"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 stunned.
Creating a soul skill required a grandmaster's mastery of one's martial soul and soul power. Generally speaking, only veterans at the Soul Saint level or above could devise soul skills suited to their own martial souls. This was not an absolute rule, however. There were always Soul Saints and Soul Douluos who, for various reasons, could not create suitable soul skills. And there were always a few prodigies seen only once in a thousand years who could develop their own unique soul skills at an early age.
But Su Chen was simply too young. Only six years had passed since he awakened his martial soul, yet he could already create his own unique soul skills! This shocked not only Yan, but also the deacons and bishops present, as well as Bibi Dong, who had been watching the tournament all along.
"He truly is a prodigy!" A sharp gleam flashed in Bibi Dong's eyes. Possessing twin martial souls, she was the very embodiment of pride. To receive such high praise from someone so proud was proof of just how outstanding he was.
"Yes. Is creating your own soul skills really that hard?" Su Chen asked with a smile.
For others, creating their own soul skills might indeed be difficult, because their way of thinking dictated everything. Subconsciously, they only thought of obtaining soul skills from soul rings. They never realized that so-called soul skills were merely combat techniques that soul beasts had grasped on their own amid life-and-death struggles.
As a transmigrator, Su Chen had seen countless dazzling skills in his previous life. In other words, he already had the blueprints. With those blueprints in hand, bringing soul skills into existence became far easier.
Yan: "..."
Yan was dumbfounded. Is creating your own soul skills hard? It's as hard as climbing to heaven! A genius himself, Yan had no choice but to concede Su Chen's talent.
"The winner of this match is contestant number one, Su Chen. Contestant number three, Linghu Yun, and contestant number four, Hu Liena, please take the stage for the second match of the six-to-three round!"
Hu Liena's opponent was a man whose martial soul was the great strength vajra bear. He was heavily muscled, with a tiger's back and a bear's waist. His soul power had reached rank twenty-seven, and he came from the Intermediate Soul Master Academy.
First soul skill: Charm
Because of their parents, Hu Liena and Xie Yue had been trained by Spirit Hall since childhood. Spirit Hall focused on developing Hu Liena's charm abilities, while her close-quarters combat skills were no less impressive than Xiao Wu's. Once the match began, Hu Liena easily defeated her opponent.
As for the third match, Xie Yue's opponent was a Soul Grandmaster whose martial soul was the Dragon Pattern Staff and whose soul power had reached rank twenty-nine. There was practically no suspense. Relying on his martial soul's superiority and his wealth of close-combat experience, Xie Yue likewise defeated his opponent and advanced to the final three-to-one round!
"After four rounds of competition, three contestants remain victorious: Xie Yue of the South District Junior Soul Master Academy, Hu Liena of the South District Junior Soul Master Academy, and Su Chen of the East District Junior Soul Master Academy. Having three contestants reach the finals is very rare compared with previous years. So what should we do? After discussion, the cardinals agreed that luck plays a very important role in a person's life. These three contestants will now draw lots. The box beside me contains three balls, numbered one, two, and three. Whoever draws number three will be considered favored by the gods and may advance directly to the grand final without competing. Would all three contestants please come forward!"
As the host finished speaking, Su Chen, Xie Yue, and Hu Liena walked up to the dais.
"Who would like to go first?" the host asked.
"I'll go." Su Chen smiled, stepped forward, and reached into the box to draw out a ball. He was slightly taken aback when he saw its number.
"Number three! It's number three!" the host announced loudly with a smile. "The result is in. Su Chen will receive a bye in the next match and advance directly to the grand final. Hu Liena and Xie Yue of the South District Junior Soul Master Academy, please take the stage and begin your match. The winner will advance to the grand final!" the host declared.
"Brother, you should represent our academy in the grand final!" Hu Liena said first.
"I concede!" Xie Yue suddenly raised his hand and shouted.
An uproar erupted.
The crowd burst into an uproar. He had conceded before even fighting. Many who did not know the circumstances wondered why Xie Yue had backed down so readily. Even if the two came from the same Junior Soul Master Academy, surely there was no need to concede without exchanging a single blow!
In truth, none of these people had imagined that Hu Liena and Xie Yue were siblings by blood. Xie Yue had taken their father's surname, while Hu Liena had taken their mother's. Since they were brother and sister, what the hell was the point of fighting?
"Brother!" Hu Liena called, her expression conflicted.
"My dear little sister, although your soul power is one rank lower than mine, yours is a beast martial soul. You should represent our academy in the next match!" Xie Yue said with a smile.
"Brother!" Hu Liena called softly. As his younger sister, she knew perfectly well that everything Xie Yue had said was an excuse.
"Since contestant Xie Yue has conceded, Hu Liena advances directly to the grand final. Hu Liena of the South District Junior Soul Master Academy and Su Chen of the East District Junior Soul Master Academy, please take the stage for the grand final!" The host's voice rang in Xie Yue's and Hu Liena's ears.
"Su Chen! Hu Liena! Su Chen! Hu Liena! Su Chen! Hu Liena!"
The spectators in the stands chanted Su Chen's and Hu Liena's names.
"Go on, little sister. Defeat him and claim the championship of this Friendly Tournament!" Xie Yue encouraged her with a smile.
"Mm."
Hu Liena lightly clenched her delicate hands and nodded. Then she strode onto the central arena.
"Su Chen! Hu Liena! Su Chen! Hu Liena! Su Chen! Hu Liena!"
"For my brother's sake, I'm determined to win this championship!" Hu Liena declared, her gaze resolute and her expression more serious than ever. She had watched every one of Su Chen's previous matches closely. If anyone in this Friendly Tournament between the four academies could rival her and her brother, there were only two: Su Chen and Yan, whom Su Chen had defeated!
Su Chen had black hair, black eyes, and bronze skin, giving him a lean, healthy appearance. His mask left only the part of his face below his nostrils exposed. From his sharply chiseled jaw, one could imagine that his face must be exceptionally handsome. The mask also lent him an air of mystery, making people unable to resist the urge to remove it and glimpse the face beneath.
"For certain reasons, I'll be giving my all to win this championship!" Su Chen said calmly.
Su Chen had even defeated Yan, a future member of Spirit Hall's Golden Generation, so he would surely become a member of the Golden Generation himself. In other words, Su Chen and Hu Liena would become teammates and participate in the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament. Letting Hu Liena win would not have been out of the question. However, this inter-academy Friendly Tournament also concerned Su Chen's Dragon God's Second Trial!
Dragon God's Second Trial: Win first place in the Friendly Tournament between the academies of Spirit City's four major districts-east, south, west, and north-and become Bibi Dong's disciple!
Before you continue