A Formidable Opponent!

"Hey, cough, cough..." Li Qing coughed several times, a trace of bright red blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. "Shouldn't you put those away now?"

Du Ruyi had never expected Li Qing to endure the attacks of the rapidly spinning Ruyi Jadeite Sabers around her and then launch a fatal strike against her.

In the eyes of most Soul Masters, Li Qing was more of an agility-type Soul Master. After all, he had never displayed exceptionally formidable defensive power in his battles with others.

He had always relied on his elusive spatial displacement skills and his ghostlike, unpredictable footwork to evade attacks.

That was why Du Ruyi had never expected this to happen.

"Mhm!"

The moment Li Qing spoke, Du Ruyi came to her senses and hurriedly recalled the Ruyi Jadeite Sabers. However, because some of the blades had already partially pierced into Li Qing's body, pulling them back inflicted secondary damage on him.

Bright red blood splashed down like rain, showering the Douluo Arena floor and forming blooming, bewitching flowers of blood.

"Junior Li Qing, how could you be so reckless?" Du Ruyi withdrew her martial soul and looked at Li Qing with concern, not even noticing what she had just called him.

But...

Li Qing heard it, and his eyes immediately widened.

"Wait, you're my senior?"

"Uh..." Du Ruyi's expression stiffened. "No, you heard wrong."

Du Ruyi casually waved her hand, her eyes instinctively drifting elsewhere as she did not dare meet Li Qing's gaze.

Li Qing instantly understood everything. So the academy had arranged opponents for him too—and they were upperclassmen from the academy?

What the hell!

Li Qing felt as if he had suffered ten thousand points of critical damage.

All at once, the pain in his body no longer seemed so unbearable, because compared to the pain in his heart, it was nothing at all.

"Alright, Senior Ruyi, you don't need to explain. I'm not an idiot." Li Qing gave a bitter smile.

"Uh... Junior Li Qing, you need to know that your senior wasn't doing this on purpose. Someone forced us upperclassmen to fight you in the Douluo Arena. If we lose, we'll be punished!"

As she said this, a bitter look surfaced on Du Ruyi's face.

That was right. Their department head had ordered them to let talented youngsters like Li Qing properly experience the taste of defeat.

For this purpose, their department head had even colluded with the management of the Spirit City Douluo Arena and specially prepared new Douluo badges for each of them.

Of course, Du Ruyi remembered the most important thing their department head had told them...

If they lost, they would have to undergo a month of devilish training. That training was something Du Ruyi never wanted to recall. Once had been more than enough.

But now that Du Ruyi had lost, she had no choice but to obediently undergo the devilish training.

Wait!

Suddenly, Du Ruyi thought of something.

What if...

They all lost to Junior Li Qing too? Then perhaps... hmm... they could ask for some leniency?

Maybe they would not have to undergo training at all?

Du Ruyi's mindset immediately changed. Originally, she had hoped the others could "avenge" her, but now she wanted Li Qing to defeat every last one of them!

"Junior Li Qing!" Du Ruyi looked at Li Qing eagerly. "You have to defeat all the others too! Good luck!"

Li Qing: "..."

What were you saying?

You wanted him to take down all your teammates?

Listen to yourself. Was that even something a human would say?

That was so damn humane!

"Don't worry, Senior. I'll make sure they're punished alongside you." Li Qing still wore his trademark harmless smile.

"Mhm, Junior Li Qing, hurry and find one of your classmates to treat you. I'm truly sorry about your injuries." Seeing the wounds on her junior brother's body, where the Ruyi Jadeite Sabers had sliced open flesh and left it curled outward, Du Ruyi's heart ached.

A moment later, Li Qing dragged his battered body into an empty corner and summoned the Scythe of Judgment.

"Third Soul Skill, Meditation!"

Purple light flashed from his third soul ring. In the next instant, the wounds on Li Qing's body began healing at a visible rate. Several dozen seconds later, all his injuries had closed up, without even a scar remaining!

"Phew~"

He exhaled a breath of stale air, and his brows relaxed as he felt his body return to normal.

Fortunately, he had used the Scythe of Judgment to block some of the Ruyi Jadeite Sabers just now, preventing their attacks from striking vital areas of his body.

And while his physical strength was not as formidable as that of a power-attack-type Soul Master, other agility-type Soul Masters of the same rank could not compare with him.

Those injuries just now had cost Li Qing nearly a third of his Soul Power. The value for that cost was truly excellent.

"Alright, let's see who my next opponent is!"

Li Qing rolled his neck, battle intent surging through his entire body. From Du Ruyi's words, he had learned where these people came from and what kind of opponents he would be facing.

These Soul Masters were not like those unaffiliated Soul Masters outside. The opponents he would face had undergone years of training at Spirit Hall Academy. How could unaffiliated Soul Masters compare to them?

After spending an hour recovering his Soul Power, Li Qing welcomed his second opponent.

"Feng Mingye, Level 42 power-attack-type Battle Soul Master. Martial soul: Wind Staff."

"Wind Staff, one that controls the wind?" Li Qing rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Wind was invisible and formless, slipping through every gap.

It seemed specially designed to counter his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!

Before long, the match began.

This time, Li Qing's opponent was a lean, handsome man dressed in black. His arms were folded across his chest, and his entire body radiated a cold aura.

"Li Qing, is it? Let me tell you, I won't make the same mistake as Du Ruyi!" Just as cold as his demeanor, Feng Mingye's voice was icy.

"Please enlighten me, Senior!" Li Qing said, assuming a fighting stance.

"The match... begins!"

At the referee's command, Li Qing shot forward like an arrow.

Li Qing's idea was simple. Who cared if his opponent was a Soul Ancestor? Once he put the Scythe of Judgment against the man's throat, what could he do?

"Hmph!"

Feng Mingye snorted coldly and fiercely tapped the ground with his staff. His first soul ring lit up beneath his feet.

"Wind Blade!"

Several invisible Wind Blades immediately shot straight toward Li Qing, but he could not see them at all!

Wind was shapeless and invisible. How could it possibly be seen?

Li Qing's Sharingan was completely useless at this moment. All he could rely on was his hearing and senses.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~"

The urgent howl of wind echoed in his ears, while the air driven by the wind rushed toward his face.

Li Qing slipped up, and a Wind Blade grazed directly across his arm. Feng Mingye's Wind Blades were truly sharp, easily cutting through Li Qing's skin. A red bloody mark immediately appeared, and droplets of blood splattered onto the ground.

Slash, slash, slash~

Feng Mingye's Wind Blades were simply too dense and too numerous. Under Feng Mingye's control, their angles were especially tricky. Unable to catch the direction of the attacks, Li Qing could no longer evade them, and more and more bloody marks appeared on his body.

"This can't continue!"

If this kept up, Li Qing would be finished by the Wind Blades before he even touched his opponent. How could that be acceptable?

"Second Soul Skill, Instant Hell Shadowless Slash!"

The second soul skill activated. In an instant, Li Qing moved from the concentrated barrage of Wind Blades to Feng Mingye's back. The Scythe of Judgment in his hand swung fiercely, but...

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~

Amid the rushing wind, Li Qing's attack actually missed entirely!

Feng Mingye had used the Wind Staff to control the wind, forming a wall of wind around himself!

The invisible gale carried immense force and directly knocked Li Qing's attack away.

Feng Mingye turned, bringing down the Wind Staff heavily in his hand. It collided with the handle of the Scythe of Judgment with a crisp ring.

That was not all. Feng Mingye continued attacking, his Wind Staff striking again and again with a series of sharp clangs.

Feng Mingye's close-combat skills were also exceptionally formidable!

He did not merely rely on soul skills!

Li Qing understood that he had truly encountered a tough opponent this time.

"You want a head-on clash? Then come on!"

A glint flashed through Li Qing's eyes as he roared inwardly.

Just as the two clashed, a sudden gust sounded beside Li Qing's ear. Feng Mingye had actually diverted a fraction of his attention to condense a Wind Blade and launch a sneak attack!

However, because it was controlled while distracted, its direction was not very precise. Li Qing simply twisted aside and dodged it.

Clang, clang, clang, clang~

The Wind Staff and the Scythe of Judgment continued colliding.

"Thud~"

A dull impact rang out as Feng Mingye's Wind Staff smashed heavily onto the back of Li Qing's hand. Instantly, a burning pain shot straight into his brain.

Li Qing had to admit that Feng Mingye's combat skills were far superior to his own. Thinking about it carefully, Li Qing had never received any real combat training. Normally, he relied on the Sharingan to enhance his vision, see his opponent's movements clearly, and counterattack accordingly.

But at this moment, he could not see the Wind Blades. Although he could clearly see the direction of the Wind Staff's attacks, Feng Mingye's combat skills were far better than his, leaving him unable to judge his opponent's next move.

This was called taking care of one thing while neglecting another!

"What should I do?"

Li Qing asked himself inwardly. A moment later, he made a new decision.

"Replication Eye, activate!"

The Sharingan and Replication Eye could not be activated at the same time. Li Qing decided to temporarily deactivate the Sharingan and activate the Replication Eye to learn some of Feng Mingye's combat techniques.

Although this would cause him to suffer more of Feng Mingye's attacks for the time being, he did not care, because he...

Could heal himself!

Thud, thud, thud~

Sure enough, once the Sharingan was deactivated, the Wind Staff rained down on his body in a dense barrage.

Feng Mingye could not help feeling puzzled. Why had Li Qing's strength suddenly declined?

But as time passed bit by bit, the situation suddenly changed after only one minute!

"Hehe, you've hit enough. Now it's my turn!"

Li Qing grinned, his gaze as vicious as a wolf's.

"Third Soul Skill, Meditation!"

The third soul skill activated, and a wave of warm Soul Power rippled across Li Qing's body. Under Feng Mingye's astonished gaze, the wounds cut by the Wind Blades healed at a visible speed!

"This is..."

Not only Feng Mingye, but all the upperclassmen watching their Douluo battle were stunned!

So Li Qing's third soul skill was this—a self-healing ability!

Du Ruyi also finally understood why Li Qing had chosen such a reckless, injury-ignoring style of fighting, trading blood for blood. It turned out...

The bastard could restore health!

"Sharingan, activate!"

The Replication Eye deactivated, and the Sharingan activated once more.

Though it had only been a short minute,

After six two-person battles, there was not much of the morning left. Li Qing, Yan, and the other two left the Douluo Arena, deciding to eat and rest for a while first. After all, the many battles that morning had consumed quite a bit of their energy and Soul Power.

Three hours passed in the blink of an eye. After the four finished eating and rested briefly, they returned to the Spirit City Douluo Arena.

Unlike the morning, they went straight to register for the two-person matches. Before long, they met their first opponents of the afternoon.

However, just after Li Qing and Xu Yu summoned their martial souls, an absurdly amusing scene unfolded.

The opposing team members looked at Li Qing and Xu Yu's martial souls.

"A Scythe and a golden staff. That's right, it's them!"

After six two-person battles, there was not much of the morning left. Li Qing, Yan, and the other two left the Douluo Arena, deciding to eat and rest for a while first. After all, the many battles that morning had consumed quite a bit of their energy and Soul Power.

Three hours passed in the blink of an eye. After the four finished eating and rested briefly, they returned to the Spirit City Douluo Arena.

Unlike the morning, they went straight to register for the two-person matches. Before long, they met their first opponents of the afternoon.

However, just after Li Qing and Xu Yu summoned their martial souls, an absurdly amusing scene unfolded.

The opposing team members looked at Li Qing and Xu Yu's martial souls.

"A Scythe and a golden staff. That's right, it's them!"

After six two-person battles, there was not much of the morning left. Li Qing, Yan, and the other two left the Douluo Arena, deciding to eat and rest for a while first. After all, the many battles that morning had consumed quite a bit of their energy and Soul Power.

"Teacher, four against two is too unfair. I request that Nana's group and mine fight against Li Qing's group!"

Xie Yue immediately made his request to Yu Shaofei.

"No!"

Yu Shaofei rejected Xie Yue's request without hesitation.

Yu Shaofei's refusal was simply too direct and decisive. Xie Yue knew that the decision could not be changed, so he could only clench his fists tightly and punch the air in frustration.

At the same time, Li Qing's expression also turned somewhat grave.

One group facing two groups was unheard of among the first class students before this. Although they