Today, at the Soto Great Soul Arena.
After finishing their morning theory classes, Tang Yin and Xiao Wu came here together.
Earlier, the two of them had completed their registrations at the Soto Great Soul Arena and received their Iron Soul Badges.
At present,
Tang Yin had reached level twenty-nine Soul Power and was a Soul Grandmaster, while Xiao Wu had level twenty-eight Soul Power.
They had both also won their first matches at the Soto Great Soul Arena.
"Tang Yin, back at Notting Academy, you hardly ever fought with anyone. I never expected you to come here and turn into such a fighter!"
"I never would've guessed!"
In the Soto Great Soul Arena's lounge, Xiao Wu sat beside Tang Yin.
As she looked at him, her pretty face was lit with a teasing smile.
"It's not that I like fighting. This is cultivation," Tang Yin said, giving a light cough as he tried to defend himself.
"That's just another way of saying the same thing." Xiao Wu smiled teasingly and shrugged.
Tang Yin couldn't help feeling awkward.
"Next, let's welcome the contestants for the second Soul Fight of the day!"
"They are Battle Soul Master Tang Yin, wielder of the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, and Battle Soul Master Xie Baoqing, wielder of the Iron-Armored Bear Martial Soul!"
"Will Tang Yin claim his second consecutive victory, or will Xie Baoqing achieve his fifth? Let's look forward to their performance!"
The host's voice rang out.
At the sound of it, Tang Yin took out a mask and put it on, then said to Xiao Wu, "I'm off."
Xiao Wu smiled and nodded. "Be careful."
Tang Yin smiled back, then made his way through the contestants' passage to the Soul Fight platform.
A tall, powerfully built young man with bronze-colored skin stood opposite him.
"When did the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul become something you could cultivate?" Xie Baoqing's first words on the platform struck Tang Yin as all too familiar.
Ever since he'd awakened his Martial Soul, he'd heard that more than anything else.
It was true: ninety-nine percent of Blue Silver Grass Martial Souls had no Soul Power at all, and only a tiny fraction possessed even a trace.
But his was different.
One was ordinary Blue Silver Grass, the other the emperor among Blue Silver Grass.
"Please, show me what you can do."
Tang Yin held his left hand behind his back. As he raised his right, a stalk of Blue Silver Grass marked with golden patterns appeared in his palm, accompanied by two yellow Soul Rings.
"Interesting. You've certainly opened my eyes. Let's see what kind of power that Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul of yours can muster!" Xie Baoqing said, growing intrigued.
The Blue Silver Emperor wasn't much of a fighter yet. Its First Soul Skill healed and restored, while its Second Soul Skill offered some control and damage, but neither was especially powerful. After all, the Blue Silver Emperor itself was still extremely fragile. So Tang Yin relied mainly on his hammer techniques.
Under Xie Baoqing's and the surrounding spectators' gaze, Tang Yin brushed his right hand over the Storage Soul Tool on his left wrist, then pulled out a hammer a meter and a half long, its head thirty centimeters wide.
Boom!
Tang Yin casually set the hammer down, and a deep, rumbling vibration resounded in everyone's ears.
"Hm? You're using a weapon in a Soul Fight?" A look of utter contempt appeared in Xie Baoqing's eyes.
The Great Soul Arena didn't prohibit weapons, but few people used them. After all, one's Martial Soul was already the best weapon—there was no need to go out of one's way to use another.
"Careful!" Tang Yin called out, then charged at Xie Baoqing, dragging the hammer behind him.
The hammer scraped across the ground, sending up sparks. Then Tang Yin suddenly swung it up, and the wind howled.
The Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer had now become Tang Yin's main method of attack.
In an era when Self-Created Soul Skills were exceedingly rare, the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer alone was enough to let Tang Yin face ninety-nine percent of opponents at his level!
"Bring it on!"
Xie Baoqing couldn't see anything wrong with Tang Yin's hammer swings.
"Iron-Armored Bear, possess me!"
Xie Baoqing gave a low shout. Earth-yellow Soul Power surged from his body, and his frame swelled in an instant. His already massive muscles grew even larger.
Dark brown fur sprouted wildly along his neck and limbs, while overlapping plates of earth-yellow armor formed across his chest, back, and shoulders.
Ten three-inch iron claws extended from his fingertips, and his black eyes turned amber.
Hum!
Two yellow Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet.
The Iron-Armored Bear was a Martial Soul that combined offense and defense. Tang Yin knew this well, but he didn't slow down. By the time he reached Xie Baoqing, the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer had built up to thirty-one strikes!
Tang Yin brought the hammer down with a fierce blow.
Xie Baoqing didn't take it seriously. He swung his broad, powerful right hand toward the hammerhead.
But a moment later, he regretted it.
The instant bear paw collided with hammerhead, Xie Baoqing felt an overwhelming force surge from the hammerhead and travel up his arm.
"Gah!"
Xie Baoqing cried out in pain. His thick, muscular right arm instantly lost the ability to move, and the immense force of Tang Yin's blow sent him flying backward uncontrollably.
Scree—
After sliding more than ten meters across the ground, Xie Baoqing finally managed to steady himself.
But when he saw his right arm hanging limp, unable to muster even a trace of strength and wracked with intense pain, his expression darkened at once.
"Give up. You're no match for me."
"If I fail to hold back on my next strike, you might lose your life."
Tang Yin casually lowered the hammer and calmly watched Xie Baoqing.
This was only a Gambling Soul Fight, where they were supposed to stop once one side had the advantage.
He and Xie Baoqing had no grudge between them, and he didn't want to take his opponent's life.
"Thank you for showing mercy. I give up."
Holding his right arm, Xie Baoqing glanced at Tang Yin and the hammer, the corner of his mouth twitching.
As soon as he conceded, the host announced the result. "Let's congratulate Battle Soul Master Tang Yin, wielder of the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, on winning this Soul Fighting Tournament match! That makes two wins in a row!"
As the host's voice fell, the spectators all cheered, their cries rumbling like thunder.
After all, this was the first time they'd seen a Soul Master with the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul fight here.
Amid the cheers, Tang Yin left through the contestants' passage. Xiao Wu was already waiting at the exit.
"Another opponent defeated with a single hammer blow! Tang Yin, you're amazing!" Xiao Wu praised him without holding back.
"Xiao Wu, want me to teach you how to fight with a hammer sometime?" Tang Yin asked with a smile.
"Fight with a hammer?" Xiao Wu imagined herself swinging a great hammer at someone and shuddered. "No, no! I don't want to! Just picturing it in my head makes me look awful!"
Tang Yin thought for a moment, then asked, "Then could you teach me the Soft Technique?"
After all, one could never have too many skills.
Maybe he could combine the Soft Technique with his hammer techniques and get some interesting results.
Xiao Wu paused and looked him up and down. She couldn't hold back a laugh. "But you're a boy! Don't you think that'd be weird? Besides, you're not flexible enough, and you never had any special training as a child. If you started practicing the Soft Technique now, you'd easily break a bone!"
Tang Yin twisted his waist and stretched his body. He didn't feel like his flexibility was a problem.
Seeing this, Xiao Wu raised a hand to cover her cherry-red lips and laughed until she was shaking like a flower in the breeze.