Thousand-Year Spirit Ring!

Two Spirit Rings, one yellow and one purple, appeared beneath Lu Fan's feet.

The other five present were all shocked.

Yan rubbed his eyes and looked again. "Am I seeing this right? His second ring is purple?"

Even the usually aloof Xie Yue widened his eyes.

Hu Liena covered her mouth in disbelief.

Even the Soul Douluo-level Education Committee Member stared at Lu Fan with an incredulous expression.

Is this what a Titled Douluo's disciple is like?

With that thought, his gaze discreetly flicked toward Hu Liena beside him.

But Hu Liena is also the Pope's disciple. Her status should be nobler than Elder Chrysanthemum's disciple's, so why doesn't she have a Thousand-Year Spirit Ring as her second ring?

Li Ming, who stood opposite Lu Fan, was already dumbfounded.

Lu Fan simply gestured for him to proceed.

Whether in attack or defense, Lu Fan was now very strong.

But there was one exception.

Speed was his weakness.

Thus, whenever he fought others, he often let them attack first.

That made it difficult for them to discover his weakness in speed right away.

Then, in close combat, he could drag them into his own rhythm.

Li Ming took a deep breath and thrust his spear at Lu Fan.

Lu Fan sensed the Soul Power fluctuations coming from the spear.

"It's not even as good as Dai Mubai's. Then again, how could an ordinary spear compare to the White Tiger Martial Soul?"

Lu Fan's first Spirit Ring flashed.

He activated his first soul skill, Singular Velvet Protection.

The petals of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum instantly covered and protected his entire body.

He directly reached out and gripped the spearhead.

Li Ming's heart skipped a beat at the sight.

With a thought,

the Silver Spear vanished.

He swung both hands again, and the Silver Spear reappeared in his grasp, sweeping toward Lu Fan's right side with his movement.

Lu Fan reached out with his right hand, seized the Silver Spear, and hoisted Li Ming into the air.

Li Ming recalled his Martial Soul again, intending to borrow the momentum. He summoned it from midair and aimed straight at Lu Fan's head.

Lu Fan stood where he was with his arms folded across his chest.

He remained completely still, as though he had not seen Li Ming's attack at all.

"Watch out!"

Hu Liena, who had long since stopped training and was idly watching the fight, saw Lu Fan standing there as if stunned and hurriedly warned him.

"You three, stop slacking off!"

Hearing her, the Education Committee Member looked over and shouted at the three who had stopped moving.

Meanwhile, on Lu Fan's side,

just as the Silver Spear was about to stab Lu Fan,

Lu Fan's Martial Soul suddenly appeared above his head.

At the same time, the purple Spirit Ring beneath his feet flashed.

The seemingly delicate Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum instantly transformed from a fragile flower into something metallic.

The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum blocked the Silver Spear's attack.

Several petals fell away.

"Did that attack work?"

Li Ming was delighted.

Yet before he could rejoice for long,

those petals seemed to come alive and shot straight for Li Ming's throat.

"Not good!"

Li Ming tried to dodge,

but he was still in midair and could barely move.

"Second soul skill, Head-On Strike."

Li Ming activated his second soul skill, forcibly changing his posture with its power. Only then did he narrowly evade the attack.

"He actually dodged it."

Lu Fan was somewhat surprised.

But that changed nothing.

With a thought from Lu Fan, the petals changed direction and flew at Li Ming.

"First soul skill, Sharpness."

Li Ming activated his first soul skill, imbuing his Martial Soul with power.

The Silver Spear's tip gleamed with a cold light.

Li Ming intercepted the petals with several spear flicks.

But it was obvious at a glance who was stronger.

Even though Li Ming blocked them,

the recoil still forced him back several steps.

The blocked petals rose into the air again.

"Again?!"

Li Ming's face paled as he watched the petals rise once more.

Fortunately, he still managed to block them without mishap.

But it had consumed a considerable amount of his stamina.

If this happened a few more times, he probably would not be able to hold on.

Although his stamina was being drained rapidly, Li Ming only grew braver as the battle continued.

He had now found a way to deal with those petals.

As long as he used his soul skills, he would have enough power to shatter them.

"Is this the gap between me and a top genius? It seems I might not be unable to catch up..."

Before Li Ming could finish,

Lu Fan, finding the fight somewhat boring and wanting to end it quickly, abruptly surged his Soul Power.

The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum above his head slowly rose and began to spin.

Almost instantly,

dozens of Diamond Petals shot out.

Under Lu Fan's control,

the petals seemed to possess a will of their own.

They gathered in midair, seeming to piece themselves together into one enormous petal as they struck at Li Ming.

Li Ming froze in terror at the sight.

"This... can't be resisted..."

The confidence he had just regained was shattered in an instant.

Boom!

The Soul Power petal Lu Fan had condensed was blasted apart.

The Education Committee Member had intervened.

"That's enough, that's enough. You win this one, student Lu Fan."

Lu Fan nodded and, with a thought, recalled his Martial Soul.

The petals turned into Soul Power and vanished.

The Education Committee Member looked at Li Ming beside him. "You can head back first. I'll have your homeroom teacher award you some extra credits later."

Li Ming thanked him. "Thank you, Education Committee Member."

Then he left as if fleeing.

The Education Committee Member then looked at Lu Fan with a complicated expression.

If Lu Fan only had a Soul Douluo behind him, he would definitely have asked about it.

But Lu Fan had both Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo behind him.

He knew that some things could be said,

while other things could not.

At the very least, they were not things he could say.

But Hu Liena was different.

She had backing too.

"Xiao Fan, your Spirit Rings..."

However, Hu Liena's question was also very subtle.

Lu Fan did not say much in response. "It's all perseverance and hard work."

Neither Hu Liena nor the others refuted him.

After all, talent alone truly was not enough for something like this.

Hard work was absolutely indispensable.

After school,

the four of them left together.

The other three were still somewhat absorbed in thoughts of Lu Fan's Thousand-Year second Spirit Ring.

"I'm going home to eat, then cultivate my Soul Power. What about you?"

Lu Fan planned to head straight home.

The other three shook their heads. "We each have other training to do."

Lu Fan nodded. At the same time, his gaze held a trace of sympathy when he looked at Xie Yue.

He had accidentally heard from elsewhere

that Xie Yue's teacher was merely a Soul Emperor.

A genius like Xie Yue, who had hopes of becoming a Titled Douluo—or at the very least a Soul Douluo or even a Platinum Bishop—had a teacher who was only a Soul Emperor.

Yet his younger sister, Hu Liena,

had the renowned Pope as her teacher.

The difference could not have been greater.

"Are the people in Spirit Hall blind or something?"

Lu Fan muttered inwardly.

But in the end, that was someone else's business.

Lu Fan went home as usual to eat, cultivate, and soak in a medicinal bath.

And with Yue Guan's permission,

he finally got to eat the Whale Rubber he had been craving.

And it was Thousand-Year Whale Rubber!

Lu Fan said to the cook, "Keep an eye out for me. If Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber ever appears on the market, make sure to buy it. As for the money, just come to me for reimbursement."

Lu Fan was not poor now.

There were still fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins inside the storage bracelet Bibi Dong had given him.

Lu Fan could now be considered rather well-off.

"Yes."

The cook agreed.

Even Chrysanthemum Douluo had approved it, so what more could a lowly cook say?