Still Just One Punch

Ai Kun dodged Yu Linhai's attack with a quick sidestep.

Then he kicked Yu Linhai in the backside.

Yu Linhai stumbled from the kick and nearly pitched off the arena.

Once he steadied himself, Yu Linhai grew even angrier.

With a roar, he swiftly unleashed his second Soul Skill.

"Second Soul Skill: Thunderous Might!"

He no longer cared how much Soul Power he spent. He poured out every last bit of it.

Lightning erupted around him, spreading so far it nearly covered the entire arena.

Ai Kun frowned at the sight of the furious Yu Linhai.

This is going to be tricky. If that lightning touches me, I won't be able to move fast anymore.

Ai Kun focused with everything he had and dodged the lightning at full speed.

In less than two minutes, Yu Linhai had squandered all his Soul Power.

His face had gone pale, and his body was as limp as a noodle.

Ai Kun seized the moment and kicked him off the arena.

As Yu Linhai fell, the referee immediately announced the result.

"Yu Linhai's challenge has failed! Ai Kun successfully defends the arena!"

The people from the Ice Dolphin Sect erupted in cheers.

"Yes!"

"Way to go, Ai Kun!"

"Senior brother, you're awesome!"

With Ai Kun's successful defense, challenges began in the other arenas as well.

Tang Chen sat in his arena when a disciple of the Fire Leopard Sect leaped up to face him.

The disciple recognized Tang Chen as the young sect master of the Clear Sky Sect. He was only eight years old.

The Clear Sky Sect's young sect master! And he isn't even nine yet. I've struck gold. Later, I'll be able to brag that I once defeated the Clear Sky Sect's sect master.

With that thought, the Fire Leopard Sect disciple stepped forward and cupped his fists. "Huo Wuyue. Martial Soul, Blazing Fire Leopard. Level twenty-eight Agility Attack System Soul Grandmaster. Please guide me."

Tang Chen stood, brushed off his clothes, and said, "Tang Chen."

Then he crooked a finger at Huo Wuyue, inviting him to attack first.

That dismissive gesture enraged Huo Wuyue. Abandoning his plan to hold back, he charged forward to teach Tang Chen a lesson.

Tang Chen remained unhurried as Huo Wuyue rushed at him.

He simply faced Huo Wuyue and threw a light punch, using only a fraction of his strength.

Seeing that Tang Chen had neither summoned his Martial Soul nor used a Soul Skill, Huo Wuyue flew into a thunderous rage. He put everything he had into his first Soul Skill.

"First Soul Skill: Flame Claw Strike!"

Huo Wuyue's Flame Claw Strike met Tang Chen's gentle punch.

In an instant, Huo Wuyue flew backward.

He sailed straight out of the arena and crashed into a pillar at the boundary.

Boom!

With a deafening crash, a human-shaped dent appeared in the pillar.

After seeing Tang Chen put Huo Wuyue to sleep with a mere flick of his fist, the referee swallowed hard.

"H-Huo Wuyue versus Tang Chen. Tang Chen wins!" the referee announced with a stammer.

Everyone below was stunned by the sight.

Golden Crocodile Douluo of Spirit Hall was especially shocked.

He sat bolt upright and fixed his gaze on Tang Chen.

Seeing this, Tang Yue immediately sent a warning to Golden Crocodile Douluo with his Soul Power.

The jolt of Soul Power snapped Golden Crocodile Douluo back to his senses. Deep gravity flashed in his eyes.

He let out two stiff, dry laughs.

"Haha, your sect's young sect master is truly gifted," he said in praise of Tang Chen.

Tang Yue only snorted and did not take the bait.

When Tang Yue ignored him, Golden Crocodile Douluo dropped his smile. That brat has no manners.

The sect masters then turned their attention back to the matches below.

As the competition went on, contestants were eliminated one after another.

No one dared challenge strong contestants such as Tang Chen, Ai Kun, and Qian Gu Xifeng anymore.

Only a few weaker or younger contestants continued to face challenges.

In the end, all ten members brought by Spirit Hall advanced.

Only eight from the Clear Sky Sect advanced, and of the Clear Sky Team, only Tang Chen and Tang Xiao made it through.

Three from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan advanced, along with five from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

All the other factions combined had only twenty-six contestants advance.

Seeing all ten of Spirit Hall's contestants advance, Golden Crocodile Douluo could barely keep the smile off his face.

He addressed the other factions in a show of modesty.

"Our Spirit Hall youngsters all won their places in this round largely through luck. There's no need to worry, everyone. Wins and losses are a normal part of competition, and the younger generation of every faction still has plenty of chances ahead. Our children merely did their best. Hahahaha!"

As he spoke, Golden Crocodile Douluo could no longer hold back his laughter.

The other sect masters' faces darkened as they stared hard at him.

The Fire Leopard Sect's sect master was especially aggrieved. His sect had brought twelve people, yet only one had managed to claim a place in an arena.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he grew. If he could beat Golden Crocodile Douluo and afford to offend Spirit Hall, he would have loved to slap that arrogant man hard across the face a couple of times.

With the day's matches over, the sect masters gathered their people and headed for the rest rooms built by the Clear Sky Sect.

On the way back, Golden Crocodile Douluo told the Spirit Hall contestants, "You little brats have brought honor to Spirit Hall! Hahahaha!"

Without a care for the faces of the other sects' members, he led his team back to their rest room.

The Fire Leopard Sect's sect master flew into a rage after returning to his rest room.

"How have you lot been training? Twelve of you, and only one advanced! Are those Spirit Hall kids all geniuses? Why didn't you dare fight them?"

Seeing the sect master's anger, the sole successful contestant stepped forward to speak for the others. "Sect master, you can't blame our people for this. The ones Spirit Hall sent are all twenty-three or twenty-four, and every one of them has reached level thirty or higher in Soul Power. Apart from me, only one of ours reached level thirty, and he only just broke through. At that level, going head-to-head with them was almost hopeless."

After hearing his disciple's explanation, the Fire Leopard Sect's sect master understood the situation and could only sigh helplessly.

His sect had few gifted disciples to begin with, let alone ones under twenty-five.

The Fire Leopard Sect's next generation had been falling behind for years. Hardly any talents had emerged recently.

At that same moment, the other sect masters were also questioning their disciples about their defeats. The answers stung just as much.

The same figure flashed through several sect masters' minds.