A Despairing Gap (3)

A Despairing Gap (3)

An opponent with principles was far more trustworthy than a teammate shrouded in suspicion.

Even though trusting an opponent was a major taboo in battle.

"Anyone uninvolved, leave the Training Field." Ye Qingcang had lost interest in communicating with Tang San. Prejudice in people's hearts was like a mountain; no matter how hard one tried, it could never be moved. Let alone Tang San, who held grudges over the smallest slight—even an ordinary person standing in Tang San's position would find it nearly impossible to let go of their prejudice against him. Since he knew that, there was no need to make meaningless efforts. "One at a time. Who's first?"

"Little San, I'll go first!" Dai Mubai rubbed his fists as he assigned the roles. His gaze swept over Flender, Qin Ming, Ma Hongjun, Ning Rongrong, and the others retreating beyond the Training Field, but he suddenly spotted a golden-haired girl who should not have been near the Training Field. Her beauty could topple nations, and even from far away, he could sense her clean, pure aura. The second half of his sentence suddenly caught in his throat. "Let me test his strength and see whether he... he... he... has what it takes?"

Dai Mubai's extremely obvious stammer did not escape Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing, who stood beside him. Even Flender and the others, standing at the edge of the Training Field over a hundred meters away, soon noticed where Dai Mubai was looking. Following his gaze, they finally noticed the golden-haired girl standing twenty meters away like a ghost. Everyone's hearts tightened instinctively.

Twenty meters.

An extremely sensitive distance.

For an agility-type Soul Master, twenty meters was the standard charging distance. Within fifteen meters, they could not accelerate enough to reach their maximum killing power. Beyond twenty-five meters, most Soul Masters could react in time.

If Dai Mubai's gaze had not alerted them.

If this stunning golden-haired girl had harbored killing intent toward them.

They dared not say anything else, but one of them would definitely have died.

A Soul Master who had not undergone Martial Soul Possession was still human.

Their body was still fragile.

For that reason, even though this golden-haired girl with an exceptionally clean and pure temperament harbored no killing intent toward them, and had not even looked at them, as though treating them as air, every Soul Master present, including Flender, a Soul Sage, instinctively felt a chill in their hearts and down their backs.

"This is Violet Evergarden, twenty-fourth on the Heavenly Ranking, known as the Divine Attendant..." It was normal for Flender and the others not to recognize Violet, since this was their first time meeting her. However, Qin Ming was seeing her for the second time. He did not know whether Violet remembered the Royal Fight Team, whom she had defeated over a year ago, but as the team's leader, he remembered this peerless genius who had crushed the Royal Fight Team in thirty seconds very clearly. He explained to Flender and the others, "Students on Blue Tyrant Academy's Heaven, Earth, and Human Rankings each have their own titles. Some choose them themselves, while others are coined by fellow students and gain widespread recognition. Divine Attendant means a servant of a god—in other words, the maid of the Child of God. She's also the student who defeated the Royal Fight Team in thirty seconds!"

An old matter had been brought up again.

Yet it still carried a tremendous shock.

When an expert made a move, one could immediately tell whether they were the real deal.

"No one gains a great reputation without merit..." Ning Rongrong looked enviously at Violet, whose appearance was no worse than hers. In terms of beauty alone, it was at most a forty-sixty split—she was the forty, and Violet was the sixty. Yet Violet possessed that clean aura Ning Rongrong lacked, as well as the strength to defeat the Royal Fight Team in thirty seconds, which she also lacked. The greatest pain of an auxiliary-type Soul Master was having no ability to protect themselves. "Is she the same age as us too?"

"The same age, different birth months."

Qin Ming gave an exact answer.

Violet's age was no secret.

Like Ye Qingcang, she had locked down first place and twenty-fourth place on the Heavenly Ranking the day she enrolled at age twelve. Moreover, the twenty-two people between first and twenty-fourth had also secured their rankings on the day they enrolled. Those rankings had remained unchanged for more than two years, up until today. It could be said that the gap between twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth was equivalent to the combined gap from twenty-fifth to fiftieth—and even that might not be enough to bridge it.

Alchemy was too broken!

The Magnetic Field Martial Path was too broken too!

These two secret arts had already ignored Soul Power Level, ignored the Soul Skills granted by Soul Rings and Soul Bones. When Violet, twenty-fourth on the Heavenly Ranking at level thirty-nine, fought the twenty-fifth-ranked student at level forty-nine, other Heavenly Ranking students described it as easily as a father beating his son. What she relied on was the knowledge of a level-seven Soul Engineer and Alchemy.

Thinking of this, Qin Ming could not help putting on a pained expression.

Two flowers bloomed, each on its own branch.

The commotion outside the Training Field could not be heard by Dai Mubai and the others from over a hundred meters away. Inside the Training Field, ignoring Xiao Wu's disdainful gaze and Zhu Zhuqing's suddenly cold expression, Tang San, filled with fury, could not allow Dai Mubai to be the first to step forward, even if Dai Mubai meant well.

He stepped forward and rejected Dai Mubai's earlier offer. "Boss Dai, rest for now. Our chances are all precious. My margin for error is greater than yours. It's safest if I go first. Xiao Wu goes last. We need to figure out his abilities first!"

Seeing Tang San's hand resting on the Storage Soul Guidance Device, Twenty-Four Bridges on a Moonlit Night, Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, and Xiao Wu all realized what Tang San meant by "margin for error." Remembering how Zhao Wuji had been turned into that miserable state by Tang San during the Shrek Academy entrance test over a year ago, they shuddered involuntarily. Understanding his meaning, they nodded and moved toward the other side of the Training Field.

Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing followed them.

The Training Field was rectangular.

Using Ye Qingcang's position as the horizontal line.

Flender and the others stood to the left.

Dai Mubai and the other three stood to the right.

The Training Field immediately returned to a one-on-one situation.

Tang San slowly retreated.

He opened a distance of roughly fifty meters from Ye Qingcang.

This was the comfort zone for most control-type Soul Masters.

Between forty and seventy meters, a control-type Soul Master had the highest killing power, while their mobility, defense, and reaction speed were also at their most balanced. If the distance between the two was less than forty meters, the opponent could very likely erupt forward and rush into close combat. If it exceeded seventy meters, the battle would turn into a skirmish. The control-type Soul Master, occupying the center, would instead fall into the predicament of facing enemies from all sides.

Fifty meters was just right.

"Tang San..." Tang San raised his hand. Deep-blue Blue Silver Vines spiraled up from his palm, while two hundred-year Soul Rings and one thousand-year Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet in the form of halos and settled around his waist. Fortunately, there were not many of them, otherwise it was hard to imagine how severe the light pollution would be. "Level thirty-four control-type battle Soul Elder, Martial Soul Blue Silver Grass. Please advise!"

"I am Ye Qingcang..." To everyone's surprise, Ye Qingcang not only did not announce his Soul Power Level or Martial Soul, he did not even summon his Martial Soul. He stood in place with one hand behind his back and raised the other, making an almost perfect inviting gesture. "Please."

In a Soul Master duel, failing to state one's Soul Power Level and Martial Soul was disrespectful to one's opponent. Failing to state one's name was contempt for one's opponent. Not summoning one's Martial Soul was not as offensive as the first two, but its taunting effect was completely maxed out. It could be summed up as: a suicidal act!

"Arrogant!"

Tang San shouted coldly as his first Soul Ring abruptly lit up.

Whether Ye Qingcang released his Martial Soul was Ye Qingcang's own problem.

He could not simply refrain from attacking because Ye Qingcang had not released his Martial Soul.

"First Soul Skill, Entangling!"

Dozens of fragile Blue Silver Vines twisted together, forming several thick and tough Blue Silver Vines. Like flexible, ever-changing snakes, they shot toward Ye Qingcang, who remained calm fifty meters away.

However, what awaited those vines was not Ye Qingcang.

It was Ye Qingcang's raised finger, and the stream of fire he released!

"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"

At first, the line of fire seemed as thin as a thread.

After crossing ten meters, it rapidly expanded.

In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a sea of flames a hundred meters long and five meters high. Under Tang San's stunned gaze, it came crashing down toward him!

"A Self-Created Soul Skill?"

"And a fire-element Self-Created Soul Skill?"

Having studied under Yu Xiaogang, Tang San naturally knew what this was. His expression darkened. His original plan to test Ye Qingcang with Blue Silver Grass immediately fell through. At this stage, Blue Silver Grass had no fire resistance. Charging forward would only result in it being ignited and making the flames burn even fiercer!

Cursing Blue Silver Grass in his heart for lacking fire resistance, Tang San was forced to use Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. He wove a Blue Silver shield before himself and relied on his speed to rush out of the sea of flames before the shield was completely burned away. He swiftly threw aside the burning Blue Silver shield. Before he could consider the principles behind this Self-Created Soul Skill, he understood very clearly that if he took another attack like this, he might not emerge merely disheveled and uninjured as he had now. Not only had his probe failed, he had also been forced to reveal one of his trump cards. This frustration of losing both the wife and the army made Tang San furious.

Thinking that his Clear Sky Hammer trump card had already been exposed, that damned Ye Qingcang had publicly declared that his father was the Clear Sky Douluo, Tang San immediately summoned his second Martial Soul, the Clear Sky Hammer.

He did not bother pretending anymore.

Gripping the Clear Sky Hammer wrapped in lightning, he rushed toward Ye Qingcang in several strides, crossing fifty meters in the blink of an eye. Holding the Clear Sky Hammer, he smashed it down at Ye Qingcang's head!

"Show mercy!"

Seeing Tang San bring out the Clear Sky Hammer, Flender, trapped by habitual thinking, immediately realized something was wrong. Especially when he saw Ye Qingcang standing in place without even summoning his Martial Soul, Flender's face changed drastically, and he instinctively shouted toward Tang San in the Training Field.

However, he had forgotten that Tang San was someone who held grudges over the smallest slight.

First, Ye Qingcang had to die!

For no other reason than that he had made Xiao Wu kneel. He had to die!

Second, Flender's words were useless!

For no other reason than that Tang San wanted to tell Flender, on behalf of his teacher Yu Xiaogang: You were the one who was wrong. You were the one who changed!

When Ning Rongrong saw Tang San raising the Clear Sky Hammer, like a God King controlling thunder in midair, carrying the force of heaven as he smashed it down at Ye Qingcang's head, her glass-like pupils contracted uncontrollably. She summoned her Martial Soul and, without needing any reason, cast a strengthening effect toward Ye Qingcang, solely so he would not die. Yet the moment that light left her hand, before it even crossed the boundary between the inside and outside of the Training Field, it was caught by a fair little hand—and crushed right before her eyes!

Everything happened in an instant!

Before Ning Rongrong could react, Tang San, his face twisted with ferocity, had already brought the Clear Sky Hammer into intimate contact with Ye Qingcang's raised palm!

Flender closed his eyes in pain.

Ning Rongrong closed her eyes in pain.

Zhao Wuji, Oscar, Qin Ming, and the others also lowered their heads, unable to bear watching.

If Ye Qingcang had summoned his Martial Soul, this battle might still have been worth watching. But Ye Qingcang had not only failed to summon his Martial Soul, he had not even dodged. Foolishly raising his palm, he had chosen to take the Clear Sky Hammer, the number one tool Martial Soul in the world, head-on. Next would probably be a string of crisp bone-breaking sounds, right?

Boom!!!

It sounded like an iron hammer slamming heavily into a sandbag!

Wait!

A sandbag?

Everyone inside and outside the Training Field who heard that sound opened their eyes in astonishment. Realizing that something was wrong with the sound, they stared at the Training Field in disbelief.

An image of overwhelming visual impact forcibly filled everyone's sight, understanding, and thoughts. Even Ning Rongrong, who had received an excellent upbringing, could not stop her small mouth from falling open in shock—the Clear Sky Hammer, known as the number one tool Martial Soul in the world, crackling with lightning and descending from above... had been caught one-handed!!!

And it had been caught by the hammerhead!

The hammerhead, which possessed the greatest weight, explosive force, and killing power!

Not the hammer handle, where one could redirect a thousand pounds with four ounces!

Even as lightning exploded and the Clear Sky Hammer's handle bent into an obvious arc, veins bulged at Tang San's temples. Ye Qingcang, standing in place with one hand raised and holding the hammerhead, was not only completely unharmed, but even the clothes beneath the hand pressing against the hammerhead had not suffered the slightest damage!

No Martial Soul...

Catching the Clear Sky Hammer one-handed...

Unharmed, clothes undamaged...

Ning Rongrong felt dizzy. Her legs went weak, and before she could cry out and collapse, Violet—who had just crushed the stream of light and, as both spectator and referee, would not allow anyone to interfere with this battle—caught her and helped her back upright.

However, unlike Ning Rongrong, who received special treatment, no one attended to Flender and the others. They staggered and supported one another before finally emerging from their shattered worldview. Looking at Ye Qingcang, whose expression remained unchanged, and Tang San, who seemed to be using every ounce of strength he possessed, they could only smile bitterly.

Previously, if someone had told them, "I can catch a Clear Sky Hammer from a Soul Master of the same realm one-handed without using my Martial Soul," they would certainly have ordered a drink and slowly listened to that Soul Master, who did not know the immensity of heaven and earth, boast.

Now, if someone told them, "I can catch a Clear Sky Hammer from a Soul Master of the same realm one-handed without using my Martial Soul," they could only say that the boast was too conservative. Catching the Clear Sky Hammer one-handed was no longer worth bragging about. Remaining unharmed, with clothes undamaged and expression unchanged, had become the new standard for measuring the upper limit of strength—even if that standard sounded even more damn ridiculous than catching the Clear Sky Hammer one-handed!

As for the two people involved in the Training Field.

"What tremendous strength!" Tang San's face flushed red as his blood surged. Gritting his teeth, he tried to use his roar to push his strength even higher. "Die!"

After Tang San finished roaring like a clown.

Ye Qingcang, who had been pressing the hammerhead with one hand, finally changed his palm into a claw.

He gripped!

He swung!

Tang San was flung away!

He crashed heavily into the scorched ground burned black by the sea of flames!

Rolling through the charred earth, he climbed up in a miserable state!

Yet before he could steady himself, he spat out a mouthful of blood. Seemingly realizing something, he looked at Ye Qingcang in disbelief. "You..."

"My apologies..." Ye Qingcang gripped the hammerhead and lifted the Clear Sky Hammer. As fragments fell one after another, like massive boulders smashing apart the mental state of everyone inside and outside the Training Field, he said, "The Clear Sky Hammer's hammerhead is too flat, so it is not easy to apply force. To fling you away while you held the handle, I could only grip the Clear Sky Hammer first. I did not expect the Clear Sky Hammer to be so fragile. It shattered with a light squeeze. As expected, without attached Soul Rings, the Clear Sky Hammer's quality is merely average. That is truly disappointing. Do you have any other methods?"

That was right!

The Clear Sky Hammer, known as the number one tool Martial Soul in the world!

"It shattered..." Flender, Qin Ming, Ning Rongrong, Dai Mubai, and the others stared blankly as the shattered Clear Sky Hammer turned into specks of light and returned to Tang San's body. With his Martial Soul damaged, Tang San coughed up blood as though struck by lightning. They felt as though their worldview had shattered alongside the Clear Sky Hammer.