Fancy Tricks, One Punch Knockout

Chen Ming already had a strong body and had displayed exceptionally high defensive power, so speed had to be his weakness. Moreover, judging from how he had defended just now, the defense of his face and lower body was clearly inferior to that of his torso. Otherwise, he would not have needed to block the attacks himself.

As a handsome guy, Xiao Hongchen followed the principle of not hitting people in the face. So, he decided to target Chen Ming's lower-body weakness to claim victory.

Whether he directly crippled Chen Ming's ability to move or caused him to touch the icy ground, either outcome would lead him to victory.

The metal staff struck Chen Ming's knee, producing a sound like clashing metal. The tremendous recoil transmitted through the staff made Xiao Hongchen wonder whether he had just smashed it against a solid metal pillar.

His hands lost their grip, and the staff was jolted straight out of them.

Chen Ming, his eyes bloodshot, barely forced them open. He was also somewhat irritated, so he no longer held back as he had before.

Acting on instinct, Chen Ming grabbed the staff flying through the air and swung it heavily at Xiao Hongchen. Xiao Hongchen abruptly curled up, his three legs moving rapidly, and finally managed to shift his body back a short distance.

Chen Ming's attack smashed into the ground beside Xiao Hongchen. One end of the metal staff plunged directly into the floor, sending countless shards of stone and ice spraying indiscriminately in every direction.

While those little fragments did nothing to Chen Ming beyond adding some dust to his body, they left Xiao Hongchen bloodied and battered, in a miserable state.

Seeing Chen Ming walk toward him with clenched fists, Xiao Hongchen, frightened by that monstrous strength, instinctively wanted to surrender.

But when he thought of how his grandfather might settle the score with him later if he lost, Xiao Hongchen still gritted his teeth and swung his little fist into Chen Ming's chest.

No miracle occurred. When Xiao Hongchen's Soul Power-enhanced punch hit Chen Ming's chest, Chen Ming did not feel the slightest pain. Xiao Hongchen's hand, however, was not so fortunate.

Under the recoil, Xiao Hongchen's right wrist immediately swelled up. A bone-cracking pain came from his palm, and his entire arm went numb.

Looking up at Chen Ming, then at the fist clenched into a ball larger than a sandbag, Xiao Hongchen revealed an awkward smile.

"Hey... can we make peace?"

"You've got to be joking." If Xiao Hongchen had not thrown that Flashbang, Chen Ming would naturally not have cared. After all, it was only a sparring match.

But with his eyes still red and swollen, Chen Ming clearly had no intention of letting it slide so easily.

"Take this punch, and I'll let you go."

Seeing the fist heading for his abdomen, Xiao Hongchen desperately concentrated every last trace of Gold Attribute Soul Power in his body around his chest and stomach, trying to reduce the damage as much as possible.

But it was meaningless...

The instant Chen Ming's fist struck him, Xiao Hongchen was sent flying like a rag doll. Foam spilled from his mouth as he passed out, then he fell straight into the palm of Chen Li, who had appeared on the Arena like a ghost.

"Two broken ribs, some internal organ damage, internal bleeding... Mm, all minor injuries."

On Earth, even a man in the prime of his life would need at least two months to more or less recover from such injuries. After all, broken bones and strained tendons took a hundred days to heal.

But this was the Douluo World. As long as a Healing Soul Master was skilled enough, even someone with only a single breath left could be saved.

For injuries this minor, a Healing Soul Master could use a soul skill, and after another two days, he would be completely fine.

Since Xiao Hongchen had first embarrassed himself in front of others and had also been somewhat reckless during the fight, Jing Hongchen was more than happy to watch Xiao Hongchen get beaten up.

After all, six-year-olds were hated by people, seven-year-olds were hated by dogs. Xiao Hongchen was outstanding even among them. His level of mischief often gave Jing Hongchen a headache.

Jing Hongchen normally did not beat him only because he doted on him too much. Now that there was someone of similar background and age, with Soul Power at the same level, to beat Xiao Hongchen up, that was not a bad thing.

Maybe it would knock some sense into him.

Watching Chen Ming cover his eyes and slowly use Soul Power to ease the discomfort, Jing Hongchen silently nodded to himself.

During the battle just now, Jing Hongchen had not seen much Combat Experience in Chen Ming. Even his combat reflexes were inferior to Xiao Hongchen's. But that cliff-like gap in raw attributes was the purest form of strength.

After thinking for a moment, Jing Hongchen involuntarily looked at Meng Hongchen, who was trembling beside him.

Feeling her grandfather's gaze land on her, Meng Hongchen felt her heart turn ice-cold.

Looking at the shattered floor tiles and Xiao Hongchen, who had passed out with broken bones, Meng Hongchen felt that, as a Control System Soul Master, she absolutely should not get a taste of those fists.

Fortunately, Jing Hongchen was more tolerant of Meng Hongchen than Xiao Hongchen. After all, Meng Hongchen was his granddaughter, and compared to Xiao Hongchen, who possessed an extreme talent for courting disaster, Meng Hongchen was only a little more mischievous than ordinary children. By comparison, she was still acceptable.

Though the thought of having Chen Ming scare her a little did flash through his mind, Jing Hongchen looked at Meng Hongchen's smile, which was even uglier than crying, and ultimately decided against it.

Jing Hongchen led the way ahead. Chen Li carried the unconscious Xiao Hongchen like a chick, while Meng Hongchen and Chen Ming followed behind them.

Seeing that the upper half of Chen Ming's clothes had been blown apart by the Soul Tool, yet not even a scratch marked his body, Meng Hongchen gradually developed a peculiar curiosity.

If a Soul Grandmaster had used his face to take Xiao Hongchen's attack head-on, Meng Hongchen would only have marveled that he was indeed a Soul Grandmaster. But for someone her own age to possess such defense...

It practically challenged everything Meng Hongchen had learned about Soul Masters.

"Um, hello. My name is Meng Hongchen. I'm six years old, and I'm that guy's younger sister. I'm a Level 13 Control System Soul Master, and my Martial Soul is the Jade Clear Ice Toad."

"Hello, Meng Hongchen. I'm Chen Ming, six years old. My Martial Soul is the Vajra Dragon Elephant, and I'm a Level 15 Assault System Battle Soul Master. Please guide me in the future." Seeing Meng Hongchen timidly poke at his waist, Chen Ming rubbed his eyes and smiled.

"How did you do it? I mean, directly taking the Soul Tool Ray with your body like that. Was it some special soul skill?"

"No, that's not right. You later used a soul skill that strengthened your defense and strength. So, did you use a Soul Bone skill at the beginning?"

Meng Hongchen glanced at her grandfather's back and saw that he was busy talking to that big senior, with no time to notice her. So she quietly asked Chen Ming beside her.

Asking about Soul Bones was far more private in the world of Soul Masters than asking about soul skills. Although Meng Hongchen could not restrain her curiosity, she did not want to get beaten up because of it.

"It wasn't a soul skill. Those attacks simply couldn't break through my body's defense."

Chen Ming bent his arm into a bodybuilding pose, the muscles on his arm bulging in huge blocks.

"You're lying. We're both Soul Masters, so how could anyone have that kind of defensive power..." Meng Hongchen poked Chen Ming's muscles and softly refuted him.

"My Martial Soul is rather special, and I also possess Heavenly Godly Strength. So my defensive power is a little exaggerated."

"I'm taking Teacher Jing Hongchen as my master, so we'll probably see each other often in the future. By then, you should understand what level my Martial Soul and strength are at."