Was it going to be a crushing defeat, or a glorious loss despite defeat?
That would determine Hu Liena's subsequent assessment and positioning of Chen Li.
In the center of the training ground, Chen Li and Yan stood twenty paces apart.
Sizzle, crackle!
Chen Li was the first to release his Martial Soul.
Blue-white arcs of electricity burst wildly from every pore of his body like spirit snakes suddenly awakened. The air was instantly filled with the scorched scent of ozone and static that prickled against the skin.
Behind him, a lightning phantom with no fixed form, composed purely of the origin of thunder, erupted into existence. Lightning leaped and flickered around it, like a thunderstorm cloud compressed to its limit and ready to explode at any moment.
At the edge of that lightning's core, a bright yellow Hundred Year Soul Ring pulsed slowly—or at least, that was what everyone saw.
Hu Liena's gaze lingered on the Yellow Soul Ring for a moment, and the curve of her lips deepened slightly.
She knew that beneath that yellow was purple.
Yan narrowed his eyes. He could sense the sharp aura that surged toward him when Chen Li released his Martial Soul. It was not the pressure an ordinary Lightning Martial Soul should possess. But he gave it no further thought as the Flame Lord Martial Soul awakened explosively within him!
Boom!
A searing heat wave exploded outward from Yan!
Behind him, a three-meter-tall phantom of an ancient beast Martial Soul rose from the ground, its entire body formed from intertwined magma and rock!
The Martial Soul resembled an ancient colossal beast. Its head was that of a male lion, but its mane was flowing lava. Its torso was covered in cracked dark-red rock armor, with dazzling firelight coursing through every fissure.
Where its four feet touched the ground, the air warped. Even the specially made heat-resistant tiles of the training ground glowed faintly red.
This was the top-tier ancient fire-and-earth dual-element Martial Soul that Spirit Hall's Golden Generation took pride in: the Flame Lord!
It was merely a phantom and had yet to materialize, but it already radiated the tyrannical presence of something that had emerged from primordial antiquity, something that looked down upon all creation. As its name implied, one who dared call itself the lord of the domain of fire had abilities that had long surpassed the scope of mere fire.
Two bright Yellow Soul Rings appeared between the Flame Lord phantom and Yan's body, circling around him. Their yellow glow set off his fiery red hair and the faint flame patterns covering his body, adding a touch of sinister wildness to the already overbearing youth.
Feeling the surging power within him, Yan looked down at Chen Li with scrutiny. "A six-level gap, and the suppression of one extra Soul Ring, brat." He grinned, his smile blatantly provocative. "How do you plan to take that?"
Xie Yue's brow twitched slightly as his gaze swept back and forth between the two. He said nothing, but his fingertips had unconsciously begun tapping lightly against his arm. Yan's aura was too aggressive. This hardly seemed like a spar anymore.
Hu Liena was still leaning against the stone pillar, but some of the laziness had quietly left her posture. More of her attention was fixed on Chen Li's face.
As for Chen Li, faced with the scorching pressure bearing down on him and Yan's verbal provocation, he merely adjusted his stance slightly and lowered his center of gravity.
He raised his right hand, palm facing Yan.
At the edge of his palm, an extremely faint, nearly imperceptible deep-purple spark of lightning quietly gathered beneath the perfect concealment of the Heart of Illusory Thunder.
He did not answer Yan's question.
Because he did not need to.
Twenty paces of distance.
A six-level difference in Soul Power.
The numerical suppression of one extra Soul Ring.
And then?
Chen Li's eyes were calm as a deep pool. Only in their depths flickered a faint gleam belonging to a predator, one even he had yet to fully recognize.
The possessor of a thousand-year first Soul Ring had never been meant to be prey.
Buzz!
Yan did not use a soul skill right away.
What he wanted was a crushing victory, not an evenly matched contest. Blasting this six-year-old brat away with a soul skill would be letting him off too easily.
He wanted Chen Li to be battered and humiliated beneath his fists and feet, his face bruised and swollen, so Hu Liena could see clearly who was truly worthy of attention!
Yan clenched one fist. Soul Power surged through his body like magma, all of it pouring into his right arm.
He used no soul skill at all, relying solely on raw strength and Soul Power enhancement. Yet the bulging curve of his arm muscles was already enough to reduce a massive thousand-jin boulder to dust!
He lunged forward and smashed his fist viciously toward Chen Li's face!
The force of his punch tore through the air, carrying scorching sparks with it!
Chen Li's eyes sharpened. Lightning suddenly flashed in his hand. Rather than retreat, he charged forward to meet the attack!
Sizzle!
A lightning arc flashed beneath his feet as the extreme speed granted by the Rumble-Rumble Fruit erupted at that instant.
Chen Li became a blue-white afterimage. Not only did he evade the front of Yan's fist, but he also slipped into Yan's opening in the very same instant!
Lightning condensed around his fist!
He used no soul skill, only the most fundamental lightning shaping of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. Blue-white lightning completely enveloped his fist, turning it into a thunderous punch that vibrated at high frequency and spat crackling arcs!
Boom!
The two fists collided head-on without any flourish!
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!
Crackle!
Boom!
Lightning and fire fought savagely where their fists met! Blue-white arcs tore madly at the crimson flames erupting from Yan's arm. The air was ionized and scorched at once, releasing a shriek that made teeth ache!
A visible shockwave spread outward from the two of them. The specially made pressure-resistant tiles beneath their feet actually cracked into fine spiderweb patterns!
They were deadlocked!
Yan's pupils suddenly contracted! The fire power granted by the Flame Lord on his fist was battling fiercely against that violent thunderous force. His Soul Power was clearly higher, he was older, and his physique was stronger—yet at this moment, he could not force that small fist back even an inch!
Chen Li's gaze was calm as water, in stark contrast to the violent thunder raging around his fist. After three years of self-tempering under the crushing force of lightning, his body had long surpassed that of his peers;
And now, after gaining his thousand-year first Soul Ring, that high-quality thousand-year Soul Ring had been washing over his muscles, bones, and flesh with lightning power day and night. His strength, his speed, and the toughness of his body were no longer what they had been when he was at level ten!
"This..." Xie Yue stood at the edge of the field, a clear flash of surprise passing through his crimson eyes.
He had thought this would be a one-sided suppression. Yan had six more levels of Soul Power, one more Soul Ring, and five more years of age. From any angle, Chen Li should have had no chance of winning. Xie Yue had even prepared to intervene at any time and stop the spar.
But now, Chen Li had forcibly withstood Yan's rage-filled punch using only his physical body and Martial Soul foundation!
"A clash of physical strength and Martial Soul origin alone, and he can actually fight Yan to a draw..." Xie Yue murmured softly, his tone complicated.
"Maybe we'll get to see something different, Brother." Hu Liena covered her lips lightly with one hand, concealing the curve of her smile.
Yet those alluring fox-like eyes lingered on Chen Li for longer, and deep within them flashed an extremely faint glimmer that even she herself had not fully noticed.
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