Section 063: Myth Fallen? Myth Delivers an Acceptance Speech! [Eight Thousand Words Demanding Subscriptions!]

To be honest, I simply can't imagine it!

There are countless types of bone structures: for example, Time Bone Structure, Sin-Cleansing Thousand Thunders, Mirror Supreme, Microcosmic All-Encompassing, Metal Manipulation, Puppet Manipulation, Eight-Armed Primordial Infant, Fire Prison Isolation, Ability Deprivation, Chain of Light... hundreds or even thousands of them.

How could anyone possibly guess it?

However, one thing Xu Ran was certain of was that he definitely wouldn't draw the unremarkable [Comprehension Bone Structure]. He already possessed a divine skill like [Advanced Comprehension], which only required reading books to evolve into [Adept at Epiphany]...

And finally, to evolve into the fourth sequence, [Direct Perception of the Great Dao's Origin]...

While [Direct Perception of the Great Dao's Origin] was undeniably heaven-defying, Xu Ran had a premonition that it still didn't quite measure up to being [overbearing and unique].

"I really want to draw out my vermilion-gold bone structure right now—the ultimate meta among all meta bone structures. What kind of spectacle would that be? Just how strong will I get after obtaining it? And what kind of enhancements and transformations will the infusion of the divine origin bring..."

Xu Ran yearned for it.

It was just a pity that his fortune didn't reach 300+...

He was still lacking the blessing of the golden achievement [Juvenile Supreme]...

"So what on earth do I need to do to trigger a brand-new golden achievement?"

Xu Ran shook his head.

He knew that with one [golden achievement] currently awaiting completion, the probability of triggering a brand-new [golden achievement] would naturally be much lower.

After all, if [golden achievements] could be triggered as easily as walking in the park, wouldn't they become completely worthless?

Oh well, never mind.

There's no need to agonize over it.

With so many miraculous skills now, his strength was already meta-defying.

He didn't need to force the issue of obtaining the bone structure right away.

In 325 days, the truth would naturally reveal itself.

Xu Ran smiled open-mindedly, raised his eyes, and looked at Uncle Lin Feng, who was in the midst of "counseling" him.

His facial features became bright and genial, exuding a warm feeling.

"Actually, every kind of joy is different. If you were to let me run wild and play, I might not feel any joy at all. On the contrary, working hard to improve every single day fills me with pleasantness, refreshing clarity, and a sense of absolute gratification."

The highest form of joy for a human being was self-discipline.

Xu Ran didn't see anything wrong with fanatical self-discipline; instead, his heart felt completely fulfilled from the inside out.

Ye Ping chimed in: "True, he's very happy, I can vouch for it. This kid gets uncomfortable if he doesn't grind for a single day. The reason you think it wouldn't be fun is simply because you can't understand a super genius. You get a splitting headache just trying to learn an invisibility spell, so how could you possibly comprehend it?"

"When he created the invisibility spell, I imagine his joy was second only to a Creator making a world. Can you empathize with that kind of peerless sense of accomplishment?"

Lin Feng: "..."

That sounded so reasonable that he was actually left speechless...

Yet that gloating expression and mocking tone were truly infuriating...

Liu Yan said helplessly: "Pingzi, it hasn't been easy for you, finally finding an opportunity to vent on us."

Ye Ping spread his hands: "The tides turn. If you don't rub it in when you're in a winning position, are you supposed to wait for a losing one?"

"Though... I might just stay in a massive winning position forever."

Ye Ping feigned a heavy sigh as he glanced at Xu Ran.

On the surface, he looked modest and troubled, but the corners of his mouth were curving up harder than an assault rifle could be suppressed.

"What can I do? A person's fortunes always take twists and turns. I had to quit the God-Slaying Squad due to an injury, only to obtain a god-tier [Comprehension Bone Structure] right here in the demigod kindergarten, along with a slightly weaker [King of the Accursed] and [Time Bone Structure]..."

"And they've all learned the invisibility spell... Ah, this must be God closing a door for me, only to build an entire villa instead!"

Ye Ping smiled comically, radiating an aura so dense it practically turned into visible flames.

Everyone widened their eyes slightly: "..."

"There are two super geniuses in your Jing Province demigod kindergarten who actually learned the invisibility spell?!"

"A full two of them?!"

"Really? I don't believe it!"

Ye Ping spread his hands: "It doesn't matter if you believe it or not; I already believe it anyway, and a year from now you'll be forced to believe it."

Ye Ping's utterly fearless demeanor plunged the fourteen members of the two God-Slaying Squads into a brief silence.

They knew Ye Ping's personality; if he wasn't completely certain, he would never be this brazenly provocative.

Then the only truth was that there were indeed two astronomically ahead-of-the-curve super geniuses in the Jing Province demigod kindergarten.

Liu Yan let out a deep breath: "I was the runner-up of my cohort back in the day, and even I couldn't learn it... yet your kindergarten actually has two super prodigies who managed it... What kind of bone structures do they even have?"

Lin Feng speculated: "One of them must be the [Time Bone Structure], right? I remember it's a little girl, and Pingzi's original plan was to go back to protect her..."

"As for the other one, there really isn't much information. What's the deal with the [King of the Accursed]?"

Xiao Xue sidled up to Ye Ping: "Give us a heads-up on the situation. We're going to find out their intelligence files sooner or later anyway."

Information and intelligence among God-Slaying Squads were always mutually shared, and they even maintained special communication channels.

If a weaker God-Slaying Squad encountered a crisis, the senior God-Slaying Squads were obligated to rush to their rescue with all haste—this was the inheritance of their will, as well as the duty and responsibility of a God-Slaying Squad.

Originally, the Fire Prison and Soul Purification squads were only interested in Xu Ran, but now that Ye Ping was rubbing it right in their faces, how could they not be curious?

Ah Hao urged: "Hey, hey, hey, Pingzi, what's the deal with the [King of the Accursed]... exactly?"

Ye Ping deftly changed the subject: "Cut the crap and go help Xiao Ran kill crystal beasts first."

Liu Yan snapped: "You son of a bitch!!!"

Lin Feng intervened: "Forget it, don't fall for his trick. Since he refuses to tell us, can't we just ask the kindergarten headmaster?"

"At worst, we can just ask our own headmaster. Our headmaster will also secure plenty of intelligence before the selection tournament."

Ye Ping spread his hands: "Ask away, then."

Xu Ran smiled sheepishly: "Um... King of the Accursed... is everyone going to call Huhu that from now on? She's definitely going to love that title. Haha."

He could already picture Huhu putting on airs and proudly referring to herself as the [King of the Accursed].

Xu Ran's sudden laughter caused everyone to turn their gazes toward him.

Xiao Xue experienced a flash of realization: "That's right! We have a living, breathing insider right here, don't we? Why don't we just ask little Xu Ran directly!"

"Little Xu Ran, can you tell us what's going on with the other two super geniuses?"

Xu Ran: "..."

He glanced at Uncle Ye Ping. Uncle Ye Ping didn't stop him, which clearly meant this wasn't classified information in front of the two God-Slaying Squads.

Xu Ran explained: "Well, how should I put it? The King of the Accursed is actually Huhu, who has survived three heavenly tribulations. But I don't know what her third ability is yet, and the other two are still being developed."

Everyone fell silent: "..."

They had thought the clouds were parting to reveal the sunlight.

Who could have guessed he was just another riddle-wrapped enigma?

The crucial difference was that Ye Ping intentionally kept things vague just to flex, whereas Xu Ran only told half the story—which was arguably even more malicious!

If not for the fact that Xu Ran looked entirely solemn and dead serious, they would have genuinely wanted to tie him up and give him a beating.

Even though their tolerance for Xu Ran was dozens of times higher than usual, they were still on the verge of pulling their hair out.

Liu Yan nearly blurted out a curse: "What the f—this is no different from telling us nothing at all! A heaven-bestowed divine ability, a heaven-bestowed passive, and he didn't leak a single detail!"

"Can't you just spit out the crucial information?! Leaving us hanging like this is just disgusting."

Xiao Xue reached out and patted the top of Xu Ran's head: "Little brother, you riddle-monger are even worse than Ye Ping. Want me to spank your bottom?"

Xu Ran: "..."

"I'm really not trying to speak in riddles. Huhu's bone structure hasn't been fully finalized yet. The first stage is basically rapid blood-qi growth plus high comprehension, the second stage is a defensive bell, and the third stage is still unknown."

Lin Feng pondered deeply: "Is the heaven-bestowed divine ability a defensive bell? What kind of defense is it? If it's just ordinary defense, it shouldn't qualify her to be called the King of the Accursed, right?"

Xu Ran recalled: "As for the specific details, Huhu didn't even tell me."

Lin Feng: "..."

Liu Yan: "..."

The expressions of the remaining twelve members of the two God-Slaying Squads shifted in unison.

Wonderful. Just wonderful.

Is your entire kindergarten made up of riddle-mongers or what?

Damn it all!

Lin Feng waved his hand: "Forget it, forget it. We'll just ask our headmaster after a while. Our headmaster must have exchanged intelligence with the Jing Province headmaster anyway."

Liu Yan agreed: "He's bound to know more than Ye Ping. Ye Ping himself doesn't even know, yet he came all the way over here just to gross us out."

Ye Ping spread his hands, his act having been thoroughly exposed...

Lin Feng flashed a cool smile: "Let's go. Do you all have your gear ready? Time to set off for the Seventh Safety Zone!"

Xu Ran: "I'm good to go."

"Then—let's move out!"

The flame-patterned trench coats of the Fire Prison God-Slaying Squad fluttered in the wind.

The golden trench coats of the Soul Purification God-Slaying Squad shone brilliantly.

They streaked across the safety zone like bolts of lightning, looking devastatingly cool.

Xu Ran asked out of curiosity: "Uncle Feng, Uncle Yan... did you design your team uniforms yourselves?"

Liu Yan replied: "Yeah, spent three months designing them. Cool, right? Not only are they cool, look... they also bear numerous blessings that get renewed every two months. They're probably the strongest battle robes manufactured by humanity."

Xu Ran looked at them with newfound respect.

Lin Feng remarked: "What's there to be envious of? You'll have one of your own later. With super talent like yours, you're guaranteed to lead the top-ranked God-Slaying Squad of your cohort."

Xiao Xue smiled faintly: "Let's pick a name for our team first. How about 'Blaze'? Like, we're all fired up!"

Xu Ran: "..."

He instantly thought of the headmaster's naming standards.

A child's silence was like a sharp blade, leaving Xiao Xue choking on her words: "What? Is it a bad name?"

Liu Yan laughed heartily: "Hahaha, don't torment the kid. Naming a God-Slaying Squad after real names is the dumbest thing you can possibly do—you lose your real name for life."

Everyone burst into uproarious laughter, laughing so hard they completely lost control.

It was as if they had been reminded of something utterly hilarious.

Xu Ran asked sheepishly: "Did some senior members fall victim to that?"

The fourteen members of the two God-Slaying Squads laughed even more merrily.

"It's too complicated to explain. All in all, you'll run into that bunch of weirdos sooner or later."

Xu Ran: "..."

Well, riddle-mongers always get a taste of their own medicine eventually.

Such a trivial matter didn't hold much attraction for him.

Xu Ran quickly cast it to the back of his mind.

The group arrived before the Super Gate.

***

Liu Yan sighed with deep emotion: "Every time I see the Super Gate and the safety zone, I feel a great sense of relief."

"The advantage of the Super Gate is that traveling from one safety zone to another takes only five minutes. Unlike other countries, where it takes half an hour. That's why our reinforcements can arrive so rapidly."

"However, the alien races are simply too formidable. Out of the nine safety zones, they've been destroyed a full 20,000 times—averaging about once every month for each zone."

"Of course, over the past twenty years, the number of destructions has dropped quite a bit."

Liu Yan smiled.

He walked over to the service hall in front of the Super Gate to collect the specialized coordinate beads.

"Come, come, these are all coordinate beads heading to the Seventh Zone."

With the coordinate beads in hand, they stepped through the Super Gate.

And just like that, they were in the Seventh Zone!

The interior of the Seventh Zone city was peaceful and harmonious, with no crystal beasts having breached the safety zone.

"In recent years, the intensity of crystal beast siege tides hasn't been very high. Could it be that the resentment beasts have actually invaded their home planet?"

Xiao Xue mused: "Who knows... The creatures of the Resentment God planet are bizarre and repulsive; they don't distinguish between friend and foe, driven only by a stupid instinct for pollution. It's no wonder the crystal beasts find them a headache."

Liu Yan shook his head: "Even god-tier crystal beasts have become rare lately. They used to launch sieges every now and then! Nowadays, the territories outside several safety zones have all been occupied by resentment beasts and ghost entities."

Lin Feng sighed: "It's quite troublesome, too. Recently, scientists have strongly petitioned to establish a crystal beast gene bank on Blue Star, just in case the pollution keeps worsening to the point where we can't find good crystal beasts for breeding."

Although humanity had nearly been driven to extinction by crystal beasts, it had to be said that crystal beasts were a massive treasure trove—nearly half of humanity's cultivation resources came from them.

Their meat, blood, bones, horns, scales... after undergoing harmless processing, all served as precious cultivation resources.

If they were to be contaminated too severely by resentment beasts, humanity would face an extremely severe resource shortage.

Liu Yan spread his hands: "It's not like we're going to form a united front with the crystal beasts, are we?"

Lin Feng offered a grim smile: "Crystal beasts look down on humans anyway. They must have their own ways of contending with the resentment gods."

"Mainly, humanity is just too weak, forcing us to consider more contingencies. How wonderful would it be if we could establish a vast utopian paradise outside the safety zone, completely free of pollution, where countless crystal beasts could be farmed as a resource mine."

Lin Feng suddenly gazed off into a grand vision.

As soon as he finished, he changed the subject: "Right, Xiao Ran, do you have any methods to restrain resentment beasts?"

Xu Ran raised an eyebrow: "As for that... it seems I really don't."

Prompted by Uncle Feng, he suddenly realized that he didn't possess a heaven-sent hard counter against resentment gods like [Origami Soul Detention].

[Pure Spiritual Body] could suppress pollution, but it was merely a passive divine skill.

[Twilight of the Gods] similarly treated all resentment gods, god-tier crystal beasts, and god-tier ghosts as garbage on equal terms.

Lin Feng looked surprised: "You don't? You should get on that."

Xu Ran: "I really don't."

Xiao Xue smiled gently: "You really should get on that."

Xu Ran looked sheepish: "...I genuinely don't, but I can think about it."

Indeed.

He really ought to consider it.

Xu Ran narrowed his eyes: "I suppose I don't truly possess a lethal divine skill specialized in restraining resentment gods. What kind of miraculous skill would I need to trigger to counter them?"

"Hmm..."

"Hmm?"

Amidst his musings, a flash of inspiration suddenly crossed his mind.

"Could it be... talismans that suppress resentment gods?"

Xu Ran abruptly leaned back in tactical surprise.

If he were to grind [Advanced Comprehension] to the next sequence, [Adept at Epiphany], he should be able to comprehend the contents of resentment god talismans...

By then... not only would he be able to learn them, but he could also master them thoroughly and create his own spell arts.

"Perhaps it's tied to talismans after all?"

"First, the [Nightmare Resentment Mother] delivered the vermilion-gold achievement [Twilight of the Gods]..."

"And now, will a [Talisman Resentment God] deliver a restraining method?"

Xu Ran's expression turned peculiar.

"Looks like I'll have to work hard. But for now, I'd better harvest some souls for my paper-doll legion."

Muttering to himself, the corners of Xu Ran's mouth curved slightly upward.

His gaze shifted toward the battlefield outside the safety zone.

"Uncle Yan, Uncle Feng, I have a question. Can you tell which of the creatures out there harbor bone structures?"

Lin Feng looked surprised: "What? Are you still thinking of studying crystal beast bone structures? You aren't planning to use your paper-doll legion to plunder crystal beast bone structures, are you?"

Xu Ran: "I do have a vague craving of that sort."

How joyful would it be if he could acquire a bone structure?

Lin Feng chuckled and shook his head: "The difficulty of studying crystal beast bone structures is astronomically high! Their bone structures are extremely similar to those of human geniuses—they're also high-core energy aggregates, invisible to the naked eye and imperceptible to senses, detectable only by specialized instruments measuring magnetic field fluctuations."

"Precisely because bone structures are so special—being nothing more than clusters of high-core energy—they are terribly difficult to study. Detailed analytical projects by scientists have failed without exception."

"Once upon a time, a great scientist full of fighting spirit wanted to transplant a bone structure of purple grade or higher, but the failure was absolute and thorough."

"The existence of a bone structure is inextricably linked to its owner's soul, spirit, and even fate's destiny; you could practically call it metaphysics. Wanting to extract one onto your paper-doll legion is probably harder than ascending to the heavens."

Lin Feng didn't hold high hopes for Xu Ran's idea.

The kid was far too daring.

And it was also bound to provoke vigilance from others.

If Xu Ran succeeded, human powerhouses would inevitably be on guard against him.

Lin Feng leaned in close to Xu Ran: "If you want to try it, do it secretly and don't tell anyone. Look closely—if any crystal beast's crystal armor or blade radiates abnormal light during an attack, that's most likely a sign of possessing a bone structure. With your observation skills, you should be able to spot it."

"Of course, ordinary crystal beasts definitely don't have bone structures. And the ones that do are born much smarter; they'll hide in safe places to grow first. By the time they emerge into the world, they usually possess Cliff-realm strength..."

"Even those with ordinary bone structures won't show themselves until they surpass 80,000 points of blood-qi... Trying to capture a bone-structured crystal beast on a battlefield like this is practically impossible."

"Unless you sneak deep inside the crystal beast planet to poach them. But let me tell you, the crystal beast planet is extraordinarily dangerous; even God-Slaying Squads wouldn't dare set foot there."

Xu Ran shrugged: "What a pity, then. But it doesn't matter. It was just a passing thought."

He genuinely didn't care.

As long as the paper-doll legion detained souls, they would experience a explosive surge in strength. When that time came, even super geniuses of the same tier would find themselves sweating profusely, utterly panicked, and routed in complete disarray before them.

Bone structures and the like were just icing on the cake anyway.

Besides... his current cultivation level was still low. Even if he managed to detain one or two souls with bone structures, they wouldn't be of any exceptionally high quality.

That being the case, why bother wasting the effort?

Just use the simplest, most brutal method to get a power-up and be done with it!

Xu Ran's gaze turned cold.

With a casual flick of his wrist, strips of origami flew out, rapidly expanding in mid-air to transform into two-meter-tall broadsword warriors, four-meter-tall black bears, and steel-clawed eagles...

Cold as black iron, muscles bulging, lines sharp and rigid, they formed dual land-and-air phalanxes, kicking up howling gusts of wind as they charged fiercely forward!

The eagles swooped through mid-air, tigers and leopards patrolled the flanks, and the broadsword warriors held their oppressive long blades high, charging menacingly toward the metallic, fiendish crystal beasts.

"Huh? What's that terrifying commotion? Who is that?"

"You don't recognize them?"

"Honestly, I don't..."

"You definitely haven't been watching the news. Broadsword warriors, armored warriors, giant bear puppets, fierce tiger puppets! That suffocating sense of oppression! It has to be the super rookie from the Sixth Safety Zone who fights an army single-handedly!"

"I saw a report about him on the news last night. Slashing through 10,000 flying head ghosts all by himself—he's practically inhuman!"

"Could it be that he's going on a massacre in the Seventh Zone?"

"Since he's here, he's definitely going to stir up a frenzy. Watching that single-handed army footage the other day made my blood boil, even through a screen!"

"I never expected to witness it with my own eyes today, up close! I'm in love!"

Practitioners at the third defense line noticed the entry of the paper-doll legion. After casting a sideways glance, their hearts thumped involuntarily.

Towering like mountain ridges, cold as black iron, radiating an awe-inspiring murderous aura—it was heart-stopping!

Several combat teams quickly yielded a path. They knew that before a puppet legion capable of fighting an army single-handedly, their meager strength was negligible.

Trying to block the way would simply be courting death.

Better to be sensible and make way for the big shot's legion.

"Close combat is about to begin! Can the super rookie's legion replicate the myth of a few days ago?"

The practitioners harbored doubts inwardly.

Then they heard the heavy blade cleave downward with a wet *squelch*.

A semi-erect hyena crystal beast with 100,000 points of blood-qi had half its body sheared off, collapsing to the ground in a fountain of blood.

"One-shotted!"

"As expected of the single-army big shot!"

Xiao Xue looked surprised: "I thought that while they counter ghost entities, they might need a few more hacks against crystal beasts. I didn't expect it to still be a one-shot..."

This brought a tiny hint of shock.

Logically speaking, crystal beasts possessed much tougher defenses than ghost entities, so they should have been able to endure a few blows, yet the broadsword warrior had only struck once.

And it had directly slaughtered a semi-erect hyena crystal beast?

Xu Ran smiled faintly without offering much explanation—origami-type abilities were just that exaggerated!

After all, having absorbed the energy of 10,000 flying head ghosts, the paper-doll legion's limit of strength had reached 150,000 points.

If not for the fact that the soul strength of the broadsword warriors was still a bit low, even crystal beasts with 150,000 blood-qi could have been cleaved in two with a single strike!

It was precisely to raise the soul strength and allow the new souls to unleash that 150,000-point limit of strength that Xu Ran had come here to kill crystal beasts and detain souls!

"Test slash successful."

"Let's spend another minute testing the limit..."

Pondering this, Xu Ran shifted his thoughts, directing the legion to gallop swiftly across the battlefield.

He found a suitable opponent.

The broadsword warrior remained emotionless as it raised its heavy blade.

Its current opponent was a giant lobster crystal beast standing 1.5 meters tall with a bluish head—signifying that its blood-qi had reached the 150,000-point mark.

At that moment, facing the broadsword warrior's unyielding attack, the lobster crystal beast wore a ferocious expression, shrieking in terror as it raised its massive pincers to block.

Those pincers looked as though they were forged from steel, colliding with Xu Ran's heavy blade and sending out a shower of sparks.

The giant lobster grinned hideously, seemingly proud of its defense: "Hehehe!"

***

"Huh...?"

Combat squads glancing sideways in this direction were instantly struck dumb: "How is this possible? The single-army big shot actually failed to one-shot it?"

"No way? Has the myth been shattered?"

"Wuwuwu, my male god! He achieved myth status just yesterday, and today he's already hitting obstacles? My heart can't take this."

"No, no, no! This is different! My male god hard-counters ghost entities; it's normal if he can't one-shot crystal beasts. Didn't he just one-shot the 10,0000-blood-qi crystal beast earlier?"

Some were flabbergasted, some incredulous, and others argued back and forth. They had expected Xu Ran to recreate his myth today, only for him to crash at light speed...

Which was rather awkward.

Um...

As Xu Ran's elders, Lin Feng patted Xu Ran's shoulder: "Don't be discouraged. A crystal beast's greatest advantage is its defense. Nine out of ten crystal beasts are covered in heavy armor. That's why humanity almost went extinct in the early days."

"Your paper-doll legion is already invincible just by being able to one-shot crystal beasts with 100,000 blood-qi."

Xu Ran nodded: "I understand. 150,000 blood-qi is the slaughter limit of my paper-doll legion. Even ghost entities are no exception."

How could he not understand the limits of his own abilities?

Let's not forget he only had 33,000 points of blood-qi himself; being able to slaughter crystal beasts below 150,000 blood-qi could already be called heaven-defying.

It was simply hitting a temporary ceiling, nothing worth getting discouraged over.

Besides, he could grow stronger rapidly!

With a completely calm expression, a flash of inspiration suddenly germinated in Xu Ran's mind: "I wonder if my Ultra-Explosive Slash can bypass its defense and hack its internal organs to pieces?"

Thinking thus, Xu Ran instantly turned invisible while simultaneously tossing out a substitute puppet, diving into the puppet's shadow at maximum speed.

He directed the substitute puppet to dart out of the safety zone.

"Uncle Feng, Uncle Yan, I'm hiding in the puppet's shadow to test its strength firsthand!"

"Alright. Go ahead with peace of mind, there's no danger."

The fourteen members reacted instantly, their stylish trench coats fluttering as they landed across all four corners of the battlefield.

The substitute paper doll sprinted across the battlefield.

The paper-doll legion quickly retreated, shielding the substitute puppet in the center.

*Scared?*

Having taken a blow head-on without suffering a scratch, the lobster crystal beast chased after them with a hideous grin!!

It was immensely arrogant.

Xu Ran scoffed: "This is the first time I've ever seen a crystal beast this arrogant. Fine!"

No wasted words!

No hesitation!

*Clang!*

The long blade was unsheathed!

Xu Ran's eyes shone brightly. From within his invisible state, a figure lunged forward and—slashed toward the lobster crystal beast!

A twelfth of a second after the slash was executed...

The lobster crystal beast's pursuit abruptly halted.

It collapsed flat onto the ground. Although its external carapace remained unbroken, its eyeballs were bloodshot and ruptured, blood spurting out as it dragged itself forward across the earth like a worm.

Witnessing this bizarre scene, the fourteen members of the God-Slaying Squad narrowed their pupils: "That strike of his... is seriously abnormal!"

Liu Yan let out a deep breath: "I didn't see wrong, did I? An eight-year-old kid just one-shotted a 150,000-blood-qi crystal beast? Isn't that defying common sense?"

Xiao Xue: "...You didn't see wrong. It really does defy common sense."

Liu Yan muttered: "That doesn't make sense, right? The extreme strength of the heaven-bestowed divine ability paper-doll legion is understandable. But he can slay enemies more powerfully with his own blade?"

His tone grew heavier: "I thought only his paper-doll legion was absurdly strong... Who knew he had this trick up his sleeve too?"

"The kid didn't show a single hint of this over the past few days!"

Ye Ping's left eyelid twitched frantically: "To be honest... leaving aside you guys who've only known him for three days, Uncle Ye and the headmaster spent five whole years with him, and even we didn't know he could one-shot a 150,000-blood-qi lobster crystal beast."

Lin Feng analyzed with narrowed eyes: "The principle behind that remote slash should be bypassing the crystal beast's defense to wound its internal organs. Isn't this fundamentally a sword technique specifically researched to counter crystal beasts?"

Liu Yan reasoned: "So the reason he went on that wild killing spree against ghost entities yesterday and the day before was because he was doing research?"

"Does that mean he's researched crystal beasts in the past too?"

Ye Ping looked thoughtful: "I remember he went to the cultivation park every day to feed the crystal beasts. And back when he went out for his first field training session, he really did kill a lot of crystal beasts."

Lin Feng felt enlightened: "If that's the case, then everything connects. He must have been studying and pondering a blade technique targeting crystal beasts for a very long time."

A look of admiration surfaced in Lin Feng's eyes: "He truly is a prodigy of heaven! Bypassing the very defense crystal beasts take the greatest pride in to shred their internal organs. This creativity... is far too imaginative."

Lin Feng's gaze grew profound: "With the mechanics and principles of this Ultra-Explosive Slash, how are the optimal defenses the crystal beasts spent countless millions of years evolving supposed to feel?"

"If those crystal beasts find out, they're bound to tremble and sit on pins and needles."

The group leaned back in tactical realization: "Putting ourselves in their shoes, even we would feel chilled to the bone facing this bizarre slash!"

Lin Feng solemnly instructed: "Everyone, keep your guards up, look after the little guy well, and make sure nothing goes wrong."

"Received."

"Received."

As they spoke, the God-Slaying Squad members maxed out their vigilance, maintaining the most perfect protective perimeter.

At that moment.

Xu Ran detained the lobster crystal beast's soul, thought about it for a moment, and then tossed it aside.

"Utterly useless. Better to find a crystal beast similar to the broadsword warrior to detain for a much better fit."

A similar soul made it much easier to unleash full combat capability.

Using a lobster crystal beast's soul to drive a broadsword warrior's hacking?

That was pure wishful thinking.

You don't have the talent for it, you know?

With that thought, Xu Ran scanned his surroundings with his eyes.

Soon enough.

He actually found a few targets—the Raging Blade Boar-Man, a bipedal crystal beast resembling a boar with a potbelly, thick lower limbs, and glittering body armor that looked like crocodile skin stripped off, coated with a layer of metal, and strapped onto its body.

Its arms were exceptionally long, comparable to a gibbon's, hanging down past its knees. Its palms resembled a monkey's, tightly gripping a pair of curved tusk-like blades.

A boar's head with upturned tusks and a pair of scarlet eyes radiated a murderous aura.

"Good, you're the one."

Xu Ran instantly recalled information on the Raging Blade Boar-Man: an extremely specialized crystal beast species adept at fighting with tusks, possessing a shred of bloodline sword technique. Rumor had it that the sovereign of the Raging Blade Boar-Man race possessed god-tier strength, and their blade techniques were terrifyingly exceptional.

However, their sovereign had nothing to do with Xu Ran.

He intended to detain the soul of this Raging Blade Second Brother and fuse it into the body of the broadsword warrior.

Xu Ran's eyes lit up.

Crimson light surged from his entire body like flames.

Slash!

The Raging Blade Boar-Man's hairs suddenly stood on end as it turned to run!

Unfortunately, compared to the [Ultra-Explosive Slash] that struck inside its body in the blink of an eye, its running speed was far too slow.

Its internal organs were churned to pulp, and gushing streams of blood spurted from its seven orifices...

It collapsed onto the ground, its eyes losing focus—*I'm sorry for failing to force that expert to use his full strength...*

"Soul Detention!"

Xu Ran leaped in front of the carcass.

He grabbed Raging Blade Second Brother's soul, pulled out the lagging soul of the broadsword warrior, and once again cast Paper-Doll Soul Detention, fusing the new soul with the paper doll.

"Wonderful. Lethality increased by another fifty percent. Now I can slaughter crystal beasts with 150,000 blood-qi easily!"

The soul's enhancement to the paper doll was visible to the naked eye.

Xu Ran smiled faintly. If he detained even higher-tier souls in the future, his paper-doll legion would acquire actual combat techniques—now that would truly be invincible.

The current paper-doll legion was still in its preliminary stage.

Even so.

Even in its preliminary stage, it was already sufficiently invincible.

Thinking of this, Xu Ran kept his hands behind his back, shielding the paper-doll legion in front of him as he silently turned invisible to watch the battle.

He no longer needed to make a move, because with the soul of Raging Blade Second Brother, the broadsword warrior was fully sufficient to accomplish the remaining tasks!

Sure enough, exactly as Xu Ran had anticipated—the oppressive aura of the broadsword warrior had returned in full force!!!

The legion strode swiftly across the battlefield, running straight into another lobster crystal beast.

This time, the heavy blade was raised and cleaved fiercely downward, the fierce blade-wind causing the air to churn violently and even emit a sharp screech.

The lobster crystal beast raised its massive pincers, attempting to block the heavy blade.

The exact same scene, the exact same broadsword warrior, a lobster crystal beast of the exact same strength, with barely any time having passed since the previous encounter.

Yet the outcome was utterly and completely different—

The heavy blade smashed the lobster crystal beast's massive pincers to pieces and cleaved straight down into its head, splitting the lobster crystal beast neatly in two.

The lobster crystal beast's two protruding eyeballs were frozen in a state of profound shock.

And upon witnessing this sight, the practitioners who had been sighing earlier were utterly flabbergasted.

"The myth hasn't fallen! My male god still one-shots them!"

The teams of practitioners glanced over in unison, catching sight of the broadsword warrior pulling out that overwhelmingly oppressive long blade.

Their hearts skipped a beat once more.

"Seriously... a half-blue-headed lobster crystal beast with over 150,000 points of blood-qi. It actually got one-shotted too."

"As expected of the single-army super rookie!"

The members of the God-Slaying Squad exchanged glances.

"Did it get stronger? Visible to the naked eye, it got stronger."

"What on earth just happened? Why did it suddenly grow stronger by an entire tier? Barely a minute has passed."

Lin Feng turned to look at Ye Ping, his eyes filled with nothing but bewilderment. It completely baffled him: "Don't tell me this is also an ability of the comprehension bone structure? Discovering weaknesses on the battlefield on the fly?"

*(PS: Handing over 8,800 words held high above my head~~ Thank you for the support, dear readers~~)*