Code Name: Boundless!

Jiang Ming's back disappeared around the street corner in the north of the city.

Yu Xiaogang was still roaring behind him, but it had already devolved into indistinct curses.

Like a dog whose tail had been stepped on, all that remained was unwilling whimpering.

Tang San stood where he was, looking at the old locust tree that had been severed.

The wood fibers at the cut were smooth as a mirror.

He looked at the few strands of hair on the ground, his face filled with silence.

"Little San."

Yu Xiaogang finally climbed back to his feet.

There was a hole worn into the knee of his pants, dust on his forehead, and his nose was slightly red.

That fall had hit him hard.

"Teacher, let's go back."

Tang San walked over and supported his arm.

"I'll make him pay the price."

Yu Xiaogang glared in the direction Jiang Ming had disappeared, his chest heaving violently a few times before he finally forced out a sentence through clenched teeth.

Tang San looked once more at the locust tree lying on the ground.

The Blue Silver Grass had not been cut apart. Space itself had been severed!

Just like Jiang Ming's Space Martial Soul.

How was he supposed to defeat an opponent like that?

Three years later.

Suotuo City.

Jiang Ming stood in a private room at the Soul Fighting Arena, listening to the uproar outside.

The spectators' cries surged in from the end of the passageway, carrying a wave of heat and the extravagant scent of alcohol.

When he had first arrived in Suotuo City three years ago, he had only a few Gold Soul Coins on him.

Now, he carried a Gold Soul Coin card in his pocket, with nearly thirty thousand Gold Soul Coins saved inside.

All of that money had been earned in this Soul Fighting Arena.

"Boundless, it's your turn!"

A staff member in a short jacket poked his head in through the door.

"Alright!"

Jiang Ming slowly rose to his feet.

His Soul Power was now Rank 19.

Three years.

From Rank 13 to Rank 19.

Two ranks per year.

That pace was not fast. It could even be called somewhat slow.

And that was with the nourishment of the Blue Silver Emperor.

Otherwise, his Soul Power would likely have risen even more slowly.

But Jiang Ming knew very well that this was already his limit.

The meditation technique of a junior Soul Master Academy was ultimately far too limited.

What he needed now was a higher-level meditation technique.

After all, he was not Tang San, able to casually obtain the High-Level Meditation Technique in Yu Xiaogang's hands.

Anyone could guess that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's meditation technique was stronger than Nuoding Academy's.

Over the three years at the Soul Fighting Arena, his development of the Space Martial Soul had also become far more refined.

He could now compress spatial rifts into threads even finer than needlepoints!

From thirty feet away, he could sever the veins of a leaf without damaging the leaf itself.

Few people would believe that level of precision if he told them.

But he did not need anyone to believe him.

Main Soul Fighting Zone.

The circular stands were packed with people.

Jiang Ming stood on the eastern side of the arena, still wearing that black short-sleeved shirt.

"Next is today's tenth Soul Fight—one-on-one combat!"

The host's voice spread throughout the entire Soul Fighting Arena through a soul tool amplifier.

"Red-side contestant, Rank 19 assault-type battle Soul Master—Evil Fire Phoenix!"

From the passageway on the western side of the arena, a youth dressed in a fitted red outfit strode out.

The so-called Evil Fire Phoenix was naturally Ma Hongjun.

This Brothel Phoenix was now ten years old.

Though he was only ten, Ma Hongjun was already a regular at brothels.

Ma Hongjun was half a head shorter than Jiang Ming.

He was about 140 tall, and likely weighed around 140 as well.

When Ma Hongjun stepped onto the arena, a considerable cheer rose from the stands.

"Evil Fire Phoenix!!"

"Burn him! Burn him!"

Ma Hongjun raised his right hand and waved toward the stands, a confident smile hanging from his lips.

"Blue-side contestant, Rank 19 agility-type battle Soul Master—Boundless!"

When the host announced the codename Boundless, the atmosphere in the stands visibly changed.

The cheers did not stop, but they were mixed with some very different voices.

"Him again!"

"Why is that jinx still here?"

"Quiet, quiet. Didn't he lose his last match? He should win today, right?"

"Are you stupid? Did you see the odds? He lost that last match for no reason. I think he did it on purpose!"

"Lost on purpose?"

"What else could it be? He lost to a Rank 14 defense-type Soul Master. Do you believe that? I sure don't."

In a corner of the stands, several veteran gamblers who had spent years around the Soul Fighting Arena were arguing fiercely.

"What are today's odds?"

A balding middle-aged man asked.

"Evil Fire Phoenix pays three to one. Boundless pays 1.2 to one."

A tall, thin man beside him replied.

"These odds again? Boundless is so strong, yet the odds are still this low. What the hell am I supposed to win?"

The balding man cursed.

"He's fought nearly two hundred matches here. His win rate is a little over sixty percent, but look at the matches he lost..."

The tall, thin man shrugged.

The two exchanged glances and saw the same conclusion in each other's eyes.

The matches he lost had basically all been against opponents obviously weaker than him.

And the way he lost was always the same.

He was not defeated.

He made a mistake himself.

Either he would be fighting and suddenly claim he had no Soul Power left.

Or he would stand there in a daze and get sent flying by a single move.

It looked perfectly normal.

But when it happened too many times, it had to be deliberate!

"The match begins."

The instant the referee announced the start of the match, Ma Hongjun directly activated his Martial Soul.

"First Soul Skill—Phoenix Fire Line!"

The moment the fiery red Soul Power condensed, it stretched into a long, thin line of flame that swept toward Jiang Ming.

The fire line was not particularly hot, but it was incredibly fast and carried a strange clinginess.

Ma Hongjun's flames differed from those of ordinary fire-type Soul Masters.

The heat they carried was not their main means of attack. What was truly terrifying was their ability to keep burning.

Once they stuck to something, they were hard to shake off.

Jiang Ming watched the fire line sweep toward him without moving a single step.

When the fire line came within three feet of him, he tilted his head.

The fire line grazed past his ear, and the scorching air curled a few strands of his hair slightly.

He had not even used spatial displacement.

Ma Hongjun's pupils contracted slightly.

The angle and speed of that attack had been honed through dozens of real battles.

This was the first time he had seen someone dodge his attack in such a way at the Suotuo City Soul Fighting Arena.

Ma Hongjun did not stop.

The instant he unleashed his First Soul Skill—

His body had already shot forward, charging at Jiang Ming like a cannonball.

Ten steps.

Five steps.

Three steps.

The distance was close enough.

Ma Hongjun suddenly clenched his right hand into a fist, a dense layer of flames burning across its surface.

This was not a Soul Skill. It was simply a close-range attack formed by pouring Soul Power into his fist and combining it with the flames' adhesive effect.

When his fist was less than a foot from Jiang Ming's chest—

Silver light flashed.

Jiang Ming vanished.

Ma Hongjun's fist struck empty air, and his body tipped slightly forward from using too much force.

At that very moment, he felt something lightly tap his back.

It was not a heavy blow, nor was it a critical strike.

It was merely a light tap.

Like a finger poking his back.

Ma Hongjun's body stiffened.

He lowered his head and saw an extremely tiny point of light on his chest.

That glimmer passed through his clothes, through his skin, through his muscles, flashing once inside his body.

Then it vanished...