How could you possibly be level 49?

"Just him?" Yan and Xie Yue both visibly relaxed.

They thought that as long as it wasn't the young girl with the Azure Spirit Snake Emperor martial soul, it would be fine.

Dugu Yan's martial soul, the Azure Spirit Snake Emperor, was incredibly poisonous and clearly not someone to be trifled with.

Chrysanthemum Douluo, however, was taken aback by Sword Douluo's sinister smile.

But since the duel was already set, he had no choice but to announce, "Very well, Xie Yue versus Qian Yu."

As he spoke, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Sword Douluo flew into mid-air, ready to intervene should any accidents occur.

Hu Liena, Yan, and the others stepped back slightly, as did Ning Rongrong, Dugu Yan, and the rest.

They cleared a dueling arena for both sides.

"Xie Yue, level 40 Soul Ancestor, martial soul Moon Blade." Xie Yue took his stance, released his martial soul, and announced his credentials.

"Qian Yu, level 49 Soul Ancestor, martial soul Desert Eagle." Qian Yu walked onto the field unhurriedly, released his martial soul slightly, and the Desert Eagle appeared in his hand.

The moment Qian Yu finished reporting his information.

The entire Martial Soul Hall group erupted.

"Impossible! Kid, what kind of nonsense are you spouting? You look like you're only in your teens, yet you're a level 49 Soul Ancestor? Even if you started cultivating in your mother's womb, you couldn't reach level 49." Yan clearly did not believe Qian Yu was a level 49 Soul Ancestor.

Hu Liena didn't believe it either, but as the Saintess of Martial Soul Hall, she did not easily reveal her emotions.

High above, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo on the ground exchanged a brief glance.

Both saw disbelief in the other's eyes.

Just now, when Qian Yu released his martial soul, they clearly sensed the aura of a Soul Ancestor emanating from him.

In other words, Qian Yu was not lying to them; he was a genuine Soul Ancestor.

Chrysanthemum Douluo teased Sword Douluo with an unfriendly tone, "Sword Douluo hides things deep. I never expected your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to have such a fine seedling."

As Chrysanthemum Douluo spoke, he turned back to Ghost Douluo, the killing intent in his eyes seemingly impossible to hide any longer.

But Ghost Douluo shook his head slightly.

Killing Qian Yu on the spot would be simple, but by the same token, the Golden Generation of Martial Soul Hall wouldn't make it out of the Star Dou Great Forest alive either.

Chrysanthemum Douluo sighed, helpless, and announced to Xie Yue and Qian Yu, "The duel begins. Keep it as a friendly spar." He added, not feeling entirely at ease.

Who would have thought that Xie Yue would pay it no mind.

As part of the Golden Generation of Martial Soul Hall, fighting above one's level was a common occurrence.

To Xie Yue, Qian Yu was merely a youth who happened to be a Soul Ancestor just like him.

He possessed immense confidence in his own strength.

Even if Qian Yu's true level was higher than his own, he was not afraid.

This was the confidence of the Golden Generation of Martial Soul Hall.

Xie Yue's yellow and purple spirit rings lit up in unison. His second spirit skill, Shadow Moon Flash, transformed him into a silver blur as he lunged forward, his twin Moon Blades carrying the cold, lunar radiance as he slashed toward Qian Yu's face. Qian Yu let out a low shout and activated his first spirit skill, Golden Armor Reinforcement. A pale gold spirit power armor covered his body, increasing his strength by thirty percent and his physical defense by forty percent. He turned sideways to tank the residual force of the blade, remaining completely unscathed.

Qian Yu's feet moved rapidly, his figure shifting left and right as he constantly changed positions. Pale gold spirit power condensed at the tip of his Desert Eagle martial soul. As his purple ring shimmered, he whispered, "Second Spirit Skill—Sky Full of Dancing Bullets!" Several bullets tore through the air. He used his consciousness to suspend the projectiles in mid-air, not rushing to detonate them. Whenever Xie Yue's attacks neared him, Qian Yu would detonate a bullet, using the force of the explosion to skillfully dodge Xie Yue's strikes. Meanwhile, Qian Yu's Spirit Detection remained locked onto Xie Yue, clearly intending to probe all of his opponent's spirit skills.

Xie Yue's brows furrowed. He gripped his twin Moon Blades horizontally, and his yellow ring flared as he unleashed his first spirit skill, Moon Arc Slash. A silver-white crescent wave bore down on Qian Yu's blind spot. Seeing Qian Yu spin to dodge, Xie Yue's figure suddenly turned into a silver shadow; his second spirit skill, Shadow Moon Flash, brought him instantly to Qian Yu's side, the blade tip grazing past a spirit power projectile. Qian Yu flicked his finger, and a bullet exploded, forcing Xie Yue back while he kept his eyes glued to his opponent's movements, waiting for that third spirit skill powered by the purple ring.

Xie Yue was thoroughly enraged by the constant interference. The purple ring around his body erupted with blinding brilliance. He crossed his twin Moon Blades in front of his chest, and as his spirit power surged, the surrounding air began to swirl violently: "Third Spirit Skill—Crescent Cross Slash!"

The silver-purple Moonlight Power condensed at the tips of his blades as he violently unleashed a giant cross-shaped slash. The wave roared toward Qian Yu with the force to split mountains and shatter rocks, tearing deep furrows into the ground along its path, the pressure of the strike bearing down on his face.

Qian Yu's pupils contracted. Using the shockwave from the exploding bullets of his Sky Full of Dancing Bullets, he dodged sharply to the side. At the same time, he used his fingertips to guide the remaining bullets to slam into the cross-shaped slash, kicking up a cloud of dust and barely evading the full-force blow. He felt a secret tremor of shock at the sheer power of the third spirit skill.

On the battlefield, Xie Yue had been the one constantly on the offensive. Yan, Hu Liena, Chrysanthemum Douluo, and Ghost Douluo all assumed that Qian Yu's offensive methods were singular and that he could only continue to flee.

Little did they know that Qian Yu had been calculating Xie Yue's true combat power the entire time.

By now, all three of Xie Yue's spirit skills had been fully exposed.

Qian Yu had already devised a strategy for the fight.

He switched the attribute of his Desert Eagle martial soul to Ultimate Ice and once again activated his second spirit skill: "Second Spirit Skill—Sky Full of Dancing Bullets!" Qian Yu roared.

The bullets transformed into azure dragons, sneaking toward Xie Yue.

Qian Yu had been probing Xie Yue's spirit skills, but as a member of the Golden Generation of Martial Soul Hall, Xie Yue had also been observing Qian Yu's techniques.

Seeing Qian Yu use his second spirit skill again, Xie Yue felt no pressure at all.

With his Second Spirit Skill: Shadow Moon Flash, both Moon Blades were coated in a silver sheen. Xie Yue's figure turned into a pale silver afterimage, performing a short-range instant dash (with a maximum distance of ten meters). Xie Yue instantly dodged Qian Yu's bullets and intended to activate his second spirit skill again to teleport behind Qian Yu.

Qian Yu would never let Xie Yue succeed.

Qian Yu unleashed his second spirit skill, and bullets rained down like a desperate downpour.

He fired over a dozen bullets in one breath, completely sealing off all of Xie Yue's escape routes.

Xie Yue smiled slightly at this.

He mocked Qian Yu, "Qian Yu, it's useless. If this is all you have, then you are destined to lose this duel." Xie Yue was incredibly confident and prepared to activate his second spirit skill once more to dodge the waterfall of bullets.

But who could have guessed what would happen in the next second? Qian Yu simply smiled back at him and said, "Detonate."

Qian Yu condensed his intent at his fingertips, and as his shout fell, the bullets suspended in mid-air ignited in unison—an icy blue radiance suddenly erupted, the Ultimate Ice attribute instantly sweeping across several meters, churning frost condensing into layers of ice shards that completely sealed off all of Xie Yue's movement paths.

The chill of the Ice Burst forced Xie Yue to falter, the power of his Shadow Moon Flash diminishing sharply as it collided with the ice mist, while every gap within the barrier of interlocking ice shards was packed with freezing shrapnel, threatening to shred his body should he move even an inch. He gripped his Moon Blade and spun violently, attempting to cleave through the ice barrier with the power of moonlight, only to see Qian Yu's figure shift within the mist, the muzzle of his 98k gathering Soul Power, aimed precisely at the moment he would break through the ice.

"So cold." Outside the arena, Hu Liena felt a chill penetrate her entire body.

Her Demon Fox Martial Soul manifested around her instinctively, beginning to resist the effects of Qian Yu's Ultimate Ice.

Yan, standing to the side, fared much better, as his Martial Soul was the Flame Lord. Seeing Hu Liena shivering, Yan took the initiative to release the Flame Lord to guard her.

High in the air and down on the ground, both Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo were astonished by the way Qian Yu had reversed the situation in an instant.

Chrysanthemum Douluo was already considering conceding on Xie Yue's behalf.

Yet Xie Yue, as a member of the Golden Generation, braced against Qian Yu's ice mist and unleashed his third soul skill: "Third Soul Skill: Crescent Cross Slash."

"Qian Yu, if you have the guts, face me head-on!" Xie Yue's eyes were bloodshot, his body covered in frost as he charged toward Qian Yu.

On the ground, Hu Liena could no longer hold back and cried out to Xie Yue: "Brother, don't!"