Chapter 393 - 252: The Might of Soul Capturing

Chapter 393: Chapter 252: The Might of Soul Capturing

But this would mean their Innate foundations were flawed and their souls damaged, making it unlikely they would live out their natural lifespans.

So, the three of them had to join forces just to meet the requirements for casting the sensory Secret Technique.

’The world is vast; there’s truly nothing it doesn’t contain!’

Seeing the three about to retreat, Yu Fei appeared nonchalantly.

"Were you gentlemen looking for me?"

Yu Fei asked suddenly, his clear and resonant voice ringing out.

He had his suspicions about their intentions but wanted to confirm them.

"Hm? Who’s there?"

The lantern-bearing man grew instantly alert, but the lead Gang Qi Martial Artist burst into joyous laughter, like someone who had just recovered a lost treasure.

"Well, speak of the devil. I was just about to give up, and you actually dare to serve yourself up on a platter. You’ve got guts, kid!"

"Be smart and hand over everything you own. If you do, I’ll let you live. Otherwise..."

His vicious nature was on full display.

Yu Fei couldn’t help but chuckle. ’Have I run into the legendary bandits of lore?’

He remembered Feng Hua once saying that in the wilderness, or in places not controlled by the seven major powers, relationships between Martial Artists could shift in an instant, often devolving into the raw, dark law of survival.

"So you’re just a few stupid thieves. I am curious, though. If I hand over my valuables, will you really let me go?"

Yu Fei was making one last probe.

"Mr. Cha, why are you wasting your breath on this kid? Let’s just grab him and kill him. It’s so hot out, I’m going to get a tan~"

"Heh... true enough."

With that, they prepared to attack. The three of them stared at Yu Fei, their eyes filled with undisguised savagery.

The dark, burly man considered the situation. ’This guy is only in the Inner Qi Realm and just entered the Red Sun Realm. He must be carrying plenty of restorative items. At the very least, that suit of armor should fetch a good price. It might look dull and gray, but the craftsmanship is exquisite. It’s definitely valuable.’

’In the martial world, armor is always a luxury item; there’s no such thing as a cheap set.’

Suddenly, his gaze met a pair of golden pupils behind the wolf-head helmet, and his heart leaped in shock.

’Not good!’

’Martial Artists who can use Pupil Skills are never ordinary. Few of them are weak. This guy is merely at the Inner Qi Realm, yet he’s mastered such a Secret Technique.’

’He knew all too well how much effort it had taken to cultivate his own incomplete Pupil Skill.’

The burly man continued his thoughts. ’Luckily, the kid is only at the fourth stage of the Inner Qi Realm. Even if he’s unusually strong, I can crush him with my superior realm. Still, after this job, I’ll probably have to lay low for a while.’

As his thoughts churned, a brilliant sword light suddenly flared within his soul. All his schemes were instantly severed as excruciating pain washed over him.

He knew something was wrong and was about to resist with all his might, but then his vision went black, and he lost consciousness.

"Sigh..."

Yu Fei let out a long sigh. In an instant, three streams of watery sword light flashed. The heads of the three bandits exploded on the spot, their bodies twitching as they collapsed.

In an instant, all three were dead.

This was his first time being ambushed by robbers. There was no feud between them; they were motivated purely by greed.

The chaotic border region was a world away from the peaceful, orderly environment of his home planet. Yu Fei’s mentality quietly shifted. Perhaps this was the true face of the martial world.

Yu Fei then picked up the lantern. After a moment’s thought, he took out the maps he had purchased and discovered that the third one had been tampered with.

Yu Fei gave it a light sniff. Aided by his Five Senses Secret Skill, he could tell the map’s scent was slightly different. He hadn’t paid it any mind at the time of purchase, assuming it was just a variation in the material.

The fluorescent light in the lantern pointed toward the map’s location, serving as a covert tracking device.

"Damn! You despicable locals!"

He had only just entered the Red Sun Realm, and already Yu Fei had experienced its "rustic local customs." It was quite the fruitful encounter.

With a wave of his hand, he stored the three bodies in his personal dimension, intending to dispose of the evidence elsewhere.

People in this line of work surely belonged to some organization, and he didn’t want any further complications.

While lost in thought, Yu Fei activated his stealth and headed for the Jiaoyan Sea, simultaneously extending his sensory Secret Technique to its maximum range to carefully scan his surroundings.

When he had killed the three men, Yu Fei had used his Soul Capturing ability. He was only just trying it out, but he found it to be surprisingly effective.

Previously, for his Sword Intent to take effect, he had to engage in close-quarters combat, and his choice of targets was limited.

But with Soul Capturing, Yu Fei could bypass that step entirely. Merely by making eye contact, he could unleash a slash of Sword Intent that struck directly at his opponent’s soul, launching a direct spiritual assault.

Yu Fei’s own Sword Intent was already formidable. When combined with the aid of his solidified soul core, the two together could stun even a Gang Qi Martial Artist for a moment. The other two spiritual-type Martial Artists fared even worse, nearly fainting from the blow.

Then, Yu Fei had activated his Immeasurable Sword Qi, imbuing it with the properties of Sharpness, penetration, and the ability to shift between corporeal and incorporeal states. He had effortlessly slain the three men with minimal energy expenditure.

As he flew, Yu Fei constantly mulled over how to enhance this technique. It clearly had great potential, and at the very least, its style factor was far superior to that of a common brawler.

Halfway to his destination, Yu Fei realized that support-type Martial Artists held a natural advantage when it came to exploration. Their powerful perception allowed them to detect far more energy fluctuations.

His combination of long-range vision, x-ray vision, and energy perception allowed him to pinpoint special points of energy fluctuation within a radius of over ten kilometers—locations that usually contained transcendent materials.

Yu Fei traveled in stops and starts, collecting a great deal of low- and mid-grade yang-attribute resources along the way. Logically, the area near the entrance should have been picked clean by the Martial Artists who had entered a month ago, yet he still managed a bountiful harvest.

He found all sorts of strange, unknown flowers and exotic fruits, crystal ores, and much more.

Furthermore, many of the best items were buried deep underground. His x-ray vision could penetrate ten meters of solid ground, turning Yu Fei into a master excavator. He didn’t let a single item with a dense, transcendent aura escape his sight.

He also encountered the true inhabitants of the Red Sun Realm.

Fire Spirits.

They were very peculiar elemental life forms, shaped like round dumplings less than a meter tall, and they hopped and bounced across the ground.

Their auras were faint, only at the third rank on the conventional power scale. Their combat prowess was so weak that a single casual strike could kill them.

In Yu Fei’s Reversing Destiny Vision, he saw that the talent quality of these little creatures was, without exception, purple.

Before coming, Yu Fei had looked up information on the Red Sun Realm.

These little Fire Spirits might look harmless now, but when the Red Sun Realm’s borders sealed and its temperature skyrocketed, their average strength would reach the seventh rank—equivalent to a Grandmaster. Their personalities would also become extremely volatile and aggressive.

This was one of the reasons the Red Sun Realm was so dangerous during that period.

Yu Fei resisted the impulse to act. He had accumulated two more replication opportunities, but he had to prioritize upgrading his [Medium Space Affinity] and [Void Realm Servant] talents, so he let the idea go.

The Red Sun Realm would always be here; he would have plenty of opportunities later.

Since upgrading his spatial talent twice, all of Yu Fei’s related abilities had been significantly enhanced.

First, a single use of Burning Void Escape could now cover a distance of up to ten kilometers, and he could use it three times consecutively, making it an exceptionally powerful tool for both ambushes and retreats.

Second, the energy cost of his spatially-derived ability to swap positions with an illusion had been drastically reduced, allowing him to use it as a standard tactic.

Lastly, the distance his Immeasurable Sword Qi could travel through space reached an astonishing ten meters, making his attacks utterly unpredictable.

Crucially, the energy cost of this talent-derived ability was minimal when applied to his Sword Qi. When applied to his Name-Cutting Sword, it could also penetrate a one-meter spatial gap, which was quite bizarre.

With his arm-span and the length of the Name-Cutting Sword combined, his reach was about 2.5 meters. Yet, even if an enemy stood three meters away, he could still take their head off with a single strike.

You think you’re safe by creating distance, but you’re not.

However, applying it to the Name-Cutting Sword consumed a great deal of Inner Qi, so it couldn’t be used frequently.

Furthermore, after his Spiritual Power advanced thanks to the Star Soul Forging Scripture, the attack range of his Immeasurable Sword Qi had reached an astonishing fifty meters.

At this point, he himself didn’t know his own true strength. But regardless, he was still no match for a Grandmaster. The difference in their fundamental level of being was simply too vast.

The journey took a full day, simply because there were too many treasures along the way. He even found a high-grade Crystal Stone. Yu Fei didn’t know its purpose, but sensing its dense, transcendent aura, he casually stored it away.

Finally, on the evening of the second day, Yu Fei reached his destination.

Night in the Red Sun Realm was brief, lasting only three hours. The temperature would drop to just over 40 degrees Celsius, making it the primary period of activity for Martial Artists.