They had only been passing by and came in after seeing a crowd gathered around the entrance to the Soul Fighting Arena.
Sixth-year students rarely joined in on this sort of commotion, but the reputation of a twelve-year-old Soul King did hold some appeal.
At the entrance to the Soul Fighting Arena, Tang Ya dragged Huo Yuhao through the crowd.
He had been waiting in line for food outside the cafeteria when Tang Ya ran up from behind, grabbed his sleeve, and pulled him toward the Soul Fighting Arena.
As she ran, she shouted,
"Hurry, hurry! Zhou Yi is about to fight a new student!"
Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi followed behind. Bei Bei walked quickly, while Xu Sanshi brought up the rear, munching on the unfinished bun in his hand.
By the time the four of them squeezed into a corner of the stands, there were hardly any seats left.
Tang Ya forced a gap between two fourth-year students, pushed Huo Yuhao into a seat, then sat beside him and craned her neck to look into the Soul Fighting Arena.
Bei Bei stood behind her, with Xu Sanshi beside him. Having finished his bun, Xu Sanshi wiped his hands on his clothes and fixed his gaze on the boy holding a cane in the center of the arena.
"That cane is a little strange."
Xu Sanshi muttered under his breath.
Huo Yuhao said nothing.
He studied Zhang Lan for two breaths, then shifted his gaze to Zhou Yi.
Zhou Yi stood in the center of the Soul Fighting Arena, loosening her wrists. Her crimson hair was tied in a high ponytail. She had yet to release her Martial Soul, but a faint red glow was already rippling around her.
Huo Yuhao's senses were far keener than those of an ordinary Soul Master, and he could faintly sense something.
There was a subtle distortion in the space around Zhang Lan, unlike any Soul Power fluctuation he had ever encountered.
It was as though the weight of the air was changing, or the ground beneath his feet was gently "breathing."
Bei Bei noticed his expression, tilted his head, and asked quietly, "What is it?"
Huo Yuhao shook his head.
"Nothing. I just think he's pretty interesting."
Beside him, Tang Ya excitedly shook Huo Yuhao's arm.
"How many moves do you think he can last?"
"Zhou Yi is a Soul Emperor, after all. With her Red Dragon Martial Soul and such fierce attack power, I'd say lasting five moves would already be impressive."
"Hard to say," Bei Bei said.
Xu Sanshi had finished his bun. Swallowing the last mouthful, he said indistinctly,
"I think he'll last more than five."
Tang Ya turned and glared at him.
"How would you know?"
Xu Sanshi tipped his chin toward the center of the Soul Fighting Arena and said nothing more.
The teacher serving as referee walked in from the edge of the arena, stood between Zhang Lan and Zhou Yi, and raised his right hand.
The protective barrier around the Soul Fighting Arena slowly rose, enveloping the entire field in a pale blue curtain of light.
The clamor in the stands gradually subsided, and every gaze settled on the two people in the center of the arena.
The referee stood in the middle of the field and glanced to either side.
Once he confirmed that both sides were ready, he raised his right hand and swept it down.
"Begin."
As he retreated to the edge, the protective barrier around the Soul Fighting Arena rose completely. The pale blue curtain of light extended from the ground to the dome, enclosing the entire field.
Fine, densely packed runes flowed across its surface. It could withstand Soul Emperor-level Soul Power impacts; this was an arena Shrek Academy had prepared specifically for high-level sparring.
Zhou Yi wasted no words and released her Martial Soul immediately.
The phantom of an enormous crimson dragon surged up behind her. Its head was held high, its eyes glowed red as molten lava, and its body coiled above the Soul Fighting Arena, the patterns of its scales clearly visible.
Scorching waves of air spread outward from her body, and the temperature inside the arena climbed more than ten degrees within a few breaths.
Even the inside of the protective barrier misted over with a thin film of condensation, only for the heat to evaporate it.
Six Soul Rings-two yellow, two purple, and two black-slowly revolved around the dragon phantom. Soul Emperor-level Soul Power bore down on Zhang Lan without restraint, its pressure more than twice as strong as it had been in the classroom.
The faces of the new students in the front row changed all at once.
The wave of hot air forced Xiao Xiao half a step backward. She only steadied herself when her back struck her seat, and a fine sheen of sweat formed on her forehead.
Nan Qiuqiu remained seated, but her Rouge Dragon Martial Soul began circulating on its own inside her. Rouge-colored Soul Power flowed faintly beneath her skin, keeping the scorching heat at bay.
Wang Dong gritted his teeth and held firm. The hot wind lifted his short pink-and-blue hair slightly, and his hands clenched on his knees until his knuckles turned white.
Zhang Lan stood opposite Zhou Yi with the Star of Eden in his hand, its tip resting on the ground.
His expression barely changed. When Zhou Yi's Soul Power pressure reached a few feet in front of him, it seemed to strike an invisible wall, silently parting to either side.
The ground beneath his feet remained completely clear; not even a trace of the heat waves reached him.
Zhou Yi noticed this detail, and her brows drew together almost imperceptibly.
But she did not dwell on it. Her hands curled into claws, and crimson dragon-claw phantoms covered both arms. Their tips were sharp as hooks, with dark red lines of light flowing over them.
She took one step, cracking the ground beneath her foot, and shot straight toward Zhang Lan's face like a streak of red light.
Her dragon claw tore through the air with a piercing whistle.
Zhang Lan used his gravitational perception to predict the attack's trajectory.
Zhou Yi's dragon claw followed a straight line. It was extremely fast, but its trajectory was simple.
When the claw was barely half a foot from his face, he shifted his feet and turned aside. The dragon claw skimmed past his ear, its cutting wind severing a few strands of hair.
Zhou Yi did not stop. Her left hand swept back, sending a second claw strike across Zhang Lan's waist and abdomen.
Zhang Lan shifted his feet again and slid half a step backward. The dragon claw swept past an inch from his chest, and the air stirred by its tips scored a faint white mark across his school uniform.
The third claw strike followed immediately.
Zhou Yi swept her right claw upward while swinging her left leg across. The dragon claw and whipping kick attacked high and low together, sealing off Zhang Lan's escape routes to either side.
Rather than retreating, Zhang Lan stepped forward into the blind spot of Zhou Yi's attack.
The dragon claw swept over his head, and the whipping kick passed behind him without finding its mark. Zhang Lan pressed close to Zhou Yi's side.
He was so close that he could almost feel the scorching heat of her dragon claws.
Zhou Yi's pupils contracted, and she drove her elbow down in one fluid motion.
Zhang Lan blocked with the butt of his cane, holding the Star of Eden across his body. Zhou Yi's elbow slammed into its shaft with a dull metallic clang.
Using the force of that blow, Zhang Lan slid several steps backward and steadied himself. His breathing remained even, and the cutting wind had not so much as touched the hem of his clothes.
The stands fell silent for a moment.
Dai Huabin stopped twirling his coin and narrowed his eyes.
He had seen it clearly. Zhang Lan's steps seemed simple, but the timing and angle of every movement had been precisely judged.
Zhou Yi's three consecutive dragon-claw strikes followed by an elbow strike would have been considered fierce in any Soul Emperor-level battle.
Yet Zhang Lan had not used a single Soul Skill from beginning to end, avoiding everything through movement and anticipation alone.
That ability to anticipate attacks drew even more attention than his Soul Ring Configuration.
Ning Tian quickly wrote two lines in her notebook, her pen scratching across the paper.
Wu Feng tightened her fingers against her folded arms, her short silver-gray hair shifting slightly beneath the lights.
She turned her head toward Ning Tian and asked quietly,
"Did he use a Soul Skill?"
"No."
Ning Tian did not even look up.
Wu Feng fell silent.
Before you continue