Melodious and gentle zither music emanated from the room behind Feng Jun. The music was ethereal and pure, but one could faintly sense a struggle within it—a struggle of the heart. On the surface, it was beautiful, but deep within the melody, there was a hint of sorrow.
Feng Jun turned around and entered the room.
The woman looked up and softly said, "Father, is there something troubling you that makes you so unsettled?"
Feng Jun sat beside the woman in the wheelchair and sighed helplessly, speaking kindly to her, "If only they were as sensible as Jing Sheng!" He gently rubbed his daughter's hair. His gaze turned to her legs, showing a hint of sadness and guilt.
"Father will be going out for a while. If anything happens, just let the people outside handle it."
"Yes, Father, don't worry," the woman called Jing Sheng smiled gently.
She was the only princess of the Feng Kingdom.
Feng Jing Sheng.
At the gates of the Senluo Kingdom's palace.
Sen Lei looked at Feng San with great interest, and Feng San glanced back at him. The two of them stared at each other, big eyes to small eyes, which made the onlookers below impatient.
"Why haven't they started fighting yet? Crown Prince, take him down!"
"Yeah, yeah, take him down!"
"Just look at that sly face; you can tell he's no good. Even the hair on the Crown Prince's body looks better than him!" said a sturdy woman below without any reservation.
This time, Feng San couldn't keep his cool. He clenched his fists and said with a grim face, "Crown Prince, make your move! If I strike, you won't have a chance!"
"Are you done with your nonsense?" Sen Lei said coldly.
Feng San crossed his arms and sneered, "You can attack anytime. If you don't strike now, you might not get another chance!"
Sen Lei didn't waste words this time and directly attacked. The character for "Solemn" formed in his hand and suddenly flew towards Feng San's face.
"Hah! A trivial trick!" Feng San kicked off and struck at the incomplete "Solemn" character with his palm.
"Boom!"
The newly formed "Solemn" character shattered instantly, and the force of the palm strike pushed Sen Lei back.
Feng San laughed heartily, drew his four-foot-long sword, and transformed into a shadow in the center of the arena. In a gust of wind, he moved within five steps of Sen Lei.
"This is the Feng Kingdom's legacy movement technique, Flowing Cloud Steps!" the national teacher exclaimed in shock.
He then worriedly said to Sen Yan, "If he has mastered the Flowing Cloud Steps, he must be an important figure under Feng Jun. His cultivation is far above Sen Lei's, by at least a few levels. Conservatively, he must be at the eighth or ninth level, while the Crown Prince has just broken through to the eighth level. How can he win?"
Sen Yan pursed his lips, nodded to the national teacher, and said, "I will intervene in a moment. You make sure the common people and foreigners 'lose their sight' for a while. Don't let them see that it was me who made the move. It wouldn't be good for the Crown Prince."
"Understood!"
The national teacher nodded. His cultivation was also at the eighth level of the Dao Mirror, but his spiritual power was used for support rather than attack. He practiced a technique called the "Art of Spiritual Barriers," specifically for interference or auxiliary healing. Every country had specialized personnel who practiced it, even Sen Lei's mother, Meng E, who initially used it to keep Sen Lei alive. Unlike medical skills, it couldn't cure diseases but could enhance abilities.
If Sen Lei knew, he might blurt out, "Isn't this a healer?"
This was exactly like the most comfortable profession in the games Sen Lei was addicted to—the healer!
"Clang! Clang!"
Feng San's long sword thrust towards Sen Lei. Sen Lei muttered, "Rage mode, activate!" He finally used the classic berserker state skill, "Rage!" During his training in the dark space, he couldn't see the skill points, and each skill could only be used once. Some skills were even erased, like Triple Slash and Blade of Ghosts.
Instead, he retained the exclusive skills of the Empyrean Slayer class. In the game, a berserker at level fifty awakens to become a "Blood Ruler," and at level seventy-five, they reawaken as the "Empyrean Slayer." As of now, Sen Lei didn't know what his situation was. To reach level fifty?
Currently, he was at level eighteen, with his spiritual body at the eighth level. If he were to reach level fifty, what kind of realm would that be? According to this calculation, Sen Lei's father, Sen Yan, a ninth-level Dao Mirror master, was just a bit short of breaking through to the next elusive realm. It was well-known that there was a chasm before the next realm, which many people couldn't cross despite decades of effort!
Everyone wanted to enter the upper realm because it was rumored to hold the secrets of breaking through the Dao Mirror. Such secrets drove people mad with desire.
Sen Yan, a strong master, was only at level thirty-nine! Not even close to awakening in the game.
Level fifty was like an endless ocean of stars to Sen Lei!
The awakening skills alone made Sen Lei's blood boil!
In the "Rage" state, his strength, movement speed, attack speed, resistance to abnormal states, hardiness, and blood energy all increased significantly. At this stage, it was the most beneficial state skill for Sen Lei!
In the "Rage" state, the blood-red spiritual energy around him became more vibrant, gradually covering his entire body and gathering in his left hand. Feng San frowned at Sen Lei's abnormal state but still pressed on, thrusting his sword towards Sen Lei.
No matter how strong you are, the gap in cultivation can't be bridged!
"Show-off! Fall!"
The people below once again saw the Crown Prince's strange blood-red spiritual energy. They had no idea what it was, only that it was real blood. Could human blood be externalized? Were they seeing things?
Among the spectators, Wen Wan saw Sen Lei's blood-red left hand again. Compared to the last time, the color was even more vivid! This made Wen Wan even more worried. This power, not his own, was like a ticking time bomb. If it went out of control, it would surely destroy Sen Lei!
"So fast!" Sen Lei's brows furrowed slightly. If he hadn't activated Rage at the critical moment, avoiding the vital points as quickly as possible, he might not have dodged it.
In the stands.
Sen Yan, who was about to intervene, stopped. He wanted to know if there was a necessary connection between Sen Lei's natural spiritual body and the current blood-red spiritual energy. After the Crown Prince's attack, who sealed such a terrifying thing in his body? Even Sun Hongru couldn't do anything about it. He worried it was a disaster for Sen Lei but also hoped it was an opportunity for his son. If he mastered such a terrifying power, he might one day step into the upper realm and restore the glory of the Senluo Kingdom! The premise was that he could control it and it wouldn't harm him!
Feng San's sword missed Sen Lei, but he pursued relentlessly with the Flowing Cloud Steps. On the stage, they chased each other like a cat and mouse, except this cat was too foolish, and the mouse was too agile.
Feng San, unwilling to waste time, used a high-level spirit technique, Dragon Grasp!
"Got you!" He felt his fingers grasp Sen Lei's wrist. A sinister smile appeared on Feng San's lips, but as he was about to channel his spiritual power, he felt fear. Looking down, he saw Sen Lei's left hand turn blood-red. Feng San immediately released Sen Lei's hand, trying to escape.
But it was too late. He felt an inexplicable suction force, terrifying even for a ninth-level spiritual body practitioner! That fear was beyond words.
Meanwhile, gusts of wind whistled across his chest, making him feel as if his blood was freezing. In this state, there was no room for resistance.
Feng San heard a demonic voice from the depths of his soul:
"Soul-Devouring Hand!"