Standing opposite Su Chen was a boy with red hair and red eyes. His appearance was decidedly unusual. Fiery red markings covered the skin below his neck and extended upward along it, spreading all the way to his cheeks. He wore red clothes, so there was no telling whether the rest of his body bore the same tattoo-like red markings.
"Do I qualify to make you summon your martial soul?" Yan's voice was calm and brimming with confidence.
In the previous three rounds, Su Chen had reached the fourth round relying solely on his physical strength. Many of those around him had yet to see his martial soul or soul skills!
Thud!
Yan stamped his foot, and three soul rings appeared around him. From top to bottom, their colors were yellow, yellow, and purple. The three rings bore four yellow markings, seven yellow markings, and one purple marking, respectively. This meant that Yan's rings did more than meet the standard soul ring configuration. Each had reached the age limit a soul master could absorb: over four hundred years, over seven hundred years, and over one thousand years, respectively.
Yan truly lived up to his future status as a member of the Spirit Hall Golden Generation. Even setting aside his soul power, this soul ring configuration alone put him ahead of more than ninety-nine percent of soul masters. Even some members of the Shrek Seven Devils could not compare.
Fiery red soul power condensed behind Yan into a savage-faced humanoid apparition. It had six horns on its head, arranged around its face like a spider's legs. It looked like a demon. Yet it was no demon at all, but Yan's martial soul, an ancient martial soul-the Flame Lord.
"Of course you do." Su Chen nodded.
The boy before him was a future member of Spirit Hall's Golden Generation. The opponents Su Chen had faced earlier could not compare to him. Moreover, like Su Chen, Yan was a Dormitory Zero student at a Junior Soul Master Academy. Su Chen was Student Zero of Dormitory Zero in the eastern district, while Yan was Student Zero of Dormitory Zero at the western district's Junior Soul Master Academy.
"Come forth, Golden Sacred Dragon (Five-Clawed Golden Dragon)!"
Su Chen loosely clenched his hands and stamped his foot. Only one black soul ring appeared around him. Golden soul power condensed behind him into the apparition of a five-clawed golden dragon.
"A ten thousand year soul ring?"
"Good heavens, this child's very first soul ring is a ten thousand year soul ring!"
"Look! His martial soul is actually a dragon!"
Apart from a few who knew the inside story, every spectator in the surrounding stands was astonished by Su Chen. Even the teachers, academy heads, and red-robed bishops who knew something about him still looked at him with puzzlement.
Six years earlier, Su Chen had already possessed innate full soul power at rank twenty. Now that six years had passed, they could not understand why he had still obtained only one soul ring. After all, academy students had people helping them hunt soul beasts for their first few soul rings.
"A ten thousand year soul ring? Isn't the limit for a soul master's first soul ring four hundred and twenty-three years? How can his first soul ring be ten thousand years old?"
The surrounding soul masters were bewildered. Everything happening to the boy before them overturned their common understanding.
"A miracle. This is nothing short of a miracle. But can he defeat his opponent?"
Every soul master watched Su Chen expectantly. Su Chen had only one soul ring, while Yan had three. Su Chen was already at a disadvantage in this match.
"Begin!" the announcer urged.
As soon as those words fell, Yan charged at Su Chen, swinging his fist straight at him!
A close-range attack? Was Yan planning to win through brute force? Didn't he know his opponent possessed innate divine strength?
No, Yan certainly knew. His performance in the previous three rounds had been no less impressive than Su Chen's. Relying on his first soul skill, he had made his way here with ease.
As the first yellow soul ring around Yan shone with yellow light, red lava covered his right arm just as it was about to strike Su Chen.
First soul skill: Lava Fist!
Earth Release: Fist Rock Technique!
The corners of Su Chen's mouth lifted slightly, and fierce fighting spirit surged within him. He formed hand seals, and his first soul ring shone with black light. Earth-attribute soul power gathered around his right hand, forming a rock fist. Its size was terrifying; in an instant, it grew to half the size of his body.
Bang!
Their fists collided with a low, muffled boom. They sprang apart as soon as they clashed. Su Chen retreated two steps, while Yan retreated six. In terms of strength, Su Chen still held the advantage.
"So that's the soul skill your ten thousand year soul ring gave you? If that's all you have, then you've lost this match!" A smug smile curled Yan's lips.
Although Su Chen's soul ring had a ten-thousand-year age, it bore only one black marking. This indicated that his ring was ten thousand years old. In other words, Su Chen possessed only the Fist Rock soul skill.
Su Chen merely smiled without answering.
"Second soul skill: Lava Shockwave!"
Yan opened his mouth wide. His second soul ring blazed with brilliant light, and a crimson ball of lava erupted from his mouth.
Boom!
The lava engulfed Su Chen's body, but when Yan stopped attacking, Su Chen was nowhere to be seen on the arena.
"He disappeared?"
Yan's expression changed in alarm. He looked left, right, forward, and backward, yet there was still no sign of Su Chen.
Whoosh!
While Yan stood at a loss, a hand reached out from beneath the ground where he stood. Before he could react, a tremendous force dragged him downward.
Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!
Bang!
Yan's body plunged through the arena's hard stone surface. By the time he tried to counterattack, that tremendous force had already dragged him underground in the space of a breath. Rocks scattered, leaving only his head exposed.
"Hngh! Huh?"
Yan struggled hard twice, but with his current cultivation, he could only make the surrounding ground tremble slightly. He could not break free.
"You've lost!" Su Chen stood before Yan with a smile.
"Ugh!"
Yan struggled a few more times before finally letting out a helpless sigh. He had lost without even understanding what had happened. Recalling the scene just now, he asked in bewilderment, "You win. But could you clear up something that's been puzzling me?"
"Ask away," Su Chen said calmly.
"Your soul ring is only ten thousand years old. How can you have two soul skills?" Yan voiced his confusion.
Not only Yan, but even the soul masters in the stands looked at Su Chen in bewilderment.
"Because this is a self-created soul skill!" Su Chen answered with a smile.
Su Chen had not squandered the past six years. In his spare time, besides spending time with blacksmiths and physicians, he had also worked on developing soul skills.
Through his own exploration, Su Chen discovered that he possessed the Silver Dragon King's ability to control the earth element. Since he had mastered more than one soul skill, and his control over the earth element was still unrefined, he assigned different hand seals to each skill. After six years of practice, he could now expertly perform several soul skills!
In his previous life, Su Chen had watched television and played games, encountering countless skills. He believed that, as time passed, he would gradually master even more powerful ones.
"You can actually create your own soul skills?" Yan stared at Su Chen in astonishment.
"Yes." Su Chen nodded.
"How old are you? And you can already create your own soul skills?" Yan asked, still shocked.
"Yes, but do you really have to be so surprised?" Su Chen asked in return.
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