A Little Strength, But Not Much

Hearing Feng Xiaotian's words, Dugu Chen secretly went on guard. He had always given his all in battle.

Their eyes met, and Feng Xiaotian's heart tightened. He understood that Dugu Chen was no ordinary opponent. The longer this oppressive feeling persisted, the slimmer his chances became.

He could not understand how Dugu Chen had cultivated. Though Dugu Chen was so much younger than him, the pressure he gave off was even greater than that of the academy's top student from the previous class.

I can't wait any longer.

Feng Xiaotian made the first move. His body accelerated almost instantly as he charged straight at Dugu Chen. A long streak of cyan light trailed behind him, and his speed was incomparably swift.

Dugu Chen had been prepared, but he was still inwardly startled. Feng Xiaotian was a Power Attack System Soul Master, yet the speed he displayed now was in no way inferior to that of an Agility Attack Battle Soul Master above rank forty.

This was the power of a mutated martial soul—the Gale Twin-Headed Wolf, a mutation of the Gale Demon Wolf.

The Gale Twin-Headed Wolf was close to a top-tier martial soul, combining both speed and attack. Dugu Chen estimated that Feng Xiaotian would be more troublesome than Yang Ming had been last time.

There was no time for Dugu Chen to think further. The instant Feng Xiaotian lunged forward, his First Soul Ring lit up.

Ten crescent-shaped wind blades sliced through the air with piercing shrieks, sealing off every route Dugu Chen could use to evade. But did Dugu Chen need to evade?

Facing the rapidly approaching wind blades, earthy-yellow light surged across Dugu Chen's body. Dragon scales covered him from head to toe, each scale suffused with light, making them appear even heavier, broader, and more sharply defined.

His claws swung rapidly. Under Feng Xiaotian's astonished gaze, the wind blades unleashed by his First Soul Skill were crushed one after another.

Not even a trace of damage appeared on the dragon scales, which were far harder than cold iron.

After receiving Feng Xiaotian's First Soul Skill, Dugu Chen looked at Feng Xiaotian, who was less than five meters away. He raised his right claw and struck straight for his opponent's face.

Feng Xiaotian's gaze sharpened. The two of them were now less than five meters apart, and at such a distance, they had time for only a single adjustment.

A savage gleam flashed in Feng Xiaotian's eyes as his wolf claw met Dugu Chen's right claw head-on.

Feng Xiaotian had confidence in both his strength and his abilities. He did not believe himself to be much weaker than Dugu Chen, and before figuring out his opponent's attack, close combat—which consumed less Soul Power—was the better choice.

Bang—

Feeling the tremendous force transmitted through his claw, Feng Xiaotian's eyes filled with horror. His body staggered backward more than ten meters uncontrollably. Numbness and searing pain intertwined in both arms, violently assailing his nerves.

Feng Xiaotian stared at Dugu Chen, who stood quietly watching him, his eyes still filled with disbelief.

Realizing that his physical strength was at a disadvantage, Feng Xiaotian chose to circle Dugu Chen and use his speed to fight a mobile battle.

But no matter how fast Feng Xiaotian was, he could not escape Dugu Chen's Spiritual Power lock-on. Every attack was easily defused.

The pain from the recoil of his wolf claws made Feng Xiaotian's heart turn cold. He had not expected Dugu Chen's reactions to be so fast. It was difficult to gain any advantage over Dugu Chen in close combat. If this continued, he would not be able to hold on.

Having realized this, Feng Xiaotian instantly pulled away from Dugu Chen. His second and third Soul Rings lit up at the same time.

A pair of enormous cyan wings unfolded from Feng Xiaotian's back. At the same time, a cyan phantom condensed behind him, bearing the form of the Gale Twin-Headed Wolf.

Against the backdrop of that massive, dazzling phantom, Feng Xiaotian rose into the air. With just one flap of his wings, aided by the wind in the sky, his body soared upward until he was fifty meters above the ground.

Feng Xiaotian spread his wings lightly in the sky and looked down at Dugu Chen. "Dugu Chen, you're very strong. I still have a newly created Self-Created Soul Skill. Be careful."

Hearing Feng Xiaotian's words, Dugu Chen planted his feet firmly and answered with only two words, "Come on."

The twin-headed wolf phantom behind him gradually merged with Feng Xiaotian's body. That was his Second Soul Skill, Twin Wolf Possession. In this state, his attack, defense, and agility would all increase by fifty percent.

Combined with his Third Soul Skill, Gale Wings, his condition had already reached its peak.

With a long howl, Feng Xiaotian moved. His body descended from the sky like a meteor chasing the moon. Strangely, despite his enormous body and spread wings, he made not a single sound as he fell.

All the diffuse cyan light drew inward. At this moment, his body and wings formed a perfect angle.

His wings swept through the air as Feng Xiaotian dove down at Dugu Chen from above. Dugu Chen clenched his claws into fists and blasted them toward Feng Xiaotian's wings.

With a boom, at the instant of impact, Feng Xiaotian borrowed the force to shoot skyward, while Dugu Chen's arm remained completely unharmed.

Feng Xiaotian had not been injured either, but his slightly dimmed wings and his shoulders, numbed from the impact, made his expression even graver. His attack had not caused Dugu Chen the slightest harm.

Feeling the force transmitted through his arm, Dugu Chen gained a rough understanding of Feng Xiaotian's Self-Created Soul Skill. It could rival the full-force strike of an ordinary Soul Ancestor. If Feng Xiaotian stacked it to the maximum, it could approach the Fourth Soul Skill of a high-level Soul Ancestor.

Feng Xiaotian, having flown up by borrowing force, did not rise back into the high sky. He merely made a wide turn in midair before his right wing cleaved down once more.

This time, as it descended, Feng Xiaotian's single wing flickered repeatedly through the air, constantly changing its trajectory.

He wanted to evade Dugu Chen's fist, but how could he possibly avoid Dugu Chen's Spiritual Power lock-on? A Xiao, this is a high-level match.

Dugu Chen's dragon claw blasted out again. With a bang, Feng Xiaotian was sent flying upward once more. No matter how hard he thought, he could not understand why, despite controlling his movements with all his strength, Dugu Chen could still find the point beneath his wing where he would strike. It was practically impossible.

Feng Xiaotian spun once in midair, his wings striking down in succession as he launched the third and fourth slashes.

Feeling the increasing force coming through his arm, Dugu Chen had also roughly grasped its power. There was no need to continue this fight.

For the first time since the battle began, Dugu Chen spoke. "Feng Xiaotian, you delayed your cultivation just to come up with such a flashy but impractical Self-Created Soul Skill. Your Soul Skill has a fatal flaw."

Feng Xiaotian did not believe that Dugu Chen had found the flaw in his Soul Skill after only a few exchanges. The fifth slash immediately descended.

Watching Feng Xiaotian attack once again, flames rose from Dugu Chen's dragon claw. A glowing yellow Soul Ring revolved around it. When the wing was less than a meter from him, he raised his hand again and violently struck out.

Bang—

Feeling an unprecedented force crash into his shoulder, Feng Xiaotian could no longer maintain control and slammed into a large tree twenty meters away.

"Xiaotian!" Feng Xing rushed forward in alarm to check on Feng Xiaotian, while the other two bystanders hurriedly followed.

"Cough, cough, I'm fine!"

Feng Xiaotian looked somewhat miserable now. His blood and qi churned within him, and his clothes were slightly torn. He no longer looked as dashing as he had moments ago.

Feng Xiaotian steadied his blood and Qi, then walked up to Dugu Chen. "I'll keep working hard. My Gale Slash Combo hasn't been perfected yet. Next time, I won't be defeated by you so easily."

Dugu Chen looked at the stubborn expression on Feng Xiaotian's face. "Your soul skill was clearly created based on your Third Soul Skill. Like the Clear Sky Sect's Chaotic Cape Style, it's a combo that gradually builds in power. But have you considered this? Once you become a Soul Saint, a Soul Fighting Douluo, or even a Titled Douluo, will the wings conjured by your Third Soul Skill still be able to withstand battles of that intensity?"

Seeing the confusion in Feng Xiaotian's eyes, Dugu Chen continued twisting the knife.

"You wasted the golden years of cultivation before the age of twenty on creating a self-created soul skill as useless as this. I really don't know what the adults in your family were thinking."

Dugu Chen's words made Feng Xing, standing nearby, somewhat awkward.

"That's all I have to say. Still, I'm afraid I'll surpass you very soon."

After saying that, Dugu Chen rejoined Dugu Bo and the other two before turning and leaving.

Watching Dugu Chen's departing back, Feng Xiaotian felt powerless for the first time. Asking himself honestly, was there any point in continuing to persist?

Feng Xing saw Feng Xiaotian's confusion and stepped forward to pat his shoulder. "Xiaotian, recover your soul power first and absorb your Fourth Soul Ring. We'll ask the dean after we return, then decide."

Although encountering Feng Xiaotian had been somewhat unexpected for the group, Dugu Chen had also witnessed his self-created soul skill. For now, it still seemed rather immature.

His Gale Demon Wolf Thirty-Six Consecutive Slashes followed the same path as the Chaotic Cape Style, but Feng Xiaotian simply could not compare to Tang Chen. Even the name was poorly chosen.

Dugu Chen could not understand the Douluo Continent tradition of shouting out soul skill names before attacking. Feng Xiaotian had not even picked a better name. Once someone heard it and saw the first few strikes, they would know it was a combo skill that required charging. Anyone with even a little experience would know to interrupt him during the opening slashes and see how he could keep charging after that.

The first few slashes of Gale Demon Wolf Thirty-Six Consecutive Slashes were not very powerful. With the right timing, the Fourth Soul Skill of an ordinary Soul Ancestor could disrupt it.

Look at the Clear Sky Sect's Chaotic Cape Style—now that was a well-chosen name. The first time someone faced it, how would anyone unfamiliar with it know that it was a soul skill that built up power?

Moreover, the Chaotic Cape Style was performed with the Clear Sky Hammer, so it would not become outdated even at higher levels. Gale Demon Wolf Thirty-Six Consecutive Slashes, on the other hand, was based on Feng Xiaotian's Third Soul Skill. He did not have an External Soul Bone either. Once his level rose, those wings would likely be unable to endure high-intensity combat.

Fortunately, Dugu Chen had cheats. He neither needed to delay his cultivation progress nor lacked a direction for creating his own soul skills.

"Chen'er, how did it feel seeing someone with Innate Full Soul Power for the first time?" Dugu Bo casually asked while they traveled.

"Feng Xiaotian's talent is excellent, but he's using it in the wrong place. At his current age, creating his own soul skill is somewhat of a waste," Dugu Chen replied calmly.

Hearing this, Dugu Bo nodded and said nothing more. He shared the same view. At such a young age, instead of working hard to raise his cultivation, Feng Xiaotian was busy with all those flashy tricks. Once his level was higher and his experience more extensive, he would be better able to create soul skills suited to himself.

However, looking at his own disciple, Dugu Bo could only sigh at how different geniuses could be. He led the three onward toward the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye.

"Roar—"

First, thank you to all the readers for reading. The author's writing is not very good, and I would like to thank several people for their recommendation tickets.

The author has already adjusted the ages of several geniuses from Douluo Continent I. They truly were too outrageous before.

Feng Xiaotian had Innate Full Soul Power, yet when he appeared, he was already twenty-four years old and only level forty-four. He could not even manage two levels a year. You have to know that advanced academies have mimicry environments. With only a few levels of soul power per year, what dean would agree to let him waste his talent like that? If he had focused fully on cultivation, Feng Xiaotian would have been a Soul Emperor by the time he appeared. Wouldn't the championship have been his for the taking?

So the author adjusted several characters' ages and cultivation levels. I hope readers will not mind!