6: Chapter 6, Section 6: From now on, offense and defense are aliens!

As the first ray of dawn tore through the night sky of the Star Dou Great Forest, the ice covering the three of them finally emitted a crisp "crack" sound.

The solid ice shattered layer by layer, turning into sparkling ice crystals across the ground, swaying gently with the forest breeze and refracting fragmented light.

"Hiss—"

Bei Bei gasped sharply and shivered, blue lightning subconsciously surging around his body to dispel the lingering chill on his skin.

Just as he moved his stiff neck, his gaze shot like a sharp sword toward Lu Jing not far away—the child who had looked so stubborn when frozen was now slowly opening his eyes.

Lu Jing's eyes had changed.

The original childishness was replaced by a strange profundity, with a layer of faint ice mist seemingly condensed in the depths of his pupils.

What made Bei Bei's heart sink even further was that the World-Destroying Black Lotus above his head was now as solid as a real object, its ink-colored petal edges gleaming with a cold luster, while a striking yellow spirit ring slowly rotated beneath his feet.

"Hundred-year level?" Bei Bei frowned, his inner gravity deepening.

He had assumed that since the child had absorbed the power of that giant ice silkworm, he could at least bear a thousand-year spirit ring, but he hadn't expected it to be only a hundred-year one—yet even so, the energy fluctuation of the rotating spirit ring far exceeded that of a normal hundred-year spirit ring.

Lu Jing stretched his muscles and bones, his joints making a "crack" sound; he felt the surging power within him, a fullness he had never experienced before, as if he could whip up a storm with every move.

He looked down at the yellow spirit ring at his feet and curled his lips into a playful smile: "Don't let the fact that it's a hundred-year one fool you; it's enough."

He had no background, grew up in the countryside, and struggled just to eat and drink. If not for awakening the World-Destroying Black Lotus and meeting the Tian Meng Ice Silkworm, which forcibly widened his Soul Power meridians, let alone approaching the limit of a spirit ring's age, he probably wouldn't even have been able to handle one near a hundred years.

Fortunately, the innate Soul Power level granted to him by the World-Destroying Black Lotus was a full twenty levels, each level carrying the unique dominance of the World-Destroying Black Lotus, giving him enough confidence to face everything before him.

One must know that there had never been a precedent for innate twentieth-level Soul Power on the Douluo Continent.

Even Qian Renxue from ten thousand years ago only reached level twenty thanks to the blessing of the Angel God, while Lu Jing's innate level twenty stemmed from the World-Destroying Black Lotus's characteristic of transcending the laws of the Douluo Star—this lotus platform did not belong to this world and was naturally not bound by its rules.

"What? Stunned?"

Lu Jing moved his wrists, looked up at Bei Bei, and a trace of mockery flashed in his eyes as he taunted: "Little brother, the tables have turned. You were chasing me to kill me just now, so now, shouldn't it be my turn?"

"Just you?" Bei Bei shouted angrily, blue lightning surging again, "You dare to be arrogant just because you absorbed a hundred-year spirit ring? Don't forget, you're still far from it!"

Before his words faded, he moved, lightning gathering on his right claw to form a dragon claw flashing with electric light, carrying a sharp whistle that tore through the air as it lunged straight at Lu Jing's face—it was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's Spirit Ability, Thunder Dragon Claw!

Lu Jing's eyes narrowed, and the yellow spirit ring beneath his feet suddenly lit up: "First Spirit Ability, World-Destroying Ice Shield!"

"Hum—"

The World-Destroying Black Lotus spun violently, and black mist instantly condensed into a translucent ice shield, with black patterns flowing across it, carrying an eerie suction force.

"Bang!"

The Thunder Dragon Claw slammed hard against the ice shield, blue electric light exploding, but it was firmly locked by the black mist on the ice shield, leaving only ripples on the shield's surface and failing to penetrate it at all.

"What?" Bei Bei's pupils contracted; he hadn't expected this seemingly thin ice shield to be so hard.

"There's more!" Lu Jing shouted, pushing his left hand forward, "World-Destroying Ice Seal!"

The yellow spirit ring lit up again, and a large amount of black cold air erupted from the World-Destroying Black Lotus. This cold air froze upon hitting the ground, turning into countless ice spikes that spread toward Bei Bei at an astonishing speed.

This was no ordinary ice seal; the cold air carried the corrosive power of the World-Destroying Black Lotus, and wherever it passed, the ground froze, blackened, and cracked.

"Thunderous Might!" Bei Bei didn't dare to be negligent; lightning exploded around him, forming a blue electric net that shattered all the incoming ice spikes.

But the shattered ice spikes turned into finer ice shards, still carrying the cold air as they rushed at him, forcing him to retreat repeatedly.

"Tang Ya, help!" Bei Bei shouted.

"Coming!" Tang Ya stood up with difficulty, supported by Wang Donger. Her face was still pale, but she gritted her teeth and activated the Blue Silver Grass.

Countless blue-green vines drilled out from the ground, winding toward Lu Jing like poisonous snakes, attempting to restrict his movements.

Lu Jing was not panicked at all; the World-Destroying Ice Shield continued to spin in front of him, blocking all light blades and vines.

As soon as those Blue Silver Grass touched the ice shield, they were frozen by the black cold air and quickly withered and blackened.

"It's useless."

Lu Jing smiled and shook his head. After absorbing the Tian Meng Ice Silkworm's spirit ring, his Soul Power had reached level twenty-one, and the skills it brought him were four in total.

Moreover, the World-Destroying Black Lotus naturally countered plant-type Spirits, and Tang Ya's Spirit was only Blue Silver Grass, not the Blue Silver Emperor.

Bei Bei was so angry his eyes were splitting; the lightning around him became even more violent: "Fury of Thunder!"

This was the state where he pushed his Soul Power to the limit; blue lightning, like a living giant dragon, coiled around his body, and every flash made the air emit a painful groan.

Like a blue meteor, he rushed toward Lu Jing again, vowing to tear this kid who had repeatedly provoked him to pieces.

A fierce look flashed in Lu Jing's eyes. He withdrew the World-Destroying Ice Shield, and the World-Destroying Black Lotus floated above his head, its black petals slowly opening: "Bring it on!"

Although Bei Bei was a high-level Spirit Elder, the Tian Meng Ice Silkworm and the World-Destroying Black Lotus were not to be trifled with. So, after the two had been fighting for some time, a barely perceptible light suddenly shot out from the depths of the dense forest on the left. The light was dark purple, as fast as lightning, and silently headed straight for Lu Jing's back—clearly, someone was launching a sneak attack from the shadows!

"Careful!" Wang Donger shouted subconsciously. Although she hesitated about whether to attack Lu Jing, she could not stand such underhanded sneak tactics.

Lu Jing's heart tightened. Just as he wanted to turn and defend, the anxious voice of the Tian Meng Ice Silkworm suddenly rang in his mind: "Damn! Some bastard is sneak-attacking!"

Before the words faded, the World-Destroying Black Lotus above his head suddenly rotated on its own, its ink-colored petals instantly closing, shielding him completely in the center.

"Ding!"

The dark purple light slammed hard against the lotus platform, emitting a crisp sound.

A bizarre scene occurred—the hundred-year spirit ring that had been yellow under Lu Jing's feet actually faded from yellow at this moment at a speed visible to the naked eye, turning into a dazzling white-gold!

The white-gold spirit ring rotated slowly, emitting a terrifying aura that far exceeded a hundred years, even approaching ten thousand years. The black mist on the World-Destroying Black Lotus instantly surged, shaking the dark purple light so that it flew backward, disappearing into the depths of the dense forest without a trace.

Lu Jing was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood—someone was guarding behind Bei Bei!

"This... what is going on?" Bei Bei and Tang Ya were both stunned; could a spirit ring's color suddenly change?

In Lu Jing's mind, the Tian Meng Ice Silkworm's triumphant voice rang out: "Hehe, didn't expect that, right? I am a million-year Spirit Beast, after all. Even if I've sacrificed myself, I still have this bit of life-saving ability! As for the spirit ring color, that's just a small matter!"

It didn't want to die along with Lu Jing just after having sacrificed itself; it hadn't even had time to enjoy its "rebirth" yet, how could it die?