The Theft-and-Robbery Rule

"Vermin!" Zhang Shou shifted his saber stance in an instant. The blade light ricocheted repeatedly, piercing through countless stars in a flash. Under a single strike, myriad stars were annihilated on the spot, reduced to black powder drifting through the Tree Universe. Next, he appeared before Adulam, bringing his long saber sweeping down. "Not bad power, but in the next second, it's mine!" Facing the descending blade, Adulam reached out and pressed a hand against the edge, then thrust his other palm toward Zhang Shou's abdomen. *Squelch.* Zhang Shou was instantly severed at the waist. At the same time, Adulam pinched the edge of Zhang Shou's saber and sneered, "Too green. Did you think cutting through a few mere fireballs meant you could cut me down just as easily?" With that, he formed his hand into a blade and chopped toward Zhang Shou's head. "Old Zhang really has an eye for people." "A vermin indeed—far too many petty tricks." Just as the ratman's hand was about to strike Zhang Shou, Yu Xian appeared behind him, speaking with a chuckle. Adulam's hairs instantly stood on end. Red light erupted from his eyes as he spun around and drove a hand-blade toward Yu Xian's neck in one fluid motion, completely without hesitation. "Using Old Zhang's power to cut me isn't going to cut it!" Yu Xian vanished in a flash, leaving only his voice ringing in Adulam's ears. The next instant, Adulam turned around to find that Zhang Shou had already been whisked away. Only the saber he was pinching remained in his grip. Still, it wasn't a bad weapon... "His rule is definitely theft. Watch out!" aboard the Aska, Zhang Shou warned Yu Xian as his upper and lower halves reattached. Yu Xian chuckled. "I know. Just now, he even tried to completely steal your rule. If I'd been a second slower, he probably would have succeeded." "Fuck, he really is a rat bastard!" Zhang Shou cursed vehemently upon hearing that. If his rule power were stolen, he would be reduced to a half-crippled Mighty One. Unless he cultivated his rule all over again, he would only be able to display the strength of the Emptiness Realm. "The guy has too many scheming thoughts. I'll go play with him for a bit—and while I'm at it... steal his rule!" Yu Xian stood up. Adulam's rule was actually not simple theft, but the theft-and-robbery rule—"theft" as in picking pockets, and "robbery" as in highway brigandage. Against those stronger than him or on the same tier, he could only steal; against those weaker than him, he could directly rob them blind. For instance, because those worlds were weaker than him, he could directly plunder their stars to attack Zhang Shou. Similarly, he could forcibly hijack Zhang Shou's attack and turn it right back against him. However, seizing Zhang Shou's rule could not be done by brute robbery. On the level of Mighty Ones, both he and Zhang Shou were Mighty Ones, equal in status. Thus, when it came to Zhang Shou's rule, he could only steal it—surreptitiously swiping it before Zhang Shou even realized. It was only because Yu Xian intervened that Adulam's theft had failed. "Hey, rat, come on. Let's play a round." Yu Xian now stood before Adulam, beckoning to him with a wave of his hand. "You might be slightly stronger than that brat, but do you really think you're all that?" Adulam narrowed his eyes, starting off with verbal barbs. At the same time, he sensed his surroundings and let out a cold, sinister smile. Zhang Shou had clearly been driven over the edge because Adulam had wrecked those worlds and slaughtered innocent lives. While fury had granted Zhang Shou formidable burst power, it had also clouded his head. Birds of a feather flock together; good men naturally surround themselves with other good men. Adulam judged that Yu Xian was bound to be the same kind of decent, upright fellow as Zhang Shou. In that case, he could easily exploit the gentleman's righteous scruples. "Whether I'm strong or not, won't you find out once we fight?" Yu Xian sensed that Adulam was undoubtedly brewing some foul scheme, but he merely smiled. Then, with a gentle flick of his finger upward, a colossal magic array rapidly ascended, expanding madly as it rose. "To be honest, I'm not very good at fighting. I'm just a desk worker—a retired old Mighty One grandpa. Brawling really doesn't suit me. So... the ones fighting you next will be some of my little friends," Yu Xian told Adulam with a genial grin. Yu Xian's summoned beasts always matched his own rank. Once he became a Mighty One, the vast majority of his beasts possessed the strength of the Emptiness Realm, mainly lacking only the power of rules. However, once Yu Xian gained mastery over the Zhen Realm, he could directly assign them classes and bestow rules upon them. Consequently, Yu Xian had countless summoned beasts, every single one at the level of a Mighty One. It was just that most of the time, they were scattered far and wide to track down the source of the demonic fall phenomenon. Right now, he was simply recalling them all. A giant dragon poked its head out from the magic array. In the next instant, it soared out, its aura of destruction immediately flooding the area. Adulam glanced at the giant dragon and sneered, "A summoned beast even weaker than you? What do you think that's going to accomplish?" "Don't be in such a hurry. There are more," Yu Xian laughed. One after another, summoned beasts continuously emerged from the magic circle. As the formation kept expanding, an endless stream of beasts flew forth. There were too many to count. Adulam felt himself completely surrounded. Every single one was a Mighty One. Although none of them were extraordinarily strong individually, their numbers were overwhelming. A sixth-grader could easily beat up a first-grader, but what if there were ten million first-graders? That sixth-grader would be pounded straight into meat paste. Watching the magic array in the sky continue to churn out beasts, Adulam grew more and more terrified. His legs began to tremble violently. Staring at Yu Xian in utter disbelief, he roared in frantic hysteria, "Just who the hell are you?! How could you have so... so many summoned beasts?! And... every last one... is a Mighty One?!" "Don't panic, there are plenty more. Can't you steal? Go on, steal all their powers and you'll be invincible," Yu Xian said with a genial smile. Without a single word, Adulam turned and fled downward. *Steal, my ass!* His theft-and-robbery rule wasn't Infinite Power. At most, he could steal abilities from a few hundred targets. But against Yu Xian, what was a few hundred summoned beasts worth? "Don't run! Running won't do any good—you have to face your fears!" Yu Xian's voice drifted from far behind, driving Adulam to fly even faster. Yu Xian remained where he was, not the least bit hurried. Adulam did pose a slight hazard; if he somehow managed to steal from Yu Xian himself, it would be thoroughly disgusting even if not lethal. Using summoned beasts solved that neatly. Yu Xian might have had his shortcomings, but the one thing he possessed in absurd abundance was summoned beasts. Usually, he simply had no call to use them; whenever necessary, he could stage a righteous mob beatdown on any target he pleased. Channeling his rule power to constantly steal the velocity of all surrounding universes, Adulam flew several hundred billion universe distances away in the blink of an eye—and a single universe distance was roughly one hundred and ninety-three billion light-years. One could imagine the sheer terror driving him. At this point, he wanted nothing else; he only wanted to survive. Yet after he flew just a bit further, the cosmos suddenly shifted around him. He found himself right back inside the encirclement of Yu Xian's summoned beasts. Yu Xian was seated comfortably atop the back of an ox, smiling warmly as he waved hello.