Practical combat class! (Part two) (Please invest! Please send recommendation votes! Please send monthly votes!)

The second match began soon afterward.

The two contestants were Xue Zhao, whose Soul Power had reached rank 17, and Meng Xin, whose Soul Power had reached rank 13. Enemies truly did meet on narrow roads.

Xue Zhao wore an indifferent expression, her voice icy. "Don't worry. I'll go easy on you."

"Hah! I'll say the same to you!" Determined not to lose in spirit, Meng Xin immediately shot back.

Neither wasted another word. Both released their Martial Souls.

Meng Xin's Blazing Demon Steed Martial Soul was a fire-attribute beast Martial Soul. It resembled a horse, its body covered in a flowing mane of flames that looked dashing and graceful. Thus, when he used Martial Soul Possession, his hair became long and fiery red.

A Yellow Soul Ring likewise appeared behind him, blazing with light the instant it emerged.

First Soul Skill, Flashflame Charge!

Perhaps Vielvi's fight against Tian Zhi in the previous match had influenced Meng Xin. To avoid falling into the same predicament as Tian Zhi, he used his Soul Skill right away, hoping to catch Xue Zhao off guard.

Flames enveloped him, turning his entire body into a ball of fire. Like a true wild horse, he charged at Xue Zhao. In a single instant, he crossed the entire Soul Fighting Arena and reached her.

Facing Meng Xin from barely an arm's length away, Xue Zhao curled her lips in disdain. She raised her hands and swept them lightly up and down, and a layer of freezing frost immediately covered her hands and arms.

Then, without dodging or retreating, she held her hands out as palms and stepped forward. Rather than backing away, she actually advanced to meet Meng Xin's charge!

Hiss—

Xue Zhao's icy palms struck Meng Xin's flaming body with a piercing hiss. Thick white mist burst outward, drawing startled cries from the students outside the arena.

Within the white mist, Xue Zhao still wore her disdainful expression. Meeting Meng Xin's stunned gaze, a flicker of mockery passed through her eyes. She caught his arm with one hand and pressed the other against his chest, then exerted her strength and sent him flying.

Thud!

Meng Xin crashed to the ground, his head still swimming. How did this happen? This wasn't right, was it?

Xue Zhao turned to look at him, raised her hand, and formed ice spikes that she hurled toward him. The spikes landed one after another, surrounding Meng Xin and tracing the outline of his body around him.

The outcome of this match was already clear.

Meng Xin's choice had not actually been wrong. He simply had not expected Xue Zhao, who had been a ranged Soul Master when she fought Qin Xu a month earlier, to suddenly become a close-combat Soul Master today. Not only had her icy palms easily neutralized his Soul Skill, but an over-the-shoulder throw had left him completely dazed.

How was he supposed to fight that?

"A Liang's control and use of the ice element are incredible. She's already mastered it to perfection," Qin Xu marveled. "She really doesn't seem like a six-year-old child at all!"

Xue Zhao happened to hear Qin Xu's remark as she walked off the Soul Fighting Arena. Her body stiffened slightly, and an odd expression crossed her pretty face, only to vanish immediately. She walked over to Qin Xu.

"Of course! I'm exceptionally gifted!" Xue Zhao declared confidently, her expression proud.

"Yes, yes. Lady Xue Zhao is exceptionally gifted, with talent unmatched in all the world!" Qin Xu smiled and followed her lead with a torrent of praise. How could someone as proud and bashful as her withstand such a direct assault? Her pretty face immediately reddened.

"Y-you'd better know it!" Xue Zhao raised her little fist and lightly punched Qin Xu.

Qin Xu beamed.

In the third and fourth matches that followed, the contestants were all newly advanced Soul Masters, with Soul Power at ranks twelve or thirteen. Both sides were evenly matched. They used their Soul Skills right at the start, then fought hand to hand once their skills were spent. When their Soul Skills recovered, they used them again before returning to hand-to-hand combat, repeating the cycle several times.

The process could only be described as thoroughly boring.

Finally, after four matches, only Qin Xu, Ye Guyi, and Li Xin among the eleven Soul Master students had yet to enter the arena. This meant that today's fifth match would be fought between two of those three.

"Come on, draw lots," Tian Zilai called.

The three stepped forward to draw lots. The result paired Ye Guyi against Li Xin, while Qin Xu received a bye.

Both Ye Guyi and Li Xin breathed a sigh of relief. This was the best possible outcome for them: they would not have to fight Qin Xu during their very first practical combat class.

"Good luck, you two. I'll head down first," Qin Xu told Ye Guyi and Li Xin with a smile. He felt a little regretful. He had wanted to exchange a few moves with Ye Guyi, but it seemed that would have to wait until the next class.

The match began.

Ye Guyi and Li Xin entered the arena and released their Martial Souls simultaneously.

Ye Guyi's Martial Soul was the holy angel. A pair of pure white wings unfurled behind her, sacred and magnificent. She grew a little taller, and her childish features matured somewhat, making her look like an adolescent girl. Her golden hair fluttered, and her regal bearing radiated an inviolable majesty.

Li Xin's Martial Soul was much simpler. A longsword appeared in his hand, and his demeanor shifted from quiet to sharp, gleaming with the same keen edge as the Seven Kill Sword he held.

"Seven Kill Sword, Li Xin!" Li Xin held his Martial Soul horizontally before him, gripping the hilt with one hand while pressing two fingers of his other hand against the blade. His focused eyes fixed on Ye Guyi as he said, "Please show me what you've got!"

With that, he charged toward Ye Guyi in long, swift strides, sword in hand. The Seven Kill Sword vibrated, giving off a faint, cold gleam. Soul Power circulated ceaselessly through Li Xin's body, slowly gathering along the blade.

Ye Guyi beat her wings and rose into the air, ascending three meters above the ground. The Soul Ring behind her lit up, and she extended both hands, forming a ball of light above each palm. An aura of light spread outward, brightening her entire body, while ethereal golden lines appeared across the wings behind her.

First Soul Skill, Angel Holy Light Bomb!

The two balls of light flew from Ye Guyi's hands, one after the other. Condensed masses of light element power, they moved with astonishing speed, reaching Li Xin almost in the blink of an eye. Li Xin raised his sword to block. Soul Power surged from the Seven Kill Sword as its blade cleaved fiercely into the first ball of light.

Boom—

The ball of light exploded immediately. The light element scattered like a sky full of raining blossoms, striking Li Xin and making his face involuntarily scrunch up. He had no choice but to retreat swiftly to evade the second ball of light following close behind.

The second ball struck the ground and exploded with a thunderous blast. The same light element splashed in all directions, most of it flying toward Li Xin.

Li Xin hurriedly swung the Seven Kill Sword, its shadows blooming like flowers as he blocked most of the light element power. Only a small portion slipped through the gaps and struck him, but the searing pain made him grimace.

"Hah!"

Ye Guyi followed behind the balls of light. Carrying the momentum of her descent, she slammed her little fists into Li Xin's left shoulder, then swiftly pulled away and rose into the air. She withdrew the instant she struck, infuriating Li Xin, who had been ready to counterattack and could only keep swinging the Seven Kill Sword.

The sight was rather comical, and Qin Xu could not help chuckling from below. The Seven Kill Sword facing the six-winged angel ten thousand years ago must have looked much like this. The angel Martial Soul has far too great an advantage in aerial combat. No wonder Qian Daoliu, the last Great Enshrined of Spirit Hall, was called "invincible in the sky."

With her advantage in flight, Ye Guyi steadily wore down Li Xin's patience and resolve. She kept swooping down from the air to punch him, then swiftly pulling away and taking flight again just as he tried to strike back. After several repetitions, Li Xin finally could not endure it any longer.

"Kill!" he shouted, and white light flared from the Seven Kill Sword in his hand.

Then he stood silently like a statue. The Soul Ring behind him and the longsword before him shone simultaneously, yet he made no further move, nor did anything else change.

Ye Guyi was puzzled. Rather than act rashly, she chose to observe. She flew around Li Xin and discovered that even when she moved behind him, he did not change his stance. This only strengthened her suspicion that he was laying a trap.

Thus, she decided to test him.

Imitating Xue Zhao's method, she used her Soul Power to gather elemental power around her hands. A thin layer of golden light appeared over them, looking so insubstantial that it might vanish in the next instant. Even so, Ye Guyi smiled with delight.

Clenching both hands into fists, she hurtled toward Li Xin.

Li Xin seemed utterly motionless, but his attention was intensely focused. The instant Ye Guyi moved, he detected the movement behind him. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he abruptly turned and slashed with the Seven Kill Sword. An enormous white wave of sword energy immediately tore through the air, rushing straight toward Ye Guyi.

This was Li Xin's first Soul Skill, Kill!

Ye Guyi's pupils contracted slightly. Spreading her wings wide, she wheeled around, instantly shifting from a dive into an upward climb and narrowly evading Li Xin's sword energy. A triumphant smile appeared on her face. She had won this match.

With that thought, she swiftly turned back and dived toward Li Xin again, fists swinging.

Seeing that his carefully planned strike had actually missed, Li Xin's face immediately filled with dejection. He called out, "I surrender!"

Ye Guyi hastily changed direction, turning her punch into a flying kick as she descended from the sky to the ground.

"Very good!" Tian Zilai applauded. "That match finally felt like a proper Soul Fighting bout. All right, everyone, return to the classroom. We'll review today's lesson."