Chapter 39: Highway Robbery, Sudden Outburst
"Kid, you're new here, aren't you? I saw you following a map just now. One look was enough to tell you're a fresh fledgling."
A Spirit Master with evil energy all over his face grinned sinisterly as he stepped forward. Two Spirit Rings, one white and one yellow, lit up beside him.
As his Martial Soul possessed him, his entire head rapidly transformed into something like a maggot. A hideous mouthpart split open, and dozens of tiny compound eyes grew across his distorted face, making him look utterly disgusting.
"Come on, pay the toll. It's only 10 gold coins. Otherwise, you'll be crawling out of here today."
A forked tongue flicked out of that twisted mouthpart, and dozens of compound eyes emitted a dark green glow. Combined with that malicious tone, he was the kind of thing that could make children stop crying at night in the outside world.
"It looks like some kind of mutated evil worm or insect type Martial Soul. But is it a Brain Eating Worm, a Blood Sucking Worm, a Parasite Worm, or some other mutated species?"
Chen Ming put away his things. His mind rapidly speculated about the opponent's Martial Soul and abilities based on the knowledge he had learned.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, he stepped forward. The body beneath his black robe rapidly expanded, turning into a giant green ball of flesh.
Chen Ming bent his legs slightly, then hurled his entire body forward like a cannonball. In midair, the first Spirit Ring beside him lit up, adding another layer of defense to his body.
Aside from Spirits like the Brain Eating Worm that possessed mental attributes, most worm type abilities revolved around parasitism and invasion. As far as such abilities were concerned, Chen Ming believed he was their natural nemesis.
If someone really tried to suck his blood or use parasitic abilities on him, it would be no different from directly swallowing toxins into their own body.
Seeing Chen Ming suddenly charge without even speaking, the robber Spirit Master was caught off guard, but his movements did not stop. He first crouched, then his first Spirit Ring lit up.
"First Spirit Ability, Supple Body!"
As the white light was released, the Spirit Master's body instantly became long and soft, as if he had turned into some kind of mollusk. He twisted his body into a bizarre posture, trying to dodge Chen Ming's impact.
But because he had already lost the initiative, more than half of his body was still slammed into the stone wall by Chen Ming.
Although the effect of his Spirit Ability gave him some resistance against impact, faced with the violent collision and Chen Ming's toxin soaked body, the worm Spirit Master still let out a shrill cry of pain.
While enduring his own intense pain, the worm Spirit Master flicked out his tongue, and the yellow second Spirit Ring beside him lit up.
"Second Spirit Ability, Blood Sucking Tongue!"
The forked tongue shot out, rapidly extending and enlarging in midair, turning into a dark red whip covered in barbs.
That massive tongue lashed against Chen Ming's body, its barbs directly piercing the surface of Chen Ming's skin. However, the moment the blood sucking effect began, the worm Spirit Master immediately felt searing pain.
What was transmitted from the tip of the tongue was not blood or Spirit Power at all, but concentrated corrosive poison.
Even with the enhancement of his Spirit Ability, his Spirit Ability itself was not especially strong to begin with, and the tongue was naturally soft and easy to damage. Once the toxins invaded it, his elongated tongue began to rot and fester at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The dark green poison rapidly spread along the tongue and rushed straight back into his mouth. The tongue extended by the Spirit Ability quickly turned into a pool of rotten flesh. As the toxic energy mixed into his Spirit Power and blood, the worm Spirit Master immediately began convulsing violently.
Chen Ming did not even need to lift a finger. The worm Spirit Master, who had accidentally swallowed fatal poison, collapsed straight to the ground and lost consciousness. His Martial Soul Possession was forcibly broken, and black brown blood began flowing from all seven orifices on his face, making him look as if he had been poisoned to death on the spot.
While toxins rarely remained effective once one reached the Titled Douluo level, before that realm they had always been considered one of the attributes most capable of fighting above one's rank. When it came to crushing weaker opponents, the effect of poison was better than almost any other attribute.
Looking at the worm Spirit Master lying on the ground, his life and death unclear, Chen Ming did not follow the common logic that unclear status meant dead. Instead, he carefully backed away a few steps, then pulled out a Spirit Beast thigh bone he had not finished eating from his spirit tool and swung it over like a short club.
At that very moment, the seemingly dead Spirit Master suddenly jerked his head up. While tilting his head in a frantic attempt to dodge Chen Ming's blow, he also raised a dagger he had secretly hidden, trying to launch a sneak attack.
After a brief clash of strength, the dagger in the worm Spirit Master's hand was knocked flying. The Spirit Beast thigh bone smashed into the side of his neck. With a sharp crack of bone, the worm Spirit Master's neck was torn open by his own shattered bones. He lowered his head, eyes full of resentment, looking completely unwilling to die.
"Little punk, trying to play dead in front of me? What Martial Soul do you have, and what Martial Soul do I have? I've got an undead type Martial Soul, and you're trying to fake death in front of me?"
Chen Ming looked at the Spirit Beast leg bone in his hand, now stained with human blood, and silently shook his head.
Although it would still be edible after a good wash, Chen Ming had no intention of eating a murder weapon stained with human blood. Since it was still a Spirit Beast bone with marrow inside, he could just wash it and sell it cheaply at the market later.
Killing someone gave Chen Ming no psychological burden, but when the time came to loot the corpse, he could not help frowning and holding his breath.
It was not that the smell of blood disgusted him. On the contrary, what forced him to react like this was something even more dangerous.
After the worm Spirit Master died completely, the toxins Chen Ming had injected into him took effect rapidly, and the body began to show signs of decay. This kind of corpse, one that had only just died yet was already rotting while still containing a large amount of energy, made Chen Ming's Martial Soul instinctively feel a strong sense of hunger.
Chen Ming endured that sensation and began looting the corpse, but after holding his breath for a long time, he finally had to take a gasp of air.
"Gulp..."
Chen Ming swallowed his saliva almost reflexively, only to feel a wave of hunger rise violently from his stomach.
The moment he noticed his own reaction, Chen Ming's eyes widened. Without mercy, he slapped himself across the face, making half his cheek swell up on the spot. When he felt that a trace of wavering still remained, he used Spirit Power to give the other side of his face another slap.
After those two slaps, Chen Ming's cheeks, which had not been injured at all during the battle, immediately puffed up high. It looked as if his entire head had swollen, and a buzzing sound rang in his ears.
Feeling the burning pain in his face and seeing the world in front of him begin to sway slightly, Chen Ming's eyes filled with ruthlessness.
"I am the master of this body. Do not think that a mere Martial Soul instinct can shake my reason."
After taking the money and miscellaneous items from the worm Spirit Master's corpse and storing them in his spirit tool, Chen Ming looked at the rapidly rotting body of the Evil Spirit Master, stood up, spat in disdain, then paused briefly before walking straight ahead.
Hidden in the shadows, Zhang Peng saw very clearly that there was a trace of blood in Chen Ming's spit. After it hit the ground, it even corroded a tiny pit into the floor.
Clearly, even his stomach acid had already surged all the way up into his mouth.
.....
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