"Good! Good! Good!"
Zhao Wuji roared three times in excitement.
Setting everything else aside, this Little Monster's physical condition was truly formidable.
His combat experience was no slouch either.
He attacked ruthlessly, every strike aimed at a vital point.
Although Zhao Wuji had not used any Soul Skills and had merely activated Martial Soul Possession, the little fellow opposite him had not used any Soul Skills either.
If the difference between their Martial Souls was factored in, Zhao Wuji had actually gained a slight advantage.
Lu Yuan shook his somewhat numb arm. Rather than charging forward again, he used the remaining momentum from being knocked back during the previous charge to spring backward, opening up the distance.
Fighting Zhao Wuji at close range really put him at a disadvantage.
However, through their several exchanges just now, Lu Yuan had roughly gauged his own physical strength.
His body was comparable to that of a standard Soul Emperor, but there was still quite a gap when facing a Soul Saint.
His gaze shifted slightly as four black Soul Rings lit up in succession.
"Enhancement!"
"Enhancement!"
"Enhancement!"
"Enhancement!"
That was right. The skills attached to all four of Lu Yuan's Soul Rings were self-enhancements.
It was only because spatial skills could be independently developed and were too numerous to count that Lu Yuan had dared to configure his Soul Rings this way.
Although most Soul Ring skills could not be chosen by Soul Masters themselves, there was still some degree of preference when Hunting Soul Beasts.
For instance, when Hunting Man Faced Demon Spiders, the acquired Soul Ring skill would most likely lean toward the control system.
Likewise, when Hunting Soft Bone Rabbits, the acquired Soul Ring skill would most likely lean toward the Agility Attack System.
As for what skill one would acquire, that depended on the particular traits of the Soul Beast being hunted.
For example, hunting an ordinary Soft Bone Rabbit and hunting Xiao Wu would absolutely yield different quantities and qualities of skills.
One offered Phasing, while the other offered Golden Body.
Xiao Wu's two skills directly crushed a whole host of Soft Bone Rabbits.
Still, high-quality as those skills were, they fundamentally remained inclined toward the Agility Attack System.
That was the characteristic of a Soul Beast Tribe!
Therefore, the four Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings Lu Yuan had acquired all came from Soul Beast Tribes with support-oriented traits.
Such Soul Beast Tribes were the best choice for Support-type Soul Masters seeking Soul Rings.
Unfortunately, they had run into someone as lacking in martial virtue as Lu Yuan.
The enhancement provided by a single Soul Ring was nothing remarkable.
Many assault-type Battle Soul Masters usually had an enhancement skill like that at their disposal.
But what if multiple Soul Rings provided enhancements at once?
One ring increased strength by fifty percent and Soul Power by fifty percent.
Two Rings increased strength by fifty percent and speed by fifty percent.
Three Rings increased strength by one hundred percent and speed by one hundred percent.
Four Rings increased Soul Power by one hundred percent, speed by one hundred percent, and reaction speed by fifty percent.
In other words, the four Soul Rings had increased Lu Yuan's strength by two hundred percent, Soul Power by one hundred and fifty percent, speed by two hundred and fifty percent, and reaction speed by fifty percent.
Although stacking nothing but enhancements would leave one in the awkward position of having no offensive Soul Skills, for Lu Yuan...
There was no awkward position at all, okay?
Spatial skills came in countless varieties and were too numerous to count.
Lu Yuan even doubted whether he could develop every spatial skill in his lifetime.
One Soul Ring, one Soul Skill?
Too narrow-minded!
It did not suit him!
Still, the truly impressive part was that final "fifty percent increase in reaction speed."
If he could, Lu Yuan truly wanted to take fifty percent from the speed enhancement and add it to reaction speed.
What was needed for fighting across levels was not speed. Especially for an all-round Soul Master like him, a decent speed enhancement was enough.
What truly mattered was reaction speed!
If one could not react to an enemy's attacks in battle, even a wielder of Spatial Ability could be killed in a single blow!
That was the importance of reaction speed.
"Get ready!"
"Spatial Severance, Net."
Lu Yuan shouted as he thrust both hands into the space before him and slashed downward with force!
The total amount of enhanced Soul Power within his body abruptly dropped by one-tenth!
Nearly a hundred invisible spatial ripples connected together like threads, densely forming a slightly loose-looking "net"!
Then, that "net" shot straight ahead.
Zhao Wuji's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
The instincts he had honed through years of life-and-death battles continuously sounded warnings!
Though he could not see the attack, he still chose to trust his instincts.
"First Soul Skill, Immovable Bright King Body!"
"Second Soul Skill! Vajra Palm!"
With an angry roar, Zhao Wuji's hand, already transformed into a bear paw, thrust fiercely forward.
The overwhelming aura made Ma Hongjun, who was watching from the side, turn pale.
But...
The faint golden glow wrapped around Zhao Wuji's palm shattered instantly before that "net"!
There was not the slightest resistance!
It was as though it had never existed at all!
Almost at the exact moment the golden light shattered, copious blood sprayed from Zhao Wuji's bear paw!
He could not block it head-on!
Even the Immovable Bright King Body could not withstand it. If he kept blocking, his entire hand might be severed!
Zhao Wuji glanced at his mangled palm and made his decision in an instant. Soul Power surged as he withdrew his hand and leaped to the side.
Buzz!
A faint humming sound rang out.
Zhao Wuji turned his head and looked behind him.
Whether trees, earth, stones, or anything else...
Everything along the line where he had just been standing had been sliced into irregular chunks!
"What the hell is this thing?!"
Zhao Wuji looked at his torn and bleeding palm and could not help cursing inwardly.
It was far too sharp!
His First Soul Skill, Immovable Bright King Body, could not even stop it for a moment!
As for reflecting attacks within three meters of his body, that was even more of a pipe dream!
Zhao Wuji knew that Spatial Martial Souls were difficult to deal with.
Otherwise, that person from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would not have been acknowledged as the most bizarre Soul Master.
But no one had told him that space itself could possess such extreme killing power!
One careless mistake, and he had suffered a huge loss.
Seeing the Little Monster in the distance preparing to take that same stance again, Zhao Wuji's brow twitched as he struck first.
"Fourth Soul Skill! Positioning Tracking!"
The fourth Soul Ring on Zhao Wuji's body flew out, shooting toward Lu Yuan.
As long as Lu Yuan was trapped by this Soul Ring, Zhao Wuji could instantly close the distance within a hundred meters using his jumping power.
In other words, it would no longer be Zhao Wuji, the Soul Saint, passively taking hits. Instead, this Little Monster would have to face the close-range assault of an assault-type Beast Martial Soul Soul Saint!
However, Zhao Wuji did not place all his hopes on his Fourth Soul Skill.
"Fifth Soul Skill! Gravity Crush!"
Zhao Wuji extended his blood-drenched hand and clenched it hard.
Lu Yuan's expression changed slightly. His body was uncontrollably pulled forward, and he planted his feet firmly against the ground, trying to stop himself from moving any farther.
But it was useless.
Two shallow furrows had already been forcibly plowed into the ground.
It was not that the Spatial Barrier was ineffective.
Rather, the effect of this Soul Skill was to pull the opponent before him through gravitational compression.
In other words, it was more of a support-type skill and did not possess particularly strong direct destructive power.
Thus, even though the Spatial Barrier around Lu Yuan had not shattered, he was still being pushed forward under the crushing force of gravity.
To be fair, Zhao Wuji's tactical arrangement was quite good.
Even Lu Yuan had to admit that.
He first used his Fourth Soul Skill, then used his Fifth Soul Skill to restrict Lu Yuan's movement and ensure that the Fourth Soul Skill successfully trapped him. After that, he would leap to Lu Yuan's side and activate his Third Soul Skill, Gravity Enhancement, to fight him at close range.
For one thing, it prevented Lu Yuan from unleashing that kind of highly destructive Soul Skill.
For another, it made full use of Zhao Wuji's close-combat strengths.
"Not a bad plan, and you executed it well."
But...
"Draw Ground as Prison!"
Lu Yuan sneered and swept his hand in a circle. An invisible cylindrical Spatial Barrier formed, trapping the incoming Soul Ring in midair.
Soul Rings had no physical form.
But Soul Skills did!
Zhao Wuji's Fourth Soul Skill was, at most, a Soul Skill wearing the outer shell of a Soul Ring to bluff people!
At its core, it was still a Soul Skill!
Then...
"Kamui!"
As he dispersed the Spatial Barrier around his body, Lu Yuan's figure briefly blurred.
Then...
He stood firmly in place!
He directly ignored Zhao Wuji's Fifth Soul Skill!
Dazzling Silver Light transformed into a Fist Sword, solid as substance, and Lu Yuan gripped it in his hand.
The Soul Power within his body seemed to boil as well.
Surging.
Roaring.
"Use your strength to prove it to this world!"
As though he had heard something, Lu Yuan instinctively raised his sword.
Dazzling Silver Light burst from his eyes.
One step, then another.
Neither hurried nor slow.
He walked toward Zhao Wuji with his sword in hand!
Zhao Wuji's expression turned grave. He had clearly seen that Lu Yuan had broken free of his control.
The question was, what was with this sense of dread?
He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
"Martial Soul Avatar!"
With that furious roar, the bear fur on Zhao Wuji's body grew wildly, and his body visibly expanded amid heavy, pounding heartbeats.
Roar!!!
A massive bear-like Soul Beast more than five meters tall appeared.
Its brown fur had turned into brilliant gold, swaying in the wind.
Powerful Soul Power fluctuations spread outward. Even the students taking the Second Trial some distance away felt their bodies grow heavy.
Tang San, who was undergoing the trial, wore a solemn expression.
Yet a trace of longing and envy flashed through his eyes.
Even from such a great distance, it could still make him feel weighed down.
Just how powerful did a Soul Master have to be to possess such strength?
But he believed in himself. One day, he too would possess such formidable power!
This was not arrogance.
It was because he came from the Tang Sect!
Tang San had always believed that.
"Hm?!"
In the Dean's Office, an uncontrollable cry of surprise rang out.
"This seems to be Old Zhao's Martial Soul Avatar."
Flender tossed aside the book he had only flipped through a few pages of, walked to the window, and pushed it open. He muttered to himself:
"Could something have gone wrong?"
Before his words had even faded, Flender had already vanished from the Dean's Office.
The Fourth Trial testing grounds.
Ma Hongjun, who had stayed far away, rubbed his eyes hard before viciously slapping himself.
Mm!
It hurt!
He hadn't seen wrong.
At that moment, every ounce of potential in his fat body erupted. Ma Hongjun charged straight at Lu Yuan, then performed a nimble sliding stop just before reaching him.
"Boss!!!"
"Awesome!!!"
The shriek was so piercing that it nearly cracked, and Lu Yuan almost lost his grip on the Spatial Blade in his hand.
"Shut up!"
Zhao Wuji tilted his head back and glared viciously at Ma Hongjun, who was kneeling on the ground.
If Little Fatty kept shouting here, it would no longer be a matter of whether Zhao Wuji's neck got scraped.
What if the monster before him got startled and his hand trembled?
Then Zhao Wuji would be checking in down below ahead of schedule!
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