Holding his Moon Blades, Xie Yue said courteously, "Xiao Yuan, I can let you prepare some food to keep in reserve first. Challenging you as a Battle Soul Master isn't very fair to begin with."
"It's fine, Brother Xie Yue," Gui Yuan said.
"No." Xie Yue shook his head. "Your second Martial Soul doesn't have any Soul Rings to begin with. If you don't eat your enhancement food first, it wouldn't be fair on my part."
"This is a matter of self-respect. I'm not looking down on you."
His tone was earnest, his gaze open and honest.
At the edge of the square, Bibi Dong, Yue Guan, and Gui Mei all nodded as they watched.
Xie Yue truly deserved to be the leading figure among the younger generation's core disciples. His bearing was indeed impressive.
Gui Yuan also knew what sort of person Xie Yue was, so he no longer insisted.
He released his first Martial Soul. A Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum blossomed in his palm, and four Soul Rings-purple, purple, black, and black-slowly rose beneath him.
"Heaven-reaching golden chrysanthemum, condense petals to guard the body."
A pale golden petal condensed in his palm.
"Heaven-reaching golden chrysanthemum, gather stamens to nurture life."
A lustrous stamen appeared.
"Heaven-reaching golden chrysanthemum, iron birch forge the body."
A dark golden chrysanthemum took shape.
"Heaven-reaching golden chrysanthemum, golden cicada protect the body."
The final chrysanthemum, a burnished gold, settled in his palm.
In a mere instant, four kinds of food had appeared in his hand.
But a third of his Soul Power had also been consumed, with his fourth Soul Skill accounting for most of that expenditure.
Gui Yuan ate the first three foods in sequence.
Defense increased by fifty percent!
Soul Power began continuously recovering!
All attributes increased by fifty percent!
As for the Golden Cicada Chrysanthemum, he kept it in his left palm, waiting for a critical moment to use it.
Immediately afterward, a dark golden light shone from his right palm. He released the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Right Palm Bone, and five claw rays emerged, glinting with traces of cold light.
At the same time, golden light flashed at his shoulder blades.
The Six-Winged Golden Cicada Wings spread with a swish, their six translucent, burnished golden wings refracting tiny halos in the morning light.
The instant he released the two External Soul Bones, each increased all his attributes by another fifty percent.
Attack increased by one hundred percent, speed increased by one hundred percent.
"Those wings of yours... an External Soul Bone?"
Xie Yue looked in some shock at the wings on his back, as thin as cicada wings.
Gui Yuan nodded. "I got them when I went out to obtain my fourth Soul Ring this time. Pure luck."
Xie Yue: ... Why don't I ever have that kind of luck?
At the edge of the square, Yue Guan, Gui Mei, and Hu Liena were all stunned as well.
Gui Yuan hadn't mentioned a single word about this when he returned yesterday.
Hu Liena braced both hands against the railing, looking at Gui Yuan with a resentful expression.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei both turned toward Bibi Dong.
Bibi Dong silently nodded in confirmation.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei exchanged a glance, the same thought rising unbidden in both their minds.
Gui Yuan was definitely under a god's protection. Otherwise, why would he have such good fortune?
They both recalled their experience in Qiankun Asking Love Valley. Since that mysterious person who called themself the "God of Love" had been able to condense Gui Yuan into existence, perhaps they really were protecting him in secret.
In the center of the square.
Xie Yue put away his look of surprise and tightened his grip on his Moon Blades again. "Then I won't hold back either."
The four Soul Rings beneath him lit up simultaneously.
His first Soul Ring flashed, and a silvery-white film of light spread over his Moon Blades. "First Soul Skill, Moonlight-Enveloped Blade."
His attack increased by fifty percent, and the blades' edges grew sharper.
His second and third Soul Rings lit up, and Xie Yue leaned forward slightly.
"Second Soul Skill, Crescent Moon Slash!"
"Third Soul Skill, Moon Shadow Step!"
"Watch out!"
As his words fell, his figure instantly blurred, and a silvery-white afterimage lunged straight toward Gui Yuan.
Gui Yuan abruptly stepped forward, meeting him head-on with the Dark Gold Dreadclaw on his right palm.
The claw rays and Moon Blades collided in midair with a piercing metallic clang. Sparks flew, and both men retreated half a step.
"Such strength." Xie Yue's gaze sharpened.
Gui Yuan was even stronger than he had expected.
The Dark Gold Dreadclaw's boost, combined with the all-attribute enhancement, allowed a Food System Soul Master to hold his own in a head-on clash.
Unwilling to be outdone, Xie Yue unleashed his second Soul Skill, Crescent Moon Slash, in rapid succession. Three crescent-shaped arcs of light slashed toward Gui Yuan in a triangular formation.
Gui Yuan pushed off with his toes and gave his Six-Winged Golden Cicada Wings a slight beat, instantly shifting three meters sideways. The arcs missed, leaving three deep gouges in the bluestone ground where he had stood.
His speed isn't slow either. Is that spatial power? Xie Yue thought.
Gui Yuan gave him no chance to catch his breath. Activating Shadow Step in tandem with the acceleration from his Six-Winged Golden Cicada Wings, he left trails of afterimages across the square.
He swung the Dark Gold Dreadclaw on his right palm again and again, forcing Xie Yue to keep blocking.
The two moved faster and faster, the collisions between Moon Blades and claw rays sounding like a dense roll of drumbeats.
After several exchanges, Xie Yue clearly began to feel the strain.
Gui Yuan was faster than he had imagined, and those wings also carried faint spatial fluctuations.
Several times, his Moon Blades had clearly sealed off the angle, yet Gui Yuan easily evaded them with a dodge that resembled instantaneous movement.
I'm getting suppressed a little...
Xie Yue knew full well that he could gain no advantage in a head-on clash.
He needed an opening, and just then, after Gui Yuan swung his right claw, his body tipped forward ever so slightly.
That forward tilt briefly exposed an opening at his right ribs.
An opening!
Xie Yue did not hesitate. His fourth Soul Ring abruptly lit up.
"Space-Rending Instant Slash!"
His figure vanished in an instant and appeared behind Gui Yuan. With a shrill whistle as it cleaved through the air, a Moon Blade slashed toward the back of Gui Yuan's neck.
The strike was fast, precise, and perfectly timed.
Gui Yuan kept his head lowered, but the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
He raised his left hand to his chest and swallowed the burnished golden chrysanthemum he had been holding in his palm.
Golden light surged!
A translucent golden barrier instantly enveloped his entire body. Xie Yue's Moon Blade struck the golden light as though it had hit a hard stone.
Clang!
With a crisp ring, the Moon Blade was forcibly repelled, the recoil numbing the web of Xie Yue's hand.
"How is that possible!"
Xie Yue's pupils contracted sharply. His fourth Soul Skill could break through defenses, yet it had been deflected so easily?
Unfortunately, Xie Yue's defense-breaking ability was entirely different from the defense-ignoring effect of Bibi Dong's Eternal Wound.
The former was "equivalent to reducing the opponent's defense by a certain amount," while the latter dealt true damage. There was no comparison.
At their extremes, true damage > golden-body defense > defense breaking.
And at the very instant the recoil forced him back, Gui Yuan activated Shadow Step beneath his feet.
Black mist surged from beneath Xie Yue's feet, and a black hand silently seized his ankle.
Xie Yue's movement stalled. He glanced down at that Ghost Hand and thought, This is bad.
The next second, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw was already beside his neck. Holding back his strength, Gui Yuan stopped his five fingers less than an inch from his skin.
The gust stirred by the sharp claw rays made the fine hairs on Xie Yue's neck stand on end.
"Thank you for the match, Brother Xie Yue."
Gui Yuan's voice was calm, carrying a hint of a smile.
Xie Yue froze for a moment, then gave a bitter chuckle. "I lost."