Lueying

Roger had never expected Qin Ming to suddenly erupt with such terrifying speed. The abrupt closing of the distance caught him completely off guard.

Qin Ming tapped his toes in rapid succession, spun around, and appeared at Roger's side. Another claw strike tore toward his upper body.

As he watched the Wolf Claws steadily draw nearer, Roger felt his scalp go numb.

No! I can't let him seize the initiative! Roger roared inwardly as he activated his Second Soul Skill.

The Rock Ridge Earth Dragon's Second Soul Skill, Earth Dragon Radiance, formed a layer of light over his entire body, boosting his defense and strength while reducing some of the damage he received.

Roger retreated to evade Qin Ming's claw strike, then swiftly shifted positions and drove a punch straight into Qin Ming's side.

Roger knew his own limits well. The Inferno Grey Wolf was naturally fast, and Qin Ming's earlier move had made him realize that, with the support of Soul Skills and footwork, there was no way he could widen the distance between them.

He could not overpower him.

He could not outrun him.

His only advantage lay in defense, so Roger chose to trade injury for injury and engage in close-quarters combat. After all, Qin Ming's defense was nothing exceptional.

Seeing Roger switch from defense to offense, Qin Ming remained calm. He seized the incoming fist with his right hand, only to feel an immense force strike him the moment he made contact.

After all, both of Roger's Soul Skills enhanced his strength, and the Rock Ridge Earth Dragon possessed tremendous natural power to begin with. That punch actually sent Qin Ming back several steps.

Feeling the numbness in his arm from the impact, Qin Ming's mouth twitched. That blow had not hurt him much, but it had disrupted his fighting rhythm.

Seeing that his strike had worked, Roger immediately pressed the attack.

Facing Roger's charge, Qin Ming did not dare to use his body to take the attack head-on as Roger had.

Qin Ming stepped through Thousand Spin Steps, twisting aside to evade the strike. Before Roger could adjust his position in time, he raked a claw toward his flank.

Yet this attack did not deal Roger the heavy damage that the first one had.

Qin Ming's claw strike landed on Scale Armor covered by the light film. As the two collided, the Light Barrier trembled.

The scorching heat of Gray Wolf Fire burned against the earthy yellow Scale Armor, sending up wisps of white smoke. It left five claw marks deep enough to reach the flesh, but it did not cause the widespread damage of the first attack.

What a hard shell! Qin Ming cursed inwardly. He was still suffering from having one fewer Soul Skill. If he had another enhancement Soul Skill, that strike probably would have severely wounded Roger.

But Qin Ming had a plan for this difficult turtle shell. If he could not seriously injure it in one blow, then he would do it repeatedly, chipping it apart bit by bit.

And he had to do it as quickly as possible. If the battle dragged on, his Soul Power would not hold out.

End this quickly!

Qin Ming released his Mental Power to its fullest. A faint golden gleam flashed through his eyes, Soul Power rippled beneath his feet, and his entire body turned into a blur as he rushed toward Roger.

Roger threw a punch at the approaching phantom, but instead of the impact he expected, he felt a sharp pain shoot through his back.

Roger glanced sideways, only to discover that Qin Ming had somehow appeared behind him.

What was that? An illusion? A Self-Created Soul Skill? Cold sweat streamed down Roger's face and dripped onto the ground.

"What strange footwork!" In the stands, Flender was once again stunned by Qin Ming. With his eyesight, he had seen clearly that the phantom which had appeared before Roger was merely an afterimage formed from Soul Power. Qin Ming's real body had already moved behind Roger.

This was one of the results Qin Ming had gained after continuously refining Thousand Spin Steps over the past half year: combining footwork, Soul Power, and Mental Power to achieve both speed and the ability to confuse his opponent.

Qin Ming had named it Thousand Spin Steps—Lueying!

Qin Ming continuously circled Roger. Dark crimson afterimages drew several arcs around him, forming an encirclement, while a pair of red eyes locked firmly onto the opponent before him.

From Roger's perspective, several phantoms of Qin Ming were constantly circling around him. He could not distinguish real from fake, and every attack struck nothing but air.

Qin Ming's afterimage flickered, and a claw stabbed forth. Dark crimson claws, each three fingers long and wrapped in Gray Wolf Fire, shot straight toward Roger's face.

Clang! Roger raised his arm to block, and the claws pierced more than a finger's breadth into his arm.

Got you!

Roger actually used his own body as a lock, temporarily restraining Qin Ming in a near self-mutilating manner.

Roger's other dragon claw swept out with all his strength. If that blow landed, Qin Ming might suffer severe injuries.

Yet Qin Ming showed no sign of panic. Golden light glimmered in his red eyes as a wave of Mental Power spread over Roger.

Roger only saw a golden ray shoot from between Qin Ming's brows. His swinging motion slowed by a fraction, and that brief hesitation caused him to lose the initiative.

Qin Ming turned and withdrew, leaving behind only an afterimage. When Roger's dragon claw touched it, the afterimage instantly dissipated.

What happened? Roger's heart shook violently. Why had he suddenly slowed down? After so many spirit battles, he had never encountered anything like this.

Just how many tricks did this child, two heads shorter than him, have?

This was the application of Spiritual Pressure that Qin Ming had previously tested on small animals. Against those animals, it could directly knock them unconscious, but against a Soul Grandmaster like Roger, it could only slow him for a brief moment.

Even so, it was enough. The tide of battle could turn in an instant.

"Mental Power! That's Mental Power!" Flender roared wildly from the stands, but his voice was quickly drowned out by the cheers of the crowd. No one paid him any attention.

Flender's eyelids twitched wildly. As a Soul Emperor with a spiritual attribute, his perception in such matters was the sharpest. There was no doubt that the force which had halted Roger's movement for that brief moment was Mental Power. He was certain of it!

But what he could not understand was that Qin Ming's ability to use Mental Power meant that he had opened a Sea of Consciousness. Yet his Martial Soul was clearly not of the spiritual attribute. How could he have opened a Sea of Consciousness with only one ring?

If Qin Ming's terrifying rate of Soul Power growth could still be explained by the abundant cultivation resources provided by Spirit Hall, then how could this Mental Power be explained?

Terrifying physical strength, strange footwork, Mental Power...

A trace of helplessness rose in Flender's heart. He could see that Roger had almost certainly lost this spirit battle. Several opportunities to turn the tables had been neutralized by Qin Ming.

Losing was not frightening. Flender himself had lost plenty of times. What was frightening was continuing to lose after that!

Judging by Roger's expression, he had likely regarded Qin Ming as the first opponent of his life. Yet there was already a considerable gap between them. As Qin Ming continued to grow, that gap would undoubtedly become wider and wider.

He had once heard Xiao Gang say that Spirit Masters possessed all kinds of strange constitutions. Perhaps Qin Ming also had a special constitution, allowing him to open a Sea of Consciousness with only one ring.

People like that were all geniuses without exception! Could Roger truly never surpass the first opponent of his life?

Flender rubbed his forehead in distress as bitterness spread through his heart.