Facing Yan

Xiao Chen didn't mind sparring with Yan. He also wanted to experience firsthand the strength of the Spirit Hall Golden Generation.

Besides, once Yan had seen his strength, it would be easier to persuade him to take a White Spirit Ring later.

Hu Liena and Xie Yue felt the same. They'd seen Xiao Chen make a move in the Star Dou Forest, but he'd mostly been running for his life. This time, they could finally get a good look at his true strength.

"Brother Yan, I can spar with you, but I have one condition!" Xiao Chen said.

"Go ahead!" Yan replied immediately.

Seeing that Xiao Chen had agreed, Hu Liena stopped trying to dissuade him. Instead, she began to feel sorry for Yan.

Xiao Chen said, "When the fight starts, I need to be three hundred meters away from you!"

Yan frowned. He'd already heard from Xie Yue that Xiao Chen was a Ranged Weapon Soul Master, so he knew just how disadvantageous a three-hundred-meter distance would be for him.

At the same time, he was secretly astonished that Xiao Chen's range was so great.

"Oh, right. You don't need to suppress your Soul Power!" Xiao Chen added.

"Are you sure?" Yan asked, looking at Xiao Chen.

"Of course. A three-hundred-meter distance is enough to make up for the difference in our Soul Power Levels!" Xiao Chen said confidently.

Yan's Martial Soul was the Flame Lord. It had great offensive power, but speed was his weakness.

Xiao Chen wasn't entirely confident he could face Xie Yue head-on, but against Yan, he was certain he could give him a taste of what it felt like to be kited.

Seeing that Xiao Chen wouldn't change his mind, Yan didn't object. He only wanted to find out whether Xie Yue's words were true. Win or lose, he didn't have much hostility toward Xiao Chen.

Hu Liena was gentle and friendly toward Xiao Chen. Yan couldn't help feeling a little jealous, but he wouldn't hold a grudge over it.

On the contrary, if Xiao Chen really was as strong as Xie Yue claimed, Yan would be sincerely impressed. He'd never resent or ostracize him.

Yan understood clearly that the moment Xiao Chen joined Spirit Hall and took the Pope as his master, they were destined to become companions.

The four of them then found Chrysanthemum Douluo and told him about the spar between Xiao Chen and Yan.

There were too many secrets surrounding Xiao Chen, so the spar couldn't take place inside Spirit Hall. Chrysanthemum Douluo took them out of Spirit City and into the nearest mountain range.

Ghost Douluo came along as well.

He'd just learned about Xiao Chen's secrets from Chrysanthemum Douluo. Curious, he naturally wanted to see for himself.

With two Titled Douluo accompanying them, they didn't need to worry about anyone watching from the shadows.

The two sides quickly moved apart and got ready. Chrysanthemum Douluo then announced the start of the spar through mental transmission.

Xiao Chen's Soul Power Level was still 23, the same as it had been a few days earlier in the Star Dou Forest. But compared to then, his overall strength had improved by leaps and bounds.

The greatest attack range of Yan's four Soul Skills was only forty meters, so he charged toward Xiao Chen as soon as the fight began. He knew that at long range, he'd be nothing but a target.

Even so, he didn't charge at full speed.

Yan had never underestimated Xiao Chen. He knew very well that Xiao Chen's arrows had wounded a 3,600-year-old Thunder Pattern Leopard, so they could threaten him too.

Compared with Soul Beasts, human bodies were simply too fragile.

Xiao Chen saw Yan's every move clearly. Enhanced vision was an incredible ability for an archer.

Xiao Chen didn't rush to attack. Although his maximum range could reach three hundred meters, it required him to combine the effects of Brute Force, Speed Boost, and Piercing Wound, which consumed a considerable amount of his Soul Power.

One hundred and eighty meters was Xiao Chen's ideal attack range for now. Even ordinary arrows fired through Martial Soul Fusion could inflict effective damage within that distance.

At that range, adding any one Soul Skill would greatly increase the arrows' lethality.

Compared with the Thunder Pattern Leopard, Yan was far too slow. In Xiao Chen's eyes, he was nothing but a moving target.

Yan had charged forward a hundred meters before Xiao Chen released his Martial Soul.

As soon as Yan entered within two hundred meters, Xiao Chen finally loosed his first arrow.

He'd only added the effect of Brute Force to it. At such a distance, Yan could have dodged, but he still smashed it with a punch, wanting to see how powerful Xiao Chen's arrows were.

His fist, wrapped in crimson flames, shattered the arrow with a single blow.

The arrow posed no threat to Yan at all, but a flicker of surprise still passed through his mind.

He could clearly sense that the destructive power contained in the arrow rivaled that of a Soul Grandmaster at Level 27 or 28.

Yan began moving erratically from side to side as he pressed toward Xiao Chen.

It was a good plan, but Xiao Chen had Dynamic Capture. To him, Yan's side-to-side movements only made him look more like a target.

Yan soon entered the 180-meter attack range, and Xiao Chen's arrows immediately came faster and thicker.

Every arrow Xiao Chen fired carried the effect of Martial Soul Fusion. With any one Soul Skill added, it could threaten a Level 30 Soul Elder.

For an ordinary Level 20 Soul Master, a skill with such power would be a trump card. For Xiao Chen, it was no different from a basic attack.

"So strong... He can fire arrows with this much power one after another. How can his Soul Power keep up with such a relentless barrage?" Yan murmured, shaken.

He knew that if he'd really suppressed his Soul Power to Xiao Chen's level, he would have already lost.

At first, he'd used Soul Power to smash aside the incoming arrows. Later, he no longer dared to do so, since breaking them was consuming quite a bit of his Soul Power.

Once he entered the 180-meter range, Yan's charge slowed considerably.

Xiao Chen, by contrast, stood perfectly still, doing nothing but drawing his bow and firing, again and again.

One arrow would carry Brute Force, the next Speed Boost. Their speed and power varied, giving Yan a terrible headache.

All four onlookers were astonished. The last time, Xiao Chen had also shot arrows to hinder the Thunder Pattern Leopard, but he'd mostly been running away.

Now, his arrows seemed to cost nothing at all. He could match an entire squad of archers by himself.

"Xiao Chen's gotten even stronger, but that rate of fire is just ridiculous!" Xie Yue exclaimed.

"Yan's bound to lose. With his speed, he can't get through such a dense barrage without using Soul Skills," Chrysanthemum Douluo said slowly. He reckoned that even if Yan managed to reach Xiao Chen, he'd have used up most of his Soul Power.

Ghost Douluo's eyes also gleamed with amazement. After hearing Chrysanthemum Douluo's account earlier, he'd already had high expectations for Xiao Chen.

Seeing him in action now left him utterly astounded.

Ghost Douluo thought that once Xiao Chen reached Level 70, in this kind of situation with distance between them, he might even be able to threaten an ordinary Titled Douluo.