Battle Against Ruo Lin, the Strength of a Da Dou Shi

"Withdraw?"

"You dare!"

Xiao Yan was a prodigy with S-Rank Potential. How could Ruo Lin possibly let him go so easily?

Her almond eyes widened as she shouted.

However, when she saw the resolute look on Xiao Yan's face, she knew he absolutely had to take this leave. It immediately gave her a headache.

"How about this? If you can last twenty exchanges against me, I'll approve your leave. I'll handle every procedure with the academy for you."

"If you don't dare, give up now."

Instructor Ruo Lin's beautiful eyes shifted as she smiled gently.

That soft, tender voice would make any young man unknowingly lose himself in it, only to be completely controlled by her afterward.

"It's a deal."

Xiao Yan showed no fear as he replied with a smile.

"Hmph, what an overconfident brat. Just because he has some talent, he thinks he can fight Instructor Ruo Lin, a Five-Star Da Dou Shi? How arrogant."

Rob was shocked by Xiao Yan's monstrous talent, but he only dared to sneer quietly from the side now.

Still, Rob's mockery echoed what many others were thinking. They simply did not say it aloud.

"Let's go outside the tent."

Ruo Lin's pretty face was filled with a gentle smile, but Xiao Yan sensed danger lurking behind it.

Like a rose with thorns.

The sun was setting, and its rays were no longer so scorching. An occasional cool breeze swept past, carrying away the lingering heat in the air and leaving everyone feeling refreshed.

In the square, Xiao Yan and Ruo Lin stood facing each other, more than ten meters apart.

Ruo Lin brushed her delicate hand over her Storage Ring, and a blue whip appeared in her right hand.

It was a magical core weapon. The magical core's attribute matched Instructor Ruo Lin's Dou Qi attribute, allowing it to increase her strength by around twenty percent.

"What weapon do you use?" Instructor Ruo Lin asked.

Xiao Yan shrugged. "I'm not as wealthy as you, Instructor. I can't afford a magical core weapon."

Ruo Lin raised an eyebrow and smiled. "That's not my concern. Weapons are part of one's strength too."

"Begin!"

"Mm!"

Xiao Yan nodded heavily, and his expression immediately turned serious.

He also wanted to witness the strength of a Da Dou Shi and see just how great the gap between them was.

His soul perception was fully unleashed as Xiao Yan fixed his gaze firmly on Instructor Ruo Lin, waiting for her attack.

Instructor Ruo Lin smiled faintly. Dou Qi flowed from her palm and covered the long whip, giving off a blue glow.

This was the method of a Da Dou Shi. They could project their Dou Qi outward and coat their weapons with it, increasing their weapons' offensive power.

At the same time, it allowed them to wield their weapons with greater control.

With Dou Qi infused into the whip, Instructor Ruo Lin controlled it as easily as an extension of her own arm.

The whip was rigid as a staff one moment and supple as a venomous snake the next, shifting unpredictably.

Instructor Ruo Lin raised her slender hand, and the whip chopped down vertically at Xiao Yan.

Its extreme speed left streaks of afterimages in the air, accompanied by a shrill howl that tore through the wind.

Xiao Yan quickly judged that the force of his Fire-Blowing Palm was nowhere near enough to blow away the incoming whip.

The instant the whip neared him, he abruptly shifted slightly to the left.

The whip swept past Xiao Yan's clothes with fierce force and smashed heavily into the stone slabs.

Crack!

The stone slab shattered, sending fragments flying everywhere.

But it was not over yet. Like a venomous snake, the whip that had struck the slab swiftly curled around and lashed toward Xiao Yan's legs.

With his soul perception fully unleashed, Xiao Yan was naturally prepared.

He stomped hard against the ground. Yet that alone was not enough. Pale yellow light emerged from his palms as he aimed them at the ground, releasing two powerful blasts of force.

His body shot into the air before rapidly retreating backward.

Instructor Ruo Lin gave a surprised cry, but the whip in her hand followed Xiao Yan like a shadow.

As the whip closed in, Xiao Yan tapped it with his left foot just as it was about to coil around his calf.

Pale yellow light unexpectedly flared from the sole of his left foot, and a burst of force erupted from it. The whip paused, while his body rose another stretch into the air.

Xiao Yan's mastery of the Fire-Blowing Palm had already reached the point where he could use it with his feet.

With force blasting from both his hands and feet at once, he was like a small bird freely soaring through the air.

He easily evaded Ruo Lin's attacks.

The whip could not reach him.

"What a strange Dou Technique. And what remarkable mastery of it."

Instructor Ruo Lin's beautiful eyes lit up as she praised him.

"But this still isn't enough."

Ruo Lin chuckled. She had not moved a single step during her earlier attacks.

She rushed forward, and the long whip in her hand chopped down at Xiao Yan once more.

Suction Palm!

A powerful suction force erupted from Xiao Yan's palms, immediately drawing over the stone fragments that the whip had shattered in the square.

Fire-Blowing Palm!

Once dozens of fragments had been drawn before him, Xiao Yan unleashed the Fire-Blowing Palm again, blasting them forward with powerful force.

The fragments instantly shot toward the charging Ruo Lin like concealed weapons, filling the sky.

Ruo Lin gave a light laugh. Her Dou Qi circulated, and a pale blue suit of armor appeared over her delicate body.

Dou Qi Armor!

The fragments shattered into powder the instant they struck the Dou Qi Armor.

They could not even break through its defense.

This was a Da Dou Shi.

Xiao Yan froze for an instant, and the whip was already upon him. He could only turn his head aside as it struck his chest.

His black clothes instantly tore apart, revealing his sturdy, jade-white chest muscles.

"Little fellow, it's over."

Seeing that the whip had struck him, Instructor Ruo Lin laughed softly.

She had controlled the force behind the whip. This strike should have paralyzed half of Xiao Yan's body and robbed him of his ability to fight.

Yet Xiao Yan acted as though nothing had happened. He grabbed the whip and pulled hard, sending his entire body rapidly toward Instructor Ruo Lin.

Ruo Lin cried out in surprise. She had not expected Xiao Yan's body to be so powerful.

What she did not know was that Xiao Yan had endured countless lashings from Yao Lao. His body was far from ordinary.

His physical body was even stronger than his Dou Qi cultivation.

As he closed in on Instructor Ruo Lin, Xiao Yan clenched his fist, pale yellow light glowing over it.

Eight Extremes Collapse!

His massive fist streaked with yellow light like a cannonball as it smashed toward Ruo Lin.

Feeling the power behind that punch, a flash of surprise passed through Instructor Ruo Lin's beautiful eyes.

Her Dou Qi circulated rapidly, and a round blue water shield instantly appeared in her palm. She extended her jade-like hand and collided with Xiao Yan's fist.

Bang!

Fist and palm met with a muffled thunderous boom.

Instructor Ruo Lin drifted lightly backward several steps.

Xiao Yan, meanwhile, was jolted by the tremendous rebound force. He staggered back more than ten steps before steadying himself, his face turning pale.

At that moment, Xiao Yan felt his legs tighten. Looking down, he realized that the long whip had tightly bound both of them.

"Hehe, Xiao Yan, it's over. It seems your leave is gone. This is the final exchange."

Instructor Ruo Lin smiled brightly as she looked at the trapped Xiao Yan.

Then she projected her Dou Qi outward. Blue Dou Qi rapidly formed a massive water snake three to four meters long in the air. The water snake roared toward the heavens, water vapor billowing around its body.

"A Mid Profound Tier Dou Technique—Water Mandala?"

One of the students recognized Instructor Ruo Lin's Dou Technique and cried out in shock.

"Looks like Xiao Yan is going to lose."

The enormous water snake lunged toward Xiao Yan.

"Yao Lao, make your move."

Looking at the somewhat ferocious giant water snake, Xiao Yan gave a bitter smile.

The strength of a Da Dou Shi was simply not something Xiao Yan could handle at his current level.

Even though Instructor Ruo Lin had already gone easy on him and was likely using less than twenty percent of her full strength, it was still beyond what Xiao Yan could handle now.

Boom!

The water snake finally crashed into Xiao Yan's body. The ground trembled, and water surged into the sky.

"Brother Xiao Yan!"

Xiao Xun'er called out worriedly as she looked toward the area completely obscured by the curtain of water.

"Don't worry. The force of that attack will only knock him unconscious."

Instructor Ruo Lin patted the girl's shoulder and smiled reassuringly.

"Go, carry him out... Huh?"

Instructor Ruo Lin's expression changed slightly as soft footsteps emerged from the faint water mist. The slender figure of a young man slowly walked out.

"Instructor Ruo Lin, it seems you'll have to approve my year of leave."

Everyone stared at the young man's calm smile in utter shock.