Lin Yuan clenched his dragon claw into a fist and punched toward Nan Qiuqiu.
Nan Qiuqiu was just as unyielding. She balled her small fist and swung it toward Lin Yuan.
Bang!
Their fist and claw collided, and Lin Yuan's eyes filled with surprise.
In terms of strength, he had a six-to-four advantage over Nan Qiuqiu.
Because her Martial Soul was the Rouge Dragon, Nan Qiuqiu's strength far surpassed that of an ordinary adult, even without a First Soul Ring.
Combined with the Rouge Dragon's suppression of his Destruction Demon Dragon bloodline, this was enough for her to contend with Lin Yuan in his Dragon Transformation state.
This proved that even after being enhanced once, Lin Yuan's dragon bloodline was still weak. It gave him a deeper understanding of his own Martial Soul.
"Grr—" Nan Qiuqiu clenched her teeth.
The two were locked in a contest of strength, and she was unquestionably at a disadvantage.
If they kept this up, Nan Qiuqiu was certain to lose.
But it wasn't going to be that easy.
As they gritted their teeth and struggled against each other, Nan Qiuqiu suddenly smiled.
A sharp pain immediately flared across Lin Yuan's fist.
"Heh, not bad. The little girl can already control her own attribute without even obtaining a Soul Ring." Cao Xin glanced at Nan Shuishui, who stood with her arms crossed and a confident smile.
Lin Yuan kicked at Nan Qiuqiu, but she did the same.
Their legs collided, and they used the force of the impact to leap apart.
Once he steadied himself, Lin Yuan saw an eroded wound on his Dragon-Transformed right arm, left behind by Annihilation.
"That bloodline gap really is something. I should be much stronger than you." Lin Yuan took up an offensive stance, ready to attack again.
"You're not bad yourself, if you can fight this well against me." Nan Qiuqiu gritted out.
In truth, Nan Qiuqiu felt terribly uncertain. At their level, using her attribute's power cost her far more than Lin Yuan's single layer of Will of the Dragon.
If Lin Yuan kept trading wounds with her at all costs, she was bound to lose.
When she looked up at Lin Yuan again, she saw him start to smile.
"That silly girl." Nan Shuishui immediately sensed trouble.
Nan Qiuqiu's expression had given everything away, and Lin Yuan had seen right through her.
They were both six-year-old children, but the difference in their composure was what would decide the winner.
Lin Yuan suddenly sprang into action and charged straight at Nan Qiuqiu.
He had a rough sense of Nan Qiuqiu's condition, and it wasn't much better than his own. Otherwise, she wouldn't have looked so troubled.
Recalling the techniques for generating force that he had learned over the past few days, Lin Yuan raised his dragon claw high and brought all his strength to bear as he attacked Nan Qiuqiu.
Facing the raised dragon claw, Nan Qiuqiu didn't dodge. Instead, she lifted both hands to meet it head-on.
She thought she had already figured out just how strong Lin Yuan was.
So she could withstand this strike, then turn the tide with her Annihilation Attribute.
"You're still too young," Cao Xin remarked calmly.
Bang!
Nan Qiuqiu's eyes flew wide open as Lin Yuan's claw drove her down onto one knee.
She clenched her teeth and struggled to hold on. She didn't even have a moment to speak, immediately pouring all her strength into activating her Annihilation Attribute.
As Lin Yuan took the full brunt of Nan Qiuqiu's attribute attack, he suddenly whipped out a roundhouse kick and sent her flying.
Nan Qiuqiu tumbled several times before coming to a stop, then struggled to push herself up from the ground.
"Urk!" She immediately threw up the lunch she'd eaten earlier.
"You should have been on your guard. We both tested each other with that move when we first clashed." Lin Yuan slowly lowered his leg. He had won the fight.
"Senior, let me make this clear beforehand." Nan Shuishui turned to Cao Xin.
"If this boy goes to our forbidden grounds, please be sure to keep it confidential."
"Of course." Cao Xin stroked his beard.
Lin Yuan walked over to Nan Qiuqiu and held out a hand to the little girl, who was kneeling and retching.
"Are you hurt? I really did hit you a bit hard just now. I'm sorry." Lin Yuan smiled at Nan Qiuqiu.
Nan Qiuqiu struggled to lift her head and look at Lin Yuan's handsome smile, its reflection bright with sunlight.
An indescribable feeling stirred in the girl's heart. She gently took Lin Yuan's hand...
Then, with lightning speed, she opened her mouth and bit down.
"Ahhhhh!"
Who said anger wasn't a powerful emotion?
Her fury at having her Soul Beast taken and the humiliation of defeat sent the girl's face flaming red.
Being capricious was a girl's privilege. This was the only underhanded way she could strike back at Lin Yuan.
"Ow, ow, ow! Let go! Let go!" Lin Yuan desperately pulled his hand from Nan Qiuqiu's mouth, only to find a swollen red bite mark left behind.
But Nan Qiuqiu still wouldn't let go. She stretched her neck after Lin Yuan, chasing him and trying to bite him again.
"Can you be reasonable? I already beat you, so stop clinging to me!" While Nan Qiuqiu was grabbing Lin Yuan and shouting at him, she lunged at him again.
Only then did Lin Yuan realize how stupid that had sounded. Why had he expected to reason with an angry girl, especially one who was still a child?
"Oh, Xiao Tian, you've finished absorbing your Soul Ring?" Cao Xin noticed Ning Tian beside him.
Ning Tian slowly nodded, her face dark as she watched Nan Qiuqiu and Lin Yuan play-fighting ahead.
"Ah, Ning Tian?" Lin Yuan noticed her too and turned to look toward the three of them.
Nan Qiuqiu seized the chance to kick Lin Yuan in the shin the same way as before, knocking him down.
"You two seem so close." Ning Tian looked darkly at the pair rolling around together on the ground.
"It's not..." Lin Yuan struggled to push away Nan Qiuqiu, who kept lunging at him to bite.
"Teacher, explain!"
"Your child has great potential. She has all the makings of a future Titled Douluo." Cao Xin ignored Lin Yuan and began chatting with Nan Shuishui.
"You flatter her, Senior. If this good-for-nothing child of mine had even half your disciple's composure, I could finally relax." Nan Shuishui cupped her hands toward Cao Xin in praise.
In her eyes, the biggest difference between Nan Qiuqiu and Lin Yuan was their composure.
If Nan Qiuqiu had been a little steadier, the outcome of their match might have gone either way.
Of course, that was assuming Lin Yuan didn't stack Will of the Dragon, use his Destruction Attribute, use his Second Martial Soul, or use swordsmanship.
If Lin Yuan had used his Destruction Attribute from the beginning, Nan Qiuqiu would have lost in the very first exchange.
In the end, Nan Qiuqiu only stopped after leaving another swollen bite mark on Lin Yuan's forearm.
She hadn't broken the skin, but it was still enough to leave Lin Yuan hurting for a while.
"I never imagined you were heirs of the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect. I truly failed to recognize you." Nan Shuishui cupped her hands again.
When Ning Tian tested her Soul Skill, Nan Shuishui had recognized the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda Martial Soul.
With a Titled Douluo guarding her, it wasn't hard to guess that Ning Tian was an heir of the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect.
"Not at all. I'm old now. I haven't walked the continent for fifty years. Plenty of people in this world probably think Amorous Douluo has kicked the bucket." Cao Xin spoke with a hint of self-mockery.
"Whatever do you mean, Senior? People of my father's generation still often speak of how there was once a Sword Saint like you on the continent. Even if you no longer travel the world, your reputation still rings out like thunder."