A tired and despondent man walked to the police station. He lit up a cigarette, huffed in, and breathed out. "Disgusting."
He wore an untidy white police uniform, had messy hair, and looked like everything in life was annoying him. He was the man Karni and Siduo captured yesterday. He was the police captain of the biggest police precinct in Star Luo City.
It was a shame that this police precinct was also the home to the police centre of the entire Star Luo City. This particular unfortunate soul was forced to work directly under the police chief. In any other precinct, he could do as he wished as a captain, but no, not here. He was forced to be a somewhat competent policeman and that eventually got him to the rank of a police captain.
The man stopped before the police station, and took a big, yet tired breath. He was curious if he was overdoing it. Probably not.
He stepped in and saw that a few policemen were filled with relief when they saw him.
"Thank gods you returned. The chief is getting worse. Please…"
Zhen Haoran, the police captain, raised his hand and sighed. "I know, I know… Haa. I expected this. I'll deal with it."
The captain went forth to the upper floor toward the offices of more important people of the police station.
Another policeman rushed over to the one who just greeted Zhen Haoran. "How was he? Is he normal? Did he look lifeless."
The one who talked to the captain sighed in relief. "He looks fine. He doesn't seem lifeless."
"Phew. Thank gods."
Zhen Haoran had a reputation. He was a competent if lazy man. He solved problems before they started because he did not want to deal with them. The problem was that if those problems got out of hand Zhen Haoran stopped responding and only stared into the sky.
They had seen him that way multiple times in the past few years after the death of the police chief's son. When Zhen Haoran was like that, he became useless and did nothing but wait until the very last moment to get things done. He turned from an efficient man into a never-ending procrastinator.
Zhen Haoran reached the top floor and took a deep breath. He entered. "Zhen Haoran, reporting."
The police chief snapped up at him, she stared at him for a split second before finally speaking. "We lost contact with you."
"I got captured, chief. They just let me out." The man lit a cigarette.
"They just… let you?"
"They probably put something on me to tail me. I just cannot detect it. I didn't have the skill to resist. Or time. I could not bring out my Battle Armour before I was already down." The man shrugged.
The police chief stomped toward the man and looked him in the eyes. She was taller than him, staring down from above. Eye to eye.
"Show me your Martial Soul. An ability."
"Haa." The man sighed and took his cigarette out of his hand. Five Purple and a single Black Soul ring circulated the cigarette. The first one shined.
The cigarette lit aflame, and Zhen Haoran tossed it. It caused tiny explosions. A soft version of the skill. A true one would cause damage to the room.
"Hmm. Sit. Explain." The chief said and walked to her side of the table. On the table, Zhen Haoran noted the name plate. Police Chief Tan Lanyue.
Police captain Zhen Haoran sat down, looking tired. "They kidnapped me and questioned me. Chief, you should know that they think Evil Soul Masters are-"
Tan Lanyue looked at him, a threatening aura released from her.
"It's what they asked, chief." He took a big huff of the cig.
"What do you believe, captain."
"I don't particularly care, chief, as long as I am not directly connected to that shit."
The police chief sighed, seeming to calm down. "I swear, you would have taken over my position long ago if not for that… character of yours."
The man shrugged. "The less work, the better."
"So that's it? They just let you go?" Tan Lanyue eyed him.
"Oh, no, no." Zhen Haoran reached for his pocket and brought out a letter. "They said to deliver this to you, then threw me out."
"Did you see where they kept you?"
"Eyes covered, and I woke up on the side of the street later."
The chief nodded and took the letter. She read it, then smiled. Her smile was cruel. Zhen Haoran felt chills down his spine.
"Hahahhahahahaha!" The woman started laughing and stood up immediately. "Come Zhen Haoran, let's meet up with the little fuckers."
"Pardon? Chief, what did it-"
"They want to meet up, bait me out. Told me where they are waiting and that they'll involve the Tang Sect if I don't comply. As if."
"Hm. They don't actually have anything, do they?"
"Of course not. The kids want to get some evidence from me. To see if I really am colluding with someone outside. They have nothing."
"But… why do you want me to come with?"
"Did you not see the clips of their fight? Alone, even I will struggle against them. If they get me, I cannot get my revenge. But if it's both of us…" She smiled. "I know you like to stay low-key, but don't think I'm unaware of your strength."
The man stood silent then released a long, long sigh. "Fine."
"Heh. Good. Come." She opened the door for him, and as Zhen Haoran stepped out, she turned back and pressed a small medal on the wall shelf.
She closed the door and followed Zhen Haoran outside. The man stopped. "Where did they say they would be?"
She looked to Zhen Haoran and squinted. "Northside of the city, in the forest. I'll lead."
The two took a car. Zhen Haoran, as the subordinate, drove, while Tan Lanyue gave him directions.
It only took 30 minutes to get out of the city. The two stopped at a forest clearing.
"Captain, be at the ready. These two are sneaky. They managed to get my son when they were only Soul Elders."
The man snorted. "They got me before I could even react."
The aura the police chief released into the area practically called for people to assault her. She was issuing a challenge.
She had, like her son, a White Armoured Dragon Martial Soul. Except she was far more tyrannic than her son. Whether she was like that before her son died or not only those in the police station knew.
"Come on out! I know you're here. Let's get this over with."
Two shadows came out. A teen with bright auburn hair and a youth with blonde hair. The two looked relaxed.
"So I finally see you. Murderers of my son." She mentioned her son with a beast-like voice.
"Lady, he only died in self defence. We didn't want to kill him. Blame yourself for getting him into shady business. If you hadn't been collaborating with Evil Soul Masters, none of this would have happened." Siduo started and even shrugged.
Tan Lanyue laughed. "Trying to get me to admit, huh? Smart kids." Her eyes flashed a little. She turned to Zhen Haoran. "Call him."
"Yes." Zhen Haoran answered, before he slightly froze, and sighed. But it was a different sigh.
Golden shapes showed the danger. The sound informed the future of the impact.
Zhen Haoran stepped to the side and smoothly moved away.
The police chief flared up, White Dragon Scales covering her immediately. She smashed the ground.
"What gave me away, if I may be so bold." Zhen Haoran turned and put off his clothes. His voice was completely different. Zhen Haoran was Karni.
"Zhen Haoran would not know who I was talking about."
Karni sighed. "So I failed at the very end. A shame." He looked to Siduo, the Val Karni that came out of the forest turned into her clone. "The hard way it is."
… … …
"If I help out, will you let me go?"
Karni and Siduo looked at each other. Karni shrugged. "We can, but after we deal with everything."
"Trust me, if you can deal with her, then I happily stay hidden. I'll even testify for any rumours and shady things."
"Not much loyalty among you, eh?" Siduo snickered.
"Miss, how would you feel if your boss is working for the Evil Soul Masters? Do you know how many people have gone missing since her son died? Some of them were my friends, competent people, good detectives. Some were not even Soul Masters." Zhen Haoran's voice was harsh. "I don't care how this whole thing stops. Whether you die or her, I just want it to stop."
Karni looked at him. His voice calm. "Was one of them Lu Diu?"
"Detective Lu Diu?" The man asked. "She got a promotion after she caught her son?"
Karni nodded. It was the detective that gave him a lot of information and help regarding the whole Grandma Ying situation back then.
Zhen Haoran sighed. "She was the first to disappear. She's likely been dead long ago."
Karni sucked in a bit of breath but kept calm. "You'll teach me how to act like you." There was no use finding out more. He needed the knowledge to deal with everything. That was the way to stop this from happening again.
"Oh, that's quite simple." The man chuckled. "Just give answers like you do not really care. Even to the boss. I'll give you some pointers. Pretending to be me shouldn't be too much trouble either. You have a similar build. Just colour your hair and cover your face with it. Some light make up should cover you enough. But you'll have to somehow fake my Martial Soul."
"What is it?"
… … …
A cigarette. Karni held a cigarette. It was a Soul Tool. On it he carved the Connecting Array he had on the Guardian. After the delicate design he made for Siduo's Whip-Blades, carving one array on a cigarette was quite simple. Especially so when the Soul Tool had only one skill. Mirage Bestowal: to fake the Soul Rings.
"Your friend the police captain helped out quite a bit." Karni huffed the cigarette, then put it away. Yep. Still disgusting.
"You don't exactly inspire loyalty among your people, do you?" Siduo asked the police chief.
"Why should I? The times are changing. We have to adapt." The police chief said confidently, standing between the two teens.
There was a slight pause as everyone eyed each other.
Then she jumped at Siduo. Based on public records, it was the girl who really killed her son.
Four of her Soul Rings shone at once. Four of seven—a total of Four Purple, Three Black. Her second, fourth, sixth and seventh shone. Strengthening, Armoured Plate, Diamond Scale and yes, the White Armoured Dragon Avatar. She was not playing around. She was going for the kill.
Siduo was not playing around either. Her strength exploded. She blazed into the Yin Yang Flames, her first, third and fifth Soul Ring shining, giving her a powerful visage. The three great strengthenings of the White Tiger Clan. Yet in her hands, those strengthenings were even greater.
The flames of Yin and Yang turned fully White, with countless Black patterns adorning her body. She would not dodge. She placed her palms, ready to intercept, then grinned.
Tan Lanyue watched with confusion as she saw Siduo vanish in front of her. What was happening? She didn't use that ability six months ago! Tan Lanyue actually went to watch that battle in person. She thought she was familiar with their abilities.
She felt danger from behind. Her avatar fully activated, as her body underwent a change, along with her third Soul Ring activating. She became a true White Armoured Dragon. A dragon with no wings, thick front and hind legs, and a terrifying tail.
She turned around just in time to see two terrifying figures crashing toward her. A giant Greatsword shining silver and a flaming white meteor whose cracks were a cold black.
The police chief hated the fact that she felt her life was in danger.
Karni and Siduo had been apart for a whole year, but the past half a year they'd spend together again, they had gotten intimately familiar with each other's abilities. Their teamwork was immaculate.
A terrifying explosion struck the White Armoured Dragon, picking up smoke. But when the smoke cleared, the giant dragon was gone. Karni looked at Siduo and she nodded.
The two stood there, waiting… and waiting… then they moved. The ground they stood at exploded.
Siduo switched from White flames to completely Black, her Scorched Moon Phoenix Feather doing the work. Stripes of blue appeared on her blades, the Moon Stripes.
Tan Lanyue felt fear. They saw through her? But that skill was supposed to be perfect camouflage!
Karni and Siduo saw many things, especially with Karni's Purple Demon Eyes and his shared vision. The police chief had her fifth skill active: the Silent Scale. It turned her fully translucent. She did not expect they were able to see through it.
Another explosion followed. The previously pure White Armoured Dragon was now very bloody. Scales were missing or were torn out on multiple points. And then she saw a giant panda coming from the side.
Karni slapped his paws into the Guardian while at the same time kicking it. Flight into the River combined with Royal Paw Pad and the Guardian! Still Harmony was there to guide his movements to terrifying precision. The Sound was the guide.
Tan Lanyue's eyes turned blood red, then the blood spread through her whole body. She had no choice. The odds were against her instantly. The Bloody Armoured Dragon. Her own, self-created ability. She remembered seeing traces of the skill on her son's body when she checked up on it.
But she was different. She breathed this technique. She created it.
The White Armoured Dragon went through a complete transformation. Her scales turned savage, her head turned savage, her tail turned monstrous. Her first Soul Ring shone. Her tail swiped at Karni from the side.
She became the Bloody Armoured Dragon. She was the one who created this monstrous technique. Using her own blood to transform herself. Her son only knew how to utilise a part of it.
Karni was quick on his feet. He saw the transformation coming after all. After Hope evolved, hardly anything truly surprised him anymore.
His Guardian turned into the Twin Blades mode with automatic efficiency. He intercepted the tail with the dagger, utilised the Drunken Ghost Dance and let himself be lunched toward a tree.
But he didn't crash. He Shifted in place, simply changing direction of the cube marked through the Grid. Front became back. All the speed was now directed back toward the Bloody Armoured Dragon.
At the same time, from the other side, Siduo multiplied. Her clones lunched themselves toward the dragon. All of them shone in Black and White, but none of them had the beautiful patterns that the main body wore. No, the flames were chaotic.
A kamikaze tactic. She didn't use that against Karni last time, because he could easily dodge such attacks—it would be a waste of energy.
She was bombarded from multiple sides. Exploding clones and constant slashes from Karni's Twin Swords. The Sharpness of Space and the intensity of Yin and Yang energies.
Siduo locked the police chief down. Her explosions were powerful, but not enough to truly kill someone in their Avatar form when in such a berserk state. The explosions came from clones after all. Siduo also, unfortunately, had yet to have enough Spiritual Power to be able to control multiple Soul Skills together with Yin and Yang Flames. Especially not so through her Moon-Feet Clones.
But she could fuse enough. She switched back to the White Tiger form. She saw that Karni was ready.
She exploded with speed into the woman, put on her Battle Armour. With her Battle Armour, she could officially be known as Tiger Wu Siduo.
Karni too, put on his Battle Armour. Flow Val Karni. His Guardian turned into the Greatsword. It glowed in White, Gold and Silver, placed high above his head. Spiritual Power, Soul Power, Sound, Space, Prediction, all of them. Gathering. Together.
He had been building it together. Silently. The Sound. He avoided the key hits to not cause too big of an alarm for the police chief. So it was ready. Sonic Entropy.
As they put on Battle Armour, so did the police chief. Hers was a Two-Word Battle Armour. White Armour Tan Lanyue.
But Karni felt danger. Danger from behind. It would hit him and Siduo just a second from now. But he couldn't stop his skill in such a short time. "Sisi! Dodge!"
Karni felt his back be pierced by needles, but he slashed.
Siduo dodged below, having full trust in Karni.
But this meant that the White Armoured Dragon could dodge.
Karni's slash flew at the White Armoured Dragon. It followed her. It wasn't perfect, because Karni was hurt, but Karni put his power of prediction into the attack. It would hit no matter what! That was the ability he developed against Siduo!
When an attack saw through space and could feel the future, it was infinitely better than a homing missile! It was destined to hit its target.
Karni fell, suddenly feeling intense, numb pain. He quickly sat down, circulating his Relaxing Aura, calming the toxicity of the poison. But it was hard. This was a terrifyingly aggressive toxin.
The White Armoured Dragon was in a sorry state. Her left hind leg was cut, as was her whole tail. More than that, she was shaking, barely able to move. That was the power of Karni's Sound. Even a Soul Sage in their Avatar state had trouble resisting his combined attack.
Siduo rushed to Karni, he rushed to explain. "I'm fine. I'll be fine, but I'll need time."
Siduo turned to look. "An uninvited guest."
A man was next to the White Armoured Dragon. The dragon complained. "You're late."
The man nodded. "I did not expect you to be in such a sorry state." The man turned to look at the two youths. His eyes were pale, cyan blue. His whole skin was stony, and his back was filled with cyan blue needles, liquid was dropping from them.
Siduo's eyes sharpened. She looked at Karni's back and saw the same needles in his body. She quickly pulled them out with Mysterious Jade Hands, then breathed in and focused.
"Stonefish." The most toxic sea Martial Soul in the world. If she got hit even once, it would start with losing feeling in that limb… and that would spread to the rest of her body.
She pulled out something from her storage ring and held the weapon. Whip-Blades.
The goal was simple. Destroy two people at once, without getting hit. Yeah. Simple.