"Tell that Yu Tianheng or whatever his name is to hurry up and get over here."
"I want to finish this quickly so I can go back to sleep."
The atmosphere in the plaza was a little strange.
Bibi Dong's usually dignified face softened the instant she looked at Lin Qiu. She reached out and casually smoothed the wisps of hair at his temple, which weren't even messy, then said softly:
"All right. Since Qiu'er is tired, we'll finish this quickly."
She turned around. Her gaze swept past Yu Yuanzhen, kneeling on the ground, and landed on the Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's seats. Her tone instantly returned to the cool indifference befitting the Pope.
"Where is Yu Tianheng? Since your grandfather wants you to experience the Holy Son's skill, what are you waiting for? Get up here!"
As her words fell, a tall, slender young man stepped out from among the seats.
He wore a blue-purple martial outfit. His features were handsome, and his brows carried an innate air of arrogance. Though he was not yet twenty, his every movement already carried the bearing of a powerful fighter.
This was Yu Tianheng, hailed as the "pride of heaven" by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
Yu Tianheng strode up onto the platform. First, he bowed to the Pope, then turned to face Lin Qiu.
There was none of the venom in his gaze that Yu Yuanzhen's had held. Instead, he looked eager for a fight.
In his view, Lin Qiu might be the Holy Son, but he was still young.
Twelve years old—even if he had started cultivating in the womb, how high could his Soul Power be?
Thirty levels at most.
He, Yu Tianheng, had already broken through level thirty-five, and he possessed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, hailed as the strongest Beast Martial Soul!
The advantage in this battle was his.
"Yu Tianheng of the Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."
Yu Tianheng gave Lin Qiu a slight salute. His manners were impeccable, but they couldn't hide the disdain in his eyes. "Level thirty-five Power Attack System Battle Soul Elder. I await the Holy Son's instruction."
He deliberately emphasized the words "level thirty-five."
It was a show of force, and a form of psychological warfare.
Lin Qiu merely yawned lazily. He didn't even bring his hands out from behind his back.
"Lin Qiu."
Two simple words—that was his entire reply.
Yu Tianheng's eye twitched at such a nonchalant attitude.
Just then, the mechanical voice in Lin Qiu's mind rang out without warning.
[ Ding! Detected the host being provoked by a descendant of the 'Primordial Thunder Dragon Imperial Clan'! ]
[ Emergency mission triggered: Challenge of the Emperor Clan Prodigy. ]
[ Mission description: This place is a Border Wasteland forbidden zone in the Shrouding Heavens World, where the Primordial Myriad Races stand tall. Though the young 'Primordial Thunder Dragon Imperial Clan' offspring before you has a diluted bloodline, he still possesses a trace of the might of a True Dragon. Please face the challenge with caution. ]
[ Mission requirement: Suppress your opponent with your physical body and Dao arts! ]
[ Mission rewards: Source Heaven Book (fragment), ten catties of Divine Source. ]
Hearing the system's notification, Lin Qiu's lips curled slightly.
Primordial Thunder Dragon Imperial Clan?
This lousy system really did love to let its imagination run wild.
It was just a lizard with a little electricity in it. Somehow, the system had made it out to be a Primordial Imperial Clan.
If the Titled Douluos present heard that, they'd probably be furious enough to spit up three pints of blood.
"Holy Son, please summon your Martial Soul."
Yu Tianheng didn't rush to attack. Instead, he put on a refined air. "That way, no one can accuse me of taking advantage of someone younger."
Lin Qiu looked at him as if he were a clown putting on a show.
"I don't need to use my Martial Soul to deal with you."
Lin Qiu spoke calmly.
He didn't raise his voice, but in the silent plaza, every person present heard him clearly.
The entire crowd erupted.
"Arrogant!"
The elders of the Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan trembled with rage.
Even Ning Fengzhi, who was usually so composed, couldn't help frowning.
Not use his Martial Soul?
That wasn't merely looking down on Yu Tianheng. It was a slight against the ironclad rules of the entire Soul Master World!
Without a Martial Soul and Soul Rings, a Soul Master's strength would be cut by at least half. They might not even be able to bring out a tenth of their power.
The Holy Son was taking his confidence too far.
"Good! Very good!"
Yu Tianheng laughed in fury, blue-purple lightning suddenly bursting from his body.
"Since the Holy Son is so confident, don't blame Tianheng for showing no mercy!"
Boom!
Two yellow Soul Rings and one purple Soul Ring—the optimal configuration—rose from beneath his feet.
A powerful surge of Soul Power swept out. Yu Tianheng's right arm instantly underwent Dragon Transformation, thick dragon scales spreading across it as a vicious Thunder Dragon Claw took shape.
"First Soul Skill: Thunder Dragon Claw!"
Without testing his opponent, Yu Tianheng went all out from the very start.
He would use the most violent method to shatter Lin Qiu's arrogance and humiliate this ignorant Holy Son!
Szzzt—!
Lightning flashed. Yu Tianheng shot forward like a streak of blue lightning, reaching Lin Qiu in the blink of an eye.
His Thunder Dragon Claw tore through the air with a piercing shriek, lunging straight for Lin Qiu's chest.
The air filled with the stench of scorching flesh.
The force of this strike was enough to badly injure an ordinary level-forty Soul Ancestor!
Bibi Dong stood nearby, her fingers tightening slightly around her scepter. She knew Lin Qiu's strength was unfathomable, but she had never seen him truly fight. She couldn't help feeling a little nervous.
Yet.
Faced with this powerful strike, Lin Qiu still made no move to dodge.
He simply raised his right hand, slowly.
His movement was astonishingly slow.
Like an old man practicing tai chi in the park—soft, unhurried, utterly free of menace.
But the instant Lin Qiu raised his hand, an ancient, vast, and weighty aura suddenly erupted from within him.
It wasn't Soul Power.
It was a force purer and more domineering than Soul Power, as if it stood above heaven and earth!
It was the "qi and blood" of the Shrouding Heavens World!
Rumble!
The blood in Lin Qiu's body began to surge, its roar like a river bursting its banks, deafening everyone around.
Pale golden light streamed from his pores, making him look like a war god cast from divine metal, descended from the heavens.
"What is this power?!"
The Titled Douluos present stared in shock.
They had never seen an energy fluctuation like this. There was neither the glow of a Soul Ring nor the phantom of a Martial Soul. It was simply the power of the physical body being elevated!
Lin Qiu's palm seemed slow, but it was impossibly fast. It struck the Thunder Dragon Claw with pinpoint precision.
There were no flashy tricks.
One force broke ten thousand techniques!
Bang!
The golden palm and the blue-purple dragon claw collided in midair with a thunderous crash.
There was no deadlock between evenly matched opponents, as everyone had expected. Nor was there an earth-shattering explosion.
There was only one-sided crushing force.
Crack!
The crisp sound of breaking bones rang out.
The Dragon-Transformed arm that Yu Tianheng had always been so proud of shattered inch by inch the instant it touched the golden palm, like a brittle biscuit!
The violent power of thunder met that golden qi and blood like snow meeting magma, and was instantly vaporized without a trace.
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