Lin Jiang's lips curled slightly.
"So this is my Eye of Time and Space?"
The two arcs of electricity were still spinning at high speed, but in his eyes, they had become two lines he could predict.
The two members of the Electric Arc Duo were still accelerating, completely unaware that the roles of hunter and prey had already been reversed.
Lin Jiang raised his hand.
"Third Soul Skill—Golden Dragon Head!"
Golden Soul Power gathered on his fist, compressed, and took shape...
A lifelike golden dragon's head appeared over his knuckles, its jaws gaping wide, its fangs gleaming menacingly.
The two blue streaks from the Electric Arc Duo were converging at the center of the arena.
This was the instant they switched places. They brushed past each other, closest together and moving slowest.
The gap lasted less than 0.3 seconds.
Lin Jiang saw it.
Through the Eye of Time and Space, the two trajectories crossed clearly at one point, like two rivers flowing into the same lake.
He threw a punch.
The Golden Dragon Head burst from his fist, roaring as it shot straight ahead!
The air above the arena compressed into a shock wave visible to the naked eye. The stone floor was plowed into a trench, and rubble flew everywhere.
Within that 0.3-second opening, the Golden Dragon Head shot through.
"Boom!"
Both arcs of electricity were struck at the point of intersection. Blue-white light exploded, and two figures flew backward out of the flash.
One crashed into the railing at the edge of the arena. The railing snapped clean in two, and he tumbled off the platform.
The other flew even higher, slammed into the barrier beneath the stands with a muffled thud, then slid to the ground.
The two landed on top of each other and lay motionless.
The mohawk tilted sideways. At last, that tuft of hair collapsed.
The whole arena fell deathly silent.
In the viewing room, Yu Tianheng sprang from his chair. His teacup toppled over, spilling tea across the table.
"How is that possible?!"
He braced both hands against the glass window and pressed his face to it, eyes bulging like copper bells.
"He must've just gotten lucky! He has to have!"
Yu Feng and Osler stood behind him, mouths agape, unable to utter a word.
In the VIP room, Gu Rong slowly leaned back in his chair and tapped the armrest with his fingers.
"He picked out that brief instant when the two members of the Electric Arc Duo crossed paths." He turned to Ning Fengzhi. "He dealt a fatal blow to two Soul Ancestors at level forty-nine at the same time."
He paused, then added, "A promising talent."
Ning Fengzhi set down his teacup and smiled.
"Hahahaha, excellent. Excellent."
He rose and walked to the window, watching the masked youth on the arena.
"Have someone look into his background later." He stroked his beard, his gaze burning. "Ideally, we'll recruit him into our sect and put him to use."
On the arena, the referee took three seconds to recover before raising his hand.
"The Golden Leaf Duo—wins!"
Ye Lingling lay on the ground, slowly coming to.
She propped herself up on one arm and sat up, her long blue hair hanging messily over her shoulders.
Lin Jiang walked over and bent down. Supporting her back with one hand and hooking the other beneath her knees, he lifted her into his arms.
Ye Lingling went rigid, her face instantly turning crimson.
"Lingling, it's my fault for letting my guard down. I'm the reason you got hurt."
She lowered her head, her voice as faint as a mosquito's. "I was the one who wasn't careful enough... Brother Lin Jiang, I'm already so grateful to you."
Dugu Yan ran up from below the arena and looked Ye Lingling over.
"Lingling, are you all right?"
"I'm fine."
Dugu Yan breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at the sky, then at Lin Jiang and Ye Lingling.
"All right, it's getting late. Let Lin Jiang take you home."
Ye Lingling blushed and said nothing.
Dugu Yan patted her shoulder. "I'll feel better if he takes you home."
Carrying Ye Lingling, Lin Jiang walked off the arena and through the passage in front of the stands.
People on both sides automatically stepped aside, their eyes following him as he went.
Ye Lingling curled up in his arms with her eyes closed, her eyelashes trembling all the while.
When they exited the Soul Fighting Arena, the night breeze met them head-on, carrying the lingering smell of street food.
Lin Jiang glanced down at her. "Where do you live?"
Ye Lingling buried her face deeper and mumbled an address.
Lin Jiang nodded and carried her in that direction.
They rounded a corner and entered an alley.
The alley was deep, its walls blocking out the moonlight, with only a little light spilling in from the far end.
Their footsteps echoed along the stone path, one after another, in the stillness.
Ye Lingling curled up in Lin Jiang's arms, both hands wrapped around his neck.
She stared at his face. He had already taken off his mask, revealing his sharply defined profile.
Moonlight spilled in from the mouth of the alley, tracing a silver edge along his brow.
She knew she was done for.
Her heart raced as if it were about to leap out of her throat.
She wanted to look away, but her eyes wouldn't obey.
His face was right there, so close she could almost feel her breath fall on it.
He belonged to Yan Yan.
The words circled through her mind once, then scattered on their own.
She realized she didn't care anymore.
She would be content even as his concubine, even if all she could do was stand by his side.
She had never been so brave in her life, nor so foolish.
She closed her eyes, puckered her lips, and leaned toward his face.
"Brother Lin Jiang..."
Her voice was soft as melting sugar.
Her lips brushed his cheek.
So lightly, like a feather settling to the ground.
Lin Jiang stopped walking.
He looked down at her.
Ye Lingling curled up in his arms, her face burning red, her lashes trembling violently, but her eyes were open.
"Lingling, you..."
"I..." Her voice shook, but she enunciated each word clearly. "I like you."
Lin Jiang tightened his hold on her.
Ye Lingling buried her face against his chest and spoke in a muffled voice.
"I know you and Yan Yan... but I really do like you. I was afraid that if I didn't say it, I'd never get the chance."
After saying that, she went still, curled up in his arms like an ostrich with its head buried in the sand.
In the quiet alley, a heartbeat thundered like a war drum. Neither of them knew whose it was.
Lin Jiang lowered his head and looked at her.
Her long blue hair was spread across his arm, gleaming coldly in the moonlight.
Her whole body was trembling.
He lowered his head.
"Lingling..."
She looked up.
This time, it wasn't just a light brush.
When he kissed her, she went completely stiff, then gradually melted against him, her fingers gripping his collar.
Ye Lingling had been kissed utterly soft by Lin Jiang.
Not soft as a figure of speech. She was literally soft.
Her fingers gripping his collar loosened and tightened, tightened and loosened, like a drowning person clinging to the last piece of driftwood.
A soft moan slipped from her throat, its tail end rising with a tremble.
"Big brother..."
Those two words were like a spark landing in a barrel of oil.
Lin Jiang's blood shot from his feet straight to his head.
The hand supporting her tightened, his fingertips sinking into the soft flesh at her waist. His breathing grew as heavy as if he'd just fought a hard battle.
"Lingling." His voice sounded hoarse and unfamiliar. "I want to let off some steam."
He regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth.
It was too blunt, like a wolf that hadn't eaten in three days.
Ye Lingling didn't pull away.
She lifted her face from his chest. Moonlight fell across her features, and her blue eyes shimmered with tears. Her lips were slightly swollen from his kisses, red as ripe cherries.
She brought her lips close to his ear, her voice as light as the night breeze.
"Big brother, use me..."
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