Losing to Lin Ye Was No Disgrace!

Meng Shenji did not even give Lin Ye a chance to discuss it.

The next second...

He charged straight at Lin Ye.

Martial Soul Possession!

Eight Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black—rose from beneath his feet and circled him.

Black mist, dark as ink, surged from his body and gathered into the savage phantom of a Black Demon behind him.

This was Meng Shenji's Martial Soul, the Black Demon!

Meng Shenji became a streak of shadow as he lunged forward, black mist sweeping toward Lin Ye like a tide.

In truth...

He had noticed it too.

Lin Ye had made tremendous progress during his year of training outside the academy.

No wonder the boy had dared to say Meng Shenji was no match for him.

That was precisely why...

He had released his Martial Soul for this attack.

Meng Shenji's gaze turned cold. His Soul Rings flashed one after another as he struck with his palm, leaving Lin Ye no chance to dodge or fight back.

Lin Ye's expression did not change.

His right palm snapped up, powerful Soul Power gathering in it as he met Meng Shenji's strike head-on.

Bang—

The two forces collided, blasting air in every direction.

The shockwave forced both men back to bleed off its force.

"This..."

Zhi Lin and Bai Baoshan looked at each other.

They were stunned!

The moment Lin Ye had entered, they had sensed he was no longer the boy he used to be.

But they had never expected...

Never in a million years...

That Lin Ye could now go toe-to-toe with Meng Shenji.

"Good lad!"

"Let's see how long you can hold out."

Meng Shenji was just as surprised.

But...

More than surprise, excitement showed on his face.

There was no way Meng Shenji would stop before forcing Lin Ye to reveal his Martial Soul.

Today, he was determined to see Lin Ye's Soul Rings and the boy's true strength.

"First Soul Skill—Black Demon Bind!"

Thick black mist poured from Meng Shenji's palm, becoming several heavy chains that lashed toward Lin Ye with a fierce wind.

The chains twisted nimbly through the air, closing in from every direction and sealing off Lin Ye's escape routes.

Just then...

Soul Power erupted around Lin Ye, and a majestic dragon's roar rang out.

Pale-blue ice spread across his skin. Scales emerged, and the enormous phantom of a Mystic Ice True Dragon appeared behind him, its eyes gleaming coldly.

At the same time...

Soul Rings appeared one by one beneath his feet.

Yellow, purple, purple, black, black, red, red!

The instant all seven Soul Rings appeared, the air in the Education Committee chamber seemed to freeze.

"Hiss—"

"A Seven-Ring Soul Sage?!"

"Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings!!!"

"Good heavens!"

"Am I seeing this right?"

"..."

Zhi Lin rubbed his eyes hard.

Yes...

He was certain.

Lin Ye had two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings beneath his feet.

And yet...

Seeing the rings was one thing.

How were they supposed to explain something this bizarre?

"Boy!"

"What on earth happened to you?"

Meng Shenji knew Lin Ye had never followed the usual rules, even as a child.

Back when he hunted for his First Soul Ring...

The boy had ignored everyone's objections at Heaven Dou Royal Academy and obtained an eight-hundred-year Soul Ring.

For his second ring, he had gone straight past the thousand-year mark.

After that...

The boy had only grown more outrageous.

Meng Shenji had long since prepared himself for Lin Ye to absorb Soul Rings beyond the usual limit.

But he had never imagined Lin Ye would obtain a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring.

No!

Two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings!

How on earth had the boy done it?

"Satisfied now?"

"Want to know how I did it?"

"Simple!"

"Beat me, and I'll tell you."

Seeing the mockery on Lin Ye's face, Meng Shenji admitted to himself that he wanted exactly that.

After all...

Who would not want to test the power of a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Skill?

"Fine!"

"Then don't blame me for holding nothing back."

"Third Soul Skill—Black Demon Illusory Domain!"

Dense black mist spread from Meng Shenji in a frenzy, engulfing the entire Education Committee chamber in the blink of an eye.

Within the illusion!

Countless Black Demon phantoms howled and darted about as layer upon layer of illusions took shape.

Meng Shenji's Black Demon was a mental-type Martial Soul.

Naturally, his attacks relied on illusions and mental assaults.

"Chief!"

"Are you ready?"

"Today, I'll show you the power of a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Skill."

Explosive Ice Dragon Break!

"Rooar—"

A clear dragon's roar suddenly rang out from the black mist.

Bitter ice power gathered behind Lin Ye and became a vast torrent in the shape of an Ice Dragon, tearing through the black-mist illusion.

Wherever the Ice Dragon passed...

The Black Demon phantoms shattered, and the illusion crumbled inch by inch beneath the overwhelming ice.

Meng Shenji's expression changed. He hurriedly summoned Soul Power to block it, but the immense force drove him back again and again.

"Chief... you lost!"

As Lin Ye spoke, the black mist filling the Education Committee chamber dispersed.

In his hand, an Ice Soul Dragon-Slaying Sword formed from Soul Power pointed at Meng Shenji's throat.

A mental attack?

Sorry!

He was immune to that sort of thing.

He could already absorb Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings. Why would he fear a Soul Douluo's mental attack?

"This...?"

"He lost?"

"How is that possible?"

"That was far too fast."

"..."

Zhi Lin and Bai Baoshan could hardly believe what they had just seen.

Meng Shenji was the chief of Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and his Soul Power had long since reached level eighty-six.

Yet he had lost to Lin Ye?

What they found hardest to accept was how decisively Meng Shenji had lost.

"Ah—"

Meng Shenji sighed.

His eyes still held the same affection for Lin Ye, but now there was a trace of disappointment he could not hide.

The waves behind had overtaken the waves ahead.

He had never expected the younger wave to sweep him aside so soon.

"Lin Ye," Meng Shenji asked curiously, "what level are you now?"

The other two wanted to know just as badly.

"Level seventy-nine!"

Lin Ye had no reason to hide anything from the three committee members.

Of course...

He was also comfortable showing them his Soul Rings.

They had watched him grow up.

They would never covet the Soul Bones he possessed.

"Level seventy-nine?!"

"Incredible!"

"Not even twenty years old, and already level seventy-nine."

"Your cultivation talent is unmatched anywhere on the Douluo Continent."

"No one before you could compare, and no one after you will!"

"..."

Meng Shenji was stunned once more.

Still...

Hearing that Lin Ye was level seventy-nine gave him some comfort.

A level-seventy-nine Soul Saint with two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings and two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones—perhaps it was only natural that someone like that could defeat him.

"Lin Ye."

"Tell us."

"What exactly is going on with your Soul Rings?"

"..."

This time, the three committee members were asking in earnest, without a trace of joking in their voices.

They were far too curious!

If Lin Ye did not tell them the truth today, they might not sleep tonight.

"Well, here's what happened..."