We're all Soul Sages, why am I the only one getting beaten?

Xiao Wu tugged at Tang San's sleeve, her eyes full of excitement.

"Brother San, who do you think will win?"

Tang San looked at the two figures facing each other across the street, his brows knitting slightly.

"Their soul ring configurations are the same, and they're both seven-ring Soul Sages..."

Tang San pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

"Hard to say."

Xiao Wu tilted her head and looked at him.

"But I'm hoping the teacher on the other side wins more."

Tang San paused, the corners of his mouth curving slightly.

"Why?"

"Because we're going to join that academy,"

Tang San glanced at the shabby Shrek Academy on the left.

"If he wins, we can share in the glory too."

Xiao Wu thought about it and felt it made sense, her eyes curving into crescents.

"True. That academy eliminated you, Brother San. They're definitely going to regret it so much."

When she said this, her tone carried a sense of complete certainty. She did not think Tang San's elimination was Tang San's own problem at all. Rank twenty-nine, Blue Silver Grass martial soul—being able to cultivate to this level at his age, there probably wasn't a second person like him on the entire continent.

If he was eliminated, it could only mean that academy was blind.

"Right, Brother San, why exactly were you eliminated? I passed, so how could you possibly not pass?"

Xiao Wu leaned closer and lowered her voice.

Tang San's expression darkened slightly. He did not want to answer this question.

"That academy was just operating behind the scenes."

Tang San said this indifferently, then changed the subject.

"Look, they're about to make a move."

Xiao Wu glanced at him and tactfully did not ask any further.

Their gazes fell back across the street.

By now, quite a few people had already gathered around.

The parents who had finished registering, the examinees who had been eliminated, and passersby all craned their necks to look over, their expressions both tense and excited.

Two Soul Sages fighting in the middle of the street—this was a scene one might not get to see even once in a lifetime.

"They're really fighting..."

"That big guy looks so fierce. Can that pretty boy on the other side handle him?"

"They're both seven-ring, so there should be a fight, right? But that big guy's martial soul is obviously power-type. He definitely has the advantage in close combat..."

Discussions rose and fell one after another, but everyone's eyes were fixed firmly on Zhao Wuji and Wu Zhangkong.

Zhao Wuji wasted no more words.

He took one step forward, and the bluestone ground beneath his feet shattered outright. His right arm lifted, and that enormous bear paw was covered in a dense layer of golden light, its five fingers like five iron pillars.

"Second soul skill, Vajra Palm!"

Zhao Wuji let out a low roar and thrust his right palm forward fiercely.

A golden palm print blasted out from Zhao Wuji's palm, carrying a force that could sweep away everything in its path as it rushed straight for Wu Zhangkong's face.

Wu Zhangkong looked at the golden palm print without the slightest ripple in his eyes. He raised his right hand.

A clear, resonant sword cry suddenly rang out. A long sword entirely of icy blue appeared in Wu Zhangkong's hand. With a flick of his wrist, the Sky Frost Sword traced a graceful arc through the air.

"First soul skill, Frost Trace."

Countless streaks of icy-blue sword energy burst from the Sky Frost Sword, densely packed, weaving together like a spiderweb.

Each strand of sword energy was as fine as silk, yet incomparably sharp, forming layer upon layer of sword nets in the air.

The golden palm print of Vajra Palm crashed into that sword net.

"Hiss—"

There was no explosion, no tremendous boom.

The golden palm print seemed to have slammed into a razor-sharp net. Cut apart by tens of thousands of streaks of sword energy, it instantly shattered into countless golden motes of light and dispersed into the air.

Zhao Wuji's pupils abruptly contracted.

Before he could react, those icy-blue sword threads were already descending over him like a storm blotting out the sky, each one carrying a bone-piercing chill.

Zhao Wuji did not dare get careless and immediately released a defensive soul skill.

"First soul skill, Immovable Wisdom King Body!"

Golden light erupted, and a dense golden barrier suddenly lit up around Zhao Wuji's body.

The golden radiance knocked away some of the ice-blue sword threads, but quite a few still pierced through the barrier, leaving fine wounds across Zhao Wuji's body.

Zhao Wuji lowered his head and glanced at his arm. Several white cuts had appeared there, beads of blood seeping out beneath them.

They were not deep, but they hurt.

From the wounds sliced open by the sword threads came waves of bone-piercing cold. That chill bored into his body through the cuts, making even his movements turn somewhat sluggish.

"This guy..."

Zhao Wuji gritted his teeth, a trace of wariness flashing through his eyes.

They were both seven-ring Soul Sages, but the other party's strength... seemed far greater than he had expected.

Zhao Wuji took a deep breath and held nothing back.

"Third soul skill, Gravity Enhancement!"

The purple soul ring beneath his feet flared fiercely, and an invisible force spread outward with him at its center.

Wu Zhangkong's body suddenly sank.

That force was like an invisible giant hand pressing his body downward. His feet seemed to have sunk into a mire, and every step he lifted took several times more strength than usual.

"Got him!"

Zhao Wuji's heart leaped with joy, and he charged toward Wu Zhangkong in great strides.

His plan was simple: first use Gravity Enhancement to restrict his opponent's speed, then close in and finish the battle with Vajra Palm.

Zhao Wuji rushed up in front of Wu Zhangkong, raised his bear paw, and struck down with a palm.

But at the very instant the bear paw was about to fall, Wu Zhangkong moved.

His body merely paused for a fraction, and then, as if he had shed that gravity, his figure suddenly became light and agile.

The Sky Frost Sword turned in his hand, and an ice-blue sword light traced a graceful arc, parrying Zhao Wuji's bear paw aside.

Zhao Wuji only felt a tremendous force come from the sword, jolting his entire body back several steps.

He steadied himself and stared wide-eyed at Wu Zhangkong.

Wu Zhangkong had already pulled away, keeping a distance of thirty feet between himself and Zhao Wuji.

He raised the Sky Frost Sword above his head, and his third soul ring lit up.

"Third soul skill, Sky Frost Slash."

Wu Zhangkong made an empty slash through the air, and the Sky Frost Sword cleaved down from above.

An ice-blue sword beam more than ten meters long shot from the tip of the sword, carrying an incomparably sharp edge as it flew straight toward Zhao Wuji.

Wherever that sword beam passed, the water vapor in the air instantly condensed into ice crystals that drifted down in a flurry.

A deep trench was plowed into the ground. Broken stones and dust were swept up by the sword beam's shockwave and scattered to either side.

Zhao Wuji's expression changed.

"Immovable Wisdom King Body! Activate!"

Zhao Wuji roared, and the golden light around his body surged. The golden barrier grew even thicker, almost turning solid.

At the same time, he crossed his arms in front of him to guard his body, curling his whole frame into a ball.

"Boom—!"

The ice-blue sword beam slashed viciously into Zhao Wuji's body, and a terrifying shockwave spread in every direction, sending shattered rocks and dust flying everywhere.

The parents watching from the side were pushed back several steps by the blast. A few who could not keep their footing landed straight on their backsides.

Zhao Wuji's feet sank deep into the ground, and his entire body was pushed seven or eight meters back by that sword beam, leaving two deep grooves in the earth.

Zhao Wuji panted heavily. A deep sword mark had been left across both arms, and blood dripped down along them. His face was somewhat pale, but the ferocity in his eyes burned even brighter.

"Fifth soul skill, Gravity Squeeze!"

Zhao Wuji gave Wu Zhangkong no chance to catch his breath. His fifth soul ring flared fiercely.

Wu Zhangkong's body suddenly stiffened.

This time, it was not pressure from above, but a squeezing force coming from every direction at once. Under the pull of that power, Wu Zhangkong's body uncontrollably rushed toward Zhao Wuji.

The corners of Zhao Wuji's mouth split into a cruel curve.

"Get over here!"

He raised his right palm, golden light gathering in the center of it, ready to deliver a fatal blow the instant Wu Zhangkong came close.

But the moment Wu Zhangkong was pulled over, a sharp gleam flashed through his eyes.

He did not resist that pulling force.

On the contrary, he used that power to accelerate, his figure speeding up as the Sky Frost Sword stabbed straight forward.

At the sword tip, a point of dazzling ice-blue light gathered.

Using the opponent's force against him.

Zhao Wuji's pupils contracted sharply. It was already too late to pull back his move.

"Hiss—"

The tip of the Sky Frost Sword pierced Zhao Wuji's chest.

A sheet of white frost spread rapidly from the sword tip, covering Zhao Wuji's entire chest at a speed visible to the naked eye, then spreading to his shoulders, his arms...

Zhao Wuji felt as if even his blood was about to freeze solid.

His body began to stiffen, his movements growing slower and slower, and the circulation of his soul power also turned sluggish.

"Not good!"

Zhao Wuji gritted his teeth and desperately drove his soul power, trying to break free, but that chill was far too intense. It was like an invisible chain, locking him firmly in place.

Wu Zhangkong withdrew his sword and took two steps back.

He looked at the layer of white frost covering Zhao Wuji and shook his head slightly.

"Fourth soul skill, Frost Ice Whisper."

The fourth soul ring lit up.

The Sky Frost Sword abruptly enlarged, its ice-blue blade swelling more than tenfold, turning into a huge blue ice sword that hovered in midair.

That giant sword was formed entirely from condensed ice, complex patterns flowing across its blade as it radiated a biting chill.

Zhao Wuji lifted his head and looked at the giant sword hanging above him, his pupils contracting violently.

"Wa—"

Before he could finish a single word, the giant sword came crashing down.

Boom—!!!

With a dull, thunderous impact, a crater several meters wide was smashed into the bluestone ground. Broken stones flew in all directions, and dust billowed everywhere.

Zhao Wuji's entire body was slapped into the pit, lying flat on his back. Layer after layer of white frost had formed over him, making him look as if he had been frozen inside an ice cellar.

He struggled twice, but failed to get up.

Zhao Wuji, the Motionless Bright King, a seven-ring Soul Sage, had lost.

Everyone's eyes went wide as they stared at the tower-like burly man lying on the ground.

"This... this is over already?"

"My god, that blue-haired guy is way too strong, isn't he?"

"They're both seven-ring. How is the gap this huge?"

Tang San stood across the street, the expression on his face frozen.

He had originally thought well of Zhao Wuji. Since this teacher from Shrek Academy was so fierce, Tang San had assumed he must possess considerable strength.

But the result?

From beginning to end, Zhao Wuji had only been taking a beating.