Three Punches Without Killing You Counts as a Failed Order

"Damn it! You're clearly just a Soul Elder, yet you dare spout such arrogant nonsense before a Soul Emperor! You truly have a... death wish!"

Yu Xiaogang's eyes were bloodshot, and he panted like a bull, his chest heaving violently. An inexplicable aura of righteous indignation radiated from him, as though he were the offended victim.

Seeing him like that, Qi Ji could not help sighing inwardly.

The symptoms were far too typical—bloodshot eyes, panting like a bull, constantly talking about death wishes. These were clearly the clinical signs of late-stage Tang Family Syndrome.

All he could say was that the bloodline was pure. As expected of someone from Shrek; even his manner of having an episode carried such a sense of inheritance.

"Are you misunderstanding something?" Qi Ji tilted his head, his tone filled with the bewilderment of someone wondering whether the other person had water in his brain.

"If you hadn't clung to me like a damn skin disease, desperately trying to stir up trouble with me online, do you think I'd have given you the time of day? You insisted on coming over to get beaten up, and now somehow it's my fault?"

"Hmph! I was issuing you a challenge!" Yu Xiaogang retorted righteously, raising his chin even higher.

"I don't believe some brat could possibly be stronger than me! First place on the Young Genius Rankings? Heh, who knows whether you're just some fraud propped up by the Federation!"

"Think whatever you want." Qi Ji shrugged. A crafty glint flashed through his golden dragon eyes as he suddenly came up with a few good ideas.

"But—you're questioning the authority of the Federation and the Spirit Pagoda, then?"

"So what if I am?!" Yu Xiaogang took the bait, his voice growing several degrees louder in his agitation.

"The War God Temple and the Spirit Pagoda have been in cahoots for ages! Who knows whether your rankings have been rigged! A nine-year-old little brat ranked ahead of me? Ridiculous!"

"But didn't you used to think this ranking was quite prestigious?" Qi Ji asked lazily, with the calm of a hunter watching prey step into a trap.

"Could it be that just because you dropped from first to second place, the rankings suddenly stopped being authoritative?"

"How are those the same?!" Yu Xiaogang immediately argued, his face flushing even redder, yet he could not offer any convincing rebuttal.

"So you mean the Federation's rankings aren't authoritative enough?" Qi Ji continued guiding him along, digging a pit for Yu Xiaogang one step at a time.

"Then who do you think should publish a genius ranking for it to be authoritative enough?"

He was already setting Yu Xiaogang up.

In any case, Shrek would soon be reduced to ashes beneath a Level Twelve Godslaying Cannon Shell. There should be no problem with adding a little fuel to the fire today, right?

"Of course, Shrek Academy!" Yu Xiaogang declared decisively, puffing out his chest as though he had spoken some undeniable truth.

"Only Shrek's inner court possesses the most exceptional geniuses on the entire continent! Only Shrek has the right to judge who is a true genius!"

Just as expected... the Yu Xiaogang before him had started parroting Shrek's glory again.

This was exactly the effect Qi Ji wanted.

He could already foresee how, after today's livestream ended, online clickbait accounts would embellish and repeat Yu Xiaogang's words—"Shrek student publicly questions Federation authority," "Second-ranked genius claims Federation rankings are unworthy of judging geniuses," "Shrek Academy intends to replace the Federation's evaluation system"... How those headlines would be arranged was no longer his concern.

"Words are useless." Qi Ji put away his amused expression, and the warmth in his golden dragon eyes abruptly turned cold.

"Yu Xiaogang, you actually dared question the Federation's authority. You truly have a death wish!"

Qi Ji gave him a taste of his own medicine, returning the phrase "death wish" in a calm tone that nonetheless carried immense weight.

"Damn it! You dare insult Shrek's glory!"

Yu Xiaogang's eyes turned bloodshot once more, and he panted like a bull, as though those words had struck some forbidden nerve.

Qi Ji truly could not understand which of his words had insulted Shrek's glory, but the other party had clearly entered some kind of fanatical battle state on his own.

Sure enough, the Nine-Turn Glory Gu was far too insidious. It was impossible to guard against.

"Martial Soul Possession!"

Yu Xiaogang shouted, and a phantom of a golden giant dragon abruptly emerged behind him. Its body was long and majestic, its golden scales gleaming with blinding light beneath the lamps.

Four purple and two black Soul Rings slowly appeared around him, six in total, layered around his body as they emanated heavy Soul Power fluctuations.

Immediately afterward, a set of Two-Character Battle Armor forged from Sentient Metal emerged over his body. Its intricate structure covered most of him, while soul-conduit cores glowing with flowing light were embedded at the joints. It looked valiant and magnificent as a whole.

Clearly, Yu Xiaogang had waited until he was nearly eighteen and had assembled his Two-Character Battle Armor before finding the confidence to challenge Qi Ji.

A True Dragon Soul Master close to the Soul Sage level, bolstered by Two-Character Battle Armor—if he had been placed in the era of the first Douluo Continent story, he would already have been able to face an ordinary Titled Douluo head-on without falling behind.

Unfortunately, he had encountered the strictest father of all the Dragon Clan.

"Martial Soul Possession!"

Qi Ji's voice was as calm as water, yet it carried farther than Yu Xiaogang's roar.

The next second, an even more breathtaking sight unfolded on the arena—a dazzling seven-colored giant dragon phantom suddenly rose behind Qi Ji. Its body wound like undulating mountain ranges, its seven-colored scales flowing with magnificent and imposing radiance, while its dragon eyes seemed to hold the sun, moon, and stars.

Four pitch-black Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings slowly rose beneath his feet, hovering heavily at his side and exuding a crushing pressure utterly at odds with his age.

The instant Qi Ji unleashed Martial Soul Possession, dragon might spread in all directions like a tsunami, sweeping through the entire stadium in less than a breath.

Soul Masters whose Martial Souls were related to dragons, as well as those who possessed Dragon Clan bloodlines, all felt their hearts sink, as though an invisible giant hand had pressed them into their seats. Even their breathing stalled for half a beat.

As for Yu Xiaogang, the primary target of that dragon might—there was no longer any arrogance or conceit in his eyes. In their place rose awe and terror from the depths of his soul.

He did not even notice that Qi Ji had already strolled leisurely in front of him.

Qi Ji stood before Yu Xiaogang. The difference in their height was obvious, yet he slightly raised his head to look at the other man's face, twisted with fright. His golden dragon eyes remained calm and still.

He slowly raised his hand, pressed his index and middle fingers together, and lightly touched Yu Xiaogang's forehead.

"Do you know?" Qi Ji's voice was not loud, but it carried clearly throughout the entire stadium.

"Those defeated by my hand have never been considered opponents. I will give you time to catch up, until you can no longer even see me in the distance."

"Bang—"

With a soft sound, Qi Ji lightly flicked his fingers.

Yu Xiaogang flew backward like a kite with its string cut. The soul-conduit cores on his Two-Character Battle Armor flashed wildly as they attempted to disperse the force, but with little effect.

His body slammed heavily into the edge of the arena, bounced once, then collapsed limply onto the alloy floor without moving.

The entire stadium fell into brief silence before erupting in thunderous cheers.