Victory or Defeat

The heavy, surging force erupted in an instant, carrying an immensely powerful knockback and disruption effect as it tried to forcibly send the close-range Yu Chen flying, break his attack rhythm, and reclaim the initiative on the battlefield.

But Yu Chen stood rooted in place like an immovable Golden Dragon, utterly motionless.

Ultimate strength suppressed all vibrations, while the power of annihilation directly dissolved the shockwave soul power of Xuanming Shock. The seemingly ferocious blast landed on him without even stirring a single strand of hair.

Xu Sanshi's heart sank, and his expression turned utterly grim!

Without the slightest pause, he unleashed every last bit of his reserves and roared again!

"Second Soul Skill—Xuanming Shield Array!"

Three black shields condensed once more, overlapping in layered formation. The flowing light of their shield patterns surged as they formed his most stable and most practiced chain defense, designed specifically to counter close-range assaults and savage brute force.

But not long ago, this move had been shattered by his opponent's bare hands!

Though he knew he could not block it, he still had to gamble! Gamble that the other party's outburst had only been momentary, gamble that he still had a chance to turn the tables!

Yet in the next instant, the shield array had barely taken shape before Yu Chen casually struck it with his palm, causing it to quake violently as cracks spread across it once more.

Driven completely into a corner, Xu Sanshi no longer held anything back!

The soul power throughout his body burned, his bloodline boiled, and his third purple thousand-year soul ring blazed brilliantly!

"Third Soul Skill—Xuanming Force!!"

In an instant!

The entire Xuanming Shield turned pitch-black, its heavy, solid, domineering defensive soul power rising to its peak!

A layer of dark shield armor covered his entire body, multiplying his defensive strength severalfold in an instant. This was the strongest defensive trump card of his life, and the absolute confidence that made him one of the Outer Court's Twin Stars!

All three rings were activated, and all three soul skills unleashed!

Xu Sanshi panted heavily, his eyes filled with madness and stubbornness. "I don't believe it! My three rings suppress your two! My Xuanming defense is invincible among those of the same rank! How can you possibly break it?!"

He gave everything he had to maintain his defense, staring fixedly at Yu Chen as he waited for his strength to run dry and for the situation to reverse.

But what greeted him was still the young man's indifferent, icy gaze.

Yu Chen raised his eyes slightly, his tone calm yet crushing. "The trump card you're so proud of is still nothing more than a single blow in my eyes."

The moment his words fell!

He stopped holding back, and the will belonging to his own true body slowly awakened within him!

The Golden Dragon claws were incomparably sharp; ultimate strength flooded through his limbs, heavy as mountains; threads of annihilating power coiled around his knuckles, made to break all defenses, barriers, and shield techniques beneath the heavens!

A simple punch shot straight forward!

There was no roaring soul skill, no martial soul manifestation.

There was only ultimate, pure power that crushed everything across an entirely different dimension!

Boom—!!!

A thunderous explosion tore through the entire arena!

The Xuanming Force shield that Xu Sanshi had reinforced with all his soul power was like paper at that moment!

The power of annihilation madly eroded its source, while ultimate strength violently crushed its foundation!

"Crack, crack—!!"

It did not even last a tenth of a second.

Layer upon layer of shield arrays shattered, the Xuanming Force protecting his body dispersed, and every defensive trump card he possessed collapsed in an instant!

Violent force surged back into him!

"Puh!!"

Xu Sanshi sprayed blood from his mouth. It was as though a mountain had slammed into him, sending him flying backward before he crashed heavily onto the Soul Fighting Arena floor. The soul power within his body fell into chaos, all his soul skills were forcibly interrupted, and he could no longer gather even the slightest trace of defensive power.

He braced himself against the ground and struggled to lift his head. There was no trace of arrogance left on his face, only dullness, confusion, and utter helplessness.

He had lost.

Completely, utterly, cleanly—he had been defeated beyond redemption.

He had staked all his dignity and all his trump cards on the fight, activating all three rings and launching a desperate counterattack, yet he had not even forced out a sliver of his opponent's true strength.

The entire arena fell silent.

Not a sound came from the spectator stands. Everyone stared wide-eyed at the outcome before them in disbelief.

On the high platform, Outer Court Dean Yan Shaozhe leaned fully forward, shock filling his eyes.

Wang Dong was completely stunned. She muttered, "With his bare hands... he shattered the full defenses of a three-ringed Soul Elder?"

Tang Ya's breathing halted slightly, while Bei Bei's eyes were filled with gravity. Only Huo Yuhao smiled faintly, having long expected everything.

In the arena, Xu Sanshi remained silent for a long time before finally lowering his proud head.

All his resentment, defiance, and humiliation turned into profound admiration.

He looked at the young man standing quietly in the arena, his voice hoarse yet filled with sincere reverence:

"I yield... I truly yield."

After a brief pause, he asked softly, his gaze incomparably serious:

"I want to know... just what level has your strength reached?"

Yu Chen nodded slightly upon hearing this, no longer concealing anything.

"Since you wish to see it, then I will show you what true power is."

Rumble—!!

A low, domineering dragon roar exploded from within his body!

An incomparably dazzling pillar of golden light shot into the sky, tearing through the air above the Soul Fighting Arena!

A massive dragon phantom, several times larger than an ordinary Golden Dragon, slowly solidified behind him. Its scales gleamed like condensed gold, its dragon horns were fierce and majestic, and its boundless dragon might filled the heavens!

Its colossal body towered overhead, every dragon scale flowing with the brilliant radiance of ultimate gold. Terrifying dragon might that suppressed all things coiled around it. It was nobler and more domineering than the ordinary Golden Dragons recorded on the continent, carrying a faint aura almost akin to royalty!

This was Yu Chen's martial soul—the Golden Dragon!

Its true form was a Golden Dragon, merely far stronger than ordinary Golden Dragons because its bloodline had been inherited from the Golden Dragon King.

The entire arena erupted into stunned silence once again!

Ordinary students could only feel that this dragon martial soul was overwhelmingly imposing and terrifying, but they could not name it. They only knew that it was unquestionably a top-tier beast martial soul.

But some experienced teachers, such as Wang Yan, recognized the Golden Dragon at a glance.

"This form... this dragon might! It's the ancient top-tier beast martial soul recorded in ancient texts—the Golden Dragon!!"

Yan Shaozhe was also secretly shocked. Even his Bright Phoenix had been suppressed, and his eyes gleamed with golden light. As expected, this boy was a monster.

Before everyone could recover from their shock!

Four pitch-black, profound, heavy, flawlessly perfect ten-thousand-year black soul rings rose in succession beneath Yu Chen's feet, circling the towering dragon body in steady rhythm!

Four black rings!

Eleven years old!

Golden Dragon martial soul!

The ancestor of strength!

A double blow!

The entire Soul Fighting Arena sank into frenzied shock!

Xu Sanshi stared blankly at the golden dragon phantom spanning the arena, at the four ten-thousand-year black rings that weighed down on him until he could barely breathe. His mind went blank, then every doubt suddenly became clear!

He murmured in a daze, again and again, filled with relief and complete surrender:

"So that's how it is... so that's how it is..."

"I mistook a four-ringed Soul Ancestor with ten-thousand-year soul rings for a two-ringed freshman..."

"I completely concede this battle."

Please, I'm begging for monthly votes and recommendation votes. Your continued reading is my greatest motivation to keep writing.

I have also been trying my best to revise things recently, though there may still be aspects that are unsatisfactory. While the earlier plot may have been a little rough, I have developed an entirely new plan for the later story. I've been writing like mad lately, striving to update four or at least three times a day after it goes premium. I promise that the later plot will be relatively better. I'm also researching materials while writing, trying my best to get the details right.