I Just Released My Martial Soul... Why Are You All...

"This laser is pretty fast."

Chi Xiu maneuvered his body to dodge the needlepoint-sized light spots. One-tenth of a second was an extremely short time, yet the densely packed light spots filled the sky.

But in Chi Xiu's eyes, the light spots had already slowed to normal speed.

Since the requirement was to dodge the light spots, getting hit meant I lost.

Ten seconds later, Chi Xiu stood at the finish line.

He turned around and looked back.

The old woman stood there with a pen in one hand and paper in the other, staring dumbfoundedly. For a moment, she forgot what she was supposed to be doing.

Without checking his results, Chi Xiu calmly walked toward the waiting area for those who had finished testing.

The old woman finally came to her senses. Her throat moved as she wrote with a trembling hand:

"0 beams."

In the observation area.

Ning Fengzhi held the rankings sheet, his face flushed red. Xue Qinghe stood beside him, his chest rising and falling continuously, a blush covering his fair cheeks as well.

They were overly excited.

Master and disciple looked at each other, their shock beyond words.

Did this brat come here today to crush everyone on an entirely different level?!

Zero beams? Is this a joke?!

Did he come to this testing ground just to experience the local customs?!

Why the hell were they even betting!

Yu Tianheng was nothing!

The master and disciple shared a rare moment of perfect understanding. They rose from their seats almost simultaneously and hurried downstairs while the administrator looked utterly bewildered.

"Quick, let's see his next test with our own eyes."

"This bet is already pointless. Teacher, you won..."

Chi Xiu sat in Purple Star Academy's waiting area. Ning Rongrong sat restlessly beside him. Chi Xiu would not let her wander around the testing area, so she could only sit here obediently and wait for Chi Xiu-gege to return.

"How were your test results?"

Ning Rongrong asked curiously.

Chi Xiu leaned back. "No idea. Probably average. I was just going through the motions. Right now, I just want to go back to the academy and sleep."

"Come sleep at my house. My bed is big and soft."

Ning Rongrong looked at Chi Xiu expectantly, only to find that his attention had suddenly shifted elsewhere.

Yes, the atmosphere in the hall had suddenly changed.

Several groups of people were rapidly approaching Purple Star Academy.

Every one of them looked excited. A few old fellows who had never gotten along suddenly had a common topic of conversation. No one could have imagined that this shared topic revolved around a freshman from an ordinary academy.

One old man led a group as he spoke while walking.

"You have no idea. He punched right through the counting board. I was so scared that I dropped my pen. That counting board was made from alloy forged by Lou Gao's Blacksmiths' Association. It was especially tough."

The old man in charge of recording strength spoke with exaggerated expressions. It was not his fault for being so dramatic; after all, he was the only one who had witnessed the entire event firsthand.

The old woman hurriedly cut in. "In his speed test, he touched zero laser beams! Since this academy opened, at least tens of thousands of people have been tested. We even tried it ourselves to ensure the instruments were accurate, yet not a single person managed to dodge all those thousand-plus laser beams!"

The old man recording strength froze and looked at her. "What did you say? He dodged them all?"

The old woman was equally excited. "I was about to ask you! This child punched through an alloy board too?"

"That punch of his had ten tons of force."

The old woman froze again. "What? Ten... ten tons..."

"Do you know how old he is?!"

Another old man suddenly squeezed his way over.

"What does his age matter? We're discussing serious matters here. Why are you, the one recording ages, butting in!"

The old woman looked disdainfully at the old man who recorded ages, as if refusing to let him join their chat group.

"He's only six this year! Surprised now?!"

"What were other children doing at six?"

As soon as he said that, everyone walking toward Purple Star Academy's waiting area stopped where they stood.

One of the old men picked up the thread.

"Six... wasn't that when you had just awakened your Martial Soul?"

"When I was six, I was still playing with mud."

"He punched through a steel plate with ten tons of force at six."

The crowd fell into a brief silence.

Then someone suddenly spotted two people approaching from straight ahead.

"The Crown Prince and Sect Master Ning are here!"

Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi immediately walked over after hearing this. Seeing such a large gathering before them, they were somewhat confused. These old men were equally bewildered to see the Crown Prince and Sect Master Ning, who had been staying in the second-floor observation area, suddenly come down.

"What are you all doing?"

"We were about to meet a child from Purple Star Academy named Chi Xiu."

"So were we!"

"Boss, why is a group of people coming this way..."

Sun Dabao came to Chi Xiu's side and asked warily.

Chi Xiu shook his head, but then he heard Ning Rongrong excitedly cry out beside him, "Dad!"

Ning Rongrong ran toward Ning Fengzhi and happily threw herself into his arms.

Chi Xiu stood up. This was his first time meeting Ning Fengzhi.

And the one beside him seemed to be... Qian Renxue?!

No, she was still Xue Qinghe now.

Could this group be here for me...? Chi Xiu guessed. After all, every single one of them was staring at him with burning eyes, as though he were some irresistible prize.

But quite a few of them were looking at him as if he were a monster.

"Let's not disturb him. We can just watch him continue his tests from the side."

Ning Fengzhi stopped Xue Qinghe, who was preparing to walk toward Chi Xiu.

"Mm, then I'll listen to Teacher."

"Seniors, please continue arranging the tests. Everything can wait until that child finishes."

Ning Fengzhi held Ning Rongrong's hand and turned to the old men beside him.

"What's the next test?"

"Physical strength."

Chi Xiu looked somewhat baffled. For some reason, he was being surrounded by a group of old men with an average age above fifty and escorted toward the next testing area.

Using his authority, Xue Qinghe arranged for Chi Xiu to be the first one tested, placing him ahead of everyone from Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

This scene attracted not only Purple Star Academy's students, but also the students and teachers from every other academy, as well as the hosts from Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

"Boss, what's going on over there?"

Yu Tianheng looked in the direction Dugu Yan pointed and vaguely caught sight of the masked boy being surrounded by a crowd as he was led somewhere.

"Let's go take a look!"

At that moment, in the entire first-floor hall, a total of eight academies had gathered around the physical strength testing area. More than two thousand students and teachers watched a single person's test.

Xue Qinghe stood right beside Chi Xiu. From her angle, she could see his perfect jawline and skin so delicate it seemed ready to break at a touch.

Looks like a handsome little boy. But why does he wear a mask...? Xue Qinghe was somewhat puzzled.

"For the physical strength test, the examinee stands on the starting line while a Soul Douluo on the opposite side releases a relatively gentle attack of Soul Power. After being struck, the shorter the distance the examinee is pushed back, the greater their physical strength."

Chi Xiu stepped onto the starting line and looked behind him. There were horizontal lines marking the distances.

"Child, you may release your Martial Soul and maintain your strongest defensive state, but you may not use Soul Skills."

The Soul Douluo on the opposite side spoke.

Chi Xiu looked at the impenetrable wall of people surrounding the area from all directions. There were students and teachers alike. He felt a little embarrassed; it was his first time being watched by so many people.

Whatever. I'll slip away once the test is over.

He spread his legs apart, closed his eyes, and let his arms hang naturally at his sides.

A resounding dragon's roar gradually rang out.

"Crack, crack, crack..."

Multicolored scales spread inch by inch across his skin, while sharp claws extended from his fingertips. Chi Xiu opened his eyes, which had become cold vertical pupils.

At the same time, the phantom of a majestic giant beast slowly raised its head behind him.

"Dragon Clan?"

Xue Qinghe narrowed her eyes.

Suddenly, uneven cries of alarm sounded from all directions.

Xue Qinghe looked around in confusion, only to discover that people in the crowd were suddenly collapsing to the ground uncontrollably.

They fell one after another.

Dizzy, drenched in cold sweat, their Martial Souls involuntarily released themselves.

The sight was truly spectacular.

"Boss!"

Dugu Yan discovered that Yu Tianheng beside her had collapsed again, displaying exactly the same symptoms as before.

And the people collapsing around them had the same symptoms as him.

Chi Xiu stared blankly at the scene before him.