After the surprise attacks from Cheng Tian's clones and the energy absorption his enemies suffered, they soon weakened considerably.

They had their martial souls activated when attacked, which protected them significantly. However, the enemy's attack had been quite powerful. So, they were restricted, lost their energy, and were wounded by fire.

Because of this, even if they were not killed, both fell to their knees on the ground after being released by the tentacles of Cheng Tian's third martial soul.

The level 36 one was trembling due to the deep burns on his body, barely able to maintain his consciousness. On the other hand, Cheng Tian's original target was a little better off, but he was still wounded, feeling the weight of his opponent's parasitic technique.

"Hah... Hah... Basta..." He tried to say something amidst his agitated breathing, feeling unlucky to have been met by such a troublesome opponent.

Wang Bo then saw his vision blurring due to his body's exhaustion. 'The parasitic ability of this bastard is truly unbelievable! In just a few fractions of a second, he robbed me of over 30% of my energy!'

In fact, after using his third ability, Cheng Tian absorbed large fractions of his opponents' energies, recovering a significant portion of his expenditure to make the previous attack.

Because of this, even after such energy expenditure, the moment they saw the two of them fall to the ground on their knees, Cheng Tian's clones rushed at these criminals.

'The weaker one is in a worse state, so I don't need to worry so much about him. I'll deal with the strongest one first.' He made up his mind before using his big fan to send out another series of attacks.

"Second Skill: Chaotic Winds!"

A strong gust of wind formed against Wang Bo, causing this man to break into a cold sweat as he ignored the pain in his body to protect himself.

"First Skill: Death Dance!"

He used his martial soul, a scythe, 'dancing' with such weapon in hand, making several blows against Cheng Tian's attack.

Unfortunately for him, his attack was one coming from a hundred-year spirit ring, while Cheng Tian's was a thousand-year one.

Due to this qualitative difference, Wang Bo's counterattack lost to Cheng Tian's action, causing him to suffer from a series of micro-blades of wind cutting his body from various angles.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

At the same time that Wang Bo roared in pain, one of Cheng Tian's clones directed almost all the energy from his body into his left hand. With that, he kept his hand straight and mercilessly attacked the level 36 man's right shoulder.

Naked Hand Carving!

"Shit!" Still suffering from burns, this person feared for his end but could not dodge or defend himself.

"Ahhhhhhhh!"

Another scream of agony broke out from the surroundings of the two criminals' hut, making the captive women tremble with fear.

But such a thing did not last long. Just as Wang Bo was shaking vigorously amidst the various cuts around his body, Cheng Tian's other clone made his move, slicing off this opponent's hands.

Decapitating Sigh!

In that instant, Wang Bo's martial soul disappeared along with the fall of his hands, but before he fell to the ground, a hand supported him, firmly grabbing his neck.

"Wang Bo, you have committed many crimes..." Cheng Tian looked in that hut's direction and then into his target's eyes. "Evidently, you were still going to commit many more. But, unfortunately for you, that is the end of you."

"Time to die!" He felt the unique sensation of stealing someone else's powers when his target's spirit rings, yellow, yellow, and purple, appeared one after another.

After they 'slipped' down Cheng Tian's arm, the fusion with this young man's three purple rings quickly began, finally matching the age of his three rings.

He then felt his spiritual power increase, helping it to subtly rise until it stabilized at the peak of level 32.

'Uh? I couldn't raise my level?' He looked at the dried body in his hand in surprise. But soon, he realized the problem. 'This person's power was not so different from those I had the opportunity to absorb spirit rings in the past. However, my power has increased several levels since then...'

He looked in the direction of the other criminal, who was now missing one arm and had already passed out. "Apparently, as my level increases, I also need to absorb powers from stronger and stronger people, or my advancements won't be significant."

'Hmmm...'

'I must be more cautious about who I absorb spirit rings from in the future. I definitely cannot use this ability on people with low-level rings... That is at least until I reach the level of a Title Douluo.' He pondered.

Cheng Tian's idea was simple. Increase the maximum number of years on his rings and spirit bone while getting the best advancement possible.

That, at least in his early moments in this world, while he had few rings and only one spirit bone. Once he had more of this, his ability to resist rings of greater ages would grow, and then he could absorb power indiscriminately.

But until then, it might be interesting to choose his targets carefully. That was because his three martial souls demanded a lot of his cultivation. In other words, to support three martial souls, Cheng Tian's level had to be much deeper than that of others of the same level as him.

That was similar to the quality of a weapon. A denser weapon naturally has more resilient characteristics. However, to increase the density, only by changing the volume or mass could someone achieve such a feat.

In the case of Cheng Tian's spirit power, by increasing the number of martial souls, there was a need for more spirit power for the same level to keep this 'density' above average.

However, by becoming a Title Douluo, such a problem would disappear, as he would immediately have the ability to absorb several spirit rings until he reached his limit, 27 rings. Hence, he knew that after level 90, this problem would no longer exist!

'But the age of the rings of this fellow in front of me should be no different from Wang Bo's. So, I won't waste that opportunity. By absorbing his rings, I will reach level 33!' Cheng Tian made up his mind, already walking toward his unconscious enemy.

After a few moments, he closed his eyes and felt his level reaching the middle of level 33. At the same time, his three rings and the bone of his right index finger had passed 4,000 years.

'My rings are already in the age range normally indicated for the 4th ring! I've reached that just by being at level 33... I wonder what that bitch would think if she saw me now?' He thought of his ex-girlfriend with a smile on his face, satisfied with his current situation.

But he did not waste much time with those thoughts in mind. Finally, after feeling that not only his first martial soul had become more potent but also the other two, he made his way inside that hut.

Upon entering there, he immediately came across a filthy place where four half-naked adult women were tied to the ground.

'That...' He noted the purple marks on the thighs and arms of these women, as well as a 'dead look' in the eyes of two of them. 'I see. That's what happened...' He lamented the occurrence, but it was already too late.

He then looked at the oldest one there, the mother who had disappeared with her daughter days ago, and showed Wang Bo's wanted poster. "Ladies, do not be afraid. I am a mercenary in trail for the Tempest Vanguardians, the mercenary guild of Nuoding City."

"I was searching for Wang Bo, the strongest man who was here. But don't worry, he and his accomplice are already dead, and I will release you." So, he honestly said while looking for blades to release those women.

Hearing that, the mother was still a little suspicious, but remembering the screams from earlier and seeing that wanted poster, she slowly started to feel better.

"Daughter, daughter!" She called out to the young woman, who had a lost look on her face.

Meanwhile, Cheng Tian had already released the other two, but they did not know what to do nor how to see the bright side in all this.

"What do we do now?" One of them asked in a pitying tone. "These people have destroyed our lives... How can we live with ourselves?"

Gulp!

One of them looked in the direction of the knife used by Cheng Tian, sending shivers through this young man's body.

"Sigh..."

"I can help you forget about the worst that happened to you in this place." He suggested, afraid that one of these women might kill herself because of that.

"Can you truly do that?" The daughter asked in a weakened tone as her mother hugged her.

"I can. You want to forget only the worst... Or everything since you were captured?"

After he asked this, the four women gave their answers, with three choosing the second option and the mother preferring to remember that she had been captured but forget the rest.

As promised, Cheng Tian used his Sharingan and blocked out their most recent memories. He also told them they should leave this coastal area as soon as possible after returning home.

He felt that those people in that area might not be coincidental, so it would be better for them to run away!

After they left that place with confused looks on their faces, Cheng Tian spent some time collecting resources in that hut until finally leaving with parts of the two corpses.