"Hey, what's wrong with you? You've been looking so preoccupied the whole way. Did someone in your family die?"
In the Star Dou Great Forest, two figures were walking side by side.
The auras of a Soul Saint and a peak Soul Emperor spread freely, causing ordinary soul beasts on the outskirts to avoid them like the plague, making their journey almost unimpeded.
Su Cheng glanced at Zhu Zhuqing beside him and casually complained.
Zhu Zhuqing's expression turned cold upon hearing
this, but she didn't say anything. She was already used to his uninhibited manner.
"You'd better concentrate. Ten-thousand-year soul beasts are not easy to deal with." Su Cheng said while looking at the map Zhu Zhuqing had given him.
"Not ten-thousand-year soul beasts, but three nine-thousand-year soul beasts."
"Three nine-thousand-year soul beasts?" Su Cheng asked, feigning surprise. "That's a bit difficult, but with the power of our Martial Soul Fusion Technique, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. However, this means we'll have wasted two soul rings."
He didn't elaborate on the issue of soul ring age.
Because with Zhu Zhuqing's current physical condition, coupled with the acupuncture technique, she was already capable of absorbing a 90,000-year soul ring.
Both of them were well aware of this.
"What's on your mind? Is it because of the war in the Star Luo Empire?" After walking a short distance, Su Cheng asked again.
"Su Cheng, I want to ask you a question."
"Go ahead."
"Between family and friends, if you had to abandon one, what should you choose?"
Zhu Zhuqing said slowly.
Her voice was low, her eyes flickering, seemingly containing some hidden meaning.
Su Cheng, however, seemed not to understand the deeper meaning, answering decisively, "Then of course, abandon your friends."
Zhu Zhuqing frowned.
After a long pause, she finally spoke in a muffled voice, "Why?"
"Is that even a question? If you lose a friend, you can just make another one. If your sister and your father are gone, can you have another one?"
"Is this how you treat your friends?!" Zhu Zhuqing's eyebrows rose, her voice unconsciously becoming much louder.
"Yes, that's exactly who I am," Su Cheng said seriously. "Really? Fourth Miss? We've been together for over twenty years, don't you know what kind of person I am? To be honest, friends are just for fun, true feelings come from family."
"You!"
Hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing immediately stopped and turned to glare at Su Cheng.
Her already high breasts drew an alluring curve as she breathed heavily.
Her behavior startled Su Cheng, who hadn't expected such a strong reaction.
After a moment of staring at each other, Su Cheng calmly said, "I say, future Duke, you don't actually think people like us have any so-called friends, do you?"
"…" Zhu Zhuqing gave him a cold look, then turned and continued walking forward. "I didn't expect that you, an illegitimate child, would value family so much."
As she spoke, a mocking look appeared on her beautiful face.
"Who said the Dai family? The Su family is my family. The kindness of raising someone is more important than the kindness of giving birth, is there a problem with that?" Su Cheng said indifferently.
"Zhu Zhuqing, what are you trying to say by beating around the bush? Who are you planning to trip up now? Once you've made a decision, don't hesitate, just do it. This isn't like you at all."
Zhu Zhuqing paused, then gave Su Cheng a deep look.
"Su Cheng, what is your greatest pursuit?"
"...Freedom, I guess." Su Cheng thought for a moment and said calmly.
"No matter what, freedom is all I need. Actually, I don't have any particular pursuits. Power and authority are all dispensable to me. As long as I'm free, everything else is fine.
"However, with my current status, it's probably quite difficult to achieve this. The Dai family definitely has their own plans. I was originally hoping to rely on you, Fourth Miss.
"But I think the Star Luo Empire is about to collapse, so there's no need to think about so many things.
Just enjoy life while you can. "To be honest, I don't know why you asked me to come with you to kill soul beasts and advance your cultivation. What's the use of advancing to Soul Saint? In the end, you'll still die anyway."
He smiled at Zhu Zhuqing. "
Freedom, huh..."
Zhu Zhuqing ignored his teasing, sighed softly, and nodded silently, "I understand."
Not long after, with the help of the map, the two found their destination: the heart of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Su Cheng had already figured out the situation here when he came to investigate alone.
As expected, the two 100,000-year-old soul beasts had long since disappeared.
Without Tang San's interference, Bibi Dong had killed them and absorbed them as her soul rings.
Now, the three 90,000-year-old Thousand-Pound Ant Kings occupied this place.
At this moment, the three soul beasts had clearly discovered Su Cheng and Zhu Zhuqing's presence, but showed no intention of retreating, quietly waiting for their arrival.
It made sense; with their combined cultivation level, how could they possibly scare away three 90,000-year-old soul beasts?
Soon, the two arrived.
A thin layer of mist rippled on the tranquil lake surface, making it a rare peaceful and serene place in the Star Dou Great Forest.
However, the faint killing intent permeating the surroundings disrupted the atmosphere.
The three... Identical magical beasts lay coldly watching them from the lakeside.
These were their targets: the Thousand-Pound Ant Kings.
The three Thousand-Pound Ant Kings were roughly the same size, each about three meters long. Judging by size alone, they weren't considered large even among ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts.
But even so, they were already outrageous.
A Thousand-Pound Ant with ten years of cultivation would only be about three inches long, and even with a hundred years of cultivation, it wouldn't exceed six inches. Only with a thousand years of cultivation could it possibly grow to a foot long, and even that was extremely rare.
One could imagine how rare a three-meter-long Ant King would be.
Thousand-Pound Ants possessed incredibly tenacious vitality, outstanding defensive capabilities, and extremely strong resilience. Moreover, their strength was immense, far exceeding their body proportions.
However, unfortunately, as soul beasts, they lacked any soul skills. While their defense was good, it was ultimately limited, and without soul skills as offensive means, their strength was difficult to unleash.
This is why this race is often at the bottom of the food chain in the Soul Beast Forest.
Unlike ordinary Thousand-Pound Ants, these three incredibly aged Thousand-Pound Ant Kings each possessed a pair of enormous, transparent wings, and two thick, green-glowing forelimbs as sharp as triangular daggers.
Most remarkably, each had six eyes atop its head—two large and four small—emitting a ghostly green light.
The hard carapaces covering the three Thousand-Pound Ant Kings shimmered with a dark golden metallic sheen, and their six thick, powerful short legs were now erect, poised to strike.
Then, the two on the left and right slowly separated, forming a semi-encirclement around Su Cheng and Zhu Zhuqing, slowly pressing forward.
The dark golden light on their bodies became increasingly pronounced, but their energy remained completely internalized, without any leakage.
Su Cheng and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged a glance.
Then, without hesitation, they summoned their Martial Souls and directly unleashed the Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Netherworld White Tiger.
A violent aura, far exceeding that of ordinary Title Douluos, swept outwards.
A colossal white tiger crouched on the ground, coldly observing the three soul beasts before it.
Under this oppressive aura, the three Thousand-Pound Ant Kings faltered slightly.
Their momentum was completely suppressed by this superior-level martial soul.
Then, a silvery-white light, centered on the Netherworld White Tiger, spread outwards like a whirlwind.
The Netherworld White Tiger's massive body seemed to merge with the wind in that instant.
Not only was it filled with overwhelming power, but its enormous form also gave it a sense of swift, ethereal grace.
On the other side, the three Thousand-Pound Ant Kings felt immense resistance pressing down from all sides, constantly compressing their bodies and restricting their speed.
Now, with Su Cheng and Zhu Zhuqing using their martial soul fusion technique, the Netherworld White Tiger also possessed its own domain skill, which Su Cheng named "Wind God Domain."
Within the domain, the Netherworld White Tiger's already extremely agile speed was amplified to an absurd degree.
Combined with its already formidable strength, it was virtually without weaknesses among its peers.
Although the three Thousand-Pound Ant Kings couldn't comprehend how a Soul Saint and a Soul Emperor could unleash such immense power in an instant, they clearly sensed the danger.
They flapped their wings and slowly took flight.
These three brothers, having lived together for many years, moved in perfect unison, like mirror images, their wing-flapping speed and ascent height identical.
However, it was useless.
These three soul beasts were almost completely countered by the Netherworld White Tiger.
The Thousand-Pound Ant itself wasn't particularly powerful; its strength lay solely in its unusual defense, power, and speed.
But with its power and speed suppressed, its defense breaking was only a matter of time.
Moreover, the Netherworld White Tiger possessed soul skills.
Soon, a battle of one against three began.
Although the three Thousand-Pound Ant King brothers were slightly at a disadvantage, their actions were perfectly synchronized, their minds in sync. If any one was attacked, the other two would immediately launch a coordinated attack to its rescue.
While the Netherworld White Tiger appeared to be handling the battle with ease, its movements were far from simple for Su Cheng and Zhu Zhuqing.
The reason was simple: the Soul Fusion Technique consumed Soul Power far too quickly.
Even with a speed advantage, they had to fight swiftly and decisively, avoiding a drawn-out war.
Therefore, the Netherworld White Tiger deliberately exposed an opening during its attack.
After several dozen rounds of fighting, the Netherworld White Tiger, controlled by Su Cheng and Zhu Zhuqing, suddenly pounced on one of them, its massive claws raised high.
The other two Ant Kings, seeing this, surrounded it from both sides and launched an attack.
Just when the three Thousand-Jin Ant Kings thought they would dodge as before, the Netherworld White Tiger chose to take the combined attack of the other two Ant Kings head-on.
It even used the extremely powerful impact to further accelerate.
Then, its silver-white claws, wreathed in wind blades, slammed into the head of the Ant King directly in front of it!
Normally, ordinary physical attacks are almost ineffective against their hard shells, and energy attacks also struggle to quickly break through their defenses.
But the Netherworld White Tiger was clearly extraordinary.
With a single swipe of its claw, it shattered the head of the Ant King in front of it.
However, this single attack also depleted most of Su Cheng and Zhu Zhuqing's soul power.
But it was all worth it.
The three Thousand-Pound Ant Kings, linked by their shared will, cooperated in a near-flawless attack, but the combined forces of the two had far too many weaknesses.
The Netherworld White Tiger then killed them all without sustaining any further damage.
As the dust settled, the enormous Netherworld White Tiger vanished upon landing.
Su Cheng and Zhu Zhuqing reappeared.
However, they were no longer as composed as before; instead, they looked extremely disheveled.
Both were pale, panting heavily, their soul power almost completely exhausted, and blood was seeping from their mouths and noses—injuries from taking that powerful attack head-on.
At the same time, three jet-black spirit rings appeared one after another on the three Thousand-Pound Ant Kings.
Zhu Zhuqing looked at the three spirit rings, but did not immediately go forward to absorb them. Instead, she stood there in a daze.
"What are you daydreaming about?" Su Cheng coughed lightly and said, "Hurry up and absorb the spirit rings. Do you still remember how to stimulate your physical strength?"
Su Cheng had already told Zhu Zhuqing in advance about the acupoints that needed to be stimulated to absorb 90,000-year or even 100,000-year spirit rings.
"Ah? Hmm."
Zhu Zhuqing finally came back to her senses, responded, and walked towards the corpses of the Thousand-Pound Ants.
Su Cheng frowned inwardly as he watched her movements.
Judging from Zhu Zhuqing's style of doing things over the years, she should have been ruthless and cunning enough. Logically speaking, she shouldn't be bound by those pointless notions of good and evil. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to climb to her current position in the harsh environment of the Star Luo Empire.
Why was she being so indecisive now?
After thinking for a moment, Su Cheng casually remarked, "I reckon if these three spirit rings could be absorbed simultaneously, there would be some additional effects. What a pity. But it doesn't really matter. I don't think the Star Luo Empire will last much longer. As descendants of a great noble family and illegitimate children of the royal family, you and I won't have a good ending either."
Zhu Zhuqing, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped upon hearing his words.
She then turned back, holding a bottle of pale red potion.
...................
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(End of Chapter)