The Strongest Spear vs. the Strongest Shield

After learning about the various powers of this era and the Ten Great Fierce Beasts.

Lu Chen drew a map overlaying the two eras, comparing this age with what he remembered from ten thousand years ago.

For example, the original Spirit City was marked with both the names Spirit City and Douluo City.

Spirit City had been its name ten thousand years ago.

Douluo City was what it had been called in this era after Spirit Hall's destruction.

Though the map's labels were somewhat cluttered, it allowed him to clearly see how the landmarks had changed over ten thousand years.

"I never expected Old Master Dugu Bo's herb garden to still be around after ten thousand years."

Lu Chen's gaze fell upon Sunset Forest within the Tianhun Empire on the map.

The famous Yuan Yang Pot—the Ice and Fire Yang Well—was located there.

He had not had the time to visit it ten thousand years ago.

Now that he had traveled ten thousand years into the future, he had to make a trip there no matter what.

Lu Chen circled Douluo City and Sunset Forest on the map.

Both were places he would definitely visit in the future.

After marking several key landmarks on the map, Lu Chen stretched lazily.

When he looked up, he found that night had completely fallen outside the window.

The silver-haired senior student who had been sitting by the window had disappeared at some point.

A noisy rush of footsteps also came from outside the library.

Lu Chen raised a brow, folded up his finished map, and stored it in his Storage Ring.

The moment he stepped out of the library, Lu Chen ran into several excited students hurrying outside.

After casually asking around, he learned that Beibei and Xu Sanshi, the Outer Court Twins, were about to fight in the Spirit Duel Zone.

As soon as the news spread, students from more than half the Outer Court flocked over to watch the excitement.

"Perfect. I'll go take a look too."

Lu Chen became interested as well.

Since arriving at Shrek, he had yet to see an internal spirit duel at the academy.

This was the perfect chance to check one out.

Following the crowd toward the Spirit Duel Zone, Lu Chen had barely squeezed through the throng when he spotted Wang Dong not far away. Wang Dong held a grilled fish in one hand and stood on tiptoe, glancing around as though searching for someone.

"Wang Dong!"

Lu Chen called out to Wang Dong.

Upon hearing Lu Chen's voice, Wang Dong immediately looked over, his face lighting up. He seemed like a completely different person from his dispirited self at noon.

"Lu Chen, over here!"

"Here!"

Wang Dong waved at him vigorously.

Lu Chen walked over and found Tang Ya and Huo Yuhao there as well.

After they exchanged greetings, Lu Chen noticed a blonde girl standing beside them.

She was about Tang Ya's age, with delicate features and a slender figure. Her light green dress accentuated her gentle, graceful temperament.

She stood out strikingly amid the crowd.

However, her brows were slightly furrowed, and her expression was far from pleasant.

"Here, I saved this especially for you."

Seeing Lu Chen approach, Wang Dong handed over the oil-paper package in his hand, with a hint of smugness in his tone.

The package was warm from being held and carried the fragrance of grilled fish. It was clearly one of Huo Yuhao's grilled fish.

"Thanks."

Lu Chen did not stand on ceremony. He took the package and opened it, revealing the grilled fish inside.

He had skipped lunch and spent the entire afternoon in the library.

This grilled fish had come at exactly the right time. One bite filled him with satisfaction.

"What happened? Why did Beibei end up in the Spirit Duel Zone with someone?"

Lu Chen mumbled around a mouthful of grilled fish, wanting to know what had happened.

"Isn't it because Xu Sanshi was looking for trouble for no reason?"

Wang Dong curled his lips, irritation in his voice as he explained the entire situation to Lu Chen.

After hearing Wang Dong's account, Lu Chen roughly understood what had happened.

Originally, they had been helping Huo Yuhao set up his stall on the back street. With his excellent skills, Huo Yuhao had quickly opened up a market.

Then this Senior Jiang Nannan had come to buy grilled fish, but she felt that five copper soul coins per fish was too expensive. After hesitating, she did not buy one.

Jiang Nannan was the most beautiful girl in the Outer Court. Xu Sanshi seemed to be one of her pursuers, and he suddenly appeared, tossing down a Gold Soul Coin to buy grilled fish.

However, Xu Sanshi had come at the wrong time. There was only one grilled fish left, and it had been saved for Lu Chen.

This Xu Sanshi had probably wanted to show off in front of Jiang Nannan, so he insisted on forcing the sale.

Tang Ya taught him a lesson with a Hidden Weapon, and after he exchanged a few heated words with Beibei, the two of them came to the Spirit Duel Zone.

After understanding the course of events, Lu Chen's gaze naturally fell upon the blonde senior student.

Although Jiang Nannan was looking toward the Spirit Duel Zone, there was not the slightest trace of embarrassment on her face over the trouble caused by her.

Instead, her eyes were full of resistance and disgust toward Xu Sanshi.

Lu Chen withdrew his gaze, finished the last bit of grilled fish, and crumpled the oil paper into a ball, a flicker of surprise passing through his heart.

Prices in Shrek City were generally high. Even a bowl of plain noodles cost two copper soul coins.

Huo Yuhao's grilled fish used generous ingredients and was expertly cooked. Five copper soul coins was already a fair price.

Yet this Senior Jiang Nannan had actually found that price expensive.

Lu Chen felt that this senior student of theirs must have a story of her own.

But this was ultimately someone else's private matter, so Lu Chen did not dwell on it. Instead, he turned his attention seriously toward the fighting area.

Beibei and Xu Sanshi were both star students of the Outer Court.

This battle of the "strongest spear versus the strongest shield" had attracted quite a crowd.

And Xu Sanshi actually had more female fans than Beibei.

Seeing this, Lu Chen finally understood why Jiang Nannan looked at Xu Sanshi with nothing but disgust.

So Xu Sanshi was a player.

As they spoke, a bell suddenly rang out from the Spirit Duel Platform, and the referee loudly announced the official start of the match.

Cheers immediately erupted from below the platform.

Beibei launched the first attack. Blue-purple lightning burst from around his body as three Soul Rings—yellow, purple, purple—slowly rose, and his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul was fully unleashed.

Crackling lightning serpents coiled around Beibei's fingertips. With a flash, he charged toward Xu Sanshi with a piercing whistle through the air.

Xu Sanshi was not to be outdone. He gave a low roar and summoned his Xuanming Tortoise Martial Soul.

Water- and earth-attributed Soul Power condensed into the phantom of a heavy tortoise shell.

Three Soul Rings—yellow, purple, purple—rose at the same time.

He was clearly also a Three-Ring Spirit Zun.

Lightning and the tortoise shell collided with a thunderous crash, erupting into a dazzling mass of light.

Neither of them gained an advantage in their first exchange.

"Hey, who do you think will win?"

Wang Dong edged closer to Lu Chen, looking up at him with curiosity in his eyes.

With his arms folded, Lu Chen glanced at Huo Yuhao beside them and said calmly but firmly, "Beibei will win, and it won't take long."

"Huh?!"

"Why?"

"They shouldn't be able to determine a winner anytime soon, right?"

Wang Dong was slightly surprised by this.

Beibei and Xu Sanshi were both Three-Ring Spirit Zuns. One possessed what was known as the Outer Court's strongest offensive Martial Soul, while the other had what was called the Outer Court's strongest defensive Martial Soul.

After fighting for this long, neither had gained the upper hand.

It looked as though they would have to keep fighting for some time.

Yet Lu Chen was certain that Beibei would win, and that it would not take long.

"You'll know if you keep watching."

Lu Chen did not explain and merely told Wang Dong to continue watching the match.

In the Spirit Duel Zone, Beibei launched another attack. Unfortunately, it was blocked by Xu Sanshi's second Soul Skill, and Beibei was even afflicted with dizziness.

Xu Sanshi was just about to seize this opening and end the battle.

However, at that moment, Xu Sanshi suddenly felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.

His attack also stalled for an instant.

At that very moment, Beibei recovered, seized the opening, and won the battle.

Looks like my little brother's Soul Skill has some hidden ability.

Watching the scene unfold, Lu Chen silently thought to himself.

The reason he had been so certain Beibei would win was because he had sensed Huo Yuhao's spiritual fluctuations.

However, Huo Yuhao had not used Spiritual Detection and Spiritual Sharing to assist Beibei from below the platform this time.

Instead, he had used another method to interfere with Xu Sanshi at the crucial moment.

That was what allowed Beibei to turn the tide.

If Lu Chen had not cultivated the Cosmo and awakened his sixth sense, he might not have noticed it at all.