Sparring

"Please."

Chen Ming held a Wooden Sword in his right hand and gestured for his opponent to make the first move. Lan Mengqin didn't hold back. She immediately unleashed her first Soul Skill, and a Yellow Soul Ring appeared.

"Then I won't hold back. First Soul Skill, Blizzard!"

A blizzard began to fall over the platform. Normally, it would slow her opponent down, but unfortunately for her, Chen Ming was immune to ice!

Did she think the Silver Dragon King could be hurt by an element she herself commanded? What a joke!

The Soul Skill was similar to a control-type skill. It strengthened the ice element for herself and her allies while slowing down her enemies.

"Let me see what the top student of your year can do!"

Lan Mengqin raised her hand, and several Ice Cones swept toward him. Chen Ming advanced at an unhurried pace, batting away every incoming Ice Cone with his Wooden Sword.

"No effect...?"

Seeing how utterly calm Chen Ming looked, Lan Mengqin felt the pressure mounting. Wasn't he cold? It was more than forty degrees below zero!

A normal One-Ring Soul Master would be freezing by now and begging to surrender... Could he have an ice attribute too?

Lan Mengqin considered her options, then raised her hand again and cried out:

"Try this! Ice Spike!"

A multitude of Ice Spikes rose from the ground before Lan Mengqin and shot toward her opponent. Chen Ming dealt with them just as casually as before. He simply leaped straight up, using two blocks of dirt as footholds, and successfully avoided the Ice Spikes.

"Cold winds howl, ice and snow show no mercy. I test my sword against the snow, and hone its edge on ice."

Chen Ming stood on top of the Ice Spikes as if he were on level ground, uttering a string of words that left Lan Mengqin utterly baffled.

"Damn it... Why do you have to act so cool? Again! Ice Shard Blade!"

This time, Lan Mengqin decided to win by sheer numbers. Let's see how he'd block this! Dozens of Ice Shard Blades came flying at him.

Chen Ming still advanced at a leisurely pace. The moment the Ice Shard Blades came at him, his Wooden Sword flashed through the air, twirling in a flurry as he blocked every last one.

Lan Mengqin was stunned. How was she supposed to fight him? If he wasn't going to take any hits, how could this be fair? While she stood there dumbfounded, Chen Ming spun around. A fishing rod appeared in his left hand, and he flung it forward with a sharp snap.

Lan Mengqin was even more confused when she saw the hook flying at her. What was he doing now? Weren't they fighting? Why pull out a fishing rod and go fishing?

But the next moment, the hook caught on Lan Mengqin, and she immediately understood what Chen Ming was planning. It was already too late.

"Wait! I surrender—!"

She had just started to surrender when a powerful force yanked her forward. A piercing shriek burst from her lips.

Lan Mengqin flailed in midair like a fish on Chen Ming's line, while a Wooden Sword rested against her fair neck.

"You lose."

"...Put me down!"

Dangling in the air, Lan Mengqin felt humiliated. Who treated a girl like that? This was mortifying!

Once Chen Ming set her down, Lan Mengqin ran over to Dong Qianqiu in tears, seeking comfort.

"Qianqiu, he bullied me! Get revenge for me!"

Watching the two pretty girls cling to each other was certainly a lovely sight, but Chen Ming was looking at his Skill panel instead.

A single fight had raised his Skill level by quite a bit. He immediately began looking at Lan Mengqin and Dong Qianqiu as if they were convenient tools for grinding points.

"Can I have a go against you?"

Dong Qianqiu challenged Chen Ming too. After watching the two of them fight, she was itching for a match herself.

"Of course. Go ahead."

Chen Ming gestured for her to come onto the platform. Dong Qianqiu set Di Qiu'er, who had been fast asleep on her lap, down before stepping onto the Soul Fighting Platform.

"Go, Qianqiu! Beat that jerk!"

Lan Mengqin cheered Dong Qianqiu on from below. The two faced each other, and Dong Qianqiu soon lifted her hand, forming an Ice Spear in it.

Then Dong Qianqiu charged straight at her opponent, sending several Ice Cones flying toward Chen Ming as she did.

"A spear? I know a little about those too."

Chen Ming slammed the Wooden Sword into the ground. It bounced up from the impact, and he casually caught and stowed it away. In its place, he gripped a Wood Spear.

At the same time, the fishing hook shot out from his left hand and caught on one of the Ice Cones. Chen Ming shattered several of the other Ice Cones, dodged the one he'd hooked, and faced Dong Qianqiu's Ice Spear as it thrust toward him.

Chen Ming sidestepped the attack. Dong Qianqiu followed with a sweeping strike. He immediately reeled in the hook and leaned back to dodge. Just as Dong Qianqiu prepared to bring her spear down in a strike—

She saw the Ice Cone flying back toward her and faltered in surprise. It was the one Chen Ming had hooked a moment earlier.

With no time to think, Dong Qianqiu could only dodge sideways. Chen Ming rose and thrust his spear at her.

Dong Qianqiu blocked with her Ice Spear, but Chen Ming's strength sent her stumbling backward, her hands numb. Then she turned and saw that the hook had caught on her Ice Spear.

"When did you—?!"

She stared in shock. Chen Ming gave a sharp tug, and the Ice Spear slipped from her grasp and flew toward him.

"Next time, hold on to your weapon. Catch!"

Chen Ming called out a warning, then spun around and flung the Ice Spear back. Dong Qianqiu watched it rush toward her and had to form another Ice Spear to block it.

Bang!

The two Ice Spears collided. The one on the hook instantly shattered, spraying Dong Qianqiu's face with ice shards. The moment her vision was obscured, the fishing hook had already fastened itself to her without making a sound.

"Qianqiu, watch out! The hook!"

"What?!"

Dong Qianqiu looked down and turned around, only to see the hook firmly caught in the back of her collar. She had just reached to pull it off when Chen Ming yanked her toward him.

"I've caught a little shark. Quite a haul."

Chen Ming chuckled as he watched Dong Qianqiu flailing in the air. Her face flushed red. Being hauled up like that felt awful; she was mortified.

"Put Qianqiu down! Girls are going to hate you if you keep doing that!"

Lan Mengqin hadn't realized how troublesome that fishing hook was. Even her best friend had fallen victim to it.

"No one hates me."

Chen Ming set Dong Qianqiu down and corrected her. Di Qiu'er had woken up too, now that she'd gotten enough sleep—or rather, the racket from the fight had woken her.

"Are you okay, Qianqiu?"

Lan Mengqin came up onto the platform to check on her. Dong Qianqiu gave a slight shake of her head.

"I'm fine, Sister Mengqin. See? I'm perfectly okay."

Chen Ming put away his fishing rod. It had been a long time since he'd had a proper match. He hadn't fought anyone in ages; he'd mostly just been killing Zombies and Skeletons.

After the match, the two girls grew even more curious about Chen Ming. He hadn't even summoned his Martial Soul; he'd beaten them with nothing but a fishing hook, a Wooden Sword, and a Wood Spear.

"Hey, you jerk! What exactly is your Martial Soul? How come you've never used it?"

Even now, neither girl could figure out what his Martial Soul was. At their question, Chen Ming raised the block of dirt in his hand.

"This is my Martial Soul. A block of dirt."

"That's your Martial Soul?!"

The two girls stared at him in shock. They never would have guessed his Martial Soul was a block of dirt... It was nothing like they'd imagined...

"Don't believe me? Watch."

Seeing that they didn't believe him, Chen Ming waved his hand and instantly built a wall of dirt. He could even reclaim the dirt with a single thought.

"Uh... okay... That's a... distinctive Martial Soul..."

"Earth-attribute Martial Souls can be pretty powerful too..."

The two fell silent for a moment, then managed a strained smile. A block-of-dirt Martial Soul was just so bizarre... It was hard to even imagine.