Li Qing vs. Yan (Part 2)

Yan took a deep breath, calming the wildly turbulent emotions Li Qing had provoked. He looked at Li Qing, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit!

"So tell me—what do you want if you win?"

"If I win..." Li Qing's eyes rolled around before a mischievous smile curled across his lips. "How about you become my lackey?"

"Your lackey? What kind of joke is that?!"

Yan immediately bristled.

He was a prominent figure at the academy. In the eyes of the other students, he was simply "awesome"—and it was no empty boasting.

Yet someone actually wanted him to be their lackey. How could that be acceptable?!

"Scared?"

"Fuck, if I'm scared of you, I'm your grandson! Fine, let's do it—but I'm changing the terms too. If you lose to me, not only will you kowtow to me, you'll also have to call me Dad out loud. Do you dare?!"

"What's there to be afraid of?"

And so, without even getting a chance to eat, Li Qing headed with Yan to the nearby Douluo Arena.

Spirit City's Douluo Arena was oval-shaped and stood a full one hundred seventy meters tall. Inside were five main arenas and forty-two secondary arenas. It could hold more than seventy thousand spectators, with another hundred and fifty private VIP boxes.

Matches in the Douluo Arena generally fell into several categories. In one, arena staff automatically matched Soul Masters against opponents of the same Soul Power Level tier.

In another, two parties specifically named each other for a contest or spar, and the arena staff merely had to arrange a venue.

Li Qing and Yan fell into the latter category.

To compete here, one first had to register for a match. After filling out a form containing one's name, age, birthplace, and martial soul, one could receive an initial Iron Fighting Soul Badge.

In fact, it was even possible to deliberately use a false name. There had once been a case where a Soul Master's enemy intentionally registered under his name, then surrendered every time he entered the arena. As a result, that Soul Master became famous throughout the city and was dubbed the "Three-Second Prince!"

The person responsible for registration was a young woman with short black hair. Her round little face made her look exceptionally cute.

When Li Qing handed her his completed form, the young woman was startled to see that he was only ten years old. At the same time, when she looked at Yan again, there was a little more disgust in her eyes.

How old was Yan?

Sixteen—six whole years older than Li Qing! Competing against Li Qing, wasn't that just bullying a child?

Registration required each person to pay ten Gold Soul Coins as a registration fee.

Yan had already registered at this Douluo Arena, so he did not need to register again. However, before the match, both of them needed to undergo a Soul Power test, much like the tests conducted at Spirit Hall.

Li Qing took note of Yan's personal information. Yan's martial soul was the Flame Lord, an exceptionally powerful martial soul, and his Soul Power Level had reached thirty-seven—six levels higher than Li Qing's.

No wonder Yan was acting so arrogantly. He actually had some confidence to back it up.

After the Soul Power test, the young woman led the two of them to the competition area and assigned them a secondary arena. Given the level of their match, they simply did not qualify for a main arena.

Once the venue had been arranged, the match did not begin immediately. No matter how minor a match was, it would still have one or two spectators. They could not get seats for the more popular matches, so they could only watch contests held in the secondary arenas.

Besides, Li Qing and Yan's match was actually rather appealing as well. Of course, the main reason was Yan.

Though Yan currently acted like an idiot, his strength was far from weak. He had once achieved extremely impressive results in the Douluo Arena.

Even his badge had become a Silver Fighting Soul Badge. One should not underestimate a Silver Fighting Soul—in Spirit City, there was no shortage of disciples from top sects, and their strength was exceptionally formidable.

It could be said that the average level of Soul Masters in Spirit City was much higher than that in other cities. In some places, even a Gold Fighting Soul might not necessarily be able to defeat a Silver Fighting Soul from Spirit City.

Half an hour passed, and nearly a quarter of the spectator seats had been filled. Their match would begin in another five minutes.

However, to Li Qing's surprise, before the match began, the round-faced young woman actually gave him a kind reminder.

"Little brother Li Qing."

The round-faced young woman was in her twenties, so it was perfectly normal for her to call Li Qing little brother.

"Yan isn't easy to deal with. If you can't hold on, make sure to surrender, understand? You're still young. Losing a match isn't embarrassing. With your talent, you'll definitely be able to defeat Yan someday!"

In response to the young woman's kind warning, Li Qing gave her a simple, honest grin.

At last, the match began!

Li Qing and Yan stood at opposite ends of the arena. Flames seemed to blaze from Yan's red eyes, and his entire body radiated soaring fighting spirit!

There was a referee in the arena. All referees in the Douluo Arena were specially appointed by Spirit Hall.

The referee glanced at the two of them and spoke expressionlessly.

"This match is only to determine victory or defeat, not life or death. Deadly attacks are forbidden! If one side declares surrender, the other side must cease attacking. Anyone who violates the rules will face punishment from Spirit Hall!"

For some reason, Li Qing felt that the referee was saying this to the aggressive-looking Yan, rather than to Li Qing, who wore an utterly harmless smile.

Although he understood that the referee was looking out for him, Li Qing still felt a hint of awkwardness and complicated emotion.

What if...

Yan was the one begging for mercy later?

After announcing the rules, the referee retreated to the edge of the arena.

"Begin!"

At the referee's command, Yan wasted no words and immediately released his martial soul. Scorching dark-red flames erupted from his body, while two yellow and one purple soul rings shone beneath his feet.

"Kid, get ready to die obediently!"

Immediately afterward, the first and second soul rings beneath his feet lit up, and under the effects of those two rings, his body began to swell violently.

The clothes on his upper body instantly tore apart. Yan's muscles bulged like granite. In just a few seconds, his body had expanded to over two and a half meters tall.

Li Qing stared at the tattered trousers on Yan's lower body. No... they probably could no longer be called trousers. Calling them rags might have been more appropriate.

Li Qing could not help but sigh. Yan really needed a pair of shorts—the strongest divine artifact in Marvel, Hulk shorts. Interested?

Li Qing took a deep breath, and intense battle intent erupted from his eyes. Ever since breaking through level thirty, he had yet to have a proper, sweat-drenched fight.

Then, a faint ripple of Soul Power emanated from Li Qing. A pitch-black, sinister scythe appeared in his hand, while three soul rings—one yellow and two purple—slowly emerged.

The moment the soul rings appeared, an uproar broke out in the stands. Shock filled every face.

"What! That soul ring configuration!"

"Fuck, what am I seeing?!"

"One yellow and two purple—this is a goddamn monster, isn't it?!"

"Who is this guy? Why had I never seen or heard of him in Spirit City before?"

"Are Martial Soul Hall Academy students really this strong now?"

"This ticket was fucking worth it!"

Of course, the ones shocked were not just the spectators, but also the dark-red Yan, the referee nearby, and the round-faced girl outside the arena.

Looking at the confident, high-spirited smile on Li Qing's face, a blush could not help appearing on the girl's cheeks...

"Isn't it just that your soul ring configuration is a little better? But there's a full six levels of Soul Power between us. You can't possibly beat me!" Yan said viciously.

Yet the spectators in the arena sensed a trace of fear from Yan. Those vicious words of his sounded as though he was trying to bolster his own courage.

"Hmph." Li Qing snorted coldly. "Then give it a try."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Qing temporarily put away his scythe. He suddenly wanted to test his unarmed combat ability.

A hundred flowers blooming was better than a single branch standing out alone, wasn't it?

Seeing Li Qing put away his martial soul, Yan froze for a moment, and the audience was equally bewildered. This guy...

What was he doing?

Your move was kind of baffling!

Yan's complexion...

Well, it was still incomparably red.

"Are you looking down on me by not using your martial soul?"

"Mm... no, I'm not looking down on you. I just simply feel that I don't need to use my martial soul yet."

Audience: "..."

Yan stared at Li Qing, the fury in his eyes nearly bursting forth.

"Very well, then die! Hah!"

With a loud shout, Yan explosively pushed off with both feet and charged straight at Li Qing. The tremendous force that erupted beneath his feet instantly cracked the granite floor of the Douluo Arena!

Yan turned into a streak of red light, rapidly closing the distance between them.

Li Qing did not panic.

"Unknowable Eye, activate!"

"Sharingan, activate!"

As the two different ocular abilities activated, Li Qing's aura immediately became incomparably ethereal, as though he had merged with the Douluo Arena itself, impossible to lock onto with one's senses!

Meanwhile, the red streak that Yan had become gradually slowed in Li Qing's eyes.

Unknowable Eye—his aura could not be perceived!

Sharingan—enhanced dynamic vision!

Li Qing stepped back with his right foot, finding the best position to exert force, then fiercely threw out his right fist.

Their fists collided with a resounding metallic boom. Blazing flames burned across Yan's body, while Li Qing condensed a layer of Spirit Shield Skin over his hand.

Then Li Qing clenched his left hand into a fist, the howling wind of his punch racing toward Yan's face.

Yan naturally swung out his other hand as well. Their fists collided, producing another explosive boom.

Yan was incredibly strong. The ground beneath Li Qing's right foot, his point of support, had already cracked with several fissures.

But Yan's expression changed as well.

After seeing Li Qing's martial soul and examining his build, Yan had assumed Li Qing was an agility-type Battle Soul Master. He had never expected Li Qing to possess such immense strength. Even compared to himself, a power-attack-type Soul Elder, Li Qing was not inferior in the slightest!

Li Qing's steps shifted, his figure changing with ghostly unpredictability. If Tang San had been here, he would certainly have recognized this footwork. It was none other than one of the Tang Sect's secret techniques—Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!

Back at Nuo Lan Academy, however, Li Qing had secretly copied it with his Sharingan.

And now, after activating the Unknowable Eye and then using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Li Qing's figure became even more impossible to lock onto. It could be said that the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track he displayed now was even more formidable than Tang San's.

Seeing Li Qing's ghostlike footwork, Yan's expression changed again, his solemnity deepening.

The spectators erupted into an uproar, because...

Ling Qing's footwork was simply too dazzling.

They could not distinguish the afterimages on the field from Ling Qing's real body at all.

While using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Ling Qing continuously threw heavy punches at Yan.

Yet Ling Qing felt as though he were striking diamonds. Although his scythe attacks were extremely powerful, the force of his fists was also immense. A fist wrapped in Spirit Shield Skin could even shatter a massive boulder with ease!

But now, this Yan had not suffered even the slightest injury!

Yan's defense was truly far too strong!

Extreme heat, powerful offense, powerful defense—this was Yan's martial soul, the Flame Lord!

After using merely his first two soul skills, his body had become this tough. It was clear just how formidable Yan's Flame Lord martial soul was!

To be honest, Yan's Flame Lord did not merely possess the fire attribute, but both fire and earth attributes!

Hailed as one of the next generation's Golden Generation, Yan was naturally no ordinary person!

"Hmph, you think those soft, weak fists of yours can defeat me? You're dreaming!" Yan said with a smug grin.

"Pah!"

Ling Qing spat, rolling his neck slightly as his bones cracked.

Once before, he had encountered someone with incredibly powerful full-body defense. That person had even been a Soul Ancestor. That's right, the captain of the Brute Bear Mercenary Group. Ling Qing had long since forgotten his name.

But he still remembered that the Brute Bear Mercenary Group captain's defense had been extremely strong. Although his soul ring configuration was not as impressive as Yan's, his Soul Power Level had surpassed Yan's.

How did one defeat a soul master with extremely strong defense? That was...

"Ghost Axe Yin Leg!"

"Sever Descendants Foot!"

"Sneaky Grab Egg Hand!"

A series of ultimate moves burst continuously from Ling Qing's mouth. At the same time, his attack angles and positions were incomparably tricky, all aimed directly at Yan's crotch.

The spectators all inexplicably felt a chill below...

Damn it, this guy was just too... shameless!

But in Ling Qing's eyes, there was no such thing as shamelessness. Whether the cat was black or white, any cat that caught mice was a good cat.

Any skill that could help him win the match was a good skill.

Although Yan's defense was astonishingly powerful, no man would dare let that place endure such violent attacks. What if one careless mistake ruined the rest of his life's happiness?