One against two!
A new student dared to challenge two senior students single-handedly—and one of them was Long Chen, one of the strongest young talents at Sun Moon Imperial Soul Master Academy.
"Teacher Zhang, are you sure?" Dong Lintian asked, frowning slightly, a hint of disdain appearing in his eyes.
Long Chen was much calmer. He merely gazed at Shen Nanxun from a distance.
After Zhang Hanlin confirmed it, a fight between the two sides was unavoidable.
"Brother Long, leave him to me. This arrogant brat is nothing. I can handle him all by myself!"
Dong Lintian gave a cold shout. The Green-Faced Wolf Martial Soul possessed him once more, and he charged out in a flash. Moving at incredible speed, he slashed the air with both claws, sending several green blades of wind tearing straight toward Shen Nanxun's face.
One of the students watching sucked in a sharp breath. The Green-Faced Wolf Martial Soul excelled at speed and explosive power, and that strike had enough force to shatter metal and split stone. During the previous year's practical assessment, Dong Lintian had once eliminated a new student with a single claw strike, without even using a Soul Skill.
Shen Nanxun stayed where he was and simply raised a hand. An Angel Sword, its entire length wreathed in golden flames, appeared in an instant.
He turned the blade slightly and swung it straight into the green blades of wind, neither dodging nor retreating. The moment they touched the Sun True Fire, the blades of wind vaporized.
Dong Lintian's pupils contracted. He tried to retreat, but Shen Nanxun's sword was already sweeping diagonally toward him. Wreathed in Sun True Fire, the strike carried tremendous force and devastating power.
"That kind of attack power?!"
Dong Lintian was forced backward. His previously unstoppable momentum was completely suppressed. One sword strike was all it took to reveal the difference between them.
At least in terms of attack power, he was nowhere near his opponent.
"I'll handle this." Long Chen stepped forward, and the phantom of the Radiant Sacred Dragon unfurled behind him. Golden dragon wings blotted out the sky, and its dragon might crushed the entire arena like a tangible force. Some of the watching students with weaker Martial Soul cultivation couldn't help taking half a step back.
Long Chen's Martial Soul was the Radiant Sacred Dragon, a beneficial mutation of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul. It had descended from the Radiant Dragon King, the strongest of the Nine Great Dragon Kings.
Throughout history, a Soul Master with this Martial Soul had even become one of the Shrek Seven Devils and the Sea God Pavilion Master. That was enough to show just how outstanding the Martial Soul was. Long Chen could easily have gone to Shrek Academy, but Sun Moon Imperial Soul Master Academy had kept him by offering his family enormous benefits, grooming him as a core member of the next generation.
"Wow, Brother Chen's joining the fight!"
Weng Daimin had become his number-one fan. Her eyes sparkled as she gazed at Long Chen on the stage, completely lovestruck.
If Long Chen was a celebrity idol, then Weng Daimin was clearly his biggest fan—the president of his fan club.
"She's hopeless." Xue Liushuang rubbed her forehead helplessly. She really didn't know what to do with her best friend.
"Hehe." Weng Daimin giggled and leaned closer to whisper, "Let's bet on how many moves my Brother Chen needs to end the match. I say three."
"I bet he'll lose."
Xue Liushuang turned her head away, deliberately choosing an answer she thought impossible just to get back at her lovestruck friend.
"How could that happen? I'm telling you... Holy crap!"
Weng Daimin's pupils contracted. Her face filled with shock, as if she'd seen a ghost.
Xue Liushuang followed her gaze and froze, too.
Long Chen, who had been so imposing just moments ago, had somehow landed outside the arena. He was in a thoroughly miserable state, drenched like a drowned rat.
It really had happened in three moves.
Shen Nanxun had defeated Long Chen in a single move.
Absolute bloodline suppression was no joke. Defeating Long Chen was actually much easier than defeating Dong Lintian.
Shen Nanxun withdrew his dragon claw and raised an eyebrow at Dong Lintian, who stood nearby with his mouth hanging open.
"Hey, you're next!"
Dong Lintian stood frozen, his throat bobbing involuntarily. His Green-Faced Wolf Martial Soul still shimmered around him, but its green Soul Power glow had begun to waver.
He knew Long Chen's strength better than anyone. Long Chen possessed the Radiant Sacred Dragon Martial Soul and was a core student whom Sun Moon Imperial Soul Master Academy had prioritized for training. Among their peers, the number of people who could withstand three moves from Long Chen could be counted on one hand. And this new student had knocked him out of the arena with a single move.
"What, too scared to come at me now?" Shen Nanxun tilted his head, the faintest hint of a smile playing on his lips. "Didn't you say you could take me on all by yourself?"
Dong Lintian's face flushed bright red. Talented young people his age all had their pride, and how could he back down after such a provocation? He clenched his teeth, and the Green-Faced Wolf Martial Soul blazed with dazzling light once more as he charged forward again.
This time, he pushed his speed to the limit and held nothing back. He knew full well he couldn't win in a head-on clash. His only hope was to exploit his speed and find an opening before the fight was over.
Shen Nanxun didn't meet his attack head-on. Instead, he sidestepped it. Dong Lintian was delighted, and his left claw immediately followed up with a tricky horizontal swipe toward Shen Nanxun's side. Shen Nanxun stepped back half a pace and narrowly dodged that, too.
A third claw strike, a fourth, a fifth...
Dong Lintian's attacks came like a violent storm, green claw-shadows converging on Shen Nanxun from every direction. Yet each one missed by a hair. He couldn't even brush the hem of Shen Nanxun's clothes.
Some of the students watching from the sidelines were already frowning. This wasn't an evenly matched struggle. It was a cat toying with a mouse.
"He's stringing him along," Xue Liushuang murmured.
Weng Daimin opened her mouth to argue, but couldn't get a single word out.
Dong Lintian had obviously realized it, too. He abruptly pulled back his claws and retreated, his chest heaving as he glared at Shen Nanxun, humiliation and fury in his eyes. "You were playing me?"
Shen Nanxun didn't deny it. He raised his hand, and the Angel Sword reappeared in his palm. The Sun True Fire burning along its blade flared even brighter.
He swung once. Dong Lintian hurriedly raised his claws to block. The scorching sword edge crashed against them, sending sparks flying. The force knocked him back five or six steps, and before he could steady himself, Shen Nanxun's sword was on him again.
Another strike, with just enough force to knock him back without sending him out of the arena.
Each strike was controlled to perfection, leaving him flustered and scrambling but never giving him the chance to fall.
"You son of a—!" Dong Lintian's face was beet red. He finally lost his temper completely. Forgetting all about offense and defense, he lunged at Shen Nanxun with both claws, willing to take a sword strike if it meant leaving a wound on him.
This time, Shen Nanxun didn't dodge. He put away his sword, turned sideways, and drove a whip-like kick into Dong Lintian's side. Dong Lintian was sent flying horizontally, crashing onto the stone tiles at the edge of the Martial Arts Arena. He slid several meters before coming to a stop.
Dong Lintian lay facedown on the ground, covered in dust, his hair disheveled. The Green-Faced Wolf Martial Soul had already withdrawn into his body. All he could do was stare miserably at the young man nearby.
Shen Nanxun lowered his leg and brushed the dust from his trouser cuff. Looking down at Dong Lintian, he said calmly, "Just as you said, you're nothing special. With strength like that, all you can do is bring shame to your family."
He'd sent Dong Lintian's earlier taunt at Dong Yi'an right back at him, word for word.
Just as Dong Yi'an had managed to get to his feet in a sorry state, another silver-haired girl with an ahoge jumped onto the stage and pointed at him and Long Chen.
"I want to fight two people, too!"
Ahoge King was duty-bound to stand up for her underling!
"Again?" Dong Lintian's mouth twitched.
Long Chen still hadn't recovered from his bewilderment.
"Am I involved in this, too?"
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