Chapter 57: Fourth Soul Skill—Hell Shadow Assault, Rewarding You with Two Titled Douluo
"Meow!"
The Shadow Spirit Cat let out a cry as its body dissolved into ink-like darkness, freely moving through the shadows.
It bypassed the Eight Spider Lances within its body and merged directly into the shadow beneath the ground.
The shadow flickered, suddenly slipping beneath the girl and erupting violently!
"Pff!"
Alarm bells rang in Zhu Zhuqing's mind. Without hesitation, she lunged forward.
As her body twisted in midair, the Eight Spider Lances intertwined behind her into a web, unleashing Hell Hundred Claws!
"Sizzle—!"
The sound of claws tearing through the air rang out behind her.
The Shadow Spirit Cat leapt out from the shadow where she had been standing moments ago, unleashing countless shadow claw strikes.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
The spider lances collided with the cat claws, sending sparks flying.
"That was close."
Cold sweat appeared on Zhu Zhuqing's forehead, yet the fighting spirit in her eyes only grew stronger.
The Shadow Spirit Cat was already coughing blood and suffering from deadly poison.
Defeating it was only a matter of time.
All she needed to do now was remain steady. She wasn't in a hurry.
But the Shadow Spirit Cat was.
In its current condition, if Zhu Zhuqing chose to pursue it, escape would mean certain death.
The only chance it had was to kill her quickly, then force out the poison afterward.
"Meow!"
The Shadow Spirit Cat repeatedly dived into the shadows, launching ambushes from every direction.
However, the girl possessed too many soul skills. She left the Shadow Spirit Cat no opportunity at all.
As time passed, the beast's offensive power gradually weakened.
Until finally, a flaw appeared.
"Now!"
Zhu Zhuqing, who had been "lazily" defending until now, suddenly exploded into action.
Activating Phantom Flash, she closed the distance like a ghost.
Her left hand swung out, delivering a powerful downward force.
Gravity suddenly surged. Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon!
"Meow?!"
The Shadow Spirit Cat felt its body grow heavy and was uncontrollably pulled straight toward the girl's fist.
"Slash!"
All eight spider lances shot forward simultaneously.
Hell Piercing Strike!
This attack had been planned for a long time.
The Shadow Spirit Cat's pupils shrank suddenly.
"SCREEE!"
It let out a sharp cry, attempting to merge back into the shadows again.
But… It was too late.
The spider lances flashed past like black lightning.
"Puchi!"
Blood splattered everywhere.
Eight strikes, sixteen holes in an instant!
"Meow… ah…"
The Shadow Spirit Cat's body was skewered in midair as blood flowed continuously from its mouth.
Meanwhile, the energy inside its body streamed along the Eight Spider Lances and into the girl.
In the Shadow Spirit Cat's purple eyes flashed unwillingness.
It had been careless. It didn't dodge.
Otherwise… even if it couldn't win… It could have escaped…
With that final thought, it fell into eternal slumber.
Soon after, a deep black soul ring slowly rose from its corpse.
A fifty-thousand-year soul ring!
"Haa…"
Only then did Zhu Zhuqing let out a sigh of relief.
"Bai Lu, did you see that? I did it!"
The girl's eyes shone like brilliant stars.
She had successfully hunted a powerful fifty-thousand-year soul beast on her own.
"Mm! You did it."
"I've been watching your performance and growth all along."
Bai Lu's voice sounded from the spiritual sea, filled with approval.
"Absorb the soul ring. If anything goes wrong, I'll intervene."
"Okay!"
Zhu Zhuqing nodded vigorously, sitting down cross-legged and beginning to absorb the soul ring.
The soul ring settled around her body.
Energy surged into her like a tidal wave, tempering and strengthening her physique.
Even after undergoing the Ice and Fire Body Refinement, it was still somewhat difficult for her to endure.
Fortunately, everything remained within a controllable range.
Her soul power broke through the Rank 40 bottleneck and began soaring upward.
Rank 41…
Rank 42…
Rank 43…
At the same time, inside the spiritual sea.
"Meow?"
'Didn't I die?'
The Shadow Spirit Cat's consciousness awakened, its eyes filled with disbelief.
It didn't understand what had happened, though it didn't bother thinking about it for long.
'Since you killed me, then I'll take you down with me!'
The Shadow Spirit Cat's gaze turned cold as it prepared to destroy the girl's spiritual sea completely.
But just as it moved, a voice suddenly sounded behind it.
"Little kitty, what are you trying to do?"
"Meow? MEOW?!"
The Shadow Spirit Cat turned around in confusion.
But after one glance, its fur instantly stood on end.
Behind it stood a massive tiger with hanging eyes, staring down at it with a playful expression.
The Shadow Spirit Cat froze in place like a statue.
It couldn't understand why such a terrifying beast existed inside a human's spiritual sea.
Its mind went blank.
"Were you planning to cause trouble in my territory just now?"
Bai Lu looked down at it with interest.
"Puff puff puff~"
The Shadow Spirit Cat forced out a flattering smile.
It stepped forward, blinking its lively eyes as it gently rubbed against Bai Lu's leg.
As if trying to say it was the most obedient little cat.
"Oh really?"
Bai Lu transformed back into human form, shrinking the Shadow Spirit Cat to the size of an ordinary house cat before picking it up and stroking it.
"If you're so well-behaved, then how about staying with me from now on? You can help relieve my boredom and cooperate with some spiritual body experiments."
"Meow…"
Upon hearing the words "spiritual body experiments," the Shadow Spirit Cat looked up pitifully at Bai Lu.
Did it even have another choice?
"Oh, you do, little kitty. You do."
Bai Lu opened a portal leading to the Crimson Slaughter Space.
"If you don't want to stay here, I can send you there to accompany your other 'family members.'"
"Meow…"
The Shadow Spirit Cat sneaked a glance through the portal.
It immediately shook its head like a rattle drum.
Actually… staying here seemed pretty nice. Really nice.
"Good thing I preserved your soul intact."
"From now on, you'll be called… Xiao Yue."
"Meow…"
Having its fate decided for it, the Shadow Spirit Cat chose submission.
Suddenly, it noticed Bai Lu frowning before abruptly standing up.
"Not good! Someone's coming!"
"Why is it her?"
Bai Lu's eyes flickered.
After a moment of thought, he slowly sat down again.
"If it's her… there might actually be quite a bit of room to operate."
"For now, let's stay still."
At the same time, outside.
Zhu Zhuqing had nearly completed absorbing the soul ring.
The fifty-thousand-year Shadow Spirit Cat allowed her soul power to rise eight levels, reaching Rank 48.
The information of the fourth soul skill granted by the Shadow Spirit Cat also appeared in her mind.
Fourth Soul Skill: Hell Shadow Assault
The user can transform into a shadow, entering a Shadow Stealth State to launch ambush attacks.
While in Shadow Stealth, speed increases by 50%, presence is greatly concealed, making detection extremely difficult, and the user gains 50% immunity to both physical and energy damage.
Upon launching an attack, the Shadow Stealth state ends, allowing one powerful strike with 50% armor penetration.
(If the user already ignores armor, the attack instead deals 50% additional true damage, and the second-stage shadow strike can be activated directly without entering Shadow Stealth State.)
It could be said that this was an extremely excellent assassination skill, attack skill, pursuit skill, and escape skill all in one.
With it, all aspects of her combat ability would improve significantly.
"With my current strength, even against a Titled Douluo, escaping might not be impossible."
Zhu Zhuqing smiled confidently in her heart.
Previously, Tang Hao had always been the Sword of Damocles hanging above her head.
But now, as long as she remained within a dark environment, she was fairly confident she could escape even under his watchful eyes.
"Very good. This little kitty has great ambition."
"So, your reward is two Titled Douluo."
Bai Lu's voice sounded at just the right moment, filled with encouragement.
"Titled Douluo?"
Zhu Zhuqing was completely stunned.
Wait… she had only been thinking that in her mind!
She hadn't even tested her new soul skill yet!
Don't joke around!
End of Chapter