Lu Xuan marveled inwardly. Ning Fengzhi really did leave no cracks for water to seep through.
First, he offered a gift and a show of sincerity, then had Chen Xin test his strength.
If Lu Xuan proved too weak to meet their expectations, they would lose no more than a Soul Tool, and he would cease to be worth befriending in their eyes.
But if Lu Xuan proved powerful, that Soul Tool and their earlier attitudes would neatly make up for the offense of this test.
An old fox through and through. What impressive tricks!
"Very well. I'll accept this gift."
Lu Xuan accepted the bracelet with a smile, then turned his gaze to Chen Xin. "Come up into the sky with me."
Before long, they were above Nuoding Academy.
Two figures faced each other in midair, drawing a crowd of spectators below.
"Is that Teacher Lu Xuan? Teacher Lu Xuan's fighting someone again!"
"Teacher Lu Xuan is so handsome!"
"Go, Teacher Lu Xuan!"
A few especially piercing screams occasionally rose from the noisy crowd, becoming the only white noise amid the tense atmosphere.
Lu Xuan glanced at Chen Xin's finger and said casually, "That ring of yours is nice. My disciple needs a Storage Soul Tool too. If I win, how about giving it to me?"
Chen Xin raised his hand to look at his ring, thinking, A young man after all. He has strength, but his temperament isn't mature enough.
"If you like it, young friend, take it."
He removed the ring and sent it to Lu Xuan with a casual wave, without even taking out its contents, looking as though he cared nothing for it.
Lu Xuan's lips curved upward.
"You're certainly generous."
"Then... let's begin."
He wasn't one to dawdle either. The sooner they finished, the sooner he could go back for a nap. He still had classes that afternoon.
His Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul manifested, and nine Soul Rings slowly rose, overlapping and pulsing: three purple, five black, and one red.
Chen Xin frowned slightly at the sight.
"Is this the pressure of a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring?" Feeling the tightness in his chest, Chen Xin assumed it all came from the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring.
It certainly accounted for some of it, but unbeknownst to him, the gap between level 99 and level 96 was the true cause. Unfortunately, Chen Xin had encountered powerhouses of that caliber only a handful of times, so he had no way of realizing it.
Watching below, Gu Rong did consider that possibility. What level is Lu Xuan, exactly? Why can't I sense it even now? Could he really be stronger than me?
Ning Fengzhi was even more bewildered. At level 79, he could discern no difference between Chen Xin and Lu Xuan. Once they unleashed their auras, he could only shelter under Gu Rong's protection.
Soon, Chen Xin also summoned his Martial Soul in the air.
"Chen Xin. Martial Soul: Seven Kill Sword!"
"Level 96, power attack system Titled Douluo."
By the customs of the Douluo Continent, participants in a friendly spar had to announce their Martial Souls and levels. By speaking first, Chen Xin also signaled that he harbored no overt malice.
Seeing this, Lu Xuan spoke slowly.
"Lu Xuan. Martial Soul: Blue Silver Emperor!"
"Level 99!"
"Support-type Titled Douluo."
The proclamation rang across the entire scene like a Brahma chant. Not only Chen Xin, who was closest to him, but even the ordinary spectators below heard every word clearly.
"What? Level 99?"
Chen Xin's somewhat dismissive attitude toward Lu Xuan instantly reversed. Who could have imagined that a level 99 Peerless Douluo would suddenly appear on the continent?
And someone who looked so young, at that.
Ning Fengzhi was stunned! "Level 99! Who exactly is he? Why have we never heard of anyone like him on the continent?"
Gu Rong silently counted his blessings.
"Fengzhi, thank goodness we were polite enough just now and didn't make an enemy of him."
"Otherwise, I'm afraid this would have been very difficult to settle peacefully!"
The surrounding crowd boiled over.
"Teacher Lu is actually level 99! No wonder even the people from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect are so polite to him."
"Holy shit, old Lu is that strong? Is he really only twenty? He's not some old monster pretending to be young, is he?"
"..."
Chen Xin looked at Lu Xuan across from him.
Only now did he realize that the strength he couldn't see through was due to the enormous gap between their levels!
"Level 99! My friend, it seems I was presumptuous earlier."
Chen Xin changed his address from "young friend" to "my friend" on the spot. Clearly, he was taking Lu Xuan seriously now-but not all that seriously.
My friend... If the level 99 Qian Daoliu stood before him, Chen Xin probably wouldn't even dare raise his head!
Ultimately, the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul and Lu Xuan's identity as a support Soul Master still led Chen Xin to view his combat strength as equal to his own, or even lower.
Lu Xuan guessed as much and said,
"That's one good thing about you people from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. When you encounter an uncertain situation, you don't offend the other party lightly."
"Your attitude and Ning Fengzhi's haven't been too discourteous."
At those words, the pride unique to power attack system Soul Masters and sword cultivators left Chen Xin still somewhat dismissive of Lu Xuan.
He said nothing, but thought to himself:
It's only a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.
Even at level 99, a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul can hardly amount to much. Otherwise, any random hoe or sickle Martial Soul would be enough to make me fall here today.
"It seems..."
"Sword Douluo doesn't think much of my Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul."
When Chen Xin failed to respond for a long while, Lu Xuan's lips curved upward, and he spoke again.
Those words immediately prompted Chen Xin to explain.
"My friend, why would you say that? Soul Masters each have their own roles. Your level is above mine. How could I look down on-"
[Yazi · Possession!]
Before Chen Xin could finish, an aura of utmost savagery and slaughter instantly swept across the scene.
A streak of deep, dark red appeared out of nowhere amid the blue-gold Soul Power, and Lu Xuan's body began to change.
Dragon horns sprouted atop his head, ink-blackness stained the whites of his eyes, and three fine markings emerged on each cheek.
A tenth Soul Ring, a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, slowly appeared. Chen Xin immediately felt as though a boulder weighing ten thousand jin had been pressed onto his chest.
"Wh-what? Ten Soul Rings?"
Chen Xin was stunned! He fell into utter bewilderment.
Below, Ning Fengzhi clenched his fists in excitement. "Those are twin Martial Souls! Twin Martial Souls! To think there's a second person with twin Martial Souls on the continent!"
[Ninth Soul Skill: Blue Silver Imperial Emperor Sword!]
The Brahma chant thundered out again. The ninth Soul Ring beneath Lu Xuan's feet blazed, and a blue-gold longsword steeped in an aura of slaughter slowly formed in his grasp.
BOOM!!!
The instant the longsword took shape, the oppressive might of a level 99 Peerless Douluo swept toward Chen Xin like a towering wave.
"Chen Xin! Teach me a few moves from your Seven Kill Sword Technique!"
[First Soul Skill: Yazi's Wrath!]
The moment Lu Xuan's murderous voice fell silent, his entire figure dispersed, leaving only a blade of grass swaying from side to side as it drifted slowly toward the ground.
"This is bad!"
"Where is he? Where did he go?"
Chen Xin truly had "drawn his sword and looked all around, his heart at a loss." He held the Seven Kill Sword, yet couldn't find a trace of Lu Xuan.
Then Gu Rong suddenly roared from below!
"You old bastard, watch behind you!"
The next instant, a blood-reeking wind rushed at him.
Chen Xin instinctively obeyed Gu Rong's warning, desperately turning to block with everything he had.
BOOM!!!
Metal clashed against metal. The web of Chen Xin's hand went numb, and even the Seven Kill Sword could not withstand that murderous force, leaving his own meridians affected by the impact.
Panic welled up, and Chen Xin instantly lost most of his will to fight.
But that wasn't all. Lu Xuan's voice suddenly rang beside his ear.
"Your reactions are too slow!"
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