Tang San glanced at Xiao Wu standing beside him, then at Ye Chen across from them. A confident smile tugged at his lips.
Now he could fire his first Soul Skill, Blue Silver Bind, in the form of Blue Silver Hidden Weapons. With his hidden-weapon techniques backing them up, he could hit wherever he aimed. And with Xiao Wu fighting at his side, their chances of winning were excellent.
Besides, although Ye Chen had obtained his first Soul Skill, activating it required Soul Power. Supporting Torchic in battle also took Soul Power. Ye Chen was only a little over ten levels, so he couldn't possibly sustain both of those drains.
So whichever way he looked at it, he and Xiao Wu were bound to win this spar!
Snapping out of his thoughts, Tang San suddenly froze. Twenty meters away, Ye Chen had made a throwing motion with his right hand. A streak of red shot out, transforming into the unmistakable shape of Torchic.
But the Torchic before his eyes looked completely different from before.
If the old Torchic had looked like an affectionate, adorable pet, this one was a humanoid fighting chicken. At first glance, it was nearly the same size as everyone present. Its appearance and aura had both changed dramatically.
"Is that your Torchic?" Tang San couldn't help asking.
Ye Chen smiled. "That's right. After gaining its first Soul Ring, my Torchic evolved. You can call it Combusken now."
"Chamo!" Combusken let out an excited cry. A golden glow circled its body, making it gleam brilliantly. Its two thick, powerful legs began bouncing from side to side.
Seeing this, Tang San was sure the Combusken before him was indeed the same Torchic as before. After crossing paths so many times, he had grown familiar with its distinctive side-to-side bouncing footwork.
Looking at Combusken, brimming with fighting spirit, Xiao Wu planted her hands on her hips and complained, "Ye Chen, no wonder you haven't summoned Torchic lately. It's not cute at all now that it's turned into this!"
"Sorry, my Torchic only cares about getting stronger, not being cute. Its evolution into Combusken is proof of its strength."
As he spoke, the first Soul Ring on Ye Chen's body lit up. The yellow glow of his Hundred-Year Soul Ring burst forth, leaving the watching noble students and work-study students dumbfounded.
Xiao Chenyu and the other noble students were especially shocked. They knew Ye Chen was the current leader of Dorm Seven, but they had never seen him fight. Now that they had witnessed his Martial Soul and Soul Ring with their own eyes, they couldn't help but be stunned.
"Another Hundred-Year First Soul Ring?" Xiao Chenyu blurted out. "Wang Sheng, your batch of work-study students is way too monstrous! Three people with Innate Full Soul Power, and all three have Hundred-Year First Soul Rings. How is that even reasonable?"
"What's unreasonable about it?" Wang Sheng folded his arms, looking smug. "Xiao Chenyu, from now on, you'd better watch your step. If you nobles dare bully us work-study students again, just wait to take a beating from our Boss Ye!"
While Wang Sheng and Xiao Chenyu were talking, Tang San and Xiao Wu also revealed their Martial Souls and Soul Rings.
Seeing this, Wang Sheng stepped in as referee and shouted, "Tang San, Sister Xiao Wu, Boss Ye, get ready and start your Soul Fighting! No need to introduce yourselves!"
As soon as Wang Sheng finished speaking, Tang San instructed Xiao Wu, "I'll deal with Ye Chen, and you take Combusken. Remember, Combusken has a speed-boosting ability and can stack its speed through battle. You have to finish it quickly. Otherwise, once its Speed Boost Ability is fully stacked, we're done for!"
With that, Tang San activated Purple Demon Eye and Mysterious Jade Hand. His first Soul Ring spun rapidly around his body as he activated his first Soul Skill, Blue Silver Bind.
Strangely, Tang San didn't send Blue Silver Vines to entangle Ye Chen. Instead, ten flashes of cold light burst from between the fingers of both hands, shooting toward Ye Chen's eyes, throat, heart, and crotch.
Not one of the ten attacks aimed at the same place, and every target was a vital spot.
No one their age could possibly make out what the ten flashes of cold light were, but Ye Chen could channel Soul Power into his eyes, greatly enhancing his vision.
Under his suddenly sharpened gaze, the ten flashes revealed their true forms: tiny needle-like hidden weapons carved from Blue Silver Vines.
Empowered by the effects of the first Soul Skill, Blue Silver Bind, these Blue Silver needles carried the paralyzing poison of the Datura Snake. Thrown with hidden-weapon techniques honed to perfection, a hit to a vital spot would paralyze the body and seal the meridians.
Once the body was paralyzed and the meridians sealed, a Soul Master could no longer move normally, much less call upon Soul Power at will. It was a near-perfect method of injuring and controlling an opponent.
After firing the ten Blue Silver needles, Tang San sent out a fresh flurry of small, leaf-shaped hidden weapons from his hands.
Some flew straight, some veered diagonally, and some circled around behind. Yet they all had one target: Ye Chen.
Seeing countless Blue Silver Hidden Weapons rush at him from every direction, Ye Chen calmly said, "Combusken, use Fire Spin."
At his command, Combusken leaped into the air and spun seven hundred and twenty degrees. At the same time, it spat out a torrent of sparks.
As its body spun, the sparks whirled with it, forming dazzling rings of fire that surrounded Ye Chen.
As a result, the many Blue Silver Hidden Weapons Tang San had fired were all burned to ash before they could even hit him.
After all, the Blue Silver Hidden Weapons were made from Blue Silver Vines. Combusken's Fire type was their absolute counter.
Seeing all his Blue Silver Hidden Weapons burn up, Tang San lost some of his composure. He remembered his teacher saying that the first Soul Skill of the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, Blue Silver Bind, could at least control an opponent of a higher level.
And after absorbing the animal bloodline of a Datura Snake Soul Ring, the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul's weakness to fire should have been reduced to some extent.
Yet the Blue Silver Hidden Weapons he had created with his first Soul Skill had been easily destroyed by Combusken's Fire-type move. Could his teacher's theory be wrong?
There was no time to think it over. As the Fire Spin surrounding Ye Chen faded, Tang San immediately used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. He vanished from the spot, leaving a string of afterimages as he charged straight at Ye Chen.
Xiao Wu, fighting alongside him, also rushed at Combusken as fast as she could. The two sides plunged into a fierce battle.
Wang Sheng, Xiao Chenyu, and the others all retreated, clearing a forty-meter-wide space for the two-on-two Double Battle.
The first to clash were Xiao Wu and Combusken. Xiao Wu still remembered the kick Torchic had given her last time. Since she couldn't beat up Ye Chen just yet, she could at least give Torchic a beating first.
But after evolving into Combusken, Torchic had not only grown bigger; it had become stronger than ever.
Xiao Wu soon found that fending off Combusken's punches and kicks was no easy task. As she dodged, the slightest misstep could leave a vital spot exposed.
After exchanging blows for three rounds, Xiao Wu saw Combusken stack its Speed Boost Ability three times. She no longer dared to underestimate it and immediately used her first Soul Skill, Waist Bow.
The Soul Skill doubled her waist strength and increased her body's flexibility by fifty percent.
With Waist Bow boosting her, the scorpion braid at the back of Xiao Wu's head was poised to strike, locked onto Combusken's neck.
"Chamo—" Combusken refused to back down. It let out a strange cry and used Focus Energy. Then the claws on its right arm glowed white, and it swung a powerful Slash at Xiao Wu as she charged toward it.
Xiao Wu leaped past Combusken, keeping a safe distance, and easily dodged the Slash.
At that moment, Xiao Wu twisted in midair. The scorpion braid at the back of her head coiled around Combusken's neck. She planted both feet against its lower back, then swung her body using the strength of her waist. With a sharp backward bend, she hurled Combusken into the air.
Her braid slipped free. After landing safely, Xiao Wu sprang up at once and chased after Combusken as it flew through the air.
She grabbed Combusken around the waist, leaned backward, and slammed it hard into the ground.
Seeing this, Ye Chen lit up his first Soul Ring while trading blows with Tang San, activating his first Soul Skill, Blaze.
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