Thirty seconds is enough to lay all seven of you out

"I'll make sure all seven of you go down before you can even shout surrender."

Ling Yun tossed out those words, then turned and walked onto the arena. Behind him, the Heaven Dou Second Team's faces darkened, especially the young man who had run his mouth the most. He stared at Ling Yun's back and sneered. "Fine. Let's see who hits the floor first."

As soon as both sides took their positions, the noise around them exploded. Heaven Dou Royal Academy did have "royal" in its name, after all, and this was Heaven Dou City. At least seven or eight out of every ten spectators were chanting their name.

The support for Blue Tyrant Academy was far more meager. A few scattered voices rose, only to be drowned out almost immediately.

The Heaven Dou Second Team's captain grew even more confident as he listened. He held up one finger in front of Ling Yun. "One minute. Any longer than that, and we'll consider it a disgrace."

His teammates all laughed.

Tai Long's temper flared instantly. "You sure know how to fucking show off. Don't start crying on the floor later."

The young man opposite them was about to snap back, but Ling Yun reached out to stop Tai Long and raised three fingers himself. "One minute is too long. Let's make it thirty seconds."

The Heaven Dou Second Team froze for a moment, then laughed even louder.

Ling Yun smiled too. "Don't misunderstand. I mean thirty seconds to beat the shit out of all seven of you, not that I'll let you last thirty seconds."

Even the stands erupted in jeers.

"Who's this Blue Tyrant captain? Has he lost his mind?"

"Beat the royal academy's second team in thirty seconds? Is he drunk?"

"I think he's gone crazy trying to make a name for himself!"

The noise grew louder and louder. Even Xue Ye cast another glance their way. Salas showed little reaction, merely sitting there, waiting to see how this outrageously arrogant brat would get himself out of this.

Tang San stood beside the arena, his expression calm throughout. Thirty seconds? He only felt that Ling Yun was at it again.

After winning a few matches at the academy, he really thought outside teams were pushovers he could toy with however he liked. The Heaven Dou Second Team might not be among the strongest, but they were still people selected by the royal academy, not seven Soul Masters picked up off the street.

Tang San had no interest in warning him.

If Ling Yun couldn't back up his own words, he would only be embarrassing himself.

The referee soon entered the center of the arena and shouted, "Both sides, release your martial souls!"

All seven members of the Heaven Dou Second Team moved at once. Beast martial souls and tool martial souls appeared one after another, along with more than twenty soul rings. The cheering in the stands surged again.

Blue Tyrant's side released their martial souls as well.

Dai Mubai activated White Tiger Possession, Tai Long's Great Strength Gorilla roared, and Xiao Wu, Huang Yuan, Jing Ling, and Jiang Zhu all finished releasing their martial souls.

Ling Yun was the last.

After Greninja's phantom appeared behind him, his first yellow soul ring slowly rose.

No one thought anything of it.

But the moment his second soul ring appeared, the noise in the stands fell into disarray.

Purple. His second soul ring was a thousand-year ring!

Before anyone could react, the third rose as well. Purple again!

Then his fourth soul ring appeared. Black-a black that seared the eyes.

The Great Soul Arena, which had been noisy enough to lift the roof moments earlier, abruptly stalled for an instant.

"Ten thousand years?"

"His fourth soul ring is black?!"

"His second ring is already a thousand-year ring!"

The people who had just been shouting that Ling Yun was boasting suddenly lowered their voices considerably.

The Heaven Dou Second Team stood closest and saw it most clearly. Their punchable grins had vanished.

Their captain in particular stared at Ling Yun's black soul ring, his cheek visibly twitching.

Ling Yun noticed and laughed outright. "Why aren't you laughing anymore? Weren't you having a great time just now?"

The young man gritted his teeth. "It's fake. How could a Soul Ancestor have a ten thousand year soul ring?!"

"Right, right, right."

Ling Yun nodded. "Keep telling yourself that after you're on the floor."

The referee was stunned too. He froze for a full two seconds before remembering he still had a job to do, then hurriedly raised his hand. "Begin!"

Almost simultaneously, the Heaven Dou Second Team's captain roared, "Beat the shit out of him first!"

They couldn't even worry about their planned positions anymore.

Those four soul rings were terrifying, especially the final ten thousand year soul ring. Who the fuck still dared treat Ling Yun like an ordinary Soul Ancestor?

Two power attack system Soul Masters lunged forward immediately. Their control system Soul Master attacked right behind them, while all the ranged attacks from the rear rained down on Ling Yun.

Seeing this, Ling Yun smiled instead.

"Now that's more like it."

A dull thud sounded beneath his feet. Water burst outward, and Ling Yun shot straight ahead.

The leading power attack system Soul Master saw nothing but a blur before Ling Yun was right in his face.

The man hurriedly raised his hands. Bam! A fist slammed hard into his stomach.

His face instantly turned liver-purple, and his body doubled over. Before he could even unleash a soul skill, he was sent flying off his feet, over the edge of the arena, and into the cushioning zone outside.

The first.

The noise in the stands faltered noticeably.

The rest of the Heaven Dou Second Team froze too. Hadn't they said this brat was fast? How the fuck was that merely fast? They hadn't even seen him move!

"Don't just stand there!"

The captain had barely shouted before Ling Yun turned toward the second man.

This one had learned his lesson. He unleashed a soul skill immediately, sending a vast surge of soul power blasting straight at him.

Ling Yun couldn't even be bothered to dodge around it. Water exploded before him, forcefully knocking the attack aside. Then his Soul Power Tongue Scarf lashed out and wrapped around his opponent's wrist.

He yanked back.

The man stumbled, presenting his face directly to Ling Yun.

Smack!

One slap.

It rang out so loudly that everyone around the arena could hear it clearly.

The man spun half a turn in place. Before he could figure out which way was north, Ling Yun followed up with a kick, sending the second man rolling off the arena.

Not even ten seconds had passed.

The Heaven Dou Second Team was down two members.

The spectators who had shouted the loudest began falling silent.

Tai Long, meanwhile, was thrilled beyond reason. He had already set his sights on the fellow who had called him "filler." Unleashing his Great Strength Gorilla martial soul at full force, he charged over and threw a punch. "Who was calling me filler just now? Come on, catch this before you run your mouth!"

The man blocked hastily, only for the impact to leave his entire arm numb. Before he could regain his footing as he retreated, Xiao Wu had already used Teleportation to appear behind him.

"Off you go!" Her kick struck him square in the lower back, sending the third man flying out.

The situation descended into utter chaos.

The Heaven Dou Second Team had originally intended to surround and crush Ling Yun first. Now, with three people gone in the blink of an eye, their formation had already scattered to hell.

How could Dai Mubai let an opportunity like this slip away? White Tiger Fierce Light Wave blasted through from the front, Jing Ling cut in from the side, and Huang Yuan followed with a fierce assault. The remaining opponents didn't even have a chance to reposition.

The Heaven Dou Second Team's captain finally panicked. "Fall back! All of you, fucking get back here!"

No one could get back.

Ling Yun had already charged up to their control system Soul Master.

The opponent had only just raised his hand when Ling Yun seized his wrist. "Were you about to control me?"

The man's expression changed.

"Too late."

Ling Yun drove his shoulder forward hard, sending the man flying backward.

The fourth. Immediately afterward, Dai Mubai blasted the fifth out of bounds as well.

By then, the spectators had fallen completely silent.

The Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team had just claimed they would finish Blue Tyrant in one minute. How much time had passed, and they already had only two people left on the arena!

Jiang Zhu stood at the very back, barely having raised the Healing Scepter in her hands. She was a little dazed.

She had been ready for a fierce battle, prepared to heal frantically.

Yet even now, there wasn't a single person who needed her help.

The Heaven Dou Second Team's captain finally lost his nerve too. He abruptly backed away, glanced at the Timing Soul Tool, then looked at Ling Yun standing before him.

It had really only been twenty-something fucking seconds!

His lips moved. "I-"

Ling Yun cut him off. "Want to surrender?"

The captain's face alternated between green and white.

He was the one who had said, "One minute to beat the shit out of you."

Tens of thousands of people had heard him. If he shouted surrender after twenty-something seconds, where would he ever hide his face again?

In that brief moment of hesitation, Ling Yun was already upon him. "I gave you a chance to shout just now. You didn't take it."

He raised his fist. "Now it's too late."

Bam!

The punch struck squarely in his chest, sending the Heaven Dou Second Team's captain flying straight out of the arena.

On the other side, the final support system Soul Master saw even his captain thrown out, and his face instantly went white.

He glanced at Ling Yun, then at Dai Mubai and Tai Long, and simply raised his hand. "I surrender!"

The referee hurriedly called a halt. The entire arena remained silent for two or three seconds.

Then, in the next instant.

With a roar, the entire Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena erupted.

The spectators who had been chanting the royal academy's name were now all asking just who Blue Tyrant Academy's captain was.

Tai Long stood on the arena, listening to the noise from every direction, so exhilarated that his scalp tingled.

Below, Ma Hongjun slapped the railing in frustration. "Twenty-something seconds! If I'd known it would be this quick, you should've let me go up! I didn't even get to throw one fucking kick!"

Zhao Wuji laughed so hard he nearly slapped Flender's shoulder apart. "How good was that? Beat the shit out of the royal second team in under thirty seconds! Now they've lost face across all of Heaven Dou City!"

Flender tried to look composed, but he couldn't suppress the corners of his mouth.

Tang San, however, remained silent.

Ling Yun had indeed won quickly.

But Tang San still didn't think this proved anything.

The Heaven Dou Second Team had never been a top-tier powerhouse. Add in the fact that Ling Yun's soul rings had thrown them into a panic as soon as they appeared, and they had barely managed to execute any of their original formations or tactics.

Against opponents like these, no matter how quickly he won, it was only an appetizer.

The truly difficult battles were still ahead.

Tang San was even more eager to see whether Ling Yun could remain this arrogant when he faced academies with real substance, like Blazing Fire, Divine Wind, and Heavenly Water.

The cheering around the arena had yet to stop.

In the VIP seats, however, Salas had already slowly risen.

Someone from Spirit Hall beside him immediately bowed. "Your Excellency?"

Salas didn't look at him. His eyes remained fixed on Ling Yun in the arena.

Around fourteen years old, a Soul Ancestor, and a ten thousand year fourth soul ring. Someone like this couldn't possibly have appeared out of thin air.

Salas narrowed his eyes. "Investigate."

The man beside him paused. "Investigate Blue Tyrant Academy?"

"No."

Salas pointed at Ling Yun. "Investigate that brat. I want to know where he came from, who his teacher is, and how he obtained his soul rings. The sooner, the better."