Wu Feng, Beaten into Submission

"Lu Yuan, get down here!"

"Lu Yuan, are you coming down or not?"

"Lu Yuan, get your ass down here right now!!!"

Unable to do anything but rage, Wu Feng was starting to crack. With her emotions more easily stirred under the effects of her second skill, Dragon's Wrath, she could only bombard the air before her as Lu Yuan struck all sorts of taunting poses in the sky.

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan floated leisurely in the air without the slightest hurry. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tower's enhancement consumed a great deal of the user's Soul Power. Even with Ning Tian's Heart Separation Control Method, a secret technique of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she could not sustain it for long. The same was even more true for an enhancement Soul Skill like Dragon's Wrath. For a level twenty-five Soul Grandmaster like Wu Feng, maintaining a hundred-year Soul Skill for an extended period was simply unrealistic.

As for Lu Yuan?

A flying Soul Skill might be a considerable burden on the Soul Power of other low-level Soul Masters, but for Lu Yuan, who possessed the God Clan Bloodline and the Third Soul Skill, Praise of Light, which reduced the consumption of all Soul Skills by fifty percent, it could only be said—don't make Brother Lu laugh.

I can drag this out with you all day!

Outside the arena, Ning Tian did not know whether to laugh or cry. She had expected a fierce battle, but she had not expected it to turn into something so absurd. Still, this method fit perfectly with what Ning Tian already knew about Lu Yuan—

It might not be the most honorable victory, but did I win or not?

After all, being countered was worse than anything. A super-effective move could slay even immortals.

Just as Ning Tian's Soul Power was about to run out and she was preparing to call off this ridiculous farce, Lu Yuan landed.

"Lu Yuan, how dare you toy with me? Get over here!!!"

With her Soul Power nearly exhausted, Wu Feng gathered her last breath and tried to charge forward. But Lu Yuan had long seen that she was at the end of her rope. She was merely putting on a brave front.

"Stop, Wu Feng!" After easily dodging Wu Feng's all-show-no-substance little punch, Lu Yuan continued, "I know you definitely won't accept this kind of fight, so I can wait for you and Ning Tian to recover, and then we can have another round."

Seeing Wu Feng like this made Lu Yuan feel a little guilty, as though he were teasing a fool. So, he decided to give her another chance—to defeat her fair and square, and let her see the gap between them.

"Hm?" Wu Feng stopped flailing her claws when she heard Lu Yuan's words, looking somewhat confused. "You mean you'll fight me again?"

"Really?"

"No dodging, no running, no flying?"

"In the next round, I won't use that flying Soul Skill. Is that good enough?"

"You're not messing with me?"

"I promise! I'm definitely not messing with you!" Lu Yuan said helplessly.

"Fine, then we'll fight again!" Having received Lu Yuan's assurance, Wu Feng's fighting spirit flared back to life. Without caring whether Ning Tian could still hold on, she immediately sat cross-legged, swallowed several pills to restore Soul Power, and began recovering.

Lu Yuan seems pretty decent. At least he didn't mock me after winning, and he even dares to fight me head-on without using his flying Soul Skill. This time, I'll definitely win! Wu Feng thought smugly.

Wait, that's not right? Halfway through her recovery, Wu Feng suddenly froze. He could have fought me head-on from the start, but he insisted on using his flying Soul Skill to mess with me first. Wasn't that him messing with me?

I thought he was messing with me, but he wasn't; then I thought he wasn't messing with me, but he was messing with me—

So was he messing with me or not?!

Feng, he was messing with you!

Ning Tian, who had witnessed everything below the stage, did not know whether to laugh or cry. As the brains of the pair, she had clearly seen that Lu Yuan was teasing a fool. However, Feng had already agreed to a second match, so Ning Tian could only take out some recovery pills and begin restoring her Soul Power as well.

Before long, the two had recovered. Under Elder Chen's strange gaze, Lu Yuan began his second match against them.

"Spirit battle, begin!"

"Seven treasures turn to glass! Seven treasures have a name: first, speed; third, strength! First Soul Skill, Dragon's Flame! Second Soul Skill, Dragon's Wrath!"

This moment was just like before. The same opening unfolded once again, but this time, Wu Feng did not foolishly charge forward. Instead, she watched Lu Yuan suspiciously, checking whether he showed any signs of breaking his word.

Standing where he was, Lu Yuan put on an innocent expression and helplessly spread his hands. Kid, what did I tell you?

"Fine, Lu Yuan, you've got guts! Take this move!!!"

Once she confirmed that Lu Yuan had no intention of running away, Wu Feng no longer hesitated. The blazing dragonfire surged even higher along with her soaring fighting spirit, and the heat wave sweeping toward him made even Lu Yuan glance sideways.

Wu Feng, use Flame Punch on him!!!

Your punch was too slow!!!

Watching Wu Feng strike with a claw filled with certainty of victory, Lu Yuan merely tilted his head slightly. His spiritual power, far beyond that of Soul Masters at the same level, allowed him to clearly sense and react to Wu Feng's movements, letting the surging heat wave brush past his face.

Then, he turned and struck.

How was that possible?!

A powerful hand locked around Wu Feng's wrist. No matter how she struggled or exerted herself, even the blazing dragonfire ignited by her Soul Power could not force it back in the slightest. At that moment, Wu Feng felt that the figure before her was not human at all, but a humanoid beast wearing human skin.

His right hand firmly locked around Wu Feng's wrist. Taking advantage of the instant she froze, Lu Yuan's left hand shot out like lightning, delivering a heavy punch that struck her abdomen—the relatively soft area even while she was in Martial Soul Possession.

Bang!

The force was just right. It stunned her without damaging her brain.

The God Clan Bloodline—the charm of plain, unadorned base stats!

Unlike traditional elementalists and control-type Soul Masters, who were essentially artillery mages, Lu Yuan possessed absurdly high base stats under the enhancement of the God Clan Bloodline. Even compared to assault-type battle Soul Elders at the same level, his left fist dealt high damage and his right fist dealt even higher damage. Not to mention Wu Feng, who was only a Soul Grandmaster.

Blank!

Her brain's first reaction after taking the hit was not pain, but complete emptiness. Only afterward did a piercing pain spread from her lungs and stomach throughout her entire body.

Urgh—

The pain in her abdomen made Wu Feng retch uncontrollably. Lu Yuan released her hand and allowed her to collapse onto the arena.

After a while, Wu Feng came back to her senses and wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes caused by retching. To her shock, the anger brought on by Dragon's Wrath and the possession state of her Red Dragon Martial Soul had both been completely scattered by that simple, unadorned heavy punch.

The outcome had been decided.

"Still want to fight?" Lu Yuan asked calmly. "I didn't use my full strength in that punch. It will only make you feel pain and won't injure your internal organs. If you—"

"Again!"

This time, Wu Feng did not shout or make a fuss. She silently struggled up from the ground and began recovering her Soul Power and condition.

"Again!"

"Again!"

No one knew how long the matches continued. During that time, Wu Feng was defeated by Lu Yuan again and again through different tactics.

Sometimes, he used classic kiting tactics. Making use of the mobility granted by Wings of Light, Lu Yuan did not even need to fly high into the air. By merely using his wings for quick movements and dodges within a small area, he could slowly wear Wu Feng down and kite her with his second skill, Blade of Light.

At other times, they fought head-on. Lu Yuan suppressed his cultivation to two rings as well, and even without using his terrifying physical prowess, he could rely on his incredible reactions to defend and counterattack amid Wu Feng's assaults, finding openings in her attacks.

There was even one time when Lu Yuan directly used a beginner light-element spell that Elder Yi had taught him not long ago: Illumination Spell. The dazzling light temporarily blinded Wu Feng, allowing Lu Yuan to take her down.

Bang!

This time, Wu Feng could no longer get back up. Her Soul Power had been completely depleted, and she collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.