Who Taught You to Fight Like That?

When Xu Hu saw that Xu Yuan had actually gone up onto the platform alone, he hurried after him.

"Wait, Xu Yuan, what are you doing?!"

Xu Yuan glanced sideways at him and chuckled. "What else would I be doing? Fighting."

With a frustrated cry, Xu Hu explained.

"I mean, we could've waited and gone up later. It's your first practical combat class—you don't even know anything about the opponents."

Xu Yuan shook his head. "No need."

"It's too late to regret it now. We're already up here." Xu Hu looked dejected.

According to the rules, although Class Six was weaker in cultivation, they could send several people up at once. As long as there were no more than five, it was allowed.

Once the two had taken their places on the platform, Lor Diarra swept his gaze toward Class Six.

"Anyone else want to come up together?"

No one answered, and no one stepped forward.

Lor Diarra immediately understood. He took two steps forward and looked at both sides.

"The rules are simple. Unless there is a threat to life, neither side may surrender. Once one side loses the ability to fight, the other side automatically wins."

After speaking, he paused for several seconds. Seeing that no one objected, Lor Diarra raised one arm high.

"The first practical combat match of today! Both sides, salute and release your Martial Souls!"

Nine-colored light flickered.

The Elemental Canon appeared above Xu Yuan's left hand, while a glowing yellow Spirit Ring slowly circled his body.

"Xu Yuan, Level 12 Soul Master, Martial Soul: Elemental Canon!"

"Xu Hu, Level 19 Soul Master, Martial Soul: Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger!"

Beside him, Xu Hu's muscles rapidly swelled, countless blue-violet bolts of lightning crackling across his body.

He looked quite imposing, brimming with tiger-like might.

Across from them, the Soul Grandmaster youth casually rested his hammer on his shoulder, his face full of arrogance.

"Ha'er, Level 29 Soul Grandmaster, Martial Soul: Forging Hammer!"

Lor Diarra looked from side to side, then abruptly brought down his raised arm.

"Begin!"

Buzz—

The instant his words fell, the trembling hum of lit Spirit Rings rang out across the platform.

Now that it had begun, there was no turning back. Xu Hu roared and charged straight at his opponent with the force of Thunderbolt, the tiger claws on his arms suddenly expanding.

Hundred-year Spirit Ring skill, Fierce Tiger Pounce!

"Good!"

Ha'er raised his hammer high with both hands. Rings of Soul Power flowed through his Spirit Rings and directly into his arms, making them swell dramatically as veins bulged across them.

Ten-year Spirit Ring skill, Power Strike!

Hundred-year Spirit Ring skill, War Bear Might!

Bang—!

With a deafening crash, tiger claws and iron hammer slammed together, violent Soul Power waves spreading throughout the arena.

But they held for only three short seconds.

Xu Hu could no longer endure it. His strength gave out, and Ha'er's hammer smashed into his chest, sending him flying backward with a scream.

"..."

Xu Yuan looked down at Xu Hu, who was lying not far away, sucking in cold breaths and rubbing his chest. Three question marks seemed to float above Xu Yuan's head, while black lines covered his forehead.

Come on, do you people really fight like this?

You're a Beast Spirit Soul Master, yet you're seriously going head-to-head with a Tool Spirit Soul Master specializing in direct attacks?

And your Soul Power Level is an entire major realm below his...

If you could win like that, that would be the strange thing!

Everyone knew that a Tool Spirit Soul Master's strength lay in his Martial Soul. Although Beast Spirit Soul Masters had strong offensive power, they were still considerably weaker than Tool Spirit Soul Masters in that regard.

The strengths of Beast Spirit Soul Masters were their physical fitness, resistance to damage, speed, and endurance.

Yet instead of using your own advantages to maneuver around your opponent and look for openings, you threw those advantages away and tried to beat him head-on at his own specialty. Wasn't that just asking to be crushed?

Xu Yuan turned and glanced below the platform. He discovered that none of the Class Six students looked surprised, as though they had long grown accustomed to this situation.

Only then did he understand why several of them together still could not defeat one Soul Grandmaster.

So all of you just charged straight in whenever you fought?

At the same time, Xu Yuan realized they seemed to be taking turns as well.

For example, after sending Xu Hu flying with one hammer blow, Ha'er did not press his advantage. He simply stood there and waited.

Xu Hu was a Beast Spirit Soul Master. Although he had been sent flying and injured, he had not lost his ability to fight.

If Ha'er had rushed forward and followed up with a few more blows, he could have taken Xu Hu out immediately.

But Ha'er waited in place like a gentleman, seemingly waiting for Xu Hu to recover...

This was absurd!

Who taught you to fight like that?

More than ten seconds later, Xu Hu finally climbed to his feet while rubbing his chest, his face twisted in pain.

"Xu Yuan, this isn't working! I can't beat him at all!"

"..."

Great. His blood pressure was rising.

Xu Yuan took a deep breath and calmed his emotions, trying to keep his tone as steady as possible.

"Don't rush in by yourself. Listen to my commands, all right?"

Xu Hu scratched his head, looking puzzled. "You have a plan?"

Without answering, Xu Yuan raised a hand. A cluster of blue water element appeared out of thin air and clung to Ha'er's body.

"Attack from the right this time."

"That'll work?"

Charging head-on did not work, but attacking from the right would? Half doubtful, Xu Hu charged at Ha'er again from the right.

At the same time.

The Martial Soul above Xu Yuan's left hand flipped through its pages with a rustle.

He did not use a Spirit Ring skill. He simply attacked with elemental power. Aside from lightning, balls of various elemental energy continuously launched attacks from Ha'er's left.

They kept him so busy that he was almost overwhelmed.

This kind of single-element attack was not especially powerful, but getting hit still hurt like hell.

After all, it was magic damage!

Before long, Xu Hu had already closed in.

Since Ha'er was struggling to deal with Xu Yuan's attacks from the left, Xu Hu circled around from the right and arrived directly behind him.

This situation excited Xu Hu. As he launched his attack, he happily let out a roar.

As if shouting would increase his attack power.

"..."

Xu Yuan, standing in the distance, was utterly speechless.

Ha'er, who had been fully focused on fending off Xu Yuan's attacks, was startled by the shout and instantly discovered Xu Hu's sneak attack.

Two Spirit Rings lit up at once.

With one sweep of his hammer, he dispersed all the elemental attacks coming from the front, then turned and launched a charged hammer strike straight at Xu Hu's claws.

His reaction was extraordinarily swift.

If it had been anyone else, faced with a pig-headed teammate like Xu Hu, this diversionary tactic would most likely have failed completely.

But could it fail in front of Xu Yuan?

With enemies in front of and behind him, Ha'er turned toward Xu Hu, naturally leaving himself unguarded against Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan merely snapped his fingers.

Crack!

A pale-white bolt of lightning instantly struck Ha'er in the back.

From the very beginning, Xu Yuan had scattered traces of water element around Ha'er's body. Now, as the lightning fell—

Ha'er's body immediately stiffened in place, completely numb.

Without the amplification of a Spirit Ring skill, the lightning lasted only two seconds, but that was enough.

A tiger's roar rang out.

Carrying the momentum of Fierce Tiger Descending Mountain, Xu Hu struck Ha'er's waist and abdomen with one claw, then his chest with the other.

Overwhelming force erupted.

Ha'er let out a miserable scream. Mixed with the faint sound of bones breaking, his entire body was hurled several meters away.

He rolled more than ten times across the Soul Fighting Platform before finally stopping.

Tool Spirit Soul Masters were not as tough as Beast Spirit Soul Masters. Ha'er spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted on the spot.

At the sight of this.

The previously noisy arena instantly fell silent. Everyone stared blankly at the Soul Fighting Platform, their mouths hanging open wide enough to fit an egg.

This had to be fake, right?