A contestant from Mo City

Qing Rong tossed the bouquet of Lie Yan Stars into the sky. The bouquet scattered, its sparkling stamens linked together by flames.

"First Soul Skill, Flower Net."

Tang San had never expected a Martial Soul that had clearly specialized in flame attacks a moment earlier to turn into a net the very next instant.

By then, it was already too late for him to escape with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

He could only use Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon with one hand to shift the Lie Yan Star net slightly, while clenching his other hand into a fist and punching straight at Qing Rong.

Qing Rong had not expected Tang San to be so decisive either. Instead of retreating, he advanced, and panic appeared on Qing Rong's face once more.

Boom.

Qing Rong was knocked unconscious by the punch, while Tang San was burned by the Lie Yan Star net. Both lost the ability to fight at the same time.

"The match is over. First bout: a draw," the Spirit Hall referee announced with a gesture. Healing Soul Masters hurried forward to save the two.

Grandmaster Ma Xiunuo shook his head and sighed.

"What a pity for that boy Tang San. Whether in strength, speed, technique, or even cunning, he was above his opponent."

"It was only because Blue Silver Grass was of such low quality that the Soul Skill he obtained was low-quality too. Even after giving it everything he had, all he could do was take his opponent down with him."

Xiao Yao offered no opinion. In his view, Tang San's temperament was nothing special either.

If he had been in Tang San's position, wouldn't it have been better to lie back and get carried to victory?

He clearly wasn't in peak condition, and he could clearly have secured victory and earned the reward without lifting a finger, yet he just had to go up there and steal the limelight.

If Tang San had gone up there to gain experience and hone himself, Xiao Yao would have thought a little more highly of him, but that clearly wasn't the case.

This Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record isn't much good either. It doesn't even teach the Dao of lying low.

When it was Xiao Yao and Xiao Wu's turn, their opponents were both rank twelve, so there really was no suspense.

The final was the day after the semifinal. Tang San definitely wouldn't be able to compete, so it would be down to Xiao Yao and Xiao Wu.

But neither they nor Ma Xiunuo were the slightest bit worried about that.

"Xiao Wu, you'll go first tomorrow. Xiao Yao will go second."

The next day, Xiao Wu took the stage, raising her head as she accepted the audience's cheers.

Xiao Yao, however, noticed something amiss. "How come I've never seen the person they're sending out?"

Ma Xiunuo's expression darkened. "Their contestant is from Mo City."

"Mo City?"

According to the rules of the "New Soul" tournament, only the lowest-tier cities could compete against Nuoding City.

Only the champion could travel with Mo City's team to a higher-tier city for the main-hall-level competition.

As a higher-tier city, Mo City far surpassed lower-tier cities in both its pool of talent and its Soul Beast resources.

So, generally speaking, geniuses from Mo City were also much stronger than those from lower-tier cities.

"Isn't that against the rules?"

Ma Xiunuo shook his head. "His ancestral home is Xiunuocheng, so he's representing Xiunuocheng."

Xiao Yao understood. This was a rare occurrence.

Xiunuocheng's contestant had originally been from Xiunuocheng, but had later moved to Mo City with his family and put down roots there.

Unfortunately, he had not been selected for Mo City's team, but he was still stronger than Xiunuocheng's own contestants.

And so the two sides had hit it off immediately.

He joined Xiunuocheng's team to try to secure a higher placement for the city, while also gaining the right to participate in the higher-level "New Soul" tournament himself.

Because this situation was so rare, Spirit Hall's officials had never explicitly prohibited it, leaving a loophole to exploit.

"Don't worry. Whoever it is, Xiao Wu can win," Xiao Yao reassured him.

Please. If you think she could throw a bronze-tier match, you're seriously underestimating what it means for Xiao Wu to be a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

"Xiao Wu. Martial Soul: Soft Bone Rabbit. One-ring strength-type Battle Soul Master."

"Gu Sanshui. Martial Soul: Tuna. One-ring power-attack-type Battle Soul Master."

Gu Sanshui looked about ten years old, but he was only about as tall as the six-year-old Tang San.

He was very brawny, however, making people unconsciously overlook his height.

"First Soul Skill, Water Arrow."

Gu Sanshui drew a deep breath, and a mouthful of "thick phlegm" shot from his mouth straight at Xiao Wu's face.

The Soul Skill looked disgusting, but this "thick phlegm" was actually highly condensed water, shaped like an arrow and traveling extremely fast.

The "concentration rabbit ears" on Xiao Wu's head twitched. The path of the Water Arrow, which she originally could not make out, became perfectly clear.

She rolled out of the way, and the Water Arrow blasted a fist-sized pit in the ground.

It didn't look very powerful, but one mustn't forget that this was water-water that scattered on contact.

The force needed to blast out a mark like that was easy to imagine. If it struck a person, several broken bones would be inevitable.

Xiao Wu snorted coldly. Wearing red high-heeled dance shoes, she stretched out her long legs and charged at Gu Sanshui himself.

Gu Sanshui remained unhurried, turning himself into a gun emplacement and forcing back every one of Xiao Wu's attacks.

Ma Xiunuo drew in a sharp breath. "As expected of a genius from Mo City. That Soul Skill is very high-grade."

"My second Soul Skill is only about that level."

"No matter how high-grade it is, what use is it if it can't hit anyone?" Xiao Yao wasn't worried about Xiao Wu.

"A high-quality Soul Skill means higher consumption. In this short time, he's already used his first Soul Skill three times, while Xiao Wu has only used her physical stamina to run. Isn't it obvious who has the upper hand?"

The situation unfolded just as Xiao Yao had said. After repeatedly unleashing his Soul Skill, Gu Sanshui's Soul Power had clearly declined.

Both the speed and frequency with which he unleashed his Soul Skill dropped considerably, giving Xiao Wu an opening to close in.

"First Soul Skill, Waist Bow."

Xiao Wu had followed Xiao Yao's suggestion and abandoned the fighting method of wrapping her body around her opponent.

The essence of the Soul Skill had not changed, however. It still used the flexibility of her waist to greatly increase her strength.

Xiao Wu leaped high, twisting her body unnaturally until her whole body resembled a stick bent to its limit.

Once the force restraining the stick vanished, it snapped back even faster.

Xiao Wu's leg was that stick, unleashing tremendous force as it chopped down hard onto Gu Sanshui's forehead and knocked him unconscious.

"The match is over. First bout: Nuoding City wins."

(＾-＾)V

Xiao Wu made the cute gesture and skipped back to Xiao Yao's side. "Big Brother Xiao Yao, I won."

Xiao Yao generously gave her a thumbs-up. "You were amazing. Now watch me."

He took the stage at the same time as Xiunuocheng's second contestant, a rather pretty girl.

"Xiao Yao. Martial Soul: Heavenly Book. Rank fourteen, one-ring Power Attack System Battle Soul Master."

"Gu Yihan. Martial Soul: Snowflake. Rank fourteen, one-ring Control-Type Battle Spirit Master."

Xiao Yao noticed her surname. "You're from Mo City too?"

Gu Yihan lived up to her name, wearing a cold expression.

Such an expression on a mature beauty could have earned her the title of ice queen, but on a ten-year-old little girl, the contrast made her even cuter.

"He's my twin younger brother."

Xiao Yao pressed his lips together, wanting to laugh but feeling that it would be rather disrespectful.

Gu Yihan noticed anyway. "What are you laughing at?"

"At how your dad played favorites. Your name is so beautiful, but your brother's sounds like he came free with the groceries."

Gu Yihan pursed her lips, clearly holding back laughter too.

"Fallen Heart Flame, rise."

With the pleasantries over, Xiao Yao closed his hand around empty air, and invisible flames blazed over Gu Yihan's body.

This was how he had always done it before, defeating his opponent instantly with a single move.

This time, however, seemed different.

"First Soul Skill, Ring of Snow."

A white halo rippled out from Gu Yihan's body, pushing the invisible Fallen Heart Flame several meters away, where it vanished without anything to burn.

"My first Soul Skill can push people away, and it can also remove certain negative effects."

"Unfortunately, your flames fall within the effects I can cleanse."

"Is that so? Then try this." Xiao Yao closed his hand around empty air again.

A hundred-year Soul Skill like this could remove an ordinary burning effect, but how could it possibly deal with the Fallen Heart Flame, ranked fourteenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking?

Xiao Yao only needed to increase his Soul Power slightly to break through the girl's first Soul Skill.

But he had thought of something more fun.

A wisp of heart flame ignited within Gu Qinghan's body...