Duel with Yu Xiaogang

A one-on-one?

As soon as Yu Xiaogang uttered those words, the murmurs of the crowd grew even louder.

Some wanted to speak up for Luo Chen and demand justice, but the oppressive aura of those two century-old soul rings kept them from stepping forward; after all, those present were mostly ordinary people.

At the center of it all, Luo Chen raised an eyebrow upon hearing Yu Xiaogang's challenge, eyeing him with a hint of suspicion.

Level 29, huh?

In a flash, he glanced at Luo Sanpao, who was snarling viciously at him from by Yu Xiaogang's feet, and he already had his answer.

"Uncle, if you win, I'll take you as my master, but if I win, I get nothing. Isn't that a bit unfair?"

Luo Chen said with a grin.

It wasn't that he was arrogant; with an innate soul power of level 20 and a top-tier martial soul, he was confident he could handle a specimen like Yu Xiaogang even without a soul ring.

After all, in the original story, this guy was almost soloed by a common century-old soul beast.

Since Yu Xiaogang had delivered himself to his doorstep, it seemed like a good opportunity to extort a bit of profit.

In his eyes, Yu Xiaogang was no different from a walking piggy bank, and he happened to be a little short on cash right now.

However, Yu Xiaogang was stunned by Luo Chen's words; he had never once considered the possibility of losing.

Frowning, he feigned hesitation before speaking slowly:

"If you win, I can agree to take you to hunt for a soul ring once."

Luo Chen: "..."

"Uncle, you claim to be a master of martial soul theory, so is this how a 'master' swindles children?"

Luo Chen was speechless; this move was truly worthy of the "Grandmaster" title.

"If I have the strength to defeat you, why would I need you—someone weaker than me—to lead me into danger to hunt for my own soul ring? Isn't that just asking for trouble?"

As his voice fell, the surrounding chatter grew even more intense.

This time, even the two guards from Yu Xiaogang's own camp couldn't hold back. They huddled together to whisper, feeling that Yu Xiaogang had truly crossed the line into shamelessness.

Then there was Tang San, who was frowning as he watched the standoff between Luo Chen and Yu Xiaogang.

He felt that Yu Xiaogang's earlier actions were fine—using any means necessary was a skill in itself—but this last remark was truly shameless.

At the center of the vortex, being stared at and discussed by so many with strange looks, Yu Xiaogang finally lost his composure.

He clenched his fists tightly, glaring at Luo Chen with bloodshot eyes.

This brat, he's doing this to embarrass me on purpose!

"Speak, what do you want?"

Yu Xiaogang said in a low voice, his face dark.

He was truly annoyed now.

Even if he had instigated this, so what? He was doing this for the boy's own good! To think this brat would be so ungrateful and humiliate him like this!

He had already decided that once he defeated Luo Chen and forced him to become his apprentice, he would settle the score properly and make the boy kowtow to apologize.

Luo Chen, unaware that Yu Xiaogang was already daydreaming in his head, was busy pondering the question thrown back at him.

What did he want?

Luo Chen's eyes darted around as he sized up the man before him.

Based on the original story, this guy was dirt poor and didn't have any decent treasures on him; there really didn't seem to be anything worth coveting.

"I want that Soul Tool on your waist, plus 150 Gold Soul Coins. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"

As he finished, Luo Chen noticed Yu Xiaogang hesitating, so he pressed on:

"If you win, I have to take you as my master—that's a lifelong commitment. If I win, I'm only asking for some of your worldly possessions."

"Or is it, Uncle, that you aren't confident in your ability to defeat a child like me?"

Luo Chen said with a smile.

The provocation worked, and Yu Xiaogang finally agreed.

Just as Luo Chen had surmised, he was so incredibly self-righteous that he simply didn't believe a dignified Soul Grand Master could lose to a six- or seven-year-old child.

Soon, as the bet was finalized, the surrounding crowd consciously cleared a large space.

It served as a very crude dueling arena.

Yet, despite how primitive the arena was, it couldn't dampen the excitement of the spectators.

Most of those present were commoners who had rarely seen a real fight between soul masters, so they were highly anticipating the spectacle.

Soon, as Luo Chen and Yu Xiaogang stood at opposite edges of the space, the battle officially began.

Yu Xiaogang summoned his external martial soul, Luo Sanpao, once again.

Two yellow soul rings appeared beneath his feet, and he looked at Luo Chen with a smug expression.

In truth, he was curious as well; he wanted to see exactly what Luo Chen's martial soul was.

Although various details confirmed that Luo Chen was a genius with high Innate Soul Power, his Martial Soul remained impossible to discern from his appearance alone.

As Luo San Pao stood ready, the eyes of the entire crowd followed Yu Xiaogang to turn toward Luo Chen.

Under the gaze of the masses, Luo Chen offered a faint smile and raised one of his hands.

In an instant, an aura of darkness and cold indifference blanketed the arena.

Yu Xiaogang's expression shifted instantly, turning exceptionally unsightly.

This familiar feeling... could your Martial Soul be...

Before he could finish, a layer of hard, purple-black armor manifested around Luo Chen's body.

Following this, as the chilling aura grew increasingly dense, the phantom of a massive spider appeared behind him.

"Luo Chen, Martial Soul Death Spider Emperor, please advise!"

BOOM!

The words struck Yu Xiaogang's ears like a thunderclap.

He was all too familiar with this Martial Soul; wasn't it the very same one possessed by his old flame, Bibi Dong?

This boy had to be at least an Innate level eight or nine, if not a full-rank genius!

The two stood there, eyes locked.

Luo Chen remained composed, though it was clear he had entered a combat stance.

Conversely, Yu Xiaogang, who had initiated the challenge, had fallen into a state of distraction.

Even though Luo Chen lacked two spirit rings compared to Yu Xiaogang, he had completely crushed him in both Martial Soul presence and personal aura.

This scene had exceeded everyone's expectations.

What was thought to be a veteran bullying a child had seemingly seen the roles reversed.

The sudden turn of events filled the battle with suspense, and the crowd held their breath, anticipating the duel between the two.

"Master of Martial Soul Theory, since you call yourself a master, you should recognize my Martial Soul, right?"

Luo Chen smiled slightly and spoke slowly.

"I won't hide it from you, my Martial Soul just awakened and it is highly toxic. If anything happens, I won't be held responsible."