Yue Guan looked down at Wang Xiaoming, his face betraying no expression as he watched him with interest.
If that little fellow really could give him a pleasant surprise, bringing him back to Spirit Hall would mean he had lived up to the Pope's trust.
In the arena, the battle was about to erupt.
After pounding the ground twice, Black Whirlwind charged straight at Wang Xiaoming!
The Yellow Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up.
"Second Soul Skill-Hammer!"
As his voice fell, both his fists were wrapped in golden light.
A smug smile hung on Black Whirlwind's face. After using this Soul Skill, his next two attacks would strike with twice his own strength!
In the past, he had often relied on this move to send enemies flying straight out of the ring.
And now, he was going to use it to smash the scrap metal that foul-mouthed brat was wearing!
Facing Black Whirlwind's attack, Wang Xiaoming calmed himself, sensed the flow of Soul Power within him, and mobilized all of it.
Magenta energy flickered over his body, as though responding to his call.
Black Whirlwind had already appeared before him, his golden fists hurtling straight at him!
Wang Xiaoming neither dodged nor evaded. He raised both arms in a defensive stance, ready to test his defenses.
Bang!!
A tremendous crash rang out through the arena.
The punch slammed into Wang Xiaoming's arms, driving him back several meters. But to his pleasant surprise, his armor seemed to have gained the Iron Armored Rhinoceros's defense as well.
Aside from being driven back and feeling a slight jolt, he felt no pain at all from the blow.
Seeing this, Black Whirlwind stared at his hands, where the golden light had vanished, his face full of disbelief.
Under normal circumstances, how could a One-Ring Soul Master possibly withstand his punch!?
"That's impossible!"
Black Whirlwind charged again, throwing his one remaining fist that still glowed gold.
He put all his strength into the second punch. Even faster than the first, it headed straight for Wang Xiaoming's faceplate.
Just as the punch was about to land, Wang Xiaoming suddenly bent over to dodge, and the fist flew past, grazing his faceplate.
Immediately afterward, his right fist shot upward, slamming into Black Whirlwind's exposed abdomen.
"Pfft!"
The punch made Black Whirlwind spit up a mouthful of sour fluid, and he staggered backward.
Looking at Black Whirlwind, whose momentum had been cut by more than half, Wang Xiaoming shook out his wrists twice, his expression beneath the faceplate utterly bored.
He seemed to have overestimated the fighting ability of normal Soul Masters...
"Mister, you don't seem to be as strong as you look, do you?"
The exchange had ended in just a few seconds, and the stands were deathly silent.
No one had expected that strange brat to be so formidable.
Although Black Whirlwind wasn't particularly strong among Soul Grandmasters, his bag of tricks was a nightmare for many.
Black Whirlwind wiped his mouth. The brat actually dared to mock him.
His eyes darted around, and he waved his hands repeatedly at Wang Xiaoming.
"Little brother, let's stop fighting, let's stop. I can't beat you. You're right, I'm all show and no substance... as if!"
Black Whirlwind put on a show of backing down, but his hand quietly reached behind him.
"First Soul Skill-Eat Shit!"
Black Whirlwind suddenly roared, then pulled out two clumps shaped like Lazy Goat's hairstyle from behind his back and hurled them at Wang Xiaoming.
"Fuck!"
Seeing the two enormous lumps flying straight at him, Wang Xiaoming hurriedly dove to the side, avoiding the attack.
The move might not do much damage, but it was incredibly insulting!
What kind of person used such a disgusting Soul Skill!?
White-ring Soul Skills really were hard to fathom. This one was downright bizarre.
Those things flew extremely fast. If his reactions hadn't been quick enough, he wouldn't be able to see anything now.
At that thought, he pulled out the [Charge Slash] card and inserted it into his belt.
Without a sword, the move would be considerably weaker, but this punch would feel great!!
A magenta glow appeared around Wang Xiaoming's fist, and he shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Before Black Whirlwind could react, Wang Xiaoming had already charged up to him. His fist whistled through the air and slammed heavily into Black Whirlwind's chest.
When the punch landed, a cracking sound came from Black Whirlwind's body. He flew out of the ring and crashed into the wall like a lump of mud, his eyes rolling back as he passed out.
Wang Xiaoming dismissed his armor. Without another glance at Black Whirlwind's miserable state, he turned and left through the contestants' passage.
That was only one win, so there was no rush. Only when he was matched against opponents on winning streaks later would there be a challenge.
He would count this fight as testing the waters.
The stands erupted in cheers.
The brat had actually won!?
Dugu Yan leaned lazily against the railing, looking down at the battle that had just ended. "He's pretty impressive. Just what kind of Martial Soul is that? It seems to boost him a lot-he could actually compete in strength with a guy who's almost level thirty..."
[I don't know, but he really is impressive.]
The corners of Ye Lingling's mouth lifted slightly beneath her veil, and she turned to leave.
"Hey, Lingling, wait for me."
Seeing Ye Lingling turn and leave just like that, Dugu Yan helplessly chased after her.
Ye Lingling was always like this. Whenever she wanted to leave, she just left, paying no attention to Dugu Yan.
"Lingling, are you going home later, or coming back to the academy with me?"
Ye Lingling shook her head. It made no difference where she went back to; right now, she wanted to go see Wang Xiaoming.
If he was hurt, she could help heal him.
Soon, she spotted Wang Xiaoming in the first-floor lobby.
"Wang..."
Ye Lingling was just about to call out to Wang Xiaoming when she saw that, rather than leave, he had returned to the registration desk.
Watching Ye Lingling look as though she wanted to go over to him but didn't dare approach, Dugu Yan couldn't help criticizing her inwardly.
This girl was good in every way, except that she wasn't good at interacting with people...
But wait, so she hadn't been watching that gorilla just now?
She edged closer to Ye Lingling and asked quietly, "Lingling, do you like that kid?"
At that, Ye Lingling's body gave a startled tremble. She said nothing, but her reddening ears had already answered everything.
Seeing this, Dugu Yan gave her a teasing look, a doting smile spreading across her face.
So many people at the academy wanted to be friends with her, but Ye Lingling ignored them all. Dugu Yan had thought she simply didn't want to talk to people, but she hadn't expected... that this girl liked younger boys?
"If you like him, go after him. What good does watching him from here do? He can't even see you. Our Lingling is so pretty, there's no reason he wouldn't like you."