Defeating an Enemy with a Single Spear Strike

It was neither a retreat nor an evasion. He charged straight into the blade light.

Dragon claws stretched before him, his body leaning slightly forward like a ferocious beast pouncing on its prey.

"Has he gone crazy?!" someone cried out.

But in the next instant, everyone's eyes widened.

Zhong Shenxiu's dragon claws traced two pale golden arcs through the air, striking precisely at the weak points of the two blade lights. The Light Dragon Dagger's blade light was shattered, while the Dark Dragon Dagger's blade light was diverted.

Zhong Shenxiu had already passed through the blockade of blade light and arrived before Xie Xie.

Less than a meter separated them.

Xie Xie's pupils contracted sharply. He had never expected Zhong Shenxiu to break through the crossing attack of his twin daggers so easily.

What made his heart tremble even more was the almost cruel calm burning within those molten-gold vertical pupils so close to him.

Zhong Shenxiu clenched his right hand into a fist. He used no soul skill, only the simplest straight punch.

Yet this punch was fast, precise, and ruthless. Carrying the sharpness of dragon claws and the strength of a dragon, it shot directly toward Xie Xie's chest.

Xie Xie hastily crossed his twin daggers to block.

"Boom!"

The fist smashed into the twin daggers, erupting with blinding light and deafening thunder.

Xie Xie flew backward like a kite with its string cut, tumbling several times through the air before barely landing. He staggered back more than a dozen steps, his chest heaving violently and his face pale.

Zhong Shenxiu remained where he was, withdrawing his fist. Only a few faint white marks were left on his dragon claws.

The entire field fell silent.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Xie Xie, an eighteenth-level Twin Martial Souls genius, had actually been blasted away by a single punch in a head-on clash?

"Th-that strength is way too ridiculous, isn't it?" someone muttered.

A sharp glimmer flashed in Tang Wulin's eyes.

As someone who possessed similarly terrifying physical strength, he could see the power of Zhong Shenxiu's punch—pure bodily strength, without any soul skill enhancement, yet comparable to the full-force strike of a Soul Master at the same level.

A trace of surprise also flashed through Gu Yue's eyes. She could sense that the strength Zhong Shenxiu had erupted with in that instant had already surpassed the scope of an ordinary seventeenth-level Soul Master, even nearing the level of a two-ring Soul Grandmaster.

Wu Zhangkong stood at the edge of the field, expressionless, though a faint trace of approval flickered in his eyes.

Xie Xie steadied himself and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his gaze becoming more solemn than ever.

He understood now. Zhong Shenxiu was not an opponent he could crush through rank alone.

Beneath those Light Gold Vertical Pupils lay combat experience far beyond that of his peers, along with terrifying physical qualities.

But Xie Xie would not admit defeat.

He was a genius, a proud Agility Attack System Soul Master. How could he lose so easily?

"First Soul Skill, Twin Dragon Blade!" Xie Xie shouted in a low voice as his first soul ring flared brightly.

The Light Dragon Dagger and Dark Dragon Dagger erupted with dazzling radiance at the same time. Two solid blade lights shot skyward, one blazing white like sunlight, the other pitch-black like the dead of night.

The two blade lights intertwined in the air, transforming into a dragon-shaped phantom woven from light and darkness as it roared toward Zhong Shenxiu.

This was Xie Xie's strongest strike, bringing the characteristics of his Twin Martial Souls to their utmost limit. Light and darkness reinforced each other, multiplying its power.

Facing this attack, Zhong Shenxiu finally became serious.

He raised his right hand, his five fingers loosely curled.

The light around him instantly surged wildly toward his palm, condensing into a dragon-shaped spear formed entirely from highly compressed blazing-white light, its surface flowing with pale golden patterns.

Sky Light Dragon Spear!

The spear shaft hummed, radiating a sharp aura that could destroy evil and sever all things.

Zhong Shenxiu did not throw the spear. Instead, he gripped it in both hands, leaned his body slightly back, and then—

He thrust forward!

Simple and direct, without the slightest flourish.

But the instant that spear shot out, everyone felt their vision blur.

It was as though it was not a spear, but a ray of light tearing apart heaven and earth.

The blazing-white spear light collided in midair with the dragon-shaped phantom woven from light and darkness.

"Boom—!!!"

A deafening explosion rang out, and the blinding flash made everyone instinctively close their eyes.

A shockwave swept outward from the point of collision, making the clothes of the surrounding spectators snap in the wind.

As the light faded, everyone hurriedly opened their eyes.

Zhong Shenxiu was still standing where he had been. The Sky Light Dragon Spear in his hand had already vanished, but he was completely uninjured, and even his breathing had not been disrupted.

Xie Xie, meanwhile, was half-kneeling twenty meters away, both hands braced against the ground as he gasped for breath. The Light Dragon Dagger and Dark Dragon Dagger had already been withdrawn. His face was as white as paper, clearly having expended a tremendous amount of Soul Power.

More importantly, there was a tear in the uniform over his chest, and a shallow bloody mark on his skin.

It had been caused by the aftershock of the Sky Light Dragon Spear.

If Zhong Shenxiu had not held back, that thrust would have been enough to pierce his chest.

The victor had been decided.

The entire field was deathly silent.

Xie Xie, an eighteenth-level wielder of Twin Martial Souls, had lost.

He had lost to a seventeenth-level opponent who had used only one soul skill.

Zhong Shenxiu slowly withdrew his Martial Soul Possession. His dragon scales and claws receded, returning him to the appearance of an ordinary human. Yet those Light Gold Vertical Pupils remained cold, as if the battle just now had been nothing more than a trivial matter.

Zhong Shenxiu's gaze was icy as he merely said, "Too weak."

His voice was not loud, yet it was as clear as an icicle piercing the air, allowing everyone present to hear it distinctly.

There was no mockery in those two words. They sounded more like a simple statement—a statement of an utterly obvious fact.

Then he turned and walked toward the edge of the field, leaving Xie Xie half-kneeling where he was as his face changed from pale to flushed red.

Too weak.

Those two words were like an invisible slap, viciously striking Xie Xie across the face.

They were even harder for him to accept than the aftershock of that spear strike.

Who was he?

He was the most gifted descendant of his generation in the Xie family, the owner of Twin Martial Souls, with eighteenth-level Soul Power and scarcely any rivals among his peers.

Since childhood, all he had heard were praises and exclamations of admiration. When had anyone ever judged him with such disdain?

What was more, the person saying it was one level lower than him.

"You...!"

Xie Xie suddenly lifted his head, fury and humiliation blazing in his dark green eyes. He wanted to refute him, to demand an explanation, but the pain in his chest and his still-unsettled Soul Power made it difficult even to stand.

Yet Zhong Shenxiu had already reached the edge of the field. He found a place to sit, closed his eyes, and began regulating his breathing. His calm, detached manner made it seem as though he had merely swatted away a fly and found it not worth caring about.

The entire field was deathly silent.

The students looked at one another, their eyes full of shock and complicated emotions.

They all knew Xie Xie's strength. He was absolutely among the best in the class.

But now, he had not only lost—his opponent had completely dismissed him with the words "too weak."

"That was... way too hurtful, wasn't it?" a girl whispered.

"But he was telling the truth."

Another boy retorted quietly, "Xie Xie went all out, while Zhong Shenxiu used only one move. The gap really is enormous."

Tang Wulin and Gu Yue exchanged a glance, both seeing solemnity in the other's eyes.

Zhong Shenxiu's strength far exceeded their expectations. More importantly, the calmness and ruthlessness he displayed in battle did not resemble those of a nine-year-old child at all.

"His combat experience is extensive."

Gu Yue spoke softly. "Every movement is frighteningly precise, as though... as though he has gone through countless real battles."

Tang Wulin nodded.

Wu Zhangkong walked into the field, his gaze sweeping over Xie Xie and Zhong Shenxiu.

"Xie Xie, you lost."

Wu Zhangkong's voice was as cold as ever. "You lost because your tactics were too simplistic, because you underestimated your opponent, and above all because your understanding of strength was insufficient."

Xie Xie clenched his teeth and lowered his head without speaking. He knew Wu Zhangkong was right, but that sense of humiliation was still difficult for him to accept.