Defeating Zhao Wuji

"Kid, aren't you going to summon your martial soul before attacking?" Zhao Wuji stood still.

Seeing that Zhao Wuji had no intention of making the first move, Lang Lei dropped his defensive stance and charged forward without summoning his martial soul.

Just as Lang Lei's fist was about to hit Zhao Wuji, Zhao Wuji's hairs suddenly stood on end, and a sense of danger surged straight into his heart.

In his haste, Zhao Wuji summoned his martial soul. His bear paw collided with the fist, and one figure was immediately sent flying.

But what nearly made everyone's jaws drop was that the one sent flying was Zhao Wuji, known as the Immovable Wisdom King.

"Senior Zhao, I forgot to mention that I was born with divine strength. The higher my level, the more exaggerated the increase in my strength becomes." Lang Lei offered a casual explanation, though there was no way he would reveal his true secret.

"Cough, cough, you brat..." Zhao Wuji climbed out of a pile of broken lumber. He had happened to crash into a small wooden shed when he was sent flying.

Although he had suffered a small loss, Zhao Wuji showed no embarrassment or anger. His eyes were instead filled with shock.

"With that kind of strength, I'd believe you if you said you were a Soul Emperor." Zhao Wuji rolled his shoulders. It had been a long time since he had fought with all his might, and this was a perfect chance to loosen up.

"Come on, kid. I'm getting serious now." Zhao Wuji summoned his martial soul again. "First Soul Skill, Immovable Wisdom King Body!"

Lang Lei's eyes lit up. Rather than activating his Soul Ring Manipulation talent, he went straight in for a head-on clash with Zhao Wuji.

Fists struck flesh, each blow carrying the force of a tiger's roar. For a moment, Lang Lei felt as though even his blood was flowing faster.

When Zhao Wuji missed a strike and had yet to launch his next move, Lang Lei turned his fist palm-down and curled it inward. As he punched, both feet shifted forward half a step. His left hook struck Zhao Wuji, the fist angled inward and downward, while the sudden twist of his waist drove his elbow toward Zhao Wuji's face once more.

Zhao Wuji shouted that this was dishonorable—how could he aim for someone's face?!

After hastily ducking down, Zhao Wuji suddenly rammed forward, targeting Lang Lei's completely unguarded stomach.

With his center of gravity pitched forward, Lang Lei had no time to react and was sent flying.

"Kid, you're still too green. You've got the physical ability, but you don't know how to use it. You can't beat me." Zhao Wuji rolled his shoulder and immediately attacked. "Second Soul Skill, Great Vajra Palm!"

"Senior Zhao's lesson is well taken..." Lang Lei neither dodged nor evaded. After using his left arm to block Zhao Wuji's bear paw, he formed his other hand into a palm and slammed it toward Zhao Wuji's chest. "That's why I need to gain experience!"

"Bang!"

After a dull thud, Zhao Wuji's other hand trembled as it blocked Lang Lei's palm.

"Kid... you've got some strength..."

"Hehe, thank you for the praise, Senior." Lang Lei strained against Zhao Wuji and slowly rose to his feet.

"Sixth Soul Skill, Great Vajra Roar!"

"This is bad! Get farther away and cover your ears!" The moment Ma Hongjun saw Zhao Wuji's opening stance, he immediately warned Tang San, Ning Rongrong, and the others. Covering his own ears, he quickly retreated into the distance.

As the five fled, a bear's roar rang out, leaving them all dazed.

When they came back to their senses, cold sweat broke out across their bodies.

"That guy was so close. He'll be all right, won't he?" Ning Rongrong asked curiously, though it was obviously a pointless question.

"He probably won't be... Wait a second... Lang Lei's little sister is over there too!!" Ma Hongjun's eyes widened.

"Don't worry. Those strange beings protecting that little girl are no ordinary creatures. She'll be fine," Tang San judged.

"Is that so?" Ma Hongjun sighed in relief. He had no desire for the academy to make an enemy of such a freak. "But... is that Lang Lei really this monstrous? He's actually fighting Teacher Zhao, a Soul Sage, evenly—and that monster hasn't even summoned his martial soul!"

Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong also fell silent. They had watched the entire battle as well.

"Twin Martial Souls..." Tang San suddenly thought of a possibility.

Many things about this person were incredibly unbelievable, but if they were explained by the talent of Twin Martial Souls, everything fell into place.

"Huh? Twin Martial Souls!"

None of them were fools, so naturally they knew how rare Twin Martial Souls were on Douluo Continent.

"That's right. His true Soul Power Level should be higher than level 36—possibly much higher. At the very least, he's a Soul Ancestor." Tang San analyzed confidently. "According to my teacher's theory, the first soul ring cannot exceed 423 years. But if he possesses Twin Martial Souls and is currently adding soul rings to his Second Martial Soul, then the answer becomes obvious..."

"His other martial soul can already absorb ten-thousand-year soul rings!" Xiao Wu added with a pale face. Watching Lang Lei fight Zhao Wuji, who had summoned his martial soul, to a standstill without summoning his own, his level could not possibly be lower than Zhao Wuji's. In other words, he was most likely a Soul Douluo!

If that was the case, then she was in danger!

"Xiao Wu, don't worry. With me here, no one can hurt you." Seeing Xiao Wu's pale face, Tang San could not help but comfort her.

"I understand, Brother." Xiao Wu's complexion improved slightly as she reassured herself. What if he's only a Soul Sage too?

"But how do we explain his age?" Ning Rongrong raised the question. "That teacher checked his Bone Age earlier, and he was only seven..."

A seven-year-old at least at the Soul Ancestor level? Even if he had cultivated since the womb, he could never have reached such a level, much less when one could only begin cultivating after awakening a martial soul at six.

"That's easy to explain too." Tang San explained confidently, "I cultivate a hand-based soul skill. Though my mastery isn't deep, it can still prevent that examiner outside from determining my Bone Age. So it's not impossible that he has some soul skill capable of concealing or disguising his Bone Age."

Tang San refused to believe there could be someone on the continent more talented than him. Even with such talent, that person made him somewhat wary.

No matter how they speculated, Lang Lei and Zhao Wuji's battle was nearing its end.

As expected, Griseo was completely unharmed. She stood outside the arena, loudly cheering Lang Lei on.

"Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul Avatar!" Zhao Wuji had fully grasped Lang Lei's strength. No longer holding back, he directly unleashed the greatest trump card of a Soul Sage.

With one punch, Lang Lei was blasted back several meters.

"Kid, are you still not going to summon your martial soul?!"

"Not yet." Lang Lei shook his slightly numb arm.

His physical prowess was only at the normal peak level of a Soul Douluo, while Zhao Wuji, after activating the Martial Soul Avatar—the ultimate weapon of a soul master—had greatly narrowed the gap between their physical abilities.

"Fine, then watch yourself!" Zhao Wuji roared. "Fifth Soul Skill, Gravity Compression!"

"Second Soul Skill, Great Vajra Palm!"

Lang Lei felt a force pressing in on him, involuntarily pushing him toward Zhao Wuji's attack. But instead of resisting it, Lang Lei went with the flow and charged forward with a punch, pouring all his Soul Power into his fist.

"Boom—"

Dust and smoke surged into the air. When they settled, the victor had already been decided.

"You win..."

Looking at the fist stopped before him, Zhao Wuji swallowed and sighed as he admitted defeat.

At that moment, his bear paw had struck Lang Lei squarely in the chest, but it was obvious that it had not inflicted any decisive damage.

As for that punch from his opponent, if it had landed, Zhao Wuji figured he would have passed out on the spot.

It was my first time making the membership rankings, so I was pretty excited. Even if it was only a sub-ranking, and I was still outside the top hundred...

An extra chapter!