Chapter 40

Zhuochuan looked at Fang Lao, who was already protected by a layer of soul power. Fang Lao had white hair, but Zhuochuan knew that this was more of a decorative feature; in reality, Fang Lao was in much better physical condition than an 18-year-old.

He felt a surge of excitement inside. Now was the time to test the ultimate soul attack skill, "Sigh of Time and Space."

Time paused, and with spatial positioning and instantaneous teleportation, Zhuochuan believed that even in the New World, no one could escape such an attack. Skills related to time and space were inherently the most advanced and hardest to master.

He wasn't afraid of being seen, because once this skill was activated, no one could mount an effective defense; only preemptive defense was possible.

"Sigh of Time and Space!" Without hesitation, his eyes flickered, and just like before, the surrounding time seemed to stop. All the wind and human voices disappeared.

He saw Fang Lao's white hair frozen mid-air, and the earth-colored soul power protection covering his body was also completely still, with some faint gaps visible.

But he didn't care about these gaps, because in the next instant, his right hand grabbed a bone.

It was Fang Lao's left upper arm.

(Indeed, it worked!) Zhuochuan felt a surge of joy, but in the next instant, he felt something was wrong. When he tried to grip it, he found he couldn't move it at all. It seemed that the soul power protection covered the entire body, and even during the time pause, it was still effective.

The time pause was limited, and in Zhuochuan's perception, there was only a three-second limit. To sustain it for a longer time, he would have to use his soul power to cast "Sigh of Time and Space" again.

Time passed in an instant, and Zhuochuan immediately cast "Sigh of Time and Space" again, returning to his original position.

In Zhuochuan's perception, a total of six seconds had passed, but to others, it seemed as if Zhuochuan had stood still, not launching any attack. This was the relativity of time.

Fang Lao, who had just regained his ability to move, suddenly changed his expression. He clutched his left upper arm, which had visibly bulged, and felt intense pain, as if something had just pushed his muscles apart from the inside.

Just then, his soul had sent out a series of warnings, but he couldn't move or dodge.

Fang Lao was different from the people on the stands. He had a personal experience, and although he didn't see anything, the memory of his soul and the mysterious injury on his body were real. He had definitely been attacked in a way he couldn't resist, and this attack could only have come from Zhuochuan, who seemed to have made no move.

He looked at Zhuochuan with a complex expression, feeling a myriad of emotions. This was the power of a B-level upper citizen. Even a soul successor who had been reborn for less than three months could easily pose a threat to his soul. No wonder, despite the claim of equal citizenship, the influence of upper citizens was much greater than what the law stipulated.

Unlike Fang Lao, Zhuochuan was greatly disappointed. The spatial positioning and instantaneous teleportation indeed ignored any soul power protection, allowing him to break through the outer layer of soul power and insert his right hand into Fang Lao's body.

However, once inside, he couldn't perform any further destructive actions. Despite his right hand's high strength, it was still ineffective against the body tissues still protected by soul power.

But despite his disappointment, Zhuochuan understood why. After all, breaking through the outer layer of soul power protection was the effect of his soul skill, "Sigh of Time and Space," but attacking inside still required facing soul power protection.

He was about to calm down and look up when he noticed the change in Fang Lao's expression and the hand clutching his left arm.

He suddenly realized that winning the upcoming duel wouldn't be difficult, as long as he was ruthless enough.

If he had targeted Fang Lao's head instead of his right hand, even with soul power protection, the brain, once displaced and turned into a mess, would have instantly died!

Thinking of this, Zhuochuan's eyes revealed a rare ferocity. Since the other party wanted him dead, he wouldn't be polite either.

"You win," Fang Lao said, lowering his right hand. His left arm quickly returned to normal, but his face was somewhat embarrassed. Still, he insisted on saying these words.

This simple statement caused a commotion among the students on the stands.

"What, Fang Lao actually conceded? The match hasn't even started yet?"

"That's right. Regardless of their strength, the two didn't even make any moves."

"Was it a soul battle?" Some students with higher insight made a guess.

"But only citizens can engage in soul battles. We, the reserve citizens, can't even recognize our own souls, let alone engage in a soul battle with Fang Lao."

"The other party isn't an ordinary reserve citizen like us; he is a soul successor of a citizen. Yes, there's a student named Xie Huitian, who is also a soul successor of a citizen. He might know something."

The young man called Xie Huitian was the one Zhuochuan had seen earlier, the student who was fighting with a high-level robot.

He was a soul successor of a citizen and had inherited most of his predecessor's wealth, so he could afford to spend soul crystals on expensive training with high-level robots, unlike Zhuochuan, who, after being reborn, could only extort a good meal from his classmates.

As a result, he made rapid progress in the two years after being reborn and became a point of attention wherever he went. Now that he was mentioned, he smiled, clearly proud of his status as a soul successor.

Of course, he didn't fully understand Zhuochuan's performance, but the fact that it forced Fang Lao to concede directly made him secretly happy. After all, they were essentially the same kind of people. In human society, those who could stand out in their lifetime understood the importance of forming alliances. Before any conflict, they would definitely try to pull in people like themselves.

Zhuochuan's performance made him see that the other party was worth befriending.

So he didn't hesitate to say a few good words about Zhuochuan on the stands, especially since some of Zhuochuan's companions were also there.

"The student below, Zhuochuan, is a soul successor of a B-level citizen. He must have used a soul attack skill left by his predecessor. I can't see the specifics, but it must be extremely powerful. I imagine that even among the citizens on the ground, only other upper citizens of B, A, or S levels could face it head-on. So it's quite normal for Fang Lao to concede."

"Does that mean that when Fang Lao mentioned he would have a duel with an E-level citizen in ten days, he must be confident of winning?" Someone asked about this detail.

Xie Huitian frowned. He had spoken a bit too confidently. His predecessor had only advanced to H-level citizen, which was three levels below E-level. The historical information he had from his predecessor was limited to the level of H and below. However, it was impossible for him to retract his words.

He had to tough it out. "Of course, we'll see when the time comes."

Meanwhile, the two in the arena were also talking.

Fang Lao looked somewhat dejected. He shook his head and said with a hint of frustration, "It seems I can't guide you anymore. That's right, your predecessor was a B-level citizen and should have already laid out the path for you. You don't need me to nag anymore."