"I'll go first." Tian Yu Tianheng stopped the rest of the team and said to Shadow Moon, "Get on the arena!"
"You guys... sigh, fine."
Qin Ming also knew that geniuses never accepted defeat when facing other geniuses. Letting them spar now would do no harm.
"It's your first time here. I'll take you there."
Thus, Qin Ming led Minami Kotaro and Shadow Moon toward the arena.
On the arena, Yu Tianheng and Shadow Moon stood facing each other from afar.
"Both sides, prepare. The battle begins!"
Qin Ming stood between the two, then waved his hand. The battle began.
"Yu Tianheng, captain of the Heaven Dou Royal Battle Team. Martial Soul: Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Soul Elder. Please enlighten me!"
The moment he finished speaking, Yu Tianheng activated his Martial Soul Avatar. Lightning wrapped around Tian Yuheng, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon possessed Yu Tianheng's body.
His entire body transformed into a small, imposing blue dragon-man.
As for his opponent, Shadow Moon—
The leather jacket on Shadow Moon's body fluttered slightly in the breeze.
A mechanical-style belt appeared out of thin air around Shadow Moon's waist.
Shadow Moon moved. His waist twisted, and his upper body turned to the left.
His head seemed to be looking at the ground to his left, yet also seemed to be watching something else.
His hands tightly gripped his left arm before his chest, while his right arm aligned with the center of his left arm. As his body swayed, both hands pointed toward Shadow Moon's left.
Shadow Moon's gaze gradually hardened, and his tightly clenched hands crackled.
Suddenly, Shadow Moon opened his left hand into a palm and chopped fiercely toward the lower right of his body. As his left hand came down, his right hand at his right waist also opened into a palm, gathering strength for release!
The palm hanging at Shadow Moon's right waist swept sharply toward the upper left like an arrow loosed from a bow. His right palm faced the sky in the upper left, while his left hand clenched into a fist at his left waist.
Then, Shadow Moon's body tilted slightly to the right, and the palm that had been aimed straight to the left now pointed directly at the sky to the right.
The fist at Shadow Moon's left hand opened. His little finger and palm formed a thirty-degree angle, then his fingers slowly unfolded from little finger to index finger, the angle widening further and further.
Finally, Shadow Moon placed his left hand on the mechanical-style belt at his waist.
"Hen Shin!"
Shadow Moon's deep voice rang out. His left hand lightly swept across the belt, and the belt suddenly emitted an emerald-green glow like a gemstone.
Shadow Moon flung both hands sharply toward the upper left of his body, aligning them into a single line.
The green light grew ever brighter until it completely concealed Shadow Moon.
From Qin Ming's perspective, Shadow Moon's entire body shone within the green light, gradually becoming encased in mech-style metal unlike anything in this world.
Putong! Putong! Putong!
Shadow Moon's mechanical feet stomped against the ground, producing wave after wave of resounding noise.
"Akizuki Nobuhiko of Shocker Sun and Moon. Martial Soul: Shadow Moon. My Soul Power, as you can see, is Soul Ancestor!"
"Soul Ancestor!"
Everyone present was shocked. Though they had heard that he possessed tremendous strength and a powerful Martial Soul, they had never expected him to be a Soul Ancestor.
Shadow Moon and Minami Kotaro were only eleven years old!
What did an eleven-year-old Soul Ancestor even mean? In the original story, Hu Liena, Yan, and Xie Yue of Spirit Hall were nearly twenty before reaching Soul King!
Yu Tianheng also knew that he could not possibly win this battle. But even in defeat, he could not bring shame upon Heaven Dou.
Yu Tianheng raised his right hand, lightning coiling around it. With a single stride, he charged forward.
First Soul Skill: Thunder Dragon Claw!
Third Soul Skill: Dragon's Wrath!
Yu Tianheng was covered in lightning like a little thunder god. Those below with weaker Soul Power could not even see him clearly, only a streak of blue light.
Second Soul Skill: Thunderbolt!
Yu Tianheng's only offensive Soul Skill, and Tian Yuheng's strongest attacking method at present.
True to its name, the entire area where Shadow Moon stood was bombarded by large and small bolts of Blue Lightning. At first, black scorch marks appeared on the ground, then they gradually formed one small crater after another.
Yet when the tiny bolts of lightning landed on Shadow Moon, it was like Enel striking Luffy—there was a certain insulating effect.
Yu Tianheng's Thunderbolt had no effect whatsoever on Shadow Moon. The smooth, mirror-like metal plating on his body remained completely unblemished, still as clear as ever.
"What?!"
Yu Tianheng saw that his opponent was completely unharmed. More importantly, even the reflections on his body remained flawless, leaving Yu Tianheng unable to hide his surprise.
However, Yu Tianheng quickly steadied his mindset and pulled himself together. The steps he had slowed rose in pace once more.
"Not bad. He's set his mind straight. Even if Yu Tianheng loses the battle, his spirit hasn't lost!"
Qin Ming nodded to himself below the arena. Geniuses all had pride, but when that pride suffered setbacks, it could easily be broken. Most geniuses fell because of this. Flowers grown in a greenhouse, no matter how tall they grew, were nothing but an illusion. Only after weathering true storms could one claim to have truly grown.
On the arena, Yu Tianheng charged straight at Shadow Moon.
Very quickly, Yu Tianheng reached Shadow Moon.
Yu Tianheng's lightning-covered right hand slowly approached Shadow Moon. Just as he was about to touch him—
Shadow Moon moved. His hand seized Yu Tianheng's attacking right hand in an iron grip.
"Your nonsense is over!"
Green light flared in Shadow Moon's eyes.
"Rider Puck!"
Green light also appeared in Shadow Moon's right hand. His right fist smashed fiercely into Yu Tianheng's body.
Yu Tianheng only felt as if his body had been struck by a wild bull, and his consciousness instantly sank into unconsciousness.
At the same time, Shadow Moon's Martial Soul returned to his body.
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