What If I Fight Barehanded? (Please Favorite, Recommend, Vote!)

"I didn't know who he was at the time..."

Ma Yun explained softly, but Jing Hongchen gave no reply at all.

Puzzled, he immediately turned his gaze toward Jing Hongchen.

Jing Hongchen's eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open as he stared blankly toward the Trial Grounds.

Ma Yun subconsciously followed Jing Hongchen's gaze. With just one look, his mouth fell open as well.

Jing Hongchen rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

What had he just seen?

Facing the Ghost Leopard's pounce, Xu Tianming had not only failed to summon his Soul Rings, but had not even tried to dodge.

He had simply gripped his long saber and slammed head-on into the Ghost Leopard.

With just a single downward slash, he used the Ghost Leopard's momentum to cleave it cleanly into two remarkably even halves!

A purple Soul Ring rose from the Ghost Leopard's bisected corpse.

That five-thousand-year Ghost Leopard had not even managed a scream before it died!

Clang!

Xu Tianming flicked his long saber, sending the bloodstains flying from its blade. The emerald-green saber light now carried an even more bloodthirsty chill.

"Hiss!"

Jing Hongchen and Ma Yun both sucked in a sharp breath.

Although Ghost Leopards were not known for their defenses, their five-thousand-year cultivation was still there.

A soul beast fit to serve as a Spirit Master's third or even fourth Soul Ring had been split in half by Xu Tianming's single strike.

"This long saber... isn't a Soul Tool?"

Jing Hongchen's gaze fell upon the long saber in Xu Tianming's hand.

"Yet it's so sharp. Could it have been forged from some rare metal?"

According to the rules of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Master Academy, examinees could use Soul Tools suited to their own level during the assessment.

"I noticed the long saber in Tianming's hands earlier as well."

Ma Yun hurriedly explained from the side:

"It truly isn't a Soul Tool. Tianming said he forged it himself. The raw material should have been Qingjingang."

At this point, confusion also appeared on Ma Yun's face.

"But for some reason, the toughness of the saber in his hand far exceeds even top-quality Qingjingang."

"And... and this saber gives me the feeling that it's alive."

At those words, a sharp gleam flashed through Jing Hongchen's eyes.

"Forging... it's been a long time since I heard of that craft."

"It seems this young lord of Dongyang City has quite a few secrets himself."

Shaking his head slightly, Jing Hongchen called out toward the Trial Grounds:

"Tianming, the long saber in your hand seems rather extraordinary."

"Relying on the sharpness of a weapon doesn't show your true skill. Do you dare fight a two-thousand-year soul beast barehanded?"

Jing Hongchen was genuinely curious about just how many more abilities Xu Tianming possessed.

However, considering both safety and the need to avoid giving others something to criticize, he changed the soul beast's cultivation to two thousand years.

"Who are you?"

Rather than answer immediately, Xu Tianming questioned Jing Hongchen in return.

"I am the dean of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Master Academy, and also the master of Mingde Hall."

Xu Tianming's gaze narrowed slightly.

Jing Hongchen, the renowned Title Douluo of the Sun Moon Empire, was also a Level 9 Soul Master with profound attainments in Soul Tools.

Although he had used the Judgment Sword to trigger the Evil Fire within Ma Xiaotao, compared to Shrek Academy's despicable conduct, he truly counted as one of the decent ones.

"Dean Jing Hongchen, I've passed the assessment, haven't I?"

Xu Tianming rested the long saber on his shoulder, a half-smile appearing on his face.

"Having me undergo another trial without using a weapon probably isn't quite in line with the rules, is it?"

Although Jing Hongchen was the dean of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Master Academy and possessed nearly absolute authority within it,

Xu Tianming, backed by the imperial family and the Kong Family, was not afraid of him in the slightest.

"Then what does Tianming want to do?"

Jing Hongchen naturally understood that Xu Tianming wanted to negotiate terms with him, and his curiosity grew.

"Heh, Dean Jing Hongchen, why ask me?"

Xu Tianming laughed brightly.

"Even street performers beneath Ming Capital's bridges get a few coins in reward. I imagine Dean Jing Hongchen wouldn't be stingy either."

"Hahahaha!"

Jing Hongchen laughed and shook his head.

"You're trying to box me in with your words!"

After pondering for a moment, Jing Hongchen continued:

"How about this? If you kill a two-thousand-year soul beast without using a weapon, I'll give you a Secret Method Spirit Bone."

"A Secret Method Spirit Bone!"

Xu Tianming's eyes lit up slightly.

Secret Method Spirit Bones differed from ordinary Spirit Bones.

One had to slaughter one hundred identical soul beasts within an hour, then use a secret method to activate their Soul Rings. Only then was there a ten percent chance of obtaining a Secret Method Spirit Bone.

Furthermore, compared to ordinary Spirit Bones, Secret Method Spirit Bones were not of particularly high quality.

However, a Secret Method Spirit Bone could provide an adjusting effect when a soul beast sacrificed itself to become a second Martial Soul, then fuse with the Spirit Bone left behind by that soul beast's sacrifice.

"Fine, but I want a left arm bone!"

"Deal!"

Jing Hongchen agreed immediately.

A left arm Secret Method Spirit Bone was truly nothing to him.

"Sounds good. So what if I'm barehanded?"

Xu Tianming planted the long saber into the ground and lightly stretched his body.

"What, you still aren't summoning your Martial Soul this time?"

After waiting for quite some time on the platform and seeing that Xu Tianming still had not used Martial Soul Possession, Jing Hongchen could not help but speak.

"A two-thousand-year soul beast, and I need to use my Martial Soul?"

Xu Tianming's response remained as confident as ever.

"Good boy, you've got some spirit!"

Jing Hongchen nodded slightly and made another gesture toward the distance.

"It just depends on whether your ability matches your spirit!"

As the iron gate was pulled up once more, the ground itself began to tremble faintly.

"Oh, a Great Strength Gorilla?"

Xu Tianming's expression did not change in the slightest as he looked at the enormous ape nearly three meters tall emerging from the passageway.

Speaking of which, the Great Strength Gorilla had been the inherited Martial Soul of the Tang Sect's Strength Clan ten thousand years ago.

Other than its great strength, it had no other notable traits.

Roar!

This Great Strength Gorilla was clearly extremely violent as well. The moment it charged out of the passageway, it pounded its chest and rushed toward Xu Tianming.

When the distance between them was less than two meters and the Great Strength Gorilla had already raised its arms high, Xu Tianming finally moved.

He took a deep breath, then suddenly clasped both fists together. A faint golden radiance actually shimmered around his body.

The Yin Yang Profound Pole Body Refining Art circulated within him, and a layer of blood-red Bloodline Power erupted violently from his body.

As gold and red intertwined, Xu Tianming's fists turned a strange golden-red. Even the surrounding air seemed to warp faintly under their reflection.

Xu Tianming drove his fists upward, colliding explosively with the Great Strength Gorilla's seemingly disproportionate fists!

Crack!

The crisp sound rang clearly through the Trial Grounds and into everyone's ears.

The next moment, the Great Strength Gorilla let out an earthshaking scream.

Like a kite with its string snapped, it was sent flying backward even faster than it had charged in.

Everyone could see it clearly: both arms of the Great Strength Gorilla had been smashed into irregular shapes by the tremendous force.