The Undisputed Number One Genius (3)

By contrast, Yu Xiaogang's position grew increasingly awkward.

Lin Chen had used facts to smash the theory of maximum Soul Ring ages that Yu Xiaogang regarded as an iron law.

Whenever Yu Xiaogang spoke of the Ten Core Competencies in class, students would steal glances at Lin Chen, doubt in their eyes. Each time, Yu Xiaogang forced himself to remain calm, but the resentment and frustration in his heart grew deeper by the day. Several times, he tried to make trouble for Lin Chen, but he could find nothing to use against him-Lin Chen kept a very low profile, spending his days either cultivating or keeping Xiao Wu company, and never went looking for trouble.

In Dorm Seven, Sister Xiao Wu's name was even more renowned than Lin Chen's.

With Lin Chen backing her and her own strength already far surpassing that of students her age, no one in the entire dormitory, or even among the lower grades, dared defy her.

Wang Sheng and the others had long since been brought into line. They scrambled to fetch water, bring food and make beds, calling her "Sister Xiao Wu" with the utmost ease.

Xiao Wu, however, put on no airs. She still clung to Lin Chen every day, attending classes and cultivating with him by day, then curling up beside him in the dormitory at night to listen to his stories about the outside world. Her Soul Power was also rising at an astonishing speed. Subtly nourished by the Chaos Pearl's influence, she cultivated nearly thirty percent faster than in the original story, firmly holding second place among the academy's new students.

Tang San, meanwhile, was the dark horse hidden in the shadows.

He never showed off in public. Every day, he followed Yu Xiaogang's guidance and cultivated methodically, steadily building his foundation in Mysterious Heaven Skill while his Purple Demon Eye and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track improved with each passing day. His first Soul Skill, Entanglement, combined with the Mandala Snake's poison and Hidden Weapons such as Sleeve Arrows and Flying Locust Stones, made him exceptionally formidable in actual combat.

At a sparring tournament for the academy's lower grades, Tang San fought his way through every round, defeating even several fifteen- and sixteen-year-old Soul Grandmasters. In the end, he reached the final, where he would face Lin Chen.

The news sent the entire academy into an uproar. Even the upper-grade students set aside their cultivation and flocked to the arena, surrounding it so tightly that not a drop of water could have slipped through. The academy head and several directors of instruction came in person to watch, while Yu Xiaogang stood in a corner, watching the arena with a gloomy expression.

That battle was exceptionally spectacular.

"The final match of the lower-grade sparring tournament: Lin Chen versus Tang San!" The referee, a middle-aged teacher, raised his right hand. "The rules: no deliberately causing death, and no lethal poisons. The match ends when one side admits defeat or loses the ability to fight. Now-begin!"

Before his words had faded, Tang San made the first move.

He raised both hands, and more than ten strands of Blue Silver Grass shot from his palms, winding along the ground like lurking venomous snakes as they silently spread toward Lin Chen's feet. At the same time, his figure flickered as he executed Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, becoming an afterimage that raced around the edge of the arena, making his exact position difficult to pin down.

Lin Chen stood where he was, utterly still.

His eyes calmly swept across the arena as the Chaos Pearl's perception spread out like ripples on water. Though Tang San's Blue Silver Grass was well concealed, the Chaos Pearl's probing revealed the path of every strand.

"Entangle!"

Tang San gave a low shout, and the Blue Silver Grass on the ground suddenly sprang up, wrapping toward Lin Chen's legs from every direction. A faint green light shimmered on every strand-the Mandala Snake's poison.

The instant before the Blue Silver Grass touched him, Lin Chen gave a light stamp.

A ring of gray Qi surged out from beneath his foot. The moment the Blue Silver Grass touched it, the strands rapidly withered and shrank back as though they had struck a red-hot branding iron, and the poison was completely purified.

Tang San's pupils contracted.

He had not expected Lin Chen to break his first Soul Skill merely by releasing his Soul Power, without even summoning his Soul Ring. But he did not panic. His left hand swept across his waist, and three glints of cold light cut through the air-three Flying Locust Stones, arranged in a triangle, shot toward Lin Chen's face, throat and chest at tricky angles and tremendous speed.

Lin Chen finally moved.

Rather than retreat, he advanced, swinging his right arm to strike the first Flying Locust Stone with his palm. His palm wind carried Chaos Soul Power, and the stone burst into powder in midair. He immediately turned sideways, and the second Flying Locust Stone flew past his collar, lodging in the ground behind him and blasting out a fist-sized crater. The third came straight for his chest. Lin Chen flicked a finger, striking the stone precisely on its side and sending it flying.

The entire sequence flowed like clouds and water, completed in one seamless motion.

The watching students erupted in cries of astonishment. Several upperclassmen exchanged looks, their eyes full of shock. Given the force and angles of Tang San's three Flying Locust Stones, any one of them would probably have been injured, yet Lin Chen had dealt with them so effortlessly.

Tang San, however, was delighted rather than alarmed.

This was the opportunity he had been waiting for. While Lin Chen blocked the Flying Locust Stones, Tang San had silently closed to within three zhang. Pressing the five fingers of his right hand together, he activated Mysterious Jade Hand. His entire hand took on the texture of white jade as it stabbed toward Lin Chen's ribs with a whistle.

The strike combined the hardness of Mysterious Jade Hand with the deft force of Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon. If it landed, it was enough to break ribs.

Lin Chen's gaze finally grew a little more serious.

Instead of meeting it head-on, he shifted his feet and drifted backward like a falling leaf, narrowly avoiding Tang San's thrust. His strike missing, Tang San turned his wrist and spread his fingers. The suction of Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon burst forth, attempting to pull Lin Chen back.

Lin Chen felt an invisible force tugging at his body, throwing him slightly off balance. He silently praised the move, then planted his feet with sudden force, channeling Chaos Soul Power into both legs and pinning himself in place like a nail.

"Nice technique," Lin Chen said with a faint smile.

"You're not bad yourself." A flash of excitement passed through Tang San's eyes.

After their brief exchange, both stepped back half a pace and faced each other once more. The spectators at the edge of the arena watched with bated breath, not daring to make a sound.

"Again!" Tang San gave a low shout and attacked once more.

This time, he held nothing back.

Blue Silver Grass grew wildly, surging toward Lin Chen from the ground, from the air and from every direction, filling the sky and covering the earth, leaving almost no opening.

Lin Chen finally released his Martial Soul.

The Chaos Pearl appeared in his palm, and a purple Soul Ring rose around him. The pressure of the Thousand-Year Soul Ring spread outward, making the lower-grade students at the edge of the arena pale. Even several upperclassmen involuntarily took a step back.

"Chaos Shield."

A gray dome of light spread open, enclosing him completely. The Blue Silver Grass bounced off it, its poison unable to penetrate at all. Hidden Weapons struck the dome with a continuous clatter, yet failed to leave so much as a crack.

Tang San's attacks came in wave after wave like the tide, but he still could not break through the seemingly thin gray dome.

"I refuse to believe I can't break through!" Tang San gritted his teeth, a stubborn glint flashing in his eyes.

He abruptly withdrew all his Blue Silver Grass and formed a hand seal, concentrating all his Soul Power in his right hand. The light of Mysterious Jade Hand flared, and his entire hand became translucent, the outlines of its bones faintly visible.

He drew a deep breath, then shot toward Lin Chen's shield like an arrow loosed from a bow, crashing into it.