A Soul Scholar Battles a Great Spirit Master!

Inside Spirit Hall.

At this very moment, a completely unequal battle was taking place.

On one side stood Cao Mengyun, a talented young man who had already become a level twenty-nine Great Spirit Master at such a young age.

On the other was a mere six-year-old child who had unexpectedly awakened Dual Martial Souls, possessed Innate Full Soul Power, and was a level ten Soul Scholar.

Cao Mengyun's offensive was ferocious. Ten claws flashed out each second, weaving an impenetrable net of wolf claws before him. Once the small Yang Ming fell into it, he would be like a delicate butterfly caught in a storm, instantly shredded to pieces!

Old Jack's heart pounded wildly, his heart practically leaping into his throat. He feared that Yang Ming might suffer some mishap and could not help worrying for him.

Tang San, standing beside him, patted Old Jack's hand to tell him not to worry. His eyes held three parts curiosity, four parts surprise, and five parts fighting spirit as he watched Yang Ming.

Over the past three months, Yang Ming had fully absorbed the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track he had secretly learned. He had become so proficient that he could perform it even with his eyes closed, nearly making Tang San cry out in surprise.

Yang Ming was like a madman dancing on a blade. Faced with Cao Mengyun's berserk assault, he did not retreat. Instead, he advanced!

The Three-Tomoe in Yang Ming's pupils spun rapidly. Cao Mengyun's claw strikes reflected across his retinas as though someone had pressed pause on a film, separating them into detailed frame after detailed frame.

After three months of weighted training, carrying a fifty-pound turtle-shell weight every day, Yang Ming had long since become extraordinarily nimble. Combined with the red fruits Old Jack gave him each day, Yang Ming was no longer the boy Cao Mengyun could easily knock down before!

His toes lightly touched the ground like dragonflies skimming water. Yang Ming's body slipped about like a slick loach, always darting away just before Cao Mengyun's wolf claws could hit him and brushing past them.

If avoiding him once was luck, and twice was an accident—

Then Yang Ming's repeated evasions proved that he had already seen through Cao Mengyun's attacks!

"Hiss!"

Everyone inside Spirit Hall once again drew in a sharp breath.

Awakening Dual Martial Souls and possessing Innate Full Soul Power only meant that Yang Ming was a genius seen once in a century. But if he also possessed such outstanding combat talent, then he was a peerless super genius seen only once in a millennium!

Martial Souls were divided into two types: Weapon Martial Souls and Beast Martial Souls.

Weapon Martial Souls, in turn, had many branches. Many Spirit Masters were not necessarily proficient in combat, with quite a few leaning toward support and control.

That was because there was a type of Spirit Master who specialized in combat: Battle Spirit Masters!

Why did Cao Mengyun have a voice in this Spirit Hall? Was it not because he was a Battle Spirit Master with decent talent?

Yet now, this powerful Battle Spirit Master could not even touch the hem of a six-year-old child's clothes. Was that not utterly ridiculous?

"No!"

Ma Xiunuo, also a Great Spirit Master, wore a shocked expression as he exclaimed:

"It is not that Cao Mengyun is too weak. In fact, the Lion King Martial Soul he awakened is exceptionally suited for combat! The reason Cao Mengyun seems so powerless is precisely because this child—this child's talent is simply too strong!"

The moment he said this, the other staff members immediately nodded, agreeing with Ma Xiunuo's assessment.

Although Ma Xiunuo had accepted Cao Mengyun's money, he had long found it unbearable to watch him bully the weak and mistreat an old man. His voice was anything but quiet, and every word reached Cao Mengyun's ears, nearly making his lungs explode with rage!

"Damn it! Damn it!"

Cao Mengyun was driven mad with fury. A faint green glow gleamed in his eyes as the speed and force of his hands rose another level, reaching fifteen claws per second. The web of attacks before him became even denser, further restricting Yang Ming's room to maneuver.

Yet Yang Ming always took advantage of his small stature, using even nimbler footwork and more ghostly movement to narrowly evade Cao Mengyun's grasp time and again. At the most dangerous moment, Cao Mengyun's lion claws merely sliced open Yang Ming's trousers, coming within a hair's breadth of cutting his skin.

Though advancing was immensely difficult, Yang Ming relied on his indomitable nature to reach a point less than a meter away from Cao Mengyun amid that storm-like offensive!

At this distance, it would be extremely difficult for Cao Mengyun to escape!

Yang Ming spread open his right palm. Golden light gathered into a small weapon, neither quite a blade nor quite a sword. He flicked its blade, and a soft hum seemed to rise.

This was the Killing Blade, a murderous edge thirsty for blood!

Yang Ming's gaze reflected the cold sword light. Before the astonished, speechless eyes of everyone in Spirit Hall, he suddenly transformed into sword qi as sword qi streaked in every direction!

Green Lotus Sword Song!

Before Cao Mengyun's shocked and terrified eyes, five streams of sword qi pierced through layer after layer of wolf-claw afterimages, leaving deep, ghastly sword wounds across his arms, calves, and abdomen!

The sword light vanished in a flash. Yang Ming appeared behind Cao Mengyun, one knee touching the ground as he crouched low to arrest his momentum.

His previous restraint and patience had all been meant to numb Cao Mengyun and make him lower his guard. Then, at the crucial final moment, Yang Ming used the Green Lotus Sword Song to settle the battle in one stroke!

Sure enough,

Cao Mengyun had never imagined that Yang Ming still had such a move in reserve. Blood sprayed from the wounds on his arms, calves, and abdomen, splattering across the bluestone floor!

"Hiss!"

Master Ma Xiunuo, also a Great Spirit Master, had no idea how many times he had gasped today, yet even now his scalp still went numb.

"A... a soul skill? And it does not look like an ordinary soul skill either. This is a soul skill comparable to one gained from a Soul Ring acquired by killing a thousand-year Soul Beast!"

"But how... how is that possible? He is merely a child from the countryside, and he has not even obtained a Soul Ring!"

Ordinarily, apart from gaining soul skills through Soul Rings, commoners who became Spirit Masters and had not surpassed level thirty were almost incapable of possessing their own soul skills—so-called self-created skills, like Tang San's Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. However, certain families with ancient inheritances possessed unique soul-skill legacies that allowed their clansmen to train in soul skills from an early age.

"Holy Soul Village... That is right, it was once the village that produced a Soul Saint. Could this child have some connection with that Soul Saint?"

Master Ma Xiunuo could not help letting his imagination run wild, automatically fabricating an explanation for Yang Ming's unbelievable abilities.

And oddly enough, after that thoroughly wild speculation... it sounded rather reasonable.

Yang Ming sheathed the Killing Blade and slowly turned around. Looking at Cao Mengyun, who was bleeding all over the floor, he said coldly:

"Looks like I won."

"Heh... hehehe... hahahaha!"

Cao Mengyun raised his wolf head toward the sky. One lion claw covered his wolf face, leaving only his chilling wolf eyes visible through the gaps between his fingers, brimming with bloodthirsty savagery!

Cao Mengyun lowered his lion claw. Green light gleamed in his eyes as he looked down at Yang Ming and sneered:

"You think that toy sword of yours can hurt me?"

As he spoke, the wounds Yang Ming had cut across Cao Mengyun's body actually healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, returning to normal in the blink of an eye!

Cao Mengyun pointed his thumb at himself, his gaze full of pride.

"I am not one of those useless Spirit Masters who only know support and control. I am a Battle Spirit Master who specializes in combat!"

(Thank you, Ganchu Bu, for the 100 book-coin reward, and Chong for the 200 book-coin reward.)