Su Chen landed steadily in the center of the arena.
The hard Adamantine Rock floor rang out with a dull thud.
The gazes of several thousand people in the stands all focused on him.
The elite students in the stands finally got a clear look at him.
A six-year-old child.
He wore a black brocade robe.
Though he was taller than most children his age,
his still-childish face proved his true age.
A burst of laughter immediately broke out among the students.
"Is this the little brat who wants to become the Holy Son?"
"I heard he only awakened his Martial Soul three days ago. He doesn't even have a Soul Ring. Did they bring us here to play house with him?"
The students made no effort to hide their contempt.
At the highest point of the stands,
Bibi Dong sat on the Pope Throne.
She gazed down coldly.
Golden Crocodile Douluo rose to his feet.
He raised a hand and pressed it downward.
His vigorous Soul Power instantly spread to every corner of the Martial Arts Arena.
All the laughter was forcibly silenced.
"Today, the Pope Palace intends to appoint Su Chen as the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall."
Golden Crocodile Douluo's voice was full of authority.
"The rule of the Spirit Hall is that the capable take the position. All students of the Junior Class and Intermediate Class at the Martial Soul Academy, listen up."
"Anyone may come up and challenge him."
"No matter what method you use, whoever defeats him on this arena will be taken in as a personal disciple by the Elder Hall and provided with the very best cultivation resources."
At those words,
the breathing of the thousands of students below the stands instantly grew heavy.
A personal disciple of the Elder Hall.
It meant ascending to the heavens in a single step.
Not only would they receive personal guidance from a Titled Douluo,
they might even have a chance to obtain top-grade Soul Bones with high year counts in the future.
The way they looked at Su Chen changed completely.
Their earlier contempt was replaced by boundless fervor.
In their eyes, Su Chen was now a gigantic stepping stone.
Whoever could climb over him would completely change their fate.
Su Chen stood on the arena.
He felt hundreds and thousands of hostile gazes surrounding him.
He wasn't nervous at all.
His body, transformed by the Marrow Cleansing Pill, brimmed with surging strength.
Right now, he felt he could punch straight through the Adamantine Rock in front of him.
He raised his head.
His gaze swept over the students below.
"No need to waste everyone's time."
Su Chen spoke in a clear, ringing voice.
The powerful vitality and strength of his body carried his voice far.
It reached every person's ears with perfect clarity.
"Those below level ten, don't come up here to get yourselves killed. Those above level ten who think they're strong enough, come on up."
"Whether you come one at a time or all at once, I'll take you on."
Arrogant.
The students in the stands erupted.
A brat who had awakened his Martial Soul just three days ago—
who hadn't even turned his Soul Power into actual fighting strength—
dared to provoke the entire Martial Soul Academy's elite at once.
"That's too much. I'm all you need to deal with a green kid like you."
A burly boy could no longer hold himself back.
He charged straight out from the students.
With a forceful push of his legs,
he leaped heavily onto the arena.
"Junior Class, Wang Hu. Nine years old. Martial Soul: Iron Armor Rhinoceros. Level fourteen Assault Battle Soul Master."
Wang Hu loudly announced his name.
He had no intention of holding back.
The Elder Hall's offer was too tempting.
He had to claim the first victory.
Wang Hu let out a roar.
Soul Power surged from his body.
A thick layer of gray, bony armor quickly covered his arms and chest.
His body seemed to grow taller in an instant.
A sharp, illusory rhinoceros horn sprouted from his forehead.
A white Hundred-Year Soul Ring slowly rose from beneath his feet.
Though it was a Ten-Year Level Soul Ring,
it was enough to double his defense and strength.
"Brat, get down!"
Wang Hu strode forward on his thick legs.
He charged at Su Chen like a heavy tank at full speed.
With every step,
the arena floor gave a weighty thud.
The instructors in the stands nodded slightly.
Wang Hu ranked among the strongest students in the Junior Class.
This strike had been building up his momentum.
Its force was fierce and unyielding.
Even an ordinary level-fifteen Soul Master wouldn't dare meet it head-on.
Everyone stared at Su Chen.
They wanted to see how this legendary prodigy would respond.
The Titled Douluos of the Elder Hall narrowed their eyes as well.
Yet Su Chen didn't move at all.
He didn't release his Martial Soul.
He didn't retreat.
He made no move to dodge, either.
He simply stood there quietly,
watching Wang Hu charge toward him with overwhelming momentum.
"He hasn't even released his Martial Soul. Is he scared stiff?"
Demon Bear Douluo snorted from the stands.
Bibi Dong remained seated.
Her expression didn't change.
Wang Hu reached Su Chen in an instant.
His massive fist, accompanied by a sharp whoosh,
smashed straight toward Su Chen's face.
Just as the fist was about to hit,
Su Chen finally moved.
He raised his right hand.
His fingers spread wide.
He met Wang Hu's fist head-on, despite it being a full size larger than his own.
Thud.
The large and small hands slammed together.
A dull, thunderous boom rang out.
The imagined scene of Su Chen being sent flying on the spot never came.
Su Chen's body didn't move an inch.
His feet seemed rooted to the spot, planted firmly on the Adamantine Rock.
He hadn't even taken half a step back.
His right hand held Wang Hu's fist firmly in place.
Wang Hu's eyes widened.
His full-force strike felt as if it had hit an unshakable divine mountain.
The tremendous rebound numbed his entire right arm in an instant.
He lost all feeling in it.
"So this is the strength of a level fourteen Soul Master?"
Su Chen's voice was calm.
He looked at Wang Hu's disbelieving face.
"Too weak."
As soon as the words left his mouth,
Su Chen suddenly exerted strength with his right hand.
The terrifying physical strength of his body, perfectly transformed by the Marrow Cleansing Pill, burst forth.
Two thousand jin of pure physical force struck Wang Hu's wrist.
Crack.
The sound of bones shifting out of place and breaking rang out clearly.
Wang Hu let out a piercing scream.
Su Chen didn't stop.
He swung a kick,
driving it straight into Wang Hu's abdomen, which was covered in a layer of bony armor.
Thud.
The armor shattered instantly.
Wang Hu's burly body flew away like a kite with its string cut.
He traced a long arc through the air,
soaring beyond the edge of the arena
and crashing heavily into the ground beneath the stands more than ten meters away.
After rolling on the ground a few times,
he passed out on the spot.
Not a sound came from the Martial Arts Arena.
Everyone stopped talking.
They stared wide-eyed at Wang Hu lying on the ground,
then at Su Chen, standing unharmed in the center of the arena.
It completely overturned everything they knew.
A level-fourteen Assault Battle Soul Master
had used his Martial Soul
and activated his Soul Ring,
yet had been knocked out in one move by a six-year-old who hadn't even used his Martial Soul.
And they had clashed head-on, with nothing but pure physical strength.
Golden Crocodile Douluo abruptly sat up straighter in the stands.
"Pure physical strength."
Golden Crocodile Douluo saw what was going on.
"He didn't call on even a trace of Soul Power. He blocked the impact of a Soul Ring skill with nothing but his body."
Demon Bear Douluo also dropped his earlier disdain.
The strike Su Chen had just unleashed—
its speed and power had far surpassed those of an ordinary Soul Grandmaster.
Bibi Dong watched the stunned reactions around the arena.
The corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
She knew Su Chen had given everyone a huge surprise.
Su Chen drew back his right leg.
He brushed at dust that wasn't there on his black brocade clothes.
His gaze swept over the crowd below once more.
"Next."
Those three words thudded into the students' hearts.
The students came to their senses.
Fear and anger intertwined.
Su Chen's nonchalant attitude had thoroughly enraged these boys who thought themselves geniuses.
"How arrogant. I'll take you on."
A lanky eleven-year-old boy leaped onto the arena.
He wore the distinctive uniform of the intermediate class.
"Intermediate class. Li Yan. Martial Soul: Blazing Fire Staff. Seventeenth-level Battle Soul Master."
A staff wreathed in dark red flames appeared in Li Yan's hands.
A yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring rose beneath his feet.
A Soul Ring Configuration with a hundred years or more behind it—
that already counted as upper-tier aptitude in the intermediate class.
Li Yan said nothing.
He swung his staff at once.
The flames on it flared brightly.
With a scorching gust and overwhelming force,
it crashed straight down toward Su Chen's head.
Su Chen still didn't release his Martial Soul.
He simply leaned slightly to one side.
The staff scraped past his shoulder and slammed down,
striking the Adamantite Rock with a heavy thud.
A faint white mark appeared on the Adamantite Rock.
Sparks flew everywhere.
Li Yan's strike missed.
He immediately swept his staff toward Su Chen's legs.
Su Chen pushed off with his feet.
His whole body shot into the air in an instant,
evading the sweep as he completed a difficult turn midair.
His right leg chopped down from above.
Li Yan's expression changed drastically.
He hurriedly raised the Blazing Fire Staff to block.
Bang!
Su Chen's right leg smashed into the Blazing Fire Staff.
The tremendous force bent the staff outright.
Li Yan's arms couldn't withstand the impact.
His palms split open,
and blood welled out.
The Blazing Fire Staff flew from his hands.
After landing, Su Chen followed through with a punch to Li Yan's chest.
Li Yan spat out a mouthful of blood.
His body flew off the arena,
landing beside Wang Hu.
He passed out just the same.
Once again, it had taken only one move.
The atmosphere in the Martial Arts Arena grew oppressive.
No one thought of him as an ordinary six-year-old child anymore.
"Power Attack System won't work. Use the Agility Attack System to wear him down. Drain his strength!"
The intermediate-class instructor shouted directions from below.
A girl immediately leaped onto the arena.
"Intermediate class. Zhao Feng. Twelve years old. Martial Soul: Gale Leopard. Eighteenth-level Agility Attack System Battle Soul Master."
Zhao Feng moved with light, nimble steps.
After Martial Soul Possession,
blue-green leopard markings appeared across her body.
The nails on both hands grew sharp.
A yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring lit up beneath her feet.
"First Soul Skill: Gale Step!"
Zhao Feng immediately activated her Soul Skill.
Her speed doubled in an instant.
She became a blue-green blur,
racing around Su Chen in frantic circles,
trying to find an opening.
She had no intention of meeting him head-on.
She only hoped to wear Su Chen down with her speed.
Su Chen stood in the center of the arena.
He closed his eyes.
Against a rapidly moving opponent,
trying to track her with his eyes would only invite deception.
The Million-Year Head Soul Bone in Su Chen's mind stirred slightly.
His tangible spiritual power instantly spread across the entire arena.
Within the spiritual domain's perception,
Zhao Feng's vaunted speed became perfectly clear.
Every step she took,
every breath,
even the direction in which her muscles exerted force—
all of it was laid bare to Su Chen's senses.
Zhao Feng thought she had found an opening.
She sprang from Su Chen's blind spot,
her sharp claws reaching straight for his side.
The instant she left the ground,
Su Chen turned sharply.
He thrust out his right hand,
catching Zhao Feng by the neck with pinpoint precision.
He lifted her into the air.
Zhao Feng's attack fell apart in an instant.
She stared at the boy before her in terror.
No matter how she struggled,
the hand around her neck didn't budge.
Su Chen casually flung her away.
Zhao Feng was thrown off the arena.
Three high-level students in a row—
three different fighting styles—
all defeated with ease.
Su Chen's strength completely shattered the pride of the Martial Soul Academy's elite.
The instructors' faces turned ashen.
They could see how unfathomable Su Chen was.
This wasn't even a fight on the same level.
Going up one by one was no different from asking for death.
"Stop going up one at a time. He's too strong!"
Someone in the crowd finally shouted.
A slender boy walked out from the back of the crowd.
He was the undisputed core of the intermediate class,
and the strongest person there.
"The intermediate class's number one. Lei Tian. Nineteenth-level Power Attack System. Martial Soul: Raging Thunder War Bear."
Lei Tian stepped onto the arena.
He looked back at the ranks of students.
"Everyone above level fifteen, get up here. No matter what, we can't let the Martial Soul Academy lose face today."
At Lei Tian's call,
the students abandoned the idea of fighting alone.
More than a dozen figures leaped onto the arena one after another.
They spread out in a fan,
surrounding Su Chen in the center.
More than a dozen Martial Souls were released at once.
Their multicolored light illuminated the Adamantite Arena.
Faced with the attack of more than a dozen elites,
Su Chen showed no alarm.
He rolled his neck,
and his bones cracked in a series of sharp pops.
Looking at the opponents poised around him,
he slowly took up a fighting stance.
"Now this is getting interesting."
Before you continue