Why wasn't he a girl?

Su Chen glanced in one direction, toward the VIP Room.

"Hm? Did he notice me?"

Bibi Dong froze for a moment, then shook her head. With Su Chen's cultivation, how could he possibly possess enough mental power to penetrate the one-way glass and sense her presence? She asked softly, "Is he the one who received a Divine Trial?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Behind Bibi Dong, Chrysanthemum Douluo bowed respectfully. "Ever since he entered the academy, no one has defeated him. Apart from taking courses in noble etiquette and music during his first month, he has spent his free time learning from the city's blacksmiths and physicians."

"Blacksmiths and physicians?"

Bibi Dong's delicate brows drew together. In her heart, she held both professions in utter contempt. After a pause, she asked, "Do you think he can win?"

"He probably can!" Chrysanthemum Douluo did not sound entirely certain.

Since entering the Soul Master Academy, Su Chen had not attended a single class related to Soul Masters. Although his soul power had reached rank thirty, he still had only one soul ring. Besides, several students among this year's contestants had caught even Chrysanthemum Douluo's eye. Those three students were Yan, Xie Yue, and Hu Liena.

In Chrysanthemum Douluo's opinion, taking first place would be no small challenge for Su Chen.

On the platform.

"Come forth, Ring-Shaped Great Blade!"

Sun Chuantao stamped his foot and extended a hand. Silver light surged from his body, and two soul rings appeared around him. Their colors were yellow and yellow. The rings bore three and seven markings respectively, indicating that his first soul ring was three hundred years old and his second was seven hundred years old. Silver soul power condensed in his hand into a silver Ring-Shaped Great Blade.

"Brother Tao! Brother Tao! Brother Tao!"

The students of the South District Intermediate Soul Master Academy cheered Sun Chuantao's name in unison. At such a young age, both his soul power and soul rings were top-notch. No wonder he could represent Spirit Hall in the continental elite soul master tournament.

"Show your martial soul!" Sun Chuantao urged.

"There's no need. I don't need my martial soul to deal with you," Su Chen said calmly.

"What?"

"He's not using his martial soul?"

"Isn't that a little too arrogant? He dares boast about not using his martial soul against our Brother Tao! Brother Tao, beat him until even his own mother can't recognize him!"

Before Sun Chuantao could speak, his supporters began shouting in unison, "Beat him! Beat him! Beat him!"

This platform was a gathering place for the finest of geniuses. As one of the top students at the South District Intermediate Soul Master Academy, Sun Chuantao had his own pride. He snapped coldly, "How arrogant. Let's see whether you have the strength to back it up."

First soul skill: Gale Ring

Sun Chuantao's first soul ring blazed with brilliant yellow light. The Ring-Shaped Great Blade became a streak of light and shot toward Su Chen. If it struck him, its sharp edge could easily slice through an ordinary person's body.

Whoosh!

Su Chen pushed off the ground and shifted sideways. The Ring-Shaped Great Blade, with a radius of a full meter, sailed past him. After flying some distance away, however, it shifted slightly and came hurtling toward him again.

"Hm?" Su Chen was momentarily startled and hurriedly leaned backward. The Ring-Shaped Great Blade skimmed past his abdomen. From this angle, he happened to be able to see Sun Chuantao, who had shifted his position slightly. It was this movement that had subtly altered the blade's return path toward his hand.

Xiao Qiao's Dance of Blossoms?

Suddenly, Xiao Qiao's skill from Honor of Kings in his previous life surfaced in Su Chen's mind. Sun Chuantao's first soul skill was remarkably similar to Xiao Qiao's Dance of Blossoms.

"Haha! All that shameless boasting!" Sun Chuantao's face lit up with delight. The Ring-Shaped Great Blade left his hand once more and flew at Su Chen again.

"If that's how it works, this will be easy!" Su Chen felt secretly pleased. The corners of his mouth curled upward, and he rolled across the ground like a tumbling donkey, dodging the soul skill again. As the Ring-Shaped Great Blade flew back toward Sun Chuantao's hand, Su Chen's speed surged. He raced after the blade, charging straight up to Sun Chuantao.

"Huh?"

Sun Chuantao let out a startled exclamation. He had not expected Su Chen to use his martial soul, the Ring-Shaped Great Blade, to pinpoint his position. Watching the figure draw closer and closer, Sun Chuantao smiled faintly, as though saying, You want to fight me at close range with your bare hands? You're courting death!

Bam!

The next instant, a terrifying force surged through the Ring-Shaped Great Blade. The impact numbed Sun Chuantao's arm and knocked the blade out of his hand. His body flew backward and landed outside the platform.

Pfft!

Sun Chuantao spat out a mouthful of blood and looked up at Su Chen on the platform in disbelief. He had actually been defeated just like that.

Whew!

It was not just Sun Chuantao. The spectators in the Arena stands were also abuzz with astonishment. The young man on the platform had done it. He had truly defeated Sun Chuantao, whose soul power was rank twenty-seven, without using his martial soul.

"The winner of the first match is contestant number one, Su Chen of the Eastern District Junior Soul Master Academy!"

"Su Chen! Su Chen! Su Chen!"

Only when the announcer's voice rang out did the spectators come to their senses. Even the supporters who had originally cheered for Sun Chuantao now switched to shouting Su Chen's name. The first match, which they had thought would hold no suspense, had actually been won by the young man they had dismissed. And he had not even used his martial soul.

"His physical strength is impressive. It's already comparable to that of a Soul Elder in the thirties," Bibi Dong praised. Yet she felt some aversion toward Su Chen and sighed inwardly. Why did he have to be a boy?

Su Chen was a boy, not a girl! To Bibi Dong, this was like a flaw in a piece of jade, a blemish in something otherwise beautiful!

In her earlier years, Bibi Dong had felt no particular aversion toward men. But her despicable teacher, Qian Xunji, had wanted her to belong to Spirit Hall forever and his descendants to inherit her talent. To satisfy those selfish desires, he had brutally violated her, leaving a shadow over her heart. She had little affection for certain men.

Su Chen was indeed outstanding, so outstanding that he deserved to be called a monster. But why did he have to be male? If Su Chen had been a woman, Bibi Dong would have taken him as her Direct Disciple without a moment's hesitation.

In the original storyline, this was also why Bibi Dong had chosen Hu Liena rather than Xie Yue, even though Xie Yue would become stronger than Hu Liena later on.

The subsequent matches unfolded amid fierce struggles. Xie Yue, Hu Liena, and Yan, the future Golden Generation, all breezed through the first, second, and third rounds just as Su Chen did.

Of the original forty-six contestants, only six remained after three rounds of selection. Those still standing in the center of the Arena were undoubtedly monsters among geniuses.

"For the first match of the fourth round, contestant number one, Su Chen, and contestant number two, Yan, please enter the platform and begin!"