"Lingling, you... what are you doing?"
"..."
Ye Lingling's big eyes curved into crescents. Though her expression was hidden beneath her veil, her voice carried a rare hint of teasing.
"Nothing. I just think... Qin Feng may be a bit foul-mouthed, but some of what he says isn't necessarily wrong."
"Still, he does deserve a bit of a lesson. Letting you vent your anger on him is only fair."
"..."
Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Dugu Yan looked a little dazed. Her cheeks flushed as she shot Ye Lingling an annoyed glare.
"You've been bewitched by that bastard too!"
The two exchanged a knowing look, then turned their attention to the arena in unison.
The battle there was about to begin.
On the arena.
Qin Feng stood there, yet he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
He rubbed his nose, baffled.
Just a moment ago, he had distinctly felt two incredibly complicated gazes fall on him.
One came from Dugu Yan. It was filled with murderous intent and mortification, as if she wanted to swallow him alive.
The other came from Ye Lingling.
That look... how could he put it?
There was curiosity, as if she wanted to see right through him, mixed with a hint of shyness and even a little... anticipation?
Did those two girls eat something strange today?
Qin Feng muttered to himself, then quickly refocused.
Across from him, Yu Tianheng had already made his move.
"Qin Feng, since Yanyan told me not to hold back, you'd better pray for yourself."
Yu Tianheng barked, flinging his arms wide.
Boom!
An incredibly violent aura of thunder erupted from his body.
Blue-violet arcs of electricity leaped wildly around him, crackling and popping.
His right arm swelled rapidly. His sleeve burst apart, revealing a layer of fine blue-violet dragon scales, while his hand transformed into a fearsome dragon claw.
Two yellow Spirit Rings and one purple Spirit Ring slowly rose beneath his feet, their pulsing light sending shivers down the spine.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul!
The might of a top-tier Power Attack System Beast Martial Soul was now on full display.
"So this is the strength of a thirty-ninth-rank Soul Elder?"
The students below the arena drew in sharp breaths, looking at Qin Feng as though he were already a dead man.
Against Yu Tianheng at full strength, forget lasting for the time it took an incense stick to burn—he probably couldn't even withstand a single move.
Yet Qin Feng, standing at the heart of the storm, showed no sign of panic.
He merely watched Yu Tianheng stride toward him with a menacing aura, the mocking curve of his lips growing wider.
"This is what you're proud of?"
"You're just a big lizard with electricity. How dare you call yourself a dragon?"
Before his words had even faded, Qin Feng took a sudden step forward.
Thud!
The entire arena seemed to tremble beneath that step.
A terrifying aura suddenly surged from his body.
A green lotus bloomed quietly behind him.
The lotus was the color of primordial chaos, with thirty-six tiers of petals. Profound patterns of the Great Dao flowed across each one.
The moment it appeared, the violent thunder around them seemed to encounter its natural enemy and instantly withered.
Even the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon phantom that Yu Tianheng had always taken pride in trembled before that aura, letting out a mournful cry.
Every member of the Heaven Dou Royal Team seemed frozen in place, their eyes locked on the arena.
Yu Tianheng sprang forward. The blue-violet scales on his right arm shone brightly, and his already massive arm swelled another size.
His First Soul Ring lit up.
"Thunder Dragon Claw!"
With a furious shout, a massive dragon claw formed entirely from raging lightning shot toward Qin Feng's face, shrieking as it tore through the air.
The power contained in that lightning was enough to make any Soul Elder of the same rank tremble with fear.
Yet faced with this mighty blow, Qin Feng didn't just refrain from activating his Martial Soul Avatar; he didn't even light a single Spirit Ring beneath his feet.
He simply extended his right hand.
His fingers spread, palm facing outward. There was nothing flashy about the movement. It was as if he were reaching out to catch a silk ball tossed his way.
Dugu Yan's heart gave a sudden thump.
Was this bastard crazy?
She had read Qin Feng's wild boasts in his diary and knew that if he had dared to accept the test, he must have some trump card up his sleeve.
But this was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon!
The continent's number-one Beast Martial Soul, renowned for its domineering attack power. Its thunderous force also carried a powerful paralyzing effect. Soul Masters of the same rank wouldn't dare catch it with their bare hands.
Ye Lingling's big eyes, hidden behind her veil, were also filled with worry.
Though Qin Feng's ridiculous fantasies in his diary had embarrassed and infuriated them, and they had wanted him to suffer a little on the arena, that was only meant as a "lesson"—not watching him get himself killed or gravely injured and crippled.
"Does that arrogant fool really think his body is made of iron?"
Dugu Yan couldn't help muttering a curse, but her palms were already sweating.
On the arena.
Seeing Qin Feng's move, the fury in Yu Tianheng's eyes burned even hotter.
"You're going to catch my Thunder Dragon Claw with your bare hands, without using a Soul Skill?"
It was contempt!
A trampling of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's dignity!
"If you're asking for death, don't blame me!"
Yu Tianheng held nothing back. Soul Power surged through him, and the Thunder Dragon Claw's might rose another level as it crashed toward Qin Feng's palm.
Just as everyone expected Qin Feng's arm to turn to charcoal the next second—
Smack.
A dull impact rang out.
There was no scream, no spray of blood and flesh.
That seemingly unremarkable palm had caught the lightning-wreathed dragon claw firmly.
The moment they made contact, violent currents surged wildly, trying to burrow into Qin Feng's body and destroy his meridians and flesh.
But Qin Feng's hand was like an ancient, towering divine mountain. No matter how fiercely the lightning struck, it didn't budge.
A faint bronze sheen flowed across his skin, keeping all the thunderous power at bay.
"How is this possible?!"
Yu Tianheng's pupils contracted sharply.
It felt as if his hand wasn't caught in another person's grip, but locked in an iron vise.
Even more shocking was the power coming from the other man's palm.
Vast, heavy, domineering!
It couldn't be moved at all!
"That's all the strength you've got?"
Qin Feng looked at Yu Tianheng, who stood within arm's reach, and raised the corners of his mouth.
The next moment, he gave his arm a sudden shake.
Boom!
An overwhelming force shot along Yu Tianheng's arm and crashed into his body.
Before this power, the physique of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon that Yu Tianheng had always been so proud of was a joke.
His body instantly lost its balance.
"..."
Qin Feng swung his arm in a wide arc. As if he were flinging around a worn-out sack, he lifted Yu Tianheng clear off the ground, then smashed him heavily into the arena floor.