Yan's Crushing Defeat

"Senior Yan, would you like me to give you a three-move head start?"

In the Trial Arena, Qin Yu smiled and gestured for Yan to begin.

The crowd exchanged strange looks.

"Qin Yu!"

Yan flew into a rage. His first Soul Ring lit up. "First Soul Skill: Hell Magma Rush!"

Magma energy gathered in his right fist. He punched, sending a column of molten fire surging toward Qin Yu.

Qin Yu watched it race toward him. Rather than take the hit, he turned slightly and dodged with ease.

"First move."

Smiling, Qin Yu held up one Dragon Claw, then changed the gesture to beckon Yan onward.

That smile and that gesture were pure provocation.

"!!!"

Yan was beside himself. He pushed off with both feet and charged.

In an instant, he was before Qin Yu, driving a fist wreathed in scorching flames toward his face.

Qin Yu still did not counterattack. He leaned back to avoid the punch.

"Ha!"

Yan suddenly shouted and thrust his left knee sideways.

The punch had been a feint. This was his real attack.

His knee was about to strike Qin Yu's abdomen.

Qin Yu reacted at once, raising his right leg to block it. Using the force of Yan's knee, he retreated five or six steps, shedding the impact and opening the distance between them.

Then he gave Yan another thoroughly provoking smile. "Second move."

"Argh!"

Yan roared, his expression turning cold.

As the senior, he was supposed to be the one going easy on Qin Yu.

Instead, Qin Yu was going easy on him.

After just two exchanges, Yan could already feel the strange, scornful looks from the crowd.

He was losing face.

Worse, the girl he loved, Hu Liena, was among the spectators.

"Second Soul Skill: Granite Rock!"

Yan's second Soul Ring lit up, and armor formed from a special granite appeared over his body.

His strength and defense surged.

Fueled by anger, he moved a little faster too. He launched a fierce assault on Qin Yu, punching and kicking.

Qin Yu kept dodging, occasionally blocking a blow.

"Qin! Yu!"

Yan's eyes were bloodshot, and he breathed like a bull.

He threw a punch straight at Qin Yu's heart.

This time, Qin Yu did not dodge. He clenched his right claw into a fist and met the blow head-on.

Bang!

The stone fist and dragon fist collided with a dull thud.

The crowd expected Qin Yu to come off worse—or, at best, for the two to be evenly matched.

The result took everyone by surprise.

"My god, Yan lost a contest of strength to Qin Yu!"

"Yan's a Soul Grandmaster, and his second Soul Skill boosted him! How did he lose to Qin Yu when Qin Yu's only using Martial Soul Possession?"

"Qin Yu's strength is terrifying!"

"I grew up in the same orphanage as Qin Yu. You might not know this, but he's been freakishly strong since he was little!"

Yan staggered back six or seven steps from Qin Yu's punch. The crowd stared in shock.

So did Yan himself. "How is that possible? How..."

"Senior Yan, your three moves are up."

Qin Yu grinned and pushed off hard. Like an arrow loosed from a bow, he shot in front of Yan and threw a punch.

The crowd was stunned again.

Qin Yu was absurdly fast, too.

"!!!"

Startled, Yan instinctively raised a fist to block.

But Qin Yu pulled his punch and spun, lashing out with his right leg in midair.

He had learned the trick from Yan: attack one way, strike another.

But Qin Yu had surpassed his teacher.

Bang!

"Argh..."

Yan failed to dodge. Qin Yu's kick sent him flying, and he landed face-first on the ground.

"Senior Yan, do you concede?" Qin Yu looked down at him. "Will you surrender, or keep fighting?"

Yan said nothing. He lay facedown with his back to Qin Yu.

Qin Yu raised an eyebrow and slowly stepped closer.

"First Soul Skill: Hell Magma Rush!"

Yan suddenly exploded into action. He punched out a column of molten fire, aiming straight for Qin Yu's face.

The sudden attack startled the crowd.

Hu Liena's face filled with panic. "Qin Yu, watch out!"

Qin Yu was so close to Yan that he could hardly dodge.

If the column hit his face, it would surely disfigure him.

"First Soul Skill: Purple Brilliant Dragon Claw."

Qin Yu's gaze turned cold. His first Soul Ring lit up, and his right arm, transformed into a dark-purple dragon claw, shone with light. A savage aura burst forth.

Facing the column of fire he could not evade, Qin Yu raised his dragon claw and slashed down.

Slash!

Purple Brilliant Dragon Claw tore through the column, scattering the molten rock.

As luck would have it, Qin Yu's claw flung some of that magma onto Yan's face.

"Argh!!!"

Yan screamed as it burned him. White steam billowed from his face.

His martial soul was the Flame Lord, and he could control magma. That did not mean he himself was immune to fire.

The scorching magma ruined his face.

The crowd drew in a horrified breath.

The referee was startled too. Once he recovered, he rushed to Yan and used Soul Power to ease his pain.

But ordinary Soul Power could not dispel the magma, given its searing heat and unusual properties.

"Ah..."

Yan's screams softened somewhat under the referee's Soul Power.

But most of his face was already ruined.

The referee wasted no time. He picked Yan up and hurried away, evidently seeking a healing-type Soul Master to save as much of his face as possible.

Whether it could be saved, no one knew.

Qin Yu had no interest in finding out. He ended his Martial Soul Possession and walked off the Trial Arena.

Not far away, Yan's blurred vision caught Qin Yu walking toward Hu Liena—and Hu Liena looking at him with concern...

"Pfft!"

Yan spat blood in fury and passed out.

"???" The referee stared at the bloodstains on his clothes, so angry he wanted to drop Yan right there.

But he had a duty to fulfill, so he did not.

Plenty of people saw it happen.

"Yan really got the worst of that."

"Wasn't Qin Yu a little too harsh?"

"Harsh, my ass. Yan tried to ruin Qin Yu's face first. He failed and got his own face ruined instead. Serves him right!"

"Exactly. How is that Qin Yu's fault? He had to defend himself. No one expected the magma to splash onto Yan's face."

Some sympathized with Yan. Others thought Qin Yu had gone too far.

Still others believed Yan had brought the disfigurement on himself and that Qin Yu bore no blame.

Everyone had their own view.