Four Rings Defeat Soul Emperor?

The inner-court student who had initiated the provocation stopped in his tracks upon hearing Lin Yao's words. He turned back and glared at him. "I didn't want to lower myself to your level, but you're really pushing it, aren't you? So, you want to settle this like men?"

Lin Yao extended a hand with gentlemanly grace, gesturing directly toward the gates of Shrek Academy. "After you."

His movements were respectful, but the provocation in his eyes was barely concealed. The red-robed student standing beside the challenger frowned, tugging at his companion's sleeve. "Have you forgotten the teacher's instructions? Are you not afraid of causing trouble?!"

The inner-court student turned to his companion, looking utterly defiant. "Is this my fault? The guy on the other side basically called me a coward; how can I just swallow that? If I back down now, how am I supposed to show my face in this academy?"

Lin Yao simply pulled Ye Guyi along, bypassing the student's group. As he passed the challenger, he said calmly, "Reason doesn't require a loud voice. Stop howling like a banshee; it's unsightly."

The student was so enraged that he completely lost his composure. Pointing at the back of Lin Yao's head, he shouted, "I won't stop until I've beaten the crap out of you today!"

And so, before Lin Yao had even finished his enrollment procedures, he found himself entering the Shrek Academy Soul Fighting Arena alongside the inner-court student.

An inner-court student entering the outer-court arena was an absolute novelty, especially since he was still wearing his inner-court uniform. Seeing that flash of red in the outer court was like a thunderclap of explosive news.

In an instant, the outer-court Soul Fighting Arena was packed to capacity for the first time, reaching a staggering number of spectators. Almost everyone without a class showed up to watch, mostly out of curiosity to see who had the audacity to provoke a formal inner-court student of Shrek Academy.

When Lin Yao appeared on the arena stage, a question mark floated in the minds of every outer-court student: "Who is that?"

The host of the outer-court arena, having obtained Lin Yao's information through special campus channels, stepped forward to introduce them.

"Today's special soul fight is a situation unseen in Shrek Academy for a hundred years: a formal sparring match between an inner-court disciple and an outer-court disciple. The participants are the newcomer Lin Yao, who is about to join the outer court, and Wang Qingming, a newly promoted Soul Emperor who, due to his age, has lost his chance to participate in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament."

Lin Yao remained completely calm. He wasn't necessarily incapable of fighting a Soul Emperor. He had just obtained his fourth soul skill and was about to face the warm-up challenge of the first God Trial left behind by the God of Destruction. If he couldn't even handle a Soul Emperor, then talking about dealing with a mature ten-thousand-year soul beast would be nothing but empty talk.

If a warm-up God Trial was being saved for the fifth ring, he might as well go back to sleep.

Lin Yao stood opposite Wang Qingming, who had already begun to unleash his Soul Emperor pressure, attempting to win without a fight by forcing Lin Yao to his knees.

Lin Yao stared at Wang Qingming for a long moment before yawning and asking, "Tell me, did you not bother to look at my file? Or did the academy not even send it to you?"

As he spoke, Lin Yao took a step forward. One yellow, two purple, and one black soul ring began to rotate slowly beneath his feet, and the phantom of the Ancient Ender Dragon appeared before him.

The moment the phantom emerged, the dragon head—already transformed into that of an Ancient Ender Dragon—fixed its gaze on Wang Qingming. Wang Qingming's legs trembled for a split second, but relying on the combat experience he had honed over years in the inner court, he managed to stabilize his stance with his soul power.

Although the era of the third generation of soul masters had not yet arrived, the bloodline pressure of his martial soul was already beginning to take shape. Wang Qingming happened to possess a sub-dragon beast martial soul known as the Eagle Dragon.

This unique existence, with the head of an eagle and the body of a dragon, took several steps back the moment it saw the Ender Dragon's head, causing Wang Qingming's soul power to dip slightly.

Had this been the soul spirit era of the third generation, his soul rings would likely have crashed entirely. Even so, he barely managed to straighten his back, set his stance, and shouted at Lin Yao.

"It seems Lin Xueli isn't a total incompetent after all. In that case, let me test the mettle of Junior Brother Lin."

With that, Wang Qingming pushed off with his legs and threw a punch toward Lin Yao's chest.

Dragon scales instantly sprouted across Lin Yao's chest. He didn't even make any other move, receiving the punch with his dragon-transformed chest alone.

Over the years, he had been fed plenty of tonics like whale glue, and the Ender Dragon's soul power had been nourishing his body from time to time. By now, Lin Yao's physical body was no weaker than his soul power cultivation.

Lin Yao gripped Wang Qingming's wrist, pried his hand away with raw force, and said casually, "The power of your punch is not worth mentioning."

With that, Lin Yao swung his fist, landing a blow squarely on Wang Qingming's chest in a fierce retaliation.

Wang Qingming didn't dare to take the hit head-on with his chest; he raised his other hand to block. A crisp crack echoed out as blood sprayed from Wang Qingming's arm, and he was sent reeling backward.

Wang Qingming's fingers were now bent at an unnatural angle; Lin Yao's punch had shattered his arm.

"You've got some skill, then try this!" Wang Qingming roared, swinging his claws. A blue eagle claw manifested and flew toward Lin Yao.

This time, Wang Qingming aimed directly at Lin Yao's head, clearly having developed a flicker of fear toward his abilities.

Then, a scene that filled him with despair occurred. The black ten-thousand-year soul ring at Lin Yao's feet flashed, and purple, viscous soul power began to condense in his mouth.

As Lin Yao unleashed his fourth soul skill, Evil Flame Dragon Breath, the purple liquid dragon breath instantly engulfed the blue eagle claw.

The dragon breath didn't stop after consuming the claw; it surged straight toward Wang Qingming.

After a moment of stunned silence, Wang Qingming tried to dodge to the side, but Lin Yao tracked his movement, swinging his body so that the liquid dragon breath acted like a water cannon, changing direction with him.

A glob of dragon breath struck Wang Qingming, and the next moment, wisps of white smoke rose from his skin, accompanied by the smell of charred meat filling the arena.

Wang Qingming felt a violent, burning pain erupting across his body—first where the dragon breath had struck, then spreading everywhere. The breath seemed to possess the ability to pierce bone and devour the heart, causing Wang Qingming's entire body to tremble uncontrollably.