Sister Lan!"
Xia Huilan offered no objection, clinging tightly around his neck.
—Run!
Wu Xiaode took off, sprinting with all his might towards the other end of the dark corridor.
As he moved, the ceiling overhead suddenly echoed with a "rustling" sound.
Wu Xiaode was startled and alarmed.
It turned out a monster had already silently arrived above the spot where they were standing!
Had they continued to watch from that spot, Wu Xiaode might have held on a bit longer, but Xia Huilan definitely couldn't withstand a hit from the monster!
Wu Xiaode gritted his teeth and sped up.
However, the "rustling" sound from the ceiling grew even more urgent and frequent.
It was even faster than Wu Xiaode and was catching up!
"Xia Ni, immediately return to defense," Xia Huilan urgently called out.
Swoosh—
The ceiling promptly broke open, and another human-headed snake monster dove down, heading straight for Wu Xiaode.
It was too late!
If it were only Wu Xiaode, he could have transformed into a Crow Spirit and swooped away, but with Xia Huilan with him, he had only one choice.
"Sister Lan, hide behind me!"
He spun Xia Huilan behind him and turned to face the human-headed snake monster.
Suddenly, two lines of ice crystal small characters appeared on the Book of the Dead floating beside:
"You used up 5 points of Soul Power to barely execute the profundity of Iron Wire Fist:"
"—Iron Hand Blocks the River!"
Wu Xiaode took a deep breath while sudden bursts of golden light sprouted from his wrists, forming rings that kept spinning around his wrists.
The human-headed snake monster, noting this, vibrated its scales and hovered in mid-air, spitting a beam of white light from a distance.
—It can spit light!
Wu Xiaode's body bristled with goosebumps.
This situation reminded him of Death Demon Cave, recalling the deep red beam of the One-eyed Giant.
"Aaaaah— die!"
Wu Xiaode burst out with a thunderous roar, lifted his hands, and stacked them in front of his chest, striking through the air like a cannon hammer.
An incredible scene unfolded.
The spinning golden light rings on his hand suddenly disappeared.
Boom!
The Void shook.
The white light spat by the monster seemed to be hit by something in midair, splashing back and shooting back even faster.
The air along its path exploded with the sound of being torn apart.
The white light suddenly pierced through the monster's gaping mouth and shot out from the back of its head, disappearing in an instant.
A deafening roar echoed from the depths of the tunnel.
Xia Ni suddenly appeared and softly said, "It is confirmed, the weak point of this type of monster is its head."
"Got it."
Wu Xiaode felt weak in his arms and powerless throughout his body.
This move, Iron Hand Blocks the River, had not only used up his five points of Soul Power but also completely drained his spirit and physical strength.
It was too forced.
For such a profundity, if it could be performed with more than 10 points of Soul Power, its true power could be unleashed!
—However, there was no other option just then.
The human-headed snake monster behind Xia Ni rushed forward.
Wu Xiaode barely managed to stand his ground and, with a murderous look, bellowed, "Come on, stop using these trashy moves, dare to fight me properly!"
After speaking, he again posed to start Iron Hand Blocks the River.
Seeing this, the human-headed snake monster slowed down, its eyes showing alertness.
It glanced at the corpse on the ground and spit out a long tongue, seemingly pondering how to deal with Wu Xiaode.
—It had seen what happened earlier.
"Ya, quickly!"
Wu Xiaode shouted.
The Crow Spirit called out and circled the dead snake's body.
Specks of light entered its feathers and were transferred to Wu Xiaode for his use.
A line of ice crystal small characters appeared on the Book of the Dead:
"You have gained an excess of Soul Power."
"With the Soul Power absorption from the Death Crow, your Soul Power limit continues to break through."
"Current Soul Power: 6/6."
"Your Soul Power has reached 6 points, thus your physique has further improved."
Wu Xiaode's hands were no longer numb.
"Why is there so much Soul Power?" Wu Xiaode asked quietly, looking at the monster.
Ya flew back, landing on his shoulder and said, "That guy was fierce, if it weren't for your timely reflex to rebound its attack into its mouth, it probably wouldn't have been killed, hence the substantial Soul Power gain."
Wu Xiaode's brows suddenly furrowed.
The opposite human-headed monster began to press forward again.
"Xia Ni, can you lead someone to escape?" Wu Xiaode asked.
"The space is too narrow, for safety's sake, I can take one person," Xia Ni said softly.
"Take Sister Lan, I can fly, I'll follow behind you," Wu Xiaode said.
"Okay."
Xia Ni stepped forward, hugged Xia Huilan, and a burst of light suddenly jetted from her back.
In an instant, the whole world turned into blurred lines whizzing past them.
Xia Ni's speed was extremely fast, leaving the battlefield in just a few seconds.
"Wait, what about Wu Xiaode?"
Xia Huilan couldn't help but ask.
"Don't worry, he's following behind. Now that we know he can turn into a flying bird, we have 5427 more strategies to choose from," Xia Ni said softly.
Xia Huilan was stunned.
Little Wu turns into a bird?
She couldn't help but look back.
A black bird was flapping its wings, flying rapidly behind them.
Occasionally, it would stop, transform back into human form, and briefly exchange blows with the human-headed snake monster.
Once it forced the snake monster to retreat, Little Wu immediately turned back into a bird and hurried towards them.
Xia Huilan bit her lip, her eyes flickering constantly.
"Sister, your heartbeat is too fast," Xia Ni whispered softly.
"This won't do, I thought I could help without using Soul Power..." Xia Huilan said.
Xia Ni's eyes lit up immediately.
"Sister, you're allowing me to use Soul Power?" she asked with anticipation.
"Go ahead," Xia Huilan said through gritted teeth.
Xia Ni, holding her, turned sharply in mid-air and flew back.
Just then, Wu Xiaode had thrown a punch that met the monster.
Both the man and the monster retreated a short distance.
Suddenly.
A long line of lightning streaked past the monster's side.
Xia Ni, holding Xia Huilan in one arm and emitting flickering electric light from her other hand, appeared hundreds of meters away.
The monster's body twitched uncontrollably.
"Little Wu," Xia Ni said with a slight smile.
Wu Xiaode, already transformed into a crow, flew up, instantly changed back to himself, and swung a fierce blow at the monster's head.
Thump!
The monster's skull cracked, and brain matter flew in all directions.
They had killed two monsters!