Xu Sanshi started over and clashed with Yang Tian again.
Mysterious Nether Tremor!
As the pressure mounted, Yang Tian still couldn't hold out.
Xu Sanshi gave the reeling, dizzy Yang Tian a vicious kick off the stage, then raised his middle finger.
"If I hadn't been going easy on you before, you really wouldn't have known your own weight in pounds and ounces."
Yang Tian refused to accept it and charged up again.
"Again! I was careless just now."
But Xu Sanshi still kicked him right off the stage with a boot to the backside.
"Go back and train hard. I'll give you time to catch up."
Xu Sanshi wore a proud expression, while Yang Tian was too angry to speak.
There was little to fault in Xu Sanshi's strength for someone his age, but not one other person present cheered. Quite a few looked cautiously toward Heavenly Sun Douluo.
Heavenly Sun Douluo's expression grew even uglier.
The Dou Ling emperor felt helpless. There was nothing he could do about the matter, so he smiled and said:
"Excellent. You are both pillars of our Dou Ling's future."
"Xu Sanshi has a highly accomplished grasp of how to use his Martial Soul. Tianyang himself is strong, but his timing in battle still needs some work. More remarkable still, he has an indomitable spirit that will not break after a hundred setbacks, even at such a young age. That is precisely the potential to become a powerhouse."
Heavenly Sun Douluo's anger eased a little, and he said:
"You flatter him, Your Majesty. I'll give him proper guidance when we get back."
He glanced toward Xue Lingxun and her husband, then turned and resumed his seat.
He had been the one pressing them aggressively, and now that he had slapped his own face, he no longer had the cheek to keep making things difficult for them. But his dislike had only deepened.
Onstage, Xu Sanshi was still thoroughly pleased with himself.
"Xu Sanshi, level 27 Defense System Battle Soul Master. Anyone who wants to challenge me, line up and come at me one by one."
Wu Feng's grandmother began instructing Ning Tian and Wu Feng.
"Stay away from him in the future."
She wasn't shunning him because she feared Heavenly Sun Douluo like the others. Rather, in her eyes, Xu Sanshi's father was a libertine who had run off with a princess, and now it seemed to her that Xu Sanshi had clearly inherited his father's nature. Even as a child, he showed no sign of being steady.
As she spoke, she found it rather strange. How was it that the children born to the two princesses, Xue Lingxun and Xue Lingyi, had turned out to be exact opposites? If they were swapped, they would look more like their own mothers' children.
Xue Lingxun watched the delighted Xu Sanshi onstage and smiled helplessly. Xu Sanshi's father took her hand and secretly sent her a voice transmission.
"Xun'er, the age of these old blocks of wood is nearly over. Just wait until I become a Titled Douluo."
Xue Lingxun sent a voice transmission back.
"It's a shame. I originally wanted to win you more support. After all, things would be easier for you when you became sect master."
"It's all right. As long as Sanshi is happy."
"Sanshi is still just a child. It would be too cruel to make him suffer grievances in our place."
Chu Qing stared at their joined hands and grumbled inwardly that this really was a continent of romance.
The two noticed, exchanged a smile, and released each other's hands. They sat down and admired Xu Sanshi's bearing as he fought onstage.
With Yang Tian defeated, the others began to entertain ideas.
That was a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone!
The temptation was too great.
At the start, anyone with clear eyes understood that the Dou Ling emperor had actually been giving it to Heavenly Sun Douluo, but things were different now.
After defeating two more people, Xu Sanshi couldn't hold on any longer. He hurriedly shouted at another person who had impatiently leaped onto the stage:
"Hey! Stop, stop, stop!"
"No matter how much of a genius I am, my Soul Power has its limits. Do you really think I'm not human?"
"You want to pick up an easy win, huh? Fine, I'll oblige. I'll go down and catch my breath first, and find someone to fight in my place for a bit."
He strode back to his seat with the wind at his heels and a swagger in his step. Sitting down, he said between heavy breaths:
"I can't go on. Cousin, we agreed today that if I got beaten up tonight, you'd help me."
"Now's your time to shine. Get up there and hold out for a couple of rounds for me."
Chu Qing said:
"Four in a row. You can really fight."
He praised him, and the delight in Xu Sanshi's eyes grew.
"You think your big brother's strength is just hot air?"
Chu Qing smiled faintly and headed toward the stage.
Their Spirit Rhinoceros Sect was too weak. Befriending the Mysterious Nether Sect through his mother was the most reliable course.
Although Xu Sanshi's family was being oppressed, even Heavenly Sun Douluo, the Dou Ling Empire's strongest man on the surface, hadn't actually done much to them. That showed the Mysterious Nether Sect, a secluded sect, was still fairly strong.
Although they paid no attention to the affairs of Xu Sanshi's father, who belonged to their main line, perhaps they simply considered it a minor matter. If Chu Qing ran into mortal danger, it was possible they would save his life.
When the person waiting onstage saw Chu Qing come up, he couldn't help taking half a step back.
Were they really going to make him fight a monster who had absorbed a Thousand-Year Soul Ring as his Second Soul Ring? How could he possibly win?
But surrendering just like that would be a terrible loss of face, so he could only bite the bullet and carry on.
He struggled inwardly, thinking that getting beaten up in a moment would also be pretty embarrassing. He had seen Xu Sanshi hit the others quite hard earlier, sending his fists straight at their faces!
Xue Shi, who had originally been tempted to compete, saw Chu Qing take the stage. The light in his eyes immediately dimmed, and he no longer planned to go up.
Chu Qing stepped onto the stage and spoke in as gentle a tone as he could manage:
"Chu Qing, level 29 Defense System Battle Soul Master."
His opponent was startled. He froze for a moment before saying:
"Xue Shiqi, level 22 Power Attack System Battle Soul Master."
Chu Qing had always been somewhat lax in his cultivation. Otherwise, after absorbing a Thousand-Year Soul Ring, he should have been at least level 30. But after absorbing a Soul Bone earlier, he had reached level 20 at seven years old. Without absorbing a Second Soul Ring, he couldn't break through, and the five years of cultivation that followed had brought no clear feedback at all, leaving him mentally weary.
Chu Qing nodded and activated Martial Soul Possession.
"Let's begin!"
When the two Soul Rings, one cyan and one purple, rose around him, another stir of surprise went through the crowd, even though it wasn't the first time.
Xue Shiqi swallowed. A silver scissor-halberd gleaming with cold light appeared in his hand, and he charged.
Chu Qing compressed the wind and wrapped it in a spiral around his right arm. He circulated Soul Power through his left hand, not activating the Soul Bone's Soul Skill, but merely making the Moon-Gazing Armguard appear. Two rhinoceros horns protruded from it, giving it a solid kind of beauty.
The two became locked in combat, trading blows back and forth.
Chu Qing didn't use a Soul Skill the entire time, and Xue Shiqi understood without being told. He likewise refrained from releasing a Soul Skill.
After fighting for a few minutes, he conceded of his own accord.
"Young Sect Master Chu, your cultivation is formidable. I admire you."
Chu Qing cupped his fists in return.
"That silver scissor-halberd of yours is quite handsome."
Xue Shiqi beamed and said:
"It's a shame it isn't as eye-catching as your big horns."
He went down from the stage in high spirits.
Chu Qing's current strength didn't allow him to make enemies everywhere. Xue Shi's family was already enough of a headache, so a few words, whether sincere or not, were enough to let others see his attitude.
In any case, he wouldn't lose anything by it.
The people around them saw this and came away with a very good impression of him: a genius rarely seen in the world, yet courteous and approachable.
Even Heavenly Sun Douluo, upon seeing him, had some difficulty taking his eyes off that cyan Soul Ring for a moment.
He very much wanted to take Chu Qing as his disciple.
But this was the imperial palace, not an academy.
And Chu Qing was the young master of a sect, at that.
He couldn't simply take him as a disciple on a whim.
Besides, judging by Chu Qing's mother, he was very worried that if he brought it up and happened to be rejected on the spot, his old face would be completely and utterly lost tonight.
In fact, Heavenly Sun Douluo wasn't the only one who wanted to take Chu Qing as a disciple. Even Mad Lion Douluo, who thought it necessary to prepare to eliminate Chu Qing, very much wanted to take him as a disciple.
Unfortunately, this was the imperial palace, where politics were complicated. No one would rashly bring it up in public.
After Chu Qing took the stage, no one else came up for a time.
Fei Yuyan sighed and said:
"I really want to go up and test myself against him, but if I lost to him with my three-ring strength, wouldn't that be way too embarrassing?"
An Lengye began egging her on:
"Go on up. Don't you want to get to know him ahead of time?"
"He might be going to Shrek Academy before long. After that, you won't have another chance."
"Hmph! I'm not falling for that. If someone has to be embarrassed, you go do it."
The Dou Ling emperor looked at Chu Qing onstage, who had subdued all the contenders and whose presence filled the venue, and was very satisfied. He said:
"It seems the Soul Bone's destination goes without saying."
"But the rest of you should not be discouraged. You are all geniuses of our Dou Ling as well. Though it cannot compare to a Soul Bone, you should likewise be rewarded."
He immediately ordered someone to fetch the items.