Boss, I Submit!

The Ghost Gate Needle, also known as the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles, was said to have been created by the great physician Sun Simiao. It later fell into the hands of Otherworldly Beings, who developed it into an extraordinary art.

At its core, it was an acupuncture technique that used needles as a medium to inject one's Internal Qi into an opponent's Acupoints.

After countless modifications by Otherworldly Beings, it became a technique in which medicine and martial arts shared the same origin. It could both treat illnesses and save lives, and harm enemies without leaving a trace.

Zhou You had learned this technique from a physician of the Hall of Benevolence while wandering the martial world in his previous life.

The Ghost Gate Needle's physical attack power was not particularly strong, but it excelled at piercing and striking Acupoints. It was especially effective at breaking through protective Qi techniques and external hardening techniques.

The Heaven- and Earth-Harmonizing Umbrella's Qi Needles were perfectly suited to this highly technical method of breaking through defenses.

Zhou You had just used the Ghost Gate Needle technique to drive a Qi Needle into Yan's Shanzhong Acupoint, temporarily cutting off the flow of Qi in his body. His muscles had stiffened, and the flow of his Soul Power had been thrown into disorder.

Though the technique would not last long, in a close-quarters fight where every second counted, a moment's hesitation could mean the difference between life and death.

Fortunately, this fight was only a sparring match. Zhou You did not take the opportunity to deliver a killing blow. Instead, he opened the umbrella and caught Yan's immobile body on its spread canopy.

Then, with a deft motion, he swung the Heaven- and Earth-Harmonizing Umbrella and sent Yan's body flying along its arc, straight behind him.

With a bang, Yan's face slammed into the ground for the second time, smashing a face-shaped indentation into the arena's floor tiles.

"Huh?" The Soul Ancestor watching from the sidelines looked utterly bewildered.

He could not understand what Zhou You had done, but he was deeply shocked!

"That kid Yan actually got taken down!"

With Martial Soul Possession, Yan was tough as nails, but the fall still left him dazed and disoriented. It took him quite a while to recover.

He lay on his back and looked blankly at Zhou You.

Zhou You had a black umbrella slung over his shoulder and was looking down at him with a smile.

He looked less like someone who had come to fight and more like someone out on an excursion.

An unprecedented sense of frustration immediately welled up in Yan's heart.

"Well? Do you want to keep fighting?" In fact, to Zhou You, this fight really was much like an excursion. It did not even count as a warm-up.

Yan remained silent. By now, the effects of the Ghost Gate Needle inside him had faded, and his body had returned to normal.

He silently climbed to his feet and stood opposite Zhou You, staring fixedly at him.

"I still have one Soul Skill. If you can beat me after that, I'll acknowledge you as my boss from now on!"

"Go ahead, then." Zhou You was willing to grant him this final request.

The moment he agreed, a yellow Soul Ring suddenly rose beneath Yan's feet, and his presence surged.

Yan gathered all his Soul Power into his Soul Skill. The heat in the air climbed another notch, and his body became a human torch. The intense heat made the floor crackle.

The Soul Ancestor standing outside the arena quietly summoned his Soul Power, his expression growing more serious as he prepared to intervene at any moment.

Yan's Martial Soul was an extremely rare ancient Martial Soul. Its initial attack power was already astonishing enough, and now, with a Soul Skill enhancing it, its power had risen another level.

Fire was one of nature's great forces that humans found hardest to resist. Low-level Soul Masters could not even release their Soul Power outside their bodies for protection. When faced with a high-temperature skill like this, they had no choice but to dodge.

Thus, although it was only his First Soul Ring, Yan had few opponents at his level thanks to the Flame Lord's attribute attack.

Even Xie Yue, the foremost among his peers, did not dare take this attack head-on!

As the Soul Ancestor pondered, Yan finished charging his Soul Skill. But both of them realized at the same time that Zhou You had not interrupted him, or even moved his feet.

Was he being reckless? Or confident?

The Soul Ancestor could not understand it, and Yan understood it even less. But Yan was primed to attack and had no time to think. The highly concentrated magma flames of his first Soul Skill erupted straight ahead.

Yan stared fixedly at Zhou You, afraid he would use that bizarre footwork to dodge again. If he did, the attack's effectiveness would be greatly reduced.

But unexpectedly, Zhou You did not choose to dodge this time.

At some point, a yellow Soul Ring had quietly risen and settled around the Heaven- and Earth-Harmonizing Umbrella.

Zhou You casually held the umbrella's canopy in front of himself, facing Yan's oncoming Soul Skill.

He had actually chosen to meet it head-on!

In an instant, as if a comet had struck the earth, the searing magma crashed into the black umbrella. A powerful impact and streams of blazing fire spread out in all directions along the canopy, followed by an enormous roar.

Yet amid the attack, Yan saw it clearly: the black umbrella remained standing before him, firm as a rock and steady as a mountain!

It did not budge!

The referee at the edge of the arena waved away the fiery streams spraying toward him, his eyes fixed intently on the arena, especially the black umbrella.

He murmured to himself, "Is it a defensive Tool Martial Soul?"

As a Soul Ancestor, he saw more than Yan did.

He could clearly see that the pattern on the umbrella's canopy resembled some kind of scales. The scales rose and fell, leaping like living things, while an eerie, dim light shone from the gaps between them.

It was as though... it had eaten Yan's Soul Skill!

The Soul Ancestor was startled by his own thought.

Yan's first Soul Skill was a short burst attack, so it did not last long. Soon, he began to struggle to sustain it, and the onslaught of magma was forced to a halt.

After unleashing his Soul Skill, Yan felt weak for a moment. The only drawback of his powerful Martial Soul was that it consumed an enormous amount of Soul Power. Even with Yan's exceptionally high talent in Soul Power, he could hardly sustain such consumption for long.

But when he looked straight ahead, a sense of despair welled up in his heart.

The ground where Zhou You stood was completely undamaged. Yan's first Soul Skill had been stopped firmly in front of the black umbrella, leaving a sharply defined boundary!

"Finished?" Zhou You closed the umbrella and smiled at Yan.

"You..." Yan wanted to say something, but found his throat somewhat dry.

Zhou You paid it no mind and simply reminded him, "Then it's my turn."

Huh?

Yan looked bewildered. What did he mean?

At that moment, the Soul Ancestor at the edge of the arena paled and rushed toward it without hesitation.

"Wait..."

But Zhou You was faster. With a thought, he opened the umbrella's canopy once again and rapidly swept it through the air, instantly generating a blast of wind pressure.

Just then, his first Soul Skill erupted. All the energy the Heaven- and Earth-Harmonizing Umbrella had absorbed was released at once, forming a shock wave visible to the naked eye.

A powerful force burst from the umbrella's canopy, forming a radiating shock wave in the air, aimed straight at Yan, who stood dumbstruck in the arena with no way to dodge!

Just as the shock wave was about to hit Yan, the referee arrived in time and stepped in front of him. He immediately used Martial Soul Possession and spread his arms to intercept it!

The tremendous wind pressure made his clothes flap violently, and even his hair was pulled straight back.

It was only a Soul Master's first Soul Skill, after all, and naturally could not hurt a mighty Soul Ancestor. Even so, the power it contained astonished him.

He knew that its present force had been dispersed through the air. If it had been applied to an opponent through direct contact, then...

Even if Yan had not been crippled this time, he would have had several bones broken.

Thud!

The referee looked back and saw that Yan had already dismissed his Martial Soul and slumped to the ground, his eyes vacant.

He had been scared witless!

The referee shook his head, feeling rather sorry for him, but he did not forget his duty.

"The outcome of this match has been decided!"

Zhou You put away the Heaven- and Earth-Harmonizing Umbrella and gave the Soul Ancestor serving as referee a slight nod before walking over to Yan.

"Well, do you submit now?"

Yan jolted back to his senses. He looked up and saw Zhou You watching him, and his heart tightened. He hurriedly scrambled to his feet on all fours.

"I submit, I submit! Boss, I submit!"

Where the hell did this monster come from? I can't beat him. I really can't!

Seeing the clear look in his eyes and his sincere attitude, Zhou You nodded.

"Good. Now, I'll give you the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Get your doghouse cleaned up right away. Can you do that?"

"Don't worry, Boss, I'll get it done!" Yan panicked and hurriedly gave his assurance.

"Then hurry up and lead the way. Where's your sense?"

"Yes!"

Yan hurriedly nodded, then carefully led Zhou You away...