One Ring Against Three Rings!

When the matchup chart for the sixth round was posted, Li Long was sitting with his eyes closed, recovering his soul power.

He opened his eyes and squeezed into the crowd to find his name.

Notting City's Li Long versus Heaven Dou City branch's Qin Tian.

A note in parentheses followed, containing three words.

Three rings.

The martial arena instantly erupted.

It was already rare for a three-ring Soul Elder to be placed in the two-ring group. In the first three rounds, the three Soul Elders had each fought two matches against two-ring opponents and won without suspense.

But no one had expected that, in the latter half of the tournament, Li Long would be matched against one of them.

"One ring against three rings."

"Two soul rings apart, eleven levels of soul power apart..."

"Can that kid still win?"

No one dared say with certainty that he could win, but no one outright said he would lose either.

After the first five matches, the spectators' attitude had shifted from contempt to caution, and from caution to anticipation.

They wanted to see how far this ten-year-old one-ring Soul Master, who had crushed every opponent along the way, could go against a genuine three-ring Soul Elder.

Li Long did not linger.

As he stepped away from the notice board, several two-ring contestants nearby looked at him with complicated expressions.

There was sympathy, curiosity, and a hint of relief.

Relief that they had not drawn one of those three Soul Elders themselves.

He returned to his corner and sat down, taking a sip from his waterskin as he quickly reviewed the possible scenarios.

Three rings, level thirty-one.

That meant three soul rings. At the very least, they would be hundred-year rings, and the third was most likely a thousand-year ring.

The combinations of three soul skills were far more varied than those of a two-ring contestant. Whether in offense, control, or defense, his opponent would have many more options.

Moreover, they were separated by eleven levels of soul power. Their total soul power and recovery speed were in completely different leagues.

In a conventional exchange, he would gain no advantage.

But Li Long did not think about the word lose.

He was thinking about how to fight.

He knew exactly what point would count as defeat and what point would count as victory.

His opponent was a three-ring Soul Elder, but the age limit was there. Within the twenty-five-and-under range, three rings was already considered top-tier, but top-tier did not mean flawless.

Anyone who obtained a third soul ring at that age would have limited control. There were bound to be gaps between the transitions of their soul skills.

He only needed to seize one such gap.

During the preparation time before the match, Li Long stood at the end of the contestants' passage and watched a tall, lean young man emerge from the opposite passage.

He looked about twenty-five, with darker skin, neat short hair, and the standard fitted uniform of the Heaven Dou City branch.

A white-robed deacon badge hung from his chest.

The other man noticed Li Long as well. His gaze paused on him for a moment before he gave a slight nod.

Li Long nodded back. There was no unnecessary exchange between them. They simply looked at each other across the entire martial arena before each walked toward the center of the field.

Every other match in the arena had been suspended.

The scheduling deacon had specifically cleared the central main field for this battle. The stands were packed to capacity, and even the aisles were filled with people.

On the raised platform, Qian Shengyuan sat motionlessly, his fingers resting on the armrest without tapping. His gaze was fixed on the center of the arena.

The host deacon's voice was several notches louder than before. "Sixth round, winners' bracket: Li Long of the Notting City branch, one ring, level twenty, versus Qin Tian of the Heaven Dou City branch, three rings, level thirty-one."

The two took their positions ten paces apart.

When Qin Tian's first soul ring rose, Li Long saw its color clearly. Yellow—over a hundred years old.

The second was yellow as well, its color noticeably deeper than the first.

When the third soul ring rose, its color shifted from yellow to purple. The sheen of a thousand-year soul ring swept through the arena, drawing sharp breaths from many in the stands.

A thousand-year third soul ring.

Qin Tian truly had reason to be proud.

All three were the most standard configuration.

"Begin."

Qin Tian's attack came faster than Li Long had expected.

There was no probing, no hesitation. The instant he moved, his first and second soul rings lit up simultaneously. An afterimage flashed beneath his feet, while his right hand transformed into a curved blade entirely green in color, its edge coated in a pale green gleam.

He slashed once, more than twice as fast as Zhou Ke's Swift Wind Thrust.

Li Long had no time to dodge and raised his rod to block head-on.

Clang!

The slash struck the iron rod, sending Li Long sliding three steps backward. His soles scraped two deep grooves into the stone floor.

The muscles in both arms bulged for an instant before he steadied himself, and the tips of his fingers gripping the rod turned faintly white.

What a heavy blade.

Moreover, the green edge carried a scorching heat. Every collision raised the temperature of the iron rod another degree.

Li Long realized this was one of Qin Tian's soul skill effects. If the exchange continued, the iron rod would grow hotter and hotter, drastically weakening his grip.

I can't drag this out.

He made his decision and immediately stepped forward. Golden light coated his rod as his first soul skill erupted at full force, and the iron rod crashed down toward Qin Tian's shoulder.

Qin Tian raised his blade to block it, producing a thunderous clash.

His body sank slightly, his knees bending less than an inch before he dispersed the force. Then his right wrist turned, the blade sliding along the rod before slashing toward Li Long's ribs.

Li Long stepped back to evade. The blade grazed his clothes, tearing a slit in the fabric and leaving a shallow white mark on his skin.

The physical strength of a three-ring Soul Elder had blocked the blow, but the white mark was deeper than any left by his previous opponents.

"Can't break through him?" Qin Tian's eyelids twitched.

Over the next few breaths, the two exchanged more than ten attacks and defenses.

Rod shadows and blade flashes interwove, their collisions dense and heavy.

Li Long focused completely on finding openings between his opponent's moves, but Qin Tian's soul skill transitions were nearly flawless. His first soul skill accelerated him, while his second added extra damage. Together, the two formed a combat rhythm that integrated offense and defense.

Li Long was forced back step by step, his retreating strides leaving shallow pits in the ground.

Qin Tian clearly had no intention of giving Li Long a chance to catch his breath. He grew faster and faster, soul power pouring into the curved blade as its green gleam became increasingly fierce.

Just as Li Long was nearing the edge of the field, Qin Tian suddenly lowered his shoulder, pressed down, and halted his steps. His third soul ring flared brilliantly.

The light of the thousand-year soul ring burst forth. The green curved blade flew from his hand and split into three light blades in midair, fanning out to seal off every direction Li Long could evade toward.

Qin Tian's third soul skill was a long-range, area-covering pursuit technique. Once locked on, there was nowhere to retreat.

Li Long's pupils contracted. Pursuing light blades were in front of him, the field boundary behind him, and both sides were sealed off.

He had no time to think. He drove his first soul skill at full speed, golden light covering the entire iron rod. Gripping it with both hands, he swung with all his strength at the largest light blade directly ahead.

Boom!

Metal collided with light, and the blade exploded into green fragments that filled the air.

But the second light blade arrived immediately after. Li Long barely managed to bring his rod back to block, and the impact sent him staggering back another two steps. His heel had already stepped onto the white boundary line at the edge of the field.

The third light blade flew in right after that.

He did not have a third hand.