Three days later.
The main Spirit Arena of Spirit Hall Academy.
The spectator stands, which could hold several thousand people, were already more than half full.
Under normal circumstances, an internal challenge among the Elite Class wouldn't have drawn such a large crowd.
The identities of the two combatants were simply too special.
Yan was a member of the Golden Generation, personally selected by His Holiness the Pope.
His Flame Lord Martial Soul was of extremely high quality, and he had a strong chance of breaking through to Titled Douluo in the future.
Chu Jin had entered Spirit City only a year ago.
Yet the Worship Hall and Papal Hall valued him no less.
Upperclassmen from Spirit Academy, teachers of the lower grades, and even some elders had come to the Spirit Arena.
Qian Renxue sat at the very front of the spectator stands.
She made no attempt to hide her identity.
Her long golden hair fell down her back, and her white-and-gold robes were patterned with angels. Hu Liena and Xie Yue sat beside her, with a little space between the three of them.
Hu Liena glanced at the arena.
"Who do you think will win?"
Qian Renxue's voice was calm.
"Chu Jin."
"That certain?"
"Yan doesn't understand the Double Pupils."
Hu Liena nodded.
As a spirit-type Soul Master, she understood the Double Pupils better than ordinary people.
What made Chu Jin most troublesome had never been any single ability on its own.
Xiao Jin was responsible for restraining and controlling his opponents.
The Double Pupils let him observe Soul Power and movements.
And Chu Jin himself possessed strength and Heavy Halberd skills far beyond those of his peers.
Combined, these three made his fighting style difficult to judge by the standards of traditional Soul Masters.
At the center of the arena.
Yan was the first to step inside.
Today, he wore dark red combat clothes, with bracers wrapped around both hands. He looked like a volcano poised to erupt at any moment.
Chu Jin entered from the other side.
The Dark Iron Heavy Halberd, weighing eight hundred jin, rested on his shoulder.
Xiao Jin didn't appear right away.
The referee was an academy teacher at the Soul King level.
He looked at the two of them.
"This is an academy sparring match. Deliberate attacks on vital points are prohibited."
"Losing the ability to fight, surrendering, or leaving the arena will count as a defeat."
"Understood?"
"Understood."
Yan rolled his shoulders.
Chu Jin nodded.
The referee retreated to the edge of the arena and swept his hand downward.
"Begin!"
Two Yellow Soul Rings rose beneath Yan's feet in an instant.
A mass of dark red flames burst from his body.
His Flame Lord Martial Soul completed its possession.
His height quickly increased, and a layer of dark red Rock Armor covered his body. His arms grew thicker, and scorching flames curled around his fists.
A wave of heat spread outward.
Before long, scorched marks appeared across the arena floor.
His twenty-seventh-level Soul Power erupted without restraint.
Gasps rang through the spectator stands.
When it came to sheer strength, Yan ranked among the best of his age at Spirit Academy.
Chu Jin didn't release his Spirit Rings.
He gripped the Heavy Halberd with both hands and sank slightly into a fighting stance.
Yan suddenly drove off the ground.
Bang!
The arena's stone slabs burst apart.
Like a burning meteor, he charged straight at Chu Jin.
He knew Chu Jin had the Double Pupils, and that Xiao Jin could unleash a mental shock.
The best approach was to use his advantage in level and strength and give Chu Jin no time to observe at his leisure.
A flaming fist came crashing toward him.
Chu Jin's Double Pupils opened in an instant.
The flow of Soul Power inside Yan's body appeared clearly before him.
His legs drove forward.
His waist and abdomen twisted.
Soul Power gathered in his right shoulder.
The punch was extremely powerful, and its trajectory was direct.
Chu Jin didn't dodge.
He held the eight-hundred-jin Heavy Halberd across his body.
The fist collided head-on with the halberd shaft.
Clang!
The metallic ring echoed through the Spirit Arena.
Chu Jin's feet slid along the ground for several meters.
Yan retreated only half a step.
The gap in their levels had made itself clear for the first time.
The fighting spirit in Yan's eyes burned brighter.
"Your strength really is impressive."
"Again!"
He charged forward once more.
A series of punches hammered toward the Heavy Halberd.
Chu Jin didn't choose to meet every blow head-on.
Before each impact, the halberd shaft shifted slightly, deflecting Yan's force to the side.
Bang!
Bang!
Sparks flew across the arena.
Yan seemed to keep forcing Chu Jin backward.
But less than half of the force actually landed on Chu Jin.
"Can you do anything besides block?"
Yan suddenly slammed his left fist into the ground.
His First Soul Ring lit up.
"First Soul Skill, Hell Magma Rush!"
Dark red magma burst from the arena floor.
Several pillars of fire blocked Chu Jin's path of retreat.
Scorching flames surged up beneath his feet.
Chu Jin raised the Heavy Halberd and stepped forward.
Yan had expected him to dodge to the side.
Instead, Chu Jin charged straight into the thickest part of the flames.
The Double Pupils had already revealed that, though the pillars of fire seemed packed together with no gaps, weak points in the Soul Power still remained between them.
The Heavy Halberd slashed forward.
Boom!
Chu Jin forcibly split open the weakest pillar of fire.
Flames grazed his shoulder, and the edge of his clothes quickly charred, but he emerged from the encirclement unharmed.
Yan was already waiting outside.
The Flame Lord's right fist came crashing down again.
Chu Jin swept the Heavy Halberd across.
Yan raised his left arm to block.
The shaft struck his Rock Armor.
A dull impact rang out.
Yan swayed, but his right fist still came down toward Chu Jin's chest.
They were too close.
There wasn't enough time to pull back the eight-hundred-jin Heavy Halberd.
Chu Jin released one hand.
His left palm clamped firmly over Yan's wrist.
The fist stopped just half a foot from his chest.
The two entered a pure contest of strength.
Yan's expression shifted.
Chu Jin took the Flame Lord's strength with one hand. His body retreated slowly, but he didn't immediately buckle.
"Is this the result of a year of Xiao Jin nourishing you?"
"More or less."
Chu Jin suddenly twisted his waist.
He didn't keep pushing forward head-on.
His left hand guided Yan's fist outward as his body turned aside.
Yan's strength hit nothing.
Chu Jin drove his knee toward Yan's abdomen.
Yan lifted his leg to block.
They both retreated at the same time.
The spectator stands buzzed with discussion.
"Chu Jin still hasn't released his First Martial Soul."
"Yan has only used his First Soul Skill, too."
"Yan still has the advantage in sheer strength."
"But his Soul Power is draining faster than Chu Jin's."
Xie Yue watched the arena, his brows gradually knitting together.
Yan's attacks were fierce.
But his Soul Power was rapidly draining as he continuously used his Martial Soul's power and his First Soul Skill.
From beginning to end, Chu Jin had only maintained the Double Pupils, relying on the Heavy Halberd and his technique to deflect the force.
If he dragged the fight out, the advantage Yan had in Soul Power reserves would slowly be worn away.
Yan had clearly realized this as well.
He stopped making ordinary probing attacks.
His Second Soul Ring lit up.
"Second Soul Skill, Granite Rock!"
His dark red Rock Armor rapidly thickened.
Behind him, the Flame Lord Martial Soul formed a towering phantom.
The temperature of the arena rose again.
Magma spread outward beneath Yan's feet.
Large patches of ground turned dark red.
This terrain would steadily drain his opponent's stamina while strengthening Yan's fire and rock abilities.
He stood in the midst of the magma.
"Chu Jin."
"Bring Xiao Jin out."
"You can't beat me with just a Heavy Halberd."
Chu Jin glanced at the magma beneath his feet.
The soles of his shoes had already begun to smoke.
"Xiao Jin."
The First Soul Ring lit up.
Golden light flew out from within him.
Xiao Jin spread his wings and landed beside Chu Jin.
Yan slammed both fists into the ground.
The entire arena shook.
Magma and flames surged in from all directions like towering waves, converging on the center.
"Watch out!"
Someone in the stands cried out.
The fiery waves quickly swallowed Chu Jin and Xiao Jin whole.
Yan didn't let his guard down.
He knew Chu Jin couldn't possibly be defeated so easily.
Sure enough.
A dragon's roar suddenly rang out from the heart of the flames.
Xiao Jin opened its mouth and bit down hard on the flames rushing toward it.
It had yet to obtain a devouring Soul Skill.
Even so, its dragon bloodline and enhanced Light Scales gave it powerful resistance to the elements.
Xiao Jin didn't try to devour the entire sea of fire.
Instead, it targeted the weak points in the Soul Power that its Double Pupils could see.
Crack!
A fissure tore open in the center of the fiery waves.
A figure burst through the gap.
Several holes had been burned into Chu Jin's clothes, and his exposed skin was faintly red, but the Heavy Halberd in his hand remained steady.
Yan was already prepared.
A fist covered in Rock Armor came crashing toward him.
Chu Jin's gaze locked onto Yan's right leg.
After using his Second Soul Skill, most of Yan's Soul Power was concentrated in his upper body and across the surface of his Rock Armor.
Every time he threw a full-force punch, there was a brief gap in the flow of Soul Power through his right leg.
Chu Jin didn't attack right away.
He continued to raise his halberd to block.
Yan's fist slammed into the halberd's shaft.
Chu Jin's body slid to the side.
Yan stepped forward again with his right leg.
The gap in Soul Power appeared.
"Xiao Jin."
A golden figure burst out of the flames.
The First Soul Ring shone brightly.
Holy Dragon Soul Suppression was about to activate.
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