Crown Prince Xue Qinghe (Please Bookmark!!!)

Su Wen's opponent was a Bare-Chested Man with a crisscrossed scar across his chest.

"You're Scholar Who Can Fight?"

Scarface Man looked Su Wen over, then threw back his head and laughed. "With those skinny arms and legs of yours, you really do look like a scholar."

His expression suddenly darkened as he said viciously, "But you probably don't understand what fighting truly means."

Su Wen paid no attention to his opponent's words.

Perhaps the man simply wanted to mock him, or perhaps he was playing a psychological game, trying to increase Su Wen's pressure.

Either way, it did not matter.

"Both sides, release your martial souls!"

Scarface Man's martial soul was a pair of Giant Axes. One white and one yellow soul ring rose from beneath his feet.

His Soul Power Level was not low either, reaching level twenty-eight.

Yet Su Wen's martial soul and soul rings plunged the entire venue into silence.

One yellow, one purple.

Purple.

Scarface Man stared blankly, wondering if the matchmaking system had made a mistake and accidentally placed him in a Soul Elder match.

But that wasn't right. I may be strong, but I'm still only a Soul Grandmaster. I never applied to challenge someone above my rank, so why was I matched against a Soul Elder?

He carefully counted Su Wen's soul rings again, and his mind nearly exploded.

There were only two rings!

His second ring was a Thousand Year Soul Ring.

Even the referee was stunned, failing to announce the start of the match immediately after both sides released their martial souls.

However, he quickly recovered and promptly gave the command.

"Match begin!"

No matter what, this battle still had to proceed.

After a moment of stunned silence, the spectators outside the ring were also stirred into excitement by the referee's command.

"A Thousand-Year Second Soul Ring!"

"My god, wasn't it said that you could only absorb a Thousand Year Soul Ring for your third soul ring?"

"How is that possible? My second ring is still white, while he can already absorb a Thousand Year Soul Ring. How are the rest of us supposed to live?"

Some people began to doubt whether their identities as soul masters were somehow different from everyone else's.

The battle began.

The referee's voice also snapped Scarface Man out of his daze.

There was now a trace of caution in his gaze toward Su Wen, though it remained limited. Su Wen's Book Martial Soul, which radiated gorgeous light, greatly diminished the intimidating effect of his Thousand-Year Second Soul Ring.

Wielding his pair of Giant Axes, Scarface Man charged forward.

"First Soul Skill, Sweep All Directions!"

Purple light flashed as two masses of flame wrapped around Su Wen's fists, emanating an explosive aura.

Although Su Wen's Flame Fist could not reach its full potential without Ye Lingling continuously healing him, after half a month of battle training, he had developed a certain level of resistance. Now, he could use compressed explosive flames to execute Flame Fist.

Boom!

Su Wen stomped hard and shot forward as well.

"Contestant Scholar Who Can Fight actually chose to clash head-on!" the commentator cried excitedly.

"My god, his soul skill is actually a power attack soul skill with the Fire Attribute!"

"As expected of a Thousand Year Soul Ring!"

The commentator's voice echoed across the Arena Platform.

"Second Soul Skill, Immense Strength!"

Seeing Su Wen charge at him with flames coiling around his fists, Scarface Man did not let down his guard. Before the two sides collided, he activated his second soul skill.

His arms instantly seemed to fill with immense power, and he swung the Giant Axe in his right hand directly at Su Wen.

Su Wen threw a punch.

His right fist shot out, and before it came into contact with the Giant Axe, the flames on its surface exploded.

Boom!

Scarface Man had intended to twist his body and follow up with another slash from the Giant Axe in his left hand after the collision, but the explosion disrupted his plan and blasted him backward.

Su Wen, however, continued charging forward.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Every punch he threw set off an explosion of flames.

The commentator and the audience were completely fired up by this style of combat.

The Thousand-Year Second Soul Ring had already been a major attraction, and Su Wen's Rage-based fighting style was even more exhilarating.

At that moment, the spectators had subconsciously forgotten that Su Wen's martial soul was a book.

Scarface Man did not last long before suffering defeat.

"Scholar Who Can Fight wins!"

Only when the referee announced the result did the audience notice Su Wen's ID once more.

They had mocked that ID before the match, and after the match, they mocked it even more relentlessly.

"This is a scholar?"

"Is that fake?"

"Just because you're holding a book doesn't make you a scholar!"

"I want to report this! Someone here is impersonating a scholar! I suspect he obtained that identity through illegal means and violence!"

Su Wen's Thousand-Year Second Soul Ring was destined to cause a stir.

Today's battle had effectively exposed his Thousand-Year Second Soul Ring to the public.

As for what came next, that would depend on how the various major factions responded.

"Still, I did join Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and outsiders see me as Fire Demon Xiao Zhan's direct successor."

Xiao Zhan was also a Soul Saint. Furthermore, Su Wen was currently only an academy student, while the academy itself was backed by Heaven Dou. It presumably would not cause too severe an upheaval.

Talent was important, but in the end, the Soul Master World still revered strength above all else. Potential was only potential; only by turning it into actual strength could one earn matching attention.

Even if they wanted to learn how Su Wen had acquired a Thousand-Year Second Soul Ring, they would certainly have to follow the proper procedures.

Aside from lone wolves like Dugu Bo, who acted however he pleased and had few attachments, the major factions still observed the rules.

Heaven Dou.

The imperial palace.

Xue Ye looked at the memorial in his hand, which described Su Wen's battle at the Great Fighting Soul Arena.

Naturally, Xue Ye knew of Su Wen's existence.

"I had originally planned to hide him away and let him make a stunning debut at the Soul Master Competition seven years from now, but I never expected his rate of improvement to be so fast." Xue Ye recalled Xiao Zhan's assessment, as relayed by Meng Shenji. "Before the Soul Master Competition, Su Wen will certainly break through to Soul Elder. By then, he will undoubtedly possess Soul Ancestor-level combat strength."

Soul Ancestor-level combat strength was considered above average even in the Soul Master Competition.

Perhaps Su Wen would be competing in this tournament already.

And then, the one after next...

"Su Wen must remain at the academy."

He would display his brilliance at the tournament two years from now, and over the following five years, he would also place tremendous pressure on Spirit Hall.

"The Golden Generation?"

Heh heh.

By the next Soul Master Competition after your Golden Generation, Spirit Hall might lose its title as Soul Master Competition champion for the first time.

Were they the Golden Generation, or merely the final glory?

Therefore, what the Heaven Dou Empire needed to ensure now was that Su Wen was not poached by Spirit Hall.

"Perfect. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will likely make inquiries this time as well. I can take this opportunity to have the Crown Prince recruit Su Wen." Xue Ye thought.

With the Crown Prince's abilities, winning Su Wen over should not be difficult.

Crown Prince's Residence.

Crown Prince Xue Qinghe remained calm and composed as he looked over the intelligence report in his hand.

"It seems I should meet this Su Wen."

"Young Master, new intelligence has arrived." A figure suddenly appeared and handed the report to Xue Qinghe.

Xue Qinghe opened the report and read it, remaining silent for a long while.

"That woman... what does she mean?"