Soul Fighting

Seeing Fang Ding use his Martial Soul Avatar, Ye Chen did not delay either. The Black Jade Divine Bamboo Staff appeared in his hand, and two yellow and two purple soul rings lit up around him as well.

"Second Soul Skill, Black Tiger Roar."

"Roar—"

In an instant, Fang Ding's second soul ring flashed faintly. A massive phantom of a black tiger appeared behind him and let out an enraged roar toward the sky.

Accompanied by the deafening roar, an invisible sound wave rapidly spread toward Ye Chen.

A roar?

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow, not paying much attention to it.

It was not that Ye Chen looked down on this soul skill. Rather, soundwave-type soul skills had a broad attack range, and this was only a hundred-year soul skill, so its power was not particularly great. Any Soul Master with decent physical attributes and Spiritual Power could withstand it head-on.

Perhaps this soul skill had been quite effective when Fang Ding had still been a two-ring Great Soul Master, but now that he was already a Four-Ring Soul Elder, it was not much use against opponents of the same rank—especially Soul Masters like Ye Chen, who was exceptionally powerful in every aspect.

Although low-year soul skills grew more powerful as a Soul Master's level increased, their effects were certainly far inferior to those of high-year soul skills.

Unless it was the kind of enhancement-type soul skill with a fixed percentage boost, using a low-year soul skill against a Soul Master of the same rank was somewhat lackluster.

Just as Ye Chen had expected, when the tiger roar's sound wave descended, Ye Chen, who had long since protected his body with Soul Power, merely felt his mind blur slightly. It had no real effect on him; he was completely unscathed.

Seeing that his soul skill had done little to Ye Chen, Fang Ding immediately charged forward, intending to fight Ye Chen in close combat.

As everyone knew, although control-system Soul Masters generally lacked direct offensive methods and worked best alongside assault-system or agility attack-system Soul Masters to unleash greater combat power, when it came to being troublesome, control-system Soul Masters were undoubtedly the hardest to deal with.

The best way to handle a control-system Soul Master was to rely on one's own strengths in close combat, leaving the opponent no opportunity to use soul skills.

Unfortunately, Fang Ding was still a little too slow. Before he could rush forward, Ye Chen had already activated his soul skill.

"Second Soul Skill, Chaos."

His soul ring flashed faintly. With a sweep of the Black Jade Divine Bamboo Staff in his hand, a phantom of a bamboo staff shot out and instantly descended above Fang Ding's head.

Dong—

It was not as though Fang Ding had not tried to dodge, but Ye Chen's bamboo staff phantom was simply too fast. There was no time to evade, and it struck him squarely on the head.

Watching the way Ye Chen activated his soul skill, Ma Hongjun, below the Viewing Platform, froze for a moment.

"Sister Xiao Wu, is Chen Ge's soul skill's method of hitting people really this bizarre?"

Ma Hongjun felt that regardless of the soul skill's actual effect or the attack's power, one thing was clear: Ye Chen's soul skill was incredibly humiliating.

"Hehe, let me tell you, my brother's soul skill is impossible for Soul Masters of the same rank to dodge, and its special effect is extremely powerful too."

In Xiao Wu's eyes, Ye Chen's soul skill was not only highly humiliating, but also very effective. She had experienced that personally.

Meanwhile, Fang Ding, who had been hit, felt utterly awful.

First, Ye Chen's staff strike had left his head somewhat dazed. When he came back to his senses, he discovered that he had lost control of his body.

He had originally intended to charge toward Ye Chen, yet he ended up running to the left instead.

Because the Soul Duel Arena was not large, and Soul Elders were extremely fast, by the time he reacted, it was already too late to stop. He charged straight out of the arena's boundaries.

During a spirit fight in the Spirit Arena, once someone left the bounds of the Spirit Fight Stage and touched the ground outside it, it counted as a loss.

Now that Fang Ding had charged out of the arena, the victor of this spirit fight had clearly been decided.

In an instant, the previously somewhat noisy Fourteenth Branch Spirit Arena fell silent.

Then, discussions broke out throughout the audience.

"Hiss... what happened? Fang Ding just ran straight out of the arena?"

"Who knows... could this be a fixed match?"

"If you don't know, don't talk nonsense! This must be the effect of a control soul skill. Fang Ding probably lost his sense of direction after being hit, and since the Soul Duel Arena was so small, he didn't have time to stop, so he charged right out of it."

By then, the host had also recovered from his shock. He strode quickly onto the Spirit Fight Stage and loudly announced, "I declare that Ye Chen, Battle Soul Grandmaster, has won this spirit fight! Record: one win, zero losses. Grandmaster Ye Chen, please register your points after leaving the stage."

Hearing this, Ye Chen nodded.

Still, Ye Chen felt a little embarrassed at being called Grandmaster Ye Chen by the referee. He was only a mere Four-Ring Soul Elder—what kind of grandmaster was that?

That said, although Douluo Continent was known as the "gutter of fantasy," where even a Titled Douluo's power could not compare to a large excavator from his previous life, the titles assigned to Soul Master ranks did sound rather grand and imposing.

Three rings made one a venerable, four rings a sect master, five rings a king, six rings an emperor, and seven rings a saint.

Anyone unaware of the truth might think they were all peerless experts!

For some reason, Ye Chen recalled a few memes.

—My son XX has the bearing of a Great Emperor! It sounded Hot-Blooded, yet he was merely a Six-Ring Soul Emperor.

—All beneath a saint are ants. It sounded rather arrogant, yet he was merely a Seven Ring Soul Saint.

After stepping down from the Spirit Fight Stage, Ye Chen went to register his points and collect the Gold Soul Coins awarded for his victory.

"Chen Ge, why is your soul skill so badass? You actually one-shotted a level 49 Soul Elder in a single move?"

Ma Hongjun crowded around him and immediately laid on the flattery.

"Basic stuff, don't praise me too much~"

Ye Chen replied indifferently.

"What does that mean?"

Ma Hongjun, who had never heard this meme before, looked utterly confused.

"Standard procedure. No need to make such a fuss!"

Before Ye Chen could answer, Xiao Wu explained from the side.

"...Chen Ge, you're such a flirt~"

After a moment of silence, Ma Hongjun let out a heartfelt remark.

Ye Chen: "..."

After just one match, it was Xiao Wu's turn to take the stage.

Xiao Wu's opponent was also a Soul Ancestor, though he was somewhat weaker than Fang Ding. His Soul Power was at level 43, his martial soul was an iron hammer, and his Soul Ring Configuration was not the optimal one either—only white, yellow, purple, and purple.

This match likewise showed the makings of an instant defeat.

The moment the match began, Xiao Wu unleashed her Second Soul Skill, Charm. She widened her rabbit-like eyes, successfully Charming her opponent. Then she rushed forward and activated her First Soul Skill, Waist Bow, flinging him straight off the arena and winning with ease.

"Tsk tsk~, you two are both freaks!"

Watching Xiao Wu's performance on the Spirit Fight Stage, Ma Hongjun said to Ye Chen.

"Hm? Chubby, I'll give you one chance to rethink your wording!"

Ye Chen looked at Ma Hongjun with an unfriendly expression. After all, the word "freak" was hardly appropriate for him and Xiao Wu.

"Uh~, did I say anything? Chen Ge, I didn't say anything!"

Realizing his mistake, Ma Hongjun immediately denied it, insisting that he had not spoken just now.

Ye Chen shot Ma Hongjun a glance, his eyes clearly saying, At least you know better.