A One-Ring Defeats a Two-Ring! The Whole Arena Is Shocked!

The young man looked twenty-four or twenty-five, much taller than Li Long. He was lean, but his arms were long. In his right hand, he held a silver-white iron spear that gleamed coldly at the tip.

A formal White-Robed Deacon badge hung from his waist.

"Notting City, Li Long. Ten years old, one ring."

After announcing Li Long's information, the presiding deacon announced his opponent's. "Star Luo Border, Zhou Ke. Thirteen years old, two rings."

Zhou Ke sized Li Long up. He first noticed the ordinary iron badge plated with silver at his waist, then his gaze fell on the empty space where his spirit rings should have been.

He knew that Li Long had advanced by challenging above his rank, and he knew about his undefeated record from the morning. Yet when he saw with his own eyes that his opponent was merely a ten-year-old child, a trace of complicated emotion still flashed through his eyes.

"I'll be serious."

"Blades and spears have no eyes. If you die, don't blame me."

Zhou Ke said it in a tone that was neither quite a warning nor a declaration.

"Mm."

Li Long responded, drawing a short staff from behind his waist with his right hand. As spirit power flowed into it, the staff expanded to a length of one and a half meters. Its pitch-black body rested steadily across his front.

The presiding deacon raised his right hand.

"Begin."

Zhou Ke's first instinct was to seize the initiative.

The advantage of a spear-type martial soul lay in its range and piercing power. He clearly intended to suppress Li Long before he could settle into the fight.

The silver-white iron spear shot forth with a howl of wind, its tip aimed straight at Li Long's chest. It was two levels faster than the one-ring opponents from that morning.

Li Long sidestepped and angled his iron staff aside.

The spear tip scraped past the staff's body, and the collision of the two weapons produced a piercing screech.

Using the force, he twisted his wrist, swinging the iron staff toward Zhou Ke's forward hand that gripped the spear.

Zhou Ke reacted quickly as well. He immediately withdrew his spear to defend, holding it horizontally to block the strike.

Bang.

The dull clash of metal made the ears of those at ringside tremble.

"What incredible strength."

Zhou Ke's arms shook. The spear shaft bent slightly before springing back, and he took half a step back, his pupils contracting.

Li Long said nothing.

He stepped forward and swept the iron staff out again, the blow heavier than the first.

Zhou Ke did not dare take it head-on. He leaped sideways to evade, using the motion to thrust his spear tip at Li Long's right shoulder.

Li Long pressed down with his iron staff and knocked the spear tip aside. In the span of a few breaths, the two exchanged seven or eight attacks and defenses. The sounds of staff and spear colliding came as densely as a blacksmith's hammering, with sparks flying everywhere.

The fight was exceptionally fierce.

The spectator stands grew much quieter as everyone watched.

On the high platform, Qian Shengyuan leaned forward slightly.

He could tell that Li Long still had not used a spirit skill.

Even against a two-ring opponent, he was still relying on his fundamentals to contend with him.

And he was not at a disadvantage.

On the field, the sounds of staff and spear clashing fell as densely as a sudden rainstorm.

The longer Zhou Ke fought, the more alarmed he became.

He had launched more than a dozen consecutive offensives, pushing the Iron Spine Spear's piercing speed to its limit. Its tip nearly formed a curtain of silver light in the air.

Yet that iron staff across from him always blocked his attack path at an unhurried pace. Every collision was as precise as if Li Long had calculated its position beforehand. Not a single thrust had truly broken through to within two feet of Li Long.

What made him even more uneasy was that his opponent's strength was still increasing.

He could barely block the first few strikes, but they grew heavier and heavier afterward. With every blow he received, his tiger's mouth went a little more numb, and the silver spear bent more and more deeply.

He realized that if this continued, the first thing to give out would not be his stamina, but his wrists.

I can't drag this out any longer. This is too humiliating!

Zhou Ke took a step back to open the distance. His silver spear pointed diagonally at the ground as he stared fixedly at Li Long.

Spirit power suddenly surged through his body at an accelerated pace. A white spirit ring rose from beneath his feet, and as it lit up, his figure blurred for an instant.

First Spirit Skill: Swift Wind Thrust.

This was his core charging technique.

Spirit power flooded into his legs and the arm holding the spear, allowing him to unleash a straight-line burst of speed far beyond normal in an extremely short time. Combined with the spear tip's piercing force, it formed a lethal thrust.

In all his previous battles, this move had never missed.

"Here it comes."

The moment Zhou Ke's spirit ring lit up, Li Long had already judged his intention.

He drew his right foot back slightly and held the iron staff across his front, planting both feet firmly into the gaps between the stone slabs.

His left arm pressed down on the staff's end while his right hand gripped its middle, setting the iron staff at an angle to form a slanted defensive plane.

But he did not choose to passively receive the attack head-on.

At the instant Zhou Ke turned into an afterimage and shot forward, Li Long stood rooted in place. The muscles in both his arms suddenly tightened, and a stream of golden light spread from his arms across the entire iron staff. That yellow spirit ring rose from beneath his feet and slowly revolved in midair.

First Spirit Skill: Mighty Vajra Staff.

This was the first time he had revealed his spirit ring today, and the first time he had truly used a spirit skill.

At that instant, everyone in the arena had their eyes drawn to him.

The gold-covered staff and silver-white spear tip collided explosively at the center of the field. The two forces met head-on, producing an utterly muffled blast.

A shockwave erupted from the point of impact, spreading outward in visible ripples and whipping the robes of nearby spectators until they fluttered loudly.

Then Zhou Ke, along with his spear, was sent flying backward.

The moment his feet left the ground, it was as though he had been struck head-on by a charging spirit beast. His body bent into an unnatural bow in midair, while the Iron Spine Spear flew from his grasp, spinning as it smashed into the stone floor several yards away. It bounced twice before coming to a stop.

Zhou Ke's back hit the ground first. He slid nearly two yards across the stone slabs, his clothes torn and his flesh scraped into bloody streaks, only stopping after crashing into the stone railing at the edge of the arena.

He lay prone on the ground, coughing violently as he tried to push himself up. But his arms trembled so badly that he could not exert any strength. In the end, he could only remain where he was, gasping for breath.

The entire arena fell silent.

From the moment Zhou Ke launched Swift Wind Thrust to the moment he was sent flying by a single strike, less than a breath had passed.

Most of the audience had not seen clearly what happened in that instant. They only saw a streak of silver light charge forward, then a golden blur flash past, and the silver light was sent flying back in the opposite direction.

The silence lasted two or three breaths.

Then came a chorus of sharp inhales.

"What just happened? How many rings did he have again?"

"One ring! The one from Notting City has one ring!"

"A one-ring sent a two-ring flying head-on? Am I seeing things?"

The murmurs rapidly rose in volume and spread throughout the arena.

At the edge of the fighting grounds, the two-ring contestants still waiting to take the field wore varied expressions. Some frowned tightly, some folded their arms and stared silently at the center of the field, while several others parted their lips slightly as if they wanted to say something but did not know what to say.

On the high platform, Qian Shengyuan's fingers tightened briefly around the armrest before relaxing.

He said nothing, merely watching the boy at the center of the field.

Li Long still stood where the collision had occurred. The golden light on his iron staff was slowly fading, and his spirit ring was gradually disappearing as well.

His breathing was slightly heavier than usual, but that was all.

The muscles in his shoulders and arms still trembled faintly from the aftermath of his full-power burst, but his stance remained steady. His feet had not retreated even an inch.

"A five-hundred-year first spirit ring, with a two-hundred-percent strength boost."

Qian Shengyuan murmured to himself, speaking only for his own ears. "He could clash head-on with a two-ring spirit skill and still send his opponent flying... the value of that boost is even higher than I originally estimated."

"Zhou Ke's first spirit ring is merely a white one, less than a hundred years old. He is indeed at a severe disadvantage."