A Strange Ability

Lei Baiyu's Martial Soul was also an Elemental Martial Soul—Lightning. A flash of purple light radiated from her, her eyes turned pale purple, and lightning crackled around her body.

Compared to them, Miao Chuyao's Martial Soul was pretty ordinary... Actually, it wasn't ordinary at all. Can you believe she brought out a massive cleaver? The petite girl hefted a blade as tall as she was. Its surface looked like molten lava, and a skull was carved into its hilt.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on that.

Seeing that both sides had introduced themselves and completed Martial Soul Possession, Pu Shibo shouted, "Begin!"

As soon as Pu Shibo spoke, Lei Baiyu transformed into a streak of lightning and shot toward Yue Hongchen. Miao Chuyao followed close behind, her blade scraping across the ground with a piercing screech.

At the same time, a bank of icy mist spread outward from Lin Muxue.

"First Soul Skill, Thunderous Charge."

The streak of lightning accelerated even further, reaching Yue Hongchen in the blink of an eye.

Lei Baiyu punched toward Yue Hongchen, forcing him to raise his left arm to block.

A dull thud rang out as Yue Hongchen stopped the punch. Lei Baiyu knew it wouldn't do much damage, but she had already accomplished her goal.

She flipped backward to put some distance between them, then leaped into the icy mist behind her.

The mist hadn't managed to engulf Yue Hongchen yet, but it was close.

More importantly—

Yue Hongchen stared at his left arm in surprise. "Her punch had a paralyzing effect. My body was actually paralyzed for a whole second."

A second might seem brief, but in battle, it was crucial.

Hidden in the icy mist, Lin Muxue seized her chance. The second Soul Ring behind her lit up.

"Second Soul Skill, Ice Prism Cage."

A hexagonal cage of ice crystals rose from beneath Yue Hongchen's feet, "protecting" him inside. At the same time, Yue Hongchen clearly felt the temperature around him plummeting, and his movements grew sluggish.

As the Ice Prism Cage rose, Miao Chuyao swung her Ghost-Head Blade at Yue Hongchen. The two Soul Rings behind her shimmered.

Flames roared to life along the blade. Miao Chuyao aimed for his arm rather than a vital spot.

"Decent character," Yue Hongchen murmured.

To Miao Chuyao's shock, the cage imprisoning Yue Hongchen inexplicably crumbled on its own. His pale blue eyes fixed on her.

"You paralyzed me, trapped me in a cage, then had her unleash a full-power attack. Not bad teamwork. Too bad you ran into me."

Yue Hongchen didn't use his sword. He merely extended his left hand. The instant before the Ghost-Head Blade could strike him, the flames on it vanished, and he caught the blade effortlessly between two fingers.

"Something's wrong."

Miao Chuyao was startled. She yanked her Martial Soul free and turned to run into the icy mist, which had now completely engulfed Yue Hongchen.

"Muxue, what's going on?" Miao Chuyao asked urgently once she entered the mist.

"I don't know either. My Soul Skill doesn't seem to work on him." Lin Muxue had no idea what was happening. The first Soul Ring behind her was glowing faintly, indicating that she was using her first Soul Skill.

Yet Yue Hongchen, standing in the icy mist, was completely unharmed.

"What a bizarre ability."

This strange phenomenon had to be caused by Yue Hongchen, who was nearby.

"Baiyu, try attacking him again."

Lei Baiyu nodded. Her first Soul Ring lit up once more, and the lightning swirling around her grew even more violent.

This time, she didn't approach Yue Hongchen. With Lin Muxue's permission, the icy mist wouldn't affect her, so she could clearly see where he was.

Faint flashes of lightning flickered in her eyes. She raised her right hand, then brought it down. A bolt of lightning struck Yue Hongchen precisely.

But not one of the three looked happy. The moment the lightning hit Yue Hongchen, it inexplicably vanished, just as before.

"What a strange ability." Lin Muxue lowered her head, unsure how they could win this fight.

By sensing the fluctuations in their Soul Power, Yue Hongchen had already located the three of them in the icy mist.

He faced them, raised his sword, and slashed down. A sword wave struck the arena, knocking all three of them off the stage.

This was Xiao Ka's idea for teaching them a lesson: shatter their confidence so they wouldn't dare face Yue Hongchen.

"This should keep them from pestering Yiren, right?" Xiao Ka said calmly from within the Sea of Consciousness.

Beside her, Yue Hongchen watched indulgently as she fooled around with his body, not the least bit angry.

That was right. The instant the match began, Xiao Ka had used the Indomitable Fate Crown to temporarily take control of Yue Hongchen's body.

Yue Hongchen hugged Xiao Ka from behind, his voice gentle. "All right, all right. How about I take you for grilled fish later?"

"Grilled fish?!" At the mention of it, Xiao Ka's eyes seemed to light up. "But didn't you say Huo Yuhao wasn't selling food during the examination?"

"I saw him competing in Zone Eight when I went to see Meng just now. I'll take you there to catch him later. His roommate has him make grilled fish every day. Making a couple extra won't be any trouble."

"Th-that's not very nice..." The kindhearted and guileless Xiao Ka felt uneasy at the thought of ambushing someone.

"There's nothing wrong with it. Huo Yuhao and I know each other. It's just a few grilled fish."

"Well, all right!" In the end, Xiao Ka's appetite won out.

By the time Yue Hongchen returned to his own body, Pu Shibo had already recorded the basics of the match. But there were two things he hadn't noted: Yue Hongchen's previously unseen ability and his Martial Soul. He'd have to ask whether it was a Twin Martial Soul.

As soon as Yue Hongchen stepped off the stage, Pu Shibo came over. "Student Yue, do you have Twin Martial Souls?"

He must have thought I had Twin Martial Souls because of the Indomitable Fate Crown.

Yue Hongchen decided to explain. "Teacher Pu, I don't have Twin Martial Souls. My Martial Soul just has two forms. You can think of the one I used before as its ordinary form, and the one I just used as its awakened form."

"So that strange ability came from your Martial Soul's Second Awakening? Would you be willing to tell me what it does?"

Second Awakening? What I said did sound like a Martial Soul Second Awakening. If that's what he thought, there was no need to explain further.

"I'm sorry, Teacher Pu."

Pu Shibo nodded. He'd expected Yue Hongchen to refuse. After making the final note in his folder, he said, "Congratulations on making it into the top sixteen. I hope to see you compete in the finals."

"Thank you, Teacher Pu."

After saying goodbye to Pu Shibo, Yue Hongchen planned to go to Zone Four to pick up Meng, then head to Zone Eight to catch Huo Yuhao.

He had just reached the entrance to Zone Three when he saw the three girls from earlier standing there.

"Hello, Student Yue." Lin Muxue, at the front, smiled and extended her right hand.

Yue Hongchen gave it a light shake, then quickly withdrew his hand. "Hello, Student Lin. Is there something you need?"

"We want to join Mingde Hall." A steely glint, like ice in her eyes, held not a hint of wavering. She was as firm and steady as a tempered steel nail.

"Why?" Yue Hongchen didn't agree just because of her talent.

In fact, it was precisely her talent that gave him pause. Why would someone with such exceptional talent join Mingde Hall for no reason?

Lin Muxue didn't try to hide their reason. "We want to leave the White Tiger Duke's Mansion."

"After our Martial Soul Awakening, our parents sold us to the White Tiger Duke's Mansion to work as servants. They didn't even have our Soul Power tested."