As soon as Xie Xie heard that, he perked up, straightening his back with a smug little toss of his nonexistent bangs. "You bet! Of course! You think I've spent all these years following just anyone?"
He jerked his chin toward Yao Chuan, his voice brimming with a little fanboy's pride. "This is all thanks to our boss's words and example, his subtle influence, his steady guidance! Get it?"
Tang Wulin looked at Yao Chuan with even more complicated eyes. Curiosity flared brighter and brighter, and he lowered his voice to ask, "Hey, Xie Xie, so what level is the boss at now, exactly? You're with him every day. You must know something, right?"
"Ahem!"
The smug look on Xie Xie's face froze instantly. Like a duck grabbed by the throat, he gave two dry coughs. His eyes started wandering, and his voice turned halting. "Well, the boss... he's... yeah... unfathomable!"
"Huh?" Tang Wulin stared at him, baffled. "Seriously? You don't even know?"
Xie Xie's old face reddened. Embarrassed, he nearly curled his toes into the ground as he hurried to explain.
"Damn! You think I don't want to know? The problem is, the boss... he doesn't play by the rules! The gap between us isn't some little ditch—it's the Mariana Trench! You know what I mean by 'leaning back tactically'? I can't even touch the hem of his clothes, so how am I supposed to measure his strength? He just lifts a hand, and it's a dimensionality-reducing blow to me!"
He leaned toward Tang Wulin, his face full of helpless misery. "Think of it this way: have you ever seen an ant understand why humans build spaceships? Same idea! The difference between me and the boss is the difference between an ant and a spaceship! We're not even life-forms on the same dimension! How strong is he, specifically? All I can say is—strong! Unbeatable strong! Top-of-the-world strong! Got it?"
Tang Wulin listened with his mouth hanging open, and finally understood. It wasn't that the boss was hiding his strength; Xie Xie's level as a lackey was just too low. He could barely manage to look up at him, let alone anything else. As Tang Wulin watched Yao Chuan standing quietly in the arena, his anticipation soared. When a big shot made his move, it had to shake the heavens and stir the earth!
Just then, Wu Changkong's icy voice pierced their whispered conversation like an icicle.
"Yao Chuan!"
Wu Changkong stepped into the arena, his ice-blue eyes fixed on Yao Chuan. A chill that warned everyone to keep their distance radiated from him. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly across the training ground. "It's your turn."
The whole class turned their eyes to Yao Chuan in an instant. The air seemed to freeze, leaving only heartbeats pounding like war drums.
Wu Changkong looked at Yao Chuan, his tone calm but authoritative. "I'll suppress my Soul Power to your level, thirty-one. Don't hold anything back. Show me everything you've got."
As soon as he finished speaking, Soul Rings lit up one after another beneath his feet!
Yellow!
Yellow!
Purple!
Three rings of light circled him, and a powerful wave of Soul Power instantly spread outward. Though he had deliberately suppressed his level, the aura of a true powerhouse still pressed down on every student until they could barely breathe.
"Come." Wu Changkong stood with his hands behind his back, white robes as pristine as snow, his expression calm and unruffled, as if he were saying something trivial. Yet his confidence and expectation weighed on the arena like a mountain.
Yao Chuan looked at Wu Changkong, whose aura was as steady and unfathomable as an abyss. At last, the deep-black eyes that had been still as an ancient well showed a flicker of light—exceedingly faint, yet extraordinarily bright, like a spark kindled in the dark.
It was... anticipation!
Anticipation for a true opponent!
"Good." His calm voice rang out. Yao Chuan made no unnecessary movements; he simply took one step forward.
Vmmm—!
A terrifying aura, utterly different yet no less powerful, erupted like a primordial beast waking from a deep slumber!
Profound!
Dominating!
Brimming with the will to destroy everything!
Two enormous dragon shadows, so deep and dark they seemed to swallow the light, formed behind him without warning and coiled in the air. Their cold eyes looked down on the entire training ground, devoid of emotion!
Then three dazzling Soul Rings rose abruptly from beneath his feet!
Purple!
Purple!
Purple!
Three purple rings!
The radiance of three Soul Rings far beyond anything people thought possible instantly shattered everyone's understanding!
"Hiss—!"
"Holy shit!"
"P-purple? A thousand-year Soul Ring?! And three of them?!"
"I'm blind! I have to be dreaming!!"
"What the hell is he, if not human?!"
"666! Boss, please accept my knees!"
The entire training ground erupted! Shouts, screams, and sharp gasps rose one after another, like water coming to a boil! Everyone was utterly stunned by this scene that turned their world upside down! Two purple and one black? Was this guy cheating or what?!
For the first time, Wu Changkong's face, usually as frozen as a mountain of ice, showed a visible tremor. His ice-blue pupils contracted, and his sharp, blade-like gaze locked onto the deep, heart-stopping black Soul Ring at Yao Chuan's feet!
Level thirty-one?!
Three purple rings?!
Impossible!
That was far beyond the limit of what he considered a genius!
But he was Wu Changkong, after all! His shock lasted only an instant. The next moment, fierce excitement shot through his nerves like an electric current!
A raging battle flame kindled deep in his cold eyes!
An opponent like this was worthy of his full strength!
"Good!" Wu Changkong's voice carried a hint of excitement he hadn't even noticed himself. "Now that's more like it!"
Before his words had even faded, Wu Changkong moved!
He didn't test the waters at all. His white figure flashed forward at blinding speed, and a bone-piercing chill instantly enveloped Yao Chuan, like a freezing wind from the Far North descending without warning!
"First Soul Skill: Frost Mark!"
His fingers joined like a sword. A streak of deep-blue ice, carrying a chill that could freeze the soul, tore through the air and shot straight for Yao Chuan's throat! Ruthless! Precise! Without mercy!
Faced with the lightning-fast strike, Yao Chuan's expression remained calm.
He didn't even fully release his Martial Soul Avatar. The Black Dragon phantom behind him merely raised its head slightly.
No dodging!
No blocking!
He simply lifted his right hand.
His long, pale fingers lightly tapped toward the streak of ice, which could freeze and crack metal and stone alike.
Hiss—!
It was like a scorching iron brand pressed against a block of ice!
The razor-sharp Frost Mark, still half a foot from his fingertip, seemed to strike an invisible barrier. It let out a piercing hissing sound as it dissolved!
Ice shards flew!
The chill dispersed!
An attack powerful enough to threaten a Soul Grandmaster had been casually shattered by a single tap from Yao Chuan, vanishing into nothing!
The entire arena fell silent!
Every student stood with their mouths agape, eyes nearly popping out of their heads! Teacher Wu's fast, ruthless, precise attack had just... disappeared? A finger had poked it out of existence?! It was almost too shocking to look at!
A sharp gleam flashed through Wu Changkong's eyes! Far from getting angry, his fighting spirit only grew stronger!
"Nicely done!"
He gave a low shout, and the Second Soul Ring beneath his feet blazed!
"Second Soul Skill: Frost Mist!"
A dense, ice-blue mist erupted from his body like an explosion, instantly covering half the training ground!
Their vision was blocked!
The temperature plummeted!
Bone-chilling cold invaded everyone caught in the Frost Mist. Even their movements seemed to freeze and grow sluggish!
More terrifyingly, the Frost Mist moved like a living thing. With its powerful, clinging corrosive force, it tried to freeze and numb its opponents' Soul Power circulation!
In that hazy, deadly mist, Yao Chuan's figure was instantly swallowed up.
Wu Changkong merged with the mist, moving like Gui Mei as his aura disappeared completely. A cold killing intent spread through the fog like a venomous snake hidden in the shadows, poised to strike at any moment!
Yet just as everyone held their breath, wondering how Yao Chuan would deal with a predicament that had robbed him of both sight and perception—
Vmmm!!!
An indescribable, boundless, primordial pressure burst from the heart of the Frost Mist, as if it had come from the dawn of time!
Like a sleeping sovereign awakening to proclaim his might!
The clinging, deadly mist let out a sizzling whine beneath that pressure, like snow beneath the scorching sun!
It was forced back, evaporated, and dispersed at a visible speed!
Yao Chuan's figure reappeared.
He was still standing in the same place, without so much as a shift in the hem of his clothes.
Only his deep-black eyes now shone brilliantly, as if golden lightning had flashed through them!
The Black Dragon Martial Soul phantom roared silently behind him, radiating a terrifying aura that suppressed everything!
A Frost Mist domain?
Broken!
Wu Changkong was forced to reappear several meters behind and to Yao Chuan's side. For the first time, his eyes showed an extraordinarily grave expression. This was no simple Martial Soul counter. It was absolute suppression by rank! The grade of the Martial Soul this kid possessed was terrifyingly high!
"Good! Very good!" Wu Changkong's voice carried a hint of excitement he could barely restrain. "Looks like I'll have to show you some real skill!"
He drew a deep breath, his gaze turning razor-sharp!
The First and Second Soul Rings at his feet dimmed, while the deep-purple Third Soul Ring suddenly burst into dazzling light!
A fearsome chill several times stronger than before gathered in his palm like a storm!
"Third Soul Skill: Heavenly Frost Slash!"
With a low shout, a huge, deep-blue blade of ice formed out of thin air! It was more than three meters long! Gorgeous, deadly frost flowers bloomed along its edge, which radiated a razor-sharp brilliance that seemed capable of cleaving through space!
The blade tore through the air with a shrill whistle, carrying enough force to freeze all things and sever life itself, and came crashing down on Yao Chuan!
Faced with this earth-shaking slash, Yao Chuan's expression finally changed.
He was no longer indifferent. A hint of seriousness entered his eyes.
Slowly, he raised his left hand.
He didn't point this time, but curled his fingers as if gripping something unseen!
The Black Dragon phantom behind him moved with him, letting out a deep, majestic dragon's roar!
Vmmm—!
A heart-stopping crimson light suddenly bloomed in his left palm, as thick and rich as blood itself!
It carried a terrifying aura of violence, destruction, and all-consuming hunger! It was as if countless vengeful spirits were wailing within it!
The light rapidly condensed and extended!
In the blink of an eye, a strange spear about a zhang long appeared in his hand!
The shaft was dark red all over, as though forged from congealed blood, and covered in fine black lines that writhed as if alive! Its tip wasn't solid, but a twisting vortex of dark-red energy that radiated destructive power!
The Blood Spear!
Second Martial Soul: Blood Spear!
The moment it appeared, an overwhelming stench of blood and destructive intent spread through the training ground! The temperature seemed to drop to freezing—not from cold, but from the lifeless stillness of all things withering and all vitality extinguished!
It was as if this spear existed to reap lives and obliterate souls!
"Second Soul Skill: Blood Spear!"
Yao Chuan's icy voice rang out like the death god's sentence.
He gripped the Blood Spear, as if it had come straight from hell. Without any fancy technique, he simply faced the oncoming Heavenly Frost Giant Blade and thrust forward, plain and simple, without hesitation—
One thrust!
BOOM—!!!
Dark red and deep blue!
Destruction and extreme cold!
Two equally domineering, equally terrifying forces collided head-on in the center of the arena!
Blinding light burst forth!
Like a small sun exploding!
A violent shock wave swept outward like a tsunami! The hard ground of the training arena split apart! Shards of stone flew everywhere, and dust billowed skyward!
The students around the arena were driven back again and again by the shock wave, crying out in alarm! Those with weaker strength felt their blood and Soul Power surging out of control!
The light faded.
Yao Chuan stood firmly in place, holding the dark-red Blood Spear, like an immovable demon god.
And the Heavenly Frost Giant Blade, which had come roaring down with enough force to cleave through anything—
Had been stopped in midair by the tip of that strange Blood Spear!
The dark-red vortex at the spear's tip spun like the gaping maw of a Taotie, constantly corroding and devouring the vast icy Soul Power within the blade!
The enormous blue-white blade of ice visibly cracked and dissolved inch by inch, making a teeth-grating sound.
Wu Changkong's pupils contracted!
His Third Soul Skill had actually been stopped head-on by the other boy's Soul Skill?! And now it was being devoured and dismantled?!
The glimmer of seriousness in Yao Chuan's eyes flared hot as he watched Wu Changkong's expression turn truly grave for the first time.
He gave his wrist a sudden jerk!
"Explode!"
The dark-red vortex of energy at the tip of the Blood Spear, pressed against the Heavenly Frost Giant Blade, suddenly imploded, collapsing inward to its limit!
And then—
BOOM!!!!
The deafening sound defied description!
Like thunder crashing across a clear sky!
The destructive energy, compressed to its absolute limit, detonated at the spear's tip like an exploding bomb!
A terrifying shock wave, visibly laced with dark red and destructive lightning, spread outward in a sudden ring!
Not outward—
It swept backward along the cracking Heavenly Frost Giant Blade, clinging to it like a bone-devouring maggot!
It shot straight toward Wu Changkong!
Crack—!
Already on the verge of shattering, the Sky Frost Giant Blade was struck by the backward surge of the destructive thunderstorm. Like fragile glass, it burst apart into countless ice crystals!
The terrifying shockwave lost none of its momentum. Bearing an aura of destruction that could annihilate everything, it swallowed Wu Changkong's figure in an instant!
Danger!
Deadly danger!
Every hair on Wu Changkong's body stood on end! The destructive thunderstorm shockwave was too fast! Its range was too vast! And the power it contained was bizarrely strong—absolutely beyond the limits of a Soul Elder!
If he took a direct hit from this thing, then even with his formidable cultivation, his Soul Power at level thirty-one would never be enough to withstand it!
In the blink of an eye!
Wu Changkong held nothing back!
All his restraints were lifted in an instant!
A vast surge of Soul Power far beyond what he had shown before erupted from within him like a volcano!
Ice-blue light shot into the sky!
At his feet, beside the three Soul Rings, a fourth, deep-purple Soul Ring suddenly blazed to life like the sun!
Hum—!
An immensely powerful Soul Power barrier instantly took shape before him, like the sturdiest wall of ice!
Boom!!!
The destructive thunderstorm shockwave slammed into the ice-blue Soul Power barrier!
Another deafening crash rang out!
The entire training ground trembled!
The ice-blue barrier shuddered violently. Spiderweb-like cracks instantly spread across it, and it seemed on the verge of shattering completely!
Under the force of that savage impact, Wu Changkong's body actually...
Thud! Thud! Thud!
He staggered back three steps!
With every step, his foot sank into the hard ground, leaving a deep dent!
Only then did he barely manage to steady himself!
For the first time, that eternally icy face was clearly stamped with disbelief and shock!
He looked down at the cracked, dimly glowing Soul Power barrier, then abruptly looked up toward the center of the arena at the youth holding a dark-red Blood Spear, his black hair streaming and his gaze deep as an abyss.
He had actually... been forced to lift his Soul Power restraints on his own!
He had even used the power of his fourth Soul Ring!
And only then had he barely... managed to stay on his feet?!
Before you continue