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He opened his eyes.
The dormitory was empty.
Because he had been cultivating, Xie Huan Yue had already gone to the dueling arena to take on the new Class Two students—sometimes one-on-two, and even one-on-three or more.
Among all the new students, Soul Elders were rare. Excluding Su Wen, who was in cultivation, and Ning Tian from the support system, only Dai Huabin remained.
Su Wen stretched lazily, feeling refreshed.
In the Douluo world, sleep wasn't necessary. One could replenish their energy through cultivation and meditation. The only drawback was that cultivation could be incredibly monotonous.
"I should go find Dean Yan first and ask for a few soul bones to try out," Su Wen muttered to himself as he headed toward Sea God Island.
Dueling Arena
At the center of the stage stood two opposing figures: Dai Huabin and Xie Huan Yue.
As two of the few Soul Elders among the freshmen, the question of which one was stronger had naturally stirred much debate.
Xie Huan Yue specialized in defense. The defensive power of his Thousand-Armored Elephant martial soul was indeed astonishing, but in terms of offense, he was at a disadvantage compared to the fierce attack power of Dai Huabin's White Tiger martial soul. It was somewhat reminiscent of the former Outer Court's Twin Stars, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi.
The arena was packed with people.
Most were new students, though a few older students were also present.
It was clear that entering the academy as a Soul Elder—this level of talent, even at its initial reveal—was enough to attract a great deal of attention.
"Dai Huabin! The White Tiger martial soul is the best in the world!"
"So handsome!"
From the sidelines, several fangirls were already cheering loudly.
Compared to the chubby and silly-looking Xie Huan Yue, Dai Huabin had inherited his father's handsome looks. With his golden hair, golden eyes, elegant demeanor, and top-tier talent, he naturally had no shortage of admirers.
"Aren't you worried?" Cui Yajie folded her arms across her chest, a hint of playful teasing on her face as she glanced at Zhu Lu.
The latter remained expressionless. "They're just nobodies. Huabin and I grew up together—he would never look at them twice."
"Tsk, tsk, that's true," Cui Yajie sighed. No matter how eagerly those girls screamed, Dai Huabin's gaze remained firmly locked on Xie Huan Yue. This kind of loyal straight man… Zhu Lu really lucked out with him.
"It's a pity my Nine-Tailed Fox martial soul can only charm; it can't truly captivate a heart," Cui Yajie said with a grin.
"Shut up!" Zhu Lu replied irritably.
It was obvious their relationship wasn't bad.
On the stage, Dai Huabin's eyes narrowed slightly, as though blocking out all surrounding noise.
A fellow Soul Elder of the same rank, known especially for his defense, had once been beaten so badly by Su Wen… Was Su Wen's strength far beyond his imagination? Or was Xie Huan Yue merely overrated and unable to withstand a blow? Soon, he would find out.
"Match, begin!"
With the referee's command, Dai Huabin's eyes narrowed further. He let out a roar as a faint purple soul ring rose from beneath his feet, activating his White Tiger Vajra Transformation!
His hands were covered with tiger claws, their sharp blades gleaming coldly. A surge of energy burst from his body, and a white tiger phantom seemed to materialize behind him, glaring down at Xie Huan Yue with an overwhelming sense of pressure.
A thousand-year soul skill—the mark of a Soul Elder among freshmen.
"Absolute Amplification!"
Xie Huan Yue refused to be outdone.
A purple soul ring also rose around him, enveloping him entirely. His body swelled like a ball, and if someone had glasses that could read stats, they would have seen his defense values skyrocket.
"Death Roll!"
A yellow soul ring rose next.
With a low shout, Xie Huan Yue's massive purple ball form began to spin rapidly, like a giant boulder rolling down a mountain. In just seconds, he had reached high speed and came crashing toward Dai Huabin.
Screeech!!
The two collided.
A piercing boom rang out as Xie Huan Yue's spinning form met Dai Huabin head-on. Dai Huabin raised his arm, relying purely on brute strength to lift and block the massive ball. Tiger claws scraped against the surface, producing an ear-splitting sound but failing to break through Xie Huan Yue's defense.
Failing to land a hit, Xie Huan Yue braked hard, leaving a long gouge on the arena floor behind Dai Huabin.
"What terrifying defense!"
Watching from the stands, Cui Yajie widened her beautiful eyes in awe as Dai Huabin unleashed both his first and second soul skills in a fierce assault.
The battle had entered its peak intensity.
Both had already used nearly all their techniques, yet neither could gain the upper hand.
Dai Huabin's offense was fierce—he had once slain a thousand-year soul beast single-handedly—and even among offensive martial souls, his White Tiger was top-tier. But his opponent's defense was simply too thick.
Even when Dai Huabin's face paled from exhaustion and he threw everything he had, he couldn't leave a single mark on Xie Huan Yue.
But Xie Huan Yue's attack power was weaker, so the fight was clearly heading toward a draw—it was only a matter of time.
"That Su Wen guy…" Cui Yajie began, but Zhu Lu shot her a glare. She stuck out her tongue. "Alright, I won't say it. But that guy has basically become Dai Huabin's inner demon."
Zhu Lu stayed silent, but her fists clenched slightly.
She knew Dai Huabin too well. Her childhood friend was fiercely competitive and refused to accept being outdone. By challenging Xie Huan Yue—someone who had personally faced Su Wen—he wanted to gauge Su Wen's strength.
But…
This outcome was bound to be a disappointment.
"Huff… huff…"
Dai Huabin panted heavily.
His soul power was nearly depleted.
Xie Huan Yue wasn't much better—covered in sweat, his third soul skill had run its course, revealing his true form as he barely managed to stay upright.
Dai Huabin bent forward, hands on his knees, hair falling over his eyes to hide the fear within them.
He could still clearly remember…
That moment when that figure had sent Xie Huan Yue flying with a single punch.
Even when Xie Huan Yue used his third soul skill, that person had held his head down and pummeled him mercilessly, leaving him with no power to fight back. Dai Huabin had once deluded himself into thinking Xie Huan Yue was just bluffing, not as strong as he seemed.
But this battle, fought with everything he had, shattered that illusion.
It wasn't that Xie Huan Yue was weak—
It was that that person was strong.
Strong enough to crush a Soul Elder effortlessly. Someone he could never catch up to.
Strong enough to suppress the era's top talents…
If he ever truly faced that guy, Dai Huabin doubted he would fare any better than Xie Huan Yue.
Thud~
Xie Huan Yue finally collapsed, soul power exhausted, body too weak to continue. The referee declared Dai Huabin the winner.
The arena erupted in thunderous cheers, but Dai Huabin only felt as if his legs were weighed down with lead…
At that moment—
In the Dean's Office
"Yawn~"
Su Wen lazily stretched.
"That's right—bring me some Ice Jade Scorpion… Wind Baboon… oh, and some Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear too. As much as you can."
Yan Shaozhe: "…"
"You brat, do you think soul bones grow like cabbages? 'As much as you can,' he says…"
"Sigh… Before I joined the Martial Soul Department, everyone called me Little Wen. Now I'm just some nobody," Su Wen said, shaking his head sadly.
"You little…!" Yan Shaozhe's mouth twitched.
"You're trying to test whether your spirit beast can acquire soul skills, aren't you?" he suddenly asked.
"Oh? You figured it out?" Su Wen raised an eyebrow.
"Of course," Yan Shaozhe replied, turning to leave.
(End of Chapter)