Yan and Gui Yuan stood twenty meters apart.
A light breeze swept across the square, stirring up a few fallen leaves.
Yan released his Martial Soul first. Three Soul Rings, yellow, yellow, and purple, appeared beneath him, his face full of pride.
"Martial Soul: Flame Lord. Level thirty-eight Power Attack System Battle Soul Elder. Please enlighten me."
"Don't worry. I'll go easy on you."
He intended to use this spar to take Gui Yuan down a peg, but he certainly wouldn't injure him too badly.
After all, Gui Yuan had three Titled Douluos behind him, one of whom was the Supreme Pontiff. He wasn't an idiot.
But unless he vented this anger, he simply couldn't feel at ease.
Gui Yuan said indifferently, "Go easy on me? Wouldn't that make this spar pointless?"
"Besides, I don't think you're a match for me."
One word: arrogant.
Yan's expression froze.
Xie Yue was stunned too, clearly not expecting a little brat to dare say such a thing.
Hu Liena stood to one side, her expression complicated.
Of course she knew what gave Gui Yuan his confidence: that five-thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear External Soul Bone.
But wasn't this junior brother of hers being a little too arrogant?
Yan was so furious that he laughed. "Good. Very good. Then let's see what gives you the right to say that!"
The instant he finished speaking, Gui Yuan moved too.
His Soul Power circulated, and three Soul Rings slowly appeared beneath him. The light of the purple, purple, and black rings was especially dazzling in the sunset.
Yan's pupils suddenly contracted. "Your First Soul Ring is a thousand-year ring? How is that possible!"
"Even if you've taken whale rubber, that's impossible!"
As one of Spirit Hall's most central disciples of this generation, he had naturally eaten whale rubber too.
However, he had already been a Soul Grandmaster when he ate it, so while the whale rubber had improved him, it hadn't brought about a qualitative transformation.
Gui Yuan chuckled. "You know about whale rubber too? Then you should also know that I discovered its body-tempering effects."
"What's with your attitude now? I'm not interested in what's going on between you two."
"But you took your anger out on me for no reason, and that really pisses me off."
As he finished speaking, the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum Martial Soul appeared in his right hand, and a wisp of black mist emanated from his body.
"Martial Soul: Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. Level thirty-six Food System Tool Soul Elder!"
"Please enlighten me!"
Yan's eyes widened.
A seven-year-old, level thirty-six Soul Elder?
How was that possible!
Xie Yue lowered his voice and asked Hu Liena, "Nana, you knew all along?"
Hu Liena nodded. "Yes. Teacher wouldn't let me say anything. She said she didn't want junior brother's cultivation exposed too soon."
"Well, this is just great. After this spar, Yan will probably be summoned."
Xie Yue frowned, still somewhat puzzled. "But even so, he's a Food System soul master. How can he fight Yan?"
"His Second Martial Soul doesn't have any Soul Rings. How is he supposed to fight?"
Hu Liena shook her head helplessly. "Brother, you'll see in a moment."
"This is the second reason Yan will be punished."
And while Yan stood there stunned, Gui Yuan had already moved.
He rapidly recited his soul incantation. "Sky-reaching golden chrysanthemum, iron birch forge my body."
A dark golden chrysanthemum condensed in his palm, and he swallowed it in one gulp.
Instantly, all his attributes increased by twenty-five percent! (The effect was halved when he consumed it himself.)
His speed, strength, defense, spiritual power, and other attributes all rose a notch.
Immediately afterward, Gui Yuan switched directly to his Second Martial Soul. Black mist gathered at his fingertips, and he raised his hand and swept it forward.
Several Netherworld Needles tore through the air like hidden weapons, shooting toward Yan with faint, shrill whistles.
Yan's pupils contracted. He could sense a threat from these Netherworld Needles.
Boosted by Gui Yuan's third Food System Soul Skill, this Self-Created Soul Skill was already almost comparable to a thousand-year Soul Skill.
"Second Soul Skill, Granite Rock!"
A layer of grayish-brown rock plating rapidly covered Yan's body, hardening like granite.
The Netherworld Needles struck the rock plating with a series of crisp clinks.
But Yan could clearly feel the stinging pain in his body.
These Netherworld Needles were powerful.
He stopped holding back. The instant he finished defending, he unleashed his First Soul Skill. "Hell Magma Charge!"
His entire body turned into a mass of scorching magma as he charged fiercely at Gui Yuan.
Yet Gui Yuan shifted his feet, and his figure instantly blurred.
"Shadow Step."
His figure flickered, easily evading Yan's charge.
To the three watching, his movement technique made him flicker from place to place, like teleportation.
Of course, with Gui Yuan's current cultivation, he certainly couldn't achieve what Gui Mei could.
He merely looked rather fast.
Three consecutive charges all missed.
Yan's expression grew uglier and uglier. Although his Flame Lord Martial Soul excelled in both offense and defense, speed had always been its weakness.
Gui Yuan, meanwhile, relied on Shadow Step to weave nimbly around him, leaving him with strength he couldn't put to use.
"Is dodging all you can do?!" Yan roared.
Gui Yuan didn't answer.
Taking advantage of the opening as Yan recovered from another charge, he suddenly pushed off hard.
Driving Shadow Step to its limit, he instantly closed in beside Yan like a phantom.
He raised his right palm, and a dark golden sheen covered his entire hand.
His External Soul Bone activated.
"Dark Gold Dreadclaw!"
Dark golden claw light tore through the air, blasting toward Yan with a terrifying presence.
"It's actually an External Soul Bone!"
Only now did Xie Yue finally understand why his sister had said that earlier.
Yan's eyes flew wide. From this claw strike, he sensed an unprecedented pressure.
The power carried by that claw light was far beyond anything a Soul Elder like him should face.
Before this claw strike, his Second Soul Skill, Granite Rock, was like paper.
"Block it!"
Yan poured all his Soul Power into his Second Soul Ring, thickening the rock plating layer upon layer.
But Dark Gold Dreadclaw had a defense-breaking effect.
How could Yan's eight-hundred-year Second Soul Skill withstand a Soul Skill unleashed by a five-thousand-year External Soul Bone?
The claw light tore through the rock defenses without resistance and slammed into Yan's chest.
"Pfft!"
Yan was sent flying backward, tracing an arc through the air before crashing heavily onto the flagstones at the edge of the square.
He slid several meters before coming to a stop.
He lay motionless.
Xie Yue was stunned by what he saw. Even with his cultivation, he hadn't had time to react and stop it.
Hu Liena had been even more helpless. She primarily cultivated spiritual power, and spiritual power had no effect on her junior brother.
Besides, even if it had worked, she couldn't possibly have done that. Yan had utterly deserved it.
She had only known that Gui Yuan possessed this External Soul Bone; she had never seen him use it at full strength.
The power of that strike had already far exceeded what a Soul Elder should possess.
Or rather, she had somewhat underestimated just how much that External Soul Bone of her junior brother's was worth.
Gui Yuan withdrew his right palm, his breathing slightly hurried. He had consumed a considerable amount of Soul Power.
He walked over to Yan and glanced down.
A five-clawed gash marked Yan's chest, blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, and he was already unconscious.
Gui Yuan took out a chrysanthemum heart and handed it to Xie Yue. "This is my Second Soul Skill. Eating it can restore stamina and Soul Power, and heal injuries."
"I avoided his vital points with that attack. His life won't be in danger."
He only needed to let Yan know he wasn't someone to be trifled with. But kill him?
It hadn't reached that point yet.
After all, Yan also had a Titled Elder behind him.
That elder answered to Qian Daoliu. In truth, the only elders Bibi Dong could currently command were Chrysanthemum Ghost Douluo.
Xie Yue accepted the chrysanthemum heart and gave Gui Yuan a long look, then crouched down and fed it to Yan.
Hu Liena stepped forward, looking at Gui Yuan with a complicated expression. "Junior brother, that was a little too..."
"He asked for it," Gui Yuan said indifferently.
"I know." Hu Liena sighed. "I just don't know how Teacher will handle this when we get back."
Gui Yuan wasn't particularly worried.
On the contrary, he was rather curious about how Bibi Dong would deal with this matter.