Hidden weapons

"Whoosh-"

A pebble tore through the air, fast and precise, heading straight for Yu Chen's forehead.

Yu Chen raised a hand to block it.

"Smack."

The pebble struck the back of his hand, making him flinch in pain.

"That hurt!"

He shook his hand. A red patch had appeared on its back, burning fiercely.

The next instant, several more whistles cut through the air at once.

One came from either side and another from the front, closing in in a triangular formation at vicious angles.

Yu Chen's thoughts raced. "Xiao Bai, use [Wind Speed]!"

Whoosh-

Xiao Bai Dragon beat her wings and rose. As her silvery-white wings fluttered, a gentle current spread out and enveloped Yu Chen's entire body.

At once, Yu Chen felt as though a pair of invisible hands were supporting him. His steps became more than twice as light.

"Whoosh!"

Yu Chen twisted aside and stepped wide with his right leg.

The three pebbles grazed his clothes and flew past, striking the diamond floor behind him with three sharp cracks before bouncing twice and rolling away.

"Is that... a second soul skill?"

Standing beside the arena, Ming Dashan nearly popped his eyes out.

He was, after all, a Soul Ancestor who had cultivated for thirty or forty years. He recognized what was happening at a glance.

That move of Yu Chen's was definitely a soul skill!

And its effect was extremely powerful, increasing his movement speed by at least fifty percent.

Yu Chen had only one soul ring, yet he possessed two skills with entirely different functions-one offensive and one supportive. That was simply unheard of in the Soul Master World.

"Xiaogang, why can Yu Chen use two skills?"

Ming Dashan couldn't help turning to glance at Yu Xiaogang, only to find him staring blankly at the arena.

"What?"

Yu Xiaogang came back to his senses and replied instinctively, "I don't know either!"

Yet another thought was turning over in his mind.

The skills of a detached martial soul can actually affect the soul master himself?

Yu Chen can use his first soul skill to speed himself up!

Luo Sanpao is also a detached martial soul. If I could apply my martial soul's skills to myself like Yu Chen...

Yu Xiaogang considered it for two seconds, then his expression abruptly froze.

Luo Sanpao's skill was farting.

If he could use it himself, wouldn't that mean he had to fart himself?

"Gulp."

Yu Xiaogang's throat bobbed, and he silently strangled that thought in its cradle.

In the arena.

The two continued their tangled fight.

"Tang San, is dodging all you can do?"

Yu Chen pushed off the ground, shooting forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

With [Wind Speed] enhancing him, his figure left a blurred afterimage across the ground, his fist wrapped in the whistle of wind.

"Whoosh-"

Tang San shifted his feet and twisted half a step aside at a bizarre angle, just barely avoiding the punch.

His steps were light, his toes making almost no sound as they touched the ground.

He was like a fallen leaf drifting across the surface of water.

A turn to the left, a sway to the right.

His movements seemed utterly without pattern, yet he always managed to evade Yu Chen's attacks.

A Tang Sect secret art-Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

"Hmph. Try landing a hit on me first."

The corners of Tang San's mouth lifted slightly. He flicked a fingertip, sending another pebble flying.

The pebble traced an arc through the air, curving in from Yu Chen's side toward his head.

Yu Chen tilted his head to dodge it and kept chasing Tang San.

"They're so strong!"

"Is this what a fight between geniuses looks like?"

Liu Long stood beside the arena, watching with his jaw hanging open.

Back in the little grove, Tang San had ambushed him with a pebble.

It had struck his calf, leaving it aching for hours.

Only now did he get a clear look at Tang San's methods of attack.

From the front, from the side, along a curve-every pebble was fast and precise.

"Could this be a soul skill too?"

Liu Long swallowed, speaking in disbelief.

"That's not all. Tang San's reactions are too fast. I'm afraid Yu Chen will lose."

Xiao Chenyu spoke heavily.

Several times, Yu Chen's fist had nearly brushed Tang San's clothes.

But Tang San always managed to twist away at an unbelievable angle at the very last instant, as though he knew beforehand which direction the punch would come from.

Left, right, left, right. Up, down, up, down...

As Yu Chen chased him, he watched Tang San's footwork and calculated inwardly.

Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track truly was extraordinary. Every turn flowed smoothly, as though guided by foresight.

But gradually, Yu Chen discovered a pattern.

There were only so many directions he could move.

Left, right, forward-left, backward-right...

Tang San's evasions seemed random, but each actually followed a certain probability distribution.

This was a way of thinking he had learned at Professor Oak's Laboratory.

Control the variables, record the data, deduce the patterns.

It was like solving a complicated arithmetic problem: the larger the sample, the more accurate the prediction.

Next time, left!

Yu Chen suddenly threw a punch, driving straight at Tang San from the side.

Yet just as Tang San was about to be hit, he stepped backward again and narrowly escaped the punch.

That was close!

Tang San's heart jolted, and a thin sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead.

When dodging just now, he had intended to veer farther left, but he had nearly been struck by a predicted attack. He had changed to a backward retreat at the last second and almost lost his balance.

Was that a coincidence?

Tang San's gaze grew grave. Or did Yu Chen see through the direction of my dodge?

Yu Chen, too, froze for half a second.

He quickly revised his assessment inwardly. Eighty percent chance of going left, twenty percent chance of retreating.

No!

There's another possibility outside those probabilities.

Tang San could force himself to twist right. He'd lose his balance and fall, but he could still dodge my punch.

So that's how it works.

A light flashed in Yu Chen's eyes.

Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track was not impossible to counter.

However exquisite it was, it ultimately consisted of steps that two legs could take.

Next time, left!

Yu Chen's gaze sharpened, and he suddenly accelerated.

"Bam-"

Yu Chen's fist struck Tang San squarely in the stomach.

Tang San doubled over violently. Both his feet left the ground as he flew backward two or three meters, rolling twice before coming to a stop.

"Aagh-"

He curled up on the ground, clutching his stomach, his face deathly pale and cold sweat pouring from his forehead.

Damn it!

He actually hit me. Was it a coincidence?

Tang San couldn't make sense of it, no matter how hard he thought.

Yu Chen guessing correctly once could be luck, but could predicting him twice still be coincidence?

"Yu Chen won!"

Liu Long was the first to shout, disbelief written all over his face.

Tang San had been so fast and nimble at dodging. How had he suddenly failed?

On the other side.

Xiao Wu folded her arms, pouted, and kicked a small pebble on the ground.

She refused to accept it in her heart.

Yet she had to admit that if she went up against either of them, she wouldn't win.

"Little San still lost."

Yu Xiaogang sighed and set down his notebook, a trace of regret between his brows.

Blue Silver Grass was ultimately a trash martial soul. Its foundation was too weak.

There was nothing wrong with Tang San's footwork or technique, but the gap between their martial souls was plain to see. Once a punch landed solidly, he couldn't withstand it.

"It's not that Tang San is too weak."

Ming Dashan continued calmly, "It's that Yu Chen is too strong."

The innate gap between their martial souls was too great.

Blue Silver Grass ranked at the very bottom of plant-type martial souls, while Yu Chen's Xiao Bai Dragon was a top-tier mutated martial soul.

Yu Chen could make countless mistakes, because even a dozen hits from Tang San's pebbles had done him no real harm.

But Tang San only had to make one mistake to lose.

Just as everyone thought the outcome had been decided...

"Whoosh-"

Lying on the ground, Tang San shot an arrowhead from his right hand.

A cold gleam flashed, hurtling straight toward Yu Chen's chest with a piercing whistle, its speed far more than twice that of the pebbles.

"Watch out!"

Ming Dashan reacted first, his expression changing drastically.

But he was too far from the two boys to intercept it in time.

He had heard Yu Xiaogang mention that Tang San knew how to use a kind of hidden weapon. Since the two had only been using pebbles throughout their fight, he hadn't taken it to heart.

But now, Tang San had suddenly used an iron arrowhead.

Was he trying to kill Yu Chen?!

Watching the cold gleam before him, Yu Chen remained calm. He planted his right foot and retreated three or four steps to the right with an uncanny movement.

"Clang!"

Xiao Bai's claw struck the iron arrowhead with pinpoint accuracy.

The arrowhead flipped twice in midair, then fell onto the diamond floor with a clatter.

The black coating on its tip stood out glaringly in the sunlight.

Poison!