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After flinging Zhao Li away, Ye Lan felt that the pressure from the three Grand Soul Masters was still far too weak.
"Hey! Do you really think having ten people gang up on one gives you the advantage? Get it straight—when it's ten-on-one, I'm the one with the upper hand!"
"This is all the strength you've got? You're not even putting pressure on me. I suggest you all come at me together—maybe then you'll force me to use my Martial Soul," Ye Lan shouted.
Upon hearing this, the expressions of everyone present changed.
Some were angry, feeling Ye Lan was insulting Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Some were worried he might get hurt. Others mocked him for overestimating himself, while a few admired his strength. And of course, there were some fangirls swooning over him…
Xue Beng slowly got up from the ground, spat out a mouthful of blood, and glared at Ye Lan. "Don't get cocky. You think you're invincible just because you beat a few Grand Soul Masters?"
Ye Lan cast a sideways glance at the red-haired lunatic. "You're nothing but trash. Don't even open your mouth. All you do is bark from behind others. Got the balls to say that to my face while standing in front of me?"
"Hmph! Heaven Dou Royal Academy isn't just about strength—it's also about influence. Let me show you what true influence means. All of you, attack him together!" Xue Beng shouted, waving his hand at Ye Lan and commanding his followers.
Although the two Soul Exalts leading the group felt ashamed to join eight Grand Soul Masters in ganging up on Ye Lan, how could they defy Xue Beng, who had the power to bring them prosperity?
Besides, Ye Lan's words had rubbed them the wrong way. What was this, a kindergarten? Ten against one?
The eight Grand Soul Masters and two Soul Exalts spread out, surrounding Ye Lan completely.
"Attack together!" someone shouted, and all ten soul masters charged at Ye Lan at once.
Each of them summoned their Martial Souls, launching various types of attacks—claws, flying kicks, fists, hidden spears, whips—toward Ye Lan simultaneously.
Surrounded in the center, Ye Lan's golden eyes were as calm as still water.
A slight smirk appeared on Ye Lan's lips. Now this is getting interesting.
Let me show you my newly developed soul skill.
"Solar Furnace!"
A radiant surge of golden soul power exploded from Ye Lan's body, instantly forming a glowing golden furnace that enveloped the ten-meter radius around him.
The moment the golden furnace appeared, a deafening explosion followed.
The Solar Furnace activated so quickly that the ten attackers had no time to dodge.
As the furnace erupted, eight figures were blasted away like kites with broken strings, crashing into the crowd, tree trunks, and jagged rocks. The other two were hurled more than twenty meters away, only managing to stabilize themselves after several mid-air adjustments.
The Solar Furnace was a movement-type soul skill, developed by combining the Flash Step technique with the ultimate light attribute of Blue Silver Grass. While soul masters can naturally create blasts of soul power, Ye Lan had developed that simple blast into a soul skill-level technique: the Flash Step.
This Flash Step, combined with the ultimate light attribute of Blue Silver Grass, resulted in a devastating shockwave of soul power.
Don't be fooled by how pitiful the ten looked—moaning and groaning in pain.
In truth, their injuries weren't severe.
It wasn't because Ye Lan's Solar Furnace was weak—it was because he had deliberately held back.
While Ye Lan couldn't control the intensity of the Solar Furnace at will, he could control its explosion radius.
This time, he had unleashed a full 360-degree Solar Furnace.
Had Ye Lan instead used a focused Solar Furnace like the Six Meridian Divine Sword, channeling the power through his fingertips, it could have easily pierced through the two Soul Exalts' bodies in an instant.
Unfortunately, he hadn't yet developed the technique to that level. For now, he could only emit a Solar Furnace slightly smaller than his chest.
Still, even that was quite powerful—though not as destructive as the Origin Light.
But Origin Light required over half of his Blue Silver Grass combat units to use.
In contrast, the Solar Furnace only consumed a few strands of Blue Silver Grass.
Of course, there was always a price.
The Solar Furnace consumed an enormous amount of soul power. Even with Ye Lan's soul power efficiency of 130%, it still cost him a quarter of his total soul power.
Watching his entire crew sprawled on the ground, Xue Beng was visibly shaken by Ye Lan's soul skill.
He pointed at Ye Lan, his hand trembling uncontrollably.
His mouth hung open, but no sound came out. It opened and closed repeatedly—clearly, he was stunned speechless by Ye Lan's strength.
"Tch! Truly a good-for-nothing," Ye Lan muttered, shaking his head at the red-haired man's dumbfounded expression.
Just as Ye Lan was about to bypass the crowd and head toward Heaven Dou Royal Academy—
Zhao Li coughed up blood and struggled to his feet, rasping, "You can't leave yet! We haven't lost!"
Hearing his words, the others lying on the ground also began to get up.
"That's right, we haven't lost!"
As soul masters, their dignity couldn't be trampled by Ye Lan like this. At the very least, they wanted to see his Martial Soul.
If they lost without even forcing him to use his Martial Soul, they'd have no face left to exist in this world.
"Oh? And what do you plan to do?" Ye Lan looked at the ten injured individuals. He hadn't expected that after being knocked down by his self-created soul skill, their fighting spirit would rise even higher.
Seeing their renewed morale, Ye Lan began to truly recognize the students of Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
It seemed not all of them were trash like the red-haired guy.
If they were all like him, Ye Lan would never represent the academy in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament.
Representing a bunch of losers would only feel insulting to him.
Zhao Li rasped, "At the very least, we want to see your full strength—your Martial Soul. None of us have seen it yet!"
The others nodded in agreement. "If you don't use your full strength, we won't be convinced."
Seeing their earnest expressions, Ye Lan nodded and said, "Go ahead and use your second or third soul skills. I'll let you witness just how high the heavens really are—and next time, don't go around bullying others."
The group looked at Ye Lan with gratitude and nodded in unison.
They all wanted to know who this person truly was—and why he had come to Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
More than a decade later, these soul masters—who had since reformed—would look back and realize this moment was perhaps the brightest point of their lives.
After all, they had once crossed hands with a legendary god.
"You all attack first. I'll give you time," Ye Lan said.
The ten of them finished regulating their breathing, then activated their soul powers.
Martial Souls possessed, weapon-type Martial Souls summoned.
The ten stood in a line, facing Ye Lan.
Ye Lan nodded.
Their strongest soul rings all lit up at once, and they shouted in unison:
"Shadow Assault!"
"Berserk!"
"Frost Star!"
"Scorching Breath!"
"Thousand Plume Feathers!"
"Tangled Vines Dance!"
"Diamond Morph!"
"Meteor Strike!"
"Earthshaker!"
"Blue Silver Bind!"
Each had a different soul skill, but all were their strongest.
Some charged directly at Ye Lan after enhancing their bodies, while others unleashed powerful long-range soul skills from afar.
All of their attacks were caught in Ye Lan's golden eyes—a meteor hammer, peacock feathers, flames, vines, and a wave of close-range attackers rushing toward him.
(End of Chapter)