I'll See How You Block!!!

In the arena.

Yan's expression had completely darkened.

He retracted his fist, his tiger's mouth throbbing numbly.

That lightning power wasn't like ordinary lightning Martial Souls that merely attached to the body's surface. It possessed a certain penetrative quality. Even though he had used his flame power to negate most of it, residual arcs of electricity still seeped into the meridians of his arm, leaving half of it in a state of mild paralysis.

This made him extremely, extremely, extremely displeased.

What made him feel even more uneasy were the gazes from the sidelines.

He didn't look, but he knew Hu Liena's gaze was currently fixed on Chen Li.

The girl he had pursued for two years, who had never shown him any special emotion, was looking at another man with the gaze he had longed for.

No, he was still just a brat!

But this realization made the anger in Yan's heart burn even hotter.

"Damn it!"

Using the recoil from Chen Li's punch, he leaped backward, creating distance. At the same time, the first Soul Ring on his body suddenly lit up!

A golden light illuminated his gloomy face, making him look exceptionally ferocious.

"First Soul Skill, Hell Lava Charge!"

BOOM!

A pillar of lava, as thick as an arm and with a bizarre dark red color, erupted from Yan's palm!

It wasn't ordinary fire, but molten lava, condensed to its extreme. It was viscous and scorching liquid rock, with a temperature far exceeding that of normal flames, and it possessed strong impact force and an adhering burning characteristic!

The lava pillar tore through the air, carrying destructive heat, and blasted directly towards Chen Li!

Yan stared intently at Chen Li, but his peripheral vision couldn't help but glance at Hu Liena on the sidelines.

He saw that Hu Liena's gaze was still on Chen Li, and she hadn't even spared him a glance.

In that instant, his jealousy and sense of defeat completely intertwined into a frantic torrent.

"Ahhhh!!!"

He roared and madly poured more Soul Power into the lava pillar! The lava pillar, originally as thick as an arm, suddenly expanded to the thickness of a thigh, and the scorching firelight illuminated the entire training ground red!

He wanted to completely overwhelm Chen Li with this attack!

Chen Li narrowed his eyes.

He did not retreat.

He extended his right hand, fingers spread, palm facing the oncoming scorching torrent.

Lightning, condense!

It wasn't a Soul Skill, just the most fundamental control of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

But at this moment, the purple Thousand-year Soul Ring within him resonated violently, as if sensing the host's fighting spirit, and poured out even more majestic and purer lightning power!

"Two Hundred Million Volts, Raijin!!!"

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!

Dazzling blue-white lightning violently compressed, expanded, and took shape in Chen Li's palm! A giant lightning bird, with a wingspan exceeding two meters, entirely composed of highly condensed lightning, its feathers spitting countless small electric snakes, formed with a roar before him!

The lightning bird let out a sky-piercing cry – though it was merely a sharp whistle generated by the high-frequency oscillation of the current – then flapped its wings and charged headlong towards the Hell Lava Charge!

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!!!

Lightning and lava collided head-on in the center of the training ground!

In an instant, the entire training ground seemed to have been plunged into a purgatory where storms and volcanoes intertwined!

Blue-white lightning and dark red lava furiously bit, annihilated, and exploded! Shockwaves spread outwards in waves, lifting and shattering the specially made pressure-resistant floor tiles one by one! The air was filled with the acrid smell of ozone and the pungent odor of sulfur!

Xie Yue raised his hand, and a pale silver Soul Power barrier protected himself and Hu Liena. His crimson eyes stared intently at the two figures in the arena, his brow furrowed.

"This level of destructive power..." His voice was low, with a hint of disbelief. "Chen Li's attack, which isn't a Soul Skill, actually has this level of power?"

He had seen Chen Li's combat records and had also heard Elder Yue Guan mention that this kid's Martial Soul was extremely pure.

But hearing about it was one thing, and seeing it with his own eyes was another. That lightning bird, without Soul Ring augmentation or Soul Skill characteristics, was merely a shaped form of lightning and compressed energy, yet it had managed to block Yan's full-power attack, which was augmented by his first Soul Skill!

"Otherwise, why would he be qualified to join our core group?" Hu Liena's voice sounded nonchalant. She had already found a clean stone stool and sat down leisurely, resting her chin on her hand.

But her gaze never left the figure in the arena, surrounded by swirling lightning.

"However..." she changed the subject, her tone still relaxed, but a sharp glint flickered in her eyes. "Yan hasn't gotten serious yet. This level is still far from his true strength."

"Indeed." Xie Yue nodded, crossing his arms. "Yan's trump cards have never been this kind of long-range confrontation. How far Chen Li can push him is the real highlight of this sparring match."

In the arena.

The smoke and dust slowly dispersed.

Chen Li and Yan stood about ten paces apart, each standing on the ravaged ground.

Chen Li's breathing was slightly more rapid than before, with a few scorched spots on his clothes. But the lightning around him remained stable, his gaze as calm as ever.

As for Yan's expression, it had already turned extremely unsightly.

He had used a Soul Skill.

He had used a Soul Skill amplified with his full power.

And then, Chen Li, using a lightning manipulation that wasn't a Soul Skill, had blocked it head-on.

There were no jeering voices from the sidelines. Xie Yue and Hu Liena were not shallow people. But that silence itself was the greatest mockery of Yan.

No.

Absolutely not!

How could he lose so much face in front of Hu Liena?!

Yan's eyes seemed ready to spew fire. He took a deep breath, his surrounding Soul Power suddenly boiling!

"Second Soul Skill, Granite Rock!!!"

Buzz!

The second Yellow Soul Ring on his body blazed to life! At the same time, the three-meter-tall Flame Lord phantom behind him let out a long roar, its arms forcefully merging with Yan's body!

Yan's entire right arm began to transform at a visible speed!

Cracked, dark red magma-like patterns appeared on the surface of his skin! Muscles bulged, not like flesh and blood, but like the arm of a giant condensed from ancient volcanic rock! The moment his five fingers closed into a fist, even the air let out a cracking sound under the unbearable pressure!

Granite Rock condensed the earth-attribute power of the Flame Lord to its extreme within his right arm, bestowing it with terrifying physical destructive power and a hardness akin to absolute defense. Combined with the long-range suppression of his first Soul Skill, Hell Lava Charge, this punch was enough to shatter a Soul Master of the same level, person and Soul Skill, head-on!

"This punch," Yan stared fixedly at Chen Li, his voice low like rolling magma, "let's see how you block it!!!"

The ground beneath his feet suddenly caved in! He charged towards Chen Li like a burning meteor, carrying a world-destroying aura!

He held nothing back with this punch.

Twenty meters.

Ten meters.

Five meters!

The rock-like giant fist, carrying terrifying power capable of shattering steel, was now three feet from Chen Li's face!

And Chen Li, did not retreat.

He raised his right hand.

His palm, facing the giant fist capable of shattering everything.

The deep purple lightning, finally no longer concealed.

Not a pure lightning manipulation like two hundred million volts.

Not some form change under the amplification of a Soul Ring.

It was the unique characteristic branded deep within the origin of his first Soul Ring.

It was the innate instinct granted to him by that excellent-quality Thousand-year Soul Ring.