Zichuan VS Long Aotian!

Walking in the lead was a boy who looked to be about eight or nine years old.

He wore a well-fitted black training suit. His physique was quite tall and straight for his age, and his face was handsome, with sword-like brows and star-bright eyes. His short black hair stood up in spikes, and his gaze was sharp, carrying a sense of composure and edge that belied his youth.

His gait was steady and his aura refined; it was clear his foundation was exceptionally solid.

Following behind him was a little girl who looked to be only five or six years old, as delicate and pretty as if carved from jade.

She wore her hair in two pigtails, and her large eyes blinked incessantly as she curiously sized up Zichuan, her gaze clear and filled with the innocence unique to a child.

The murmurs of the crowd died down, and all eyes fell upon the boy, their gazes filled with clear approval, admiration, and even a hint of awe.

The boy walked up to a spot three paces in front of Zichuan and stopped. His gaze was like lightning as he scanned Zichuan up and down, then he nodded slightly and spoke:

"You are the little junior brother, Zichuan?"

His voice still carried a childish tone, but his manner was quite composed.

Zichuan's heart stirred; he had already guessed the other's identity. He nodded: "I am. And you are...?"

"Long Aotian." The boy stated his name, his tone flat yet containing an inherent sense of pride. "I heard from the teacher that your talent is even better than mine."

Long Aotian! It really was him!

In the original work, he was the true pride of this generation of the Body Sect. His martial soul was his skin, and he would become a Soul Saint before the age of twenty. He was brilliant and talented, but unfortunately, he died young, leading to a gap in the Body Sect's generations and its gradual decline.

Zichuan could feel that when Long Aotian said this, his eyes were clear, filled only with pure curiosity and fighting spirit, without a shred of jealousy or resentment.

This was the style of the Body Sect: they valued strength and respected the strong, but never feared a challenge.

"The teacher is too kind; I just have better luck," Zichuan said politely.

"Luck is also a part of strength." Long Aotian shook his head, looking straight into Zichuan's eyes.

"The teacher said your martial soul is a Dual Heart, your first soul ring is a thousand-year one, and you have an External Soul Bone. I am very interested."

He paused, then said with a serious tone: "Therefore, I want to have a match with you."

"Whoa—" A low gasp erupted from the surroundings. Expressions of excitement and anticipation appeared on everyone's faces.

Although Long Aotian was young, his talent and strength were peerless among his generation, and he was the sect's recognized hope for the future. This new little junior brother, who could be so highly regarded by the Sect Master that even Long Aotian would take the initiative to challenge him, must certainly be extraordinary!

Skin versus heart—which one would prove superior?

Looking at the pure, unadulterated fighting spirit in Long Aotian's eyes, the hot-bloodedness belonging to a youth was ignited in Zichuan's own heart.

Having come to this world and awakened such powerful strength, he also craved a real battle to test his own capabilities!

"Fine!" Zichuan nodded and accepted the challenge without any hesitation.

A trace of a smile appeared on Long Aotian's face, a smile that softened his somewhat stern features significantly.

"My soul power is level 27, much higher than yours. I will suppress my soul power to a level similar to yours, otherwise, it wouldn't be fair."

However, Zichuan shook his head, his eyes flashing with a keen, eager light:

"No, Senior Brother Long, please go all out. I also want to see just how big the gap is between me and a true genius. Besides, my soul power... might be a bit different from an ordinary Soul Grand Master."

He was not being arrogant. The total volume and quality advantage brought by his Dual Heart gave him confidence that his true combat power was far from as simple as his surface level of 13.

Long Aotian was slightly stunned, then his smile widened, and he nodded:

"Good! You have spirit! I acknowledge you as my junior brother!"

The two said no more. The surrounding crowd automatically dispersed, clearing a spacious area in the open ground before the stone chamber, each craning their necks in anticipation.

Long Aotian walked to one side of the arena and stood still. He did not immediately release his martial soul, but his entire aura had already changed, like a sharp sword about to be unsheathed, its edge faintly visible.

Zichuan walked to the other side, took a deep breath, and his gaze turned sharp.

"Please!"

"Please!"

Almost simultaneously, soul power erupted from both of them!

Long Aotian let out a low shout, and a layer of warm, white-jade luster instantly spread across his skin, as if he were covered in the finest mutton-fat jade. His whole body seemed to turn into a jade statue, and his aura became incredibly solid and heavy.

One yellow and one purple soul ring rose from beneath his feet, circling his body, signifying his cultivation as a level 27 Soul Grand Master!

His second soul ring was already a purple thousand-year one; his talent and endurance were equally astonishing!

As for Zichuan, a dark red light erupted from his left chest, and his hair instantly turned dark red—Destruction Form activated! A violent, terminal aura began to permeate the air.

At his feet, a deep purple soul ring rose. The purity of that purple, in both density and radiance, was faintly on par with Long Aotian's thousand-year second ring!

"First soul skill, Battle Blood Boiling!"

Zichuan did not test the waters; he started with his strongest buff!

Under his dark red skin, blood surged and muscles bulged slightly. A thirty percent increase in all attributes caused his aura to soar suddenly, like a waking beast!

"What a powerful buff!" someone in the crowd exclaimed.

"His first soul ring is already a thousand-year one; the effect of this buff is truly terrifying!"

A look of surprise flashed in Long Aotian's eyes, but his movements were not slow in the slightest.

He kicked off the ground, causing it to crack, and shot out like a cannonball, throwing a punch straight at Zichuan's face! The wind from his fist was biting, carrying a shrill whistling sound. It looked simple and direct, yet it contained terrifying power and speed!

Zichuan did not dodge or evade. He let out a low growl, his right fist clenched tight with Destruction Soul Power coiling around it, and met Long Aotian's fist in a head-on collision!

"Boom!"

The two fists collided, erupting with a sound like a muffled thunderclap! A shockwave exploded from the center of the two, whipping the clothes of those nearby.

Zichuan retreated three steps, leaving a deep footprint on the hard ground with every step, his right fist numb. Long Aotian merely swayed before steadying himself.

In terms of raw power, Long Aotian, a level 27 Soul Grand Master with a body-type martial soul, clearly held the upper hand.

Yet, the fighting spirit in Zichuan's eyes only intensified! He had only retreated three steps! If it were an ordinary level 13 soul master, they would likely have suffered broken bones and been sent flying from that single punch! The boost provided by Battle Blood Boiling and Dual Heart was evident.

"Good strength!" Long Aotian praised, launching his next assault.

His footwork was agile, his strikes swift as the wind. His offense was relentless, each blow heavy and powerful, yet precise and ruthless, revealing an extremely solid combat foundation.

Zichuan met the challenge calmly. Although slightly inferior in strength and speed, he relied on the tyrannical attributes of his Destruction Soul Power, along with the superior reaction time and sustained combat capability granted by his two hearts, to maintain an airtight defense, occasionally managing a counterattack.

The two traded blows, the muffled sounds of colliding soul power ringing out incessantly, leaving the surrounding crowd dazzled and filled with exclamation.

"This junior brother is something else! To think he could trade blows with Aotian for so many rounds!"

"That destruction-attribute soul power is so overbearing; it seems even Aotian's skin defense has been slightly eroded!"

"But Aotian hasn't even used his soul skills yet..."

Sure enough, unable to secure a victory after a long assault, Long Aotian's eyes narrowed as his first soul ring lit up.

"First Soul Skill, Jade Skin!"

The white jade luster on his skin instantly became tangible, as if he had truly transformed into a jade statue, his defensive power skyrocketing!

He no longer dodged Zichuan's attacks, instead meeting Zichuan's fist head-on with a heavy, sweeping whip kick!

"Boom!" Zichuan's punch landed on Long Aotian's shoulder, but it felt as if he had struck Millennium Black Iron, the recoil making his arm ache. Meanwhile, Long Aotian's whip kick was already upon him!