Ma Hongjun vs. Dai Mubai!

Flender raised his head and glanced at him, but did not respond.

Dai Mubai knew what he was about to ask—why he had left the Star Luo Empire, why he had chosen Shrek, and whether there was any trouble behind it all.

Rather than wait for him to ask, he might as well say it himself.

"The Star Luo Empire has a rule: whoever is stronger sits on the throne."

Dai Mubai's voice was calm, as though he were speaking of something that had nothing to do with him.

"My eldest brother, Dai Weisi, and I are the most direct competitors for the throne. But his talent is better than mine, he has more resources than I do, and nearly all the civil and military officials of the empire stand on his side."

He paused, then continued.

"He is now a Peak Soul Elder, only one step away from becoming a Soul Ancestor. He is five years older than me and a whole major realm above me. If I stayed there, I would only be an eyesore to him, something he would have to get rid of sooner or later. He has revealed his killing intent more than once. It is inconvenient to kill a prince in the palace, but there are countless ways for an 'accident' to happen—drowning, falling from a horse, losing control during cultivation. If I died, no one would pursue it. In everyone's eyes, he is the future master of the Star Luo Empire. I am nothing more than an unnecessary shadow."

Flender's pen stopped.

"So I left." Dai Mubai's voice remained calm. "Not to run away, but to stay alive. Only by staying alive can I grow stronger. Only by growing stronger can I return one day."

He raised his head, his mismatched blue and green eyes staring straight at Flender.

"What I need is a place that can make me stronger. If this place can do that, then I'll sell you my life."

The room fell silent for a long time.

Flender looked at the ten-year-old boy before him but did not answer immediately.

It was not as if he had never seen geniuses, nor had he never seen students with powerful backgrounds. But Dai Mubai possessed something he rarely saw—not arrogance, not talent, but the ruthlessness of someone driven to a dead end, someone who could only carve out a bloody path with his own hands.

"Very inspiring. But pass the test first." Flender lowered his head and continued filling out the form.

Dai Mubai nodded.

"Next is the practical combat test."

Flender rose to his feet and led everyone toward the training ground.

"Before the test begins, introduce yourselves to each other. You first."

Dai Mubai looked at the two boys in school uniforms.

"Dai Mubai. Innate Soul Power level seven, ten years old, Battle Soul Master. White Tiger Martial Soul, level twenty-nine, two Soul Rings."

"Ma Hongjun. Innate Full Soul Power, seven years old, Battle Soul Master. Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul, level thirty Soul Elder, two Soul Rings. I just broke through and have not had time to obtain my third Soul Ring."

"Oscar. Innate Full Soul Power, nine years old, Food Soul Master. Sausage Martial Soul, level thirty Soul Elder, two Soul Rings. I just broke through and have not had time to obtain my third Soul Ring."

Ma Hongjun and Oscar stepped forward and introduced themselves.

Dai Mubai's heart was already churning like a raging sea, but none of it showed on his face.

Seven years old, level thirty.

Nine years old, level thirty.

Both had Innate Full Soul Power.

When he had awakened, he had possessed Innate Soul Power level seven. He had always thought he was already outstanding—Innate Soul Power level seven, a White Tiger Martial Soul, level twenty-nine at ten years old. Everywhere he went, people looked up to him.

Yet here, in this academy he had thought was so run-down, there was a seven-year-old at level thirty and a nine-year-old at level thirty.

Dai Mubai clenched his fists.

He refused to accept it.

But had he not left the Star Luo Empire precisely to find people like this? He could not find them in the empire, but now he had.

"Can the test begin?" he asked.

"It can. First match: Dai Mubai against Ma Hongjun." Flender waved a hand. "Stop when the point is made."

Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun walked to the center of the training ground.

They stood face-to-face, ten paces apart.

"I'll go all out," Dai Mubai said.

"Fine." Ma Hongjun merely nodded again.

Dai Mubai said nothing more. Soul Power surged through his body in an instant. White light burst forth from within him, condensing behind him into the phantom of a white tiger. Its eyes were wide, its fangs bared, and its imposing aura spread outward like a tide.

Two Hundred-Year Soul Rings rose beneath his feet.

The first Soul Ring lit up.

"First Soul Skill, White Tiger Barrier!"

A layer of white light appeared over Dai Mubai's body, as though coating him in transparent armor. This was his first Soul Skill, a defensive ability that formed a protective aura around his body and greatly enhanced his physical defense.

This was his habit—defend first, then attack.

The second Soul Ring lit up immediately afterward.

"Second Soul Skill, White Tiger Intense Light Wave!"

Dai Mubai brought his hands together, gathering a dazzling sphere of white light between his palms. The sphere grew larger and brighter, containing terrifyingly compressed Soul Power.

Ma Hongjun's pupils narrowed slightly.

White Tiger Intense Light Wave: a long-range attack that fired compressed Soul Power with immense force. This was Dai Mubai's primary offensive technique.

Dai Mubai thrust both palms forward. The sphere became a pillar of white light and blasted toward Ma Hongjun.

The beam was incredibly fast, tearing through the air with a piercing howl.

Ma Hongjun did not take it head-on. Golden-red flames erupted from his body, and pale golden Light Wings spread behind his back. He shot into the air, and the white beam swept beneath his feet before crashing into the distant stone wall, leaving behind a scorched black mark.

Flender frowned.

That wall had just been repaired.

But Zhao Wuji kept waving a hand beside him, signaling that he would handle the bill, and only then did Flender refrain from exploding.

Although Dai Mubai's White Tiger Intense Light Wave was powerful, his greatest weakness was his lack of anti-air capability. Once Ma Hongjun flew into the sky, his attacks could no longer reach him.

"Do you only know how to dodge?" Dai Mubai frowned.

"No." Ma Hongjun's voice came from above. "I'm just looking for your opening."

As his words fell, Ma Hongjun dived from the sky.

His Wings of Light folded in, and his body dropped like a meteor. When he was less than five meters from Dai Mubai, the light wings suddenly spread open, bringing him to an abrupt halt. His second Soul Ring lit up—

"Second Soul Skill, Light Pierce!"

A golden Light Spear shot from Ma Hongjun's palm. It was so fast that Dai Mubai only had time to twist aside. The Light Spear grazed his shoulder, ripping open his White Tiger Barrier as easily as paper and scorching a patch of his clothing black.

His flesh burned with searing pain.

Dai Mubai lowered his head and looked at the charred mark on his shoulder, a chill rising in his heart.

His White Tiger Barrier was a defensive skill. Though it was only his first Soul Skill, its defense was by no means weak. Ordinary Soul Grandmaster attacks could not break through it at all.

Yet Ma Hongjun's Light Spear had torn straight through his protective aura and scorched his shoulder in the process.

If Ma Hongjun had aimed at his chest just now...

Dai Mubai did not continue the thought.

He was not someone who could not accept defeat, but neither could he admit it so easily.

"I was careless! I haven't lost yet! Again!"

The White Tiger Barrier rose around him once more, and the White Tiger Intense Light Wave gathered in his palms again.

This time, he did not fire it immediately. He waited for Ma Hongjun to come closer before making his move.