Douluo: Rebuking the Grandmaster at the Start

"Sorry, we'll be taking our leave first." What Qin Ming thought and what he said naturally could not be the same. He offered Lu Yu and Hua Yuan a slight apology.

Lu Yu did not respond.

It was not that he looked down on Qin Ming. They simply were not that familiar with each other.

Qin Ming and the others left, but their departure did not cause much of a ripple in Lu Yu's heart.

His goal was clear.

The Silver Soul Badge.

As for whether anyone would use him as a whetstone to teach their students a lesson.

It truly did not matter.

Why had he joined Spirit Hall? Aside from Bibi Dong's connection, the greater reason was that with Spirit Hall backing him, no one could force him to do things he did not want to do.

If he did not want to, no one could do anything to him.

Because his backing was strong enough.

Before long, Lu Fei returned.

The three of them moved to the designated one-on-one Death Match section.

After this match.

They would obtain their Copper Fighting Badges and move one step closer to the Silver Soul Badge.

Perhaps because this was a promotion match, the Soul Fighting Arena had deliberately arranged a Soul Elder-level opponent for Lu Yu, driving the audience's enthusiasm to its peak.

A Soul Grandmaster against a Soul Elder.

Such battles might not have been uncommon in the Soul Fighting Arena, but most involved Soul Grandmasters at level twenty-eight or twenty-nine. A level twenty-four Soul Grandmaster like this.

Was still exceedingly rare.

Moreover, Lu Yu's opponent was no slouch, whether in Martial Soul quality or Soul Ring configuration. He was quite a formidable Battle Soul Elder.

Even so, the number of people betting on Lu Yu did not decrease.

Over the past few days, Lu Yu had built up an invincible image in everyone's minds. Was he not just a mere level thirty-one Soul Elder?

No big deal.

Of course, where there were blindly obedient followers, there were naturally people betting the other way.

After all, he was still a fairly strong Soul Elder with a certain chance of defeating Lu Yu. If they bet correctly.

They would strike it rich.

"Now, please welcome both contestants to the stage!"

"Nine Absolutes... Nine Absolutes..."

As the Master of Ceremonies' voice fell, Lu Yu and his opponent emerged from their respective waiting areas, and overwhelming cheers instantly erupted from the stands.

However, nearly all those cheers were for Lu Yu and had nothing to do with his opponent, making the latter's expression rather unpleasant.

Lu Yu fixed his gaze on the man opposite him.

This time, his opponent was a massively built muscle-bound brute.

Even Zhao Wuji was probably no more impressive than this, right?

At this moment, the Master of Ceremonies had already begun introducing both sides' information and records.

From the introduction, Lu Yu also learned about his opponent.

Xiongba Tianxia...

That title was domineering, but it also carried a touch of adolescent cringe.

If one only heard the name and did not see the person, Lu Yu would definitely have assumed he was some young man in his teens or twenties.

A level thirty-one assault-type Battle Soul Elder, with the Earth Violent Bear as his Martial Soul and two yellow Soul Rings and one purple Soul Ring. This was also his promotion match, but he had not earned it through a winning streak. He had accumulated his victories bit by bit.

The Earth Violent Bear specialized in strength. Its defense was decent as well, though not outstanding. It was considered a fairly good beast Martial Soul.

Chapter 54: Obtaining the Copper Fighting Badge

However, the type of Soul Master Lu Yu feared least was one with well-developed limbs and a simple mind, so he did not feel much apprehension toward Xiongba Tianxia.

The only thing he needed to be wary of was the man's Third Soul Skill.

After all, it was a thousand-year Soul Skill.

It deserved at least some respect.

Xiongba Tianxia, on the other hand, wore a rather grave expression.

Nine Absolutes was now well-known. Forget the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena—even throughout Heaven Dou City, quite a few people knew of him.

Grave as he was, wary as he was, Xiongba Tianxia was not afraid of facing Nine Absolutes. Instead, he was faintly excited.

Yes, his opponent was strong, but was he weak?

As long as he defeated him, his name would surely spread throughout Heaven Dou City.

At that point, Nine Absolutes would be nothing more than a stepping stone.

"Both contestants, summon your Martial Souls!"

"Nine Absolutes... Nine Absolutes..."

Facing a Soul Elder-level opponent, Lu Yu did not intend to hide his abilities any longer. As one yellow and one purple Soul Ring rose around him, the stands instantly erupted.

"Martial Soul, possess!"

Opposite him, Xiongba Tianxia let out an angry roar. His already muscular body swelled once more, and in the blink of an eye, he transformed into a half-man, half-bear form.

Especially his palms.

Massive, heavy, and brimming with power.

Other than defense-type Soul Masters, no one could withstand a single strike from them.

This was the Earth Explosive Bear.

But Lu Yu was not intimidated in the slightest. He could kite his opponent and wear him down from range, so why would he take a bear's palm head-on?

Was that not simply courting death?

In terms of speed, even ten Xiongba Tianxias would not be his match.

If he could not get close, what use was all that strength?

As the Master of Ceremonies announced the start of the battle, Xiongba Tianxia immediately poured his Soul Power into his First Soul Ring.

"First Soul Skill, Death Impact!"

As his First Soul Ring lit up, Xiongba Tianxia charged at Lu Yu like Xiang Yu using his first skill in Honor of Kings.

He was incredibly fast!

That surprised Lu Yu somewhat.

He had not expected this guy to possess such a Soul Skill. Perhaps he had recognized his own weakness as well.

But it did not matter!

Lu Yu immediately used Lingbo Microsteps and successfully widened the distance three seconds before the other man could crash into him, causing Xiongba Tianxia's charge to miss completely.

First Soul Skill, Absolute Armor Piercing.

Nine Absolutes Sword Technique, Flash Shadow Triple Kill.

After steadying himself, Lu Yu activated his First Soul Skill and Flash Shadow Triple Kill almost simultaneously. In the blink of an eye, three streams of sword qi shot toward his opponent.

Facing the three incomparably sharp streams of sword qi, Xiongba Tianxia's expression turned grave, but he did not show much fear.

His Soul Power surged and was all poured into his Second Soul Ring.

As the Second Soul Ring lit up, the phantom of an Earth Violent Bear instantly enveloped him like a shield.

"Second Soul Skill, Explosive Bear Guard!"

Seeing this, Lu Yu nodded to himself.

It seemed clever people all knew that damage-oriented first and second Soul Skills were rather useless. Enhancement or support-type Soul Skills were much more practical.

But Xiongba Tianxia had ultimately underestimated Lu Yu.

"Pfft..."

Xiongba Tianxia's shield was as fragile as tofu before Lu Yu's sword qi, enhanced by his First Soul Skill.

It shattered in an instant.

However, Xiongba Tianxia reacted quickly enough. At the crucial moment, he twisted his body, preventing Lu Yu's attack from taking his life directly.

Even so, he had to pay with an arm to block that strike.

"Damn it, how can the damage be this high?" Xiongba Tianxia clutched his severed arm, his face pale. The pain made his entire body tremble uncontrollably.

When he looked at Lu Yu again, there was an additional trace of fear in his eyes.

He admitted that he had underestimated his opponent.

His opponent was far stronger than him. Forget using him to make a name for himself—whether he could even keep his life was now uncertain.

As for his Third Soul Skill...

It was useless, because he could not get close at all.

Though his Third Soul Skill was an offensive one and dealt considerable damage, it had to be used at close range to have any effect.

How was he supposed to fight if he could not get close?

Fight the air?

Just then, he saw his opponent's sword...

Rise into the air.

Although Nine Absolutes rarely used this move, those who had paid attention still knew.

How powerful it was.

"I surrender... I surrender." He knew he could not take this sword.

He could only surrender.

"Whoa..."

Upon hearing Xiongba Tianxia's words, the stands instantly erupted.

"Are you fucking brain-damaged? This is the Death Match Arena. Since when is surrender even a thing here?"

"Hahaha... He's scared! Kill him!"

"Kill him... Kill him..."

No one could blame the crowd for despising him.

In the Death Match Arena, surrendering was not something that could save one's life.

Thus, even when they knew death was certain, other contestants would still choose to fight to the death at a time like this. Yet Xiongba Tianxia wanted to save himself by surrendering.

If he was afraid of death, why had he entered a Death Match at all?

Would it not have been better to participate in a Gambling Match?

Such cowardice was simply an insult to the four words "Xiongba Tianxia."

Lu Yu also looked at Xiongba Tianxia with some surprise.

The fact that the other man could actually surrender was somewhat beyond his expectations.

This was the Death Match Arena.

Could anyone really be this naive?

However, it lasted only an instant before his Martial Soul shot forth.