Not Associating with Mudfish

Upon hearing these words, Yu Tianheng's expression instantly shifted to one of pleasant surprise.

"Is that true?"

Although he was suppressed by several older cousins within the family, Yu Tianheng was confident in his ability to defeat Dugu Yan.

As long as he defeated her, he would be able to successfully establish a connection with Dugu Bo.

This would also play a critical role in his future prospects of succeeding as the Sect Master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect.

Even though his own grandfather was a Title Douluo, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect was vast and wealthy, with no shortage of direct descendants.

Yu Yuanzhen could not protect him in the same way Dugu Bo served only Dugu Yan.

Having a partner like Dugu Yan would truly save him over a decade of detours, and he wouldn't have to worry about any "steel wool" hardships.

At present, he and Dugu Yan were the same age, both fourteen, and both were at the 31st level of soul power.

For Yu Tianheng, who could already perform partial dragon transformation on his arm, he had absolute confidence that he could defeat Dugu Yan.

Dugu Yan did not disappoint him either.

She nodded with great confidence.

"Naturally it's true. Follow me to the Soul Fighting Arena after class."

"If you win, I'll give you a chance to pursue me."

Although it was only a chance, it was enough to make Yu Tianheng feel exhilarated.

For the entire duration of the class, Yu Tianheng was distracted.

He had already begun to imagine the scene of marrying a wealthy beauty, reaching the pinnacle of his life, and succeeding as the Sect Master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect.

Dugu Yan and Yu Tianheng did not hide their conversation, so their classmates naturally heard every word.

They also wanted to see which of the two strongest in their cohort was truly the top student of their year.

As soon as the bell rang, the twenty-plus students in the class swarmed around Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan, heading toward the academy's dedicated Soul Fighting Arena.

"Come, come, the bets are open! 1 to 2 for a Dugu Yan victory, 1 to 0.5 for a Yu Tianheng victory."

"I'm in. I'm betting 200 Gold Soul Coins on Yu Tianheng."

"I'm betting on Yu Tianheng too."

"Me, me, me! I'm betting 1,000 Gold Soul Coins."

Dugu Yan and Yu Tianheng, who had stepped onto the soul fighting platform, naturally took in the actions of their classmates.

The corners of Yu Tianheng's mouth curled up involuntarily, appearing quite satisfied that his classmates favored him.

Conversely, Dugu Yan curled her lip in disdain.

If they were at a higher level, she would naturally acknowledge the dominance of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul.

But since they were both Soul Elders, it wasn't certain who would win or lose; her Jade Phosphor Snake was no pushover either.

After the classmates finished placing their bets, Ye Lingling approached the table and placed 2,000 Gold Soul Coins on Dugu Yan.

"I'll just give Yanzi some encouragement."

After saying this, Ye Lingling waved her fists at Dugu Yan on the ring.

"Go for it, Yanzi! If you lose, I won't have any pocket money this week."

Giving her good friend a smile that said "you have good taste," Dugu Yan turned her head again, her gaze now turning dangerous.

Clearly, the classmates' dismissal made her feel she had lost face.

Every ring in the Soul Fighting Arena was equipped with an instructor to maintain order and ensure that soul fights did not result in severe injury or death.

Under these conditions, the academy strongly encouraged students to actively participate in soul fights to accumulate practical combat experience.

The teacher glanced at the two opposing sides and immediately announced the start of the soul fight.

"Jade Phosphor Snake, Martial Soul Possession!"

"Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, Martial Soul Possession!"

Cyan-green poisonous mist and violent lightning instantly filled the ring.

The duel between green and blue officially began.

Upon entering Martial Soul Possession, Yu Tianheng, who had already reached the three-ring Soul Elder level, saw his right arm instantly swell into a dragon claw.

This was his trump card.

Under normal circumstances, Yu Tianheng would have held back to let Dugu Yan win.

But this soul fight concerned his future, completely eliminating any possibility of him going easy.

Although he was confident in his martial soul, Yu Tianheng did not dare to underestimate the Jade Phosphor Snake martial soul in the slightest.

He chose to go all out from the start.

"Third Soul Skill: Thunder Fury!"

Violent thunder enveloped his body, instantly increasing his soul power by fifty percent while simultaneously boosting his control over lightning power by one hundred percent.

With thunder crackling across his dragon claws, Yu Tianheng charged directly toward Dugu Yan.

"First Soul Skill: Thunder Dragon Claw."

Facing the rapidly approaching Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan did not show the slightest hint of panic.

Two yellow and one purple soul rings rose from beneath her in sequence, and she simultaneously ignited her third soul ring.

"Third Soul Skill: Jade Phosphorus Purple Poison."

As a purple mist surged upward, Yu Tianheng, who had been charging with violent momentum, found his vision instantly obstructed.

Upon reaching the spot where Dugu Yan had been standing and finding no target, he came to a jarring halt.

"Yanyan, where did you go?"

From the side and behind, Dugu Yan found this amusing, while her estimation of Yu Tianheng dropped a notch in her heart.

Give me a break, we're enemies right now, aren't we?

You aren't naive enough to think I'd call out my position for you to attack me, are you?

Receiving no answer, the inexperienced Yu Tianheng began to wander aimlessly through the poisonous mist like a headless fly.

It wasn't until his head began to swim and a numbing sensation crept into his limbs that Yu Tianheng realized the situation was dire.

"Damn it, this poison is truly potent; I won't be able to hold out much longer at this rate."

"Second Soul Skill: Thunderbolt!"

The countless serpentine bolts of electricity coiling around Yu Tianheng's body expanded simultaneously, transforming into a barrage of lightning arrows that flashed out in every direction.

Dugu Yan, who was not far from Yu Tianheng, saw her pupils instantly constrict.

She tapped her toes against the ground, swiftly dodging further away.

Whenever she encountered the indiscriminate lightning strikes, she unleashed her first soul skill to fire off several venomous fangs to neutralize the electricity.

Finally, after a few seconds, she moved far away from the center of the lightning storm.

"Phew, that was almost a disaster."

"Now, you don't have any means of resistance left, do you?"

They say that Control-type Soul Masters are the bane of Assault-type Soul Masters, and that is no lie.

Although Yu Tianheng's attack power was formidable, it was all in vain if he couldn't hit his enemy while his vision was obstructed.

After persisting for several dozen minutes, Yu Tianheng felt he could no longer muster a shred of strength; his Martial Soul was forced back into his body, and he promptly collapsed on the arena floor.

Seeing this, Dugu Yan retracted her poisonous mist.

The scene on the arena left the gathered students dumbfounded.

It seemed none of them had expected Yu Tianheng to lose, let alone lose so easily.

The teacher on the sidelines, after confirming that Yu Tianheng had lost the ability to resist, immediately announced the result of the soul duel.

"Student Dugu Yan wins!"

"Yay!"

Ye Lingling, standing below the stage, beamed with joy and approached the student acting as the bookie to collect the 4,000 Gold Soul Coins she was owed.

The student wore the same expression as Ye Lingling; although he had to pay out 4,000 Gold Soul Coins, the rest of the students had mostly bet on Yu Tianheng to win, so he still stood to make a tidy profit.

Third Trial of the Snake God, "Do Not Associate with Loaches," completed.

Reward: 20 days of cultivation, all soul ring ages increased by 5 years.

Without paying any more attention to Yu Tianheng, who was fast asleep on the arena floor, Dugu Yan nodded in great satisfaction as she received the trial rewards.

The moment she absorbed those 20 days of cultivation, Dugu Yan instantly broke through to level 32.

These tangible, visible rewards once again solidified Dugu Yan's resolve to complete all of her trials.

Several dozen minutes later, after being treated by the academy's healing Soul Master, Yu Tianheng slowly regained consciousness.

As he stood up and rubbed his dizzy head, his face cycled between shades of green and white.

After this, he would never be able to hold his head high in front of Dugu Yan again.