Ten Battles, Ten Victories

There was nothing fancy about his moves. His First Soul Ring lit up, and he charged at Jiang Wu like a little tank, swinging his fist in a wide arc at Jiang Wu's face.

Jiang Wu sidestepped, and the wind from the punch brushed past his ear.

Zhou Kai's punch missed, and his momentum carried him half a step forward. Jiang Wu hooked his right foot around Zhou Kai's ankle and pulled it back.

Zhou Kai lost his balance, but his footing was solid. He staggered a step and somehow forced himself steady, then swept a fist back at Jiang Wu.

Jiang Wu retreated, putting two paces between them. He now had a measure of Zhou Kai's strength.

Quite a bit stronger than Zhang Yu, but that was about it.

Zhou Kai threw several more punches, but Jiang Wu dodged every one. Growing more anxious as he fought, he shouted, "Why do you keep dodging? Is running all a Soft Bone Rabbit can do?"

Jiang Wu ignored the jab. His Second Soul Ring lit up.

Illusory Charm Eyes.

Deep purple light flashed in Jiang Wu's eyes. Zhou Kai's movements abruptly froze, and the Soul Fighting Arena in his vision turned into a dense forest in an instant. More than a hundred Soul Beasts charged at him, their eyes red.

Zhou Kai's spiritual power was nothing remarkable. The moment the illusion bore down on him, he froze on the spot, his eyes wide and the charge of a hundred beasts that didn't exist reflected deep in his pupils.

The Third Soul Ring beneath Jiang Wu's feet lit up. Instant Beast Flash.

He vanished from where he stood and appeared behind and to the side of Zhou Kai the next moment. Golden scales surged over his right arm, and his golden dragon claw gleamed coldly under the Soul Guidance Lamps. He didn't strike with his full strength. Using only thirty percent of his power, he thrust the Golden Dragon Claw toward a seam in the shell on Zhou Kai's back.

Pfft.

The sound of the Golden Dragon Claw piercing the shell was like a layer of thick paper being punctured. The horny shell on Zhou Kai's back crumbled to pieces before its crushing property, and the dragon claw stopped after sinking in less than half an inch. Jiang Wu controlled his strength with perfect precision: just enough to break the defense, draw blood, and avoid injuring the internal organs.

The excruciating pain yanked Zhou Kai out of the illusion. He screamed and pitched forward, staggering two steps before falling flat on the ground. Blood seeped from a gash on his back, and fragments of shell littered the floor.

"Stop-!" Zhou Kai raised a hand from the ground, his voice pitching out of tune. "I surrender!"

The referee ran over and glanced at the wound on Zhou Kai's back, then at Jiang Wu's right hand, whose golden scales had already receded. He swallowed and raised Jiang Wu's arm. "The winner, Jiang Wu!"

The stands fell silent for two seconds, then erupted in a buzz of discussion.

Wang Dong'er sprang to her feet in the stands, clapping loudly and shouting, "Good!" Several people beside her jumped in fright.

Huo Yutong stood up too and clapped twice, then sat back down, a little embarrassed.

Gu Yue showed no particular reaction, only watching Jiang Wu's right arm quietly.

Jiang Wu released his Martial Soul Possession and Dragon Transformation, then helped Zhou Kai to his feet.

Zhou Kai clutched his back, grimacing, and turned to look at Jiang Wu, in pain but convinced of his strength. "You little... Soft Bone Rabbit? Who are you trying to fool?"

"Martial Soul Mutation," Jiang Wu said without changing expression.

Zhou Kai rolled his eyes and was helped to the infirmary by the staff.

Jiang Wu returned to the waiting hall, where a staff member handed him ten Gold Soul Coins. The look in his eyes was markedly different from before. "You won. Ten gold. Want to sign up for another?"

"Yes," Jiang Wu said, putting the Gold Soul Coins away.

His opponent in the second match was a level thirty-four agility-type Soul Elder whose Martial Soul was the Gale Wolf.

Once they entered the arena, his opponent tried to kite him with his speed, but Jiang Wu caught him with Illusory Charm Eyes, closed the distance with Instant Beast Flash, and slammed his First Soul Skill, Bow Body Charging Beast Arrow, straight into his chest, blasting him off the stage.

In the third match, his opponent was a control-type Soul Elder whose Martial Soul was the Entanglement Vine.

His opponent tried to bind Jiang Wu with vines as soon as the match began, but the moment the vines reached for him, Jiang Wu used Instant Beast Flash to pass straight through them. His Golden Dragon Claw tore the vines apart, and he grabbed his opponent's shoulder and pinned him to the ground.

The fourth match, the fifth, the sixth...

By the time Jiang Wu reached his eighth match, the waiting hall was packed.

There weren't usually this many students signing up at this time, but word of a three-ringed freshman's winning streak spread rapidly through the Soul Fighting Zone, and plenty of older students came specifically to watch the excitement.

More and more people filled the stands, and even the aisles were crowded.

His ninth opponent was a level thirty-six Power Attack System Soul Elder whose Martial Soul was the Earth-Splitting Bear. Nearly 1.9 meters tall, he looked like half an iron tower standing in the arena.

The two met fist to fist, and the impact sent his opponent back half a step.

The Earth-Splitting Bear Soul Master was stunned for a moment. Jiang Wu seized the opening and brought him down with a series of Soft Skills, wrenching his arm behind his back. With his face pressed against the Soul Fighting Arena floor, he tapped the ground in surrender.

By the time the tenth match ended, time had already passed.

Jiang Wu's opponent was a level thirty-seven control-type Soul Elder. He held out for about twenty breaths before Jiang Wu used Instant Beast Flash followed by Eight-Stage Throw to hurl him from one end of the arena to the other. After getting up, he simply shook his head and surrendered.

Ten battles, ten victories.

A staff member tallied it up. With ten consecutive victories and the admission fees included, the total came to 200 Gold Soul Coins.

For an eleven-year-old freshman, that was enough to last a long time.

Jiang Wu accepted a heavy bag of Gold Soul Coins from a Soul Fighting Zone staff member and hefted it. The weight of two hundred Gold Soul Coins in his palm made him feel much more secure.

He put the money bag into his Storage Soul Tool and turned around. Wang Dong'er had already rushed down from the stands and slapped him on the arm hard enough to knock his shoulder sideways.

"Xiao Wu, you're amazing! Ten matches! You won all ten! When you pinned that last level thirty-six Earth-Splitting Bear to the ground and made him tap the floor, the older student next to me turned green!" Wang Dong'er beamed and gestured wildly, her high blue-and-pink ponytail swinging as she bounced. "Did you see? In the last match, that control-type guy—you threw him from one end to the other, and he surrendered as soon as he got up. I nearly died laughing!"

Jiang Wu pulled his arm out of her grasp and rubbed the spot she'd slapped. "I saw. I was the one fighting him. How could I not have seen?"

Huo Yutong jogged over behind her, her black hair a little disheveled from running and excitement still lingering on her face. "Jiang Wu, that Teleportation in your Third Soul Skill-can you teleport straight behind someone? I saw you vanish in an instant, and then that senior went flying."

"Mm, I can teleport anywhere within two hundred meters," Jiang Wu said.

Huo Yutong opened her mouth and quietly muttered, "Two hundred meters," her voice full of envy.

Gu Yue strolled over leisurely from behind, her arms still folded across her chest. "Ten consecutive wins, two hundred Gold Soul Coins. Your name's on the Soul Fighting Zone's record wall now. Not many freshmen have made the list in their first month these past few years."

"There's a record wall too?" Jiang Wu was a little surprised.

"Yes." Gu Yue lifted her chin. "I passed by and had a look just now. You're ranked third in wins this month. The top two are both four-ringed older students who built up their totals over a whole month."

Hearing that, Wang Dong'er straightened her back, as if she were the one on the list. "Of course. Who do you think my mom is?"

Jiang Wu looked at her expressionlessly. Grinning, Wang Dong'er corrected herself. "Who do you think my Xiao Wu is?"