Forging Materials, Extraterrestrial Meteorite Iron!

"Heavenly treasures? Expensive ores?"

Starcrown Duke frowned slightly and pondered for a moment.

Heavenly treasures were rare wonders of the world, coveted by everyone. Naturally, he did not have any surplus stock. But if they were talking about rare ores...

With a flick of his wrist, an ancient soul tool flashed faintly, and four ores of different colors and unique auras appeared out of thin air, landing steadily on the ground.

"Ores are of little use to me, so I never collected many. Only these few can barely be considered treasures." He tapped them lightly with his fingertip and introduced them one by one.

"Crystal steel, clear throughout and harder than ordinary alloys; sinking silver, light as a feather yet indestructible; mithril, containing pure soul power fluctuations and an excellent material for forging soul tools; black steel, incomparably tough, dark and restrained in color, and also a fine forging material."

Perhaps feeling that the four ores were of slightly insufficient value, he took out another dark-golden iron ore from a small soul tool worn close to his body. Points of starlight flowed across it, as though an entire starry sky were hidden within.

"This is Starfall Iron, a miraculous metal that fell from beyond the heavens. It carries the power of the stars and has unusual effects. I'll wager these five ores against you in this match. How about it?"

Lin Ya swept his gaze over the five ores before him, and a flicker of delight passed through his eyes.

He had just acquired Divine Machine Hundred Refinements and was worrying over the lack of high-grade materials to test his skills on. Otherwise, he would not have agreed to Starcrown Duke's wager.

However, he still could not accurately judge the value of these ores.

Lin Ya instinctively looked toward Prince Xue Xing, but Xue Xing was equally bewildered at the moment.

He was a dignified prince of Heaven Dou—how could he possibly know the value of these lousy stones?

Seeing this, Zhi Lin, the Soul Douluo beside them, discreetly nodded slightly at Lin Ya and said in a low voice:

"Starfall Iron is produced exclusively in the Star Luo Empire. Even in our Heaven Dou Empire, it is a priceless treasure that cannot be bought. Exchanging these ores for a thousand-year soul bone is no loss."

"Alright! I accept!"

Lin Ya immediately agreed.

Although there were no supreme divine materials like Deep Sea Sinking Silver Essence or Heart-Chilling Iron Essence here, they were already more than enough for a level 22 Grand Soul Master like him to use for his first attempt.

"Very good. Davis, I'll leave the rest to you." Starcrown Duke spoke in a deep voice, turning his gaze behind him.

Davis strode out from the ranks with his head held high. Soul power rippled faintly around him as he cupped his hands and declared loudly:

"Davis, level 25 assault-type battle soul master. Martial soul: White Tiger. Please advise me!"

Lin Ya returned the salute calmly, his voice mild. "Lin Ya, level 22 assault-type battle soul master. Martial soul: Outcast. Please advise me."

"Level 22?! How old are you this year?" Starcrown Duke was startled and blurted out the question.

"I'm a few months shy of nine," Lin Ya answered.

Gasp...

A chorus of sharp inhalations rose. At that moment, the way Davis and the other two looked at Lin Ya had changed somewhat.

Level 22 at nine years old! What kind of genius was that?!

Even Davis, who had always thought highly of himself, could not help feeling secretly alarmed.

But at the same time, he sighed in relief. His opponent was only level 22, three levels below him. Victory was guaranteed!

Thinking of that thousand-year soul bone within reach, blazing battle intent ignited in Davis's eyes. "Little brother, then I won't stand on ceremony with this soul bone!"

Before his words had even faded, Davis shot forward!

The soul bone had already clouded his judgment. He only wanted to crush Lin Ya with overwhelming force and end the fight quickly. Last year, his younger brother Dai Mubai had awakened his martial soul, and his talent had vaguely surpassed Davis's at the same age. That immense sense of crisis had long left him unable to breathe.

Therefore, he had to obtain this soul bone!

"White Tiger Possession!"

Roar—!

A deafening tiger's roar erupted. Behind Davis, the phantom of a majestic white tiger appeared, and his soul power surged! Two bright yellow hundred-year soul rings rose and revolved beneath his feet, their radiance dazzling!

Under the martial soul possession, Davis's speed soared. In an instant, he rushed before Lin Ya, his massive tiger claw wrapped in fierce, unmatched soul power as it smashed viciously toward Lin Ya's head!

A genius of the Heaven Dou Empire, huh? Even if I can't kill you today, I'll make you lie in bed for a year or more. Let's see how fast you can keep cultivating then!

As the tiger claw descended, Lin Ya remained unmoved. He merely murmured:

"Golden light fills my body and shields my form."

Buzz—!

A deep energy tremor rang out as brilliant golden light suddenly burst from Lin Ya's body, forming a heavy shield of golden radiance!

Bang—!

The tiger claw crashed violently into the golden light, and a thunderous explosion erupted!

The violent impact scattered in all directions. Davis was forcibly knocked back several steps, his tiger claw numb and the web between his fingers faintly aching.

He glared furiously at Lin Ya and shouted, "You bastard with no sense of martial ethics! If you're a defense type, then be a defense type! Why pretend to be an assault type?!"

Davis felt that he had been played, but Lin Ya offered no explanation.

Davis no longer charged in recklessly. If his opponent had been an assault type or agility type, he would naturally have chosen close-quarters combat. But against a defense type, the only way to break through was to use absolute power to forcibly tear apart their defenses!

With that thought, the second hundred-year soul ring beneath Davis's feet suddenly blazed!

"Second soul skill! White Tiger Fierce Light Wave!"

The tiger's roar shook the heavens! A highly condensed milky-white wave of soul power erupted wildly from Davis's mouth, charging straight at Lin Ya with crushing force!

The first and second soul skills of the Star Luo imperial family's White Tiger martial soul were obtained by raising and hunting soul beasts. They were fixed as the White Tiger Bodyguard Barrier and White Tiger Fierce Light Wave—stable in power and ferociously forceful.

Yet faced with this century-old soul skill, Lin Ya still showed no intention of dodging.

He only wanted to test the defensive limit of the Golden Light Mantra that came with the Outcast martial soul without the support of soul rings.

With a casual wave of his hand, the golden light around Lin Ya abruptly detached from his body and transformed into a thick golden wall of light before him!

Boom—!

The White Tiger Fierce Light Wave crashed viciously into the wall, making the golden radiance tremble violently as ripples spread layer upon layer.

"Davis! Go!"

Zhu Zhuyun clenched her fists at the side and loudly cheered him on. As her fiancé, he had to possess the strength to conquer everything!

If Davis lost to a younger Heaven Dou boy, how could he compete with Dai Mubai for the throne in the future?

"Don't worry! I won't lose!" Davis roared, pouring soul power into the attack with abandon. The Fierce Light Wave grew even stronger!

Crack—

Fine fractures finally appeared across the Golden Light Mantra before Lin Ya, rapidly spreading outward.

"It worked! I did it!"

A look of wild delight appeared on Davis's face.

For a defense-type soul master, defense was everything.

As long as he broke through the shield, Lin Ya would become a lamb awaiting slaughter, utterly incapable of fighting back!

Yet just as he was swelling with pride, Lin Ya gently shook his head and let out a helpless sigh.

"Aren't you celebrating a little too soon?"

Lin Ya raised his eyes and looked calmly at Davis as he spoke lightly.

"Have you not noticed that, even now, I haven't truly manifested my martial soul?"

"What?!" Davis suddenly realized!

He finally understood what had felt wrong. After fighting for so long, this kid before him had not even activated his martial soul!

But so what if he did?

An Outcast? What kind of trash martial soul was that? He had never even heard of it. It probably was not much stronger anyway.

At that moment, Lin Ya's aura abruptly changed.

Buzz—!

Two deep purple thousand-year soul rings, wreathed in mysterious pressure, slowly rose from beneath his feet. Their halos flowed as their might flooded the entire arena!

At that instant, time seemed to freeze.

The smile on Davis's face stiffened at once. His pupils contracted sharply, his blood nearly freezing solid as he stared in disbelief at those two violet glows he had never possessed.

"Th... thousand-year soul rings!!"