Chapter 78: First Battle, One Punch Knockout, Xiao Xiao Takes the Field
"Zone twenty-seven, second match of the assessment—Team Wang Chunpeng from Class Two versus Team Lin Yun from Class Eight. Both teams, please enter the arena!"
With the referee's announcement, Lin Yun's trio and Wang Chunpeng's trio stood at opposite corners of the stage, facing one another across the arena.
It had to be said, even just standing there, Lin Yun's presence alone was enough to overwhelm the opposing team of three.
"Begin!"
Soul rings appeared instantly. On the other side, aside from Wang Chunpeng being a two-ring Soul Grandmaster, his teammates were a square-faced girl and a scrawny boy who looked like a monkey—both one-ring Soul Masters.
In contrast, Lin Yun's side looked utterly unconventional, their lineup spanning three rings, two rings, and one ring.
Normally, team members' strengths were fairly balanced, like Huang Chutian's group of three Soul Grandmasters, or Wang Chunpeng's team, with one Grandmaster and two Soul Masters close to rank eighteen or nineteen—close in level overall.
But Lin Yun's team, jumping from one ring to three rings, was absurd. Even the referee watching from above was stunned.
As for Lin Yun?
He wasn't about to wait for the others to recover from their shock. His third, ten-thousand-year soul ring erupted in a deep black glow, radiating a power that seemed ready to swallow everything.
At the same time, the air around him compressed, dust circling into a small whirlwind.
Seeing his movements, Wang Chunpeng's group clenched in alarm, rushing to release soul skills to disrupt him.
But would that work?
Lin Yun wasn't even charging up—he was merely controlling his strength. Even a casual strike of his might send Wang Chunpeng straight into the infirmary, let alone a skill from a ten-thousand-year soul ring.
Who knew how much effort he spent just to ensure he didn't kill Wang Chunpeng in a single punch?
—Sky-Breaking Dragon Fist!
Facing Wang Chunpeng charging headlong at him, Lin Yun swung his right fist from his waist. The compressed air blasted outward in a cannon-like burst, slamming directly into Wang Chunpeng.
"Buaaagh—!!"
With a miserable scream, Wang Chunpeng was sent flying by that single punch. Blood spurted mid-air, and he fainted before he even hit the ground.
Startled, the referee soared up to catch him, worried the boy would be reduced to a pulp upon landing.
After sending soul power through Wang Chunpeng's body, the referee finally breathed in relief. The boy had simply been knocked unconscious by the powerful shockwave; though the blood loss looked extreme, there were no serious injuries.
As for his two teammates, the gale roaring past their ears froze them in place.
One punch… a complete knockout?
How the hell were they supposed to fight this?!
Just as the two wavered on whether to surrender outright, Lin Yun's three rings faded. He stepped back and stood behind Xiao Xiao.
"Those two are yours. Do your best—my Xiao Xiao will definitely shine." Lin Yun patted her on the head with a smile.
Besides the downed Wang Chunpeng, who was an assault-type soul master, the square-faced girl had a control-type willow branch martial soul, while the scrawny boy wielded a food-type sweetcake martial soul.
They still had some combat power, but not much. In the original tale, Xiao Xiao could spar evenly with Wang Dong when supported by Huo Yuhao. Facing these two together should be no trouble at all.
Xiao Xiao nodded, summoning her Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron and stepping forward.
Zheng Xiaolong followed up by tossing out his Lucky Coin, activating his first soul skill to support Xiao Xiao.
As expected…
The Lucky Coin landed tails up.
Feeling the nearly nonexistent boost on her body, Xiao Xiao glanced back at Zheng Xiaolong speechlessly. He could only scratch his head awkwardly and look away, pretending to admire the scenery.
But it didn't matter. They were only two one-ring Soul Masters, and one was even a support type. Xiao Xiao felt no pressure at all.
"Divide!" she called softly. Her massive Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron instantly split into three smaller cauldrons, scattering outward to strike at the two opponents from three directions.
The scrawny male student tensed in panic, hastily releasing his first soul skill. He tossed a fist-sized orange-yellow sweetcake to the square-faced female student while stumbling clumsily out of the way of the cauldrons.
It was truly pitiful.
When whole, Xiao Xiao's cauldron stood one and a half meters tall, requiring two people to encircle it. Even split, each cauldron was still half a meter high. Controlled as weapons, they rolled toward their targets like boulders crashing down a mountain.
The looming pressure alone made the scrawny student feel a gust of terror even without contact. He scrambled desperately, leaping and rolling to avoid being crushed.
The square-faced girl's expression grew grim. Her willow martial soul lashed out, one tendril binding the waist of her scrawny teammate, pulling him out of harm's way just before he was struck.
The other two vines whipped toward Xiao Xiao and Zheng Xiaolong, wisely ignoring Lin Yun, who was watching from the side.
Otherwise, her head might have met his iron fist in the very next moment.
This wasn't cowardice—it was wisdom. To recognize the situation and act accordingly was the mark of a true survivor.
What she failed to notice was that Xiao Xiao's three cauldrons had already taken position in a triangular formation around them.
Xiao Xiao's beautiful eyes narrowed as her first soul ring lit up.
"Resonance of the Cauldron!"
Without pause, her second soul ring shone as well.
"Reverberation of the Cauldron!"
A violent shockwave burst from the three cauldrons, rippling outward in nearly tangible waves that battered the bodies of both opponents, twisting their faces in pain.
The Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron was no ordinary control-type martial soul. It possessed offensive capabilities, and though its destructive power was limited, its ability to restrain was formidable.
Two hundred-year soul skills landing simultaneously on opponents who had not yet reached two rings was more than enough to strip them of any resistance.
Xiao Xiao's lips curved into a faint smile. She raised her right hand and clenched her fist. The three cauldrons, shaking violently with power, surged forward as one.
In the next instant, the three merged and vanished, while the square-faced girl and the scrawny boy were already removed from the arena by the referee.
Xiao Xiao's victory was complete!
——————
(End of this chapter)
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