Speed Battle, Quick Resolution

Xiao Chen's new codename was—Absolute String, with a registered Spirit Power level of forty-first rank.

Hu Liena's new codename was—Fox Fairy, also a forty-first rank Soul Ancestor.

As the host announced the start of the fight, both sides immediately entered battle.

Although Xiao Chen and Hu Liena's Spirit Power levels were lower than their opponents', the latter showed no sign of underestimation.

The 'Demon Butterfly' opened by releasing her first Spirit Skill: Butterfly Shadow Clone.

She directly split into three figures, forming an encirclement around Xiao Chen and Hu Liena.

Without a second thought, Xiao Chen raised his hand and shot an arrow at the leftmost 'Demon Butterfly', the arrow infused with 'Speed Boost' arriving before her in an instant.

The 'Demon Butterfly' never expected Xiao Chen to identify her true body at first glance, nor did she anticipate the arrow's incredible speed.

With no room to dodge, she could only channel her Spirit Power to block.

Xiao Chen fired two more arrows at her in quick succession, then shifted his aim and shot an arrow imbued with 'Piercing Wound' and 'Speed Boost' at the 'Thunder Bear'.

This was because Hu Liena had already activated her first Spirit Skill against the 'Thunder Bear': Charm.

Charm only required eye contact to take effect, and although the 'Thunder Bear's' Spirit Power level was four ranks higher than Hu Liena's, his mental fortitude was comparatively weak.

The 'Thunder Bear' instantly lost focus, unable to even use a Spirit Skill before Xiao Chen's arrow pierced his chest.

On the other side, the 'Demon Butterfly' had just blocked the three arrows Xiao Chen fired when she noticed a pink mist rising around her.

"Not good!"

The 'Demon Butterfly' was greatly alarmed, feeling her Spirit Power flow sluggish and slow, illusory sounds ringing in her ears, and her mind being eroded by a powerful mental force, on the verge of losing focus at any moment.

This was precisely Hu Liena's second Spirit Skill—Fox Charm.

Without any hesitation, the 'Demon Butterfly' directly activated her third Spirit Skill—Dark Wing Butterfly Powder.

She lightly spun her slender body, her dark butterfly wings slowly fluttering and gently fanning.

Fine, dust-like black powder drifted down from between her wings, dispersing into wisps of dim mist that spread and enveloped the Fighting Soul Arena.

These black powder could corrode Spirit Power; she intended to use an area attack to break Hu Liena's second Spirit Skill, while also hoping the 'Thunder Bear' would help her out.

Unfortunately, the 'Thunder Bear' was already lying on the ground.

Xiao Chen's arrow was perfectly placed, precisely tearing through the 'Thunder Bear's' vital Spirit Power channels, causing his Spirit Power to stagnate.

Though not life-threatening, the 'Thunder Bear' certainly wouldn't wake up anytime soon.

The 'Demon Butterfly' was no weakling, but she had the misfortune of facing Hu Liena; in a one-on-one situation, she couldn't possibly break free from Hu Liena's mental interference, let alone with Xiao Chen, an archer, watching her like a hawk.

The 'Demon Butterfly's' black butterfly powder had only spread two or three meters when Xiao Chen's arrow pierced through the dark dust and reached her.

Although she hadn't fully lost focus, under Hu Liena's mental interference, she simply couldn't dodge the arrow Xiao Chen fired.

Thus, this battle had only just begun when it ended.

Xiao Chen and Hu Liena had defeated the Thunder Shadow Duo in a mere seven or eight seconds.

The Fighting Soul Arena instantly fell into a deathly silence.

The entire audience froze in place, the once noisy chatter, shouts, and cheers abruptly cut off. Everyone's eyes were locked on the arena, faces filled with disbelief.

The silence lasted only a moment; the next second, the entire Fighting Soul Arena erupted!

An overwhelming uproar swept across all directions, gasps, exclamations, and sharp intakes of breath rising one after another.

No one had expected that the notoriously fierce and cunning veteran team, the Thunder Shadow Duo, would lose so cleanly and so quickly.

"The Thunder Shadow Duo got taken out that fast? Am I seeing things?" a spectator exclaimed in amazement.

"That archer's timing was perfect! One arrow sealed their meridians, crippling the 'Thunder Bear' outright—truly brilliant!"

"The 'Fox Fairy's' mental control is also formidable; not only did she make the 'Thunder Bear' lose focus, but she also completely suppressed the 'Demon Butterfly', giving 'Absolute String' the killing opportunity!"

"I thought it would be a tough fight, but it turned into a one-sided speed blitz! Poor 'Thunder Bear' didn't even get to use a single Spirit Skill before he was down!"

"Their coordination is incredible—control and kill, all in one smooth motion! If this were real combat, the 'Thunder Bear' and 'Demon Butterfly' would already be two corpses!"

"Did you notice? When 'Absolute String' drew his bow and shot, his Spirit Rings didn't light up. Could it be he didn't use a Spirit Skill just now?"

"Impossible! I've heard that a very small number of top-tier Soul Masters, or those with special Spirit Skills, can indeed activate their skills without showing their Spirit Rings! It seems 'Absolute String' is one of those people."

The surrounding exclamations were endless, all shouting the names 'Absolute String' and 'Fox Fairy'.

Xiao Chen and Hu Liena didn't linger on the Fighting Soul Arena; they returned directly to the rest area.

As soon as they entered, Yan exclaimed in admiration, "Impressive! You two won that fight way too cleanly! Even if Xie Yue and Nana teamed up, they couldn't have taken those two down in such a short time!"

Xie Yue nodded in agreement, well aware that unless he and Hu Liena used their Spirit Fusion Skill from the start, they could never defeat the 'Thunder Bear' and 'Demon Butterfly' in such a brief span.

"Ah, I was hoping to try out my fourth Spirit Skill's power, but little junior brother was too strong, never giving me the chance to use it from start to finish." Hu Liena lightly furrowed her brows, feigning a helpless sigh, her tone carrying a hint of playfulness and pride.

"Not at all, not at all. It was senior sister's exquisite mental control that firmly restrained the opponent, giving me the perfect opening to strike." Xiao Chen quickly replied, his tone humble and sincere.

Yan watched the two of them play off each other and felt quite helpless.

He looked at Xie Yue and said, "Brother Xie Yue, I feel that even if the two of us teamed up, we might not be able to beat Nana and Xiao Chen!"

Xie Yue gave a slight nod and spoke calmly, "In this arena, we still have a chance to compete; but if we were to fight at a distance outside, we would have no hope of victory."

He understood clearly that Hu Liena's mental control was also long-range. Although he was confident he could resist it, he knew he would inevitably suffer some interference.

And Xiao Chen's arrows were far too precise.

Even as an Agility-type Soul Master, he dared not imagine how he could deal with Xiao Chen's relentless volley of arrows while under mental disruption.

"I can't even imagine how strong Xiao Chen would be if he were at the same level as us!" Yan exclaimed in admiration.

But no sooner had he spoken than he sensed a fluctuation in Spirit Power.

"Not bad, he's actually broken through to the twenty-fourth rank!" Chrysanthemum Douluo praised from the side.

"No way!" Yan stared at Xiao Chen as if he had seen a ghost.

He remembered Xie Yue mentioning that Xiao Chen had only just attached his second Spirit Ring to both Martial Souls a few days ago.

Breaking through directly to the twenty-third rank after fusing a Spirit Ring was already astonishing enough, but who could have guessed that in just a few short days, Xiao Chen would break through another rank?

At this moment, Yan felt nothing but a jumble of mixed emotions in his heart. Xiao Chen's absurd cultivation speed had truly dealt him a blow.