Yan Was Beaten into a Pighead

Yan had not expected Yang Jian to actually dare accept the challenge. For a moment, he stood frozen in place, his expression rather spectacular.

"You're sure?"

Yan narrowed his eyes and sized up the sickly, scrawny little runt from head to toe.

"I'm sure." Yang Jian nodded, his tone calm.

Yan sneered. "Fine. Don't say I bullied you later. You can use your martial soul."

Then he looked at Xie Yue and Hu Liena and spread his hands. "You both heard him. He wanted to fight."

Xie Yue leaned against the doorframe and gave an expressionless hum, making no move to stop them. He also wanted to see what was so special about this child favored by His Holiness the Pope.

Hu Liena said nothing either, merely studying Yang Jian with curiosity.

They only knew that Bibi Dong had taken on a registered disciple. They did not know what martial soul Yang Jian had awakened, and were quite curious.

Besides, Yan had said he would not use soul power or his martial soul. At most, the kid would suffer a little. Nothing should go wrong.

"Don't worry, I won't beat you to death."

Yan rolled his wrists and walked to the open space in the center of the courtyard. Curling a finger at Yang Jian, he said, "Come on. I'll let you make the first move."

A relaxed smile hung on his lips, and his entire body was full of openings.

In his eyes, there had never been any suspense in this sparring match.

What fighting ability could a six-year-old possibly have?

Yang Jian said nothing and simply walked silently toward Yan.

His steps were steady, neither hurried nor slow, like he was taking a stroll after a meal.

But when he was still three steps away from Yan, his body suddenly shot forward like a spring!

The burst of speed came without warning.

Yan's pupils contracted. He instinctively tried to dodge, but it was already too late.

Yang Jian's fist slammed solidly into Yan's abdomen.

Bang!

A dull thud rang out.

Yan doubled over like a shrimp. The smile on his face froze completely, replaced by incredulous shock.

The power behind that punch was nothing a six-year-old should have been capable of!

Yet Yang Jian's assault did not stop.

After landing the punch, he twisted with the momentum and drove his elbow viciously into Yan's ribs. Then his knee shot upward, aimed straight at Yan's face.

Yan hastily raised both arms to block, but Yang Jian's attacks poured down like a raging storm. Fists, elbows, knees, feet—every part of his body became a weapon.

These methods had not been taught by Spirit Hall. They were combat techniques Yang Jian had instinctively grasped while cultivating the Eight-Nine Mysteries.

This cultivation method was originally a supreme body-tempering art from the primordial era. Throughout cultivation, it subtly altered the practitioner's combat instincts.

"This brat..."

Yan was beaten back again and again, utterly bedraggled.

He wanted to counterattack, but Yang Jian's attacks came too quickly and from angles too tricky to defend against. For a time, he was completely suppressed.

At the courtyard gate, Xie Yue and Hu Liena's indifferent expressions turned to shock.

"This..." Hu Liena's mouth fell open, her almond-shaped eyes full of disbelief. "He didn't even use his martial soul?"

Xie Yue frowned deeply, his gaze fixed on Yang Jian's movements. "It's not just that he didn't use his martial soul. He hasn't used any soul power either. This is purely physical strength."

"That's impossible!" Hu Liena blurted out. "He's only six. How could his body possibly be that strong..."

"It really is impossible," Xie Yue cut her off. "But the facts are right before us."

In the center of the courtyard, Yang Jian's attacks remained fierce.

He sidestepped Yan's counterattack, then held the fingers of his right hand together like a blade and thrust them straight at Yan's throat.

Yan was scared out of his wits. He desperately leaned back to evade, only to realize that Yang Jian's move had been a feint. The true killing blow was the sweeping kick that followed.

Smack!

The kick lashed solidly into Yan's waist, sending him staggering two steps sideways.

But after that strike, Yang Jian's movements visibly slowed.

His body was still too weak, after all.

He had cultivated the Eight-Nine Mysteries for only a few days. Although it had doubled his physical strength, his foundation had been far too poor.

He could not sustain such intense bursts for long.

Yan noticed this as well.

Though his face was bruised and swollen from the beating, he was still a Soul Elder who had received systematic training at Spirit Hall since childhood. His combat experience far surpassed Yang Jian's.

Seizing the gap as Yang Jian's offensive slowed, he steadied himself and began to counterattack.

He threw a punch, carrying a howling gust of wind.

Yang Jian turned aside to dodge, but Yan had anticipated his direction. A heavy punch immediately smashed solidly into his shoulder.

"Hiss—"

Yang Jian sucked in a sharp breath and was knocked back several steps.

Yan gave him no chance to catch his breath. He strode forward, attacking with both fists and feet.

Though he could not use soul power, his body had been tempered by soul power for thirteen years. Both his strength and endurance far surpassed those of an ordinary person.

After three moves, Yang Jian was forced into a corner.

"I'm done. I concede."

Yang Jian looked at his slightly trembling arm, then at Yan, who was bruised and swollen yet still standing straight before him. He conceded decisively, cleanly, without the slightest hesitation.

Yan froze for a moment, not expecting him to admit defeat so readily.

Yang Jian rubbed his numbed shoulder and said matter-of-factly, "Is there a problem?"

Yan opened his mouth, yet for a moment, he found himself speechless.

He lowered his head to look at his disheveled state, then looked at Yang Jian. His face darkened more and more.

"You!"

"What about me?" Yang Jian tilted his head. "You were the one who wanted to spar with me. Are you blaming me for ending up like this?"

Yan trembled with rage.

He was a level thirty-two Soul Elder, one of Spirit Hall's Golden Generation, yet he had been beaten until his face was bruised and swollen by a six-year-old child!

Although the other side had conceded, this was still an utterly humiliating loss of face.

"You're courting death!"

In his fury, Yan no longer cared about what he had said before.

A scorching aura erupted from his body. Two yellow and one purple soul rings rose beneath his feet, while the phantom of a rock giant engulfed in flames appeared behind him.

Flame Lord!

Xie Yue and Hu Liena's expressions changed. They stepped forward at the same time to stop him.

"Yan, are you insane?!" Hu Liena stood in front of Yang Jian and frowned at Yan. "You said you wouldn't use your martial soul or soul power. What are you doing now?"

"I..." Blocked by Hu Liena, Yan regained some of his senses, but the resentment and fury on his face could not be suppressed.

"If you can't afford to lose, don't fight." Hu Liena rolled her eyes at him.

Those words were like a knife, stabbing viciously into Yan's heart.

He liked Hu Liena. Everyone in Spirit Hall knew that.

Being told he could not afford to lose by the girl he liked hurt even more than getting beaten up by Yang Jian.

Yan clenched his fists until they crackled, his chest heaving violently.

He glared viciously at Yang Jian and said word by word, "Once you obtain your first soul ring, we'll fight again!"

Yang Jian looked at him as though he were looking at an idiot.

"Why would I fight you?"

Yan froze.

Yang Jian brushed dust that did not exist from his clothes, his face calm. "I'm not like you, so full after eating that I go around picking fights every day. I have things to do, so I'm leaving."

With that, he walked out of the courtyard without looking back, leaving Yan standing where he was, his face alternating between green and red.

Xie Yue remained expressionless, but a trace of gravity flashed deep in his eyes.

Hu Liena watched Yang Jian's departing back, and the corners of her lips unconsciously curled upward.

Her eyes shifted, and she immediately stepped forward to chase after him.