"Fast!"
Xu Sanshi had only just formed his Black Tortoise Shield when a fierce gust of punch wind slammed toward him. A fist wreathed in green-gold vitality swelled rapidly in his vision, hurtling at him so fast he couldn't react.
"First Soul Skill: Dark Nether Shock!"
There was no time to think. Xu Sanshi immediately used his first Soul Skill. A black halo burst from the Black Tortoise Shield, spreading over a dozen meters in every direction like an expanding dome of force. As it surged outward, it rumbled like thunder!
Dark Nether Shock was an area-of-effect knockback Soul Skill with a stunning effect. Ordinary Soul Masters whose cultivation was lower than Xu Sanshi's would be forced back—or even stunned—by it.
But Gu Shengge wasn't an ordinary Soul Master. Though his cultivation was lower than Xu Sanshi's, his physical strength far surpassed Xu Sanshi's. A mere Dark Nether Shock couldn't stun him, let alone force him back.
Just as Xu Sanshi thought that ignorant brat would be stunned by his Soul Skill, a strand of sword qi appeared, surging like a mighty, ceaseless river. It ripped straight through Dark Nether Shock and stabbed toward him!
"What?!"
Xu Sanshi felt a stinging pain spread across his skin. His expression changed dramatically. He kicked off hard and retreated, raising his Black Tortoise Shield to meet that streak of sword qi.
But the very next moment, a sharp pain shot through the arm holding the shield. It was as if countless fine needles were pricking him. His face twisted slightly, and his arm dropped limply, unable to muster any strength.
The students watching from the stands were stunned.
Anyone with eyes could see something had gone wrong with Xu Sanshi, but they couldn't figure out what Gu Shengge had just done. How had he pierced Dark Nether Shock and forced Xu Sanshi back?
Bei Bei frowned as he watched Xu Sanshi's arm hang limp. Even he needed to use his second and third Soul Skills together to break through Dark Nether Shock. Yet this new student had taken away the strength in one of Xu Sanshi's arms with a single strike. It didn't look like a Martial Soul Soul Skill. Could it be a Self-Created Soul Skill?
To master a Self-Created Soul Skill at such a young age—terrifying!
Jiang Nannan watched Gu Shengge subdue Xu Sanshi with just one strike, and a delighted smile appeared on her breathtaking face.
"The class monitor is amazing!"
Nanmen Yun'er gazed at the white-clad youth standing proudly on the platform, her eyes shining with open adoration. The outlines of hearts even appeared in her pupils.
Seeing her acting so lovestruck, Wu Feng shook her head with a sigh. That's it. This girl's fallen for him.
Ning Tian was still recalling that strand of sword qi. It was very similar to the sword qi recorded in the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's archives. Could it also be a Self-Created Soul Skill?
On the Soul Duel Platform, Gu Shengge stood in white, elegant as a nobleman. His clothes fluttered without a breeze, and wisps of sword qi coiled around his fingertips, surging like a great river, slender as a stream, razor-sharp and unstoppable.
This was the Great River Sword Art, taught to him by Green Banyan. It had come from the Sword God, a Second-Level God of the Divine Realm.
When the Sword God had still been mortal, he had observed a river for ten years. Then, in a single moment of insight, he had grasped how a hundred streams flowed into the sea, how the small gathered into the great, how the waters surged on without end, and how a single drop could wear through stone. From that, he created the Great River Sword Art.
As the Goddess of Life, Green Banyan had lived as long as the Divine Realm itself. With so much time behind her, she naturally grew bored, and reading was one of her great passions. She knew the cultivation methods and secret arts mastered by the many gods of the Divine Realm, and during those six years, she had taught Gu Shengge a few of them.
The Great River Sword Art was one of them.
Gu Shengge dispersed the Great River Sword Qi. Seeing that Xu Sanshi had lost the use of one arm, he drove off the ground and shot forward, swift as lightning. He slammed another punch into Xu Sanshi's face!
Boom!
Xu Sanshi couldn't react in time. He took the punch full in the face. Blood appeared at once, and pain flooded his brain. His head rang, his mind went blank for a moment, and his body flew like a sack of sand. He rolled across the ground more than ten times before finally coming to a stop, and he didn't get up right away.
The whole crowd erupted. Staring at Xu Sanshi lying on the ground, they could hardly believe their eyes. Xu Sanshi, hailed as "the Outer Court's strongest defender," had been knocked out with a single punch!
And by a new student who hadn't even used his Martial Soul!
Jiang Nannan looked at her fiancé. She had known he was strong, but she hadn't realized he was this strong!
Bei Bei was dumbfounded, and Tang Ya beside him wore the same look of disbelief.
"No way! How did Xu Sanshi get so useless? He couldn't even block one punch. What happened to his defense? Did a dog eat it?"
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were just as astonished. How strong did someone have to be to knock down a defense-type Soul Elder with one punch?
Huo Yuhao's heart sank. If they ran into Gu Shengge during the Freshman Assessment three months from now, they'd be in for trouble.
Just as Gu Shengge was about to press his advantage, the referee leapt down from the high platform and stepped in front of him. That gave Xu Sanshi time to catch his breath and struggle to his feet.
But his handsome face bore a fist mark, blood streamed from his nose, and two of his teeth had been knocked out. He looked utterly miserable.
Feeling the pain in his face, Xu Sanshi stared in shock and unwillingness.
Three moves, tops—and he had been utterly crushed and beaten by a new student!
The audience below could see that Xu Sanshi had already lost. The referee didn't need to say a word.
"The Soul Fighting match is over. Gu Shengge wins."
The referee announced the result on the spot. He stared at Gu Shengge in astonishment, inwardly admitting he had misjudged him. The kid's physical strength was absurdly high. If he hadn't intervened in time, Xu Sanshi would have been in serious trouble.
Hearing the referee declare Gu Shengge the winner, Xu Sanshi looked at the white-clad youth, his unwillingness plain. He knew he had lost completely!
His opponent hadn't even used his Martial Soul, and had defeated him in just three moves. He had never been more humiliated!
Unlike Xu Sanshi, Gu Shengge's gaze was indifferent. He hadn't taken Xu Sanshi seriously at all.
That punch had used only half a percent of his strength. His right arm had been strengthened by the hundred-thousand-year-old Golden Earth Dragon King Soul Bone and was immensely powerful. If he had hit any harder, blowing Xu Sanshi's head apart would have been child's play.
Was he supposed to fight a Soul Elder for three hundred rounds and then win by the skin of his teeth?
What a joke.
Crushing him in a single blow was the proper way to do it.
Gu Shengge looked at Xu Sanshi, who was in a sorry state, and said calmly, "Your arm will be back to normal soon. Now it's time to honor our bet."
At that, Xu Sanshi's face pinched with pain. A bet was a bet. He took two jade bottles from his Storage Soul Tool, one containing a Blackwater Pill and the other a Soul Ascension Pill, and tossed them to Gu Shengge. Still, he made sure to show his defiance, raising his voice.
"Don't get cocky! I lost this time, but I'll win next time. No matter what, I'll never give up on Nannan!"
Down on the platform, Jiang Nannan heard him and was so furious she wanted to run up and kick Xu Sanshi flying. That guy—he really deserved to die!
Gu Shengge didn't so much as glance at Xu Sanshi. He put away the Blackwater Pill and the Soul Ascension Pill, then turned and left the Soul Duel Platform.
Xu Sanshi felt as if he had punched a wad of cotton.
He glared at Gu Shengge's retreating back, so furious that blood kept pouring from his nose. If he didn't stop the bleeding, he might lose too much blood and die.
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