Lan Makes a Move! Ma Hongjun's Evil Fire Phoenix?! The Abyss's Bitter Cold!

Ma Hongjun's voice was loud and carried an unreasonable arrogance.

The surrounding air seemed to freeze for a moment because of his words.

The few people he had blocked were all stunned.

Xue Qinghe, in particular, looked at the youth before him—with his short, fiery red hair, stout build, and a face written with unbridled conceit—and nearly laughed out loud.

"Little fatty, you are quite arrogant."

Xue Qinghe shook his head slightly, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger.

He had witnessed with his own eyes how the Heaven Dou Team had collapsed in total defeat under Lan.

That white-haired youth had not even used his full strength in any real sense from beginning to end.

His power was unfathomable.

Xue Qinghe asked himself: even if he were to use his god-level martial soul, the Six-Winged Angel, and unleash his full soul power, he could not say with certainty that he would have the upper hand against Lan.

This little fatty, who had appeared out of nowhere, was truly overestimating his own capabilities.

Hearing Xue Qinghe's words, Ma Hongjun seemed to feel greatly encouraged.

He shook his head triumphantly, struck a pose he thought was cool, extended his right fist, and slid his thumb knuckle forcefully across the bridge of his nose.

"Hmph, arrogance requires ability!"

"And I, happen to have it!"

He said this with full confidence.

In his view, being a level 35 battle soul master at fifteen, with a top-tier beast martial soul like the Evil Fire Phoenix—which boasted the highest offensive power—he was a true prodigy across the entire continent.

What's more, the teachers at Shrek Academy were all powerhouses at the Soul Emperor and Soul Saint levels.

His teacher, Zhao Wuji, was still waiting for him.

That was a level 76 Soul Saint powerhouse, the Immovable Bright King!

This was the capital Ma Hongjun had for his arrogance!

"You say I'm arrogant?"

Ma Hongjun sneered, his aggressive aura intensifying as he pointed a chubby finger directly at Lan, who had not said a word from the start.

"Kid!"

"I, Ma Hongjun, now formally challenge you to a soul master duel. Do you dare to accept!"

He raised his volume to ensure everyone around could hear him clearly.

"If you lose, everything you just bought at the auction, including that scorpion girl, will all be mine!"

In an instant, all eyes were focused on Lan.

Xue Qinghe also turned his head, looking at Lan with great interest.

The afternoon sun fell upon that face, making the white hair seem to glow; his features were as sharp as if carved by a knife, so handsome he did not seem like a mortal.

Those deep blue eyes were as calm as the permafrost of the Far North, yet as deep as an Abyss capable of sucking a person's soul inside.

Truly, a very handsome fellow.

Under everyone's gaze, there was not a breath of wind around Lan, yet several strands of his white hair moved on their own.

He finally lifted his eyelids, his abyss-like blue eyes looking directly at Ma Hongjun for the first time.

There was no anger, no disdain, only a pure, heart-stopping calm.

"As you wish."

Three words, not loud, yet they clearly reached everyone's ears.

Receiving the affirmative reply, Ma Hongjun's face instantly erupted with wild joy and ferocity.

"Good! You brought this upon yourself!"

He roared, his entire aura exploding outward.

"Fire Phoenix, possess!"

A loud, high-pitched phoenix cry soared into the sky, and scorching flames instantly erupted from his body, enveloping him completely.

When the flames faded, Ma Hongjun's appearance had changed drastically; his skin was covered in a layer of magnificent fiery feathers, his red hair had grown longer and danced in the wind, and a pair of brilliant flame wings had appeared behind him.

Following that, two yellow and one purple soul ring rose from beneath his feet in sequence, rhythmically circling his body.

The powerful pressure belonging to a Soul Elder caused the ordinary people nearby to change color and retreat several steps.

Ma Hongjun proudly lifted his chin, looking down at Lan through his nostrils.

"Kid, scared yet?"

"Listen well, my name is Ma Hongjun, a level 35 assault-system battle soul elder!"

"My martial soul is the top-tier Evil Fire Phoenix!"

"Even if you kneel and beg for mercy now, it's too late!"

Ma Hongjun felt his rage flare even higher as he watched Lan maintain that same calm, indifferent expression.

He stopped wasting words, and his first soul ring suddenly lit up.

"First Soul Skill, Phoenix Fire Line!"

Ma Hongjun abruptly opened his mouth.

A thick, deep purple torrent of flame, like a roaring fire dragon, erupted instantly.

The scorching heat caused the very air to distort.

The entire long street was illuminated in an eerie purplish-red by the flames, as if a massive fire had ignited on the horizon.

The firelight reflected off his fat, ferocious face, and a cold, confident smirk curled at the corners of his mouth.

Kid, I didn't expect you to be this arrogant.

He thought to himself.

To dare face my first soul skill head-on without even releasing your martial soul?

Well, the game ends here.

Ma Hongjun knew the power of his Phoenix Fire Line well; it carried the unique burning and explosive effects of phoenix flames.

Let alone a Soul Elder of the same rank, even an unprepared level 40 Soul Ancestor would be stripped of a layer of skin if hit by this move!

Seeing the destructive torrent of fire about to devour Lan.

The Purple-Armored Scorpion-Tailed Girl standing to the side felt her purple pupils constrict, and she let out an involuntary cry.

"Master!"

This newly acknowledged master was the first person to look at her with such clear eyes, rather than the greed and desire that filled everyone else.

She did not want anything to happen to him.

The twin sisters of the Li Family were also terrified, their faces pale as they couldn't help but scream.

"Watch out!"

Hearing the girl's delicate cry, Ma Hongjun's gaze fell once again upon her exquisite, curvaceous figure.

He licked his lips greedily, feeling a surge of lust rise from his lower abdomen, nearly impossible to suppress.

"Heh..."

"Don't be impatient, little darling. Once brother finishes off this ignorant brat, I'll take good care of you."

Before Ma Hongjun's words had even faded from the street, he turned his gaze back to Lan.

In his mind, the next second, this arrogant boy would be reduced to ashes within the domineering Phoenix Fire Line.

But the scene that followed made the fat on Ma Hongjun's face tremble violently, and his small eyes widened into perfect circles.

None of the scenes he had imagined—the pathetic dodging or the desperate, dying resistance—occurred.

The youth named Lan remained standing exactly where he was.

He hadn't even lifted an eyelid.

He simply walked forward into the sea of flames, which were hot enough to melt gold and iron, and took a single, light step.

Just one step.

"Hum—"

An indescribable, bone-chilling coldness swept silently across the entire street, centered on the tip of Lan's foot.

This chill was not merely cold; it was like a deathly silence from the Abyss, capable of freezing light, freezing sound, and freezing all vitality.