Ma Hongjun's voice rang out, carrying an unreasonable arrogance.
The air around them seemed to freeze for a moment at his words.
The people he had stopped all stared at him in surprise.
Xue Qinghe in particular looked at the boy before him, with his fiery red short hair and stout build, his face practically screaming with arrogance. He nearly burst out laughing.
"Little fatty, you're a bit full of yourself."
Xue Qinghe shook his head lightly, his tone giving nothing away.
He had personally witnessed how the Heaven Dou Team had been utterly routed at Lan's hands.
That white-haired young man hadn't even truly exerted himself from start to finish.
His strength was unfathomable.
Xue Qinghe asked himself honestly: even if he used his god-level Martial Soul, the Six-Winged Angel, and unleashed all his Soul Power, he still couldn't be sure he could beat Lan.
This little fatty, who had appeared out of nowhere, really didn't know his own limits.
But when Ma Hongjun heard Xue Qinghe's words, he seemed to take them as tremendous encouragement.
He smugly tossed his head and struck what he thought was a very cool pose. Clenching his right fist, he dragged the knuckle of his thumb firmly across the bridge of his nose.
"Hmph, you need the skills to back up your arrogance!"
"And I've got them!"
He spoke with complete confidence.
In his eyes, he was already a level-thirty-five Battle Soul Master at fifteen, and his Martial Soul was the top Beast Martial Soul for offense, the Evil Fire Phoenix. Across the entire continent, that made him a born prodigy.
What's more, every teacher at Shrek Academy was a powerful Soul Emperor or Soul Sage.
His teacher, Zhao Wuji, was still waiting for him.
A level-seventy-six Soul Sage, the Immovable Wisdom King!
That was the capital that let Ma Hongjun act so arrogantly!
"You said I'm full of myself?"
Ma Hongjun sneered, his arrogance growing even more blatant. He extended a chubby finger and pointed straight at Lan, who hadn't said a word this whole time.
"Hey, you!"
"I, Ma Hongjun, hereby challenge you to a Soul Master duel. Do you dare accept?"
He raised his voice, making sure everyone around them heard every word.
"If you lose, everything you just bought at the auction—including that scorpion girl—will all belong to me!"
In an instant, every gaze fixed on Lan.
Xue Qinghe also turned his head, looking at Lan with interest.
The afternoon sunlight fell across his face. Even his white hair seemed to shine, and his features were as finely carved as if by a knife and chisel, handsome beyond anything mortal.
His deep blue eyes were as still as the ice that never melted in the Far North, and so profound they seemed capable of drawing one's soul into their depths.
What a handsome fellow.
Under everyone's watchful gaze, not a breath of wind stirred around Lan, yet several strands of his white hair moved on their own.
At last, he lifted his eyelids. Those abyss-deep blue eyes looked straight at Ma Hongjun for the first time.
There was no anger, no disdain—only a pure, heart-stopping calm.
"I'll grant your wish."
The three words weren't loud, but everyone heard them clearly.
At Lan's affirmative reply, Ma Hongjun's face instantly erupted into a look of savage delight.
"Good! You brought this on yourself!"
He roared as his entire presence burst forth.
"Fire Phoenix, possess me!"
A piercing, high-pitched phoenix cry soared into the sky. Scorching flames burst from his body, instantly engulfing him.
When the flames receded, Ma Hongjun had transformed completely. A layer of gorgeous, flame-like feathers covered his skin. His red hair had grown longer and streamed in the wind, while a pair of dazzling fiery wings had appeared behind him.
Then, two yellow Soul Rings and one purple Soul Ring rose in succession from beneath his feet, revolving around him as they pulsed up and down.
The powerful pressure of a Soul Elder made the ordinary people nearby blanch and retreat several more steps.
Ma Hongjun lifted his chin proudly, looking down his nose at Lan.
"Scared now, punk?"
"Listen up. I'm Ma Hongjun, a level-thirty-five Power Attack System Battle Soul Elder!"
"My Martial Soul is a top-tier one: the Evil Fire Phoenix!"
"Even if you kneel and beg now, it's too late!"
Seeing that Lan still looked completely calm, Ma Hongjun grew even angrier.
He stopped wasting words. His first Soul Ring suddenly lit up.
"First Soul Skill, Phoenix Fire Line!"
Ma Hongjun abruptly opened his mouth.
A thick torrent of deep purple flame burst out, like a roaring fire dragon.
The scorching heat made the air warp.
The entire long street was bathed in the flame's eerie purplish-red glow, as if the horizon itself had caught fire.
The firelight illuminated Ma Hongjun's stout, savage face, and the corner of his mouth curled into a confident sneer.
"Kid, I didn't expect you to be just as arrogant."
He thought to himself.
"You actually dare take my first Soul Skill head-on without even summoning your Martial Soul?"
"But the game ends here."
Ma Hongjun knew full well how powerful his Phoenix Fire Line was. It carried the unique burning and explosive effects of Phoenix Fire.
Forget a Soul Elder of the same level—even an unprepared level-forty Soul Ancestor would have their skin peeled off by this attack!
Just as the devastating torrent of flames was about to swallow Lan,
the Purple-Armored Scorpion-Tailed Girl standing nearby saw her violet pupils abruptly contract and cried out without thinking.
"Master!"
This newly acknowledged master was the first person to look at her with such clear eyes, instead of staring at her with the greed and lust everyone else showed.
She didn't want anything to happen to him.
The twin sisters from the Li Family were also so frightened that their faces blanched. They couldn't help but cry out.
"Look out!"
When Ma Hongjun heard the Purple Scorpion Girl's cry, his gaze once again fell on the graceful curves of her figure.
He licked his lips greedily, feeling Evil Fire rise from his lower abdomen, almost impossible to suppress.
"Heh..."
"Don't worry, sweetheart. Once big brother takes care of this clueless brat, I'll make sure to treat you right."
Before Ma Hongjun's words had even faded from the street, he turned his gaze back to Lan.
In his mind, the next moment would see this clueless brat reduced to ashes by the domineering Phoenix Fire Line.
But what happened next made the fat on Ma Hongjun's face twitch violently. His beady eyes suddenly went wide.
None of the scenes he had imagined—Lan dodging in a panic or fighting back desperately—came to pass.
The young man called Lan still stood where he was.
He hadn't even lifted an eyelid.
He simply stepped forward, just once, into the raging sea of flames hot enough to melt gold and iron.
Just once.
"Vmmm—"
A chilling cold beyond words spread silently down the entire street, with Lan's toes at its center.
This chill wasn't mere cold. It was more like the deathly stillness of the deepest abyss, capable of freezing light, freezing sound, freezing every trace of life.
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