"Both sides, state your names."
"Ye Chen."
"Wang Dong."
"Xiao Xiao."
All three members of Dai Huabin's team showed clear hostility.
"Dai Huabin."
"Zhu Lu."
"Cui Yajie."
The supervising teacher spread both arms toward the two sides. "Move to the edges of the arena. You may only attack after I announce the start."
Both teams slowly backed away.
As they retreated, Wang Dong spoke into Ye Chen's ear.
"They even restricted our flight altitude? Isn't that targeting me a bit too much? Did Dai Huabin bribe the academy?"
Since the two teams were still close, Dai Huabin and his teammates naturally heard what Wang Dong said.
"If you're scared, surrender and spare yourselves a beating." As Dai Huabin entered his combat state, a ruthless aura radiated from his entire body.
"I've fought soul beasts ever since I awakened my martial soul. Countless soul beasts have died at my hands. You're nothing but flowers raised in a greenhouse," Dai Huabin sneered.
Outside the Sky Screen, in the Spirit Hall Era, Dai Mubai felt deeply gratified to see such a talented descendant.
"This Dai Huabin has the makings of my younger self."
Back then, he too had wrestled with women ever since awakening his martial soul.
Yu Xiaogang was equally pleased.
"Excellent, excellent. I think Dai Huabin has the makings of a god! With training based on my theories, he could well become another Dai Mubai!"
Meanwhile, inside the Sky Screen, Ye Chen spoke impatiently.
"How amusing. Ever since I was born, I could kill plenty of tiny soul beasts just by stamping my feet. What are you so smug about?"
If he hadn't thought Dai Huabin was poorly educated, he would have told him that a casual slap could kill a whole swarm of microorganisms! Killing a few soul beasts had gone straight to his head? He really needed a good zapping.
Honestly, Ye Chen even thought Dai Huabin had masochistic tendencies.
In the original story, he spurned Zhu Lu, who had stayed faithfully by his side, yet fell in love with Wang Qiu'er the instant she gave him a beating. Unbelievable.
In the stands, almost everyone fell silent, including Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo.
Soon, both teams reached the edges of the arena.
The supervising teacher raised his right hand, then brought it down sharply. His cry of "Begin!" reached every competing student loud and clear.
Ye Chen's trio and Dai Huabin's trio moved almost identically. The moment they heard the signal, they released their martial souls and charged at their opponents.
"White Tiger, possess me!" Dai Huabin roared.
An intense layer of white light erupted from his body. His bones crackled, his muscles instantly swelled, and three soul rings-two yellow and one purple-suddenly appeared.
"Where did this obnoxious habit come from? Just release your martial soul. Why shout about it?"
Ye Chen was utterly disdainful. By that logic, would he have to shout, "Three Eyes, possess me!" whenever he released his martial soul?
Outside the Sky Screen, Dai Mubai's reaction upon hearing this was: "???"
At the same time, Ye Chen released his Three-Eyed Golden Lion martial soul.
Three soul rings appeared in a visually stunning configuration: two purple and one black.
His aura immediately overwhelmed Dai Huabin's white tiger martial soul.
Beside Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu's martial soul was still her ancestral nether civet martial soul.
The martial soul of the last girl, the red-haired Cui Yajie, however, startled Bibi Dong within Ye Chen's Sea of Spirit.
Cui Yajie's pink hair grew longer, and the smile on her exquisite face could not help but leave people dazed.
Two long tails appeared behind her.
"A sky fox martial soul?" Bibi Dong paused, but quickly noticed that it differed somewhat from Hu Liena's sky fox martial soul.
"A nine-tailed fox martial soul, then..."
If Qian Renxue was the person Bibi Dong worried about most, Hu Liena came second.
"I wonder how Na'er is doing. I only hope she hasn't fallen too deeply," Bibi Dong murmured to herself.
As the pope of Spirit Hall, how could she possibly have failed to notice Hu Liena's feelings for Tang San?
But their respective identities alone had doomed that love to impossibility.
Fortunately, Ye Chen was busy fighting his match. Otherwise, he really would have given those three fools of Spirit Hall a proper talking-to.
Of all the things you could do, why let romance go to your heads? Couldn't you focus on your ambitions?
If Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu had truly set aside their grudges and joined forces, the Douluo Continent would have belonged to your Spirit Hall long ago.
Instead, you insisted on throwing yourselves away one by one.
On the other side, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao also released their martial souls beside Ye Chen.
They engaged Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie respectively.
Ye Chen, meanwhile, went after Dai Huabin alone.
"What? This is your strategy? Letting a control-type soul master face me alone?"
Dai Huabin looked at Ye Chen with utter disdain. In a one-on-one fight, he was confident he could defeat any of the new students.
"Facing me is the most unfortunate thing that will ever happen in your life."
Ye Chen had no intention of hiding anything any longer and immediately unleashed his second soul skill.
"You're courting death!"
At the same time, Dai Huabin's second yellow soul ring lit up.
"Second soul skill, Radiant Burning Heaven!"
"Second soul skill, White Tiger Radiant Wave!"
Phantoms of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion and the White Tiger appeared behind Ye Chen and Dai Huabin simultaneously.
Countless golden orbs shot toward Dai Huabin from around the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's phantom, each carrying golden flames that could burn everything to ashes.
Meanwhile, Dai Huabin let out a roar, and intense white light instantly gathered around his head.
A mass of white light blasted from his mouth toward Ye Chen.
The golden and white lights collided. At the very instant of contact, the golden light swallowed the white light whole. Even the golden flames surged along the White Tiger Radiant Wave toward Dai Huabin.
"What? How is this possible!" Refusing to believe it, Dai Huabin poured more soul power into his White Tiger Radiant Wave.
He believed that as long as his soul skill was powerful enough, it could annihilate every attack before him.
But... Ye Chen's ultimate light and ultimate fire were far beyond anything his little White Tiger could hope to challenge.
Outside the Sky Screen, Dai Weisi watched the scene with such agitation that he scratched his ears and cheeks.
"Come on, his attack is clearly stronger than yours! Can't you change your approach? Why insist on meeting force with force?"
"Don't tell me you don't even know any self-created soul skills!"
Dai Weisi was far from the only one shocked.
Inside the Sky Screen, on the raised platform.
Yan Shaozhe sprang to his feet in shock, wild with joy.
"Both control and assault types? Ultimate light, ultimate fire! We've found a treasure, a real treasure!"
Qian Duoduo was also somewhat shocked, but compared with Ye Chen, he still favored Huo Yuhao in his heart.
Huo Yuhao's first soul skill was simply a perfect match for the Soul Guidance Department.
Meanwhile, in the arena, Dai Huabin saw himself being steadily overpowered. His pride would not allow him to remain at a disadvantage like this.
He immediately shouted, "Zhu Lu, Hell White Tiger!"
Although Zhu Lu had not expected Dai Huabin to use his trump card so soon, she still ran toward him without hesitation.
She was an agility-type soul master and incredibly fast. Even if Wang Dong wanted to stop her, he could not. He could only shout a warning for Ye Chen to be careful.
Yet upon hearing this, Ye Chen showed no panic at all. Instead, he was rather excited.
"Martial Soul Fusion Skill? I could crush it with one hand!"