How could I not dare? Since you're so eager to lose quickly, I'll grant your wish.
Wang Chen immediately accepted Wang Teng's challenge.
Against the Wang clan's ancestor, Wang Yan, he had to be cautious. But Wang Teng? Just a brat—daring to posture before him? Laughable.
Hearing Wang Chen's reply, Wang Teng's eyes burned scarlet with excitement. A layer of sinister crimson scales spread across his skin, while several hundred degrees of scorching heat radiated outward, distorting the air around him.
This was one of the Wang clan's inherited martial souls—Flame Scale Beast. Possessing fire attributes and formidable close-combat power, it might not rival the Sun and Moon Empire's royal legacies like the Sun Martial Soul or the Purple Sovereign Sky-Extinguishing Dragon, but it was still a powerful high-grade martial soul.
Judge Wang Yuan, far from displeased, found himself intrigued. The clash between the clan's two most outstanding youths—he truly wanted to see it.
Would it be Wang Teng, with the strength of a Soul Elder? Or Wang Chen, with terrifying talent in soul tools?
Whoever won would become the clan's true genius, the one most worthy of future cultivation.
"Everyone, clear the arena. Leave the stage to Wang Teng and Wang Chen," Wang Yuan commanded.
"Yes, Elder Wang Yuan!"
In moments, the arena stood empty, only Wang Chen and Wang Teng remaining at its center, fifty meters apart.
Wang Chen stood tall, his figure elegant like jade. Dressed in fitted battle attire, he gripped a peak third-tier soul tool spear, with a matching soul thruster mounted on his back.
As the wind stirred his clothes, he resembled a sharp sword poised to be drawn, brimming with suppressed force.
Wang Teng, too, equipped his soul tools, eyes blazing with battle spirit. He locked his gaze on Wang Chen, waiting for Judge Wang Yuan's signal to prove himself as the clan's number one genius.
High above, Wang Yuan's voice rang out like thunder:
"Begin!!"
At that instant, two yellow soul rings rose around Wang Chen, glowing brilliantly.
Spirit Weapon Martial Soul—First Soul Skill: Assault!
Second Soul Skill: Break!
As his augmenting soul skills activated, Wang Chen fused his martial soul into his spear. Instantly, its blade gleamed with a razor-sharp metallic light.
But what no one saw—within the flash of those soul rings, Wang Chen secretly invoked the Ring Tempering Secret Art.
In the past half-month, he had refined this technique to perfection. No longer did it require preparation time or risk wasting energy spilling uncontrollably. Now, he could unleash it in the blink of an eye, flawlessly channeling every drop of power into strengthening himself.
No spectator even sensed the secret technique at work.
Power surged through Wang Chen's body. He grinned.
Half a month ago, using Ring Tempering only raised him to the threshold of a Soul Elder. Now, he could rival level 33 or 34 Soul Elders.
Without hesitation, he struck first.
The Ring Tempering's duration was limited, and his soul power reserves were still inferior to Wang Teng's. If dragged into a war of attrition, he would surely lose. Victory demanded speed.
Activating his thruster, Wang Chen shot forward like an arrow loosed from the bowstring, streaking across the fifty meters.
His velocity, with the peak third-tier thruster, rivaled that of agility-type Soul Elders.
Wang Teng's eyes widened in disbelief.
A Grand Soul Master dares charge straight at me, a Soul Elder? Even with a peak soul tool in hand, you can't bridge our gulf in cultivation!
Yet, with unshakable confidence in his own strength, Wang Teng retaliated.
Two yellow soul rings flared.
Flame Scale Beast—First Soul Skill: Fire Corrosion!
Second Soul Skill: Fire Element Amplification!
His first skill imbued all attacks with hidden fire, doubling their lethality when paired with other skills or soul tools.
His second skill boosted firepower by fifty percent while cutting soul power expenditure by thirty.
Metallic clanks rang out as a dark cannon barrel extended from his arm.
Boom!!
A salvo of crimson energy thundered forth, hurtling toward Wang Chen.
In the stands, every eye locked onto the duel. Even the parents of both boys, who had quarreled fiercely earlier, now watched in tense silence.
Wang Chen calmly read the incoming volleys. His spirit power, nearing Soul King level, sharpened his reactions and perception far beyond his peers. With only a few subtle movements, he slipped through the barrage unscathed.
Wang Teng's face twisted in shock.
That reaction speed… Can a Grand Soul Master really do this? This brat has hidden depth. No—I must treat him as an equal!
Gathering focus, he prepared to unleash his ultimate move the moment Wang Chen closed in.
And close in he did—the fifty meters vanished in a flash.
Spear in hand, Wang Chen's gaze turned sharp as lightning. The weapon snapped taut, a black thunderbolt ripping through the air.
The spear tip shrieked as it sliced forward, aimed unerringly at Wang Teng's right chest.
Wang Teng grinned savagely. His thousand-year soul ring ignited, purple light blazing.
"Third Soul Skill—Explosive Flame Annihilation Slash!!"
A fiery crimson blade erupted, colliding head-on with Wang Chen's spear tip.
BOOM!!
The explosion rocked the arena.
Wang Teng poured every ounce of strength into crushing Wang Chen. Yet to his horror, the Soul Elder could not overpower a Grand Soul Master!
The clash ended in a stalemate. Wang Chen's wrist twisted; the spear became a serpent, coiling sideways to whip into Wang Teng's waist.
Fresh off expending his third soul skill, Wang Teng was caught in a gap between force spent and new force gathered.
He scrambled to activate a defensive soul tool, but it was too late—the barrier never formed. Pain seared his abdomen as the strike landed.
Without pause, Wang Chen wrenched the spear back and swung the shaft upward like a cudgel, smashing into Wang Teng's face.
Darkness swallowed Wang Teng. His vision spun, consciousness snapped, and his body crumpled to the ground.
For a moment, silence engulfed the arena.
The Soul Elder Wang Teng… had been defeated by the Grand Soul Master Wang Chen?!