Chapter 293: Human-Shaped Beast

Time passed quietly, and before he knew it, Shi Quan had spent nearly five months in the Raging Wave.

With waves raging to the heavens, Shi Quan's figure stood still amidst the surging waters, his simple, elegant long robes remaining dry despite the lashing of the waves.

The violent sea waves seemed to bypass Shi Quan, and not even a drop of sea spray managed to dampen the hem of his clothes.

In these five months, Shi Quan had directly cultivated the Martial Art Universe Shift to its highest realm, and by integrating various martial arts regarding force from his mind, he had created his own method of Universe Shift force.

Before he knew it, Shi Quan had spent nearly another year on Sea God Island.

Calculating the time, there was about a month left until the next Soul Spirit Assembly.

The time was still quite sufficient.

After leaving Sea God Island this time, Shi Quan would not return for a short while.

Shi Quan had other arrangements to follow.

He had returned to Sea God Island previously because he could still cultivate in the Raging Wave.

Now that the Raging Wave was of no use to him, there was naturally no need to stay on Sea God Island.

However, before leaving Sea God Island, upholding the principle of making the best use of everything, Shi Quan wanted to see just what level his strength had reached.

Leaving the Raging Wave, Shi Quan's figure streaked across the sky like a meteor, and soon he arrived at the familiar Sea within a Sea outside the Haima Sacred Pillar.

The Haima Douluo sat quietly beneath the Haima Sacred Pillar. Perhaps because he sensed the arrival of Shi Quan and Gu Yuena, the Haima Douluo slowly opened his eyes.

"Something the matter?" The Haima Douluo raised his eyes to look at Shi Quan.

"This junior is preparing to leave Sea God Island. Before leaving, I came here specifically to ask for your guidance, Senior." Shi Quan cupped his fists in a simple salute.

Upon hearing this, the Haima Douluo stood up. "Your strength shouldn't be at the level of a Title Douluo yet, right?"

Shi Quan nodded and said, "This junior's soul power is currently only at level eighty-six."

"Eighty-six?" The Haima Douluo looked at Shi Quan faintly. "A Spirit Douluo challenging a Title Douluo across ranks; I admire your courage. Since that is the case, let me witness your methods and see what you are truly capable of."

"Be careful, Senior." Shi Quan leaped up, circulating his Internal Energy, and unleashed the Nine Shadows Shift; his figure instantly transformed into six phantoms as he rushed toward the Haima Douluo.

"A Self-Created Spirit Skill?"

For a moment, he actually could not discern Shi Quan's exact position among these several phantoms. The Haima Douluo tapped his toes backward, retreating while simultaneously releasing his martial soul. In an instant, his entire body was enveloped in a layer of strange grey-white armor, and a giant phantom of a seahorse, extremely similar to the statue atop the Haima Sacred Pillar, emerged behind him. Two yellow, two purple, and five black—nine soul rings flashed simultaneously.

Just as Shi Quan's phantoms attacked, the Haima Douluo's Seventh Soul Ring lit up, and his body instantly merged with the white bone armor on him, transforming into a giant seahorse over three meters long.

The Haima Douluo flicked his tail, and a powerful energy fluctuation instantly blasted five of the phantoms away.

The aura and energy inherent in the Nine Shadows Shift collided violently, and Shi Quan's true body also paused as a result.

"Challenging across ranks, and you still don't release your martial soul? I don't know if you are confident or arrogant!"

Locking onto Shi Quan's figure, the Haima Douluo took a step forward and threw a simple, unadorned punch directly at Shi Quan.

A series of explosions rang out in the air. The air seemed to be under immense pressure, and within the Sea within a Sea behind Shi Quan, a giant wave surged into the sky, condensing into a massive fist shape in the air. It struck directly at Shi Quan's back, forming a pincer attack with the Haima Douluo's punch.

Facing the pincer attack, Shi Quan remained completely calm; he crouched slightly and slowly raised his hands.

Taiji Fist!

Universe Shift itself utilized the principles of Taiji Yin and Yang; by manipulating force and shifting, one could deflect an enemy's moves and power. Through these five months of cultivation, Shi Quan had gained a deeper understanding and application of fist and palm techniques.

As Shi Quan moved his hands back and forth, between tension and relaxation, the Haima Douluo immediately felt a powerful and strange attractive force erupt from Shi Quan. Even though he had locked onto Shi Quan, the power of his two fists was forcibly shifted by this force.

Amidst a thunderous roar, Shi Quan's figure remained motionless, while the fist formed by the surging giant wave collided fiercely with the Haima Douluo himself.

The Haima Douluo's figure retreated; he was clearly shocked, not understanding what had happened, as if Shi Quan's two simple movements contained some special power.

The target of this strike was clearly Shi Quan, but as it approached, a strange force not only severed his control but also redirected the strike onto himself.

What kind of special method was this, that it could not only neutralize an enemy's attack but also turn it into his own?

While he was still shocked, Shi Quan's figure once again transformed into several phantoms and attacked.

The Sixth Soul Ring beneath the Haima Douluo suddenly lit up, and a ripple expanded, looking like a shield covering the Haima Douluo's entire body.

"Nine-Level Collapse Fist!"

Shi Quan arrived in an instant, his six phantoms condensing into one. His Internal Energy surged out like a rushing river as he threw a punch.

The Haima Douluo had not thought much of it at first, as his Sixth Soul Skill under the Martial Soul True Body was his strongest defensive soul skill, but his expression soon changed.

The power within Shi Quan's punch reached a terrifying level, giving him the feeling of having been whipped by the tail of the Demon Soul Great White Shark King, Xiaobai.

Not only that, but within Shi Quan's punch, there were several different types of force hidden—some fierce, some soft, some hard with softness, some soft with hardness, some striking horizontally, some straight, some inward-contracting.

He could still block the powerful force, but he could not handle the subsequent forces—he blocked the first, the second, but could not cope with the rest in time.

After a muffled groan of pain, the Haima Douluo was blasted away by Shi Quan's punch, crashing heavily into the Ring Sea.

In the Raging Wave, when Shi Quan trained his strength, he dealt with waves over a hundred meters high every day, and he had learned no shortage of fist and palm manuals from the Nine Yin Nine Yang True Scripture.

His punch had gathered the Seven Injuries Fist and the Great Diamond Fist; its immense power combined with masculine, fierce force could be said to be specifically created to break defenses.

The power of this punch was comparable to a ten-thousand-year soul skill.

Even without using his martial soul, every one of Shi Quan's martial arts techniques was comparable to a soul skill. Without soul rings revealed, using them was even more secretive, and coupled with his year and a half of bitter cultivation in the Raging Wave...

Not only had his martial arts attainments improved significantly, but combined with his powerful physical body, the current Shi Quan was completely a human-shaped Beast!

(End of chapter)