First Battle of a Soul Master, Sparring with Dugu Yan

Above the Ice-Fire Spring, Ling Yun ceased his cultivation. It was a pity that he had failed to reach level 30 as he had anticipated.

Dugu Bo, standing to the side, was a different story; he had been anything but idle over the past month. Between his other affairs, he had fully digested the medicinal power of the Heaven-Seizing Creation Pill, reaching level 95.

The current Dugu Bo was a true strategic-grade weapon.

"Thank you for the trouble, Grandpa Dugu! If you hadn't broken through to level 95, I would have had to keep cultivating and wait a few more years before I could appear in the public eye with any real confidence."

"We're family! No need for such talk."

"My strength is not what it once was. If anyone gives you trouble, I will make sure they learn what it means to have poison dominate the world."

Dugu Manor.

Ling Yun and Dugu Bo walked together into the backyard, where Dugu Yan's large eyes scrutinized him carefully.

The last time he had come, it was in secret, and he had nearly been discovered by Dugu Bo's spiritual power. Now, arriving in broad daylight, Ling Yun felt a bit unaccustomed to it, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

After finishing her assessment, Dugu Yan spoke up generously, "Hello, I'm Dugu Yan, the 'Yan' from wild goose. I just broke through two days ago; I'm a level 28 Soul Grand Master. What about you?"

"Hello! I'm Ling Yun, the Ling Yun of 'soaring ambitions.' I broke through yesterday, and I'm also a level 28 Soul Grand Master."

"No way! From what I know, you only obtained your second soul ring a month ago. How did you reach level 28 so fast?"

"It takes me three months just to barely break through one level of soul power, and that's already considered fast. What is going on with you? Are you even human?"

"Also, you're not even eight years old yet, right?"

Absorbing soul rings beyond his age limit twice had caused Ling Yun's development to far outpace others. Judging by height alone, he was no shorter than an eight-year-old, though the childishness on his face remained quite evident.

Dugu Yan continued, "Grandpa told me about that Heaven-Seizing Creation Pill. If you had taken it, you should be around level 31, which means you didn't take the pill. So, your soul power was gained through your own cultivation? But how is that even possible?"

"Even a genius with Innate Full Soul Power shouldn't have this kind of cultivation speed. This isn't very Douluo-like at all."

"You aren't bluffing me, are you?"

Ling Yun unleashed his soul power, and Dugu Yan's eyes widened; it was indeed the soul power fluctuation of a Soul Grand Master.

Dugu Yan suspected she might be dreaming, or perhaps caught in an illusion. Could a person really be this much of a genius?

"Maybe I'm just lucky!"

"Has anyone ever told you that you're very pretentious?" Listening to Ling Yun, Dugu Yan only felt that the heavens were unfair.

Ling Yun shook his head.

"You really are pretentious! 'Lucky'? What kind of luck is that? You aren't the son of the Heavens, are you!"

"Since we're both level 28, why don't we spar?"

Dugu Yan cast aside other thoughts, wanting only to fight and vent her frustrations. Originally, she had felt a bit ashamed to bully someone as young as Ling Yun, but knowing he was also level 28, that hesitation vanished.

Dugu Bo did not stop them. On the Douluo Continent, sparring with martial souls was common and not considered impolite.

That was simply the environment.

The simplest and most convenient way to understand someone was to have a fight. It was very common for relationships to improve after a good scuffle.

"Alright!" Ling Yun agreed readily.

He had never had a proper spar with a soul master before. Since someone had issued a challenge, it was the perfect time to test his skills.

"Youth is truly wonderful!"

Dugu Bo watched with a chuckle, "Feel free to let loose. I'll be watching."

"Little brother Ling Yun, are you ready? Big sister is coming!"

Ling Yun didn't mind Dugu Yan calling him 'little brother.' His physical age was only six and a half, and the events of his past life were like dust in the wind.

He nodded, "Come on!"

No sooner had the words left his lips than Dugu Yan's fist was already before him. He parried it casually and used the momentum to create some distance.

Dugu Yan followed like a shadow, her hands turning into claws. Black Tiger Steals Heart, the move carried the sound of tearing air, heavy and powerful.

She immediately followed up with a kick aimed straight at Ling Yun's chest, then a side-spinning kick, then a Whirlwind Sweeping Leaf Kick, continuing the assault.

Her moves were fluid and continuous. She became more and more invested, each strike aimed at forcing Ling Yun to lose his ability to fight.

Ling Yun parried every move.

At first, he was a bit flustered, but as the fight dragged on, his combat experience increased rapidly. Before long, he was trading blows with Dugu Yan evenly.

A while later, Ling Yun was already able to calmly parry Dugu Yan's moves, even turning the tables to guide her technique.

Practice and real combat were indeed two different things.

Fortunately, he had found his own rhythm and was quickly integrating what he had practiced.

One had to realize that Dugu Yan had Dugu Bo's guidance; her martial arts skills were certainly not poor. She had only held the upper hand at the very beginning.

Dugu Bo, watching from the side, was shocked once again by Ling Yun's transformation! With his keen eye, he could naturally tell that this was Ling Yun's first time sparring with someone else.

What he hadn't expected was that in less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Ling Yun's combat techniques had already surpassed his own, and he was even gaining inspiration from them.

Dugu Yan only felt that she was always just a hair's breadth away from regaining the advantage. This feeling drove her mad.

The soul power gathering in her hands grew increasingly dense, surging like an undercurrent beneath a river.

Yet, no matter how fierce or overwhelming her attacks were, she could not gain any advantage over Ling Yun.

Ling Yun stood like an unyielding rock; no matter how violent the onslaught, he remained unmoved.

Gradually, Dugu Yan realized that competing in hand-to-hand combat offered no advantage, so she summoned her Martial Soul, her first and second soul rings lighting up almost simultaneously.

Bolstered by the Jade Phosphorous Serpent poison, her attacks became even more ferocious.

To show his respect, Ling Yun also summoned his Martial Soul; one yellow and one purple, the two extraordinary soul rings left Dugu Yan stunned.

"A thousand-year second ring!"

"No wonder Grandfather said you are the greatest genius he has ever seen in his life. Setting aside your Soul Power Level, just this thousand-year second soul ring proves you are truly gifted. My soul skills are all support-oriented, and using the primal poison of my Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul is too dangerous. I concede!"

Dugu Yan felt defeated and retracted her Martial Soul, but her emotions came and went quickly, and she soon adjusted herself.

A Soul Grand Master this young, with a second soul ring that was actually at the thousand-year level—this was clearly a monster! She wouldn't compare herself to this monster; compared to everyone else on the Douluo Continent, she was still a genius.

Dugu Bo patted Dugu Yan on the head. "Yanyan is already excellent. For now, there is no need to compare yourself to this freak!"

"Didn't Grandfather prepare the Heaven-Seizing Creation Pill for you? Once you reach level 30 and obtain your soul ring, you can take it. You will also become a genius like him and be able to absorb soul rings beyond the standard limits."

Dugu Yan nodded, deciding to cultivate even harder to reach level 30 as soon as possible.

The pride of a genius made her unwilling to fall too far behind.

"You two have a good chat. Tomorrow morning, I will take you to the academy; I am going to go inform them first!"

After Dugu Bo finished speaking, he hurried out of Dugu Manor.