Strange Ability

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

Compared to them, Miao Chuyao's Martial Soul was quite ordinary... no, it wasn't! A giant cleaver, can you believe it? A petite girl like her actually summoned a giant cleaver as tall as herself. The blade looked like molten lava, and a skull was carved into the hilt.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on these details.

Seeing that both sides had introduced themselves and completed their Martial Soul Avatars, Pu Shibo roared, "Begin!"

As soon as Pu Shibo finished speaking, Lei Baiyu transformed into a bolt of lightning and shot towards Yue Hongchen. Miao Chuyao followed closely behind her, the sound of her blade scraping the ground creating a jarring noise.

Simultaneously, a mist of ice spread outwards from Lin Muxue.

"First Soul Skill, Thunderous Stomp."

The speed of the lightning increased again, and in the blink of an eye, it arrived in front of Yue Hongchen.

Lei Baiyu threw a punch at Yue Hongchen, who had no choice but to raise his left arm to block.

After a dull thud, Yue Hongchen took the punch. Lei Baiyu knew that this punch wouldn't have much of an effect on him, but her objective had been achieved.

She performed a backflip, creating distance between herself and Yue Hongchen, and leaped into the ice mist behind her.

Although the ice mist hadn't enveloped Yue Hongchen yet, it was close.

More importantly...

Yue Hongchen looked at his left arm in surprise. "That punch had a paralyzing effect. My physical strength was actually paralyzed for one second."

One second might seem short, but it was crucial in combat.

Lin Muxue, hiding in the ice mist, seized the opportunity. The second Soul Ring behind her lit up.

"Second Soul Skill, Ice Shard Cage."

A hexagonal ice cage emerged from the ground beneath Yue Hongchen, "protecting" him. At the same time, Yue Hongchen clearly felt the surrounding temperature plummeting, and his movements were affected.

As the Ice Shard Cage extended, Miao Chuyao raised her Ghost-Head Saber and slashed at Yue Hongchen. The two Soul Rings behind her flashed.

The Ghost-Head Saber ignited with blazing flames. Miao Chuyao didn't aim for a vital spot but rather his arm.

"Good character," Yue Hongchen murmured softly.

To Miao Chuyao's shock, the cage trapping Yue Hongchen inexplicably disintegrated. His light blue eyes were fixed on her.

"You paralyzed me and then trapped me with a cage, intending to deliver a full-power blow. A good combination, but you ran into me."

Yue Hongchen didn't use his sword. He simply extended his left hand. Just as the Ghost-Head Saber was about to hit him, the flames on the blade vanished, and he caught the saber with two fingers with ease.

"Something's wrong."

Miao Chuyao was alarmed. She forcefully pulled her Martial Soul back and turned to run into the ice mist, which had now completely enveloped Yue Hongchen.

"Sister Muxue, what's going on?" Miao Chuyao asked urgently after entering the ice mist.

"I don't know either. My Soul Skill seems to be useless against him." Lin Muxue had no idea what was happening. The first Soul Ring behind her was emitting a faint glow, indicating she was using her First Soul Skill.

However, Yue Hongchen, within the ice mist, was completely unaffected.

"What a bizarre ability."

This strange phenomenon must be because of Yue Hongchen, who was not far away.

"Baiyu, try attacking him again."

Lei Baiyu nodded. Her first Soul Ring lit up again, and the lightning surrounding her became even more ferocious.

This time, she didn't approach Yue Hongchen. With Lin Muxue's permission, the ice mist didn't affect her, and she could clearly see Yue Hongchen's position.

A faint flash of lightning flickered in her eyes. She raised her right hand and swung down, a bolt of lightning accurately hitting Yue Hongchen nearby.

But there wasn't a trace of happiness on the faces of the three. The moment the lightning struck Yue Hongchen, just like before, it inexplicably vanished.

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

Yue Hongchen, sensing the fluctuations of Soul Power, had already located their positions within the ice mist.

He faced the three of them, raised his sword, and slashed down. A sword energy bombarded the stage, knocking all three off.

This was Xiaoka's way of teaching them a lesson, crushing their confidence and making them too ashamed to face Yue Hongchen.

"This should prevent them from pestering Yiren, right?" Xiaoka said faintly from within the Sea of Consciousness.

Beside her, Yue Hongchen looked at her dotingly as she messed around with his body, showing no signs of anger.

That's right. The moment the match began, Xiaoka had temporarily taken control of Yue Hongchen's body through the Indomitable Fate Crown.

Yue Hongchen hugged Xiaoka from behind, his voice gentle. "Alright, alright. How about I take you to eat grilled fish later?"

"Grilled fish?!" Hearing "grilled fish," Xiaoka's eyes seemed to light up. "But didn't you say Huo Yuhao wasn't open for business during his assessment?"

"When I sent Meng off earlier, I saw him participating in a competition in District 8. I'll take you to his place later. His roommate eats his grilled fish every day; it's just a matter of grilling a couple more."

"This... isn't that a bit inappropriate..." Hearing that they were going to "block" someone, the kind-hearted and simple Xiaoka felt uneasy.

"There's nothing inappropriate about it. What's our relationship? It's just a few grilled fish."

"Fine then!" In the end, Xiaoka was defeated by her craving.

When he returned to his own body, Pu Shibo had already roughly recorded the match details. However, there was one thing: he hadn't yet recorded a certain ability Yue Hongchen had never used before, nor his Martial Soul. He would only know if it was Twin Martial Souls after asking.

As soon as Yue Hongchen stepped off the stage, Pu Shibo walked over. "Classmate Yue, are you a Twin Martial Soul?"

He supposed it was because of the Indomitable Fate Crown that Pu Shibo thought he was a Twin Martial Soul.

Thinking about it, Yue Hongchen decided to explain. "Teacher Pu, I'm not a Twin Martial Soul. It's just that my Martial Soul has two forms. You can think of it as me previously using the ordinary form, and just now I used the awakened form."

"So that strange ability of yours is a result of your Martial Soul's secondary awakening? Can you tell me what that ability is?"

Secondary awakening? His explanation did indeed sound like a secondary awakening of a Martial Soul. Since Pu Shibo thought that way, there was nothing else for him to explain.

"Sorry, Teacher Pu."

Pu Shibo nodded. He had already anticipated Yue Hongchen's refusal. After making the final entry in his folder, he said, "Congratulations on successfully entering the top sixteen. I hope to see you on the finals stage."

"Thank you, Teacher Pu."

After bidding farewell to Pu Shibo, Yue Hongchen prepared to go to District Four to pick up Meng, and then head to District Eight to lie in wait.

As he reached the entrance of District Three, he saw the three girls from earlier standing there.

"Hello, Classmate Yue." Lin Muxue, the one in front, smiled and extended her right hand to Yue Hongchen.

Yue Hongchen lightly shook her hand before quickly withdrawing his own. "Hello, Classmate Lin. Is there something you need?"

"We want to join Mingde Hall." The light in her eyes was like tempered ice, leaving no room for hesitation. It was like steel nails tempered in fire, heavy and steady.

"Why?" Yue Hongchen didn't immediately agree, despite their talent.

The reason was precisely their talent. How could someone with such strong talent join Mingde Hall for no reason?

Lin Muxue had no intention of hiding anything and directly stated the reason. "We want to leave the White Tiger Duke's Mansion."

"After our Martial Souls awakened, our parents sold us to the White Tiger Duke's Mansion as servants. They didn't even test our Soul Power for us."