Facing Bei Bei's Thunder Dragon Claw, which came crashing down with the power of raging lightning, Lin Ciyan's eyes flickered.
Should he activate the Mystic Yellow Exquisite Armor? Or use the Source of Dawn's Sacred Radiance Shelter?
He dismissed the thought at once.
The Mystic Yellow Exquisite Armor absorbed energy and fed it back to him. Activating it would be like carrying a portable charger—far too much of an unfair advantage.
The Sacred Radiance Shelter was purely defensive. If he used it, there'd be no point in fighting. That would just be bullying.
The basics were enough; he had to leave his childhood friend some room to enjoy the game.
As thoughts raced through his mind, Lin Ciyan's lips curved into a faint smile. He gave a low shout. "Martial Soul Possession!"
Gentle, noble Holy Radiance burst forth, enveloping him.
His third Soul Ring, so deep it was nearly black with a golden edge, shone in harmony with the other two.
The pressure it gave off was far more substantial and imposing than Bei Bei's Soul Rings.
With the Thunder Dragon Claw already before him, Lin Ciyan used no Soul Skill.
He simply raised his right arm. The pure, boundless Soul Power of his Holy Radiance Qilin surged through him like a hundred rivers returning to the sea.
With supreme control, he rapidly compressed and refined it, until a solid, illusory Qilin claw gleaming with brilliant golden light took shape around his right hand!
Cold light shimmered along its tips, as though they could tear through the light itself.
After improving his control over Soul Power, he had imitated his Martial Soul's form and compressed his Soul Power to the extreme, creating something akin to a Self-Created Soul Skill: the Holy Radiance Qilin Claw!
"Boom—!!!"
The Qilin Claw crashed into the Thunder Dragon Claw!
Dazzling golden light and explosive blue-violet lightning intertwined and gnawed at each other, crackling with a grating hiss and booming with energy.
A violent shock wave spread from the two of them, kicking up grass and dust from the ground.
But the deadlock lasted only an instant.
The Holy Radiance Qilin Claw, refined to its utmost, possessed peerless penetrating power and a sacred attribute that naturally suppressed lightning.
Like a hot knife through butter, it tore the raging Thunder Dragon Claw apart, purified it, and erased it from existence!
The energy dissipated. The force of the rebound shoved Bei Bei two steps backward. He stared at Lin Ciyan's claw, formed from nothing but Soul Power, and could hardly believe it had broken his first Soul Skill.
"Your body... and the way you condense Soul Power... how can you be this strong?!" Bei Bei felt as if his entire understanding of the world had been shaken.
They were both Soul Elders, and both had absorbed Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings. How could there still be such a huge gap between them?
Lin Ciyan dispersed the Qilin Claw and dusted off his hands, though there wasn't a speck of dirt on them. "I told you. I call it 'Relaxation Cultivation, following the natural way.'"
"Lie around more, and your Soul Power purifies itself. Your body gets stronger all on its own. I can't help it."
[ Ding! You effortlessly and gracefully dismantled an opponent's Soul Skill in battle, then backed it up with a high-level humblebrag, profoundly embodying "slacking off makes you stronger." Slacking Value +120! ]
"Don't get smug!" Stung by his tone, Bei Bei's fighting spirit flared. He growled, "Third Soul Skill, Thunder Fury!"
His aura suddenly surged. Blue-violet lightning shot skyward, boosting his strength, speed, and lightning attribute across the board!
He charged again, lightning beneath his feet. His fists and legs became a blur of thunderous shadows, his attacks crashing down like a raging storm!
"Now this is getting interesting." Lin Ciyan smiled faintly. The Second Soul Ring beneath his feet flashed and vanished.
"Second Soul Skill, Light Domain: Holy Radiance Sky Curtain!"
A gentle, sacred curtain of light spread instantly from him, enveloping them both.
The moment Bei Bei charged into the Light Domain, he felt his whole body grow heavy, as if he'd plunged into a viscous sea of light. His speed visibly slowed.
Even his furious lightning seemed to be subtly assimilated and weakened by the pure power of light.
But with the power of Thunder Fury behind him, Bei Bei was astonishingly strong. He forced his way through the Domain's suppression, tore through the curtain with his dragon claw, and kept up his assault!
Lin Ciyan, meanwhile, was like a fish swimming through the Light Domain, his figure flickering unpredictably.
At times he dodged with nimble footwork; at others, he formed the Qilin Claw again to block and counterattack.
When Bei Bei's lightning attacks grew too dense, Lin Ciyan instantly used his first Soul Skill—
"First Soul Skill, Dawn Break Fist!"
Light of dawn, compressed to the extreme, shot out like a cannon blast. Rather than meeting Bei Bei's attacks head-on, it struck precisely at their weak points, or used the Light Shock effect to disrupt his rhythm, leaving him scrambling.
It did little damage, but the humiliation was immense.
Unable to break through, Bei Bei's temper flared. The Second Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up!
"Second Soul Skill, Ten Thousand Thunderbolts!"
Countless bolts of lightning burst forth, weaving into a dense web that closed in on Lin Ciyan from every direction, sealing off all his escape routes!
"Oh? An area attack?" Lin Ciyan raised an eyebrow and finally used his third Soul Skill.
"Third Soul Skill, Mystic Yellow Exquisite Armor!"
An ancient, dignified suit of energy armor suffused with mystic yellow energy instantly covered his body.
The furious lightning web slammed into the armor with a deep, dull thud but couldn't budge it in the slightest. Some of the lightning energy was even quietly absorbed and stored.
Withstanding the Ten Thousand Thunderbolts, Lin Ciyan strolled out of the web as if taking a leisurely walk in his garden. The mystic yellow armor shimmered, completely unharmed.
Bei Bei's eyelids twitched. How was he supposed to fight that?
They clashed for a while longer, Soul Skills crossing and light flashing as they left the clearing in ruins.
Lin Ciyan remained infuriatingly relaxed, while sweat had formed on Bei Bei's forehead and his breathing had grown ragged.
Seeing this, Lin Ciyan took the initiative to put some distance between them. "Bei Bei, we won't get anywhere if we keep this up."
"Let's settle it with one move. What do you say?"
Bei Bei took a deep breath, suppressing the churning blood in his chest, and nodded firmly. "Just what I was thinking! My strongest attack is coming!"
Lightning gathered around him once more. The bolts on the dragon claw of his right arm grew wilder and more concentrated than ever, clearly building toward a powerful combination of Soul Skills.
Lin Ciyan shed his languid air, his expression turning a little more serious.
He raised his right hand, and brilliant Holy Radiance began to gather. Its light was even stronger than when he had used the Qilin Claw.
He worried that the attack might be too powerful. After all, they were at the Sea God Pavilion, beside the Golden Tree, and his control over light had received a tremendous boost. The attack might exceed the limits.
"Got it!" Inspiration struck.
"My Mystic Yellow Exquisite Armor is essentially an energy shield. In theory, it can exist outside my body for a short time, though without a constant supply of energy from me, it'll vanish in an instant."
"When our Soul Skills collide, I'll put the Mystic Yellow Exquisite Armor around Bei Bei."
"As long as it can block the shock wave's aftereffects and keep Bei Bei from being seriously hurt, that's enough!"
With his mind made up, he felt much more at ease.
Their auras continued to rise as their strongest attacks neared collision!
Just as they rushed toward each other, with radiant light and a thousand bolts of purple lightning about to collide—
It was as if an invisible hand gently swept across them.
The raging energy, powerful enough to make even Soul Ancestors tremble—
Both the lightning and the Holy Radiance vanished soundlessly at the instant before impact, like bubbles being pricked. Not a trace remained, and they didn't even stir a breeze.
"???" Lin Ciyan and Bei Bei froze at the same time. Their powers, primed to strike, had nowhere to go, leaving their chests feeling tight.
"Heh. You two little troublemakers."
An old, gentle voice rang out.
Mu En had appeared nearby at some point. His face wore a helpless yet kindly smile.
"Teacher."
"Great-Grandfather."
Lin Ciyan and Bei Bei hurriedly reined in their Soul Power and bowed respectfully.
"It's good that your cultivation has improved, but you can't roughhouse as freely as you did when you were little." Mu En looked at the ground, pitted and uneven from the aftershocks of their Soul Skills.
"From now on, remember to spar at the Soul Fighting Arena to the east. A teacher will be there to keep watch, and the grounds are sturdy enough that you won't damage the academy."
His gaze swept over them, lingering on Lin Ciyan for a moment, with a hint of meaning that was difficult to discern. "Especially you, Ciyan. You need to learn to control and restrain your power."
Lin Ciyan's heart tightened. He knew his teacher had seen the power of that last attack. He promptly bowed his head and agreed.
Bei Bei nodded obediently as well.
This spar, which had ended in a "draw," finally came to a close with the intervention of a Limit Douluo.