Pressure from a 5th-Tier Soul Master?

The moment Ye Fan and Ye Guyi finished their match, they saw the bruised and swollen Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen already waiting at the edge of the arena.

The two of them walked straight over.

Ye Fan was the first to speak, asking Xiao Hongchen, "Well? Did you lose or win?"

At that, Xiao Hongchen said with an unnatural look, "Are we still good brothers or not?"

"Can you not rip open my wounds the second we meet?"

Ye Fan was speechless. He turned away from him and looked at Meng Hongchen instead.

Seeing this, Meng Hongchen took it rather calmly. "We lost, and we lost thoroughly."

Hearing that, Ye Fan and Ye Guyi were both very curious. Were Ma Rulong and Chen Fei actually that powerful?

Ye Fan continued asking, "Sister Mengmeng, tell us in detail how you lost."

Meng Hongchen thought for a moment, then replied, "You should both know what Chen Fei is like."

"We mainly lost to Ma Rulong."

Hearing this, Ye Fan was not surprised. After all, Ma Rulong had been the captain who participated in the Continental Soul Master Tournament in the original novel. How could he possibly be lacking real skill?

But Ye Fan was still very curious about his abilities.

So he pressed on. "Sister Mengmeng, tell me more about Ma Rulong's abilities."

Meng Hongchen said, "First, Ma Rulong has already reached the Soul Ancestor realm."

"Second, his soul tool mastery has already surpassed Class 3 and reached Class 4, perhaps even close to Class 5."

Hearing this, Ye Fan and Ye Guyi exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other's eyes.

They could still accept Ma Rulong being at the Soul Ancestor realm, but the other party actually had the level of a Class 4 soul engineer, or even a Class 5 soul engineer.

That was terrifying.

One had to know that although Class 3 soul tools and Class 4 soul tools seemed only one class apart, the difference between them was like heaven and earth.

It was very difficult for an ordinary Class 3 soul engineer to break through the defenses of a Class 4 soul engineer.

From this, it seemed Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen had not lost unfairly.

"As expected of a genius who entered Mingde Hall ahead of time."

Ye Fan sighed with emotion.

Hearing that, Xiao Hongchen said with a displeased look, "He's just a few years older than me."

"When I'm his age, I definitely won't be inferior to him."

Ye Fan did not disagree with that. After all, if one truly compared talent, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were not inferior to Ma Rulong.

Ye Fan continued, "Sister Mengmeng, is there anything else to watch out for?"

Meng Hongchen thought for a moment, then said hesitantly, "There's also his martial soul. It's very powerful."

Just those few words were firmly etched into Ye Fan's mind.

Half an hour quickly passed.

Ye Fan and Ye Guyi used that time to recover part of their soul power, barely enough for one fight against Ma Rulong and Chen Fei.

But if they wanted to fight a war of attrition like in the previous four-to-two match, that was clearly unrealistic.

So before the battle, Ye Fan said to Ye Guyi, "Sister, later I'll handle Ma Rulong. You take care of Chen Fei."

Hearing that, Ye Guyi said, "Little brother, are you sure you can hold off Ma Rulong?"

Ye Fan said, "I'll do my best."

Ye Guyi was speechless, but there was nothing she could do.

Following Lin Jiayi's command, the Year Three Class One monthly championship match officially began.

Ye Fan and Ye Guyi's team, as well as Ma Rulong and Chen Fei's team, entered the arena in turn.

The moment the two sides met, Chen Fei provoked Ye Fan. "Brat, your good brother Xiao Hongchen has already been beaten down by us. If you admit defeat now, this young master is in a good mood and can spare you a brutal beating."

Beside him, Ma Rulong frowned slightly, but did not stop him. Instead, his burning gaze turned toward Ye Guyi.

Ye Fan immediately felt displeased at the sight. "A big guy like you thinks you can chase my sister?"

Ye Fan took a step forward and shot back at Chen Fei, "No point wasting words. Whether you're a mule or a horse, we'll find out in the arena."

Afterward, Ye Fan took Ye Guyi's hand and walked to one side of the competition field under Ma Rulong's somewhat furious gaze.

When Ma Rulong saw Ye Fan holding Ye Guyi's hand, he was clearly slightly angered as well.

He glared viciously at Ye Fan, then led Chen Fei toward the other side of the field.

At the same time, he did not forget to say to Chen Fei, "Chen Fei, leave that brat to me later. You're responsible for holding back Ye Guyi. Remember, don't hurt her."

Hearing this, Chen Fei looked back thoughtfully at Ye Fan and Ye Guyi. "Boss, you've taken a liking to Ye Guyi?"

Ma Rulong said in a deep voice, "Don't ask what you shouldn't ask."

Chen Fei hurriedly bowed his head. "Yes, yes, yes."

Ye Fan and Ye Guyi took their positions.

Ma Rulong and Chen Fei took their positions.

Both sides announced their information.

Chen Fei was the first to report with a confident look. "Chen Fei, martial soul: Lightning Bird, Rank 38 Soul Elder."

Then Ma Rulong reported in a rather steady manner, "Ma Rulong, martial soul: Big-Headed Spirit Ape, Rank 44 Soul Ancestor."

After Ma Rulong finished reporting his own information, he did not forget to strike a rather deep pose toward Ye Guyi.

In Ye Fan's eyes, it was truly comical.

Ye Guyi, however, turned a blind eye to it. There was no other reason; her heart held only becoming stronger and her younger brother.

After Ma Rulong's group finished announcing their information.

It was Ye Fan and Ye Guyi's turn to introduce themselves.

Ye Fan reported with great helplessness, "Ye Fan, martial soul: Death Angel, Rank 26 Great Soul Master."

Ye Guyi followed right after him. "Ye Guyi, martial soul: Holy Angel, Rank 36 Soul Elder."

As her voice fell, all four of them simultaneously activated their soul power and released their martial souls.

Blue light exploded around Chen Fei as the Lightning Bird martial soul possessed him. Fine arcs of electricity crackled and snapped, and a pressure of extreme, ferocious speed rushed toward them.

Ma Rulong's body swelled slightly as the Big-Headed Spirit Ape martial soul emerged. Thick, violent soul power pressed down heavily, condensed and weighty, far surpassing an ordinary Soul Ancestor.

Ye Fan's heart tightened. Another combination of speed and firepower. What a pain.

He silently activated his soul power, and pitch-black bone wings spread open behind him. A biting, deathly pressure quietly permeated the air.

Ye Guyi followed immediately after. Pure-white Holy Angel wings unfurled, holy light flowing with sacred radiance, forming the starkest contrast with Ye Fan's deathly aura.

After their martial souls were fully released, both sides released their soul tools.

Ye Fan and Ye Guyi's side was very simple.

Both of them were close-combat soul engineers. They only activated Rank 3 invincible barriers and held Rank 3 close-combat soul tools in their hands.

By contrast, Ma Rulong's side was covered in long guns and short cannons.

One look was enough to tell they had abundant firepower.

Ye Fan and Ye Guyi were not surprised by this.

Instead, when Ye Fan saw a soul tool barrier light up around Ma Rulong—

Ye Fan and Ye Guyi exchanged a glance, and both could tell it was not as simple as a Rank 3 invincible barrier.

Ye Guyi reminded Ye Fan with a grave expression, "Xiao Fan, this is troublesome. That Ma Rulong really has already reached Rank 4 soul engineer, and he might even be a Rank 5 soul engineer."

Hearing that, Ye Fan also frowned slightly.

How could he not know what Ye Guyi had said?

If the other side really had reached Rank 4 soul engineer, or even Rank 5 soul engineer, his ordinary attacks might not even be able to break through Ma Rulong's defense.

But he still had the ten-thousand-year Wind Demon Wolf King and his secret weapon.

He still wanted to give it a try.

So Ye Fan said solemnly to Ye Guyi, "Sister, I want to try."

"Okay. I'll go with you."