Thoroughly Convinced

Xiao Chen's performance left the four spectators marveling.

Normally, there had to be a pause between uses of the same Soul Skill, but Xiao Chen faced no such restriction.

Every arrow he fired carried a Soul Skill, and he could use the same Soul Skill repeatedly without pause.

"Brother, if it were you, could you get through Xiao Chen's barrage of arrows?" Hu Liena asked.

"That'd be difficult!" Xie Yue replied. "Even if I managed to get through, Xiao Chen is fast too. If he used that speed-boosting Soul Skill of his while his arrows kept interfering, I definitely wouldn't be able to get close!"

Xie Yue had seen Xiao Chen use Shadow Step Dash with his own eyes. Under normal circumstances, Xie Yue was confident he could catch up.

But he knew full well that he could never match the burst of speed Xiao Chen had shown a few days earlier in the Star Dou Forest when escaping the thunder-patterned beast.

"With that much distance between them, Xiao Chen's destructive power is truly terrifying! Thank goodness he's our teammate now!" Xie Yue said, feeling immensely relieved.

As a member of the Spirit Hall Golden Generation, Xie Yue had always been arrogant, never giving the talented peers from the continent's major academies a second thought.

But after meeting Xiao Chen, the innate pride he had carried in his heart had already diminished considerably.

He knew all too well that if a peerless genius like Xiao Chen could be born on Douluo Continent, there might be many other top talents who were just as impressive as he was.

Hu Liena felt the same way.

Xiao Chen's arrival had been like an alarm bell, jolting the Spirit Hall Golden Generation out of its long-held sense of superiority.

The Spirit Hall's once-arrogant geniuses, who had looked down on their peers, had now curbed their pride. They no longer dared underestimate anyone their own age.

Xiao Chen and Yan's battle continued.

Yan knew that if they kept dragging things out, Xiao Chen would wear him down, so he immediately activated his First Spirit Skill—Hell Lava Rush.

Scorching lava enveloped Yan's entire body. The ground grew hot under the searing heat, and Yan became a raging crimson torrent that surged straight toward Xiao Chen, carrying a wave of blistering heat.

Xiao Chen's arrows struck the oncoming torrent of lava. The moment they made contact, the terrifying heat scorched them, melting and dissolving them without slowing the torrent at all.

Yan's First Spirit Skill had a limited range and posed no threat to Xiao Chen from a hundred meters away, so Xiao Chen had no need to meet him head-on and waste Soul Power.

Yan used his First Spirit Skill to break through more than forty meters. The instant its effect ended, an arrow imbued with Brute Force, Piercing Wound, and Speed Boost shot toward him.

Xiao Chen had timed it perfectly. Yan had no time to react, so he could only activate his Second Spirit Skill—Granite Rock—and take the arrow head-on.

Relying on his stone armor, Yan continued charging forward, intent on forcing his way through with his defense.

With the hard, heavy granite armor and the high-temperature molten energy swirling beneath it, Xiao Chen couldn't break through Yan's defenses even by using Spirit Skill Fusion.

Moreover, Yan's Second Spirit Skill covered his entire body, leaving no openings.

However, while maintaining the stone armor, Yan's speed dropped considerably, and it consumed a great deal of Soul Power. Even without outside interference, he could maintain this state for only three to five minutes at most.

Bibi Dong had forbidden Xiao Chen from using Spirit Ring Sharing in front of anyone, so his current attacks truly couldn't penetrate Yan's defenses.

Although the stone armor covered Yan from head to toe, it naturally focused its protection on vital areas such as the head, neck, and heart, leaving other places relatively weak.

After identifying the weak points in Yan's defense, Xiao Chen fired five arrows in rapid succession without hesitation. Each arrow carried both Brute Force and Piercing Wound, and they were aimed precisely at the vulnerable spots in the stone armor.

The five arrows weren't powerful enough to tear through the stone and break his defense, but their forceful, penetrating impacts kept rattling the armor. This forced Yan to expend extra Soul Power to reinforce it, increasing his overall consumption and shortening the time he could maintain the stone armor.

Yan knew that his stone armor had weak points, which he had left that way to conserve Soul Power. But he hadn't expected Xiao Chen to spot them so quickly.

Fortunately, he could still circulate his Soul Power and shift the stone armor's protection in real time, compensating for the weak spots in different areas.

To Yan's surprise, however, Xiao Chen quickly found every weak point whenever he shifted his defense.

Yan should have been able to withstand Xiao Chen's arrows for at least three minutes, but the stone armor's duration was forcibly cut down to one.

The moment the stone armor vanished, Yan was only about eighty meters from Xiao Chen. He immediately used his First Spirit Skill, Hell Lava Rush, again, closing the distance by more than thirty meters.

Now he was only about fifty meters away from Xiao Chen, still outside his optimal attack range.

But Yan could no longer afford to worry about that. He immediately activated his Third Spirit Skill—Hell Flame.

He stomped hard on the ground, which instantly cracked apart. Red flames erupted from the earth, forming a vast sea of fire that spread toward Xiao Chen.

Yan wasn't using this move to attack Xiao Chen. Instead, he wanted the flames to block Xiao Chen's view and use the smoke as cover while he steadily closed the distance between them.

Once Xiao Chen entered the range of his Fourth Spirit Skill, Yan immediately unleashed Lava Surge.

He slammed both fists into the ground and poured Soul Power into the earth. Crimson lava burst from the ground and instantly engulfed Xiao Chen.

Yan had only wanted to trap Xiao Chen in the erupting lava, but then he realized that Xiao Chen had somehow put more distance between them and was just outside the range of Lava Surge.

Only then did Yan remember Xie Yue saying that Xiao Chen was fast.

"I can't believe I used all four of my Soul Skills and still couldn't even touch the hem of Xiao Chen's clothes!" Yan shook his head and gave a wry smile before dispelling his Fourth Spirit Skill.

"I'm done. I admit defeat!" Yan conceded without hesitation. He still had strength left, but he knew full well that even if he gave it everything he had, he wouldn't be able to get close to Xiao Chen.

He had plenty of strength, but he couldn't touch his opponent. The fight had been unbearably frustrating.

"You were gracious," Xiao Chen said, stepping forward and cupping his hands in salute.

Yan waved a hand. He was thoroughly convinced by the outcome of the fight.

"No wonder His Holiness the Pope made an exception and took you as his disciple," Yan said, looking at Xiao Chen.

"I was just lucky," Xiao Chen replied with a smile.

"Don't be so modest. You really are a better match for Nana than I am. Her Charm combined with your ranged attacks would probably rival the Martial Soul Fusion Skill she uses with Xie Yue!" Yan said, finally letting go of his feelings.

Then he added, "But I'm not giving up. We'll compete fairly."

Xiao Chen hurriedly explained, "Brother Yan, don't get the wrong idea. My senior sister and I are just fellow disciples. There's nothing between us!"

But as soon as he finished explaining, Hu Liena's voice came from the side. "Little junior brother, what do you mean? You think your senior sister isn't good enough for you?"

"Uh..." Xiao Chen was mortified, and Chrysanthemum Douluo and the others immediately burst out laughing.

"Hehe... Little junior brother, I'm just teasing you. But you have to promise me this: if you figure out the knack behind your Spirit Skill Fusion, you have to teach me first!" Hu Liena said with a smile.

"No problem!" Xiao Chen said, nodding.