Chapter 102: 4 Days (1)

Shout-out to Joakim Buberb.

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"Should we escape?" Despite what this situation meant, Ja Sun took the initiative to inquire. A titled douluo, in Ja Sun's eyes, meant extreme difficulty which, of course, meant an S-ranked quest. However, his optional objective was to keep his group safe. This wasn't done out of a warm and caring feeling. Each one within this group was a demonic entity in their own right. Ja Sun only held the hope of getting yet another shard of Life Gold. If not for himself, then future trade or something else. Anyway, an S-ranked quest would mean a precious or multiple precious treasures. 

However, the difficulty of the optional quest may fall deep if the group wasn't even present to be protected. Since the difficulty was set, the ending rank of the mission depended entirely on his course of action.

"Escape?" Bibi Dong frowned. Including Xie Xan, others were reluctant, too. Why? All these hunters were after their lives. Naturally, they didn't feel guilty about returning the favor. Xie Xan only felt the slight burden based on how they ambushed the bounty hunters but it would all pass away after a bit of rest and he would even get accustomed to the act. Nobody is ever innocent in this world so the group didn't think of themselves as some sort of saviors committing indecent deeds.

Not to mention the fact that this was the best way of earning. With the taste of blood already encouraging them, this group of man-eaters didn't want to stop now. It was too delicious, after all. The earnings, that is. They had already divided the wealth of the corpses with the major chunk falling to Ja Sun and Xie Xan due to their active participation but the others didn't feel left out. Bibi Dong was nurtured in Spirit Hall from a young age so this amount of wealth didn't blind her. Liu Erlong had gotten a spirit bone, how would she feel disheartened? Xie Xan and Hu Lana were lovers, naturally, their wealth was shared. Out of Ah Yin and Ja Sun, only Ja Sun would eye others greedily despite being the wealthiest at the moment.

"It's so unfair..." Hu Lana whined and lowered her head on the table, feeling a little choked. This Ground Devil Douluo, after all, may not just stop at killing them but might even eat their corpses. None of them wanted such an ending. However, what to do? Give up on benefits entirely or risk running into this rather dangerous Titled Douluo whose actions seemed more in line with an Evil Cultivator. Sure, according to Caihong and Olivia, the man was simply sating his hunger. Nothing wrong with that. Animals eat animals, so by that logic, humans can eat humans but the nature of humanity itself categorizes such acts as 'heretic' or 'evil.' And they are not wrong. Who wouldn't feel threatened?

"What if we don't have to face Titled Douluo at all?" Ja Sun suddenly stated. 

"What do you mean?" Bibi Dong inquired. She didn't know about Daoliu's protection for Ja Sun and Ah Yin. Back then, Daoliu's presence to restrain Dai Laohu, in Bibi Dong's eyes, was nothing short of coincidence. And even if Ja Sun considered himself protected, this time, there would be no witnesses unlike the palace courtyard filled with Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, Tang Siblings, and even Yue Guan who was a Titled Douluo of Spirit Hall. So, naturally, caution was needed but retreat wasn't.

"Teacher... you have the greatest understanding regarding the strength of a Titled Douluo. What are our chances if we face this... Ground Devil Douluo?"

Bibi Dong closed her eyes momentarily. A frown creasing her forehead.

"Before I answer that, you must understand why the Clear Sky Hammer and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Souls are considered as the best tool and beast martial souls. This is largely related to the gap in a Spirit Douluo and the Titled Douluo.

The first thing about Titled Douluos is that after gaining their ninth ring, the spirit master undergoes a complete transformation. The body is reinvigorated with vitality, making the spirit master appear young and brimming with energy. This 'energy' that I mentioned is none other than the vigor of life. However, a Titled Douluo is also exaggeratedly stronger than a normal human just in physical quality. Not only that but the mental energy is transformed completely. Aside from the quantity and intensity, the quality is something no spirit master under the level of Titled Douluo can match easily."

The last bit seemed to be directed towards Ja Sun who mental energy already outclassed everyone in the group.

"Now, the truth of the matter is that a Spirit Douluo holding the martial soul Clear Sky Hammer or Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon can actually face off a rank 91 Titled Douluo. It's a fact. There are many Spirit Douluos in these two clans who can even face off weaker, non-combative Rank 92-93 Titled Douluos. But all of you must understand is that each level in the rank of Titled Douluo is another transformation similar to the first time. The body will be reinvigorated and the mind will be boosted every breakthrough. This is the reason why Titled Douluos have a lifespan far surpassing a normal human. 

Now, there are also extreme cases such as the Attack Clan under Clear Sky Clan that can face-off against a Titled Douluo while being at a lower title due to their martial soul only being able to produce skills regarding heightened damage. Another example would be variant martial souls, quite possibly, like yours," Bibi Dong looked towards Ja Sun, "But, the way we are now, if we happen to face this Rank 93 Ground Devil Douluo... and I mean the Ground Devil Douluo who isn't a benevolent elder of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan but a child-eating demon then the best course of action is to escape."

Everyone's expression became heavy. 

"That is to say, we cannot let this person find us at any cost," Ja Sun narrowed his eyes, "And this only leaves us with the option to indirectly make this Titled Douluo leave or affect his health to the point that he cannot keep up with us."

"What do you have in mind?" Ah Yin inquired.

"Well, the most reckless plan is to spread the information that the Ground Devil Douluo is a child eater. Not only will it alert him but he will also realize while he is in the light, we can observe him without his notice, making him more cautious and unpredictable in his actions." 

Ja Sun crossed his arms, "Ordinarily, finding someone's weakness should be easy given the condition that their strength doesn't eclipse ours and that isn't the condition. So, we cannot easily expose this man due to his backing or attack him due to his might."

"What if I stab him in the back with your disguise?" Xie Xan inquired willingly.

"That should be the last option to consider," Ja Sun's words relieved Hu Lana greatly and he continued, "In the event that he doesn't die and also has some life-saving measures then you will be the first to die."

"So... an indirect attack. You want poison, the best one available to us, don't you?" Bibi Dong sighed and Ja Sun smiled, "I do feel that poison of your martial souls should work. After all, you praised it so much. Even if our collective strength isn't high enough to face a Titled Douluo, the poison of Death Spider Emperor should, at least, weaken a Titled Douluo, right?"

Even though Ja Sun's words were encouraging, Bibi Dong hesitated. The poison of a spirit master showed its greatest use when it didn't only infect the body but also the energy. Like Ja Sun, whose mental energy could poison other's sea of consciousness and even send the corruption wisps of rotten yin qi, Bibi Dong's true poison affected spirit energy alongside the body. The more spirit energy is mobilized, the quicker the poison spreads but there are limitations, too. If the speed of spirit energy working against the poison and the quality of it far outstrips Bibi Dong, then the poison might just fail. In essence, killing a Titled Douluo with her poison was just a dream at this point in her cultivation.

But if it is to weaken the opponent...

"Then what?" Bibi Dong inquired, "A weak Titled Douluo is still an opponent that can be taken care of by a Titled Douluo only... and neither of us is a Spirit Douluo. How do you plan to defeat a Titled Douluo?"

Ja Sun looked at everyone and then gave a confused glance towards Bibi Dong, "Don't look at me like that. I don't piss insults and shit super genius plans. At least, give me some time. That's a Titled Douluo... not some errand boy that we want to assassinate."

His words made everybody's lips twitch. Maybe they truly overestimated Ja Sun. After all, he only reached rank 50 recently. Just reaching rank 70 marks another qualitative change, much less rank 90. The group dispersed to their rooms, each considering the problem already at hand and Ja Sun's thoughts changed once again when he found a note lying on his mattress when he entered his room.

— Ground Devil Douluo is not a Titled Douluo strictly speaking but his strength is. Meaning, I won't stop this beast just yet.—

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The same not was found by Ah Yin on her bed but there were a few additional sentences. 

Picking the note, Ja Sun silently kept it within his storage tool and began mulling over the matter. Titled Douluo or not, Qian Daoliu's protection or not, he at least had to consider himself. Did he want to give up on the delicious slab of meat that was Ground Devil Douluo? No. Did he have the confidence in facing the entity despite his heightened mental energy? No. 

But this only made Ja Sun's thoughts more active. He momentarily disregarded the possibilities of death and pain while formulating plans. His mind touching the most depraved corners of his mind. What can he afford to lose? What can he hope to gain? He began considering the benefits and losses before physical exertion. 

'The most profitable outcome is to face this Titled Douluo alone. Using other's help may just lower the final difficulty. But, if I face a Titled Douluo alone... what should I even be cautious of. My mental energy can compare to a titled douluo only in attacking intensity. I have no experience as to what a Titled Douluo is capable of. Even master never revealed his true strength and Bibi Dong only understands the theory. 

My greatest attack should be fully utilizing the entirety of my mental attack to infect the opponent's sea of consciousness and destroy as much of it as possible. My fourth spirit ring is already of the cultivation 80000+. This is the general quality of the ninth spirit ring of the Titled Douluo but with my low spirit energy, I cannot bring out the full potential of the spirit ring... but, there is another gamble.'

Ja Sun considered the impact of condensing his fifth spirit ring carefully. Now that the opponent was a Titled Douluo, increasing his personal strength shouldn't affect the final rank too much, this he hoped. But even if it did, Ja Sun's thoughts were concentrated on killing the Titled Douluo to see what benefits the corpse of a Titled Douluo can possibly hold. Even if his Astral Combatants were now a part of his core and couldn't devour the mental energy of the corpses, he could still find plenty of benefits.

Of course, the fact that Qian Daoliu had asked Ja Sun to hold off until he was present personally didn't bother Ja Sun anymore. If Qian Daoliu can leave a message, then he can surely observe him condensing the fifth spirit ring. 

How to explain that he gained another spirit ring?

"Ah Yin," Ja Sun walked out, calling onto the most trusted life-stealing woman in the group, "Let's go. I want to scout the city once again."

Ja Sun didn't give Ah Yin any chance as he directly grabbed her hand, the gesture itself sending Hu Lana to the point of squeaking internally as she had stars in her eyes. The others meanwhile, grew confused. But when Ja Sun's and Ah Yin's bodies turned into burly men still holding hands, everyone couldn't help but scowl and close their eyes save for Liu Erlong whose interest only grew greater.

---

"You are quite impatient," a calm sigh echoed as Ja Sun and Ah Yin finally reached the edge of the nearest thicket a few kilometers away from the dusty surrounding of the Dragon Rising City.

Once again, perched atop a narrow branch was a grey-haired man with a wry expression on his face. It was already midnight, with the crescent moon already close to its highest point. Qian Daoliu's smile finally made the dark and burly bald man speak up, "Who? Can't you see that we both are here for important matters between men that no one else should see? Or... brother, are you like us?" 

The blue-haired youth rolled his eyes while Qian Daoliu glared at the dark-skinned man, "Smartass, your illusion works on individuals with mental energy low or equal to yours. All I can see is one rogue and my good-natured disciple."

Ja Sun removed the disguise but still kept holding onto Ah Yin's hand even when he felt a bit of resistance once the disguise was removed. However, it was just too good to hold her hand itself. 

"She is good-natured?" Ja Sun frowned, "Master, let me quote a few of her good-natured sentences when we were living in Balak City—"

A thick tendril of Blue Silver Goddess was instantly wrapped around Ja Sun with his lips covered to the boot. Pulling her hand from Ja Sun's grasp, Ah Yin gracefully bowed towards Qian Daoliu. However, an individual with great strength and even greater intrigue, Qian Daoliu couldn't help but send a questioning glance towards Ja Sun. Of course, this was to tease Ah Yin, the opportunity regarding which presents itself once every full moon. Catching this bold glance, Ah Yin couldn't help but speak up, "It was nothing, master, Ka-ul occasionally thinks he heard something but most of the time, it's his imagination. Can you ever imagine seeing me with this man? Yet he keeps on chattering about it like it's the most natural thing. Delusions, I say."

Ja Sun glanced at Ah Yin mockingly. Her hands, after all, were in his just a few seconds ago. Yet, Ah Yin seemed unfazed entirely and Qian Daoliu finally chuckled, "Alright, alright. You left the city for your fifth spirit ring and brought Ah Yin to cover yourself with her domain, right? Then this would imply your answer to the threat Ground Devil poses you."

The vines began uncoiling and Ja Sun finally questioned, "If he isn't a Titled Douluo, what is he? Is—"

"That's for you to find out," Qian Daoliu suddenly cut Ja Sun off and smiled coldly. His eyes filled with amusement that didn't seem to bring any feeling of comfort in both of his disciples before Qian Daoliu realized the strangeness of his expression and coughed softly.

"I have told what the two of you need to know. My protection lies against Titled Douluos. I was present when Ground Devil was given his title... so think what you may of this situation. I won't provide any more clues. But why you all haven't escaped the city makes me worry for Dong'er. If I thought that she will be a good influence on you two, then you two have proved opposite, you mischievous brats. Making the successor of the Spirit Hall loot and assassinate... hehe, Xunji would be jumping on his seat once he finds out."

Qian Daoliu chuckled once again by the end of it before glancing at the duo, "Don't mind me. It is already proven that even if something goes wrong, Little Yin is better than me. Go, I will observe from distance. But keep this in mind that the information regarding today's breakthrough must not leave the three of us."

To Qian Daoliu's serious warning, the duo nodded and Ja Sun casually found a spot before sitting as thick waves of spirit energy instantly rolled out of his body, making Ah Yin expand her innate Blue Silver Domain, the only indicator of which remained the extraordinarily powerful sway of the plants around her, especially the blades of blue silver grass around them.

Meanwhile, as usual, Ja Sun's breakthrough didn't bring any extraordinary change in the surroundings like Liu Erlong or Xie Xan. In fact, easily suppressing the urge of his four black spirit rings to appear and welcome the fifth spirit ring, Ja Sun quietly condensed his fifth spirit ring as the Nightmare's Fantasy within the world of his consciousness flew around in multiple condensed tendrils of smoke while transmitting jubilant and gratifying emotions. 

A 10000-year-old spirit soul can produce 3 or four spirit rings. The Nightmare's Fantasy and the Bright Goddess Butterfly— after her advancement— still provided with three. This didn't mean that their quality was low. Instead, this meant that the chances of attaining three powerful and useful abilities are quite high, as indicated from Ja Sun's third spirit ability: Bright World. Even Heaven's Descent is quite the powerful single-target ability. This fifth spirit ring was a gamble itself.

The body of the Nightmare's Fantasy flashed dark light constantly while Ah Yin's eyes twitched as she saw black motes of light pouring out of Ja Sun's pores before taking the form of an illusionary black halo that quickly condensed into a black spirit ring. Even Qian Daoliu's eyes were enamored by this sight. After all, this was an entirely new experience for the old master. Anything that could further his knowledge of the cultivation of spirit master will be appreciated and seeing a second spirit ring being formed after hunting one single spirit beast gave him hope. He attributed this effect based on the fact that Ja Sun had absorbed two spirit beasts back then. It was already an unprecedented situation. And this, right here, even more so.

*Whoosh*

Gales blew around Ja Sun, an effect of spirit energy moving around without any rhyme or reason as the fifth spirit ring quietly flashed and vanished into Ja Sun's body, bringing along yet another spirit ability of the unique Nightmare's Fantasy attached to him.

Yet, when Ja Sun opened his eyes, there was a hint of surprise in his eyes. This ability was flashy, sure... but it might just reduce the overall difficulty of the mission after all. And yet, this spirit ability might also truly allow him to deal with a Titled Douluo. And no just Ground Devil Douluo, but any unsuspecting Titled Douluo.

With a sigh, Ja Sun closed his eyes once again to meditate and recover while he let Ah Yin and Qian Daoliu silently ponder on whatever they wished to. After forming his fifth spirit ring, Ja Sun felt greatly relieved. Not only mentally but also physically since he had been suppressing his cultivation and now, once again, his cultivation began to rise at a remarkably high speed yet the apparent disadvantages of an impeccably purer spirit energy now revealed itself as the benefits nearly weren't enough this time around unlike the last time where he had to go through extreme pain to directly leap into 47th spirit rank.

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