A Soul Elder's Punch Brings Out a Blue Glow

Lu Jun picked up the liability waiver and read it from beginning to end. Only after confirming that nothing was missing did he press his handprint onto it.

"Signing this isn't meant to send you to your death."

"You just focus on attacking, and I'll focus on staying on my feet. Don't break the rules."

He was a level-forty Soul Elder, and his Martial Soul was a heavy-backed saber.

His third Soul Ring had already lit up, and Soul Power flowed along the blade.

The referee took away the liability waiver.

"No strikes to the head or throat, and no deliberate attempts to take a life."

"Li Zhexian, do you agree?"

"I do."

"And Lu Jun?"

"I do."

Huo Wu stood by the edge of the arena.

"You can strike his shoulders and chest. Don't aim for his head."

"I know my limits."

"You'd better."

Li Zhexian walked to the center of the arena, raised his hand, and tapped his chest a few times.

"Attack here."

Lu Jun looked at him.

"Are you really asking me to use all my strength?"

"You already said you wouldn't hold back."

"This is a strike from a level-forty Soul Elder."

"Just right."

The wooden ruler came down.

Lu Jun took two steps forward and braced the saber's hilt against one side of his waist. Soul Power surged down his arm.

Below the arena, some people bet on whether Lu Jun could make Li Zhexian step back, while others bet on whether this punch could knock out a ball of blue light.

Huo Wu called out, "He's about to attack. Don't close your eyes."

"My eyes are open."

Lu Jun's punch struck Li Zhexian in the chest.

The shield lit up, its value jumping repeatedly.

The boards beneath Li Zhexian's feet cracked. He staggered back two steps, his back hitting the ropes.

A ball of blue light fell from his side and rolled to the referee's feet.

Shouts immediately erupted below the arena.

"A ball of blue light!"

"He really knocked out a blue glow!"

"I bet five copper coins!"

Lu Jun withdrew his fist and shook his numb hand a few times.

"What are you hiding on your body?"

"This is what you knocked out of me."

"I knocked it out?"

"That punch had value. Throw another one."

Li Zhexian bent down and picked up the ball of light.

When the light dispersed, a page appeared inside.

"A fragment of the Wind Walking Step Method."

Lu Jun looked at the page.

"A torn piece of paper counts as a reward?"

"Hit me again, and you can verify it."

"Are you belittling me?"

Huo Wu had already walked over to the side of the arena.

"He has a shield. You just need to hit his chest. Don't put all your Soul Power into one punch."

Lu Jun tightened his grip on the saber hilt, then relaxed his hand.

"So he came here to take attacks just to get these things?"

"You could put it that way."

"You two are both strange."

"Leave me out of it."

Lu Jun stepped back several paces, and his third Soul Ring lit up again.

Soul Power flowed along the heavy-backed saber, gathering into a weighty sweep of saber light.

The spectators had already retreated beyond the thick ropes. No one wanted to be caught by the aftershock.

Only after checking that no bystanders remained near the arena did the referee raise his hand.

"Third Soul Skill, Mountain-Splitting Slash!"

The saber light crashed into Li Zhexian's chest.

He stepped back several paces, and the boards beneath his feet snapped in two.

The shield's value had dropped by more than thirty thousand points.

A second ball of blue light rose in front of him and landed on the cracked boards.

Lu Jun put away his saber, sweat already beading on his forehead.

"You can still stand?"

"I can."

"Do you still need me to keep attacking?"

"Catch your breath and rest first."

"No need for you to manage me."

"Then continue."

Li Zhexian picked up the second ball of blue light.

After the light faded, a complete scroll of the Wind Walking Step Method lay inside.

He glanced over it a few times, then took several steps along the cracked boards.

Huo Wu watched his feet.

"You just took that punch, and you've already learned it?"

"It was written very clearly on the paper."

Jin Ling stood on the other side of the arena.

"Your steps are a little lighter than before."

Following the route on the paper, Li Zhexian walked through it once more.

He brushed past the broken boards without touching the ropes.

Lu Jun watched him.

"You can even memorize a step method while you're being hit?"

"Your attacks are excellent, and I learn quickly."

"That still sounds like you're belittling me."

"Not at all."

"Then stand steady."

Li Zhexian returned to the center of the arena.

"I'm standing steady."

Lu Jun raised his saber, then lowered it again.

His previous attack had consumed more than half his Soul Power, and his shoulders rose and fell with his breathing.

The referee walked over to him.

"Are you continuing?"

"One more attack."

Li Zhexian nodded.

Huo Wu immediately spoke up.

"You promised earlier that you'd come down when you heard the signal to leave."

"You haven't called it out yet."

"Li Zhexian."

He turned his head toward Huo Wu.

"I heard you."

"Since you heard me, don't force me to drag you down."

"All right."

Lu Jun lowered the tip of his saber.

"I'm not attacking anymore."

Someone below the arena immediately shouted, "One more punch!"

"Knock out another ball of blue light!"

Lu Jun raised his hand and silenced the voices.

"I don't have enough Soul Power left. There's no point in continuing."

The referee raised the wooden ruler.

"The arena defender, Li Zhexian, wins. The prize is ten taels of silver, and the challenge fees will be settled according to the registration book."

Huo Wu walked onto the arena to collect the money. She first took out half and put it in the money pouch.

"This half is for travel expenses."

"The other half can buy wine."

"Don't reach for it."

Li Zhexian's hand stopped beside the table.

"I was only going to put the money away safely."

"Your hand is already beside the pouch."

"My arms are rather long. It can't be helped."

Huo Wu tied the money pouch even tighter.

Lu Jun put away his heavy-backed saber and stepped down from the arena.

"I don't understand why you take attacks, but the steps you learned really are useful."

"You're not bad yourself."

"Stop praising me."

"Do you know any stronger Soul Masters?"

"I know two."

Li Zhexian turned around.

"Can they hit harder than you?"

"One is level fifty-one and doesn't have a good temper."

"The other is level forty-seven, likes using a hammer, and is stronger than me."

"Where are they?"

"I'll ask them first. Don't rush to their doors."

"I'm in no rush."

Huo Wu put her bag over her shoulder.

"When he says he's in no rush, he's usually already decided where he's going."

"You know me very well."

"I'm just keeping my guard up around you."

Half the spectators had already dispersed, while the rest gathered around the betting table.

Some copied down Li Zhexian's name, while others went to the neighboring town to spread the news.

The betting-stall owner wiped the words off the wooden board and wrote a new line.

"Will a purple glow appear next round?"

Jin Ling flipped through the registration book.

"One more person signed up."

The referee looked at the book.

"There's no name written down."

"He's already here."

A path opened through the crowd.

A Soul Master wearing a bamboo hat walked onto the arena.

He didn't announce his level. He merely lowered his head and looked at the ball of blue light by Li Zhexian's feet.

Huo Wu walked over to Li Zhexian's side.

"He's looked at the ball of light many times, and his hand hasn't left his saber hilt."

"Let him explain himself."

The man in the conical hat raised his head.

"You're the one who drops things when attacked?"

"Yes."

"The orbs of light belong to you?"

"Yes."

"And the things I knock out of you belong to you too?"

"That's the rule."

"You're short of things?"

"Yes."

The man in the conical hat smiled, raised his hand, and lifted off his hat.

He pressed his palm against the arena floor.

The wooden boards sank an inch, and cracks crawled along the seams between them.

The referee took half a step back.

"Who are you?"

The man did not answer.

The Soul Power at the center of his palm continued pressing downward.

Li Zhexian watched the cracks in the arena floor and abandoned his casual stance.

This man's strength was already greater than Lu Jun's.

A system notification sounded in his mind.

[Target detected: Soul Power Level far exceeds level 40.]