Zhao Wuji did not notice Ma Hongjun's grief and indignation.
His attention was entirely on the young man before him.
Of course, Zhao Wuji had no intention of bullying the weak.
After all, if a Soul Saint defeated a Soul Grandmaster in a one-on-one, it would be disgraceful. If he lost, then it would be...
How could he possibly lose!
Zhao Wuji shook his head, dismissing the ridiculous thought from his mind.
Leaving everything else aside, with a normal Soul Grandmaster's attack power, even if he activated his Martial Soul Avatar and stood still for the other party to hammer at him, they would not be able to hurt him!
The gap was simply too great.
He did not even know how he was supposed to go easy on them.
"Then wait a little longer!"
"Come find me again once everyone has arrived."
Zhao Wuji turned his back and waved a hand, signaling for Ma Hongjun to remember to remind him later.
"What if this junior wishes to seek some guidance from you, senior?"
A young voice rang out.
Zhao Wuji stopped in his tracks.
Looking at Lu Yuan, who had just uttered such arrogant words, Ma Hongjun's eyes flashed with a trace of admiration.
Regardless of how this big brother ended up, at the very least, Ma Hongjun admired his courage in seeking death.
"Kid."
With his back still turned, Zhao Wuji unleashed a powerful pressure that swept toward Lu Yuan like an overwhelming tide. "You are not qualified!"
Standing beside Lu Yuan, Ma Hongjun felt as though a small mountain had suddenly been placed upon him, crushing him until he could barely breathe.
So this is the pressure of a Soul Saint?
Ma Hongjun could not help complaining inwardly.
Looking at it now, Boss Zhao had truly held back when he beat them up before.
Otherwise, judging by this pressure, they would not even have the strength to move or fight back.
In just a moment, countless tiny beads of sweat covered Ma Hongjun's forehead.
Zhao Wuji raised his foot again.
A heaven-shaking killing intent erupted from behind him, directly shattering the pressure he had released!
Like a hot knife cutting through butter—clean and decisive.
Fortunately, the hot knife had only cut through the middle and had not targeted him. Otherwise, caught off guard, he might truly have suffered a minor loss!
Zhao Wuji's expression changed slightly.
He knew exactly how strong the pressure he had released was. To break through it with killing intent alone...
Either the other party's killing intent was of an extremely high quality.
Or its scale was enormous.
And this killing intent was undoubtedly the latter.
Because Zhao Wuji had not sensed any bone-chilling coldness within it.
Improving the quality of killing intent was difficult.
But increasing its scale only required killing more living beings.
Of course, being too eager to increase the scale of one's killing intent could easily lead to Qi Deviation, so this rapid method of cultivating killing intent was generally not recommended.
But that was enough to show that this little fellow behind him truly had some skill!
"Now then, senior, do you think I qualify?"
Zhao Wuji turned around and looked at the calm-faced youth in the distance, a trace of appreciation flashing through his eyes.
"Barely."
"However, kid, have you thought this through? Do you really want to exchange a few moves with me?"
Lu Yuan nodded, then shook his head.
"I naturally wish to seek guidance, but not merely exchange a few moves. I wish to have a proper match."
"According to what you said, senior, enduring for one incense stick counts as passing."
"But..."
"What if I not only endure for that one incense stick, but also injure you, senior? What then?"
Zhao Wuji burst into laughter.
It seemed this little fellow before him was quite confident!
However, wanting to break through the defenses of his Vajra Bear Martial Soul, famous for both attack and defense, was still far too fanciful.
As it happened, his hands were itching for a fight as well.
No time like the present.
At most, he would hold back a little when the time came.
It would not affect this proud little fellow's subsequent joint assessment with the others who had passed the Third Trial.
Having made up his mind, Zhao Wuji asked in return:
"If you can endure for one incense stick and injure me as well, then within the limits of my ability, I will agree to do one thing for you. How about it?"
Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes.
Within the limits of his ability.
Borrowing Zhao Wuji's identity as the Chief Examiner should count as being within those limits, right?
"It's a deal."
"It's a deal."
Beside them, Ma Hongjun was so anxious that he felt his Evil Fire was about to flare up. He hurriedly grabbed Lu Yuan. "Big Brother! Do you know how terrifying a Soul Saint fighting at full strength is? Boss Zhao was the infamous Immovable Bright King back then!"
The implication was clear: stop courting death. There was no shame in lowering his head before a Soul Saint.
"So you still want to help me prepare some tactics or something?"
Lu Yuan's words nearly choked Ma Hongjun unconscious.
Prepare tactics?
Preparing tactics for opponents of the same level was acceptable.
Although this was not a team battle, no one would ever complain about having too many tactics. What if they came in handy in a one-on-one?
But this was crossing levels.
Especially with a difference of more than forty Soul Power Levels.
No tactic would make any difference!
Faced with any so-called tactics, Boss Zhao only needed to bulldoze straight through!
Ma Hongjun had a bellyful of complaints he could not keep in.
So he very smoothly blurted them out: "Fuck!"
Unfortunately, his shock was not for the reasons above.
Rather...
"Lu Yuan, level 46 All-Round Soul Master. Martial Soul: Space."
As the youth spoke in a clear voice, four black Soul Rings slowly rose around him.
Zhao Wuji's eyes abruptly widened.
"Kid! How did you—"
However, the moment the words left his mouth, Zhao Wuji realized his mistake and hurriedly cut himself off.
In the Soul Master World, privately probing into or asking about a Soul Master's personal cultivation was a major taboo!
At best, it would create enmity. At worst, it would invite pursuit. In the most serious cases, it would become a fight to the death!
In contrast, exchanging insights or experiences about cultivation would not create enmity.
Simply put, one discussed matters, not people.
But Zhao Wuji's mind was truly in chaos right now.
A twelve-year-old Soul Ancestor...
An All-Round Soul Master.
Martial Soul Space...
And four Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings...
His Martial Soul should be a pure elemental Martial Soul, yet he had also managed to absorb Soul Rings across levels.
As everyone knew, under the same circumstances, the effects of Soul Skills granted by Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings far surpassed those of Thousand Year Soul Rings.
A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring even came with two Soul Skills.
In other words, he could no longer regard the little monster before him as merely a Soul Ancestor.
Because this little monster possessed at least the combat power of a Soul King!
If he went easy on him to the degree he had originally planned, Zhao Wuji seriously doubted whether he might capsize in a small ditch today.
Of course, while a Soul Master with the strength of a Soul King could cause him some trouble, it would be no more than trouble.
But if he wanted to injure him...
Perhaps it was not entirely impossible?
After briefly assessing the gap between their combat power, Zhao Wuji suddenly felt that the condition he had agreed to earlier might have been a little too hasty.
Still, if such a genius joined Shrek Academy, he would dare say to the Pope of Spirit Hall in person, "Your Spirit Hall's Golden Generation is nothing but shit!"
Of course, that was merely Zhao Wuji's fantasy.
If he were truly made to say it, he would not dare.
Leaving aside the fact that he still had a Spirit Hall wanted notice on his head, even without it, provoking the Pope had only one outcome—death!
Who knew how many Titled Douluo Spirit Hall had hidden away?
They had not refrained from pursuing him back then because they could not.
There was simply no need!
Sending a Titled Douluo to hunt down him, who had only been a Soul Emperor at the time, would have been like using a butcher's knife to kill a mouse.
It was not worth the effort.
Zhao Wuji stared at Lu Yuan as if he were looking at a priceless treasure.
"Kid, in this battle, I will go all out!"
"If you cannot withstand my attacks, make sure to say so immediately!"
Lu Yuan cupped his fists. "Please!"
"Zhao Wuji, Level 76 assault-type Soul Master. Martial Soul: Vajra Bear!"
Zhao Wuji somehow pulled out an incense stick, rubbed his fingers together to light it, then casually tossed it into a patch of open ground nearby.
Boom!
The earth beneath Lu Yuan's feet exploded.
A visible black shadow shot straight toward Zhao Wuji like an arrow.
Zhao Wuji laughed loudly, stomped down with force, and actually charged forward as well!
The two black shadows clashed once, then separated at the first touch.
Then they charged at each other again and separated again.
In just ten short seconds, the two launched seven consecutive charges at one another!
Ma Hongjun stood far away to one side, his face full of helplessness.
Question: A Soul Saint and a Soul Ancestor are fighting hand-to-hand. As a Soul Grandmaster, what should I do?
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