On the stage, Ning Tian watched Chu Qing charge toward them and calmly analyzed the situation:
"His Azure Soul Ring has been lit the whole time. It probably isn't an explosive Soul Skill. In that case, even if it's comparable to a thousand-year Soul Skill, we still have a chance."
Xue Shi felt reassured.
With Princess Xue Li, who specialized in healing, supporting him, he might be able to hold out.
For a fleeting moment, almost as if it were an illusion, he seemed to see a glimmer of hope for victory. He immediately charged forward.
Chu Qing did not immediately unleash his Second Soul Skill.
His Sky Azure Bull Emperor Python Martial Soul gave his physique an enormous boost, and its enhancement to his defense was even greater than its boost to his attack.
He constantly tempered his body, and with the improvement to his physical condition from his Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone, it could be said that almost no one at his level could match him.
He felt that even Huo Yuhao, who had absorbed a four-hundred-thousand-year Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion Torso Bone, might not have a stronger physique than him, a Defense System Battle Soul Master.
He was confident in his physique. In this first formal battle against another person, he wanted to see how far he could go.
So he chose to compress wind in his right hand.
He fired a ranged Storm Bullet at Xue Shi.
Xue Shi was quite startled. He clearly hadn't seen his opponent's Second Soul Ring light up.
Many of the powerhouses below were also speculating. Could this be the ability of Chu Qing's unusually colored Soul Ring?
But after swinging his lion claws to block it, he sensed that it only seemed to have the power of a Ten-Year Soul Ring skill. He could hardly believe it, and he was delighted.
"Are you trying to tickle me?"
Chu Qing did not deny it. Its power really was too poor. He said:
"Then try this."
A tornado slowly condensed into shape in his hand.
He had comprehended this after his First Soul Ring's age rose to a thousand years and his control over the four elements improved. Rather than compressing the wind into a sphere, he compressed it into a tornado.
Of course, its power was still only at the level of a ten-year Soul Skill. But compared to Storm Bullet, which also did little damage, it had a slight control effect.
After he threw the tornado from his hand, it grew larger and larger.
Ning Tian's eyes were full of surprise. Could his Azure Soul Ring grant an ability like wind-element control?
Xue Shi was puzzled too. Was this a Self-Created Soul Skill?
He could hardly believe it, and he was also a little annoyed. He moved to the side to avoid the tornado.
But when he looked up, two more tornadoes came sweeping toward him.
And he could see another two taking shape in Chu Qing's hands.
Its damage was low, but so was its cost!
Chu Qing was happy to interfere with his opponent.
After dodging two more, Xue Shi failed to evade the next one and was blown off the ground.
Its power was low. Once he was swept up in it, not only was the damage negligible, he didn't even feel the slightest bit dizzy.
In less than half a minute, he burst out of the tornado.
But Chu Qing had already appeared behind him.
Feeling the wind from a fist at the back of his head, he realized he was in trouble.
But when he saw Princess Xue Li's Soul Ring light up across from him, he felt reassured and began to respond calmly.
With Princess Xue Li's healing, he abandoned the idea of ducking. Instead, he felt he could take the blow head-on, so he spun around and swung his lion claws behind him.
But when his head turned with his body, what came at him was not a fist, but a Storm Bullet, with Chu Qing close behind it.
His lion claws tore the Storm Bullet apart.
Although the Storm Bullet did little damage, the wind produced when it burst also knocked his claws aside.
Chu Qing approached with a mischievous grin.
"Time to take off!"
He turned sideways and kicked Xue Shi in the stomach.
In an instant, the tremendous force struck. Xue Shi's body bent into a bow. The overwhelming power made him feel as though he had been hit by a bull, and he was sent flying.
He flew through the air in an arc, grimacing as searing pain struck. He wondered why Xue Li's healing had not reached him.
Just as he was about to land, Chu Qing anticipated his fall and sent him aloft with another tornado. Xue Shi could not believe his eyes: as Chu Qing closed in and threw another punch, green feathers of healing energy from Princess Xue Li's First Soul Skill, Swan's Healing, were floating around him.
After a flurry of punches and kicks from Chu Qing, Xue Shi was sent flying with a final kick.
Chu Qing did not continue attacking.
Xue Shi endured the pain and climbed to his feet, looking at Princess Xue Li in utter confusion.
"Xue Li, heal me!"
"Why are you healing him?"
Although he was somewhat reluctant to admit it in front of everyone, he still gritted his teeth and said:
"Can't you see I'm having a little trouble beating him?"
In fact, although his boosts were substantial, none of them enhanced his defense.
If Chu Qing had activated his Second Soul Skill with that first kick, he would have ended the battle in a single blow.
Xue Shi also knew that if Chu Qing had not kicked him away at the end and had instead pressed his advantage, he would not have lasted long. His opponent's strength was too terrifying.
Xue Li looked like she had done something wrong and nodded meekly.
"Sorry, sorry."
"Xue Shi, I'll heal you right away."
As she spoke, she activated her Soul Skill again.
As her Soul Ring lit up, the Four-Winged Swan Wings at her waist flapped, sending a flurry of green feathers of light swirling onto Xue Shi.
The pain in Xue Shi's body gradually faded, and he recovered. He said no more about it, but still reminded her, unable to put his mind at ease:
"Remember to watch for the right moment to heal me."
He turned to face Chu Qing again. Ning Tian gave him another boost to strength and speed and reminded him:
"I can only support you one more time at most."
"All right, I know."
He felt increasingly irritated as he watched Chu Qing wait quietly across from him, a faint smile on his face.
Chu Qing looked gentle, but Xue Shi could feel his overwhelming smugness.
More importantly, the way Chu Qing regarded him as a mediocrity, with the arrogance of a genius, greatly displeased him.
He regarded himself as a genius. How could he endure that?
"I know. I'll finish this quickly."
He spoke with some impatience.
Chu Qing raised a hand and compressed another tornado, saying smugly:
"Do you still want to keep dancing?"
Although it was three against one, two of them were support Soul Masters with no fighting power of their own, so he was not under that much pressure. He even felt there was no need to deal with the support fighters.
Still, he had the thought of giving both Princess Xue Li and Ning Tian a thorough beating to see whether it would save him some trouble.
After thinking it over, he gave up on the idea. After all, with so many people watching, it would not look good.
"I'll send you flying in a moment too!"
Xue Shi snorted coldly.
The distance between him and Chu Qing was already short, and he was even more careful. With the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's speed boost, he evaded the tornado Chu Qing unleashed and charged forward.
Chu Qing instead compressed the wind and wrapped it around his right arm to increase the speed and power of his punches, then went to meet him.
Their fists and feet clashed.
Xue Shi was somewhat shaken. He clearly had the strength boosts from his First Soul Skill, Wild Lion's Furious Aura, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, and the Flame Mad Lion's strength was not weak either. Yet he felt that Chu Qing's strength, with only Martial Soul Possession active, still firmly surpassed his own. He could hardly believe how powerful his opponent's Martial Soul was.
"Don't get distracted!"
Chu Qing had strength to spare and kindly reminded him.
Electric light flashed at the tips of the curled bull horns on his head.
Alarm flashed in Xue Shi's eyes. He had not expected his opponent to be able to control electricity as well as wind.
Flames rose from his hands. He drove Chu Qing back with several punches, avoiding the two arcs of electricity that shot from the horn tips.
He looked at the stage boards, blackened where the arcs had struck. Although their power was ordinary and this was merely ordinary elemental manipulation, seeing lightning crackle in Chu Qing's left hand made him genuinely afraid that Chu Qing would pull another strange trick.
Wu Feng's grandmother was astonished. Could Chu Qing's Azure Soul Ring allow him to freely control wind and lightning?
The others also found it quite remarkable. A single Soul Ring could grant a Soul Master attributes; it could be said to be very practical.
The two charged at each other again. Chu Qing wielded a lightning fist in his left hand and a wind fist in his right, while both of Xue Shi's fists blazed with fire. Their fight clearly rose to another level of intensity, with wind and lightning surging and flames flying.
The healing green feathers from Xue Li's Soul Skill surrounded Xue Shi, lessening the effect of the lightning on Chu Qing's left hand. Instead, Xue Shi had burned away some of Chu Qing's clothes.
He thought that he absolutely could not drag this out any longer. Chu Qing had been overconfidently holding back his First Soul Skill, but Xue Shi's Second Soul Ring suddenly blazed to life.
Second Soul Skill: Fierce Flame Frenzied Dance Break!
"Face my lion's fang!"
He roared as a large amount of fire-element energy gathered in his right hand. The temperature of the surrounding air shot up, and his hand turned warm red. Flames danced wildly over it as he punched at Chu Qing.
At this distance, Chu Qing would have no way to dodge. He would end the fight with one punch.
But he saw no trace of panic on Chu Qing's face. Instead, Chu Qing raised his left arm to block, as though he did not understand the danger.
Princess Xue Li's mouth fell open in shock, and she hurriedly activated her Soul Ring in fear.
Facing him, Chu Qing naturally sensed the power of the punch.
He felt that he should be able to take it head-on after unleashing his First Soul Skill, but he did not want to take a punch that looked quite painful.
Thirty-Thousand-Year Shield Armor Spirit Rhinoceros Left Arm Bone, Soul Bone skill: Moon-Gazing Armguard.
It primarily created a protective shield. Besides the shield, it also increased the Soul Master's overall defense by 10% and specifically increased the left arm's defense by 50%. When the moon was out, it gained the Black Rhinoceros Gazes at the Moon property, increasing its defensive effect by another 50%.
A black Soul Bone armguard with a protruding rhinoceros horn appeared on Chu Qing's left arm. It also released a luminous white crescent-shaped shield that enclosed Chu Qing and blocked the attack.
How could the defense of a thirty-thousand-year Soul Bone skill be broken by a mere Hundred-Year Soul Ring skill?
Despite that, Xue Shi's astonishing punch came crashing in, and the flames erupting from it swallowed Chu Qing and his shield whole.
But Chu Qing was unharmed. As soon as the flames dissipated, he lashed out with a kick, sending Xue Shi flying once more.
He smiled faintly and said with conviction:
"That last strike of yours was powerful. If our Spirit Rhinoceros Sect didn't specialize in defense, and if I didn't have a Soul Bone, I would have lost."
"My victory wasn't entirely fair. What do you say? Do you want to continue sparring?"
Xue Shi clutched his stomach as he got up. He was already feeling terrible, and seeing green feathers of light floating around Chu Qing made him snort angrily again and again.
Xue Li looked at the completely unharmed Chu Qing and realized she had undermined Xue Shi again. She did not dare speak, and only managed to release her Soul Skill to heal him once more.
Before he could lose even more disgracefully, Xue Shi immediately withdrew his Martial Soul.
His opponent still had not used his Second Soul Skill. He now fully understood that he was no match for him.
And although his opponent had mocked him earlier, at least he had given him a little face at the end.
"Your Martial Soul really is powerful. A loss is a loss. A Soul Bone is part of your strength too."
"I'll challenge you again in the future."
Chu Qing nodded and said:
"I'll be waiting anytime."
Xue Leng's earlier insults had greatly displeased him.
He could naturally beat Xue Shi until he was searching the floor for his teeth, but what would happen after that?
Xue Shi was Mad Lion Douluo's own grandson, and Xue Kui and Xue Leng had other Titled Douluo serving under them.
And what about their Spirit Rhinoceros Sect? They did not even have a powerhouse at the Soul Douluo level.
He had not yet grown strong enough, and his strength did not allow him to go too far.