Shui Xiwei had no idea what Yu Mingxiao was planning. With a sharp cry, she gathered several ice spikes from her surging Soul Power and sent them hurtling straight at him.
Her predicament mirrored Yu Mingxiao's. She had powerful control but lacked a strong offensive move.
That was enough against ordinary Soul Masters, but against someone like Yu Mingxiao, it left her options limited. For the moment, she had no way to deal with him.
Dragon breath blasted out, shattering two more ice spikes as they shot toward Yu Mingxiao.
Golden light flared. Yu Mingxiao's gaze sharpened.
The light poured down from his head until it enveloped his feet, turning him into a little golden figure.
"What is he... doing?"
Shui Xiwei froze, baffled by his unexpected move.
Yu Mingxiao seized that instant of hesitation. He surged forward and threw a punch.
"It's no use. You can't hurt me."
Shui Xiwei chuckled. The first Yellow Soul Ring beneath her feet lit up, and she locked her mental power onto Yu Mingxiao. "First Soul Skill—Ice Seal."
A wave of freezing power surged toward him, but the moment it touched the golden light coating his body, the searing heat melted it into water before ice could form.
Yu Mingxiao caught Shui Xiwei off guard in her shock and drove a punch into her head.
Bang!
She lost her balance and crashed down at the edge of the arena.
"Excellent! He has both combat instincts and technique. The boy actually found a way to break the deadlock—and pulled it off. What a fighting prodigy!"
Yu Luoxiao slapped the table and sprang to his feet, excitement and admiration filling his eyes.
An ordinary Soul Master facing this situation would probably have kept clashing with Shui Xiwei until one of them ran out of Soul Power and lost.
After all, one had enough attacking power but was constrained by the other's powerful control, while the other had control but no strong offensive move. They were locked in a stalemate.
Shui Rouyun sighed. "Your clan's Young Sect Master truly is a once-in-an-age talent. At only six years old, he has not just outstanding natural ability but remarkable combat skills and tactics."
"I thought he would try to outlast Xiwei in Soul Power, but what he did took me completely by surprise."
"You flatter him, you flatter him."
Yu Luoxiao spoke modestly, but his chin lifted again. Nothing could have wiped the grin off his face.
The headmaster of Blazing Fire Academy smiled and offered his congratulations. "Sect Master Yu, I heard a few years ago that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had produced the Blue Lightning Twin Stars."
"Your Young Sect Master must be one of them. With another genius his equal, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is bound to flourish."
"The Blue Lightning Twin Stars?!" Yu Luoxiao's face darkened.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had indeed once had its "Blue Lightning Twin Stars," but that had only been a joking nickname in the Soul Master World before Yu Mingxiao and Yu Xiaogang awakened their Martial Souls.
Only that good-for-nothing Yu Xiaogang had taken it seriously.
If Yu Xiaogang had awakened a powerful Martial Soul, the nickname might have become reality. Instead, he had awakened a Trash Martial Soul—a pig.
"Hm? Headmaster Yu, did I say something wrong?"
Seeing his expression, the headmaster of Blazing Fire Academy spoke hesitantly.
"Ahem. Headmaster Huo Wuji, there's a rumor that one of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's young masters awakened a little black pig—or perhaps a puppy. The one with the Trash Martial Soul was apparently one of the former Blue Lightning Twin Stars," Shui Rouyun explained.
Huyan Kuang laughed. "I've heard even more than that."
"Apparently, the young master who awakened the pig Martial Soul is called Yu Xiaogang."
"On the day of his awakening, he let out a loud fart in the hall and stunned everyone into silence. His Innate Soul Power was only level 0.5. He couldn't take the blow and fled the hall on the spot."
Huyan Kuang was not only the headmaster of Elephant Armor Academy but also an elder of the Elephant Armored Sect. The sect elder who had attended the ceremony that day was his own brother, and he had shared the amusing story with him.
Huo Wuji finally understood and hurried to apologize. "Headmaster Yu, I truly didn't know. I had no intention of insulting the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."
Embarrassed and angry, Yu Luoxiao waved him off. His good mood had vanished without a trace.
Damn that little good-for-nothing Xiaogang! I'm the headmaster of an academy, yet he makes me lose face even when I go out. I'll have Sixth Brother give him a proper thrashing when he gets back!
Yu Luoxiao cursed inwardly and turned his gaze to the arena.
"I'm done, I'm done! That hurt like hell. I surrender."
Shui Xiwei slowly got to her feet, one hand pressed to the swelling on her forehead while the other brushed dust from her clothes.
"You're surrendering already?"
Yu Mingxiao had thought the fight would continue. He hadn't expected it to end so abruptly.
Shui Xiwei said, "You can shrug off my first Soul Skill. I know I can't beat you, so what's the point of going on?"
Yu Mingxiao fell silent. He hadn't expected the girl to be so... sensible about it.
"By the way, how did you counter my first Soul Skill?" Shui Xiwei asked, tilting her head curiously.
Yu Mingxiao said, "Didn't you see the golden light covering my body? I coated myself in heat from my light-attribute Soul Power."
"I guessed your first Soul Skill draws moisture from the surrounding air, then forces it to freeze with low temperatures."
"But with my whole body covered in that hot golden light, the moisture around me couldn't freeze on me!"
"So that's how it works?" Understanding dawned on Shui Xiwei, but she immediately asked, "How did you coat your body in the power of light?"
It sounded simple, but it demanded extremely fine control over Soul Power.
Even she could only condense her ice-attribute Soul Power into ice spikes. She couldn't so much as form an ice sword.
Yu Mingxiao gave a faint smile. "That comes down to mental power."
"I use it to control the light-attribute Soul Power in my body with precision and spread it over my whole body."
"Once it's there, the key is keeping the Soul Power from dispersing. You need enough mental power to maintain it."
His mental power had been strong to begin with. As a transmigrator, he had been born with far more of it than other children his age.
After fusing with the Prajna Ghost Mask, it had grown stronger still. That was how he had managed it. It could even be considered a simplified Self-Created Soul Skill.
"So it has to do with mental power," Shui Xiwei said in wonder. "Thank you for explaining it to me. I accept my defeat. In the future... could I write to you so we can exchange ideas?"
Yu Mingxiao raised an eyebrow. "Sure, but I usually spend my time training. I might not reply right away."
"That's fine." Shui Xiwei smiled and walked off the arena.
The fifth round of friendly matches ended with Thunder Academy defeating Skywater Academy.
In the seventh round, Thunder Academy faced Blazing Fire Academy. Yu Mingxiao entered the arena again and defeated all seven opposing students single-handedly, one after another.
Blazing Fire Academy's defeat gave Thunder Academy four wins in four matches and secured the championship ahead of schedule. The remaining three matches were merely a formality.
Yu Luobin took Yu Mingxiao and the others back to the clan first.
The championship prize for the friendly matches was only five hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, hardly a rare treasure. Thunder Academy would collect it after the tournament.
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