I am the Yan Emperor, do you really think I'm a weakling?

The first round of trials concluded, and Flender's expression was far from pleasant.

He was quite satisfied with Han Li's performance; securing a victory with minimal cost was the mark of a treasure in any academy.

But as for Xiao Yan's match, no matter how Flender looked at it, it felt off. He had faced a food-system soul master and scored a one-hit knockout. He won, yes, but what did that prove?

You take a power-attack fire-attribute soul master and have him fight a food-system support who was in the middle of eating a sausage—is winning something to be proud of?

Flender stood by the sidelines, arms crossed, his gaze sweeping over the four students before finally settling on Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan was crouched in a corner, drawing circles on the ground while muttering "Thirty years east of the river," his expression clearly reading, "I am very annoyed."

Flender walked up to him. "Xiao Yan."

Xiao Yan looked up. "What?"

Flender asked, "You fought Oscar in the first round. You won, but are you convinced by it?"

Xiao Yan blinked, stunned. "I won, why wouldn't I be convinced?"

Flender stared into his eyes. "You fought a food-system soul master and ended it in one punch. What do you think that proves? That you're stronger than a guy who makes sausages? Does that even need proving?"

Xiao Yan fell silent. Flender turned away and waved at Yu Xiaogang on the sidelines. "Second round: Xiao Yan versus Ma Hongjun."

Xiao Yan lifted his head, the gloom in his eyes dissipating, replaced by a burning fire. He stood up, brushed the dust off his pants, and walked toward the center of the training ground.

Ma Hongjun was already on the field, hands in his pockets, chewing on something. He looked lazy and didn't seem particularly motivated.

Xiao Yan stood opposite him and gave him a once-over.

Ma Hongjun, one of the Shrek Seven Devils, possessed the Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul and was a level 37 power-attack battle soul master.

He was round in stature, his face always wearing a harmless, naive smile. He looked like an ordinary, gluttonous fatty, but Xiao Yan did not underestimate him.

Anyone capable of holding a spot among the Shrek Seven Devils could not be a pushover.

The corners of Xiao Yan's mouth curled up. "Good, now this looks like a real opponent!"

Ma Hongjun swallowed what was in his mouth, wiped his lips, and gave an honest, simple smile. "Brother Xiao Yan, we're both fire users. Take it easy on me later, yeah? This outfit is brand new."

Xiao Yan scoffed. "If you win, I'll buy you ten sets."

Flender raised his hand. "Second round of trials, begin!"

Ma Hongjun was the first to release his martial soul. The purple flames of the Evil Fire Phoenix surged from his body, condensing into the phantom of a giant firebird above his head.

The temperature of the flames soared instantly, the air began to distort, and the ground of the training field emitted a faint crackling sound under the intense heat.

The purple fire phoenix spread its wings, and a scorching wave of heat rippled outward, forcing the students on the sidelines to retreat.

Xiao Yan stood at the center of the heatwave, his clothes fluttering violently, his hair blown back by the hot wind. His eyes reflected the purple flames, and the smile on his lips didn't vanish—it deepened.

"Good fire," Xiao Yan said.

He raised his right hand, and cyan flames erupted from his palm. Unlike the domineering and flamboyant purple fire of Ma Hongjun, Xiao Yan's cyan fire was more restrained and condensed, like a sleeping green dragon coiled in his palm. Cyan met purple.

The temperature on the training field spiked once more. The two fiery forces collided in mid-air, emitting a low, rumbling roar. The spectators had already retreated to the edge of the field. Dai Mubai stood at the very front, his White Tiger martial soul released, using his tiger claws to swat away the flying sparks. "Everyone back! These two aren't just playing around!"

The battle commenced. Ma Hongjun struck first with his first soul skill, Phoenix Fire! A pillar of purple flame erupted from the ground, lunging straight at Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan dodged to the side, condensing the Xuanhuang Flame into a fire shield before him. The purple pillar slammed into the cyan shield with a muffled thud; the shield trembled and cracked in several places, but it did not shatter.

Ma Hongjun's attacks were like a torrential storm, with pillars of purple flame bombarding Xiao Yan from every direction.

Xiao Yan blocked with his shield and dodged with his footwork, but Ma Hongjun's speed and power were superior. A purple pillar broke through Xiao Yan's defense and slammed into his chest.

Xiao Yan let out a muffled groan, sent flying, sliding several feet across the ground before coming to a stop.

Ma Hongjun retracted his flames and scratched his head. "Give up, noob. You alright, Brother Xiao Yan? Why didn't you dodge?"

Xiao Yan climbed to his feet. His shirt was burned through at the chest, leaving a red, scorched mark on his skin. He looked down at the wound, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and looked up. There was no pain in his eyes, only a growing, fanatical light.

"What did you call me?" Xiao Yan's voice was low.

Ma Hongjun blinked. "Brother Xiao Yan?"

"No," Xiao Yan shook his head. "The sentence before that."

Ma Hongjun thought for a moment. "You alright?"

"Further back."

Ma Hongjun struggled to recall, then suddenly realized. "Oh, I said 'give up, noob'? That? I was just saying it, don't take it to heart..."

Xiao Yan smiled. His right arm lit up. Those long-dormant flame totems beneath his skin awakened, like giant dragons waking from their slumber.

Green Lotus Core Flame, Fallen Heart Flame, Three Thousand Burning Flame, Bone Chilling Flame, Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame... those Heavenly Flames that had burned within him for a thousand years responded to his call for the first time in this strange world.

"Good, good, good." Xiao Yan said the word three times, each one softer than the last, yet the sense of oppression grew heavier with every repetition.

Ma Hongjun's expression shifted. He felt the change in Xiao Yan, and his own Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul began to stir uneasily, as if it had encountered a natural predator.

Xiao Yan moved. The Heavenly Flame patterns on his right arm glowed to their limit. The cyan flames were no longer gentle guardians, but ferocious invaders.

Battle skill: Eight Extremities Collapse. This was not a soul skill, nor was it any technique from this world; it was from the Dou Qi Continent. Xiao Yan fused 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—no fancy tricks, no feints—just a single strike aimed at Ma Hongjun.

But the punch was too fast for Ma Hongjun to dodge; it was too heavy, shattering Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Fire upon impact; and it was so hot that Ma Hongjun's clothes began to yellow and curl the instant they touched the wind of the strike.

A fist slammed into Ma Hongjun's chest, triggering an explosion of flames. A cyan pillar of fire surged toward the sky like a dragon taking flight, piercing the clouds.

The pillar was over a zhang in diameter, its temperature so intense that the training ground's soul-guide barrier began to tremble, threatening to shatter at any moment. Half the training ground was reduced to scorched earth by this single punch.

Ma Hongjun was blasted away. While still mid-air, trailing unextinguished cyan flames, he flew a dozen meters before crashing heavily into the ground. He rolled several times, finally slamming into the perimeter wall of the training ground and leaving a crater in the masonry before coming to a stop.

Ma Hongjun lay prone and motionless, his body charred black, half his hair burned away, and his clothes reduced to mere rags.

The entire arena fell into dead silence.

Flender was the first to react. He rushed to the edge of the field and crouched down to check Ma Hongjun's condition. He was still breathing, his heart was still beating; he had merely passed out.

Flender let out a sigh of relief and stood up, looking toward the center of the training ground. Xiao Yan remained where he stood, still holding his punching stance, the strange fire patterns on his arms slowly fading.

Flender looked at the half-destroyed training ground. "My money... all my money... the training ground needs repairs, the soul-guide barrier needs replacing, the wall needs patching—how much is this going to cost?"

Yu Xiaogang walked over to Flender, his voice filled with irrepressible shock: "This isn't a soul skill, not a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, not a hidden weapon, and not a poison! This is a cultivation system from a different path. Who exactly was Xiao Yan before this?"

Xiao Yan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his voice hoarse but steady: "Someone who once fell to the very bottom, and climbed back up."

Yu Xiaogang looked into his eyes and saw a light he had only ever seen in the most elite soul masters—the quality of someone who had stood back up after being shattered to pieces. It was called resilience.

Han Li stood at the edge of the field, watching Xiao Yan's back. He silently updated his assessment: this man had many trump cards, not just his strange fire, but an entire combat technique system. What was revealed today was merely the tip of the iceberg. He was worth noting and could not be underestimated.

Shi Hao poked his head out from behind Han Li, his eyes shining like stars. He bounced on the spot in excitement: "Good! Good! Good! I want to fight you too! Xiao Yan, when can we fight? Today? Tomorrow? Right now?"

Xiao Yan turned his head to look at Shi Hao: "Put your clothes on first."

Shi Hao looked down and realized he was shirtless again; his clothes had been shredded at some point.

Wang Lin leaned against the wall, having not moved from his spot from start to finish. He watched Xiao Yan, thinking the flames were decent, but nothing more.

Tang San stood in the corner of the training ground, having watched the entire process between Xiao Yan and Ma Hongjun from beginning to end.

From Xiao Yan being suppressed, to Xiao Yan getting injured, to Xiao Yan's reversal—he hadn't missed a single detail.

His fists were clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, causing a dull ache. He thought of his three-move agreement with Han Li, the sparring match where he was insta-killed by Xiao Yan's punch, the image of Shi Hao knocking him away with his eyes closed, and the Heavenly Reversal Causality that Wang Lin had shown him.

Tang San turned to look at Xiao Wu, his lips moving as if to say something. Xiao Wu saw through his thoughts instantly and waved a finger in front of him: "Third Brother, stop spacing out. It's your turn."

Tang San was stunned: "Me? Against whom?"

Xiao Wu gestured toward the other end of the training ground. Zhu Zhuqing was already standing there, arms crossed, expressionless. Her cold eyes were fixed on Tang San, like a cat waiting for its prey.

The match began quickly. The speed of Zhu Zhuqing's Hell Spirit Cat martial soul was too fast; Tang San's Purple Demon Eye couldn't even lock onto her trajectory before he took a claw to the chest.

Blood splattered, and Tang San retreated three steps. Before he could steady himself, he took another claw to the back.

Tang San collapsed to the ground, rolled over, and saw Zhu Zhuqing's figure leave a trail of afterimages in the sunlight before another claw struck.

Tang San lost, and he lost quickly—so quickly that the onlookers hadn't even reacted before it was over.

Tang San opened his mouth, the word "rematch" just reaching his throat, when Xiao Wu suddenly rushed onto the field. With a swift motion, her palm clamped firmly over Tang San's mouth. "Save me some face!"

Xiao Wu shouted, her voice loud enough for half the training ground to hear.

Tang San's mouth was sealed; he blinked at Xiao Wu, unable to utter a single word.

Xiao Wu let go, and Tang San obediently shut his mouth, walking off the field in silence.