The Big One Came After the Little One? Gu Ling Would Beat Them All the Same!

"Hm?"

Ma Hongjun frowned. Only then did he shift his attention away from Ye Lingling and look at Gu Ling standing beside her.

Gu Ling stood calmly at Ye Lingling's side. There was barely any anger visible on his face, but his eyes had gone completely cold.

Ma Hongjun shook his hand hard, but he could not break free from the grip. Irritated, he said,

"Kid, what do you mean by this?"

Gu Ling did not answer. He merely slowly tightened his hand, and a faint sound of bones being squeezed came from Ma Hongjun's wrist.

The next second, Ma Hongjun's expression abruptly changed as he cried out,

"It hurts, it hurts! Let go!"

"Let go of me right now, damn it!"

Only then did Gu Ling speak calmly.

"In broad daylight, under the clear sky, what do you think you're doing, you dead fatso?"

Ma Hongjun gritted his teeth.

"What's it got to do with you?"

"I didn't touch you!"

Hearing that, Gu Ling did not get angry. Instead, a smile slowly curled across his lips, though there was no warmth in it at all.

Looking at Ma Hongjun before him, he sneered.

"You tried to molest my friend just now, and now you're asking what it has to do with me?"

As he spoke, Gu Ling's five fingers around Ma Hongjun's wrist slowly tightened again.

Crack!

A clearer sound of bones being compressed immediately rang out.

"Ah!"

Ma Hongjun's entire face flushed red from the pain. He was already hot-tempered, and with so many people watching, being held by the wrist and left unable to move by a youth who looked about his own age made him feel utterly humiliated.

"Bastard!"

"I told you to let go! Are you deaf?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the fury in Ma Hongjun's eyes erupted completely. A scorching surge of Soul Power rose from within him!

"Phoenix, possess me!"

A sharp phoenix cry rang out.

A fiery-red phantom of a Phoenix emerged behind Ma Hongjun. His body rapidly changed, his hair turning flame-red while the exposed skin of his body faintly glowed crimson.

At the same time.

Two yellow Soul Rings slowly rose beneath his feet.

The instant he used Martial Soul Possession, blazing flames raced along Ma Hongjun's arm toward the hand Gu Ling was using to grip him.

Seeing this, Gu Ling raised an eyebrow slightly before casually flinging him away.

Thud, thud, thud!

Ma Hongjun staggered back several steps before barely regaining his balance. By now, however, he had clearly been thoroughly enraged. Pointing at Gu Ling, he cursed,

"Damn it!"

"Kid, you're dead today!"

The next moment, the first Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up. He abruptly opened his mouth.

"First Soul Skill, Phoenix Flame Line!"

Whoosh—!

A blazing purplish-red flame burst forth, sweeping toward Gu Ling's position. The crowd that had been watching immediately paled.

"Soul Masters are fighting!"

"Get out of the way!"

The crowd quickly retreated to both sides.

Even the nearby vendors selling flower lanterns hurriedly gathered up their wares.

Seeing this, Ye Lingling frowned slightly. Yet before she could do anything, Gu Ling had already taken a step forward.

"Bone Dragon, possess me!"

Roar—!

A deep dragon roar suddenly sounded. Immediately afterward, a Soul Power fluctuation far stronger than Ma Hongjun's exploded outward, and an enormous pale Bone Dragon phantom rose behind Gu Ling.

Pieces of pale bone armor swiftly covered his arms. Sharp bone claws extended from his fingertips, while a dragon tail formed from pale vertebrae slowly emerged from behind him.

One yellow and two purple Soul Rings rose in succession from beneath Gu Ling's feet!

Not far away, Dai Mubai, who had been about to step forward to help, abruptly stopped. Oscar's eyes widened as he said incredulously,

"A Soul Elder?!"

"No!"

"Why is his second Soul Ring purple?!"

However.

Their shocked voices had barely sounded.

Gu Ling had already moved. Facing the incoming Phoenix Flame Line, he did not even use a Soul Skill. With a shift of his feet, he darted directly to the side, the flames barely skimming past the edge of his clothes.

The next second.

Gu Ling had already rushed in front of Ma Hongjun.

"What?!"

"How is he so fast?"

Ma Hongjun's expression changed, and the second Soul Ring on his body immediately lit up.

Unfortunately, before he could fully release his second Soul Skill, a fist covered in pale bone armor smashed viciously into his face!

An immense force erupted in an instant, visibly warping Ma Hongjun's entire face beneath the punch.

"Pfft!"

A mouthful of blood mixed with saliva sprayed from Ma Hongjun's mouth. His body flew sideways as though he had been struck by a charging Soul Beast.

Bang!

A dull impact sounded as Ma Hongjun crashed heavily onto the bluestone ground several meters away. He rolled twice more before finally stopping in a miserable heap, blood continuously trickling from the corner of his mouth.

For a moment, the surroundings fell silent.

Many of the onlookers had not even reacted yet. Ma Hongjun, who had been acting so arrogantly just moments earlier, was already sprawled on the ground.

"Fatty!"

Oscar's expression changed as he shouted urgently from nearby.

Ma Hongjun braced himself against the ground with both hands, wobbling as he tried to stand again. But the moment he raised his head, his mind began to buzz violently.

Gu Ling had not struck to kill, but the punch had certainly not been light.

"B-Bastard..." Ma Hongjun covered his face, blood running through the gaps between his fingers. His gaze toward Gu Ling was filled with fury.

Gu Ling did not care in the slightest. He merely glanced at Ma Hongjun, contempt flashing in his eyes as he mocked,

"That's it? I thought you had at least some skill, acting that arrogant."

As he spoke, he lightly rotated the wrist of the hand he had just used to punch him.

"Your Soul Power is unfocused, and your aura is a mess."

"Your Martial Soul is decent enough, but you've ruined your body yourself. Looking at you, you must indulge in lust quite often, huh? You're still so young, yet women have nearly drained all your Soul Power."

As soon as those words came out.

Low laughter immediately rose from the crowd.

"Pfft..."

"So he's all bark and no bite?"

"I thought he was something special."

Listening to the constant chatter around him, Ma Hongjun's face immediately turned liver-colored.

Being knocked down by Gu Ling's punch had already humiliated him enough. Now, being publicly accused of overindulging in lust in front of so many people felt like having his face ground into the dirt again and again.

"You!"

"You're fucking talking nonsense!"

Ma Hongjun struggled to climb to his feet. But just then, a tall figure suddenly rushed over from the side. It was Dai Mubai.

He strode quickly to Ma Hongjun's side, first glancing at Ma Hongjun's blood-covered face before raising his head to stare at Gu Ling. A clear trace of anger had appeared in his strange double pupils.

"Enough!"

Dai Mubai stepped forward. Three Soul Rings, two yellow and one purple, rose around him, and a Soul Power aura clearly far stronger than Ma Hongjun's spread from his body.

"Kid, are you looking to die?"

"You actually dared to hit my brother?!"