A Lightning Domain? It Was Just a Voltaic Cell

Soon, it was Qin Yun and Ning Rongrong's turn to enter the arena.

The Soto Great Soul Arena roared with noise.

Cheers and shouts rang out across the venue.

Ning Rongrong followed Qin Yun onto the stage.

As she looked around, she felt a little nervous.

Across the stage, two figures slowly emerged.

They were brothers with beast Martial Souls who had earned some fame in the Soto Great Soul Arena.

They worked seamlessly together and had rarely lost in dozens of two-on-two matches.

The elder brother's Martial Soul was the Mighty Black Bear. With Soul Power at Level 46, he had a powerful physique, thick skin, and the best defense among his peers;

the younger brother's Martial Soul was the Swiftwind Cheetah. With Soul Power at Level 45, he moved unpredictably and with blistering speed.

The moment the brothers stepped onto the stage, their Soul Power erupted, its heavy pressure sweeping across the arena.

Then they saw the pair opposite them.

The ferocity on their faces turned to open mockery and disdain.

Ning Rongrong stood beside Qin Yun, small and graceful. With a lift of her hand, a crystal-clear Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda floated above her palm, while two bright yellow century-old Soul Rings circled her.

Though the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda was known as the continent's greatest support Martial Soul, her Soul Power had yet to reach Level 30. She still seemed far too young and fragile.

The elder brother crossed his arms and sized them up.

His voice dripped with undisguised mockery.

"Kid, you really don't know what you're getting into!"

"You brought a support Soul Master who hasn't even reached Level 30 onto a Level 40 arena to fight us?"

The shadow of his bear-shaped Martial Soul flickered behind him, radiating savage pressure.

Beside him, his younger brother bared his teeth in a sneer.

"You just want to show off in front of the girl and draw a crowd!"

"Too bad showing off takes strength to back it up."

"This match is going to leave you utterly humiliated!"

The brothers' taunts and pressure washed over Qin Yun.

His expression remained calm, without the slightest ripple.

"You two? We're more than enough."

"Arrogant brat!"

"We'll teach you a lesson!"

Then the fight began.

Qin Yun moved first.

He raised both hands, curled his fingers, and snapped twice!

Crack! Crack!

With no warning surge of Soul Power, two sharp reports rang across the stage.

Violent energy swept outward in an instant, sending waves of air rolling across the stage.

The brothers' expressions changed. They had never expected Qin Yun to strike so swiftly or strangely. Caught off guard, they hurriedly summoned their Martial Souls and Soul Power to shield themselves.

They struggled to withstand the oncoming shock waves.

"You arrogant brat!"

"Did you really think such petty tricks could shake us?"

The elder brother roared and charged Qin Yun with tremendous force.

The younger brother became a streak of green, circling in from the side. His claws gleamed coldly.

He struck straight for Qin Yun's vulnerable flank.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda in Ning Rongrong's palm flared with radiant light.

Her clear voice rang out.

"Seven treasures are renowned: first, strength; second, speed!"

Two beams of empowering light enveloped Qin Yun.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's boost was impressive. Though Ning Rongrong's Soul Power was far below Qin Yun's,

the effect was still unmistakable.

Just as the bear's heavy fist and the cheetah's claws were about to reach him, Qin Yun willed it.

The air before him shuddered. An unyielding Diamond Barrier formed, standing firmly between him and both attacks.

Bang! Crack!

Two deafening impacts erupted at once.

Fist and claws slammed into the Diamond Barrier with tremendous force.

But the barrier did not budge. It blocked both attacks completely, then rebounded their force through the brothers' arms. Numb to the shoulder, they staggered back several steps.

Before they could regain their footing and attack again, Qin Yun seized the initiative.

He raised a hand, and the air on either side of the stage shook violently. Two metal pillars appeared, each gleaming with a different luster.

The golden pillar on the left stood heavy and solid, radiating a vast, blunt force;

the silver pillar on the right looked cold and razor-sharp, flecks of light glinting across it;

the two faced each other from afar, forming a faintly mysterious configuration.

The bizarre sight instantly drew every eye in the arena.

Spectators craned their necks, their questions rising all around.

"What's he trying to do?"

"Those things don't look like they can attack!"

While the crowd watched in bewilderment,

Qin Yun's Soul Power quietly flowed, drawing in the ions drifting through the air.

The air above the stage suddenly grew restless. A wind rose without warning, currents spiraling furiously around the two towering metal pillars.

The next instant, blinding lightning burst forth!

Pale violet electricity crackled into being, darting, leaping, and exploding between the pillars. A dense web of lightning covered the entire stage in an instant!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Countless small arcs struck the brothers.

The violent lightning tore at the Soul Power protecting their Martial Souls.

Numbing electricity invaded their meridians at once, locking their bodies in place.

Yu Xiaogang was watching Qin Yun's match from below the stage.

When he saw the lightning raining down,

he murmured in shock.

"Creating something from nothing and drawing down the lightning of heaven and earth... Could this be a Martial Soul domain?"

To Yu Xiaogang, lightning covering such a wide area looked much like a Martial Soul domain.

That meant Qin Yun's Martial Soul was probably related to lightning!

But no one knew the truth.

The lightning filling the stage was no mysterious Lightning Domain.

Qin Yun had used his Elemental Martial Soul to control the Bipolar Metal Pillars and draw ions through the air, building it all on the principle of a Voltaic Cell.

Onstage, the elder brother gritted his teeth and endured the lightning's assault.

His dark Soul Power surged, forcibly scattering the arcs around him as he shouted.

"Something's wrong!"

"This lightning is too strange. We can't dodge it, and those two metal pillars must be its source!"

"We have to destroy them to break out of this!"

"I'll do it, brother!" the younger brother called back.

Fighting through the agony of his numbed body, he became a green blur and charged recklessly toward the metal pillar on the right.

He meant to destroy it.

But the moment he came within thirty feet, the pillar erupted with an even more dazzling light. A bolt of lightning crashed down on him!

The violent impact hurled him backward.

He slammed onto the stage's stone floor and spat out blood, his strength draining away in an instant.

The two poles of the Voltaic Cell had drawn in vast streams of ions. That was where the electrical charge was greatest.

Once the Voltaic Cell formed a closed circuit, striking at its electrodes was dangerous.

Unfortunately, neither brother understood that.

The younger brother struggled to his feet, the fur on his upper body scorched.

"Brother!"

"Get anywhere near that lightning trap and it hits you! I can't reach the pillar!"

The elder brother looked at his wounded sibling, then at the lightning raging across the stage. His face darkened.

He knew that if they kept fighting head-on, the lightning would wear them down until they died.

A vicious glint flashed in his eyes.

"This kid's too hard to deal with."

"That little girl from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect barely has any Soul Power. Go for her first!"