The surrounding crowd could only shake their heads.
They were convinced Gu Sheng was a reckless fool, all courage and no brains.
A level twenty fighter challenging someone of this caliber? That was pure suicide.
Only Qian Renxue, standing at the back of the crowd,
wore a cold smile.
Qian Renxue stood quietly where she was.
Her stunning figure and bearing drew many sidelong glances from those around her.
These frogs in a well, ignorant of how high the sky was, had no idea what kind of monster they were facing.
She recalled how, yesterday at the Martial Arts Arena, Gu Sheng had used Void to become absolutely immune to attacks—and Aurora to shatter even the Angel Holy Sword.
Qian Renxue knew full well that those two buffoons before them weren't even worthy of carrying Gu Sheng's shoes.
At the heart of the storm, Gu Sheng faced the taunts from every direction.
Yet inside, his emotions remained as still as a placid lake, without the slightest ripple.
Gu Sheng narrowed his eyes slightly and even began talking to himself in his mind.
"Ma Hongjun's Evil Fire has a certain violent quality to it."
"If he attacks with all his might, I wonder if that tangible killing intent could be used to stimulate Holy Spectrum Puni's origin?"
"This is the perfect chance to use him as a whetstone and see if I can break through my Second Seal."
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Gu Sheng made up his mind.
He raised a hand and pointed straight at Ma Hongjun, who was still laughing uproariously, then formally challenged him to a friendly match.
"Ma Hongjun, enough talk."
"If you truly consider yourself a genius, do you dare face me in a match?"
Ma Hongjun stopped laughing, his gaze turning vicious in an instant.
He was even more certain that the boy before him was a hopeless idiot.
With such a huge gap in levels between them, the boy still dared to challenge him and court death.
"Good! Very good!"
Ma Hongjun jeered.
"If you're in such a hurry to get reincarnated, then I'll be merciful and grant your wish today!"
"I'll crush your bones one by one!"
"I'll show you what it means to wish you were dead!"
At Ma Hongjun's cruel, savage words,
everyone drew in a sharp breath, anxious for Gu Sheng.
Along both sides of the street, the commoners who had only been peeking out moments ago now retreated in fear of the Soul King's powerful aura.
Some kindhearted onlookers saw Gu Sheng standing alone in the middle of the scene and couldn't bear it. They hurriedly tried to dissuade him.
"Young man, run!"
A middle-aged woman with a basket of vegetables on her arm stamped her feet anxiously, her face full of worry.
"That's a real Soul Elder! How can a level twenty Soul Grandmaster like you possibly beat him?"
"Hurry and kowtow to Grandmaster and apologize. You might still save your life."
The middle-aged man who had just been swindled out of his savings and now clutched a rusty hoe couldn't help joining in loudly.
"Brother, don't be reckless!"
"I just experienced firsthand how powerful this fatty is."
"His flames aren't something an ordinary person can withstand. If you go up against him, you'll only get yourself killed!"
It wasn't only the commoners—even a few low-level Soul Masters passing by shook their heads.
"That kid must be crazy."
"A level twenty fighter challenging a Soul Elder over level thirty? What a ridiculous joke."
"Looks like another nameless charred corpse will be left on the streets of Heaven Dou City today."
Of course, the crowd also had no shortage of spectators who loved to kick a man when he was down and enjoyed watching a good show.
They tucked their hands into their sleeves and waited quietly for the entertainment to begin.
In their eyes, Gu Sheng was an utter fool: a hotheaded nobody with no backing who dared to throw himself into the fray.
"Fight! Hit him hard!"
"That'll teach him to act so arrogant. He's finally met his match!"
"I want to see if he can still run his mouth when his bones are being crushed!"
All kinds of voices blended together, dissolving into a chaotic din.
But Gu Sheng, the person at the center of it all, seemed not to hear a thing.
He stood straight as a pine, showing not the slightest sign of retreat.
Yu Xiaogang folded his arms tightly across his chest and lifted his chin high.
His old robe, washed until it had faded, fluttered faintly in the wind as he desperately maintained his so-called Grandmaster bearing.
Yu Xiaogang stood at the edge of the arena, a cruel smile hanging on his lips.
At that moment, he was silently composing a long speech in his mind.
He planned to deliver it in front of everyone after his disciple had brutally beaten Gu Sheng.
"That ignorant little brat."
Yu Xiaogang gloated inwardly.
"He actually thinks he can challenge the genius I personally trained. What an overestimation of his own abilities."
"How could a frog in a well like you ever stand against Hongjun's Evil Fire?"
Unlike Yu Xiaogang, Qian Renxue, at the back of the crowd, had eyes only for Gu Sheng.
Qian Renxue's slender fingers quietly clenched.
The Holy Soul Power within her was ready to erupt at any moment.
If that fatty so much as truly injured Gu Sheng, she wouldn't hesitate for a second. She would cut him clean in two with a single sword strike.
As if sensing the worry of the beauty behind him,
Gu Sheng slowly turned his head. His gaze passed over the noisy crowd and landed precisely on Qian Renxue.
Their eyes met in midair.
Gu Sheng said nothing, only returning her gaze with a calm look that assured her everything would be all right.
At that look, Qian Renxue's tense body relaxed at once.
She knew full well that her husband never fought a battle unprepared.
Since he had chosen to step forward, it meant everything was under his control.
After reassuring Qian Renxue, Gu Sheng turned his gaze back to Ma Hongjun, who looked like a furious wild boar.
Gu Sheng smiled faintly, his expression as unruffled as if he saw through it all.
"Don't just talk. Back it up."
Gu Sheng's voice wasn't loud, but everyone present heard him clearly.
"Come on, show us your Grandmaster's invincible theories."
In the arena,
Gu Sheng and Ma Hongjun stood facing each other.
There were no more than a dozen paces between them.
The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder.
The battle was about to erupt.
Ma Hongjun could no longer stand the humiliation of being looked down on.
He shouted, his voice bursting out like a sudden crack of thunder.
"You little bastard, prepare to die!"
Ma Hongjun struck first.
He kicked hard against the ground with both legs, launching himself into the air like a cannonball.
"Evil Fire Phoenix, possess me!"
A sharp bird cry rang out as violent Soul Power surged from Ma Hongjun's body.
Masses of dark-red flame instantly engulfed his fat frame.
Scorching tongues of fire licked wildly at the surrounding air.
Behind him, the phantom of a bulky, evil-aura-wreathed fire phoenix quickly took shape.
Terrifying heat spread mercilessly in every direction, radiating from him.
The sunshades over several nearby stalls burst into flames.
Even the puddles left on the ground evaporated in the blink of an eye.
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