Facing Wu Feng

As for the red-haired girl protecting Ning Tian, there was no need to ask. She was Wu Feng, Ning Tian's personal guard in the original story.

Her Martial Soul was the fire-attribute Red Dragon, a powerful top-tier Martial Soul. As its wielder, Wu Feng had awakened with level-seven Innate Soul Power.

The moment she saw Bai Chen arrive, her expression changed. Fury instantly filled her eyes, as if she bore an irreconcilable hatred toward Bai Chen.

The Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect elder who had brought Bai Chen over walked up to Ning Jingchen and respectfully said:

"Sect Master, I've brought him."

"Good."

Ning Jingchen answered simply, then walked straight up to Bai Chen and asked:

"Child, do you know why we called you here this time?"

"..."

Bai Chen silently shook his head.

Actually, after seeing Wu Feng's eyes, which looked as though they could spit fire, he could more or less guess why.

Still, this was no time to show off. The Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect was not entirely united internally, and he did not want to stand out too much.

Ning Jingchen said calmly:

"The core members of our Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect all possess the auxiliary Seven-Treasure Glazed Pagoda Martial Soul. As the number-one auxiliary tool Martial Soul in the world, the Seven-Treasure Glazed Pagoda holds an exalted status, but it has little combat ability. To make up for this flaw, we assign a corresponding partner to every core member of the Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect, allowing those partners to protect the Seven-Treasure Glazed Pagoda Soul Masters."

At this point, he paused and glanced at Wu Feng.

"To better protect the most important successor to the sect master, that successor's partner must also be the most outstanding. Before you appeared, the person everyone had the highest hopes for was this girl, Wu Feng."

Wu Feng's parents were also members of the Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect. Both possessed some of the finest Martial Souls and combat strength within the sect, so unless a mutated Martial Soul emerged, Wu Feng would most likely become Ning Tian's partner.

Unfortunately, she had run into Bai Chen, who had awakened with Innate Full Soul Power.

Although Bai Chen had neither family nor support within the Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect and had no background whatsoever, rules were rules. They could not be casually rewritten based on status.

If just anyone could freely violate the Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect's most important rules, it would never have endured for so many years.

Therefore, they had arrived at another of the Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect's usual procedures.

"After discussion, we have reached a conclusion. The two of you will have a one-on-one duel. The winner will earn the position of Tian'er's partner."

Just as expected.

Bai Chen sighed helplessly in his heart.

In the end, he still had to fight.

Fortunately, he truly possessed enough strength. There was no chance of him losing this battle.

Before someone with the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Martial Soul like him, Wu Feng was simply no match.

It was true that Martial Souls could not entirely determine combat strength. Otherwise, the three generations of Seraphic Angel users in the Douluo I Era would not have been steadily defeated by the Clear Sky Hammer.

But at the very least, the gap between Martial Souls could not span an entire tier.

Many people instinctively underestimated the Clear Sky Hammer, believing the Seraphic Angel to be far stronger. Yet in the Douluo I Era's descriptions, both the Clear Sky Hammer and the Seraphic Angel were Super Martial Souls.

As for the widely circulated claim that the Seraphic Angel was a God Level Martial Soul, that actually referred to Qian Renxue's Seraphic Angel Martial Soul after she became a god. At that time, Tang San's Blue Silver Emperor could likewise be called a God Level Martial Soul.

Thus, the gap between the Clear Sky Hammer and the Seraphic Angel was not truly so vast that it could not be overcome.

But Bai Chen and Wu Feng's situation was completely different.

Wu Feng's Fire Dragon was merely a top-tier Martial Soul. In the Douluo II Era's descriptions, her Fire Dragon was even inferior in Martial Soul quality to the equally top-tier White Tiger, and it was far below Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire Phoenix.

Conversely, the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff was absolutely a Super Martial Soul among Super Martial Souls, a Martial Soul that humans could never normally awaken on their own.

In the Douluo II Era, the White Tiger Martial Soul could be said to be steadily overwhelmed by the Golden Dragon. Yet even the Golden Dragon King, which stood above the Golden Dragon, had not displayed anything as absurd as the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff at the same level.

With ten thousand years of cultivation, it possessed strength not inferior to that of a four-hundred-eighty-thousand-year Ten-Thousand-Year Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear... Even with a domain's enhancement, that was far too outrageous, not a value a human could possibly achieve.

The disparity between them was simply too great. Bai Chen could not see any possibility of losing.

Still, the necessary procedure had to be followed. Bai Chen was also itching for a fight, curious about what level of combat strength he currently possessed.

After versions of himself from all three eras awakened their Martial Souls simultaneously, his Douluo I Era self had been taken away by the Three-Eyed Golden Lion that very night. His Douluo III Era self had also been busy with all sorts of matters—either going to Aolai City to pick up Na'er or searching online for information to teach himself. As a result, even now, he had yet to experience the power of being a Soul Master.

This was the perfect opportunity to properly experience it.

"Alright, I understand."

Seeing Bai Chen agree, Ning Jingchen turned to Wu Feng and said:

"Then come. Prepare to begin the battle. Both of you, take this seriously. This battle will determine which of you becomes Tian'er's partner from now on."

After saying that, he took Ning Tian's hand and stepped onto the spectator platform.

Bai Chen leaped onto the fighting platform. Across from him, Wu Feng slowly walked onto it as well.

The two faced each other from afar. As their gazes met, it seemed sparks might fly.

"Begin!"

Thus, with Ning Jingchen's command, the battle that would determine Bai Chen and Wu Feng's fates began.

Facing Wu Feng

The moment the match began, Wu Feng could not wait to complete her Martial Soul Possession. Fiery red scales spread across her body as she rushed toward Bai Chen.

Bai Chen also completed his Martial Soul Possession at the same time. All of his hair turned a dazzling gold, and his entire body instantly grew more muscular.

Seeing this, Ning Jingchen thoughtfully asked the elder beside him:

"Elder Hua, what do you think of his Martial Soul?"

Not every Martial Soul could awaken Innate Full Soul Power, but any Martial Soul capable of doing so could not possibly be weak.

Ning Jingchen could not identify Bai Chen's Martial Soul, so in his eyes, the outcome of this battle was still uncertain.

However, the elder known as Elder Hua shook his head.

"I don't recognize this Martial Soul either. It may very well be a type of mutated Martial Soul, but there is one thing I can be certain of."

He said firmly:

"This girl Wu Feng is bound to lose."

"Oh?"

Ning Jingchen raised a brow and chuckled softly.

"Interesting. Then let us wait and see."

Hua Tianyu, seated beside him, was currently the strongest person in the Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect—a level-ninety-four Title Douluo, only one step away from becoming a Super Douluo.

He was normally the kind of person who always left room in his words. For him to speak so decisively showed just how highly he regarded Bai Chen.

During their conversation, Wu Feng had already charged in front of Bai Chen.

She raised her right hand covered in dragon scales and struck at Bai Chen's chest with all her strength.

Throughout her charge, Bai Chen had not moved a single step. He stood there like one being challenged, and the sight made her especially irritated.

She circulated her Soul Power, and a scorching aura rose from the surface of her body. Because her cultivation was too low, this punch could not yet carry flames, but using Soul Power to heat it up was no problem.

Facing this full-force punch, Bai Chen's response was extremely simple.

He did not take any defensive measures at all. He simply used his chest to take Wu Feng's attack head-on.

Bang!

A dull impact rang out. Bai Chen did not retreat even a single step. He merely stared at Wu Feng expressionlessly and slowly tilted his head.

Wu Feng's facial muscles could not help twitching.

Bai Chen's body after Martial Soul Possession was simply too sturdy. Clearly she had been the one attacking and Bai Chen had been the one hit, yet she felt as though she had struck an iron plate.

But compared to the pain coming from her right hand, the shock in her heart was even greater.

"Bastard!"

The fury of being disregarded made her lose her mind for a moment. She let out an enraged roar, raised her fist again, and punched Bai Chen once more.

Bai Chen sighed soundlessly.

Wu Feng was already such an overaggressive brute at this age.

But he had only been testing his defense just now. This time, he would not simply let Wu Feng hit him.

He raised his hand and effortlessly caught Wu Feng's incoming left fist.

"Damn it... Let go! Let go of me!"

Wu Feng felt a tremendous force coming from the left fist he held. She was still young, and under the intense pain, tears began uncontrollably welling from her eyes.

Bai Chen expressionlessly continued increasing his grip. Only when Wu Feng's expression gradually changed from rage to fear did he suddenly kick out, sending Wu Feng flying several meters away.

Wu Feng crashed heavily onto the ground and instantly lost consciousness.

Watching the Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect's Healing-type Soul Master step onto the platform to treat Wu Feng, Bai Chen shook his head helplessly.

He had miscalculated. Fighting Wu Feng could not give him the thrill of Soul Master combat at all.

The dual suppression of cultivation level and Martial Soul meant that fighting Wu Feng was not much different from fighting an ordinary person.

He had not even activated his domain before the battle ended in such a one-sided manner.

"Your Martial Soul is quite interesting."

At that moment, an aged voice sounded beside him. Turning his head, Bai Chen saw that Hua Tianyu had somehow already arrived at his side.

Hua Tianyu pointed at himself.

"Come. Punch me."

Bai Chen raised a brow. Without wasting words, he threw a punch directly at Hua Tianyu.

Hua Tianyu was a Title Douluo-level powerhouse. The Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff might be strong, but it was not strong enough for a Soul Scholar to challenge a Title Douluo.

Bang!

A dull sound rang out. The scene of Wu Feng striking Bai Chen replayed itself, except this time, Bai Chen was the one who had thrown a full-force punch without causing any damage.

Hua Tianyu nodded thoughtfully.

"At level ten, his strength already rivals that of a strength-type Soul Grandmaster. He truly has great potential."

In the previous battle, Bai Chen had displayed terrifying physical strength.

As a Red Dragon Soul Master, Wu Feng's Martial Soul gave her more than control over fire elements. It also gave her physical strength beyond that of ordinary Soul Masters.

Yet Bai Chen had completely crushed her in strength, leaving her unable to fight back in the slightest. That was why Hua Tianyu had personally stepped in to test Bai Chen's power.

As expected, Bai Chen's strength was remarkably exaggerated.

Do not be fooled by the fact that he had reached level ten. Without truly obtaining his first Soul Ring, Bai Chen was still merely a Soul Scholar, not yet a genuine Soul Master.

What separated him from a Soul Grandmaster was not merely Soul Power, but also the enhancement of two Century Soul Rings.

Yet Bai Chen still possessed the strength of a strength-type Soul Grandmaster. This sort of situation normally only appeared in Martial Souls that abandoned every other attribute to focus solely on strength, but in the previous battle, Bai Chen's defense had been no weaker either.

A Super Martial Soul. Although Hua Tianyu still did not know Bai Chen's Martial Soul's true identity, he was already certain that it was an Super Martial Soul no weaker than an Ultimate Martial Soul.

Seeing that Hua Tianyu had already reached a conclusion, Bai Chen suddenly spoke.

"Elder, I can increase my strength even further."

"Oh?"

A trace of surprise flashed through Hua Tianyu's eyes as he smiled and pointed at himself.

"Then strengthen yourself and punch me again."

"Yes."

Bai Chen steadied himself where he stood. A golden-black ring slowly rose beneath his feet, and faint golden light seeped into his body.

"—!"

Hua Tianyu's eyes widened in disbelief.

This was... a domain-type Soul Skill?!

Normally, only a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring could possibly produce a domain-type Soul Skill!

Bai Chen did not merely lack a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring right now—he did not possess a single Soul Ring at all. Yet he could still use a domain-type Soul Skill. There was only one explanation—