"Both sides, state your names!" the referee in the Gold Group B division shouted once the two were in position.
"Niu Dafu, martial soul: Soaring Sword," Hu Haoran said quietly from behind Asura's Grin.
"I could tell you were weak the moment I saw that mask. Afraid of losing and embarrassing yourself, huh? Don't worry, you won't last three exchanges against me! Wang Dami, martial soul: Mountain Crushing Hammer!" Hu Haoran's opponent, Wang Dami, shouted arrogantly. Most contestants in the National Youth Soul Master Competition were young people around twenty-five or twenty-six, and they tended to be rather overbearing.
"Oh... that's quite the boast. I hope you really can knock me down in three exchanges. Otherwise, I'll be the one knocking you down—and painfully at that!" Hu Haoran was completely unfazed. He only knew that if someone acted arrogant before him, he had to be even more arrogant, even beat them until they no longer dared to be arrogant.
"Hmph! Come forth, Mountain Crushing Hammer!" Wang Dami summoned his martial soul. Two yellow soul rings floated behind him, and the fluctuations of Soul Power around him showed that he was now a level twenty-six Great Soul Master.
"Behold the miracle of this world! Rise, Soaring Sword!" Hu Haoran summoned his martial soul as well. One purple and one seven-colored soul ring appeared behind him, and his Soul Power erupted instantly, revealing his cultivation as a level twenty-eight Great Soul Master.
"Th-this... what kind of soul rings are those? A thousand-year purple first soul ring?!"
The moment Hu Haoran's soul rings appeared, the entire venue erupted into commotion. Wang Dami rubbed his eyes in disbelief, while even the referee stood stunned with his jaw hanging open.
"I'm waiting for your three exchanges! Don't disappoint me!" Hu Haoran raised his sword and