One-Punch Man

Gu Mingyuan's eyes turned cold, and the First Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up.

Golden Jade Barrier activated, instantly raising his base physical defense and strength.

Then his purple Third Soul Ring blazed: Golden Jade Strength Transformation!

Beneath Gu Mingyuan's jade-like skin, golden lines lit up from within.

His Golden Jade Body seemed to change. His jade-like skin began to shift, while the golden lines grew even brighter!

The Ironclad Bear charged into range.

Gu Mingyuan advanced instead of retreating. He stepped forward with his right foot and drew back his right fist.

For the first time in this fight, he threw a true punch. His blue talent, Serious Punch, triggered!

Boom!

His fist struck the hardest part of the Ironclad Bear's chest armor.

The Ironclad Bear had lost all the menace it had shown on entering. All it had left was a mouthful of blood suspended in midair.

The punch stopped the bear's massive, charging body dead. Cracks spread outward from the point of impact across the iron armor it took such pride in.

The next instant, the three-thousand-year-old beast flew sideways like a rag doll. It slammed into the wall at the edge of the Beast Arena, slid to the ground, and never rose again.

The referee stood stunned for several seconds before stepping forward to confirm that the Soul Beast was dead.

Gu Mingyuan slowly lowered his right fist. The golden lines on his body gradually faded.

He quietly hid his bleeding right hand. This was his first time converting all his defense into strength, and his fist had split under the strain of that immense power.

The result had been astonishing all the same.

On the raised platform, Du Weilun studied Gu Mingyuan for a long moment. Then he rose and went down to inspect the Ironclad Bear's cause of death himself.

After confirming that neither a Soul Tool nor outside force had been involved, he wrote an evaluation on Gu Mingyuan's assessment sheet: "Smooth Soul Power circulation, extraordinary physique, exceptionally high physical capacity. No obvious weakness in any of the three areas."

The four grading teachers beside him spoke in low voices. One was stunned that Gu Mingyuan had killed a stronger opponent so cleanly. Another cautioned, "An extreme burst like that must consume a great deal of stamina. We still need to see how he performs in a prolonged fight."

At the edge of the field, Mu Jin suppressed a smile and said lightly, "If there's one thing my student doesn't fear, it's a head-on clash."

Zhou Yi's expression remained cool. She said nothing, but the sight of Gu Mingyuan's back and Mu Jin's smug face left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Among the crowd, Wang Dong's expression grew even graver after watching the fight. For the first time, she realized that if she faced Gu Mingyuan alone now that he had reached the three-ring level, she might not stand a chance.

Dai Huabin stared at the field. Far from accepting defeat, he felt his competitive spirit flare. When his turn came, he would choose a Soul Beast from the highest tier too.

The assessments in the Great Beast Arena continued.

At the entrance, Wang Dong turned once more toward the academy gates.

Meanwhile, far away on a road swept by the snows of the Far North, Huo Yuhao dragged his exhausted body onward, quickening his pace one step at a time.

After the referee announced the result, silence held the arena for several breaths.

Zhou Sichen was the first to recover. He crossed the boundary and rushed onto the field, with Cao Jinxuan close behind.

"Brother Gu, did you even rest over the break?" Zhou Sichen circled Gu Mingyuan.

"A three-thousand-year-old Ironclad Bear, gone in one punch? How are the rest of us supposed to take the assessment after that?"

Cao Jinxuan was much calmer, though his gaze was no less shaken. "Your First Soul Skill boosts your base attributes, but that last punch was clearly more than a simple burst of strength. Does your new Third Soul Skill have something to do with defense?"

Gu Mingyuan let the golden lines on his body fade and smiled casually. "I got lucky. My attributes happened to counter it."

Just then, Du Weilun hurried down from the raised platform. He waved Zhou Sichen and Cao Jinxuan off the field, then turned to Gu Mingyuan. "Gu Mingyuan, come with me."

They stopped in a quieter corner at the edge of the Beast Arena. Gu Mingyuan stood straight and greeted him respectfully. "Director Du."

Du Weilun did not rush to question him. First, he acknowledged his result. "Barring a surprise, yours will be the highest score in this round. You faced a three-thousand-year-old Earthsplitter Ironclad Bear head-on and killed it head-on. Your scores for both practical combat and martial soul use will be high."

Then his tone changed sharply. "What Soul Beast did your Third Soul Ring come from? What exactly does the Soul Skill do? The power of that punch was far beyond what an ordinary three-ring Soul Elder should be capable of."

Gu Mingyuan had prepared his answer. "Over the break, I joined a team of soul masters heading to the Far North. While trying my luck on its outskirts, I came across a badly wounded two-thousand-five-hundred-year-old Cold Jade-Horned Rhino. I dealt the final blow and absorbed its Soul Ring myself."

His account was half true and half false. He left out the Holy Spirit Cult and the beast's actual age, focusing instead on explaining his Soul Skill.

"My Third Soul Skill is called Golden Jade Strength Transformation." Gu Mingyuan raised a hand, and golden light flickered across his palm.

"Once activated, it lets me convert the defense of my Golden Jade Body into strength, or vice versa, without any loss. Against the Ironclad Bear, I temporarily converted almost all my defense into strength. That was how I produced such a powerful punch."

Du Weilun fell silent for several seconds.

"In other words," Du Weilun said, watching him closely,

"you can normally fight with extremely high defense, then instantly convert that defense into an equal amount of strength when you need a burst of power?"

Gu Mingyuan nodded. "Yes. But I can't have both at full strength. The more I convert, the weaker my defense becomes at that moment."

Du Weilun was finally moved.

Ultimate attributes were rare enough already. This Third Soul Skill effectively gave Gu Mingyuan two extreme combat forms.

He could not push both to their limits at once, but in the ever-changing flow of a real fight, the ability to switch between them was enough to overwhelm opponents at his own level. More importantly, he was only level thirty-three!

"The academy will seal your updated Soul Skill records to avoid unnecessary trouble." Du Weilun suppressed his astonishment and chose not to draw further attention to the matter.

Gu Mingyuan thanked him and left.

In the distance, among the students of Class Two,

Dai Huabin had seen Gu Mingyuan's private conversation with Du Weilun. The competitive urge stirred by that punch now curdled into a frustration he could not name.

When his turn came, he walked up to the referee and said darkly, "The thousand-year tier. I want a strength-type Soul Beast around three thousand years old."

At the edge of the field, Mu Jin frowned. She was about to warn him not to overreach, but Dai Huabin had already walked into the Beast Arena with a stony face.

The gate rose, and a Fierce Tusked Boar around three thousand years old charged out.

Dai Huabin roared and unleashed both White Tiger Vajra Transformation and White Tiger Body Barrier. His opening assault was fierce, his claws tearing several bloody gashes into the boar. But his strength could only wound its flesh. He could not punch through a high-level Soul Beast's defenses the way Gu Mingyuan had.

Driven mad by pain, the Fierce Tusked Boar launched charge after charge without regard for its own safety. Its massive body and sharp tusks forced Dai Huabin back step by step.

Outside the field, Zhu Lu clenched her fists in alarm. Dai Huabin gritted his teeth and refused to admit defeat.

At last, a moment before a tusk could pierce his abdomen, the referee intervened. He kicked the boar away and rescued Dai Huabin.