Zhou Yi looked at Su Chen, who stood opposite her with a calm expression. Her hoarse voice rang out like tearing silk, carrying the weight of an ultimatum:
"Kid, I'll ask you one last time. With your Soul Grandmaster strength, there's no way you could hurt me, a Soul Emperor."
"Admit defeat and apologize now, and there's still time! That way, you won't lose face in front of all these people!"
Su Chen raised his head. His golden eyes gleamed in the sunlight as he spoke, his voice clear and resolute, carrying across the playground as the commotion gradually died down:
"I'll tell you one last time, too—"
"I did nothing wrong."
"Hmph! Stubborn to the end! Then let me see whether a cocky little brat like you even has what it takes to hurt me!"
Zhou Yi roared. The First Soul Ring beneath her feet suddenly blazed with light! As yellow light flickered, violent crimson Soul Power surged from her body like floodwaters bursting through a dam, whipping up the dust around her.
"First Soul Skill! Red Dragon Claw!"
With a faint dragon's roar, the five fingers of Zhou Yi's right hand, covered in crimson dragon scales, suddenly swelled to half a meter long as Soul Power poured into them!
The curved, razor-sharp dragon claws were no longer phantoms. They had become solid, their tips glinting with a chilling light capable of slicing through steel with ease!
She moved, once again transforming into a streak of crimson lightning. At a speed far greater than before, she lunged at Su Chen, who was ten meters away!
This time, she held nothing back. She meant to kill him with a single blow—or at the very least, leave the brat who had repeatedly offended her completely unable to fight back!
"So fast!" Exclamations rang out among the watching students. The speed and strength of a Soul Emperor, amplified by a Soul Skill, unleashed explosive power that ordinary Soul Grandmasters could neither imagine nor match!
Even if Su Chen possessed the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, said to be renowned for its speed, how much could that advantage make up for the absolute gap in Soul Power Level?
Yet even as that lightning-fast claw came at him, Su Chen remained calm. He didn't try to meet it head-on. Instead, the six wings behind him shifted slightly, and his body glided half a step back and to the side at an exquisitely precise angle.
"Shhk—!"
The crimson dragon claw tore through the air with a shrill whistle, skimming past the front of Su Chen's clothes. Its fierce claw wind even ripped a tiny gash in his uniform, but it failed to touch him at all.
"Hmm?" A flicker of surprise crossed Zhou Yi's eyes. The timing and angle of Su Chen's dodge had been terrifyingly precise! But that only stirred her ferocity.
At the very moment her old strength had run out and her new strength had yet to gather, the patch of golden light beneath Su Chen's feet, which had been faintly visible all this time, suddenly blazed!
"Angel Domain—fully open!"
Vmm—!
Centered on Su Chen, an area with a radius of twenty meters was instantly engulfed in a rich, sacred golden light! It wasn't dazzling, but carried an unquestionable majesty and purifying power.
Everyone within the domain felt their minds clear, as if washed by warm holy light. But to Zhou Yi, it was like being mired in a swamp!
She could clearly feel an invisible force suppressing and weakening her strength, speed, Soul Power circulation, and even her mental power!
The effect was far greater than she had expected! At the same time, the Soul Power within her began to drain slowly against her will. It wasn't happening quickly, but it was relentless, as if the golden domain were silently "dissolving" it!
"This domain... is incredibly overbearing!" Zhou Yi was shocked. It could suppress an enemy's attributes and continuously dissolve their Soul Power? It was a nightmare for anyone caught in a war of attrition!
She instantly understood Su Chen's tactics. The cunning brat had never planned to clash with her Soul Power head-on. He meant to use this bizarre domain to weaken her bit by bit, drag out the fight, and wear down her Soul Power!
Meanwhile, within the domain, his own aura was steadily rising. Clearly, he was receiving a tremendous boost!
I can't let this drag on! I have to finish this quickly! Zhou Yi was an experienced fighter and immediately made her decision. The longer she stayed in this damned domain, the worse things would get for her!
If she let her Soul Power run dry and capsized in a gutter, she'd never live it down!
A fierce glint flashed in her eyes as the third, purple Soul Ring beneath her feet suddenly lit up!
"Third Soul Skill! Dragon's Fury!"
"Roar—!"
Amid faint dragon roars, crimson light surged around Zhou Yi once again! Her body seemed to swell another size, and the dragon scales covering her grew thicker and more solid, gleaming with a metallic sheen. The light on her dragon claws grew even more chilling. This was a powerful enhancement-type Soul Skill that greatly increased her attack and defense!
With her attributes enhanced, Zhou Yi sped up again, becoming a series of crimson afterimages as she launched a barrage of attacks at Su Chen from every angle! Her dragon claws tore through the air, leaving streaks of crimson in their wake and closing off every route he could use to dodge!
Yet with the Angel Domain activated and his attributes boosted by 150%, Su Chen's speed and agility had reached an unimaginable level!
The six wings on his back seemed to have a life of their own. With every gentle flap, they guided his body through evasive maneuvers that defied reason. Like a butterfly fluttering through a storm, he always slipped past Zhou Yi's deadly claws at the very last instant!
The more Zhou Yi attacked, the more alarmed and frustrated she became. Even after activating Dragon's Fury, she still couldn't truly touch Su Chen! His speed within the domain was absurd!
"Damn it!" Unable to break through, Zhou Yi grew increasingly agitated. Seeing her Soul Power continuously drain away under the domain's effect, she decided to hold nothing back.
"Fifth Soul Skill! Red Dragon Meteor Shower!"
The black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring beneath her feet blazed with deep light for the first time!
Zhou Yi abruptly raised both arms toward the sky, and crimson Soul Power frantically converged! The next instant, countless fist-sized meteors wreathed in roaring crimson flames took shape above her, as if erupting from a volcano. Then they rained down in a merciless, indiscriminate bombardment over the area where Su Chen stood!
This was a large-scale attack Soul Skill that sealed off every avenue of escape! The scorching heat made the skin of the students watching from a distance sting. It was as though the sky itself had begun raining fire!
"Though my Crimson Dragon Martial Soul isn't among the very best Beast Martial Souls, it still ranks among the high-tier ones!"
"You should be proud that you forced me to use my Fifth Soul Skill!" Zhou Yi hovered in midair, controlling the rain of meteors as she issued a cold declaration, trying to shake Su Chen's confidence. "But this is where it ends! Give up, kid. You can't win!"
Faced with the inescapable meteor shower, Su Chen's expression turned grave. He could tell that Zhou Yi meant to decide the fight in one move, giving him no chance to catch his breath.
I can't keep dodging... I have to fight back! And I'll only get one chance! Su Chen's thoughts raced, and he made his decision in an instant.
Just as the first crimson meteor was about to crash down on his head—
The dazzling, radiant golden Second Soul Ring beneath Su Chen's feet, emanating a vast and profound aura, finally... lit up!
An indescribable sacred majesty erupted from Su Chen! The light was so pure, so fierce, it seemed capable of driving away all the darkness and evil in the world!
"Second Soul Skill! Holy Light Judgment!"
Su Chen's low, majestic voice rang out. This was the powerful attack Soul Skill the system had rewarded him with when he checked in at Xiao Xiao's location, a perfect match for the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul!
Su Chen held his hands out as if gripping an invisible sacred sword, then swung it fiercely toward the sky and the crimson meteor shower raining down!
A gigantic golden blade of light, condensed to the utmost and seemingly compressed from the purest holy light, swept out in a crescent. The space it passed through seemed to tremble, emitting a "hiss, hiss" as it purified everything in its path!
"Boom! Boom boom boom—!!!"
The golden blade collided head-on with the countless crimson meteors! There was no stalemate, no back-and-forth—only one-sided purification and annihilation!
The crimson meteors, which had seemed so imposing, met their natural enemy the instant they touched the golden blade. One after another, they burst apart and went out, dissolving into tiny crimson sparks that vanished in midair!
The golden blade continued unabated, cutting through the meteor shower's barrage as easily as a hot knife through butter before surging upward toward Zhou Yi in midair!
"What?!" The mocking smile froze on Zhou Yi's face, replaced by utter shock and disbelief! Had her Fifth Soul Skill really been defeated head-on by the other party's Second Soul Skill?! How was that possible?!
The golden blade of light still had power behind it, rushing toward her with an aura that could purify all things! Zhou Yi could feel the terrifying sacred power it contained and how strongly it countered her Crimson Dragon Martial Soul!
In a desperate move, she unleashed the Sixth Soul Ring beneath her feet—the second black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring—which suddenly burst with deep, inky light!
"Sixth Soul Skill! Heaven-Burning Dragon Flame!"
Zhou Yi let out a piercing dragon's cry and crossed her claws in front of her chest. A crimson dragon-shaped flame, several times hotter and more violent than before, soared from her body, transforming into a gigantic, clawing fire dragon that roared as it charged at the golden blade!
"Rumble—!!!!!"
Sacred golden light and violent crimson flames collided in midair! The blinding radiance swallowed everyone's vision, and a terrifying shock wave of Soul Power spread in every direction like a tsunami. A layer of grass was scraped from the playground, and students standing nearby were hurled backward by the blast!
The light and dust slowly dispersed.
The crowd hurriedly looked up. In midair, Zhou Yi was breathing slightly hard. The crimson glow around her had dimmed somewhat, but she seemed unharmed.
Su Chen's terrifying Second Soul Skill had ultimately been blocked by her Sixth Soul Skill.
Yet Su Chen showed no sign of disappointment. This was the chance he had been waiting for!
Just as Zhou Yi's old strength had run out and her new strength had yet to gather, while her mind was still reeling from the shock and lingering fear of blocking Holy Light Judgment—
The purple First Soul Ring beneath Su Chen's feet suddenly lit up!
"First Soul Skill! Holy Light Slash!"
A crescent-shaped golden blade of light, more solid and far larger than any of his previous ones, slashed toward Zhou Yi with lightning speed. She had just landed nearby and hadn't yet had time to regain her footing!
The timing of this attack was impeccable! It came at the very moment Zhou Yi's guard was most relaxed and her attention was still tied up with his Second Soul Skill!
"What?!" Zhou Yi's pupils shrank. She hadn't expected Su Chen to chain his First Soul Skill so quickly after unleashing such a terrifying Second Soul Skill! And with the Angel Domain bolstering it, the First Soul Skill's power far surpassed her expectations!
The area it covered was too wide! It was too fast! At such close range, she didn't even have time to unleash another powerful defensive Soul Skill that required a brief charge!
In desperation, she could only summon her Soul Power and activate the yellow Second Soul Ring beneath her feet—
"Second Soul Skill! Crimson Dragon Body Protection!"
A solid phantom of crimson dragon scales instantly covered her body, forming a shield.
"Boom—!!!"
The golden blade slammed into the Crimson Dragon shield! The shield shuddered violently, letting out a groan under the strain. It held for less than half a second before shattering with a crash!
The blade's momentum hadn't yet faded as it swept past Zhou Yi's body!
"Riiip—!"
The sound of tearing fabric rang out clearly.
Dust billowed once more.
The entire playground fell deathly silent. Every pair of eyes was fixed on the center of the dust cloud.
When the dust settled and the scene within came into view—
"Hiss—!!!"
A chorus of sharp, synchronized gasps rang through the crowd!
Zhou Yi staggered back two steps before regaining her balance. Her white teacher's robe was now in tatters.
There were several clear, blade-cut gashes at her waist, on the outside of her thigh, and even across her chest!
The skin beneath the tears wasn't streaming with blood thanks to her dragon-scale defense, but it bore several distinct, swollen red marks edged with blackened scorch marks! The one across her chest, in particular, left her looking utterly disheveled! She was nothing like the mighty Soul Emperor she had been moments ago!
He'd hurt her!
Su Chen, a new student and a level-twenty-eight Soul Grandmaster, had actually... hurt a teacher who was a Six-Ring Soul Emperor?!
They were only superficial wounds, but she had unquestionably been injured!
By the terms of their bet... Su Chen had won!
The watching students were utterly dumbfounded. Their minds went blank, unable to process the reality that had overturned everything they knew.
"Am... am I seeing things?!"
"T-Teacher Zhou Yi... got hurt?!"
"B-by a new Soul Grandmaster?!"
"Oh my god! He really did it! He landed a hit on a Soul Emperor!"
"What was that golden Soul Skill? It was terrifying! It even cut through her Sixth Soul Skill!"
"The Six-Winged Angel... is this the power of a god-level Martial Soul? A Soul Grandmaster can hurt a Soul Emperor with it?!"
"Su Chen! Su Chen! Su Chen!" Someone led the chant, and a number of students, hearts pounding with excitement and admiration for the strong, began shouting Su Chen's name. Their voices grew louder and louder.
Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao hugged each other, jumping and shouting, so excited that tears nearly streamed down their faces. Wang Dong even waved her little fists and shouted in Su Chen's direction, "Su Chen! Beautifully done! I knew you could do it, damn it!" Though she had been worried sick just moments ago.
Before you continue