As the pale blue stench rushed toward him like a wave, Ye Chen only smiled instead of flinching. After their earlier exchange, Torchic's Speed Boost Ability had stacked its speed once, so avoiding the cloud of stink would be no problem.
Covering his nose and mouth with his sleeve, Ye Chen lowered his voice and ordered, "Torchic, hold your breath. Circle left to avoid it, then use Ember for a ranged attack!"
The moment he finished speaking, Torchic held its breath and darted left like a golden bolt of lightning, easily escaping the pale blue cloud of stink.
Then it opened its pointed beak and unleashed a stream of Ember. The attack was even stronger than before, its scorching gust of wind bearing down on Luo Sanpao.
Yu Xiaogang's pupils contracted. He instinctively started to recall Luo Sanpao, but then remembered Ye Chen's warning. Gritting his teeth, he could only order, "Sanpao, dodge!"
Luo Sanpao scrambled to evade, narrowly avoiding the fiery blast.
By then, Torchic had already used its twice-stacked speed to reach the spot where Luo Sanpao would land.
"Now! Use Scratch to unleash a barrage of wide swings! Hit him with everything you've got!"
At Ye Chen's command, Torchic used its claws like fists and began hammering the freshly landed Luo Sanpao with sweeping punches from both sides. Its strange cries of "Torchic, Torchic" rang across the field.
With Focus Energy bolstering it, nearly every punch Torchic threw struck one of Luo Sanpao's vulnerable spots with pinpoint accuracy.
"Luo, Luo—" Luo Sanpao let out a pained wail. It tried to fight back, but couldn't keep up with Torchic's speed and could only take the beating.
Dean Ding was utterly dumbfounded. Torchic's combat prowess far exceeded his expectations.
Watching Luo Sanpao take hit after hit from the sweeping punches, Yu Xiaogang was stunned as well. When he finally came to his senses, he tried to activate his First Soul Skill, Earth-Shattering Luo Sanpao, but a piercing pain suddenly shot through his body.
As he struggled to endure the agony, Yu Xiaogang soon realized it came from the backlash of his External Martial Soul. Every punch Luo Sanpao took felt as if it had landed on him, its host.
Despite the pain coming from Luo Sanpao, Yu Xiaogang neither cried out nor admitted defeat. The pride in his bones wouldn't let him lose to a six-year-old boy without even a Soul Ring. Otherwise, he would become a laughingstock!
In just a few seconds, Luo Sanpao had taken more than ten consecutive sweeping punches. Its eyes spun into spirals, and it crashed to the ground, completely unable to fight on.
At the same time, Yu Xiaogang let out a muffled groan. He staggered, then could no longer hold himself up and slumped to the ground in a sorry heap.
His face was bruised in patches, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes were unfocused. In a daze, he seemed to have personally endured Torchic's beating.
Luo Sanpao could no longer fight, and Yu Xiaogang himself was out of commission. There was no doubt that Ye Chen and Torchic had won this sparring match decisively.
Looking at Yu Xiaogang sitting on the ground, Ye Chen couldn't help feeling relieved.
Thankfully, his Body Martial Soul gave him powerful combat strength and helped reduce the backlash from Torchic's injuries.
Otherwise, Yu Xiaogang's fate today might have been his own in the future.
As Luo Sanpao dissolved into purple light, the pale blue stench dissipated completely.
Ye Chen suddenly felt his Soul Power surging wildly within him. The experience from defeating Yu Xiaogang poured into him in an endless stream, sending his Soul Power, which had been at level sixteen, soaring straight to the peak of level seventeen—just one step away from level eighteen.
Seeing Dean Ding hurry over to help Yu Xiaogang up, Ye Chen quickly ran over too. With a measure of politeness, he said, "Grandmaster, I'm sorry. When fighting someone above my rank, I naturally had to give it my all. If I'd known it would turn out this way, I would've let you land a few hits. Is Luo Sanpao all right? Are you badly hurt?"
After hearing Ye Chen's concern, Yu Xiaogang didn't feel cared for. Instead, the words grated on him.
A Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster had been defeated by a Soul Scholar without a single Soul Ring, despite being a whole rank higher?
And that Soul Scholar was saying he would've let him land a few hits if he'd known?
If word got out, how could he show his face at Nuoding Academy?
The teachers and students at Nuoding Academy already liked to pay lip service to his "peerless theoretical master" status, despite his only having reached level twenty-nine at the age of fifty.
If this defeat were added to that, he would become everyone's laughingstock once and for all!
Helplessness, pain, resentment, and shame surged through Yu Xiaogang. His chest heaved violently. After a brief silence, he forced down his anger and humiliation, then struggled to his feet with Dean Ding's support. He shook his head at Ye Chen but didn't say a word.
Dean Ding hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "Ye Chen, this isn't your fault. You don't need to apologize. Grandmaster's Luo Sanpao is an Evil Mutated Martial Soul, so it's naturally at a disadvantage in actual combat. But Grandmaster's theoretical knowledge is second to none. What you lack most right now is theoretical guidance. With Grandmaster guiding your cultivation, you'll avoid plenty of detours."
"Dean, you make a good point." Ye Chen changed tack and politely declined. "But I can't accept having a master who's weaker than me, so I can't take Grandmaster as my master."
"If Grandmaster's theories are really so impressive, he can take on disciples with low Innate Soul Power, like Wang Sheng. I think that turning someone with mediocre talent into a powerhouse far beyond even a Titled Douluo—that would make a true theoretical master."
"As for me, I have Innate Full Soul Power. Even without a good theoretical mentor, as long as someone helps me obtain a suitable Soul Ring, I can still become strong."
Dean Ding was a little surprised by Ye Chen's words. He hadn't expected a six-year-old boy fresh from the countryside to have such insight.
It seemed Ye Chen wasn't merely gifted as a Soul Master; his maturity was far beyond that of other children his age, too. He truly deserved to be called a child prodigy.
After considering it for a moment, Dean Ding continued defending Yu Xiaogang. "Ye Chen, you know Grandmaster's standards for accepting disciples are extremely high. If Wang Sheng and the others were qualified, Grandmaster would've taken them on already. He wouldn't have waited for you."
Ye Chen didn't answer Dean Ding directly. Instead, he looked at Yu Xiaogang and said earnestly, "My elders taught me that you shouldn't judge whether someone has real ability by what they say, but by what they do."
"If Grandmaster truly had ability in theory, he would surely uphold the principle of teaching everyone without discrimination. Why, then, would he set such high standards for accepting disciples? And if Grandmaster really had ability, Luo Sanpao shouldn't be this weak."
Before Ye Chen could finish, Yu Xiaogang could no longer contain his anger and humiliation. He clenched his fists and barked, "Enough! You're just a little child who heard a few nagging words from your elders, and now you dare lecture me and pass judgment? A self-important brat like you is simply impossible to reason with!"
Ye Chen shook his head in disappointment. "Grandmaster, you have no real ability, yet you want to attach yourself to a disciple with outstanding talent. That's what's impossible to reason with."
"You!" Yu Xiaogang's chest heaved violently. He wanted to explode, but couldn't bring himself to argue with a child. With no other choice, he gave a cold snort and clasped his hands behind his back, putting on the air of an adult who wouldn't stoop to a child's level.
"Ding Yuan, I don't want to hear you ask me to take on a disciple again!" With that, Yu Xiaogang pushed away Dean Ding's supporting hand and staggered toward the academy dormitory.
"Xiaogang, come back!" Dean Ding shouted, but Yu Xiaogang ignored him and walked away without looking back.
Only after watching him disappear into the distance did Dean Ding sigh in defeat. Looking at Ye Chen, he said, "Child, what's so bad about taking Grandmaster as your master? Even if he isn't strong, you still have me. Grandmaster can teach you theory, and I can help you obtain a Soul Ring. That seems like a good arrangement."
"Dean, thank you for your kindness, but Grandmaster and I don't get along. There's no need to force it. If you won't help me get a Soul Ring because I refused to take Grandmaster as my master, then I'll just have to find a way on my own."
Hearing Ye Chen's words, Dean Ding reminded him resentfully, "What can a child like you do? Obtaining a Soul Ring means hunting a Soul Beast."
"I know. So if no one helps me, I'll have to hunt a Soul Beast by myself." Ye Chen paused, then tested the waters. "Or I could go to Spirit Hall and ask Grandmaster Su Yuntao, who helped awaken my Martial Soul, to help me. If he found out how powerful my Torchic is, he'd definitely be willing."
At that, Dean Ding froze for a moment. Someone with Innate Full Soul Power who didn't neglect their cultivation was sure to become a Titled Douluo one day.
He'd finally gotten the chance to get in the good graces of a future Titled Douluo. How could he let Su Yuntao have such a good thing?
Once that thought struck him, Dean Ding's resentment vanished. He patted Ye Chen on the shoulder and said, "Child, that's going too far. You've already joined Nuoding Academy. If I let you go to Spirit Hall for help hunting a Soul Beast, wouldn't that make our academy look incompetent?"
"One thing at a time. I won't interfere in your affairs with Grandmaster anymore. After the opening ceremony the day after tomorrow, I'll personally take you to hunt a Soul Beast. In the meantime, think carefully about what kind of Soul Beast your Torchic should get its First Soul Ring from."
Before you continue