One Move

In midair, Feng Wutong tested him several times.

The more she probed, the more alarmed she became. She had dived down from the air again and again, yet not only had she failed to harm Dai Yao at all, she had nearly let Dai Yao seize an opening and capture her.

Looking down from the air, Dai Yao had taken a defensive stance without the slightest flaw.

She gradually grew anxious. Dai Yao knew he had no advantage in the air, so he only defended and did not attack, which did not consume much Soul Power. Instead, she kept circling in the sky, and her Soul Power consumption was far greater than Dai Yao's.

If this continued, her Soul Power would bottom out before Dai Yao's.

And there was no way she could fight Dai Yao on the ground. Getting into close combat with the White Tiger Spirit—wasn't that just asking for trouble?

Sensing the Soul Power remaining in her body, Feng Wutong steeled herself. A clear, ringing cry sounded in the air, and that yellow soul ring shone. Immediately after, the fire element in the sky formed a fiery-red vortex and gathered in Feng Wutong's mouth.

"First Spirit Skill—Blazing Fire Line!"

Orange-red flames spewed from Feng Wutong's mouth, forming a long ray of fire that shot straight toward Dai Yao.

The light of the flames lit up the dark night sky. Zhang Xiaofan was very worried. He knew very well how powerful Feng Wutong's First Spirit Skill was. Although she was only a rank-thirteen Soul Master, the attack power of this First Spirit Skill was among the very best of all Commoner Soul Masters.

Zhu Zhuqing's eyes widened as well. She was also very curious how Dai Yao would face this move head-on.

Watching the flames spray down from the sky, Dai Yao showed no panic at all.

During the initial probing, he had noticed that Feng Wutong's attacks were too weak; they had not even been able to break through his defense. Although the oncoming flames looked fierce, they were not actually any danger to him.

"Explosive Step!"

Dai Yao shouted, poured Soul Power into his feet, and stomped down hard. With a thud, clouds of dust rose from the ground, completely enveloping Dai Yao's figure, while the earth beneath his feet cracked into a spiderweb pattern.

The next second, a figure shot out of the smoke like a cannonball, launching toward Feng Wutong in the sky.

"Explosive Step? Is that your First Spirit Skill? But why didn't his soul ring light up?" Feng Wutong was somewhat puzzled, but when she saw Dai Yao coming straight at her, she was not startled but delighted.

"What an idiot. Charging straight into my Blazing Fire Line—isn't that seeking death? A noble is still a noble. He has no real combat experience at all, just a useless wastrel." Contempt rose in Feng Wutong's heart.

"Why make a choice like that? How stupid." Zhang Xiaofan sighed endlessly over Dai Yao's foolish action.

"No, he wants to crush Feng Wutong's First Spirit Skill head-on." The worried Zhu Zhuqing reacted, and after understanding Dai Yao's intention, she was even more shocked by his action.

An orange-yellow line of fire shone in the sky, shooting rapidly downward, while a figure flew up from the ground, charging upward straight into the terrifying flames.

Compared to the terrifying line of fire, that tiny figure seemed insignificant.

Like a mayfly trying to shake a tree, a mantis trying to stop a cart.

Just then, Dai Yao, flying through the air, lit up with his deep-yellow soul ring and coldly spat out a few words.

"First Spirit Skill! White Tiger Body Barrier!"

A white barrier appeared in front of Dai Yao, just about to come into contact with the ray of fire.

Feng Wutong, who was releasing the line of fire, was shocked. "What he's releasing now is his First Spirit Skill—then what was that just now? A Self-Created Soul Skill?"

After Dai Yao released his First Spirit Skill, the two onlookers both realized what the spirit skill had been when Dai Yao had stepped on the ground and launched himself into the air just now.

They seemed to have been frozen in place, motionless, and said the same four words at the same time: "Self-Created Soul Skill."

Among all the people they had come into contact with, not a single one possessed a Self-Created Soul Skill. Only certain legendary figures could have one.

And now, a legendary figure had appeared before their eyes, alive and in the flesh.

"Even if your First Spirit Ring is close to the limit, your choice is still too stupid. My Blazing Fire Line will definitely burn you to ashes!" Feng Wutong was full of confidence, believing in the power of her First Spirit Skill.

After all, even the Academy's third person who must not be provoked had personally admitted that her First Spirit Skill was extremely powerful.

However, the moment the line of fire touched Dai Yao, a scene that made her soul leave her body appeared.

The white barrier in front of Dai Yao was like a Copper Wall Iron Barrier, splitting her Blazing Fire Line into two streams. From the ground, it looked like a bamboo skewer being split open from the tip by a blade.

The two split lines of fire shot off in two different directions, and their power also dropped considerably.

"How is this possible? How can his First Spirit Skill have such powerful defensive ability?!" Cold sweat ran down Feng Wutong's cheeks. The scene before her had already surpassed her understanding.

Why was a Soul Master whose Soul Power was two ranks lower than hers this powerful?! Her proud Blazing Fire Line had been shattered in a direct collision!

"No, that's impossible!" She could not accept the sight before her. She mobilized the Soul Power inside her body, and the Blazing Fire Line burned even more violently.

The orange-yellow flames scorched Dai Yao's White Tiger Body Barrier until it glowed with a lustrous white light.

His upward speed did not decrease in the slightest. Like a sharp blade, he swiftly split the line of fire in two, and in the blink of an eye, he had already closed in right before Feng Wutong.

"What kind of monster is this?!" Feng Wutong was incomparably terrified, but she did not dare relax the line of fire from her mouth in the slightest.

However, her struggle was destined to be futile.

A hand clamped around her swanlike neck.

Intense pain struck her. The flames in Feng Wutong's mouth gradually weakened, a few flickering tongues of fire leaping out before finally vanishing.

Her state of Martial Soul Possession also began to fade. Losing the ability to fly, she fell under the force of gravity as Dai Yao held her by the neck and dropped to the ground.

"Like crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood! Feng Wutong had no power to fight back in front of Fourth Prince!" Zhang Xiaofan stared blankly at the scene before him. He truly could not believe Dai Yao had won so easily.

One had to know that among One-Ring Soul Masters, Feng Wutong could be considered an extremely troublesome existence. First, her First Spirit Skill was extremely powerful, and many people could not block her attacks. Second, she could fly, and those whose martial souls could not fly simply could not hit her.

This was also the source of Feng Wutong's confidence in daring to challenge Dai Yao to a duel even though she knew he had the White Tiger Spirit.

At first, Zhu Zhuqing was amazed by how formidable Dai Yao was as well, but after she saw Dai Yao seize Feng Wutong by the throat, she seemed to remember something. Feeling it as if it had happened to her, she unconsciously touched her own neck.

Dai Yao looked coldly at the pretty face so close to him. Her pain-filled face was brimming with unwillingness, and she still glared at him furiously.

"You lost."

Dai Yao spat out the truth.

Two trails of clear tears slid down Feng Wutong's face as she choked out, "I lost."

She had once imagined that she might lose, but she had never thought she would lose so utterly.

Some reader friends said it felt depressing to read, so I'll try to write a bit less of that next.

The second chapter will be in the afternoon.