Chapter 294 - 163: Soul Technique, Soul Fire

Having lost all will to fight, Lu Shang fell silent. He was secretly contacting Elder Hun, preparing to flee.

But Li Chang’an was ready for this.

He was about to give chase and block Lu Shang’s path.

But this time, Lu Shang’s speed was far greater than his own. With just a few flashes of movement, he vanished from Li Chang’an’s sight.

’He can run that fast? A Child of Destiny indeed! His escape skills are first-class!’

Seeing the man run faster than a rabbit, Li Chang’an’s mouth twitched. He didn’t pursue, instead turning to Li Yuanqing nearby. "Yuanqing, how are you?" he asked.

Li Yuanqing shook his head. He tried to say he was fine, but the energy Lu Shang had left inside him made it difficult to even speak.

Saying nothing more, Li Chang’an walked over to Li Yuanqing and reached out. With his incredibly formidable Spiritual Power, he stripped away the mass of Power of the Divine Soul from Li Yuanqing’s body.

A cold smile touched Li Chang’an’s lips as he gazed at the pitch-black mass of energy.

His opponent’s soul-burning technique was indeed terrifying.

It was not only incredibly tenacious but also nearly impossible to defend against.

An ordinary Martial Artist, one whose spirit and soul had never been tempered, was as weak as an undefended lamb before such a technique, utterly powerless to resist.

However, it wasn’t entirely without a counter.

At least for Li Chang’an, he could use his overwhelmingly terrifying Spiritual Power to easily strip the fuel from the soul.

This wasn’t to say that his opponent’s technique wasn’t powerful, however.

The only reason Li Chang’an could eradicate it so easily was because his opponent’s Soul Flame wasn’t strong enough. The difference in their power levels was simply too great.

But if Lu Shang’s Realm had been closer to his own, and the strength of their spirits and souls were comparable, then it would have been hard to say who would have emerged victorious.

At this thought, Li Chang’an looked at the strange, grayish-black energy in his hand.

He was glad he had made the first move and uncovered his opponent’s trump card.

Otherwise, if his opponent had been allowed to grow stronger in the shadows and then sprung this technique on him, he likely would have suffered a major loss.

But now that he knew this Child of Destiny possessed a technique for attacking the soul—and had even left behind a sample of its substance—

Li Chang’an was confident that with a little time, he could use his Heaven-defying Comprehension to deduce some interesting results.

The next time they met, this move would no longer work on him.

Dealing with a Child of Destiny wasn’t a matter of a single day. Strictly speaking, if the world’s Will was determined to protect him at all costs, it would be very difficult for Li Chang’an to inflict any substantial harm.

But Li Chang’an knew how to deal with a Child of Destiny.

You just had to make the Child of Destiny doubt himself, or cause the world’s Will to abandon him. Then, the Child of Destiny would quickly devolve into a piece of trash despised by all.

Li Chang’an secured the mass of Divine Soul Energy that Lu Shang had left inside Li Yuanqing.

As long as he could thoroughly study this mass of Divine Soul Energy, this conflict with the Child of Destiny would count as a massive gain!

Feeling rather pleased, Li Chang’an turned his gaze back to the official presiding over the Martial Dao tournament. "Strike up the music," he declared. "Continue with the awards for the outstanding Martial Artists!"

With that, he turned and made a suave exit, quickly vanishing from everyone’s view.

Only after he had completely disappeared did many of the Martial Artists below the stage snap back to their senses. An uproar immediately followed. "Was that really the current Crown Prince?"

"But wasn’t the Crown Prince always said to be ignorant and unskilled? A hopeless case?"

"There’s exaggeration, and then there’s just plain slander! Are those guys blind or deaf? His Highness the Crown Prince possesses such terrifying strength at such a young age, yet they dared to spread such wild rumors?"

"Our Crown Prince is a genius! The kind of talent you see once in a thousand years!"

"I heard that on the day His Highness the Crown Prince was born, a golden dragon descended upon the Great Zhou Capital. Many people saw it, but later they all denied it. I bet they’re all eating their words now!"

"And who was that bastard, Lu Shang? Where did he even come from? He not only dared to attack the Second Prince but almost injured the Crown Prince too. When did our Great Zhou produce such a traitorous fiend?"

"I have no idea. I was completely stunned by the whole thing. Are all the young people these days so terrifying? It was a real eye-opener!"

Although both combatants had already departed and the Martial Dao tournament on the stage continued, the attention of the Martial Artists in the crowd was no longer focused on it.

Be it Li Yuanqing, Lu Shang, or Li Chang’an who struck last, they had all completely upended what many of the Martial Artists thought of the younger generation.

This was especially true for Li Chang’an and Lu Shang.

The bizarre combat techniques they employed during their clash made even many of the powerful Martial Artists present break out in a cold sweat.

’If that young man, Lu Shang, had attacked them instead, what could they have done to defend against that black flame that ignited without any warning?’

...

「On the outskirts of Taizhou Prefecture, in a dilapidated and collapsed Daoist temple.」

Having fled like the wind, Lu Shang stopped, panting heavily. He glanced back for a moment, and only after confirming that the god-like, demon-like young man hadn’t followed did he let out a heavy sigh of relief.

From the shadows beside the temple, a hunched-over old man completely shrouded in a black robe emerged.

The old man’s ink-black eyes stared at Lu Shang. "I warned you from the start not to fight that young man," he said. "Why didn’t you just use the power I gave you and run?"

Hearing the old man’s voice, Lu Shang wiped the sweat from his face and gasped, "Didn’t you tell me I was invincible among my peers? That guy is three years younger than me! How could he be my opponent?"

The old man was silent for a long time.

Seeing his silence, Lu Shang grew even more furious and couldn’t stop himself from cursing, "Old man, you were lying to me, weren’t you?"

"I went through hell to cultivate the Soul Technique, and the Soul Fire I worked so painstakingly to create was extinguished with a casual flick of his hand! Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?"

...