The first round of matches was over, and Flender didn't look too pleased.
He was very satisfied with Han Li's performance. Winning at the lowest possible cost made him the kind of student any academy would treasure.
But the way Xiao Yan had fought left Flender feeling uncomfortable no matter how he looked at it. He'd fought a Food System Soul Master and won with a single punch. So what if he'd won?
Was there anything to be proud of in having a Power Attack System fire-attribute Soul Master beat a Food System support who was busy eating a sausage?
Flender stood at the edge of the training ground with his arms crossed, his gaze sweeping back and forth over the four of them before finally settling on Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan was crouched in a corner, drawing circles in the dirt and muttering, "Thirty years east of the river..." The expression on his face said, I'm really not happy.
Flender walked up to him. "Xiao Yan."
Xiao Yan looked up. "What?"
Flender asked, "You fought Oscar in the first round and won. But are you satisfied with that?"
Xiao Yan blinked. "I won. Why wouldn't I be?"
Flender stared into his eyes. "You fought a Food System Soul Master and killed him with one punch. What do you think that proves? That you're stronger than someone who makes sausages? Does that really need proving?"
Xiao Yan fell silent. Flender turned and waved to Yu Xiaogang at the edge of the training ground. "For the second round, Xiao Yan versus Ma Hongjun."
Xiao Yan looked up. The gloom in his eyes faded, replaced by a burning flame. He stood, dusted off his pants, and headed for the center of the training ground.
Ma Hongjun was already there, hands in his pockets, chewing on something. He looked lazy and unenthusiastic.
Xiao Yan stood opposite him and gave him a once-over.
Ma Hongjun was one of the Shrek Seven Devils, a level thirty-seven Power Attack System Battle Soul Master with an Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul.
He was round-bodied, with an amiable smile that never seemed to leave his face. He looked like an ordinary chubby glutton, but Xiao Yan didn't underestimate him.
Anyone who had earned a place among the Shrek Seven Devils couldn't be taken lightly.
Xiao Yan's lips curled up. "Good. Now this looks like an opponent!"
Ma Hongjun swallowed what was in his mouth, wiped his lips, and smiled good-naturedly. "Brother Xiao Yan, we're both fire users. Go easy on me, okay? I just bought these clothes."
Xiao Yan scoffed. "If I win, I'll buy you ten sets."
Flender raised his hand. "Second-round match, begin!"
Ma Hongjun was the first to release his Martial Soul. Purple flames surged from his body, coalescing above his head into the phantom of a gigantic firebird.
The temperature of the flames shot up in an instant. The air began to distort, and the ground of the training field crackled faintly in the heat.
The purple-fire phoenix spread its wings, sending a wave of scorching air rolling outward. The students at the edge of the field hurriedly backed away.
Xiao Yan stood at the heart of the fiery wave, his sleeves fluttering and his hair blown back by the hot wind. Purple flames reflected in his eyes, and the smile on his lips only deepened.
"Good flames," Xiao Yan said.
He raised his right hand, and green flames burst from his palm. Unlike the brazen, domineering purple fire, Xiao Yan's green flames were restrained and tightly concentrated, like a sleeping Azure Dragon coiled in his hand. Green faced purple.
The temperature across the training ground climbed again. The forces of the two flames collided in midair with a low rumble. The spectators had retreated to the edge of the field. Dai Mubai stood at the front, releasing his White Tiger Martial Soul and batting away the flying sparks with his tiger claws. "Everyone, back up! These two aren't playing around with ordinary flames!"
The fight began. Ma Hongjun struck first. Evil Fire Phoenix's first Soul Skill, Phoenix Fire! A pillar of purple flame erupted from the ground and shot straight toward Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan dodged to the side, and Xuanhuang Flame gathered in front of him to form a shield of fire! The purple pillar crashed into the green shield with a dull boom. The shield shuddered and split with several cracks, but it didn't break.
Ma Hongjun's attacks came like a storm. Pillars of purple flame blasted toward Xiao Yan from every direction.
Xiao Yan blocked with his fire shield and dodged with his footwork, but Ma Hongjun was faster and stronger than him. A pillar of purple flame broke through Xiao Yan's defenses and slammed into his chest.
Xiao Yan grunted as he was blasted backward. He skidded several yards across the ground before coming to a stop.
Ma Hongjun withdrew his flames and scratched his head. "Give up, you nobody. Brother Xiao Yan, are you okay? Why didn't you dodge?"
Xiao Yan climbed to his feet. His shirt had been burned open across the chest, and a patch of reddened skin marked the burn. He looked down at the wound, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, then raised his head. His eyes held no pain, only a light that grew more feverish by the moment.
"What did you call me?" Xiao Yan's voice was low.
Ma Hongjun blinked. "Brother Xiao Yan?"
"No." Xiao Yan shook his head. "The thing you said just now."
Ma Hongjun thought for a moment. "Are you okay?"
"Before that."
Ma Hongjun searched his memory, then suddenly understood. "Oh, I said, 'Give up, you nobody'? That. I was just saying it offhand. Don't take it to heart..."
Xiao Yan smiled. His right arm lit up as the flame totems that had slumbered for so long awoke beneath his skin, like dragons rousing from their coils and opening their eyes.
Green Lotus Core Flame, Fallen Heart Flame, Three Thousand Burning Flame, Bone Spirit Cold Flame, Purifying Lotus Demon Flame... The Heavenly Flames that had once burned within him for thousands of years responded to his call for the first time in this unfamiliar world.
"Good. Good. Good." Xiao Yan said it three times. Each "good" was quieter than the one before, yet the pressure he gave off grew heavier with every word.
Ma Hongjun's expression changed. He sensed something different about Xiao Yan, and the Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul within him stirred uneasily, as if it had encountered its natural enemy.
Xiao Yan moved. The flame patterns on his right arm blazed to their limit. The green fire was no longer a docile guardian; it had become a fierce invader.
Dou Technique, Eight Extremities Collapse. This wasn't a Soul Skill or any technique from this world. It came from the Dou Qi Continent. Xiao Yan had combined the force-generating technique of Eight Extremities Collapse with the explosive power of the Heavenly Flames to create this strike.
It was a simple punch, with no flourishes or feints, just a fist hurtling toward Ma Hongjun.
But the punch was too fast for Ma Hongjun to dodge, too heavy for his Phoenix Fire to withstand, and so hot that Ma Hongjun's clothes began to scorch and curl the instant they touched its wake.
The fist slammed into Ma Hongjun's chest, and flames erupted. A pillar of green fire shot skyward like an Azure Dragon soaring from the earth into the clouds.
The pillar was more than a yard across, and its heat was so intense that the training ground's soul-tool barrier began to shudder, as if it could shatter at any moment. Half the training ground was scorched to ash by that single punch.
Ma Hongjun was blasted away. Still in midair, his body wreathed in green flames that hadn't gone out, he flew more than ten yards before slamming into the ground. He rolled several times, then crashed into the wall at the edge of the training ground, leaving a deep dent in it before finally coming to a stop.
Ma Hongjun was charred black from head to toe. Half his hair had burned away, his clothes were reduced to rags, and he lay motionless on the ground.
The entire field fell silent.
Flender was the first to react. He rushed to the edge of the training ground and crouched beside Ma Hongjun to check his condition. He was still breathing, and his heart was still beating—he'd only passed out.
Flender breathed a sigh of relief and stood, looking toward the center of the training ground. Xiao Yan was still standing there, frozen in the pose of his punch, as the flame patterns on his arm slowly faded.
Flender looked at the half-destroyed training ground. "My money... That's all my money... We have to rebuild the training ground, replace the soul-tool barrier, repair the wall. How much is that going to cost...?"
Yu Xiaogang walked up beside Flender, his voice barely containing his shock. "That wasn't a Soul Skill, a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, a Hidden Weapon, or poison! It's a technique from a completely different cultivation system. What kind of person was Xiao Yan before?"
Xiao Yan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. His voice was hoarse but steady. "Someone who once fell to the bottom—and climbed back up."
Yu Xiaogang looked into his eyes. There was a light in them that he had seen only in the very best Soul Masters: something found in people who had risen again after being utterly broken. It was called resilience.
At the edge of the training ground, Han Li watched Xiao Yan's back and silently revised his assessment. This man had plenty of hidden cards—not just Heavenly Flames, but also a Dou Technique system. What he had revealed today was only the tip of the iceberg. Worth watching. Not to be underestimated.
Shi Hao poked his head out from behind Han Li. His eyes shone like two stars, and he bounced excitedly in place. "Good! Good! Good! I want to fight you too! Xiao Yan, when can we fight? Today? Tomorrow? Right now?"
Xiao Yan turned to look at Shi Hao. "Put your clothes on first."
Shi Hao looked down and saw that he was bare-chested again. At some point, his clothes had torn apart yet again.
Wang Lin leaned against the wall and hadn't moved from his spot once. He watched Xiao Yan and thought the flames were decent, but nothing special.
Tang San stood in a corner of the training ground and watched the entire fight between Xiao Yan and Ma Hongjun from beginning to end.
He hadn't missed a single detail: Xiao Yan being suppressed, Xiao Yan getting hurt, and Xiao Yan turning the tide.
His fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, stinging faintly. He thought of his three-move agreement with Han Li, the match where Xiao Yan had knocked him out with one punch, Shi Hao hurling him away with his eyes closed, and the Heavenly Reversal Causality Wang Lin had shown him.
Tang San turned to Xiao Wu and moved his lips as if to say something. Xiao Wu saw right through him and waved a finger in front of his face. "Third Brother, stop spacing out. It's your turn."
Tang San blinked. "Me? Who am I fighting?"
Xiao Wu nodded toward the other end of the training ground. Zhu Zhuqing was already standing there with her arms crossed and an impassive expression. Her cold eyes fixed on Tang San like a cat waiting for its prey.
The match began quickly. Zhu Zhuqing's Nether Civet Martial Soul was too fast. Tang San's Purple Demon Eye couldn't lock onto her movements before a claw struck his chest.
Blood sprayed, and Tang San staggered back three steps. Before he could steady himself, another claw caught him in the back.
Tang San fell face-first to the ground and rolled over. He saw Zhu Zhuqing's figure leave a streak of afterimages in the sunlight—and then another claw came down.
Tang San lost, and he lost fast—so fast that the crowd hadn't even realized what was happening before the match was over.
Tang San opened his mouth. The word "again" had only just begun to emerge when Xiao Wu somehow rushed onto the field and slapped a hand over his mouth. "Leave me a little dignity!"
Xiao Wu shouted angrily, loud enough for half the training ground to hear.
Tang San's mouth was covered. He blinked at Xiao Wu, unable to say a word.
Xiao Wu let go. Tang San obediently shut his mouth and silently walked off the field.
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