A Draw Counts as a Win

The smell of scorched hair tips stung Lin Beiya's nostrils, and a bead of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

He had been a hair's breadth away from being swallowed by the endless inferno. This was his first time experiencing such a heart-stopping battle, and he couldn't help but acknowledge that the Soul Elder, with her Super Martial Soul, was putting immense pressure on him.

"Miss Lei Ying is truly strong. If you hadn't gone easy on me before the fight started, I would have likely fallen already."

"Haha, it's not too late now. Watch this!"

Although the Blazing Lion was not a Martial Soul known for speed, with the augmentation of her second soul skill, Explosive Flame Possession, her speed was in no way inferior to an Agility Attack Soul Grand Master.

Enveloped in raging flames, Lei Ying launched her first attack against Lin Beiya, closing the distance between them in the blink of an eye.

Lin Beiya did not panic; he raised one hand forward, and a box formed by a Crystal Wall trapped Lei Ying inside.

That's right, the Crystal Wall could not only be used for defense but also to trap enemies. This was the inspiration Lin Beiya drew from the battle between Shion and the Underworld Judge Mino in the LC mythology.

Lei Ying's charged claw strike landed on the wall, but it failed to deal overload damage; after rippling for a moment, the wall returned to its calm state.

"Kid, I can break the same move a second time just as easily as I did the first."

"Third soul skill: Endless Fire Pillar!"

A pillar of fire shot into the sky, and the crystal box trapping Lei Ying shattered once more, dissipating into the air.

However, all of this was within Lin Beiya's expectations. Long before he released the Crystal Wall, he had burst forth with astonishing speed to circle behind Lei Ying, having discovered that her vision was momentarily blocked by flames whenever she unleashed her third soul skill, preventing her from observing the enemy's movements.

Taking advantage of this fleeting moment, Lin Beiya successfully reached Lei Ying's blind spot and aimed both hands at her back.

"Starlight Extinction!"

The energy fluctuations coming from behind made Lei Ying's soul tremble; she never expected Lin Beiya to have such a plan in mind.

But by the time she realized it, it was already too late. The concentrated beam of starlight successfully struck Lei Ying's back, sending her flying to roll across the ground for dozens of meters before she lost momentum and came to a stop.

In the distance, the eyes of Qian Daoliu and the Third Priest, Mighty Lion Douluo, revealed deep astonishment.

"Big Brother, this child is not simple. It's not just his talent; his combat awareness is also exceptionally outstanding."

"Hmm."

Qian Daoliu nodded with appreciation, though he felt a sense of frustration toward his granddaughter; when faced with an enemy she couldn't easily overpower, Lin Beiya was capable of thinking and finding a strategy that favored him.

Yet, Qian Renxue, who possessed the Angel Martial Soul, would only resort to brute force when facing a Crystal Wall.

"To be able to fight like this against Yingying with only a Soul Master's cultivation is truly remarkable."

"It seems Yingying still has a long road ahead of her!"

Mighty Lion Douluo sighed slightly. Although he didn't care about the outcome of this sparring match, Lei Ying's failure to win still made him feel a bit embarrassed.

Nearby, Qian Renxue was equally stunned. The look she gave Lin Beiya was as bright as the stars, yet it was also tinged with a hint of annoyance.

This bad guy was actually holding back when he sparred with me.

"Ptui."

Spitting out the dust from her mouth, Lei Ying slowly stood up. The look she gave Lin Beiya now held not a shred of relaxation.

If she had only wanted to vent for the little angel at the start, now she simply wanted to prove her strength in front of the two elders.

"Flame Accumulation!"

Under Lin Beiya's vigilant gaze, a terrifyingly high-temperature flame suddenly erupted from Lei Ying's body before rapidly merging into her.

Lei Ying's aura began to climb rapidly to a terrifying height, one that could be said to be infinitely close to the level of a Soul Ancestor.

"If it were a year ago, before I had learned my family's soul skills, I might really have been helpless against you. But in this state, you won't be my opponent."

As her voice fell, the muscles in Lei Ying's calves bulged, and she exerted astonishing force, causing spiderweb-like cracks to appear on the high-quality floor tiles of the training ground.

The terrifying speed brought about by her immense power was such that, with Lin Beiya's current eyesight, he could only see a faint afterimage—and that was only because his vision had improved over the past few days.

Relying on instinct, he crossed his arms in front of his chest. The next second, Lei Ying's flame-infused fist arrived.

"Bang."

The terrifying force sent Lin Beiya flying until he crashed into a stone pillar at the edge of the training ground.

Touching the corner of his mouth, a streak of crimson made Lin Beiya frown deeply. His current vision was simply insufficient to track Lei Ying's trajectory.

Fortunately, his other senses were more highly evolved than his sight.

Under Lei Ying's playful gaze in the distance, Lin Beiya slowly closed his eyes. A strange sensation arose in his heart; with the aid of these senses, he could now successfully track Lei Ying's aura.

This phenomenon surprised Lei Ying. You can't even do it with your eyes open, and you want to finish it with them closed?

Regardless, she had to defeat Lin Beiya to uphold the dignity of a Soul Elder.

Bursting forth with terrifying speed once more, Lei Ying's right fist aimed straight for Lin Beiya's chest, but to her surprise, her fist did not strike anything solid.

When she turned back, Lin Beiya was watching her with his eyes tightly shut.

That's right, even though he hadn't opened his eyes, she still felt that her every move was laid bare before him.

"What is this?"

A curve formed at the corner of Lin Beiya's mouth, quite satisfied with the progress of his senses.

"There is nothing wrong with relying on vision to track an enemy's movements, but when vision fails to help one dodge an attack, people often fall into despair, and their fighting spirit vanishes in an instant."

"Unfortunately, my other senses are far sharper than my vision; every movement you make causes the air to shift."

"And that movement of air tells me your actions in advance, allowing me to control my body and react ahead of time."

Hearing this, Lei Ying's eyes filled with shock. She understood every word Lin Beiya said, but was this truly something a human could accomplish?

Regardless, she intended to test him once more; she would not be intimidated by a few words from Lin Beiya.

Her fists, wreathed in flames, rained down toward Lin Beiya's face like a downpour, but just as he had claimed, Lin Beiya—eyes tightly shut—moved his head from side to side like a prophet, dodging every high-speed strike.

When Lei Ying finally ceased her assault, the flowing Crystal Wall before her left her stunned in place.

Though she was extremely reluctant, she had to admit that she truly had no way to deal with Lin Beiya.

"I lost, and Xiao Xue's defeat was not unjust."

Opening his eyes and seeing Lei Ying withdraw the energy from her body, Lin Beiya smiled and dispelled the Crystal Wall.

"No, Sister Lei Ying, we should consider this a draw. I can dodge your attacks, but that is all; I have no means to defeat you."

"Haha, a loss is a loss. You are only at the Soul Master level, and for me, a Soul Elder, to challenge you to a soul duel is already bullying. Making excuses now would be truly shameless."

Lei Ying was not someone who couldn't handle defeat, and under her repeated insistence, Lin Beiya accepted the victory.