Chapter 108: Chapter 108: Time to Take Medicine
"Hey, what's wrong with you? You've been brooding all the way, did someone die in your family?"
In the Star Dou Forest, two figures were walking side by side.
With the aura of a Soul Saint and a Peak Soul Emperor spreading freely, ordinary soul beasts on the periphery avoided them, making their journey almost unimpeded.
Su Cheng glanced at Zhu Zhuqing beside him and casually remarked.
Zhu Zhuqing's expression turned cold at his words, but she remained silent.
She had long been accustomed to his unreserved attitude.
"You better focus, it's not easy to deal with hundred-thousand-year soul beasts," Su Cheng said as he looked at the map Zhu Zhuqing had handed him.
"It's not hundred-thousand-year soul beasts, it's three ninety-thousand-year soul beasts."
"Three ninety-thousand-year soul beasts?" Su Cheng pretended to be surprised and asked, "That's a bit tricky, but with the power of our Martial Soul Fusion skill, there shouldn't be too much of a problem. But then, we'll be wasting two soul rings for nothing."
He didn't mention the issue of the soul ring's age limit.
Because with Zhu Zhuqing's physical condition at this moment, coupled with the Silver Needle Acupuncture method, absorbing ninety-thousand-year soul rings was already sufficient.
Both of them were well aware of this.
"What's on your mind? Is it because of the war situation in the Star Luo Empire?" Su Cheng asked again after they had walked for a while.
"Su Cheng, I want to ask you a question."
"Go ahead."
"Between family members and friends, if you have to give up one, which one would you choose?"
Zhu Zhuqing said slowly.
Her voice was low, her eyes flashing, seemingly implying something.
But Su Cheng seemed not to understand the deeper meaning, and replied firmly, "Of course, I would give up friends."
Zhu Zhuqing frowned.
After a while, she spoke in a subdued tone, "Why?"
"Why ask? Friends can be replaced, but can you bring back your sister or your father if you lose them?"
"Is that how you treat friends?!" Zhu Zhuqing's eyebrows raised, her voice involuntarily louder.
"Yeah, that's how I am," Su Cheng said seriously, "Come on, Fourth Miss? We've been together for over twenty years, and you still don't know what kind of person I am? Let me tell you, friendships are just for fun, real emotions come from family."
"You!"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing stopped in her tracks, turned around, and glared at Su Cheng.
Her already towering chest rose and fell as she breathed heavily, creating an enticing curve.
Her reaction caught Su Cheng off guard, he hadn't expected such a strong response from her.
After a moment of staring at each other, Su Cheng calmly spoke, "Do you, the future duchess, really think that people like us would have so-called friends?"
"...," Zhu Zhuqing gave him a cold glance, then turned and continued walking forward, "I didn't expect a bastard like you to value family so much."
"I'm not from the Dai family, the Su family is my home, and blood is thicker than water. Any problem with that?" Su Cheng remained indifferent.
"I'm asking you, Zhu Zhuqing, what's with all this beating around the bush? Are you planning to sabotage someone again? Make a decision and act decisively, this doesn't seem like you."
Zhu Zhuqing hesitated for a moment, then glanced deeply at Su Cheng beside her.
"Su Cheng, what is your greatest pursuit?"
"...Freedom, I guess," Su Cheng pondered for a moment and replied lightly.
"Anyway, just freedom. I don't have any special pursuit. Power, authority, those things are optional for me. As long as I can be free, everything else doesn't matter.
"But with my current identity, it's probably difficult to achieve this. The Dai family definitely has plans. I was thinking of relying on you, Fourth Miss.
"But I see that the Star Luo Empire is about to collapse soon, so there's no need to worry about these trivial matters. Enjoy the moment.
"To be honest, I don't even know why you called me to accompany you to kill soul beasts for advancement. Even if we become Soul Douluo, what's the use? We'll still face death in the end."
He smiled at Zhu Zhuqing.
"Freedom..." Zhu Zhuqing ignored his sarcasm, sighed softly, and nodded quietly, "I understand."
Not long after, with the help of the map, the two of them reached their destination, the central area of the Star Dou Forest.
Su Cheng had already figured out the situation here when he came alone to explore before.
As expected, the two hundred-thousand-year soul beasts had long since disappeared.
Without Tang San's interference, Bibi Dong had already killed them and absorbed their soul rings.
And now, the three ninety-thousand-year Thousand Jins Ant Emperors were dwelling here.
At this moment, the three soul beasts had obviously noticed Su Cheng and Zhu Zhuqing's presence, but they showed no intention of retreating, quietly waiting for their arrival.
It was to be expected; with their cultivation level, how could they scare away three ninety-thousand-year soul beasts.
Soon, the two of them arrived nearby.
A thin layer of mist rippled on the calm lake surface, making it one of the rare peaceful places in the Star Dou Forest.
However, the faint aura of killing pervading the surroundings spoiled the tranquility of the place.
Three identical demon beasts were crouching coldly by the lake, staring at them.
They were their targets for this trip, the Thousand Jins Ant Emperors.
The three Thousand Jins Ant Emperors were about three meters in length, which, in terms of size, was not considered large even among ten-thousand-year soul beasts.
But even so, it was still extraordinary.
A Thousand Jins Ant's body was usually only three inches long after ten years of cultivation, and it wouldn't exceed six inches even after a hundred years. Only after a thousand years of cultivation would it have the possibility of growing to a foot long, which was already very rare.
One could imagine how rare it was for a Thousand Jins Ant Emperor with a length of three meters to reach such a cultivation level.
The Thousand Jins Ant itself was extremely tenacious, with outstanding defense, formidable resistance to attacks, and immense strength that far exceeded its body proportions.
Unfortunately, as a kind of soul beast, they didn't have any soul skills themselves. Although their defense was good, it was ultimately limited, and lacking soul skills as an attack means made it difficult for their strength to be fully utilized.
As a result, this species often found itself at the bottom of the food chain in the Soul Beast Forest.
But unlike ordinary Thousand Ants, the three Thousand Ant Kings in front of them had a pair of huge transparent wings each, and their two forelimbs, covered in a green glow, were as sharp as triangular spikes.
What's even more peculiar is that each of them had six eyes on their heads, two large and four small, emitting a faint green light.
The three Thousand Ant Kings were covered in shimmering dark gold metallic light on their hard shells. Their six sturdy legs were now raised upright, poised for action.
Then, the two on the left and right slowly spread apart, forming a semi-encirclement around Su Cheng and Zhu Zhuqing, gradually pressuring them forward.
The dark golden hue on their bodies became more pronounced, but their energy remained completely internal, without any leakage.
Su Cheng and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged a glance.
Then, without hesitation, they summoned their martial souls and directly unleashed the Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Hell White Tiger.
A wildly powerful aura, far beyond that of ordinary Title Douluo, surged outwards, causing a commotion in the surroundings.
The giant white tiger crouched on the ground, coldly staring at the three soul beasts in front of them.
Under this coercion, the movements of the three Thousand Ant Kings were slightly hindered.
Their momentum was completely suppressed by this transcendent martial soul.
Immediately after, a silver-white light radiated outwards from the Hell White Tiger like a gust of wind.
In that instant, the massive body of the Ghostly White Tiger seemed to merge with the wind.
Not only did it exude an extraordinary sense of power, but its huge figure also gave a sense of agility like the wind.
On the other side, however, the three Thousand Ant Kings felt heavy resistance closing in from all sides, constantly pressing on their bodies, limiting their speed.
In the current state of Su Cheng and Zhu Zhuqing unleashing the Martial Soul Fusion Skill, the Ghostly White Tiger also possessed its own domain skill, named "Wind God Domain" by Su Cheng.
In the domain, the already highly agile Ghostly White Tiger's speed was further enhanced to an extraordinary level.
Combined with its already formidable strength, it was nearly flawless among peers.
Although the three Thousand Ant Kings found it hard to comprehend how a Soul Saint and a Soul Emperor could suddenly burst out with such formidable power, they were clearly aware of the crisis.
They began to slowly flap their wings and rise into the air.
These three brothers, living together for many years, moved in perfect unison, like a mirror image. Whether it was the speed of wing flapping or the height of ascent from the ground, everything was exactly the same.
But it was futile.
These three soul beasts were almost completely restrained by the Hell White Tiger.
Thousand Ants themselves were straightforward, with their strength lying in their exceptional defense, strength, and speed compared to ordinary soul beasts.
But when their strength and speed were suppressed, breaking their defense was only a matter of time.
Moreover, the Hell White Tiger had its own soul skills.
Soon, the two sides began a one-on-three battle.
Although the three Thousand Ant Kings were slightly at a disadvantage, their actions were coordinated, and they came to each other's aid instantly if one was attacked.
At this moment, although the Hell White Tiger appeared to be in control and moved with ease, the battle was not easy for Su Cheng and Zhu Zhuqing.
The reason was simple: the Martial Soul Fusion Skill consumed soul power at an incredibly fast rate.
Even with the advantage in speed, they had to exert all their strength to finish the battle quickly and avoid being dragged into a war of attrition.
Therefore, the Hell White Tiger deliberately exposed weaknesses in its attacks.
After dozens of rounds of entanglement with the Thousand Ant Kings, the Ghostly White Tiger controlled by Su Cheng and Zhu Zhuqing suddenly pounced on one of them, its huge claws raised high.
The other two Ant Kings immediately converged from both sides to launch a combined attack.
But instead of dodging like before, the Hell White Tiger chose to directly confront the combined attack of the other two Ant Kings.
It even used this extreme force to further accelerate.
Then, the silver-white claws surrounded by wind blades struck down on the head of the Ant King in front!
Normally, physical attacks would be almost ineffective against their hard shells, and energy attacks would have difficulty breaking through their defense quickly.
But the Hell White Tiger was clearly extraordinary.
With this claw, it directly shattered the frontal Ant King's head.
However, even with just this one attack, Su Cheng and Zhu Zhuqing had exhausted almost half of their soul power.
But it was all worth it.
Although the three Thousand Ant Kings were closely connected and coordinated their attacks, their two-person attacks left many openings.
Afterward, the Hell White Tiger barely suffered any further damage and managed to kill them all.
As the dust settled, the giant Hell White Tiger also dissipated upon landing.
Su Cheng and Zhu Zhuqing's figures reappeared.
But this time, they no longer had the composed demeanor from before. Instead, they looked extremely disheveled.
Both had pale faces, panting heavily, their soul power almost depleted. Blood seeped from their mouths and noses, injuries from the powerful attack they had earlier faced.
At the same time, three black soul rings appeared on the bodies of the three Thousand Ant Kings.
Seeing these three soul rings, Zhu Zhuqing didn't immediately rush to absorb them. Instead, she stood there in a daze.
"Why are you standing there dumbfounded?" Su Cheng coughed lightly and said, "Hurry up and absorb the soul rings. Do you remember how to stimulate your physical strength?"
Su Cheng had already told Zhu Zhuqing in advance about the acupuncture points that needed to be stimulated to absorb nine-thousand-year or even ten-thousand-year soul rings.
"Oh? Yeah."
Only then did Zhu Zhuqing come back to her senses and walked towards the bodies of the Thousand Ants.
Seeing her actions, Su Cheng frowned inwardly.
Judging by Zhu Zhuqing's style of doing things over the years, she was already decisive and cunning enough. She shouldn't have been constrained by meaningless notions of good and evil, otherwise, she wouldn't have climbed to her current position in the harsh environment of the Star Luo Empire.
Why was she dragging her feet now?
After some thought, Su Cheng casually said, "I guess if these three soul rings can be absorbed simultaneously, there might be some additional effects. Too bad. But it doesn't matter. I can see that the Star Luo Empire won't last much longer. As descendants of major aristocrats and as illegitimate children of the royal family, you and I won't have a good end."
As Zhu Zhuqing, who was walking ahead, heard his words, her footsteps suddenly halted.
Then, she turned back and returned with a bottle of pale red potion in her hand.
. . .
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