"Who's there?"
Zhang Lexuan abruptly halted, whipping around to peer behind her. Beneath the moonlight spilling over the trees, a lone figure stood cloaked in shadow, shrouded head to toe in a black cape that swallowed any trace of a face.
She spun fully, and in an instant, two yellow, two purple, and four black soul rings—eight in total—blazed into existence around her. The moon overhead seemed to flare brighter in answer.
The figure stepped forward twice, slowly lifting its head to reveal a mask of ice-cold metal.
"You…" Zhang Lexuan's eyes narrowed, her voice dropping low. "You're the ones who took Xiao Tao?"
Across the mask, Lin Xiao gazed at the woman before him. Though the metal was thin, it felt thick enough to divide their worlds.
"The border of the Sun Moon Empire lies just ahead. Go back."
Zhang Lexuan showed no intention of leaving. Her gaze flashed; the moon above burned even brighter. A silent blade of moonlight sliced down from the heavens.
Lin Xiao sighed softly. His right arm rose, the black cape billowing high as six black rings and one blood-red ring—seven in all—erupted around him. A crimson Higanbana flower bloomed in midair, and dark-red rays shot forth, shattering the moonlight into glittering dust.
Zhang Lexuan faltered, biting her lip. Her fifth soul ring flared. The moon turned gold in an instant, and countless crescent sickles swept in from every direction like reaping blades.
The moment Lin Xiao began weaving through the crescents, her next assault rained down. Her first, second, and third soul rings ignited almost simultaneously, unleashing pillars of light that streaked like soul-guided beams.
Darkness itself retreated before the barrage; countless strikes sealed every escape. Silver-white moonlight swallowed Lin Xiao whole—only to clash against a storm of narrow, blood-red petals.
Like frenzied rain hammering a newborn bloom, the petals shattered by the hundreds in mere breaths, falling to stain the earth vivid scarlet.
The onslaught eased. Lin Xiao had barely exhaled when instinct jerked his gaze skyward.
The moon had changed. A cool, elegant aura—serene yet unearthly—cloaked Zhang Lexuan, as though she had truly become the moon itself.
This was not Martial Soul True Body, but a deeper communion: insights forged anew into her martial soul. For ordinary soul masters, only Super Douluo above level ninety-five could infuse pure comprehension back into their spirits. That Zhang Lexuan could manifest even the prototype meant her path to Super Douluo would be far smoother than most.
Worthy of Shrek Academy's eldest senior sister—how much stronger had she grown in so little time?
Dazzling light burst from her eyes, bathing her body in silver. Her eighth soul ring pulsed wildly. The moon swelled at terrifying speed, surpassing a hundred meters in the blink of an eye.
Blinding white radiance turned night into noon; pale mist curled around her like breath from the moon itself. Zhang Lexuan rose slowly into the air, robes fluttering though no wind stirred, as if she had stepped out of the moon's heart.
She glanced down at Lin Xiao, brow creasing. A pillar of light plunged toward him.
Yet to her shock, the man who had danced through her earlier attacks now stood motionless, offering no resistance. The beam struck true; his silhouette melted into the light and vanished.
"Shen Hao!"
Zhang Lexuan's face drained of colour. She snapped out of her heightened state and shot toward the spot.
Anger? Grief? She couldn't name the storm inside her chest. She didn't know why she had attacked, nor why she had held back.
As she neared the place Lin Xiao had vanished, a prickle raced up her spine. She whirled—only to find him directly behind her. Faint light shimmered along his left leg; the mask hovered inches away, close enough for her to glimpse the eyes beneath.
Lin Xiao raised his hand. At this range, a single Bi'an Seed would suffice.
Zhang Lexuan reacted in a flash, striking out—yet her palm closed on empty air. Lin Xiao had already reappeared where he began.
The hundred-thousand-year Ghost-Faced Owl soul bone had once granted Nightmare Douluo a teleport-like skill, letting him evade Lin Xiao's strike and counter from behind. Absorbed by Lin Xiao, the skill had shifted—fused with the owl's power already in his rings.
By channelling the bone, he could swap places with any Higanbana flower, leaving only a petal-wrought phantom behind.
Petals may fall, yet their scent lingers. Thus, he named the skill Lingering Fragrance.
Lin Xiao's gaze lifted to the black eighth soul ring orbiting Zhang Lexuan.
He sighed inwardly. His second soul ring ignited; vines erupted from the earth at her feet, coiling up her legs to root her in place.
"Cross the Sun Moon Empire's border, and the Titled Douluo who took Ma Xiaotao will be waiting. Not even your teachers can stand against them."
Zhang Lexuan ceased struggling. She lifted her eyes to the mask, emotions swirling in their depths.
"Take the others and go back. Whoever took Ma Xiaotao is far beyond what any of you can face."
Silence stretched. Zhang Lexuan stared at the masked face, then clenched her right fist.
Light flared. A shaft of moonlight speared down toward Lin Xiao.
He tilted his head, watching the attack descend. His brow furrowed beneath the mask, yet he made no move to dodge.
Clang—
The silver beam vanished in a heartbeat. The next instant, the mask split cleanly in two and clattered to the ground.
Zhang Lexuan gazed at the face she had half-expected, her eyes dimming.
"Why is it you?"
"Sorry."
After a long pause, Lin Xiao breathed those two quiet words.
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