Mu Shuang's spearhead bloomed like an ice flower. Flecks of cold light formed a curtain of frost that swept toward Yu Tianheng.
Lightning crackled across Yu Tianheng's body. The violent collision rang out, and the arena was dyed blue and purple.
Mu Shuang's Second Soul Ring lit up. Her spear shadows were as elusive as the wind. Blue light blazed in her eyes as her spearhead slipped through a gap in the lightning and thrust toward Yu Tianheng's chest.
Yu Tianheng shouted, "Well done!"
His Dragon Transformation right arm shot out, and he tried to catch the spear with his bare hand. Feeling underestimated, Mu Shuang flared with anger. "You're catching my Glacier Star-Shattering Spear with your bare hands?"
"You're underestimating me!"
Mu Shuang's spearhead suddenly accelerated. A flash of cold light appeared at its tip and sliced across Yu Tianheng's arm. The hard dragon scales split, leaving a thin line of blood. An icy chill invaded at once, freezing the blood in the wound.
The spearhead stopped three inches from Yu Tianheng's chest, its shaft held firmly in his grasp.
Mu Shuang tried to pull back her spear and thrust again, but Yu Tianheng's dragon claw was like cast iron, its grip unyielding.
Yu Tianheng seized the opportunity to unleash his Second Soul Skill, Thunderbolt. Lightning spread like a net, enveloping Mu Shuang in an instant.
Mu Shuang instinctively used Soul Power to shield herself, but the lightning rapidly drained it.
She withdrew her Martial Soul and summoned it again. The whole process was seamless, but when experts clashed, victory or defeat often hinged on a single instant.
The spear in Yu Tianheng's hand vanished. The moment his grasp closed on empty air, his Thunder Dragon Claw reappeared, striking at close range.
By the time Mu Shuang's Martial Soul reappeared, she had lost her advantage. Most of her strength lay in her spear, and her close-combat skills still fell short. In the end, Yu Tianheng's dragon claw stopped right in front of her.
"Not bad. All of you did well!"
"Mu Shuang, you still need to master your Martial Soul better. You should also focus on improving your close-combat skills. Until you reach the realm of becoming one with your spear, you'd be better off strengthening your hand-to-hand fighting."
"Otherwise, today won't be the last time something like this happens."
"Thank you for your guidance, Teacher. Easier said than done, becoming one with my spear." Mu Shuang had no easy answer. She had been searching for a way to do it all along.
"Yu Tianheng, you're too proud. Otherwise, you wouldn't have tried to grab her spearhead with your hand."
"If her Soul Power were on par with yours, you wouldn't have been able to catch her spear. I hope you'll take this lesson to heart."
"Yes!"
Yu Tianheng replied, then sat cross-legged on the arena floor to recover his Soul Power. Less than a minute after Mu Shuang stepped down, a new student had already taken the stage.
Yu Tianheng rose to his feet. He paid no mind to the wound on his hand. The scar only made him seem more imposing.
"Begin!"
At Qin Ming's command, the two sides clashed again. This time, Yu Tianheng faced a flying Soul Master.
Yu Tianheng's Thunder Dragon Claw shot into the sky like a cannonball. Once the lightning left his control, it streaked more than twenty meters before exploding like fireworks.
The student with the flying Martial Soul darted between the bolts of lightning. His Soul Rings shone as he conjured a dense flurry of wind blades and began raining attacks down from above.
Yu Tianheng didn't try to block them head-on. He had no intention of making himself a sitting duck. His figure darted across the arena, dodging the incoming wind blades.
"Hahaha... Yu Tianheng, your lightning can't hit me! Class One's genius, what else have you got?"
"My Class Two is the strongest!"
The student in the air was so pleased with himself that he kept attacking, forgetting all about how quickly he was burning through his Soul Power.
"If you've got guts, come down here and get closer!"
"If you can, come up here—or use your lightning to cover every place I could dodge!"
Yu Tianheng remained unfazed and continued dodging the attacks from above.
Just then, the announcement rang out again. "Ling Yun, report to Arena Three for a challenge match."
"It's him! The genius with a thousand-year Second Soul Ring."
"Let's go, let's go!"
"..."
Most of the crowd headed for the stands at Arena Three, while some couldn't bear to leave and kept their eyes fixed on Yu Tianheng's fight.
Others hesitated, turning their heads back and forth, unable to decide whether to stay or go.
"I've got it—I'll watch both!"
One clever spectator ran up to a seat at the very top to take in the whole scene. But with no way to focus on two fights at once, he only caught bits and pieces of each and felt like he hadn't seen either one properly.
The burly man stepped into the center and said, "Give it your all in the match. I'll step in at the critical moment."
"You have one minute to release your Martial Souls."
As soon as he finished speaking, the blond young man opposite Ling Yun stepped forward and introduced himself. "Osler of Heavenly Grade Class Two. Martial Soul: Ghost Leopard. Level twenty-six Power Attack System Battle Soul Master. Please advise."
This was one of the established customs on Douluo Continent: competitors announced their Martial Soul and Soul Power Level to show they meant to spar in good faith.
If one side introduced themselves and the other ignored them, it was an insult—a sign of contempt, and an easy way to make an enemy.
With someone petty, it could even turn into a deadly grudge.
Ling Yun didn't like causing trouble for no reason, so he followed Osler's example and replied, "Ling Yun of Heavenly Grade Class One. Martial Soul: Yin-Yang Mirror. Level twenty-eight Power Attack System Battle Soul Master. Please advise."
As soon as he finished speaking, his Martial Soul appeared. One yellow and one purple Soul Ring circled his waist, slowly revolving.
After releasing his Martial Soul, Osler leaned forward slightly. His limbs grew longer and leaner, while his muscles became more pronounced. Fur sprouted over his ears, and a tail appeared behind him. Both his hands turned into Ghost Leopard-like claws, their padded fingers tipped with retractable talons that snapped out and slid back like switchblades.
He even brought his right claw to his mouth and licked it. It was a habit of his after Martial Soul Possession, a way of drawing closer to the nature of his Martial Soul.
The minute passed quickly. The burly teacher shouted, "Begin!"
Osler's figure was like a streak of black light as he raced toward Ling Yun. In just two breaths, he had crossed most of the arena.
"Funny. Can you outrun light?"
"Sky-Filling Light Rain!"
Holding the Yin-Yang Mirror, Ling Yun activated his First Soul Ring and used only a small portion of his Soul Power. Light Needles fell like rain, covering most of the arena. There were only three inches between each needle. They seemed sparse, but no matter which way Osler dodged, a Light Needle would hit him.
Osler had just enough time to shield his eyes, mouth, nose, throat, and other vulnerable spots. He used Soul Power to block everything else, raising a protective barrier around his body.
The Light Needles' penetrating power was terrifying. They easily pierced his Soul Power barrier with pinpoint accuracy.
Six Light Needles struck Osler's hands as he shielded his vulnerable spots.
Once a Light Needle hit its target and its penetrating power fell below a certain point, it exploded.
With Ling Yun deliberately holding back, the attack had less than a fifth of a Soul Skill's power—just enough that it couldn't pass through a Soul Grandmaster's body. He had calculated that each needle, after being slowed by the barrier, would explode half an inch into the flesh.
His calculations were almost perfectly accurate.
Osler fell, a dozen Light Needles embedded in his arms and body.
The burly teacher hadn't even had time to react. Who could have guessed that a Soul Grandmaster's First Soul Skill would be so absurd?
Before you continue