Every member of Skywater Academy was astonished by the four Soul Rings beneath Ye Qingzhou's feet.
Just being a nine-year-old Soul Ancestor was enough to leave them far behind.
And that was before you considered that Ye Qingzhou's Soul Rings were an unmatched combination.
Even the first Soul Ring of His Holiness the Pope of Spirit Hall had to be at least a hundred years old.
But Ye Qingzhou's was a thousand years old.
The first thousand-year purple Soul Ring beneath Ye Qingzhou's feet lit up. On the training field, countless magnolia petals bloomed out of thin air.
Watching the sea of flowers fill the sky, with Ye Qingzhou standing at its center, Dai Mubai admitted that the moment he saw a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor, he really had been afraid.
But if he had to back down in the face of a child, where would that leave his pride—or the pride of the Star Luo Royal Family?
"Quit your tricks. Fatty, attack! Second Soul Skill: White Tiger Intense Light Wave!"
His second Soul Ring lit up. A milky-white beam shot from Dai Mubai's mouth and blasted toward the petals surrounding Ye Qingzhou.
Ma Hongjun's legs trembled, his eyes filled with fear of Ye Qingzhou's overwhelming strength, but Dai Mubai's words brought him back to reality.
First Soul Skill: Phoenix Fire Line!
The milky-white beam and the purplish-red flame shot through the air, then split apart. The two attacked Ye Qingzhou from either side.
Shui Bing'er, who had been flying overhead, descended when she saw this.
The second Soul Ring beneath her feet lit up.
"Second Soul Skill: Ice Ring Armor!"
A crystalline blue armor instantly enveloped her and Ye Qingzhou, protecting them from Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai's Soul Skills.
Ye Qingzhou gave a quiet shout. "Go!"
The petals fluttering around him swept toward Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai like snow falling across the sky.
Seeing their attacks blocked by Shui Bing'er, Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun increased their output.
Suddenly, they both caught a strange fragrance.
They couldn't quite describe it. It was as sweet as magnolias just beginning to bloom, as fresh as grass after the rain, with a faint hint of medicine.
The moment he smelled it, Dai Mubai's alarm bells rang. Realizing something was wrong, he quickly covered his nose and shouted a warning:
"Something's wrong, Fatty! Cover your nose!"
But it was too late. The fragrance released by Dark Fragrance Bind had already entered Ma Hongjun's nose.
His limbs grew heavy, and his vision swayed. His first Soul Skill, which he had still been releasing, stopped as numbness took hold of him.
Ma Hongjun dizzily shook his head as if trying to stay conscious, but—
The moment Ye Qingzhou's first Soul Skill entered his body, no Soul Master of the same rank could remain conscious, unless they had a higher-level Soul Skill.
Ma Hongjun's eyes began to change strangely. They became swirls, and he let out a series of foolish giggles.
He looked at Ye Qingzhou and Shui Bing'er, but in his eyes, they had both become Dai Mubai.
Meanwhile, Dai Mubai beside him had turned into Shui Bing'er.
Seeing Ma Hongjun giggle foolishly, Dai Mubai rushed over and shook him, his voice urgent. "Fatty! Fatty, wake up!"
But in Ma Hongjun's eyes, Shui Bing'er was calling to him so warmly. "Hongjun, Hongjun."
"Bing'er, you smell so good~" Staring at the "Shui Bing'er" in front of him, Ma Hongjun threw his arms around Dai Mubai's waist.
He even began groping around Dai Mubai's waist.
Disgust surged through Dai Mubai. As Ma Hongjun pawed at him, the veins on his forehead bulged.
"Fatty, have you lost your mind? I'm Dai Mubai!"
Dai Mubai struggled to get up, but in Ma Hongjun's eyes, "Shui Bing'er" was playing hard to get. "Oh-ho, now we're roleplaying? And you're playing Boss Dai?"
That only made Ma Hongjun more excited.
Watching Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai put on a show of a man forcing himself on another man in the middle of the training field, the people of Skywater Academy were left questioning everything they knew.
Looking at the scene, Shui Bing'er raised an eyebrow and asked, "What... what exactly is your first Soul Skill, Ye Qingzhou?"
Ye Qingzhou gave her a simple explanation. "It's simple. It causes numbness and hallucinations. Anyone who smells the magnolia fragrance starts hallucinating. Usually, the illusion reveals the deepest thoughts in that person's heart."
"Yikes." Shui Bing'er took a step back, putting some distance between herself and Ye Qingzhou, her heart still pounding.
That first Soul Skill was way too dangerous.
Noticing Shui Bing'er's concern, Ye Qingzhou smiled. "Don't worry, Sister Bing'er. I'm an upstanding person. I won't use these Soul Skills to do anything underhanded."
"At most, I'll punish a few people who deserve it."
"Let's hope so." Shui Bing'er trusted Ye Qingzhou's character. After all, with a senior Titled Douluo like Ye Shuyuan around, she had every reason to feel reassured.
"Hallucinations..." Shui Qingrou murmured to herself. She had lived for most of her life, but this was the first time she'd seen a Soul Skill of this kind.
Dai Mubai finally broke free of Ma Hongjun and ran for his life, but Ma Hongjun chased after him without hesitation.
"Bing'er! Bing'er, don't run!"
Ye Shuyuan, Dugu Bo, Flender, Zhao Wuji, and Liu Erlong arrived late. When they saw Ma Hongjun chasing Dai Mubai as if courting him, all five of them froze.
Flender, especially, looked as if the sky had fallen on him.
Seeing the first Soul Ring gleaming beneath Ye Qingzhou's feet, Ye Shuyuan realized why Ma Hongjun had ended up like this.
That Soul Skill was way too powerful.
"Hongjun!" Flender couldn't spare a thought for Liu Erlong.
He hurried over to Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai.
Dai Mubai hid behind Flender and said fearfully, "Dean, knock Fatty out, quick!"
Ma Hongjun's eyes had already turned into hearts, and his words brimmed with longing for Shui Bing'er:
"Bing'er, Bing'er, stop being shy. Come out from behind your sister."
Flender's face darkened. He brought his palm down on Ma Hongjun's back.
The slap from Flender knocked Ma Hongjun unconscious, and he collapsed to the ground.
Looking at Ma Hongjun lying there, unconscious, Flender sighed.
"What is all this supposed to mean?"
He was truly, utterly exhausted.
"Phew..." Dai Mubai wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
Flender looked at Ma Hongjun on the ground, then turned to demand of Ye Qingzhou, "Ye Qingzhou, what did you do to Hongjun?!"
If not for Ye Qingzhou, Ma Hongjun would never have ended up like this.
Even if it meant risking a beating from a Titled Douluo, he had to get justice for Ma Hongjun.
Faced with Flender's unreasonable accusation, Ye Qingzhou couldn't care less. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. What, do you Shrek people really have the nerve to demand answers on someone else's turf?"
"He brought this on himself. I showed restraint by not making him lose his mind completely."
Shui Bing'er nodded in agreement. Scum like Ma Hongjun didn't deserve to live in this world.
Flender glanced at Shui Bing'er, then at Ye Qingzhou.
Zhao Wuji and Liu Erlong came over to Flender's side.
Dugu Bo moved to intervene, but Ye Shuyuan stopped him.
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