Sweating Buckets, Huh?

"..."

Yan was utterly dumbfounded.

The other students around them also widened their eyes at Xu Yuan's answer, finding it hard to believe.

On Douluo Continent, when it came to Soul Master challenges like this, the challenged party generally accepted with pleasure.

It might even become a famous tale in the future, leaving behind a legendary story.

Their names would live on for generations.

Yet Xu Yuan had rejected it without a second thought. Wasn't that a little too disrespectful?

Yes!

He was the Pope's disciple, with a noble status and extraordinary talent, that much was true. But Yan was also a top-tier genius, wasn't he?

They were classmates at the same academy. They would see each other every day.

"Why?"

Yan voiced his confusion.

Yeah, why?

Everyone present turned their eyes to Xu Yuan, wanting to hear his explanation.

"Because the challenge is invalid."

Xu Yuan's expression remained calm as he swept his gaze over everyone present. "For a duel challenge, the cultivation levels of both sides must at least be equal, or the challenger's cultivation must be slightly lower than the challenged party's. Only under those two circumstances can it count as a duel challenge.

He's a two-ring Soul Grandmaster, while I'm only a Soul Master. A higher-level Soul Master challenging a lower-level one—what kind of challenge is that?"

Hearing that, everyone finally came to their senses.

Indeed.

Challenges had always been issued by equals, or by lower-level Soul Masters to higher-level ones. When had there ever been such a thing as a higher-level Soul Master challenging someone lower-level?

How was that a challenge? Wasn't it plainly bullying?

The main reason they had overlooked that crucial point at first was because the strength Xu Yuan had displayed earlier was simply too overwhelming.

They had instinctively ignored the gap in cultivation between the two and placed Xu Yuan above Yan.

What a mess...

Many people looked at Xu Yuan with a trace of shame in their eyes. Most of them had higher cultivation than Xu Yuan, had been at the academy longer than him, and much longer at that.

Yet today, Xu Yuan had taught them a lesson.

Compared to them, Yan was even more embarrassed.

He was the one who had initiated the challenge. Didn't that mean he had spent all these years without even figuring out the most basic rules of duel challenges?

And now that he had already said it, he could neither advance nor retreat.

He was so awkward that he nearly carved out a three-bedroom apartment with his toes.

"You really want to fight me?"

Seeing Yan's strange expression, like ants were crawling all over him, Xu Yuan paused for two seconds before asking.

Could that possibly be fake?

Yan hurriedly nodded like a pecking chicken.

"Fine."

Xu Yuan formed a complicated hand seal with both hands and faced Yan. "I challenge you to a duel!"

Huh?

Yan froze again.

He had thought he had completely lost face today and might not even get to fight. Who would have thought things would suddenly take a turn for the better?

"What, you don't accept?"

Seeing that he had not reacted for a while, Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly.

Xu Yuan had originally planned to reject Yan's duel challenge, but then he thought about it. This class was a practical combat class.

Yan would serve as a sparring partner then anyway, and they would still have to fight.

Since that was the case, why wait until practical combat class?

After all, if someone got injured in practical combat class, the teachers would foot the bill. But injuries suffered in a duel challenge could only be treated by paying the teachers themselves.

He was just a sunny young man. What bad intentions could he possibly have?

"Fine!"

Yan nodded solemnly, swept his eyes around, spotted an empty Soul Fighting Platform, and leaped onto it.

"I accept your challenge!"

The crowd immediately grew excited.

Duels between geniuses were rare to begin with, especially between famous academy geniuses like Xu Yuan and Yan.

They had fought before, but that had been under special circumstances. Xu Yuan had used...

At that thought, everyone's expressions froze slightly.

Wait, when Xu Yuan issued the duel challenge just now, he did not seem to say that he would not use that Silver Soul Coin attack, did he?

Then everyone's eyes turned toward the platform with dark, meaningful looks.

On the Soul Fighting Platform.

While waiting for a Soul Fighting Arena teacher to come over as witness and referee, Yan fantasized about what would happen next.

Whenever he had spent time with Xie Yue and Hu Liena these past few days, he had constantly heard Hu Liena going on about her junior brother. It had annoyed him to no end.

This time, he had to seize the opportunity to defeat Xu Yuan completely and prove himself.

The more he thought about it, the more an odd smile unconsciously appeared on Yan's face.

Then he noticed the dark looks from the crowd below.

It startled Yan badly.

What the hell kind of looks are those?

The Soul Fighting Arena teacher had already taken his position, and the duel was about to begin. The crowd's looks, as if they were watching something unspeakable, made Yan subconsciously glance at Xu Yuan across from him.

One glance. Just one glance nearly made him drop to his knees on the spot.

Xu Yuan stood not far away in a relaxed posture, his expression leisurely. One hand was tucked into his pocket, while the other played with a Silver Soul Coin.

He continuously rolled it back and forth across his index, middle, and ring fingers.

It made Yan recall the terror of having his body pierced through during their last fight.

"W-Wait!"

His expression changing drastically, Yan raised a hand in a stop gesture and quickly, loudly suggested to the referee teacher who had stepped into the middle.

"To ensure fairness and impartiality in this duel, both sides should be forbidden from using any auxiliary items, such as weapons, Soul Tools, Silver Soul Coins, and the like. That's reasonable, right?"

The referee teacher hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.

There was nothing wrong with competing solely through the Soul Masters' own abilities.

Hearing that, Xu Yuan's hand paused. He glanced at the still-shaken Yan across from him and put the Silver Soul Coin into his Storage Soul Tool.

He had not planned to use the Railgun anyway. One Silver Soul Coin per shot was far too expensive!

The two sides saluted and released their Martial Souls.

With the referee teacher's command, Xu Yuan, who had been still as a maiden, moved in an instant.

The Spirit Rings around him flashed.

In Xu Yuan's eyes, the world instantly became vibrant and colorful. Every elemental force in the void seemed like an extension of his own arms, moving as he pleased.

The Soul Fighting Platforms in the Soul Fighting Arena were meant for students, so they were not nearly as large as those in the Spirit Fighting Arenas across the continent. This one measured only ten by ten meters.

With the enhancement of his First Spirit Ring skill, Xu Yuan immediately covered the entire field with water elemental power.

Then he took several steps back to widen the distance, making no further moves.

As for Yan.

The moment the duel began, he activated his Second Spirit Ring skill, Granite Rock, boosting his defensive ability.

He had done plenty of homework for this battle. He knew that Xu Yuan excelled at kiting opponents and tripping them up in the process.

More often than not, his opponents would fall before they could even touch the corner of his clothes.

However, things developed somewhat differently from what Yan had imagined.

After using his First Spirit Ring, his opponent merely spread a layer of water elemental power across the ground and kept it from dissipating.

He only widened the distance between them.

There were no other attacks at all.

Yan first took several cautious steps forward, wary of a trap. But when he saw that Xu Yuan truly had not launched any attacks, more than half the unease in his heart instantly vanished.

He immediately stopped holding back.

Who cared what schemes Xu Yuan had? Just charge in and fight!

He dashed forward several steps to close the distance. His First Spirit Ring lit up, and he immediately opened with Hell Lava Rush.

Centered on Yan's body, the temperature in the arena rose sharply.

Then countless wisps of white mist frantically gathered around him, and Yan discovered in astonishment.

The extreme heat he had unleashed was rapidly dropping, while the white mist gathering around him gradually became scorching hot.

His current situation was like being placed into a steamer and cooked.

And while being steamed, he was still continuously adding fuel to the fire himself...

Watching the scene of beans boiling their own stalks not far away, Xu Yuan's lips curled upward.

"Now you're sweating buckets, huh, little brother?"