Earth Tiger Armor Makes Its Mark, Unifying Nuoding Academy's Student Factions!

Wang Sheng led the way while Yun Tian followed behind. One in front and one behind, they passed through the academy's back gate and headed toward the grassy slopes behind the mountain along an overgrown path.

The farther they went, the denser the trees became, and the sounds of people gradually faded away.

Behind Nuoding Academy lay a stretch of rolling grassy slopes. Few came here on ordinary days; only the occasional truant student hid here to loaf around.

It was late morning, and sunlight filtered through the canopy, scattering dappled shadows across the grass.

But the grassland was far from peaceful.

More than a dozen figures were scattered across the lawn. Some stood, some crouched, while several lay on the ground clutching their wounds and groaning.

With a single sweep of his gaze, Yun Tian recognized several faces among them. They were all work-study students from Dorm Seven.

Old Zhang had a strip of cloth hastily tied around his forehead. Blood had already seeped through it, staining half his cheek red.

Several other work-study students were injured as well. Some limped, some clutched their arms, and every one of them looked miserable.

Opposite them, seven or eight finely dressed noble students stood in a row with their hands on their hips. At the front was Chen Lang, the very one Yun Tian had slapped flying in the cafeteria yesterday.

But Chen Lang was clearly more confident today. Standing beside him was a taller, sturdier youth with a cold, stern face. A silver token hung at his waist, and his gaze carried a lofty arrogance.

Farther away, in the center of the grassland, stood a youth dressed in a dark blue martial outfit. His arms were crossed over his chest as he watched this side without moving.

Faint fluctuations of soul power seeped from his body. The grass beneath his feet had been pressed into a shallow circular mark. He had clearly already completed his martial soul possession and was ready to strike at any moment.

Wang Sheng lowered his voice. "Boss, the one in dark blue is Xiao Chenyu, the city lord's son. He's an eleventh-level one-ring Soul Master. The tall one beside him is Ling Feng, also level eleven. His martial soul is the Wind Staff."

Yun Tian nodded, his gaze passing over the injured work-study students' faces.

When Old Zhang saw him arrive, he struggled to get up. His lips trembled as he called out, "Boss Yun," and his eyes immediately reddened.

The other work-study students also raised their heads one after another. Their eyes held both grievance and expectation, as though they had finally found someone to rely on.

Yun Tian took a deep breath, and his expression darkened.

He did not fly into a rage at once. Instead, he first walked over to Old Zhang, crouched down, and looked at the wound on his forehead.

The cloth strip was tied crookedly, and blood was still seeping out. It had clearly been torn from someone's clothes as a makeshift bandage.

"Who did this?"

Yun Tian's voice was soft, so soft that only those in front of him could hear it.

Old Zhang pointed toward Chen Lang. "He... he struck first. Said I was blocking his way, and then..."

Yun Tian stood and turned toward the noble students.

The calm on his face turned icy. The chill in his eyes made several timid nobles unconsciously take half a step back.

Even Chen Lang swallowed instinctively, but remembering that two one-ring Soul Masters stood behind him, he forced himself to straighten his back.

"You dared to lay hands on people under my protection, Yun Tian."

Yun Tian spoke. His voice was not loud, yet it rang clearly through every corner of the grassland behind the mountain.

"You nobles... have brought death upon yourselves."

The instant his words fell, his right hand shot up. The brown Earth Shadow Stone appeared in his palm, and dense earth-element power spread in all directions like a tidal wave.

In an instant, a faint earthen-yellow glow spread over the grass beneath his feet, as though the entire earth were answering his summons.

Buzz.

A bright yellow soul ring slowly rose from beneath his feet, circling his waist and radiating thick, steady soul power.

"A soul ring?! He's a Soul Master too!"

"A yellow hundred-year soul ring? Didn't he just enroll?"

The noble students erupted in an uproar.

Chen Lang's face went pale. When Yun Tian had beaten him yesterday, he had not used a soul ring at all. He had sent him flying with sheer physical strength alone.

Now, seeing that genuine hundred-year soul ring floating around Yun Tian, he finally realized what kind of monster he had provoked yesterday.

Wariness appeared on Xiao Chenyu's face, but he still refused to back down. "You're the new boss of the work-study students? You're the one who beat up my lackey yesterday? We should settle this debt! We beat these lowborn trash—what are you going to do about it?"

As he spoke, he had already completed his martial soul possession. Dark gray wolf fur covered his body, his hands transformed into sharp wolf claws, his fangs protruded, and a fierce green light flashed in his eyes.

At the same time, a white ten-year soul ring rose around his waist, declaring his identity as an eleventh-level Soul Master.

Ling Feng followed immediately, Wind Staff in hand, and a white ten-year soul ring rose around him as well.

Two eleventh-level Soul Masters, two ten-year soul rings, standing shoulder to shoulder as they locked onto Yun Tian with fierce intent.

"What am I going to do?"

A cold curve lifted at the corner of Yun Tian's mouth.

"Just this."

He suddenly clenched his fist and gave a low shout.

"Earth Tiger Armor! Combine!"

The Earth Shadow Stone instantly transformed into an earthen-yellow streak of light and sank into his chest. Dense power of the earth surged up from beneath his feet, covering his entire body at a speed visible to the naked eye.

First his limbs, then his torso, and finally his head.

The brown tiger-headed armor gleamed with a heavy metallic luster beneath the sunlight. Shoulder guards, chest armor, and arm guards layered over one another, completely enveloping the youth in a suit of majestic, domineering battle armor.

The yellow hundred-year soul ring slowly rotated behind him, while the earth-element fluctuations surged to several times their previous strength.

The entire grassland behind the mountain seemed to fall silent in that instant.

The grass stopped swaying, and even the wind seemed to halt.

All the noble students stared wide-eyed at the armored warrior before them, as though he had stepped out from the depths of the earth. Their minds went blank.

What was this?

Martial soul possession?

No, this had completely surpassed the scope of martial soul possession.

Xiao Chenyu's smile froze on his face.

He felt an overwhelming pressure bearing down on him from the other side. It was a pure disparity in strength, a chasm that no amount of circulating soul power could bridge.

His wolf claws trembled slightly, and his feet seemed nailed to the ground. Even taking a step became difficult.

"You—"

Xiao Chenyu only managed to say one word.

Yun Tian moved.

The Earth Tiger Armor's foot slammed into the ground, and his entire body shot forward like an earthen-yellow cannonball, carving a straight line across the grass.

Xiao Chenyu and Ling Feng assumed defensive stances at the same time. Their two ten-year soul rings lit up simultaneously as they each unleashed their first soul skill at the rapidly charging figure.

Wolf Claw Sweep, Wind Staff Charge.

Both attacks landed on Yun Tian's chest armor at the same time.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

After the two muffled impacts, Xiao Chenyu and Ling Feng both felt a terrifying rebounding force surge from the point of contact.

Their attacks struck the armor's surface like mud sinking into the sea, failing to leave even a single scratch.