"Hahaha~"
After quite a while, Lu Yu finally managed to stifle his laughter. Wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes, he activated his First Soul Skill with a thought. In an instant, his entire body turned golden, making him look just like a little golden statue.
"This is my First Soul Skill. Now you should believe I'm not an impostor, right?"
Seeing the all-too-familiar effect of the Soul Skill, Lin Tian felt some of his doubts fade. He lowered the Thunder Pattern Staff a little, though a trace of wariness remained in his eyes.
Seeing that Lin Tian still hadn't completely let down his guard, Lu Yu rolled his eyes. "You were still wetting the bed when you were nine, and a girl even saw you do it. When you were ten..."
"All right, all right, stop! I believe you're not an impostor!"
Listening to Lu Yu recount his embarrassing childhood stories, Lin Tian's face turned red. He immediately put away the Thunder Pattern Staff, his toes curling against the floor in embarrassment.
Naturally, he had told Lu Yu about those things while drinking with him last night.
"Hahaha, I really didn't expect you to still be wetting the bed at nine." Lu Yu teased him again.
At the mention of it, Lin Tian's face grew even redder. He turned his head aside and tried to change the subject.
"What's going on with your Second Soul Ring? Why is it a Ten-Year Soul Ring?"
Lu Yu narrowed his eyes, his mind racing. He could make up anything when talking to other people, but Lin Tian had now joined him, so he needed a plausible excuse.
Suddenly, he spotted Great Sage still perched on the window, and an idea sprang to mind. It would be a waste not to make such an unusual Martial Soul take the blame.
"Great Sage picked both of my Soul Rings for me. There was nothing I could do!" Lu Yu spread his hands, dumping all the blame for the Soul Rings on Great Sage.
After all, Lin Tian couldn't understand Great Sage when he spoke, and Great Sage was intelligent to begin with, so it was plausible that he could choose Soul Rings himself.
Perched on the window, Great Sage felt terribly wronged when he heard that he had chosen the Soul Master himself. He jumped up and down on the window frame, practically ready to speak up!!!
After hearing Lu Yu's explanation, Lin Tian opened his mouth, then turned to look at Great Sage jumping up and down. He really didn't know what to say.
On the Douluo Continent, a Martial Soul was the most important thing to a Soul Master. Even one's dearest friends and family weren't as important as one's Martial Soul. A Soul Ring chosen by the Martial Soul itself certainly couldn't be wrong. Surely you couldn't distrust your own Martial Soul!
For the moment, Lin Tian accepted Lu Yu's explanation, but a strange thought occurred to him. If my Martial Soul were like Great Sage, what kind of Soul Ring would it pick for me? It wouldn't pick a Ten-Year Soul Ring too, would it?...
Lin Tian shook his head, casting aside the dangerous thought, and turned to look at Lu Yu, who was holding Great Sage in his arms and soothing him.
"Then what's your Second Soul Skill?"
"After I use it, it increases my speed by 100% for the next three seconds." Without looking up, Lu Yu continued stroking Great Sage's little head.
He missed the remarkable expression on Lin Tian's face. After hearing the effect of Lu Yu's Second Soul Skill, Lin Tian's jaw dropped, and his gaze returned to Great Sage.
Lin Tian had earned 48 wins at the Soul Fighting Arena and had seen quite a few Ten-Year Soul Rings. The boosts those ten-year Soul Skills gave their Soul Masters were 20% at most.
Yet the Soul Skill provided by one of Lu Yu's Ten-Year Soul Rings could rival Lin Tian's First Soul Skill. In their Soul Fight last night, if Lu Yu had possessed this Soul Skill, he could easily have dodged Lin Tian's First Soul Skill-Thunderclap Break!
Is this what a Soul Ring chosen by a Martial Soul itself is like? Even a Ten-Year Soul Ring is the most compatible with its owner...
Lin Tian murmured under his breath, the envy in his eyes almost spilling out.
Lin Tian instinctively clenched his right hand. If a Soul Ring chosen by a Martial Soul itself granted a Soul Skill with an effect like that, absorbing a Ten-Year Soul Ring wasn't out of the question...
Lu Yu stretched tiredly, unable to hide the exhaustion in his eyes. He put Great Sage down and looked up at Lin Tian.
"Are you going back tonight, or staying here with me?"
With that, he looked at the moderately sized bed. It really would be a little cramped for two people; it was only slightly larger than the bunk beds at school.
Lin Tian waved a hand. "Get some rest. I'll head back for now and come see you tomorrow!"
Lu Yu nodded. After Lin Tian left, he closed the courtyard gate, collapsed onto the bed, and fell asleep.
The next day...
"Welcome to this two-person Soul Fight. Coming up next is the Wild Bull Duo, with 28 wins and 9 losses."
The host stood on a raised platform, loudly announcing the contestants' information.
Two burly young men emerged from the contestants' passage. Their pectoral muscles were enormous, and they wore helmets shaped like bull horns.
After the Mad Bull Duo stepped onto the Soul Fighting stage, the host said nothing more, as though their opponents had been held up by something and weren't coming.
"Big brother, why isn't the host announcing our opponents?" Niu Er asked, nudging Niu Da with his elbow.
"How should I know? Let's wait and see!" Niu Da shook his head and looked up toward the host.
In the stands, murmurs of discontent gradually grew louder. The spectators couldn't understand why the host wasn't introducing the other team.
"Hey! Did the host fall asleep?"
"Why isn't he introducing the other team!?"
Hearing the protests, the host's lips curved upward. This was exactly the effect he wanted.
"Everyone, my sincere apologies! I was simply too excited. Even I didn't expect these two to be the ones competing in this two-person Soul Fight!"
The host spoke in a tone of disbelief.
His words only made the spectators below more curious. Just who were the remaining two contestants, to have surprised the host so much?
"Everyone, please don't get too excited. You're all very familiar with the next two contestants. The first is the 'Great Sage Equal to Heaven,' who has won 39 consecutive one-on-one Soul Fights!"
Whoosh-
After the host spoke, the entire Soul Fighting Arena fell silent for a second. In the next instant, cheers erupted from the spectators.
"What? Great Sage Equal to Heaven?"
"It's actually him? He's here for a two-person Soul Fight?"
"Heavens, who knows how long it's been since I last saw him fight!"
The host coughed twice, drawing the spectators' attention back to him.
"Ahem, everyone, please be patient. You're also very familiar with Great Sage Equal to Heaven's partner."
"It's the 'Great Sage Who Surpasses Heaven,' with 48 wins and 8 losses in one-on-one Soul Fights!"
"To be honest, I really didn't expect these two to enter a two-person Soul Fight together..."
As the host spoke, Lu Yu and Lin Tian emerged from the contestants' passage side by side, accompanied by the spectators' cries of surprise.
They hadn't wanted to attract so much attention either, but when Manager Huang learned that the two of them were teaming up for a two-person Soul Fight, he couldn't hide the delight in his eyes.
"I declare the Soul Fight between Wild Bull and Flower-Fruit Mountain begun!"
Niu Da and Niu Er had evidently heard of Lu Yu and Equal to Heaven's records. There was little need to say about Lu Yu; he had previously fought in one-ring Soul Fights, and even if he had become a two-ring Soul Master, he wasn't much of a problem.
But facing Lin Tian put the two of them under enormous pressure. A level-28 Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster with 48 wins in just over a month-the pressure was as heavy as a mountain.
"Niu Er, activate your Martial Soul!" Niu Da shouted.
The phantoms of two bulls appeared behind Niu Da and Niu Er. Niu Da's Soul Rings were one white and one yellow, while Niu Er's were the standard two yellow.
When everyone in the arena saw the two white Ten-Year Soul Rings slowly appear around Lu Yu, the cheers abruptly died. Even their breathing stopped.