Chapter 25 – The Astonishingly Powerful Rank ５ Soul Arrow

Normally speaking.

Lin Ze only needed to hold off the Deathknell Striker and patiently wait for reinforcements to arrive.

There was no need at all to go through the trouble of killing that Tier 4 Ferocious Beast.

However, Lin Ze had a faint premonition that killing the Deathknell Striker might unlock some achievement.

And this was also a good opportunity to explore the rules behind achievements.

With this in mind, when he used the Burst Card, Lin Ze had already decided to take down the Deathknell Striker.

His answer left Zhang Lei and the others frozen in place.

The adventurers nearby who overheard this exchanged bewildered glances, momentarily at a loss for words.

Although the Ice Crystal Soul had the upper hand in its battle against the Deathknell Striker,

that advantage was hardly enough to secure a kill.

Even if the two sides could determine a victor, it would only happen after a prolonged struggle.

Considering the countless Deathknell Beetles surrounding them, the final outcome of this battle was still uncertain.

If given the choice, most would prefer to play it safe and just keep the Deathknell Striker occupied.

After all, time was on their side.

If they went for the kill and it backfired, they’d be left crying with no tears to shed.

But given Lin Ze’s demonstrated strength, no one dared to question or mock him openly.

Instead, many secretly wondered whether Lin Ze had other trump cards up his sleeve.

Like, a second Wonder Item?

In the end, it was Loda who couldn’t hold back and asked.

“Brother Lin, do you happen to have another Wonder Item?”

“No.”

Lin Ze denied it outright.

He did still have one Burst Card left, but that could only be used on Pet Beasts and couldn’t be stacked, so it was useless in this situation.

Hearing Lin Ze’s denial, the confusion on everyone’s faces deepened.

Without a Wonder Item, how exactly did he plan to kill the Deathknell Striker?

He couldn’t possibly be planning to fight it bare-handed, could he?

Lin Ze didn’t bother explaining further. He directly summoned his Personal Panel and fixed his gaze on the Soul Art section.

The two achievements, [Hundred Beast Slash] and [Thousand Beast Slash], had contributed a total of 800 Achievement Points to him.

After deducting the cost of raising the Ice Crystal Soul’s Growth Rate, he still had over 700 points remaining.

Without hesitation, Lin Ze spent 100 Achievement Points to upgrade Soul Arrow to Level 2.

[Soul Arrow (Level 2), upgrade cost: 150 Achievement Points]

Keep upgrading!

[Soul Arrow (Level 3), upgrade cost: 200 Achievement Points]

Continue!

[Soul Arrow (Level 4), upgrade cost: 300 Achievement Points]

[Soul Arrow (Level 5), upgrade cost: 500 Achievement Points]

He only stopped after raising Soul Arrow all the way to Level 5.

Then.

He looked up at the Deathknell Striker in the distance.

Loda and the others had been watching Lin Ze’s every move, puzzled about how he planned to kill the Deathknell Striker.

Seeing him make a move now, they immediately focused their attention, afraid of missing a single moment.

Under the curious gaze of the crowd, Lin Ze extended his palm, and a silver-gray Soul Power arrow condensed out of thin air in front of his hand.

“Soul Arrow?”

The crowd was stunned, faces filled with disbelief.

They never expected Lin Ze to use a Soul Art against the Deathknell Striker.

And of all things, Soul Arrow.

Everyone knew that Soul Arrow was one of the most basic and common Soul Arts.

Nine out of ten Beast Tamers present had mastered Soul Arrow.

They were all too familiar with its power.

And judging by Lin Ze’s age, he had probably only recently begun practicing Soul Arts. At most, he might have cultivated Soul Arrow to Level 1 or 2.

A Soul Arrow of that level would only be good against Tier 1 or 2 Ferocious Beasts.

Against a Tier 4 Ferocious Beast… it would barely even be enough to tickle it.

What use could it possibly be?

The crowd was instantly disheartened.

Yet the very next second, they saw the Soul Arrow in front of Lin Ze’s palm shoot out, crossing a hundred meters like lightning, striking the Deathknell Striker’s carapace with pinpoint accuracy.

Boom!

It was as if the thunderous roar of an artillery shell exploding rang in their ears.

Amid the deafening blast, a gaping hole burst open in the Deathknell Striker’s hard carapace, flesh and blood splattering everywhere.

“ROAR!”

Wracked with agony, the Deathknell Striker let out a mournful howl.

Meanwhile, Loda and the others stood frozen in place, staring at the scene before them with wide eyes and gaping mouths.

This—this is a Soul Arrow!?

Its power was several times stronger than an artillery shell!

For a moment.

Everyone felt a surreal, dreamlike sensation, wondering if their eyes were playing tricks on them.

“Is… is that really a Soul Arrow?”

“…It should be.”

“But that’s way too powerful!”

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen a Soul Arrow like this!”

Exclamations of awe rang out without end.

Everyone was stunned by Lin Ze’s devastatingly powerful Soul Arrow.

Even Loda’s face was now filled with shock.

“With that power… the Soul Arrow’s Level must be at least Level 5!”

As a seasoned Bronze Beast Tamer, Loda’s mastery of Soul Arts was naturally nothing to scoff at.

He could tell the Level of that Soul Arrow at a glance.

Heaven help him.

He had immersed himself in Soul Arts for over a decade, and the highest-Level Soul Art he possessed was only Level 4.

And how long had someone of Lin Ze’s age even been exposed to Soul Arts?

At most, less than a year!

And on top of that, he had also been cultivating Soul Guardian and Soul Power Impact simultaneously.

To have still managed to train his Soul Arrow to Level 5 under those circumstances—his talent for Soul Arts was nothing short of monstrous.

“Could this guy have started cultivating from the womb or something?”

Including Loda, every adventurer present couldn’t help but have a similar thought flash through their minds.

Lin Ze was unaware of what others were thinking, nor did he care. His focus was entirely on supporting the Ice Crystal Soul.

A Level 5 Soul Arrow boasted a massive surge in power, yet its consumption remained the original 10 Soul Power.

It also gained a new technique for multiple simultaneous releases.

With over a hundred Soul Power remaining, Lin Ze simply condensed ten Soul Arrows at once and hurled them all at the Deathknell Striker.

Its massive frame made the Deathknell Striker’s evasions sluggish and clumsy.

It had no time to dodge and took every single Soul Arrow head-on.

In an instant.

A torrent of blood burst from the Deathknell Striker’s body, its agonized wails ringing out without pause.

The Ice Crystal Soul seized the opportunity to beat the beast while it was down, unleashing skills at its opponent as if they cost nothing.

In just a brief moment.

The Deathknell Striker was covered in wounds, its defeat already evident.

At this point, the outcome was beyond all doubt.

Lin Ze stopped, ceasing his Soul Arts and leaving the finishing work to the Ice Crystal Soul.

Moments later.

With a final mournful cry, the Deathknell Striker’s mountain-like body crashed to the ground, blood pooling beneath it into a growing crimson lake before it soon fell silent.

Its death threw the swarm into panic, and many Deathknell Beetles turned and fled.

Even more Deathknell Beetles scrambled about on the spot like headless flies.

Gone was their former unity of movement.

The canyon echoed with the unending, piercing shrieks of Insect Beasts.

On the adventurers’ side, however, there was dead silence.

Everyone stared blankly at the scene before them, their minds reeling in a daze, unable to snap back to reality for a long time.