Releasing the Limits

"My Phoenix Fire Line was just torn apart like that?"

High above the Soul Fighting Arena, Ma Xiaotao stared wide-eyed as five dark gold blades sprang from Chen An's right hand. With one simple swipe, he had actually broken her first soul skill, leaving her utterly shocked.

Although her first soul skill was only a hundred-year soul skill, strengthened by her second soul skill, Blazing Phoenix, and her third, Phoenix Wings Soaring, its power was already on par with a thousand-year soul skill.

Combined with the scorching heat of her Evil Fire Phoenix's flames, even many defense-type Soul Elders would grimace in pain trying to withstand her first soul skill, Phoenix Fire Line. They might even suffer burns to their flesh.

Yet Chen An acted as though nothing had happened. Even when the flames from the shattered Phoenix Fire Line splashed over him, he remained completely unharmed.

Ma Xiaotao began to wonder whether fighting Ling Luochen without getting enough rest afterward had left her flames cooler than usual.

But she soon noticed keenly that wherever the scattered phoenix flame touched the floor beneath Chen An's feet, it burned the surface black and even melted small pits into it.

Clearly, her phoenix flame had not grown cooler. Rather, there was something strange about the layer of dark gold light covering Chen An's body. It had actually withstood the scorching heat of her phoenix flame.

Watching Chen An with her pale pink eyes, Ma Xiaotao grew even more intrigued. The enormous, dazzling wings of fire behind her stirred up violent currents of air, sending her red hair dancing wildly.

"Interesting. Little brother Chen An, come on! Show me everything you've got. Let me see what makes your abilities so special!"

Whoosh!!

The currents stirred up by Ma Xiaotao's flaming wings swept through the Soul Fighting Arena in waves of hot wind, making Chen An's short hair flare up even more wildly.

Silver light flickered in Chen An's eyes, and the dark gold glow over his body grew increasingly dense.

Chen An's physique had already far surpassed others at his level, strong enough to bear a two-thousand-year soul ring. With the enhancement of his first soul skill, his strength, defense, and explosive power rose dramatically. In raw strength, he could even match a Power Attack System Soul Ancestor.

He paired that powerful body and strength with the incomparably sharp Dark Gold Dreadclaw granted by the dark gold terrorclaw bear right palm bone.

Chen An's offensive power was so formidable that even a Soul Ancestor would never willingly test the sharpness of his Dark Gold Dreadclaw.

As expected of a soul ring and soul bone from a thousand-year dark gold terrorclaw bear, Chen An thought. These abilities really are brutally powerful. They've raised my strength by a whole notch.

Chen An knew exactly how much he was worth. Without the dark gold terrorclaw bear's soul ring and soul bone, he would not even qualify to fight Ma Xiaotao.

Ma Xiaotao was no worthless Soul Master with a weak martial soul and a pitiful combination of soul rings.

She was the personal disciple of Yan Shaozhe, dean of Shrek Academy's Martial Soul Department, and the grand-disciple of Dragon God Douluo Mu En.

Ma Xiaotao stood at the very heart of Shrek Academy's inner circle. From childhood onward, all the resources she had enjoyed were top-notch.

Her Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul was formidable even among top-tier martial souls, and it was not far removed from ultimate fire.

Nurtured by all those resources, Ma Xiaotao possessed considerable Spiritual Power and physical strength as well. She had even fused with high-quality soul bones.

One could say she had no weaknesses whatsoever. With her tremendous combat prowess, few Soul Elders could rival her. Outside the academy, she was strong enough to beat commoner Soul Ancestors whose martial souls were unremarkable.

Although Chen An's True Self Martial Soul was impressive, giving him physical and Spiritual Power far beyond his peers and comparable to an ordinary Soul Elder, those were ultimately just numbers on paper.

Before his True Self Martial Soul underwent its second awakening, turning those numbers into terrifying attacks would be difficult.

Bullying ordinary Soul Masters with his formidable stats was certainly easy, but contending with someone like Ma Xiaotao, whose martial soul was powerful and whose cultivation was much higher, was another matter entirely.

However, the dark gold terrorclaw bear's soul ring and soul bone had given Chen An an early means of turning those stats into powerful attacks.

To use an analogy, Chen An's powerful body and Spiritual Power were the hardware, while the dark gold terrorclaw bear's soul ring and soul bone were the software.

His first soul skill, Dark Gold Transformation, not only sent his already impressive stats soaring again, but also greatly increased his resistance to abnormal conditions.

Conditions such as extreme heat, freezing, paralysis, and poisoning were largely ineffective against Chen An.

Unless those conditions reached or approached the level of an ultimate attribute, Chen An could simply treat them like the buzzing of mosquitoes.

If his powerful body was the strongest shield, the foundation of everything, then the dark gold terrorclaw bear right palm bone's incomparably sharp Dark Gold Dreadclaw, which could shatter anything, was the strongest spear.

Now equipped with both hardware and software, both spear and shield, Chen An could be said to have no weaknesses or openings.

The dark gold terrorclaw bear was powerful precisely because of its mighty physique, thick hide, and astonishing resistance. Others could not breach its defenses, while anything caught by its Dark Gold Dreadclaw died.

How was Chen An's current situation any different from that of a dark gold terrorclaw bear?

Perhaps the only difference was that Chen An possessed powerful Spiritual Power, making him even more complete than a dark gold terrorclaw bear!

Chen An met Ma Xiaotao's eyes in midair and grinned.

Then he shot forward, his Dark Gold Dreadclaw tearing through the air as he took the initiative to attack Ma Xiaotao.

As Chen An and Ma Xiaotao exchanged blows,

the students watching from the stands were left utterly speechless.

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! This is a fucking Soul Master? He's so fucking fast he's almost leaving afterimages, and you're telling me he only has one ring? Even a three-ring Soul Elder couldn't be much faster, right?"

"Where did this peerless genius come from? His foundations are way too absurd. Just showing up is enough to crush everyone else's confidence."

"Absurd doesn't even begin to cover it. Shrek Academy's outer court requires applicants to reach rank fifteen soul power before the age of twelve, and sixth-years have to reach Soul Ancestor to graduate. This monster named Chen An is already strong enough to put plenty of fourth- and fifth-year seniors to shame."

"I know how strong Ma Xiaotao is. In the half year or so since she enrolled, she's fought plenty of senior students at the Soul Elder level. She's never lost, and every victory has been overwhelmingly one-sided."

"That young man named Chen An—no, that kid—can withstand Ma Xiaotao's attacks. Even if he loses in the end, it'll still be an honorable defeat."

"A monster. A genuine monster. Just what is this Chen An's martial soul? How can it be so powerful? Even those legendary Soul Masters with ultimate martial souls who can fight opponents two whole tiers above them couldn't do much better, could they?"

Dai Yueheng, eldest son of the Star Luo Empire's White Tiger Duke, laughed. "This fight is interesting. I'll open the betting! I'll put up ten thousand Gold Soul Coins and act as the bookmaker. Anyone interested can place a bet."

A slender male student with delicate features and a face as fine as polished jade, whose appearance inspired a certain tender sympathy, spoke in a soft voice. "Dai Yueheng, you came to watch too? Since you're taking bets, I'll place one. Five hundred Gold Soul Coins on Xiaotao winning."

Dai Yueheng did not need to look. The voice alone told him who was speaking. "Gongyang Mo, all right, I've written it down. Who else wants to bet?"

Chen Zifeng, tall and slender with a warm smile on his face, said, "How could I miss something this interesting? But I'm not betting on Ma Xiaotao. Five hundred Gold Soul Coins on Chen An winning!"

"Brother Chen, did you bet on the wrong person? No matter how impressive Chen An is, he's still only a Soul Master. Maintaining such explosive power must consume an enormous amount of soul power. How much soul power can a One-Ring Soul Master have? Before long, he'll probably run dry and lose."

Yao Haoxuan, a slight, slender young man only 1.6 meters tall, but with bright, lively eyes, offered Chen Zifeng this advice.

Chen Zifeng smiled breezily at his words. "Why be scared over five hundred Gold Soul Coins? If I lose, I lose. It's no big deal. Besides, Chen An shares my surname. Maybe our ancestors even knew each other years ago."

Seeing this, the other students around Dai Yueheng joined in one after another.

"Interesting. I'll place a bet. One thousand Gold Soul Coins on Ma Xiaotao!"

"Ma Xiaotao for me too. Five hundred Gold Soul Coins!"

"Why are you all betting on Ma Xiaotao? Fine, then I'll bet on Chen An! If I win, I'm heading straight to the Illusory Moon Tower!"

"Damn, another gambling addict."

"Tch. What do you know? This is called going for a high return. Even if you win by betting on Ma Xiaotao, how much can you make?"

For a while, a steady stream of students in the stands placed their bets.

Sitting in the front row, Ling Luochen had no interest in the other students' betting. She was not fond of socializing, had only lukewarm relationships with her classmates, and rarely spoke much. The only person she regularly "exchanged blows" with was Ma Xiaotao.

Ling Luochen watched Chen An and Ma Xiaotao battle fiercely in the Soul Fighting Arena, her eyes unblinking and her attention utterly focused.

Whenever the fight reached an exciting moment, her delicate, flawless face flushed slightly. Her slender, beautiful hands clenched tightly, and her little heart thumped wildly.

Excitement shone in her cool blue eyes.

That's it, that's it! Faster! Harder! Beat that damned dairy cow Ma Xiaotao good and hard!

Just as Ling Luochen was silently cheering Chen An on,

the battle between Chen An and Ma Xiaotao in the Soul Fighting Arena had reached a fever pitch.

Compared with Chen An, Ma Xiaotao held an absolute advantage in soul power.

The role and importance of soul power in battles between Soul Masters went without saying.

Soul power was not merely the energy used to unleash soul skills. It could also reinforce a Soul Master's body, enhancing every aspect of its functions. Increasing the soul power poured into a soul skill could also make it more powerful.

Indeed, a Titled Douluo could easily slaughter a Soul Saint using nothing but soul power and physical strength, without employing a martial soul or soul skills.

From their earlier exchanges, Ma Xiaotao knew that the dark gold claw blades on Chen An's right hand possessed tremendous offensive power.

Thus, rather than meeting him head-on, she planned to exploit her advantage in soul power, keep him at range, and wear him down completely.

Ma Xiaotao beat the flaming wings on her back, flying through the air as she continuously bombarded Chen An with phoenix flame.

Scorching phoenix flame enveloped the entire Soul Fighting Arena. Under its savage assault, the hard stone floor turned pitch-black.

In many places, the phoenix flame had even melted deep pits into it.

Hovering high above him, Ma Xiaotao said, "Little brother Chen An, you're already very impressive, but the gap between our cultivation levels is too large. You should surrender."

Faced with Ma Xiaotao's relentless bombardment, Chen An dared not let his guard down for an instant.

He kept his first soul skill, Dark Gold Transformation, active. Without its enhancement to his physical defense and resistance, the extremely hot phoenix flame would inevitably burn his body.

Sensing the soul power remaining within him, Chen An realized things were going badly. They had been fighting for barely two minutes, yet he had already consumed most of his soul power.

Chen An estimated that if the battle continued like this, he would exhaust his soul power in less than a minute. Then he would be nothing more than fish on a chopping board, left for Ma Xiaotao to carve up as she pleased.

Ma Xiaotao is on a completely different level from that Evil Soul Master I encountered before, Chen An thought. Whether it's her strength or the tactics she uses in battle, she has no weaknesses.

Especially since she controls the skies. As a short-reach melee fighter, I currently have no way to hit her except Dark Gold Dreadclaw. But Dark Gold Dreadclaw consumes a great deal of soul power. At most, I can unleash one more full-power strike. I absolutely can't waste it. I have to seize the right opportunity.

Chen An took a deep breath. He knew he had to show his true capabilities now, or he would likely suffer a crushing defeat.

His True Self Martial Soul gave him formidable control over his body.

Using his Soul King-level Spiritual Power, Chen An immediately controlled his heart with precision, making it beat faster and pump blood throughout his body. As his blood surged more rapidly, nutrients and oxygen were delivered and consumed at greater speed, causing his physical strength to swell continuously.

At the same time, Chen An stimulated the rapid secretion of Adrenaline and other hormones, driving his body into a heightened state.

Beyond that, Chen An also removed the limits his brain placed on his body.

Normally, the human body's protective mechanisms allowed it to use only a portion of its muscular strength. Anything beyond that would cause physical damage.

But relying on his powerful Spiritual Power and his True Self Martial Soul's absolute control over his body, Chen An directly released those limits, fully unlocking his muscular strength.

With those limits released, the faster circulation of his blood and the secretion of Adrenaline and other hormones gave Chen An's strength an enormous boost.

This was what made the True Self Martial Soul so formidable. It had the stats, and it had the mechanics. Even without undergoing a second awakening, it still stood above top-tier martial souls.

Chen An raised his head toward Ma Xiaotao flying overhead. His eyes, blessed with exceptional dynamic vision, locked firmly onto her position.

Then Chen An stamped down fiercely, cracking the hard floor of the Soul Fighting Arena beneath his foot.

Propelled by the reaction force, Chen An shot forward like an arrow loosed from its bow.

He rapidly closed in on Ma Xiaotao in midair.

Then, without hesitation, Chen An poured every last bit of soul power in his body into his Dark Gold Dreadclaw.

Five sharp, dark gold blades of light, each three meters long, tore through the air with a piercing howl as they hurtled toward Ma Xiaotao!