Chapter 100: A Pleasant Surprise

Blood splattered as Ye Xin, standing within the beam of light, clearly saw a blood-soaked hand protruding from Lin Qian's back. The hand belonged to none other than Nan Xin.

"Hah!" Lin Qian looked at Nan Xin in disbelief and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Nan Xin sneered as he withdrew his hand, while Lin Qian, clutching his abdomen, staggered back a few steps before collapsing to his knees.

"This is absolutely impossible! Your soul should be sealed within your body—you shouldn't be able to act at all!" Zhang Jun Cheng, standing within the beam of light, was also at a loss for words as he witnessed the scene unfold.

In the past, Zhang Jun Cheng had used his own body to seal Nan Xin's soul, preventing him from accessing his original strength. As a result, Nan Xin's combat abilities should have been no stronger than a mere Shaping Realm cultivator. Although the ancient strongman's body was incredibly tough and allowed Nan Xin to fly, engaging in actual combat was supposed to be impossible.

This was why Zhang Jun Cheng had not been concerned when Lin Qian stepped outside the protective barrier.

But what Zhang Jun Cheng had never imagined was that Nan Xin could move so quickly, exhibiting the speed of a peak Breaking Realm cultivator—an ability that suggested Nan Xin now possessed peak Breaking Realm power.

Although, compared to Nan Xin's original strength, peak Breaking Realm might seem insignificant, given his current circumstances, being able to unleash such power was unbelievable.

"No!" Ye Xin's eyes filled with tears as she tried to rush forward.

"Don't come any closer!" Yet, as if he had eyes on the back of his head, Lin Qian's shout halted her in her tracks.

Lin Qian's roar carried an invisible force that stopped Ye Xin in her desperate attempt to move forward.

"Over the years, I've come to understand your body quite well. It was easy to unlock this small portion of power," Nan Xin sneered at Zhang Jun Cheng's bewildered expression. "If you had discovered this sooner, this foolish boy wouldn't have walked out to his death."

"Damn it!" Zhang Jun Cheng gritted his teeth, his gaze filled with guilt as he looked at Lin Qian.

On his knees, Lin Qian's hands pressed against his abdomen, blood seeping through his fingers. His aura weakened visibly.

Despite the pain, he struggled to stand, grabbing onto Nan Xin. "I thought you hadn't acted because of Zhang Lao's seal. I didn't expect you to be so patient, waiting until your undead army was completely wiped out before striking. But it's a pity..."

"Hmph! What do you know, boy?" Nan Xin didn't seem to mind being grabbed by the dying Lin Qian, laughing coldly. "That undead army was nothing—just low-level servants of Dangyuan Sect turned into playthings by my soul techniques. Their destruction means nothing to me."

The upper-level ruins had once been home to Dangyuan Sect's servant disciples. After the sect's collapse into the small world, many of these disciples had perished, and their corpses had been turned into undead by Nan Xin during his long imprisonment. Their deaths now mattered little to him.

Moreover, while Nan Xin could not possess Lin Qian, he had resolved to kill him. After all, Lin Qian had torn away parts of his soul and refined them completely, giving them to Ye Xin. There was no way for Nan Xin to reclaim those pieces, deepening his hatred for Lin Qian.

"I'm not talking about your undead army—I'm talking about the fact that you didn't manage to kill me," Lin Qian said as his body suddenly dissolved into a stream of light, surging into Nan Xin's body.

The sudden transformation stunned everyone present.

In a flash, the stream of light reappeared beside Ye Xin, forming into Lin Qian's unharmed body.

"Xiao Qian!" Ye Xin, overwhelmed with joy, rushed into his arms.

After a moment, Lin Qian gently pulled her out of his embrace, carefully wiping the tears from her face. "I'm sorry for not telling you beforehand. I didn't mean to worry you."

"Impossible! I clearly killed you—how can this be?" Nan Xin stared in disbelief as Lin Qian reappeared within the protective beam, while the dying "Lin Qian" dissolved into light and merged with his body.

"It's not that hard to explain," Lin Qian said with a smile. "I wasn't sure whether you could attack, so I didn't actually step outside. Instead, I used a substitute light sphere."

As he spoke, Lin Qian opened his palm, revealing a shimmering sphere of light.

The sphere emitted a bright glow, projecting an image of the body containing Nan Xin's sealed soul—Zhang Jun Cheng's body.

The image clearly displayed every detail within the body, visible to all present. Meanwhile, in the Huaxia Empire's Tian Gong Department, Zhuge Ming and his scholars saw the same image projected on their tactical screen.

"Begin the research immediately!" Zhuge Ming ordered as they received the valuable data.

Back in the underground chamber, the light sphere in Lin Qian's hand gradually turned into a stone sphere before shattering and dissipating into a wisp of smoke.

"This little thing could be considered a soul tool. I got three of them from a promotional event when I spent 300,000 Huaxia coins on a loot box."

"Of course, I know this all sounds like nonsense to you, but basically, I had the money to spare and ended up with this neat little gadget called a Substitute Light Sphere. I've used two already—this was the last one."

"When used, it allows the original body to enter a stealth state while the light sphere creates a doppelganger, perfectly replicating my strength and aura. If the doppelganger is destroyed, it merges with the enemy's body, revealing all of its secrets."

"So, you only killed my doppelganger—understand?"

While Zhang Jun Cheng and Nan Xin didn't comprehend Lin Qian's talk about websites and loot boxes, they did understand the Substitute Light Sphere's function.

"Remarkable! To think such a miraculous soul tool exists," Zhang Jun Cheng marveled from the platform, deeply impressed.

Nan Xin, on the other hand, was livid. Never before had he been so thoroughly played by a young upstart.

"Oh, and I have some good news for you, my dear friend," Lin Qian said with a sly grin, addressing Nan Xin. "I've figured out how to obliterate your soul and body while restoring Zhang Lao's body to him. I bet you're thrilled and excited about that, huh?"

Lin Qian's words left the room in stunned silence. Finally, after a long pause...

"Thrilled and excited, my *%&#!"