Chapter 107 - 104: The First Soul Fragment

In the sand-filled De Ya City of the Sha Country in West Asia, what once was a bustling capital full of towering skyscrapers had been leveled to the ground. Four gigantic spaceships hovered directly above the ruins of De Ya City. The designs of these four spaceships were not identical; two resembled flying saucers and covered an area as large as several soccer fields. The other two were no different in shape and size from the Star Chaser Ding Huan had seen before, with the smaller ships flanking the large saucers on either side. Surrounding the four spaceships were at least ten thousand Undying Spiders. Each of these spiders was at least two meters tall, encircling the spaceships like statues. ... On the outskirts of Sha Country, defensive trenches and walls had been erected long ago, and hundreds of thousands of Federation Soldiers were stationed within them. The splattered blood and dense pockmarks of bullets on the front of the trenches told of a recent battle. Federation Army Commander Gu Zhong looked troubled; the recent battle had cost the Federation Army thousands of men. Yet it seemed not one of the Undying Spiders was lost. It was unknown what material these spiders were made of; even when shelled through, they could still stand up to fight, usually restoring themselves shortly after. With such a terrifying ability, who could defeat them? Now he could only wait for the reinforcements from the Genetic Alliance and the Martial Arts Alliance. These spiders were probably not something ordinary shells could take care of. As for missiles, they couldn't land in Sha Country's airspace at all. After several missiles were fired and bounced back, they dared not launch any more. What worried Gu Zhong the most was not that he couldn't break through the extraterrestrial encampment but what these extraterrestrials intended to do. They could easily destroy the Federation Army's defensive line with a counterattack, so why hadn't they struck back yet? At the same time, within one of those circular spaceships, a meeting was being held. Presiding over the meeting was still Captain Baru, who looked soft-skinned and fair, but in reality, he was extremely irascible. Impulsive as Baru was, he was not reckless: "We have now secured a foothold. Based on our recent interactions, this planet does have forces capable of fighting us, so we need to be cautious." "Captain, my opinion is for a quick battle to quickly resolve this. Otherwise, if they learn the secret of our Undying Spiders, it will become difficult to win," a woman standing up said. Her name was An Qinger, and she was one of the strategists for this mission. "An Qinger, Captain Baru has not fully waged war because he's worried that the secret of the Undying Spiders will become known to them. Looking at the military presence here, those soldiers are fearless in the face of death. Once in close combat, it's hard to keep the secret of the Undying Spiders. What do we rely on? Isn't it our energy and Undying Spiders? Our energy resources are limited and cannot be replenished. Once consumed, defeat is inevitable," Zang Yuding Hui said. His chin wobbled with his words, looking rather comical. But no one found him comical; despite his short and chubby appearance, he was known to be ruthless. His idea was to use all men on Earth as fertilizer by burying them, and then to keep some women to build homes for them. As for the technological civilization of Earth, he considered it not worth mentioning or preserving. Captain Baru nodded: "Zang Yuding Hui is right, even if we can easily crush them, we must be careful and cautious. Besides, we can't overwhelm the people here. There are strong individuals here, very powerful ones. The guy who was killed by the Undying Spider—I suspect he discovered the secret of the Undying Spiders just before he died. What if a few more such individuals come? How can we ensure victory? You must understand we have no way out; only by enslaving this place can we return to the Zhan Shen Continent, so we need to conserve energy for the return. From my observations, this planet absolutely lacks advanced energy resources." With Captain Baru setting the tone, the rest stopped discussing and followed the captain's orders. Baru continued: "Ting Ti, Ji Yuan, you control the Divine Guard No.1 and go out to look for the Star Chaser. According to our location services, the Star Chaser is not far from here. Having stayed on Earth for so long, the Star Chaser must have recorded ample data and resources. After we retrieve these things, it will be time for us to go to war." "Yes," two young men stood up and simultaneously voiced their assent before departing. ... Ding Huan, now a Level 8 Genetic Cultivator, heaved a sigh. This Blossom God Crystal Stone was really useful; in just half a month's time, he had become an eighth-level genetic cultivator. In half a month, he had used up... Ding Huan paused for a moment, looking at the single Blossom God Crystal Stone remaining beside him. Only then did he realize that he had used up eighteen of them in half a month. No, he must catch Shi Keling. Without catching Shi Keling, without finding more Blossom God Crystal Stones, it would be difficult for him to cultivate and reach a ninth-level genetic cultivator on Earth. Even finding a pile of True Yuan stones would be difficult. Having gotten used to cultivating with Blossom God Crystal Stones, who would want to endure using True Yuan stones? As for not using True Yuan stones or Blossom God Crystal Stones, it would be better not to cultivate at all. Seeing that Qi Xinyue was still cultivating, Ding Huan decided to go out and craft a long spear first for practicing the nine gun Dao. Huh, this girl had decent aptitude. She reached third-level genetic cultivator in such a short time? Even though she was using the Blossom God Crystal Stones, with such speed in cultivation, her spiritual root potential seemed to be a bit better than his own gene spiritual root? Without disturbing Qi Xinyue, Ding Huan left the cave. It had to be said, the forest resources of Africa were excellent; precious trees were everywhere, and without much searching, Ding Huan had already come across a Purple Light Sandalwood. This material was extremely hard and suitable for crafting a temporary long spear for cultivation. Ding Huan had no intention of continuing his search; he settled on this piece of Purple Light Sandalwood. Taking out the Starry Sky Blade, Ding Huan was about to cut down the Purple Light Sandalwood when the edge of his Divine Will touched upon a White Hardwood tree. White Hardwood was much harder than Purple Light Sandalwood, and Ding Huan's Divine Will sensed that this particular White Hardwood tree was a genetically mutated species. Absolutely a great find, Ding Huan did not hesitate to abandon the Purple Light Sandalwood. White Hardwood was known as one of the strongest types of wood on the planet, though its position as the strongest was not stable. However, with the genetic mutation, this particular White Hardwood could definitely be considered the hardest timber on the planet. Ding Huan's Starry Sky Blade struck directly at the roots. This time, without utilizing True Yuan, he simply chopped with the blade, deliberately not using much strength. To Ding Huan's surprise, this time he did not succeed in splitting the White Hardwood tree. Given that his Starry Sky Blade was a product of extraterrestrial civilization, it showed just how hard the wood was. Ding Huan gathered his True Yuan, and this time he easily split the White Hardwood tree. With the enhancement of the Starry Sky Blade, Ding Huan only took the heartwood part of this mutated White Hardwood. The mutated White Hardwood was really too thick, and even just the heartwood part yielded five long spears for Ding Huan. He reserved a length of about two meters for each long spear; too long would be inconvenient to carry, and too short would not allow its power to be fully unleashed. Until he found a real replacement for the long spear, this White Hardwood Spear would accompany him for a while. Having made the long spears, Ding Huan took them to a vacant area. Nine techniques, the spear of nine techniques, each technique a layer of the heavens, nine techniques tearing apart the Nine Heavens. This spirit was indeed extremely arrogant, but Ding Huan liked this kind of arrogant spear spirit. He felt that this spear technique was extremely suitable for him. Since it was a killer move, if it didn't have an arrogant spirit, how could it kill the enemy? To execute the nine techniques, one should let the spear move as it wishes, controlling the spear with intention. The first technique's spear would strike out a thousand lights, with each landing shattering ten thousand souls. Well then, was the first technique so ferocious? With True Yuan condensed, Ding Huan's long spear touched out, a series of spear lights materializing at the tip. "Crack!" With only around a dozen spear lights materializing, the long spear in his hand shattered into debris. Ding Huan frowned and tossed the fragments to the ground. If it continued like this, his handful of White Hardwood Long Spears would hardly withstand his practice of the nine techniques. Moreover, he felt that he hadn't been able to execute the first technique of the nine. He hadn't grasped the essence of the spear; its form was present without the spirit. Letting the spear move as it wished was the true essence of the nine techniques. If the spear truly let it move as it wished, how could it break upon a single strike? Only by thinking of relying on the long spear to bear his own strength would it cause the spear to shatter. For a good practitioner of the spear ways, the strength isn't meant to be borne by one's own weapon, but rather to be endured by the opponent. With this thought, Ding Huan simply went to chop down that piece of Purple Light Sandalwood and then carved up over a hundred long spears in one go. Concentrating his True Yuan once again, the spirit of the nine techniques, a strike with the spear, the spear lights exploded into view, and the long spear in hand shattered... Ding Huan wasn't discouraged; he had prepared over a hundred long spears precisely for practicing the first technique of the nine. An entire day passed, and Ding Huan shattered two hundred and seven long spears, having had to make new wooden spears along the way. Yet Ding Huan became more and more excited because with each attempt he could sense why the spear had shattered, which was real progress. The next day, Ding Huan continued to practice the nine techniques. When Ding Huan picked up the three hundred and twenty-sixth long spear, he launched a spear strike, and hundreds of spear lights burst forth in front of it. Boom boom boom! Rows of giant trees were torn apart under these spear lights, but Ding Huan's wooden spear showed not a single crack. Ding Huan looked at the wooden spear in his hand and felt an inner calm. That last strike, he utilized the long spear to unfold thousands of intents to kill, without destroying his wooden spear with those intents. Because the spear was his companion. He managed not to rely on the wooden spear to bear the stress and unleash the killer move, so his wooden spear did not shatter. As his cultivation progressed in the future, and his sensation of the spear spirit deepened, it would not be about striking out a thousand lights or shattering ten thousand souls. Even a thousand lights begetting ten thousand, or a spearfall taking down a hundred million souls would be normal. For the booming of wood has no intent of killing, the way of the spear can only improve faster amidst true slaying, for only when there is blood will there be life. Fine spear technique! How could such a fine spear technique be without a name? The first technique of the nine... should be called... Thousand Kills, no, too vulgar and lacking in spirit. His single strike had turned hundreds of trees into debris. Why not call it... Wait until the 8th of September next year, my spear strikes and ten thousand souls will fall! It shall be called Soul Fragment. Ding Huan, clutching his wooden spear, felt a surge of pride rise from within. He couldn't wait until the 8th of September next fall; he was going to the Changyi Continent to take his revenge; it would only be next year. Next year, if he returned to space, he would let tens of thousands of souls crumble under his spear way. (Today's update ends here, my friends. Good night. Lao Wu asks for monthly ticket support!)