"Should've known the young master of the Body Sect would be this impressive."
Xu Qing looked at Xiao Meng. She had no idea what he meant, so she simply gave him a wink, which made his face darken.
"Relax, we're on the same side. I scanned this data just now. I couldn't help it—the Soul Tool's been on this whole time, and I forgot to turn it off."
"No outsiders will find out."
Xiao Meng finally caught on. Embarrassed, she stuck out her tongue.
Hey, so she knows how to act cute?
Lin Jiayi walked at the front and continued:
"For more research funding, the Hall Master promised the royal family that we'd win the Continental Soul Master Tournament a year from now. To make that happen..."
"The Hall Master has poured heart and soul into it, trading with the Body Sect for Protein Powder, cultivation potions, and other crucial resources."
"And to make absolutely sure we succeed, he paid a terrible price to bring in an outside helper like you."
"The Hall Master's devotion to duty is as clear as the sun and moon!"
Xu Qing was a little confused. Wait, why didn't that line up? Wasn't the academy a failure, and this something they came up with at the last minute...
And now you're saying he paid a terrible price to bring in an outside helper? Also, what price did you pay...?
Jing Hongchen: You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child. Do you think this is easy for me?!
Xu Qing's eyes narrowed behind his glasses. His extraordinary intelligence pieced together a suspicion from these clues and scattered remarks.
Xiao Meng, however, hadn't noticed anything amiss. She picked up where Lin Jiayi left off:
"Brother Xu, the examination grounds are just ahead. Here's how the grade-skipping test works."
"You fight a senior student, either using a Soul Tool you made yourself or relying solely on your personal strength."
"A win or a draw counts as a pass. But in practice, very few new students ever pass!"
"That's why everyone gave this test another name—the Position-Swapping Blood Battle."
"Oh? A blood battle..."
Xu Qing grew interested. He'd thought this would be a mere formality, an easy chance to beat up the weaker students. But it looked like things weren't quite as he'd imagined.
"That's not entirely accurate, but it's not entirely inaccurate either."
At last, they passed through the corridor and reached the grounds.
Lin Jiayi looked at the melancholic young man standing on the field with a sword in his arms, indicating that he was Xu Qing's opponent.
"Ji Juechen, twenty-four years old, Level 6 Soul Engineer at Mingde Hall, Level 67 Battle Soul Emperor. To pass your examination, you need to last one incense stick against him."
The short, stout middle-aged man folded his plump arms and looked back and forth between the two.
He didn't understand why the Hall Master wanted to make things so difficult for you, but there was no need to understand!
Whatever decisions the Hall Master made, we'd resolutely uphold them. Whatever instructions the Hall Master gave, we'd unwaveringly support them!!
Mingde Hall, loyal to the end!!!
"Come on up, Xu Qing."
The young man's long black hair was simply tied back with a ribbon. His face had a pale, unhealthy cast to it.
He was exceptionally handsome, but his eyes seemed devoid of color, dull and lifeless. Even his movements seemed sluggish.
In his hand was a roughly four-foot-long, pitch-black sword. Its style was archaic, with no distinctive features.
At first glance, it looked no different from a fire poker.
But... Xu Qing had clearly noticed that the arm holding the sword was covered in pinprick marks.
This guy... he's even more hardcore than Ano.
"Xu Qing, there's no one else here. Feel free to use whatever you've got."
Jing Hongchen's voice suddenly rang out across the grounds. Somehow, he had appeared there without anyone noticing.
He beckoned Xiao Meng over and asked in a low voice:
"Good granddaughter, tell Grandpa—where did you go last night?"
"Hmph, you already know."
Rip—
The old man's little cotton coat didn't seem to be keeping him warm anymore.
Suddenly, there was a thunderous boom!
Xu Qing stomped a crack into the top-grade metal floor, then sprang into the air as Lin Jiayi gaped in shock. In the blink of an eye, he landed on the arena.
He opened with a roar of laughter!
"Heh-heh-ha-ha-ha!!! Your will is as sharp as a sword, you know that!?"
Blue Soul Power coursed through both Xu Qing's hands as a pea-sized lump of Mystic Ice Marrow rapidly took shape.
After spending the entire night studying the method of condensing Mystic Ice Marrow with Xiao Meng, he'd grasped its essence and figured out how to make it purer!
The answer was compression—extreme compression! He had to force out all the unruly worldly energy that had seeped in and scattered through it!
What remained was Ice Marrow with a purity of 99.99%!!
The Great Dao was simple! The ancients hadn't lied to me!
This level of purity was enough to kill an ordinary ice-attribute Soul Master if they ate it!
Only Xu Qing could withstand the Soul Power reaction after swallowing it.
One bite! This is going to get crazy!!
Whoosh—!!
One lump of Ice Marrow swallowed, and my fate was mine to command, not Heaven's.
His Soul Power Level shot up!
Level 45! Level 46! Level 47! Level 48!!
Even an Ultimate Attribute Soul Master could gain four Soul Power levels from it!
How terrifying was that!
At that moment, Ji Juechen's eyes, which had seemed half-closed, snapped open.
He'd thought this would be a mere formality, but now he could feel the surge in Soul Power and its purity, far beyond his own.
Even his usually expressionless face couldn't hold up.
"What an incredibly potent potion!!"
Ji Juechen actually thought it was just a potion? And he looked tempted, too?
"Junior, could I get your Soul Guidance Network contact?"
Boom, boom, boom, boom!!
Four absurdly powerful Soul Rings appeared in an instant!
Purple, purple, black, black!!
Boom!
Xu Qing's golden Willpower, solid as a physical object, erupted again, and a gale immediately swept through the grounds!
He chuckled and said:
"Looks like Hall Master Jing didn't explain the situation to you. Your stance is full of openings, and your attitude is downright dismissive."
"You don't seem to consider me an opponent at all!?"
As soon as he finished speaking, six Soul Rings appeared around Ji Juechen!
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black!!
A perfect Soul Ring Configuration!
But none of that was even worth mentioning in front of Xu Qing.
"Whoosh..."
The Silver Self Martial Soul possessed him in one ten-thousandth of a second. Then his fist shot out like a dragon!!
"Roar—!!"
"A dragon!!!?"
Ji Juechen's pupils contracted sharply!
No, no, no, no!! Where had that dragon come from!?
He dodged and weaved around the arena, but the Golden Dragon Soul Beast that had suddenly appeared clamped down on him, keeping him from getting anywhere near Xu Qing!
"Heh-heh-ha-ha-ha!"
"So this is what it feels like to conjure a Soul Beast phantom!? All that careful drawing was worth it! This is incredible!"
Xu Qing laughed uproariously, then stamped forward hard with one foot. Boom!
The metal floor cracked again!
He held his left palm upright before his chest, while his right hand formed a fist and rose high above his head.
Just striking this pose consumed Xu Qing's Soul Power at an astonishing rate, every moment devouring a tremendous amount!!
He was imitating the sages of old, but he couldn't grasp their true intent. All he could do was copy the pose and add a little force.
Before you continue