An Unavoidable Battle

You had to know that Soul Power Level forty-eight, in the Advanced Soul Master Division, was absolutely top-student territory.

The more outstanding the student, the more carefully the academy nurtured them, and the more resources they received compared to students in the same grade.

Thus, the gap between top students and ordinary students only grew wider.

Take Li Qing, for example. Wasn't he the same?

Hadn't Lin Qianxin promised that he could cultivate without time restrictions in the Mimicry Cultivation environment, the Myriad Soldiers Extreme Domain?

You had to know that keeping the Myriad Soldiers Extreme Domain running burned gold coins every second. In other words, pay to win!

And grow stronger!

Half an hour later, Li Qing took the field. This time, the opponent he planned to "strategically avoid" was a girl—a beautiful girl blessed with an impressive D-cup figure. Her name was...

Uh...

What was it again?

At the time, all he had noticed was the number forty-eight. He apparently hadn't looked at anything else, not even his opponent's name. That was rather awkward.

The two stood at opposite ends of the Douluo Arena, facing each other. Suddenly, the girl standing opposite Li Qing smiled sweetly and spoke in a crisp voice.

Her name was Cai Yingyi.

"Junior Li Qing, don't surrender this time, okay? Your senior sister will be very gentle."

Li Qing smiled. "Don't worry, Senior Sister. You won't be punished."

Li Qing thought that, like Du Ruyi and the others, Cai Yingyi would receive some harsh punishment if she lost to him.

"Punished?"

"Both sides, prepare!"

Just as Cai Yingyi was feeling puzzled, the referee announced for the match to begin preparations.

The two of them released their Martial Souls. Seeing that Li Qing had summoned his Martial Soul as well, the pretty senior sister assumed that her junior would have a proper match with her. Thus, she stopped wondering what the "punishment" Li Qing had mentioned was.

"Good!" The referee glanced at the two of them. "The match beg—"

"Wait!"

Li Qing suddenly interrupted the referee.

"I forfeit!"

Cai Yingyi: "Huh?"

"Wait, Junior Li Qing!" Cai Yingyi looked at him in confusion. "Didn't you just say you were going to have a Douluo match with me?"

"Huh? I didn't say that, did I, Senior Sister?" Li Qing scratched the back of his head and looked at Cai Yingyi with an innocent expression.

"What I meant was, Senior Sister, you're so beautiful. How could I possibly bring myself to hurt you? Besides, you're so strong that I'm definitely no match for you, right? It would be better to save my Soul Power for the people after you!"

Cai Yingyi thought, That is an incredibly compelling reason. I can't even refute it! Especially the parts about me being beautiful and powerful.

"All right, Senior Sister. See you!" Li Qing waved, turned, and left directly, leaving Cai Yingyi to watch his retreating back with mixed feelings.

After exiting through the side door of the Douluo Arena, Li Qing once again went to the registration desk for one-on-one matches to reserve his next battle.

"I refuse to believe they'll give me someone above level forty-five again." Li Qing stared at the announcement screen, his eyes narrowing.

A moment later, a name appeared on the announcement screen, and his eyes lit up.

"Level forty-three. Hey! This one works!"

Time passed. An hour later, Li Qing emerged from one of the smaller Douluo Arenas with a dazzling smile on his face.

A dazzling smile?

You guessed right—he had won. He had won this Douluo match!

"Two more matches. Now..."

He raised his head and looked at the clock hanging on the wall. "I'll come back for the rest this afternoon."

With two matches remaining, Li Qing did not plan to use Spirit Power Milk Bottles to replenish his Soul Power. Diligence and thrift were virtues.

At noon, while Li Qing happily enjoyed his fragrant lunch, someone else was deeply troubled.

That person was none other than Han Mingye, head of Spirit Hall's Advanced Soul Master Division.

Naturally, he had a reason to be worried.

And the culprit behind his worry was Li Qing, who had defeated eight students from their division.

Although Li Qing had "lost" to Kong Weiyang and Cai Yingyi, both Douluo matches had ended before they even began.

If you hadn't even fought, how could you know who was stronger and who was weaker?

It was like never having competed against someone, yet always carrying the thought in your head that you could knock them down with one punch.

Practice was the sole criterion for testing truth.

Because Li Qing had forfeited outright and the battles had never taken place, a question had been left in the hearts of the spectators.

What question?

"Was Li Qing really no match for Kong Weiyang and Cai Yingyi?"

Considering the strength Li Qing had displayed when he consecutively defeated seven people in cross-level challenges, as well as his formidable record, these spectators were not one hundred percent convinced that Kong Weiyang and Cai Yingyi could defeat Li Qing.

It was a silent doubt.

And there was another point. If Li Qing truly completed ten victorious cross-level Douluo matches, then the Advanced Soul Master Division's reputation would be utterly destroyed. It would be like losing one's first time—something that could never be restored, a permanent scar.

"No, I need to apply to Dean Lin for a few more people." Han Mingye paced back and forth before finally making a decision.

A few minutes later, in the dean's office.

"No. Can't you see the situation clearly? Even if you bring all of them back, it will be useless. Li Qing won't have Douluo matches with them." Lin Qianxin tapped her fingers on the desk, her delicate brows tightly furrowed.

"Right, how did I forget that?" Han Mingye slapped his thigh, realizing the key issue.

"Then, Dean, what should we do?"

After thinking fruitlessly, Han Mingye decided to throw the problem to Lin Qianxin. After all, she had been the one to decide on giving Li Qing, Yan, and the other students an "education in defeat." If she didn't solve it, who would?

"This problem is easy to solve." A faint smile appeared on Lin Qianxin's lips.

"How?"

"Minister Han, have the Douluo Arena staff arrange Kong Weiyang and Cai Yingyi as his opponents. If he surrenders, replace them with the next one in the following match. If he keeps surrendering, keep replacing them!"

"Wait, Dean!" Han Mingye immediately grew anxious upon hearing this solution. "Wouldn't that make it seem as though our Advanced Soul Master Division has no other students to offer? And this is really... well!"

"Really what? Shameless?" Lin Qianxin smiled disdainfully. "Don't forget that in the previous seven Douluo matches, the losing side was always students from your division. They were defeated by a ten-year-old brat. I seriously question your management abilities as division head!"

Han Mingye's body stiffened, and a bitter smile appeared on his face.

To be honest, he suddenly understood how Du Ruyi and the other seven had felt when he reprimanded them last night.

This truly was like a mute eating bitter herbs—suffering in silence!

Could he explode in anger and point a finger at Lin Qianxin's nose to question her?

Who was Lin Qianxin?

The dean of Spirit Hall Academy, and she had another identity as well.

The wife of one of Spirit Hall's worshippers...

No, the daughter.

She was that worshipper's daughter.

Spirit Hall's worshippers were all Titled Douluo-level powerhouses, immensely powerful.

Moreover, this Titled Douluo doted tremendously on his daughter and would not permit anyone to harm even a single hair on her head.

It was said that a Soul Douluo from one of the lower four sects had not known the truth. When he first saw Lin Qianxin, he had actually flirted with her.

The result...

The result was that the Soul Douluo never saw the sun the next day.

That sect did not even utter a word, nor did it dare to.

After that incident, people learned that behind this beautiful dean stood an exceptionally powerful Titled Douluo who loved his daughter dearly.

Thus, no Soul Master ever dared to provoke this icy beauty again.

Han Mingye let out a deep sigh. "I understand, Dean. I will do that."

He knew that he was about to lose all face this time. He might as well not have come!

Han Mingye left the room. He now had to go to Spirit City's Great Soul Arena to make the arrangements.

He walked along the gray-white streets of the city beneath a drizzling gray rain. The sun had been bright that morning, but now the rain fell steadily.

A few hours later, the light drizzle gradually intensified. By the time Li Qing headed to the Douluo Arena for his final two matches, rain was pouring from the sky, and bean-sized drops struck his face with icy coldness.

"Magnetism Shield, activate!"

A ruby ring on Li Qing's index finger flashed, and an invisible shield spread out, enveloping him.

Something wondrous happened. Whenever raindrops came within ten centimeters of Li Qing's body, they were bounced away by an unseen force.

Not a single drop of rain touched him.

In fact, the Core Formation inside this Soul Tool was also something he had obtained after completing those incomplete diagrams. However, the current Magnetism Shield was extremely weak. Any attack with even a little force could shatter it. For the time being, it could only serve as an umbrella.

"Hmm, it should be time to put the production of the other components on the agenda as well."

The "components" Li Qing had in mind referred to the components corresponding to the other formation diagrams. But back in Nuoding City, he simply could not find suitable metals, so he had never made them.

"Perfect. After the final assessment, there will be several months of vacation. I can take the chance to go to Gengxin City and buy some metals."

Gengxin City: Geng represented yang metal, while Xin represented silver metal. The two characters together represented metal, which was why Gengxin City was known as the City of Metal, the capital of metals.

As Li Qing walked toward Spirit City's Great Soul Arena, he was undoubtedly the most eye-catching guy on the street!

Everyone else held umbrellas, but only he...

Had no umbrella, yet not a single raindrop landed on him.

Before long, after arriving at Spirit City's Douluo Arena, Li Qing headed straight to the reservation desk for one-on-one matches.

However, five minutes later...

"What?"

Li Qing's face became a black-man question mark.

He could hardly believe his eyes.

"What is this? Kong Weiyang, level forty-seven? Why is it him again?"

Outside the Douluo Arena, the torrential rain continued to fall. Dense dark clouds covered the sky, completely blocking out the sun's radiance.

The gloomy sky was as dark as Li Qing's face at that moment.

"Fuck!"

Li Qing could not help swearing.

This academy was fucking ruthless!

He knew perfectly well that even if he continued surrendering, Kong Weiyang and that girl would keep appearing on his match list until...

He accepted the battle!

Li Qing smiled bitterly, that bitter smile...

Represented that he had already decided to face this Douluo match.

Wasn't there a saying like this?

Since you couldn't change it, accept it calmly.

The situation was already crystal clear. A battle between him and Kong Weiyang was unavoidable.

"In that case, I'll face it properly!" Li Qing cracked his finger joints, and an intense fighting spirit suddenly erupted from his body.

He also wanted to see just how strong the top students of Spirit Hall Academy's Advanced Soul Master Division truly were!

Li Qing looked toward the announcement screen and examined Kong Weiyang's personal information.

"Kong Weiyang, level forty-seven control-type Soul Ancestor. Martial Soul: Shadow Demon."

"Shadow Demon?"

Li Qing's brows furrowed slightly.

Master had once taught him about Spirit Beasts like Shadow Demons.

Master had said, "Shadow Demons are insidious and vicious. They dwell in dark places year-round and are active at night. They are social creatures. The strangest thing about Shadow Demons is that their food... is shadows!"

"Why do I say that? Every Soul Master or Spirit Beast killed by a Shadow Demon has no wounds on their body whatsoever, and their shadow vanishes without exception!"

At that time, a term had immediately popped into Li Qing's mind.

"Shadow Corps!"

This ability was practically identical to an ability from an anime he had watched in his past life.

"In that case... a dark environment would be more suitable..." Li Qing rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

Half an hour later.

The Douluo match between Li Qing and Kong Weiyang began.

"Junior Li Qing, don't surrender again this time, all right? Don't worry, I won't hurt you." Kong Weiyang smiled. Not a trace of malice radiated from him, and he spoke like an older student caring for a junior.

Kong Weiyang's bearing bore none of the traits of a Shadow Demon.

Li Qing returned the smile. "Don't worry, Senior Brother. But don't hold back because you're worried about hurting me. Otherwise, you might lose badly."

"Hahaha! Since you say so, then I'll let my junior properly experience his senior brother's strength!"

"All right, both sides prepare!"

Seeing that this grand "alumni reunion" had finally ended, the referee announced the start preparations.

The moment his words fell, both of them released their Martial Souls at the same time.

Although Kong Weiyang released his Shadow Demon Martial Soul, unlike other beast Martial Souls, no faint beastly silhouette appeared behind him.

Instead, a mass of shadows swirled around his body. Black aura filled his entire body, and within that black aura, Li Qing saw a pair of red eyes flash past.

Kong Weiyang wore a smile, but compared to the eerie black aura surrounding him, it appeared so abrupt, so out of place.

"Junior Li Qing, are you ready..."