"This isn't confidence. It's strength."
Chen Jin turned his head and met Huo Wu's gaze, pride showing in his eyes.
Flustered by his stare, Huo Wu hurriedly looked away, picked up her cup, and took a sip.
"Arrogant jerk."
Although Huo Wu said that, sweetness filled her heart.
As Chen Jin watched Huo Wu's shy expression, the smile on his lips deepened.
"All right, I'll stop teasing you."
Chen Jin stood up.
"I'll head back and meditate first to stabilize my soul power."
Huo Wu stood up as well and caught the corner of Chen Jin's clothes.
"Wait. Let's have dinner together tonight. My treat."
Her beautiful eyes were full of anticipation.
Chen Jin looked into those sparkling eyes and nodded in agreement.
"Sure."
Huo Wu immediately broke into a happy smile, her radiant face seeming to brighten the entire room.
Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena.
Inside the VIP seating area.
An exquisite crystal chandelier cast a soft glow.
Xue Qinghe sat upright in a golden-thread nanmu chair, gazing at the gradually dispersing crowd below.
Beside him, Ning Fengzhi stood quietly in a simple, elegant robe, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Scepter in his hand giving off a faint glimmer.
"Uncle Ning, what did you think of that battle?"
Xue Qinghe turned his head, a probing note in his voice.
Ning Fengzhi closed his eyes slightly, the scene of Chen Jin breaking through the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison replaying in his mind.
"That Chen Jin possesses extraordinary strength."
"The flames he possesses are by no means ordinary phoenix fire."
Xue Qinghe lifted his teacup and took a light sip.
"Even you can't identify the origins of his martial soul?"
Ning Fengzhi opened his eyes, wisdom gleaming in his gaze.
"I can't see through it."
"The quality of that martial soul is unquestionably the finest of the finest."
"In fact, the instant those flames rose, I faintly sensed a trace of divinity."
Xue Qinghe's grip on his teacup tightened slightly.
Divinity.
That word represented a supreme existence on the Douluo Continent.
Even the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul passed down within Spirit Hall could only display the radiance of divinity under special circumstances.
Yet now, a competitor from Blazing Fire Academy actually possessed a martial soul with divinity.
Xue Qinghe took a deep breath, steadying the shock within him.
"Divinity..."
"Heaven Dou City really is growing livelier by the day."
Ning Fengzhi sighed, his gaze deep as he looked into the distance.
Perhaps the future would undergo earth-shaking changes because of this Chen Jin.
In Shrek Academy's stands.
A cold wind swept past, stirring up a few fallen leaves.
Tang San stood before the stone railing, both hands resting on the rough stone.
Ultimate fire.
It was a powerful attribute that even Yu Xiaogang had never documented in detail.
His Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul probably wouldn't last even an instant before such flames.
A sense of pressure rose in Tang San's heart.
Behind him, Ma Hongjun's face was flushed red, the fury in his heart nearly drowning his reason.
"He just got lucky!"
"Two yellow soul rings and one purple one-what's he so smug about?"
Ma Hongjun spat, the fat on his face shaking violently as he spoke.
"Tomorrow, I'm going to the Great Soul Arena. I'll slaughter everyone in my path and prove I'm no worse than Chen Jin!"
"Once he runs into us at Shrek, I'll pluck every last feather off that bird!"
Dai Mubai stood with his arms folded across his chest, a measure of gravity in his eyes as well.
"Fatty, don't be careless. That guy really is strong."
"Strong, my ass!"
Ma Hongjun wouldn't listen at all. He turned and headed for the exit from the stands.
"I'm going to sign up at the Great Soul Arena right now. None of you had better stop me!"
Zhu Zhuqing quietly watched Ma Hongjun's departing figure, a trace of disdain crossing her cool, beautiful face.
Then the black-clad woman's gaze returned to the arena exit.
Chen Jin truly never disappointed.
In Heaven Dou Royal Academy's preparation area.
The otherwise luxurious room was now shrouded in an oppressive atmosphere.
Yu Tianheng leaned against the sofa, his face deathly pale and traces of blood still at the corner of his mouth.
Chen Jin had knocked him unconscious earlier. Although he had now awakened, his soul power was still depleted.
"Damn it..."
Yu Tianheng punched the sofa's armrest, his eyes filled with resentment.
Sitting beside him, Dugu Yan trembled continuously.
Her hands guarded her rear unnaturally.
The waves of aching pain from her buttocks kept reminding her of her earlier humiliation.
It had been blatant humiliation.
Before the eyes of countless spectators, she had actually been treated that way by an opponent she had only just met.
"Yanzi, are you all right?"
Osler approached worriedly, wanting to offer a few words of comfort.
"Don't touch me!"
Dugu Yan cried out and swept the entire tea set off the table.
The sound of shattering porcelain was especially piercing in the room.
"Chen Jin!"
"I'll make you pay for this!"
Dugu Yan's eyes reddened, and her tears finally spilled over.
A shame so overwhelming she wished the ground would swallow her spread wildly through her heart.
Ignoring her teammates' gazes, Dugu Yan covered her rear and rushed out of the room, crying.
Along the way, many passing soul masters cast strange looks at her.
Dugu Yan felt as though those gazes were needles stabbing her, causing her unbearable anguish.
Outside Heaven Dou City, a secluded manor stood at the edge of Sunset Forest.
This was Poison Douluo Dugu Bo's private domain, and ordinarily, no one dared approach.
Green mist lingered around the manor, giving off a faint, sickly-sweet odor.
Inside the manor, an old man in green robes sat cross-legged atop a flat boulder.
The old man's face was gaunt, his beard and hair an eerie jade green, his eyes deep.
He was none other than Poison Douluo Dugu Bo, whose very name struck terror into countless people in Heaven Dou City.
"Grandpa!"
A crying shout suddenly broke the manor's deathly silence.
Dugu Bo opened his eyes, a flicker of surprise and uncertainty flashing through his jade-green gaze.
His figure stirred slightly.
The next instant, Dugu Bo was already at the manor's entrance.
Her eyes red and her whole appearance utterly disheveled, Dugu Yan threw herself into Dugu Bo's arms, crying.
"Yanyan, what happened?"
"Who bullied you?"
Seeing his precious granddaughter crying like this, Dugu Bo immediately felt a savage fury rise in his heart.
Dugu Yan raised her head, her face filled with grievance and hatred.
"Grandpa, someone humiliated me at the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament!"
"That guy called Chen Jin not only used his flames to break through my Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison, he also..."
At this point, Dugu Yan faltered.
"He even hit me!"
"He hit my bottom!"
"In front of tens of thousands of spectators, Chen Jin hit my bottom!"
After hearing this, Dugu Bo's soul power instantly surged.
Jade-green light shot into the sky, and the surrounding vegetation withered in an instant, dissolving into black water.
"How dare he!"
"He even dared take liberties with my granddaughter! He must be tired of living!"
Savage killing intent raged through the manor.
Dugu Bo's expression turned extremely ugly.
"Who is that brat?"
"Is he a member of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?"
Before you continue