Xue Qinghe had never imagined that Shen An, who appeared so refined and otherworldly, could utter such provocative words.
And she absolutely loved it!
Lei Mie's face was currently extremely unpleasant to behold. In fact, all members of the five major academies wore similarly grim expressions. Wasn't this essentially pointing at their noses and calling them trash?
Lei Mie roared angrily, "Lei Mie, martial soul Thundercloud, level 38 power attack system Battle Soul Elder."
Shen An replied indifferently,
"Shen An, martial soul Nine-Leaf Sword Grass, level 36 Soul Elder."
Whispers immediately broke out among the audience.
"Nine-Leaf Sword Grass? Have you heard of this martial soul before?"
"No, it must be a mutated martial soul."
"Part sword, part grass—what kind of nonsense is that? Can it even be powerful?"
Hearing that Shen An was only level 36, Lei Mie's eyes flashed with disdain.
Is that all?
I'm two whole levels higher than you. Beating a pampered flower from the Heaven Dou Royal Academy should be child's play.
Lei Mie sneered, "Kid, you'll have to take responsibility for what you just said."
Two yellow and one purple soul rings—the optimal configuration—appeared around him. The first yellow soul ring instantly lit up.
First Soul Skill: Thunder Flash!
Lei Mie's first soul skill allowed him to transform into a bolt of lightning, charging forward while releasing a powerful burst of thunder energy to damage his enemy.
Dense arcs of electricity coiled around Lei Mie like blue-purple serpents, showcasing their formidable power.
Yu Tianxin, seeing that Shen An hadn't moved at all, inwardly scoffed.
As expected of a greenhouse flower. Faced with Lei Mie's decisive attack, he didn't even have time to react.
The Bing'er sisters watched with slight concern. Since he hadn't dodged at the first moment, at this distance, it was already too late.
Though Shen An was arrogant, in their eyes, he had stepped forward for the sake of Shui Bing'er Academy. They couldn't help but worry.
Huo Wu and Feng Xiaotian, however, narrowed their eyes. Given Shen An's speed from that day, there was no way he couldn't dodge. So… what was he planning?
Lei Mie was fast—like a sudden clap of thunder as he lunged at Shen An.
But Shen An was faster.
A flash of cyan light shimmered in his left hand as the Nine-Leaf Sword Grass materialized. Instead of using the blade, he simply swept the flat of the sword horizontally.
Smack!
Lei Mie, who had been charging at high speed, was sent flying backward.
The members of the five academies stared at Shen An as if they had seen a ghost.
Not only had he knocked back Lei Mie, who was in his lightning form, but Shen An himself hadn't even budged an inch.
How was that possible?!
Tom even shifted into a more comfortable sleeping position. Shen An quickly steadied him with his right hand. Compared to his casual sword strike earlier, he now seemed much more serious. This stark contrast left the audience in stunned silence.
Lei Mie felt as if his chest had been smashed by a sledgehammer. His blood and qi churned violently, and his heart nearly stopped from the impact.
He now realized that Shen An was no ordinary opponent. All traces of contempt vanished from his mind.
Third Soul Skill: Thundercloud Burst!
A small thundercloud formed in Lei Mie's palm, countless bolts of lightning wildly converging within it.
"Go!"
A mass of dark clouds and lightning, crackling with deafening noise, shot toward Shen An.
This was the very skill Lei Mie had used to defeat the students of Shui Bing'er Academy—extremely fast and explosive, capable of delivering devastating damage in an instant.
And this time, he had poured every last drop of his soul power into it.
Succeed or perish!
Faced with this overwhelmingly powerful attack—one that even a Soul Ancestor wouldn't dare take head-on—Shen An simply channeled his soul power. His slender, well-defined fingers tightened around the sword hilt.
With a light exhale, he uttered a single word:
Slash.
Clang!
The sword rang out crisply as it left its sheath. A cyan light flashed across the ground, arriving with impossible speed to meet the thundercloud.
Lei Mie, his face pale from excessive soul power consumption, grinned manically.
He actually dared to clash head-on with my Thundercloud Burst?!
Lightning-based attacks were inherently more destructive than other attributes.
And his Thundercloud Burst had an additional explosive effect—any strong external force would trigger a violent detonation.
At less than three meters away, Shen An would have no chance of dodging the ensuing blast. If he were a beast martial soul user, he might have been able to tank it with his physical resilience.
But this kid only had a tool martial soul.
What could he possibly rely on?
Then, Lei Mie's pupils abruptly contracted. His grin froze.
That cyan sword light…
It cleanly split the thundercloud in half—without triggering an explosion.
The redirected thundercloud energy naturally missed Shen An entirely.
But the sword energy continued unabated, streaking straight toward Lei Mie.
Lei Mie's eyes widened in horror as the cyan light closed in. He wanted to dodge, but his body had already exhausted every last bit of soul power.
Boom!
The sword energy struck Lei Mie square in the chest. The force tore through flesh and bone alike, sending a shockwave of agony through his body. A mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips.
His burly frame was sent flying off the stage like a ragged sack, blood trailing in an arc behind him.
Yu Tianxin shot to his feet. "You've gone too far!"
As the top student of Thunder Academy, he couldn't stand by while one of his own was injured. He had to respond.
Shen An chuckled lightly. "As Lei Mie himself said, soul skills are unpredictable in sparring matches. No one can be blamed for accidents. If you're unhappy, you're welcome to come up and fight me yourself."
Shui Yue'er tugged at Shui Bing'er's sleeve, starry-eyed. "Sister, I told you he was handsome. Now he's even more dashing!"
Shui Bing'er blinked her beautiful eyes. She could tell Shen An's words were meant to stand up for them.
Yu Tianxin's expression darkened. "Fine. In that case, I'll spar with you myself."
Shui Bing'er stepped forward. "Yu Tianxin, as a Soul Ancestor, aren't you ashamed to bully someone weaker? Is this the pride of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan? If you want a fight, I'll take you on."
Shen An quickly interjected, "No, no, no! Miss Bing'er, please don't interfere. I wasn't joking earlier—I truly believe none of you here are worth more than one hand from me."
Shui Bing'er's face darkened.
I'm trying to help you, and you're still spouting such arrogance? Do you really think the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon—
To emphasize his point, Shen An willed his soul rings to appear.
One yellow, two purple.
The audience erupted. Some even shot to their feet in shock.
How is this possible?!
A thousand-year third soul ring was one thing, but your second soul ring is also a thousand-year?!
The universally accepted optimal soul ring configuration was two yellow and two purple. Yet this man had shattered that convention. How could they not be stunned?
Yu Tianxin's pupils constricted. "Well, well… Shen An. You truly are extraordinary. No wonder you're so arrogant."
"Originally, I was worried that beating you as a Soul Ancestor would look bad. But now, with two thousand-year soul rings myself, no one can accuse me of bullying."
Shen An shook his head. "Enough talk. Come up and fight."
At that moment, Jerry climbed onto Shen An's shoulder, giving a thumbs-up before slowly rotating it 180 degrees into a thumbs-down. The provocation couldn't be clearer.
Yu Tianxin's lips curled into a furious smile. "So, you're planning to fight me with one hand too?"
Shen An replied coolly, "Why not?"