The Gap and the Truth

"Boss, be careful—"

The lackeys around Xiao Chenyu looked fearful and hurriedly retreated into the distance.

"Hmph, what a bunch of cowards."

The chill in Xiao Chenyu's eyes deepened as he directly summoned his Martial Soul.

The next instant, Xiao Chenyu's body shot up to two meters tall. His short hair turned into long locks brimming with a cold gleam, black scales emerged across his handsome face, and his formerly arrogant eyes became bloodthirsty red pupils.

Not only that, his arms were covered in black scales. His right hand curled slightly downward, and a black bone blade protruded from his elbow, its edge glinting with an icy light.

"Jiang Lin, don't think awakening a High-grade Martial Soul makes you so impressive. My Night Wolf Martial Soul isn't weak either, and I gained my first soul ring long ago. Let's see whether you're all bark and no bite!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Chenyu vanished. While everyone searched around for him, he somehow appeared directly behind Jiang Lin and raised his bone blade, viciously slashing at Jiang Lin's back!

"Heh, a special ability of your Martial Soul?"

Just as Xiao Chenyu smugly believed he was about to succeed, Jiang Lin reacted instantly and slashed backward with the King's Power Sword in his hand!

With a resounding clang, although Xiao Chenyu's bone blade was several times tougher than Kus's bone claws, the King's Power Sword was no longer the same as before. Empowered by the King's Power Sword Intent, its edge gained a trait that could cut through anything, directly shearing off the tip of the bone blade!

"How is that possible?!"

Xiao Chenyu's pupils contracted. Before he could remain stunned for long, the King's Power Sword continued toward his head without losing momentum.

"First Soul Skill, Shadow Form!"

Xiao Chenyu immediately shouted in a low voice. His tall half-wolf body turned ethereal, causing the King's Power Sword to strike nothing but air.

"That soul skill's pretty good. It actually negated my attack outright."

Jiang Lin looked somewhat surprised at Xiao Chenyu, who had reformed in the distance, and a trace of approval appeared on his face.

How is this kid's reaction speed so fast? He actually reacted to that?

Xiao Chenyu's face was full of gravity as he concealed himself once more.

However, Jiang Lin remained completely relaxed, not taking him seriously in the slightest. He even had the leisure to joke with Xiao Wu nearby.

"Hmph, how arrogant. But that's exactly my chance!"

The next moment, Xiao Chenyu spotted an opening and instantly appeared a meter to Jiang Lin's side. His bone blade once again chopped viciously toward Jiang Lin's neck from an extremely tricky angle!

"Is that all you can do? What a disappointment."

Jiang Lin merely tilted his head slightly, then thrust the King's Power Sword diagonally forward. It struck the center of the bone blade, and with a slight exertion of force, a small hole was punched directly through it!

"How can that be? You reacted again?!"

Xiao Chenyu's face was filled with shock. Just as the tip of the King's Power Sword was about to stab him, he used his soul skill again and disappeared from where he stood.

"Once could have been a coincidence, but twice is genuine skill. This Jiang Lin—"

"Could it be because of his Martial Soul? But isn't the special ability of his Martial Soul extreme sharpness? Why does it also boost his reaction speed so much?"

"This kid hasn't even obtained a soul ring yet. Is this the difference between a High-grade Martial Soul and a Mid-grade Martial Soul?"

Xiao Chenyu frowned deeply and no longer dared to take the initiative to attack.

After all, with Jiang Lin's inhuman reaction speed, his sneak attacks were completely useless. One careless move and he would be struck by Jiang Lin's King's Power Sword.

Although he could use his soul skill to evade in time, he was only a level 19 Soul Master. The soul power in his body could support him in using the soul skill at most five times.

He had already used it twice just now, leaving only three uses. And if he wanted to maintain his Martial Soul possession, his remaining soul power could only support one more use.

"What? Are you scared?"

A teasing look appeared on Jiang Lin's face.

"Hmph—"

Although Xiao Chenyu wanted to retort, he had been born into nobility and received extensive practical combat training from a young age. He was highly skilled at controlling his emotions and would not be provoked into revealing an opening like Kus.

"Heh, since you won't make a move, I will. But if you don't use your soul skill against this strike, it'll probably hurt a lot."

Jiang Lin smiled faintly. Without using any movement technique, he charged straight toward Xiao Chenyu and brought his sword down!

Not good. If I can't block this strike, even if it doesn't kill me, I'll be badly injured. But my soul power—

Feeling the extreme sharpness of the sword edge, Xiao Chenyu hesitated. After weighing his options, he ultimately did not use his soul skill. Instead, he flashed away and retreated into the distance at tremendous speed.

"Run? Do you think you can get away?"

A trace of mockery flashed through Jiang Lin's eyes. He stopped, then swept the King's Power Sword forward.

The next instant, countless tiny golden sword qi turned into small swords that detached from the blade and shot toward Xiao Chenyu!

"Damn it, what is this thing?!"

Feeling the sharp force behind him, Xiao Chenyu's face filled with terror. He gathered all his soul power into his calves, and his speed surged again.

However, he had clearly underestimated the sword qi. Although Jiang Lin could currently unleash only one-millionth of the King's Power Sword's power, empowered by the King's Power Sword Intent, these sword qi were troublesome even for a Great Soul Master, let alone a mere Soul Master like him.

In only half a minute, Xiao Chenyu's face was drenched in sweat, and more than half the soul power in his body had been exhausted. Just as he thought he had shaken off the sword qi, he failed to notice the shocked looks everyone else was giving him.

Fortunately, one lackey was still loyal to him and hesitantly spoke up.

"B-Boss—"

"What is it?"

Xiao Chenyu turned his head toward that lackey in confusion.

"Boss, y-your back is covered in blood!"

"What?"

Xiao Chenyu immediately frowned and reached behind himself. A slick, cool sensation met his hand, but before he could examine it carefully—

The next instant, an overwhelming pain surged into his mind like a tidal wave.

"Ah!"

With a scream, Xiao Chenyu rolled across the ground in agony, losing all of his previous arrogance and lofty bearing.

The reason for this was that the sword qi had caught up with Xiao Chenyu long ago. They had worn away the scales on his back and silently penetrated his flesh.

Xiao Chenyu's back was now a bloody mess, with stark white bone exposed through the mangled flesh. He clearly no longer had the strength to fight.

Seeing Xiao Chenyu in such a miserable state, his lackeys were about to step forward and take him away when Jiang Lin walked over.

"What's the rush? This isn't a place where you can come and go as you please."

He casually swept his gaze over them. They immediately dared not move again and could only stand there in fear.

"Jiang Lin, w-what else do you want? Don't tell me you really dare kill me!"

"My father is the Lord of Notting City, and my uncle is an academy teacher. If you dare touch me, they'll never let you off!"

Xiao Chenyu's face was deathly pale. Although he knew Jiang Lin would most likely not dare harm him with his father and uncle backing him, his body still trembled uncontrollably as Jiang Lin drew closer.

"Kill you? It hasn't come to that. I just want to ask you something."

Jiang Lin smiled as he crouched in front of Xiao Chenyu and patted his face.

"Tell me. Who exactly sent you to cause trouble for me? I don't think I've ever offended you."

"I-I came on my own. I heard from others that a genius had arrived at the academy, so I came over out of curiosity."

"Heh, do you believe that yourself?"

A cold smile appeared on Jiang Lin's face. Before everyone's horrified eyes, he grabbed Xiao Chenyu by the throat.

"Tell me and you live. Refuse and you die. I'll count to three. If you still don't answer, or if you try to lie, don't blame me for being ruthless."

"Jiang Lin, y-you dare—"

Feeling the tightening grip around his throat, terror appeared on Xiao Chenyu's face. He tried to struggle, but he could not break free from Jiang Lin's hand at all.

Helpless, Xiao Chenyu could only give in.

"L-Let go. I'll talk."

Jiang Lin loosened his grip slightly but did not release him completely, merely giving Xiao Chenyu enough room to breathe.

"It was my uncle! My uncle told me to come cause trouble for you!"

"Xiao Yan? I don't know him. Why would he want to cause trouble for me?"

"It was the gate guard, Suke. My uncle is his brother-in-law. You broke Suke's leg when you enrolled, so he went to my uncle to vent his anger."

Before setting out, Xiao Yan had sternly warned Xiao Chenyu not to reveal his involvement. But now Xiao Chenyu's life rested entirely on Jiang Lin's whim. Naturally, he would not gamble with his life for Suke's sake, and he spilled everything.

"It was him?"

"Heh, looks like he thinks his other leg is unnecessary too."

A trace of killing intent surfaced in Jiang Lin's eyes.