Yan snapped his head up and looked above the arena.
A familiar figure had appeared high in the sky above it.
Alongside that figure shone the dazzling light of Star Magic.
Lu Yuan looked down at Yan with a smile, holding the fully charged Star Magic ready in one hand while gripping a translucent blue-and-white strand of soul power with the other.
The strand shot into the sky, extending more than a dozen meters.
"Lu Yuan! How the hell did you get up there?!"
Yan's eyes reddened, while the gifted Soul Masters watching nearby looked bewildered.
They had watched as Hellfire rushed right up to Lu Yuan, only for him to fire a blue-and-white strand of soul power into the sky, thin in the middle and thick at the end, then leap straight into the air so fast he left an afterimage.
If their eyes and guesses weren't mistaken, the thing Lu Yuan had released should have been something like a grappling hook condensed from soul power.
But there was clearly no solid object above the arena for the grappling hook to latch onto and pull him up.
"Or is this another self-created soul skill Lu Yuan has mastered?"
Xie Yue and the others were utterly awestruck by Lu Yuan's seemingly endless hidden tricks.
First came one self-created soul skill, then a second, and now a third.
Three times was the limit. The students who had initially suspected Lu Yuan only had one or two soul skills probably wouldn't have been as shocked as before even if he pulled out ten self-created soul skills at once now.
High in the air, Lu Yuan had Meowmeow, who was clinging to his back, spread its leafy tail and release more broad leaves to counter their fall and cushion their descent.
Seeing the dumbfounded faces of everyone from Spirit Hall Academy below, Lu Yuan felt that looking down upon the world like this was far too satisfying for a single word to describe.
However, Lu Yuan's soul power had not broken through to level 30, the Soul Elder rank, nor was this a new skill of his.
In fact, this skill, which let him propel himself quickly by firing a soul power grappling hook into empty air, came from the stamina system Lu Yuan had obtained after cultivating his soul power to level 10.
This skill was no trifling thing. Not only could it reproduce the dash skill Lu Yuan had used as a player, expending soul power while exploring Locke Rian, it also included the various special effects creatures could trigger by consuming stamina while being ridden.
Besides dashing, there were sustained acceleration, surveying the surroundings, and more. The grappling hook skill Lu Yuan was using now, which could snare a white wolf with bare hands, was precisely one that certain creatures could use while being ridden.
The differences between their effects were so great that it was only natural for the native Soul Masters of the Douluo Continent to mistake it for Lu Yuan's brand-new third self-created soul skill.
"It's time this farce ended."
Lu Yuan moved his right hand gently, letting the Star Magic fall freely.
But to Yan, who currently lacked even the strength to truss a chicken, it was like a meteor the size of Mount Tai crashing down.
"No!"
Yan's body was drained of strength, and the golden glow of Star Magic filled his panic-stricken face as the golden meteor slammed straight into it.
Boom!
After the thunderous crash, dust rose in the center of the arena, and Yan's figure gradually emerged within it.
He swayed, his face bruised and swollen, stars dancing before his eyes. After a few stumbling steps, he collapsed to the ground.
The students who had watched the entire fight also let out long breaths of relief. Thankfully, Lu Yuan hadn't struck too hard.
Although Yan was rather arrogant and overbearing, and quite a few people at Spirit Hall Academy disliked him, he was still part of Spirit Hall's Golden Generation and represented its dignity.
Losing here was acceptable, but if he truly suffered a serious injury, Spirit Hall and its academy would probably hold Lu Yuan accountable.
Fortunately, judging by Yan's condition, he had merely passed out after Lu Yuan's beating without suffering any lasting damage. A few days in bed would set him right.
In fact, this was only because Lu Yuan had held back. When he saw Yan collapse from exhaustion, he had stopped charging Star Magic and even reduced its damage. Otherwise, someone really might have died today.
Meowmeow carried Lu Yuan down, landing gently on the arena like a green feather.
The Spirit Hall Academy teachers who had been following their sparring match also promptly summoned healing Soul Masters to take Yan to the School Hospital for treatment.
After the boy and cat landed, Meowmeow saw that the battle was over. Green light enveloped its body as it reverted from its second-stage Meowth form to the first-stage Meowmeow form Lu Yuan knew better.
"Meowmeow, what happened?"
"Meow~" (Master, I can change forms on my own, meow.)
"I see. That's a relief."
Lu Yuan let out a long breath. He had thought Meowmeow, who had only recently evolved, had reverted to its previous state because of this battle.
"Since Meowmeow can change forms freely, once it evolves into Magic Cat, won't that mean I don't have to..."
Lu Yuan happily thought about not having to look at a green Ryoko cat every day. Just then, the other two members of the Golden Generation walked to the center of the arena to find him.
"Little Yuan, is this your external martial soul, Meowmeow?"
Looking at the adorable, lively Meowmeow, Hu Liena's girlish heart melted, and hearts practically sparkled in her eyes.
"Meow~"
Facing Hu Liena, Meowmeow brought out its specialty again: acting cute.
Meowmeow raised a little green paw and posed like a beckoning cat for Hu Liena, then circled her beautiful legs with its big, round face. After sniffing to its heart's content, it stopped in front of her and let her stroke its head and chin.
"Lu Yuan, this external martial soul of yours really understands people."
Meowmeow perked up at Hu Liena's words.
"Meow~" (Of course! Just look at who I am, meow~)
After smiling as they watched Meowmeow and Hu Liena interact, Lu Yuan and Xie Yue turned to face each other.
"Lu Yuan, I have to admit that you're far stronger than any of us in the Golden Generation were at your age."
Xie Yue's expression twisted as he spoke, the words practically forced out between his teeth.
Indeed, Lu Yuan had performed far better than their vaunted Golden Generation.
Xie Yue knew his own strength wasn't far removed from Yan's, let alone enough for him to have defeated the now fourteen-year-old Yan when he was eight.
"Xie Yue, don't say that. Actually, Yan underestimated how strong I was during our sparring match. I only beat him because he let his guard down."
"If we knew each other inside out and went all out from the start, there's no telling who would win. After all, Yan's soul power level is higher than mine, and he has more combat experience."
"Heh..."
Xie Yue gave a bitter chuckle. Lu Yuan's endless self-created soul skills had left Yan unable to guard against them all.
Could someone as experienced as Xie Yue really fail to see whether Yan had gone all out, or whether Lu Yuan truly had the ability to defeat him?
"Lu Yuan, I'm looking forward to an honorable Soul Master duel with you at the midyear assessment in six months," Xie Yue told him, holding back his frustration, his gaze utterly serious. He truly was looking forward to it.
"Huh?"
Lu Yuan froze. There was something like that coming up?
"Brother, why are you bringing up something so far away and so serious with Little Yuan?"
Somewhat displeased with Xie Yue, Hu Liena picked up Meowmeow and walked toward Lu Yuan.
Meowmeow lay blissfully in Hu Liena's soft embrace, thoroughly enjoying the experience.
"Come on, Little Yuan. Let's ignore this guy whose head is full of nothing but training and fighting. There are still lots of places in Spirit Hall Academy you haven't visited, right? I'll show you around."
"Okay." Lu Yuan nodded.
Her delicate, warm hand pulled him away. Watching the two grow ever closer in less than a day, Xie Yue could only shake his head helplessly as her older brother.
"Is this still my dear little sister, my little padded jacket to warm my heart?"