At the center of the Soul Fighting Arena, Ye Qing stood with his hands behind his back. The Green Edge Sword trembled lightly in his palm, its hum seeming to resonate with the Soul Power around him.
He raised his eyes to Lin Fan, his icy gaze hiding an unquestionable confidence.
"Lin Fan, yesterday Li Xiong was careless and you forced him to use his Fourth Soul Skill, but I won't give you any chances today." Ye Qing spoke calmly.
"Ye Qing, Martial Soul: Green Edge Sword, Level 45 Power Attack System Soul Ancestor!"
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple—four standard Soul Rings appeared beneath Ye Qing's feet.
Lin Fan smiled faintly. "Lin Fan, Martial Soul: Lightning Element, Level 27 Power Attack System Soul Grandmaster!"
Two purple Soul Rings appeared beneath Lin Fan's feet, then began circling around him.
On the platform
"What! He actually has two Thousand-Year Soul Rings! Is he really just a Soul Grandmaster?"
"Of course. The Primary Soul Master Academy sent word earlier that Lin Fan's First Soul Ring is a thousand years old!"
"I heard he's the disciple of the current Saint Child! And his junior sister, Bibi Dong, also has a thousand-year First Soul Ring!"
"You mean the reason their First Soul Rings are said to be a thousand years old is that the Saint Child discovered the secret to absorbing a thousand-year Soul Ring as your first?"
"Shh! This hasn't gotten out yet. The people above must still be trying to keep it under wraps!"
"Oh, oh..."
On the arena
"First Soul Skill—Golden Thunder Transformation!"
"Second Soul Skill—Mysterious Thunder Transformation!"
The instant Lin Fan finished introducing himself, both Soul Rings flared to life!
With the boost from his Soul Rings, he naturally had a much better chance of standing up to Ye Qing!
But Ye Qing had no intention of holding back. He believed that giving his all was the only way to show respect for his opponent!
"Second Soul Skill—One Breath, Green Edge Rises!"
"Third Soul Skill—Green Shadow Following Wind!"
As the Second Soul Ring lit up, Ye Qing's aura surged.
When his Third Soul Ring lit up, the three-foot Green Edge Sword in his hand instantly transformed into several flying swords. Under Ye Qing's control, they shot toward Lin Fan at tremendous speed.
Lin Fan immediately understood: Ye Qing's Second Soul Skill must also be a boosting skill!
As the flying swords stabbed toward him, Lin Fan remained utterly calm. The seven Lightning Element Star Seeds in his palm linked together in the blink of an eye.
The Star Orbit formed!
Magic appeared!
"Thunder Seal—Wild Whip!"
Lin Fan swept his hand down, sending several thick bolts of lightning, like hungry tigers, crashing toward the flying swords.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The two sides collided, arcs of lightning clashing and interfering with sword energy!
In the stands
"Whew! Lin Fan really is impressive. He can actually go toe-to-toe with Senior Ye Qing's Third Soul Skill!"
"You bet! The boost from two thousand-year Soul Rings is incredible!"
"No! Look, Senior Ye Qing's flying swords have been broken!"
On the arena
Seeing his flying swords on the left about to be torn apart by Lin Fan's lightning, Ye Qing's heart jumped.
"First Soul Skill—Green Edge Following Shadow!"
Ye Qing's First Soul Ring lit up, and his figure vanished from where he stood. The next instant, using the airflow as cover, he charged straight at Lin Fan, launching a close-range surprise attack. He meant to use his advantage in close-quarters swordsmanship to overpower Lin Fan and constrain his long-range lightning attacks.
Lin Fan responded to every move.
When he saw Ye Qing closing in, he darted backward at full speed.
He was a mage. Though his body was powerful, he was still a step behind someone like Ye Qing, whose Martial Soul was the Green Edge Sword.
"Thunder Seal—Reckless Mark!"
He retreated as he cast his magic.
With a slight point of Lin Fan's hand, the lightning gathered at his fingertip shot out.
A huge, vicious Thunder Python burst through the air, every scale and claw sharply defined. Its power soared as it carried a ferocious killing force no weaker than Wild Whip, fiercely pursuing and snapping at Ye Qing as he charged in close.
Seeing this, Ye Qing felt helpless. Thunder Python was already extremely fast, and now it was chasing him; there was naturally no way to dodge.
Ye Qing's pupils contracted, but he still managed to block it with a quick, instinctive movement.
He swung the three-foot Green Edge Sword in his hand, its power amplified by his First Soul Skill, and forcibly withstood the Thunder Python, which had been boosted twice over!
Ye Qing glanced at the arcs of lightning still crackling with residual power across his sword. His heart tightened. When he looked up, his gaze was like a drawn blade!
"You're really strong!"
"Third Soul Skill—Green Shadow Following Wind!"
"First Soul Skill—Green Edge Following Shadow!"
Several flying swords appeared in an instant, and Ye Qing charged at Lin Fan again.
As the flying swords sped toward Lin Fan, Ye Qing drew closer and closer.
"Thunder Seal—Wild Whip!"
Lightning burst from Lin Fan's hand once more.
But in the next instant, Ye Qing vanished. This time, it wasn't because he was moving too fast—he had disappeared from where he stood altogether.
Lin Fan didn't understand why Ye Qing had vanished, but in the next instant, a sharp sword was already resting against his neck.
"You've lost!" Ye Qing's voice sounded from behind him.
Lin Fan turned around and saw Ye Qing smiling.
At that moment, Lin Fan understood how Ye Qing had appeared behind him.
In that instant just before, Ye Qing had used the flying swords embedded in the ground to instantly appear at their locations.
"Can you teleport using those conjured flying swords?" Lin Fan asked with a smile.
Ye Qing nodded without saying anything.
Seeing this, Lin Fan shook his head. "I lost!"
In the stands
"Tsk, tsk. Ye Qing really is impressive. The most amazing thing about his Third Soul Skill isn't that he can control so many flying swords to attack. It's that every single flying sword is an extension of his own sword!"
"Lin Fan's loss was no disgrace. After all, this was his first fight against Ye Qing, so it's only natural that he didn't know about that. If he had, he could probably have held out longer."
Several students from the advanced academy chatted, clearly impressed by Lin Fan's performance.
In the waiting area
"Tingting, heal them both."
"Hu Ke, replenish Lin Fan's Soul Power."
Qin Wei spoke to the two Auxiliary Soul Masters on his team.
Chu Tingting nodded, and a pale yellow Soul Ring lit up.
As Chu Tingting's wings fluttered, faint, glowing dust drifted toward Lin Fan and Ye Qing.
Lin Fan's injuries weren't serious; he'd only been grazed by a flying sword.
Although Ye Qing had withstood Reckless Mark head-on, he still had several sizable wounds.
In just an instant, the injuries on both of them had healed.
Lin Fan smiled and nodded to Chu Tingting. "Thank you, Senior Tingting!"
"First Soul Skill—Fragrant Soft Lotus Leaf Egg!"
A girl beside Chu Tingting suddenly spoke. Her pale red hair cascaded over her shoulders like rosy clouds, the curled tips falling to her waist.
She was Hu Ke, the team's other Auxiliary Soul Master—a Food-Type Soul Master.
Unlike other Soul Masters, Food-Type Soul Masters had to recite an incantation when using their Soul Skills, as if the soul of the food must never be profaned!
"Lin Fan, hurry and eat it," Hu Ke said with a smile, offering him a green-shelled egg.
Lin Fan nodded and popped the lotus leaf egg into his mouth.
The moment it touched his tongue, the fragrance of lotus blossoms filled his taste buds.
And in only a moment, Lin Fan had eaten the whole egg.
"It's pretty tasty, and it doesn't stick in your throat." Lin Fan smiled faintly.
Hearing this, Hu Ke smiled. "If you like it, I can make you a few more to keep for later."
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