Chapter 24: Zhu Zhuqing — I'm Terrifyingly Strong Now! | How About… Should We Kill Xiao Wu Later?
"I think I can use the Eight Spider Lances as a medium to release my soul skills."
Zhu Zhuqing's cool voice suddenly sounded.
"That makes sense. Even if the Eight Spider Lances haven't fully fused yet, they're already considered part of you."
Bai Lu nodded lightly.
He remembered that in the original timeline, although the Eight Spider Lances were powerful, they didn't match Tang San's overall ability set very well.
He had plenty of soul skills, yet almost none that could truly be released through the Eight Spider Lances.
"Perfect timing. Test your soul skill."
Bai Lu raised a hand and pointed toward a massive boulder nearby, taller than a person.
"Hell Spirit Cat, possess!"
Zhu Zhuqing immediately summoned her martial soul and dashed forward with explosive acceleration.
"Hell… Piercing Strike!"
Her third soul ring lit up.
The Eight Spider Lances simultaneously emitted a dark glow. Under the amplification of Hell energy, their sharpness surged to an extreme.
In the next instant, the eight lances pierced forward like streaks of lightning!
"Puchi!"
They stabbed into the massive stone as easily as piercing tofu, effortlessly penetrating through it.
The entire process felt as though there had been no resistance whatsoever.
"So strong… The penetration feels at least fifty percent stronger than attacking directly with my hands!"
Zhu Zhuqing withdrew the lances and stared at the smooth, mirror-like cut surface with visible shock.
She had every reason to believe that even the Man-Faced Demon Spider itself wouldn't be able to withstand more than two strikes like that.
"The Eight Spider Lances already possess terrifying penetration. Combined with Hell Piercing Strike's 50% armor penetration, slicing through gold and stone is effortless."
Bai Lu explained calmly.
"An ordinary Soul Elder hit by this would either die instantly or suffer severe injury, not to mention the venom erosion afterward…"
It could be said that Zhu Zhuqing, using the Eight Spider Lances, had more than doubled her overall combat power compared to her normal state.
Zhu Zhuqing's face was completely serious.
"I feel like… I'm terrifyingly strong right now."
Just imagining herself fighting with the Eight Spider Lances made her feel almost overpowered.
"Strength is a good thing. And this is only the beginning of our path to godhood."
Bai Lu smiled faintly.
He couldn't help but wonder whether the current Zhu Zhuqing could defeat a Rank 37 Huo Yuhao.
"Mm. Godhood."
Zhu Zhuqing suppressed the excitement in her heart and forced herself to stay calm.
Her full configuration was extremely powerful; that much was certain.
But twin martial souls and multiple soul bones were trump cards. To avoid others coveting them, she couldn't expose them casually.
In front of outsiders, what she could rely on was still only her Hell Spirit Cat martial soul.
Still…
With Bai Lu by her side, becoming a god no longer felt like an unreachable fantasy.
"Let's go. Find some soul beasts and properly familiarize yourself with your strength."
As he spoke, the clone turned into a streak of light and returned to her body.
"Understood!"
After briefly tidying up the battlefield, Zhu Zhuqing left the area.
But before she had even traveled five miles, she sensed a powerful aura in the distance.
It felt as heavy as the earth itself, yet carried a primitive, violent wildness.
"This is…"
Her pupils contracted slightly.
"An old 'friend' of mine. Let's take a quiet look."
As he spoke, Bai Lu released his spiritual power and concealed her aura.
"Understood."
Like a true Hell Spirit Cat, Zhu Zhuqing moved soundlessly toward the source of the aura.
When she circled past a dense thicket, the sight before her caused her to freeze.
In a forest clearing ahead stood an enormous black giant ape.
Its shoulder height exceeded seven meters. Muscles bulged like granite, its massive frame resembling a small mountain.
The terrifying aura it emitted was nearly comparable to Bai Lu before his sacrifice.
A hundred-thousand-year soul beast!
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes widened slightly.
She hadn't expected that in a region not even considered the middle region of the Star Dou Forest, she would encounter another hundred-thousand-year soul beast.
But what shocked her even more was not the giant ape.
It was the person sitting beside it.
The lively Shrek girl with the scorpion braid, Xiao Wu, who was close to Tang San.
She hadn't been devoured.
Instead, the giant ape stood like a loyal guardian at her side.
Most shocking of all was Xiao Wu's current state.
She sat cross-legged, enveloped in a layer of blood-red light.
Within that crimson glow, a purple soul ring was slowly condensing around her body.
No hunting.
No absorption process.
She was merely meditating, and a soul ring was forming on its own.
"This…"
Zhu Zhuqing was completely stunned.
Had her eyes deceived her?
How could someone condense a soul ring by themselves?
And why was a hundred-thousand-year soul beast protecting her during the process?
At that moment, Bai Lu's voice sounded in her mind, calm and composed:
"As you can see, that hundred-thousand-year soul beast is the legendary Titan Giant Ape, the King of the Forest, known as the God of Earth."
"The Titan Giant Ape lives in the core region of the Star Dou Forest. Why is it here?"
Zhu Zhuqing asked urgently in her mind.
"And what's with that girl? Could it be…"
A realization had already begun forming in her heart.
Bai Lu confirmed her suspicion:
"You're correct. That girl is a transformed hundred-thousand-year Soft Bone Rabbit. She doesn't need to hunt for soul rings; she can condense them herself."
"So it really is… a transformed soul beast."
All doubts were instantly resolved.
Zhu Zhuqing's pupils shrank as she stared at Xiao Wu in a daze.
She had met her multiple times yet had never sensed anything unusual.
"To think soul beast transformation could be this perfect…"
"Wait. Did you already know?"
Suddenly recalling Bai Lu's earlier words about an "old friend," she reacted.
If the Titan Giant Ape was an old friend, did that mean Bai Lu knew Xiao Wu, too?
"I know the Titan Giant Ape. I never met Xiao Wu before her transformation. However…"
Bai Lu paused slightly.
"I recognized she wasn't human the moment I saw her back in Nuoding City."
"Then why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Zhu Zhuqing's tone was complicated.
"It would've only caused unnecessary trouble. I planned to tell you once the timing was right."
Bai Lu said calmly.
"If I had suddenly told you Xiao Wu was a hundred-thousand-year transformed soul beast, you might not have believed me."
"No. I would've believed you."
Zhu Zhuqing answered firmly.
Bai Lu was momentarily silent, surprised by the weight he now carried in her heart.
"Next time, I'll tell you in advance."
After a pause, he continued:
"If there's an opportunity to kill Xiao Wu in the future… would you be able to do it?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
There was no hesitation in her answer.
If Xiao Wu were merely an innocent human girl, even if Bai Lu had told her she was a transformed hundred-thousand-year soul beast, Zhu Zhuqing might have hesitated out of compassion.
But now that it was confirmed?
She had no such burden.
Killing soul beasts no longer weighed on her conscience.
And killing soul masters?
She would not judge based on appearance.
Compared to a hundred-thousand-year soul bone, she felt that her mercy could be… adjusted.
"Good."
Bai Lu smiled faintly.
"When the opportunity comes, don't hold back."
"Opportunity?"
Zhu Zhuqing lowered her gaze.
But when she spoke, her voice carried a chilling killing intent.
"How about… we kill her later?"
End of Chapter