Lu Yuan remained composed as Yan charged straight at him in a trail of sparks and lightning, immediately issuing an order to Meowmeow.
"Meowmeow, use Vine Strangle!"
"Meow!" (Yes, master, meow!)
Meowmeow once again summoned thorny brambles that spiraled around their targets, except this time, the targets were no longer Yan, but Meowmeow and Lu Yuan themselves.
Lu Yuan's first soul skill, Vine Strangle, had two variations.
One entangled the target, binding them in place while the vines tightened and pierced them with thorns, serving as a control and damage skill.
The other grew a ring of vines around the target to be protected, serving as a defensive skill to ward off attacks.
Unfortunately, as an alternate application, the latter's defensive capabilities ultimately fell short of a truly effective defensive skill.
Bang!
The instant Yan slammed into Lu Yuan's Vine Strangle with his Hell Magma Charge, flames scattered everywhere. The brambles on the barrier's surface were scorched brittle in an instant, and cracks opened up.
Lu Yuan realized something was wrong. Yan was about to burn a hole straight through his defensive Vine Strangle barrier, but fortunately, it had still bought him a little time.
Grabbing Meowmeow with one hand, he activated "Stamina Burst," the second skill he had gained after becoming a Soul Master. The instant Vine Strangle shattered, he carried Meowmeow past Yan, narrowly brushing by the human fireball and escaping in a flash.
Yan twisted in time to land on his feet, nearly charging out of the sparring arena. Looking at the boy and beast he had clearly come so close to hitting, he flew into a humiliated rage.
"Damn it, I was so close."
"Wait, what soul skill was that? I didn't see the soul ring beneath that kid's feet activate. Could it be..."
Yan's brows knitted tightly. He was not the only one shocked by the incomprehensible soul skill Lu Yuan had unleashed; the knowledgeable young prodigy Soul Masters below the platform were just as startled.
Xie Yue and Hu Liena, in particular, knew far more about the Soul Master World as members of the Golden Generation whom Spirit Hall had singled out for intensive training.
Xie Yue's eyes widened, while Hu Liena covered her mouth.
"That move Lu Yuan just used, could it have been..."
"A self-created soul skill!"
Hu Liena lowered her head, questioning everything she knew, then looked at Xie Yue as though hoping to find an answer on her brother's face.
"But how is that possible? Little Yuan is only eight. He barely has enough time to cultivate, never mind create a soul skill. He wouldn't even have enough time to practice a soul skill someone else created."
After all, there was a consensus in the Soul Master World: the years before thirty were a Soul Master's golden period for cultivation. If they spent time practicing self-created soul skills passed down by others during those years, the less time they devoted to it, the better.
Spending even more time creating a soul skill and practicing it was an utterly disastrous cultivation plan.
Just look at Feng Xiaotian in the original timeline. He was one of only fourteen Soul Masters born with innate full soul power in a hundred years, and he even possessed a top-tier mutated martial soul, the Gale Twin-Headed Wolf.
Yet he had stubbornly insisted on creating his own soul skill, first to prove his youthful talent, and second to show Huo Wu, the girl he admired, how formidable he was. As a result, he was still only a Soul Ancestor at almost twenty-five.
The Spirit Hall Golden Generation, three or four years younger than him, had already broken through to Soul King, yet his cultivation progress lagged ten years behind the Shrek Seven Devils.
Ten whole years-how many decades did a person have in a lifetime?
Faced with Hu Liena's question, Xie Yue shook his head as well, indicating that he did not know either.
"At Lu Yuan's age and soul power level, he shouldn't have wasted time practicing a self-created soul skill."
Otherwise, had our seven or eight years of cultivation all been fed to the dogs? Xie Yue thought. Saying that aloud would be nothing short of an insult to every young prodigy Soul Master present.
"But how else can we explain how Lu Yuan dodged Yan's Hell Magma Charge just now?"
At the center of the platform, Lu Yuan and Yan's battle continued.
Both repeated their earlier tricks, but neither could do anything to the other.
Several exchanges later, neither side had managed to get the better of their opponent.
Yet Yan was panting heavily, while Lu Yuan remained full of vigor.
"How could this be?"
Their classmates below the platform watched them closely. Yan's soul power was visibly being depleted, yet Lu Yuan's soul power and stamina seemed about to return to full strength again.
"It's that move he used at the very beginning."
Understanding struck Yan in an instant!
"The support skill he had his martial soul cast on him keeps restoring his soul power. Damn it!"
Yan gritted his teeth, furious, and clenched his fist before pounding it against his own leg.
"Damn it, I shouldn't have underestimated him and held back just because he was young. I let him make the first move, and now I'm the one at a disadvantage."
"Brother, something isn't right."
Hu Liena lowered her eyes in thought.
"I've never heard of a hundred-year support soul skill that could restore its target's soul power and vitality to full strength so frequently."
"Mm." Xie Yue nodded.
"You're right." A smile lifted the corners of Xie Yue's mouth. He had already spotted the clue.
After receiving her brother's confirmation, Hu Liena replayed Lu Yuan's battle in her mind. Even as she was captivated by his beauty and valiant fighting posture, she studied his movements.
"Wait, how has Lu Yuan used his first soul skill, Vine Strangle, so many times? Could this be..."
"Exactly. His Vine Strangle is absurdly powerful. Not only does it offer control, damage, and defense all at once, but the instant he casts it, Lu Yuan recovers all the soul power he spent, or even more."
"In other words, this move also restores the user's soul power, allowing them to sustain the fight."
Hu Liena looked horrified. This was no sustained combat-this was clearly perpetual combat.
"A soul skill with so many intricate, combined functions actually came from just a hundred-year soul ring?"
"Perhaps this soul skill called Vine Strangle came from some extremely rare Soul Beast that was also exceptionally compatible with Lu Yuan's martial soul, Meowmeow."
After hearing Xie Yue's explanation, Hu Liena nodded again and looked toward the sparring arena, gazing at the panting Yan with pity.
"Hahaha!" At that moment, Xie Yue laughed again.
"Brother, what are you laughing at?" Hu Liena's face flushed red. She knew her brother was laughing at her.
"Nana, don't worry about Yan. You haven't seen his third soul skill yet. Once that thousand-year soul skill comes out, Lu Yuan won't have any chance of resisting." Xie Yue's brows drew together slightly, his gaze full of confidence as he watched Yan's back.
"Is it really that powerful?"
Hu Liena rested a hand over her heart, concern for Yan written on her face. For some reason, deep down, she believed in Lu Yuan. Just as people loved stories of the weak defeating the strong, Hu Liena also felt certain that Lu Yuan could defeat Yan.
On the platform, the situation shifted.
Yan closed his eyes and sat cross-legged, seemingly meditating to recover his stamina and soul power. But the flames around him surged so fiercely that even Lu Yuan's Vine Strangle could no longer approach him to bind and pierce him. The moment the vines drew near, they were scorched to charcoal and shattered.
Where almost no one in the audience noticed, the third, purple soul ring beneath Yan's feet flickered faintly, gathering strength and waiting to strike-to kick Lu Yuan while he was down at his most vulnerable moment.